Since there are some neat writerly things around the corner for me—and more neat writerly things that might maybe possibly be around the next corner soonish if the stars align—I thought I’d sit down and post an update for you good and loyal people. Here’s the nutshell version of my 2019 so far:
Why not start with January 2. You can already read the publication deets on my narrative poem, “Black Skull,” because it came out in issue 22 of The Literary Hatchet. Click on the image to the left for my post about that.
The only additional news about “Black Skull” is that exclusivity with The Literary Hatchet ends at the beginning of August. I’m kind of looking forward to that because it means I’ll be able to re-post a video I made with my radio-announcer friend reading the poem in voiceover. I think it turned out pretty good, in a no-budget, heartfelt, atmospheric way. You’ll be the first to know when that video is available again.
Moving on, I sold a revenge story to the anthology Dig Two Graves, Vol. 2 from Death’s Head Press. Volume 1 is already available as an e-book and as a paperback, so volume 2 should be landing pretty soon (they read for both volumes simultaneously). I have a fun blog idea in mind for these books, too. This is the first I’ve hinted at it, but it would be fun to interview some of my fellow contributors. Because there are quite a few stories in each book, my choices would seem to be A) pick a handful of favorites from each and interview those authors; or B) skip volume 1 and try to interview all contributors for volume 2. Either way I’ll be leaving out a lot of great contributors, so I’m not sure how to proceed. While you’re waiting for me to decide, have a look at the covers:
My most recent sale was another poem: “A Return to Chaos.” This one found a home in the forthcoming sixth volume of the Poetry Showcase series from the Horror Writers Association. Here’s a look at the eye-catching cover:
It’s pleasing to have a second poem in the series, my first being “Gratitude” in volume 3.
If you’re wondering why I don’t have more short stories floating around out there right now, it’s because I’m trying to be a bit more collection-centric. It’s kind of tricky to balance a desire to publish stand-alone stories with continuing to own the rights to enough material to publish a collection if the opportunity arises. Well, the pay off is that I have my next three collections planned out. Two of them are complete, while the third still needs some work. And I do have some excellent stories out in the marketplace as well, so I’m very excited to see where some of these threads lead.
You know where to check back for updates. Of course, I'm also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Until next time ...