"Morbid Metamorphosis" Is Out, and it's Awesome!

Okay, to be fair, Lycan Valley Press' anthology, Morbid Metamorphosis, has been out over a month and it was available on the day I originally said it would be -- June 13.

So why am I just getting around to announcing this?

Because I've been stupidly busy and I literally have not had time to compose and write this silly post. Many of you know that Liza and I (and the woofbeasts) are spending about a month in a desolate canyon below a desolate mountain about four miles beyond the ass end of nowhere. (If you want to know why, ask me. I don't feel like writing it here.)

However, this summer I am working full-time as a private teacher/tutor hybrid-type-thing and I am spending about 3 hours on the road each day, in addition to my 9 hours onsite. So... not much time for anything? Not much. I've been a social media ghost since the end of June, and will mostly like be spectral until well into August.

What's that -- I should be telling you about this book? Oh, crap, yes. Morbid Metamorphosis, Lycan Valley Press' inaugural anthology has some amazing stories in it, and that's not an exaggeration.

My short story's title, "Hyde and Seek," might give a hint or two if only you remember this is an entire anthology around people who are both more, and less, than human. I'm also pleased to say that this is the second story based in my own Challenger's Club setting to see publication (following "In the Wardrobe," in the amazing A Darke Phantastique).

Morbid Metamorphosis is available at Amazon in both paperback and e-book formats. I am certain it's available in other places, but not kidding -- I haven't had enough time to look.

Given that I usually categorize my horror-ish work as Dark Fantasy... if you feel a need to scratch a quasi-historical, semi-literary Dark Fantasy itch, pick up a copy.

But remember, the kindest thing you can do for any and all writers is leave a review. Thank you, and happy reading!

Morbid Metamorphosis: The Trailer and the TOC

Morbid Metamorphosis is scheduled to be released on June 13th. Before it gets here, feel free to check out the full-length book trailer (by Kevin Hopson) above. And when you're done, get an eyeful of the ridiculously awesome Table of Contents (TOC).

As far as I know, this is not the story order. I'll make corrections when I have them.

Introduction / Robert Nelson

"Become Him" / Greg Chapman

"Joey's Grove" / Roy C. Booth and R. Thomas Riley

"The Skelly Effect" / Terri DelCampo-Nelson

"Keep the Change" / Dave Gammon

"...and Thou!" / Nancy Kilpatrick

"Crowded" / Rod Charles Marsden

"You Are What You Eat" / Jo-Anne Russell

"Spirit Walk on Sour Ground" / M.J. Preston

"The Lake" / Stacey Turner

"The Death Vaccination" / Tina Piney

"The Moonlight Killer" / Suzanne Robb

"Pickin' to Beat the Devil" / Franklin E. Wales

"The Catamount" / Donna Marie West

"Vile Deeds" / Suzie Lockhart

"The Corkscrew and the Void" / Cameron Trost

"Paper Trail" / Daniel I. Russell

"Little Spark of Madness" / Simon Dewar

"Under the Weight of Souls" / Amanda J. Spedding

"Clay Danger's Balls" / Ken MacGregor

"Ezzie Does It" / Erin Shaw

"Febrile" / Gregory L. Norris

"Hyde and Seek" / Nickolas Furr

Semi-Colonic Irrigation: The Name May be Funny, But it's Actually Very Serious

The name of the upcoming book is Semi-Colonic Irrigation. It's funny, yeah? A nice bit of genial rudeness.

It's not that. Well, not just that.

The semi-colon tattoo is a relatively new bit of art you might see on people, but it's not just the next hipster thing in today's trend-o-rama.

It's serious. Very serious. But not dead serious.

This is what it means:

"A semicolon is used when an author could've chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life."

So the anthology, Semi-Colonic Irrigation, will be using true stories and fiction, prose and poetry, genres and real life to help shine a spotlight on depression, suicide, and mental illness. This is not just a good cause; it's one of the best causes.

For me, it means I'm pleased to be joining the Semi-Colonic team. One of my poems -- which will, for the moment, simply be known as "...4 am" -- will be published in the anthology. "...4 am" will be my first professional poetry sale, and frankly, I feel a little weird about it. I never quite thought I'd be a published writer and poet.

But what's life without a few interesting twists and curves. We react to them or we don't. We're human; that's what we do.

"Twisted Tales Tea Party" Is Apparently No Longer a Thing

R.I.P. "Twisted Tales"

As much as I've been looking forward to seeing my short story, "Bad," appear in the Twisted Tales Tea Party anthology... at the moment, it doesn't look like it will happen.

