The Skinny

Yes, it's been nearly two weeks since I've written an entry.  For those that linger around here hanging on every word typed at Write-Brained Leftovers, my apologies.  I have several reasons for my lack of posts and that brings me to this entry, but first a forewarning.  This particular entry is no lesson in writing and is virtually void of any wit.  Read past entries or future ones for appropriate doses of wit.  This is me pimping and boasting...poasting, if you will (okay, a little wit).

I've been entering contests, trying to meet more deadlines, reading a book for review, and then writing said review.  Throw the wife in there, mix in some of the usual procrastination, typing for marbley-mouthed doctors, and turning my youngest on to his first episodes of Twilight Zone (he loves them and gets every twist; nothing needs to be explained to him.  I'm a very proud father.) and that's been my schedule for the past 10 to 14 days. 

Also, an old hobby of mine is trying to come back to add to any suspected writer's ADD.  Recently, someone who'd never seen my paintings before saw them and made me feel like I was Michelangelo.  I've toyed with the idea of doing a painting or two since, and once I get this story done for Grinning Skull Press (who so graciously has given me more time to turn it in), I'm thinking I may just wet the brushes this weekend.  I have a subject or two in mind.

"Living Dead Girl" Acrylic on Canvas 18" x 24"

After buying the Regal Beagle, I thought for sure I'd be doing nothing but writing, but that hasn't been the case as of late.  I have so many ideas for stories and even novels that I almost wonder if it hasn't slowed me down a bit; a different type of writer's block for sure, but not necessarily a bad problem to have.  I think I'm having the most fun entering flash fiction contests.  There's something about being given a prompt and having only a certain number of words and/or amount of time to create the greatest story you can that is both challenging and satisfactory for me.

On to the pimping and the boasting:

Concerning the story I co-wrote with Ian Bush, this week I found out that Dark Moon Press will be formatting the book, Brains III, this weekend and they hope to have it out in two weeks.  I'm excited about this one.  It'll be the first book I'm in where every author is sharing the same theme and genre.

I wrote my first review for Horror Novel Reviews this week for Dan Padavona's book, Storberry.  You can read the review here.  This is Dan's first book.  His father was the late, incredibly great Ronnie James Dio, and if you know anything about me you know I grew up an enormous fan of Ronnie's voice; be it Rainbow, Elf, Sabbath, or solo career, so it's a bit ironic that Dan and I have become good writing friends, swapping literary work, advice, and encouragement.  If you are a fan of Stephen King (in particular Salem's Lot) I encourage you to read Dan's book which is available at the link below as an e-book.  Dan has also just released a two-story collection also available as an e-book called "The Island" that you can purchase (again available below).  I have only read half of the first story (one for all the arachnophobes), and let's just say I kept thinking something was crawling on me as I read it in bed last night.

Me and Ronnie James Dio, 1987 in Colorado.

One other note on what I'm up to.  I am now a proofreader for Crystal Lake Publishing out of South Africa.  There's a few reasons I decided to do this.  One is I like what Crystal Lake is doing.  They're only a few years old but their anthologies are packed full of well-established/famous authors and they have fresh ideas with the books that step outside the normal horror publishing company.  For example  the book "Horror 101:  The Way Forward," which is basically a huge compilation of articles written specifically to give insight on writing horror.  The book presents features written by the likes of Jack Ketchum, Graham Masterton, Ramsey Campbell, Blaze McRob, and many, many more.  Crystal Lake Publishing book covers are awesome.  I hope to be squeezed between the pages one day, and finally, the owner/operator, Joe Mynhardt is a very kind, standup guy in my experience thus far.  Why wouldn't I want to be a part of it all?

Speaking of Crystal Lake Publishing, I will be featured in their "Beneath the Lake:  On Writing Horror" in the very near future.  You'll have to either keep checking back there or give me a like on my author page and keep up to date.

One last bit of news, I have submitted a handful of stories to Black Bed Sheet Books with the hopes of having my own anthology.  This is something I'd like to accomplish before having a novel out (which I will be writing in November for NaNoWriMo/National Novel Writing Month).  I like the passion Black Bed Sheet Books has and am hoping they like mine as well.  We'll see.  And like Crystal Lake, they are also doing some very innovative things. 

Thank you for allowing me to do nothing but fill you with news in this entry and point you in the direction of some things in the literary world that I believe in.

Don't forget, my newest story, "Self-Immolation", is now available in Shadows & Light #4 (both in print and for your Kindle-friendly device).