The publisher and creator behind the project let the authors know today that it appears that the project is dead.

These things happen. Real life intrudes. Health, money, family... these all take priority. We all understand that. But it's still disappointing to know that this will die on the vine and never be the fine wine it should be.

The only thing I know is that a few people are working behind the scenes to see if any part of the project can and will be salvaged. I don't expect anything to come out of it, but it would be great if it could.

Until I hear the voices' final resigned comments, I'm going to keep "Bad" in play, along with the other short stories from the anthology... but I will consider this project a dead one.

Edit (May 10): Though there seemed to be some interest among the participants and editor in keeping these stories together, conversation died out very quickly and only blipped once more -- when I followed up. As much as I'd like to see these stories in one anthology, and as much editing as was done to some of the pieces, it appears that for most folks, it's just... done. I'm disappointed in the whole situation, but even more disappointed now...

Another Short Story to See Publication!

This one delights to me no end! Lycan Valley Press will be putting out Morbid Metamorphosis (Terrifying Tales of Transformation) very soon, and one of the stories in the book will be mine -- a genteel little piece called "Hyde and Seek."

First of all, this is the first time I've written a story for a particular prospective anthology. Knowing that the story was good enough makes the sun shine even brighter.

Secondly, I know some of the authors in this book and they bring the goods! I've been lucky to be in a book or two with a couple of them, and others I've wanted to share pages with. These are some amazing authors. (I'll be posting the author list in a week or two.)

Thirdly, though "Hyde and Seek" stands alone, it is my second short story to feature the Challenger's Club -- a fictional London social club for those touched by paranormal tragedy. The first, "In the Wardrobe," was very well-received, and was part of the brilliant A Darke Phantastique" anthology.

Morbid Metamorphosis should be available (in both print and e-book) on June 13.

I Join the San Diego Chapter of the Horror Writers Association (And Immediately Feel Like an Idiot)

Why this book? You didn't write this book. No, I didn't. Hush up and I'll explain.

So, this happened.

On April 23, I went to the first, organizational meeting of the San Diego chapter of the Horror Writers Association (HWA). As an affiliate member of the HWA and a basically-San Diego-based writer...

Imperial Beach!

... I felt that this was a good idea. The first meeting was at the awesome Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, a place I'd been a time or two before.

They'd moved since the last time I was there, so I ended up late to that first meeting.

An exceptionally charming first impression, I'm sure.

I arrived during introductions. Two had already introduced themselves -- a man and a woman. I took a seat, apologized for my tardiness (though, I am oddly-satisfied to say, I was not the latest), and watched the rest of the folks introduce themselves. I ended up sitting with the ones I hadn't met to my left and the rest of the room to the right. We introduced ourselves, we chatted, we discussed what we wanted to do as a group, and we discussed when we wanted to do it. If you want any more detail than that, you'll need to join. Fnord.

During the meeting, I met the woman sitting to my left, whose intro I'd missed. She was quite pleasant, as was everyone else who was there. And there were 14 of us there. It was a pretty amazing first meeting, and we all knew people who weren't there who plan to join.

It was excellent. There was still that one still-unknown-to-me guy, but time was short and my sub-group got caught up discussing J. Michael Straczynski, and that was that.

(You may have already figured out where this is going.)

Imagine my surprise when I got home and checked the San Diego HWA Facebook page and discovered that the gent whose name I failed to get was Kevin David Anderson. As in Night of the Living Trekkie's Kevin David Anderson. As in, the guy who wrote one of the few fantasy/horror books I have shamelessly crowed about and pimped out in the past few years! As in, one of the best zombie books I've ever read's Kevin David Anderson! As in... seriously here... one of other writers in the Kizuna: Fiction for Japan anthology. We've got stories in the same freaking book! We're FB friends! And...!

And I failed to know who he was.

I feel like an idiot.

... And in other news, I'm now an official member of the San Diego chapter of HWA.

(I'll discuss some of the other members of this soon-to-be-legendary group later, when they're comfortable with me talking about them without restraining orders coming into play...)

My First Real Author Interview!

So... this happened. Roma Gray, one of my fellow writers in the upcoming (and still possibly tentatively-titled) Twisted Tales Tea Party anthology has a horror website, Trick or Treat Thrillers.

On her site, she is interviewing the writers from the anthology and mine was one of the first to go up.

(At this point, I must admit that the aforementioned anthology has been pushed back a few times, but is still expected to drop quite soon.)

My short story, "Bad," will be part of the anthology.