Happy Birthday to the blog, Happy Birthday to the blog. Happy Birthday to Rami Ungar the Writer! Happy Birthday to the blog.
I did warn you that I would have a new blog post out sooner than you might expect. Still, pretty incredible, isn’t it? That today is the fourteen year anniversary of when I set up this blog?
I think I say this every year, but it’s kind of incredible that I’m still blogging all these years later. I started writing this blog at the library near my mom’s house the month before I started college, hoping that, as I entered the world as an adult, I could build an audience for when I started publishing. I was just a young, naive, newly-minted adult back then, no idea where my life was going beyond starting school and working towards my dreams.
Now look at me. I’m a man in my thirties, with a job and my own condo and books to my name. Still no idea where my life is going at times, but I’ve already accomplished some dreams and I think I’m getting closer to making some more come true.
And this blog’s been through it with me the whole journey. There were times, especially early on when getting only a view or two per day was considered a good day, where I thought about giving up on the blog. But I persevered. I kept posting, especially when I had good news or stories to share. And before long, people found it. Some of them even became my friends. Some of them read my work. And many of them are still following me, all these years later.
So, thank you, Followers of Fear. Whether you only just started following me a few weeks ago, or you’ve been here since the beginning, or anywhere in-between, you have kept me going through thick and thin. Through good times and tough times, through celebrations and failures, and through times of fast growth and times of slow growth. It’s fair to say that, without you guys, neither me as a person, nor me as a writer, would be where I am today.
Here’s hoping when I write this post in a year from now, I have plenty of developments to celebrate, and plenty more people here to celebrate with.
In the meantime, my Followers of Fear, if you want to celebrate with me, if you want to support me, or if you’re just looking for a good scary story or two to read this spooky season, I’ll include the link to my book page below. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan (including some free stuff). So, go ahead and take a look. You might find your next favorite read.
And if you do end up reading something of mine, please consider giving it a review. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and your fellow readers in the long run.
That’s all for now. I’m off to a meadery to celebrate. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 90 days to Halloween!
Well, I got another event on the horizon! And this one, both its timing and theme, shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me.
I attended the Columbus Witches Ball in November 2022, and had an amazing time. Hosted by the Magical Druid, one of the most prominent metaphysical shops in Columbus (we have a few), it’s an awesome gathering of witches, Wiccans, and neo-Pagans. There was a ritual (which I filmed for YouTube), some dancing, and, of course, plenty of people interested in books and Tarot readings. I did very well on sales, and also had a ton of fun.
I wanted to go back in 2023, but I had a conflict, and last year, I attended a different event held by the Magical Druid, so I decided not to go. But this year, I’m going back. And this year, it’ll be held at the Ohio Brewing Company at 421 East 2nd Avenue in downtown Columbus from 1 PM – 11 PM. Obviously, there will be food and drink (it is a brewery, after all), but also a guest lecturer, a ritual, and dancing. Plus, lots of vendors, including little old me. I’ll be there selling books and doing Tarot card readings, so if you’re in the area, please consider attending. I’ll include links to tickets below.
And don’t worry. I’ll be sure to post a reminder before the event. Just in case you forget. And I’ll let you all know if any new events pop up. Which, given Halloween is 94 days away, is likely to happen.
Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares!
Happy 100 days till Halloween! Now is the time to start getting serious for spooky season. Decide your costumes and lawn decorations, stock up on candy for the trick or treaters, and decide on movies and books to enjoy. I’ll have a separate blog post for the movies, but in this post, let me recommend something for your reading list:
Hannah and Other Stories is a collection coming out on September 23rd and features seven scary stories, ranging from ghost stories to serial killers to carnivorous horses. It was originally published in September 23, 2023, and then went out of print when the publisher and I parted ways. Now, it’s coming out again, two years to the day it was originally released.
And in this edition, not only is there a brand-new cover (I mean, look at that thing! It’s gorgeous!), but I’ve updated the stories. Not only are they cleared of some of the spelling/grammar/punctuation errors I found during the first release, but I added some things that were missing or taken out during the first run. So, while the stories are very much like what was published, the additions and changes I made have much improved them.
So, I’m very excited for people to read these updated stories. And there are a growing number of people who are preordering it, including a supervisor at work! (He thinks the story about the haunted bathroom sounds neat.) It helps that this time around, unlike the first round, there’s going to be a paperback edition. Believe me, I’m excited for the paperback edition!
And if you would like to preorder a copy, I’ll include links below. You can preorder the ebook from all four sites, and the paperback from Barnes & Noble (still not sure why Amazon has such a weird policy for preordering paperbacks from self-published authors, but whatever).
And if you do preorder and read Hannah, I hope you’ll leave a review. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback. And it helps me out as an author, as well as other readers when it comes to their reading choices.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. We’re about sixty days out till release day, and 100 days until Halloween. I hope you’re as excited for both of these as I am. And in the meantime, I hope to have more stuff, including lists of good movies for Halloween and haunted places to visit, very soon.
Until next time, my Followers of Fear, and pleasant nightmares.
Some of you may remember that, for most of 2023, I was in what I called The Great Editing. It was a phase where, except for the occasional short story, I did nothing but editing. Mostly stuff related to Hannah and Other Stories‘s first time out, but a few other stories I was editing. When it was done, I hoped to do nothing but write original stories for a long, long while.
Well, man (or whatever entity I am) plans, and God (or whatever entity runs this universe) laughs.
Because I did write a few original short stories last year. And then I wrote The Shape of Evil, which took up half the year. And then I did another couple of stories. Then I did an edit of The Shape of Evil, followed by edits of the stories that were going into Symphony of Walpurgis. Followed by one original story, and then another edit of The Shape of Evil in time for StokerCon. Then I edited stories for Hannah‘s re-release. And then I edited a novella while also writing an essay (which I will likely have to edit soon before I can submit it).
So yeah. I’m in the Second Great Editing. I thought the first one was the editing to end all editings, but I guess a second one was just inevitable! I set myself up for that with the choices I made. And now I’m suffering through it. And it will likely set up the future of my career for decades to come.
Okay, enough with the World War II joke. Point is, I’m stuck in this Second Great Editing. And with two more novellas, that essay, and a short story to edit (plus another novella which needs serious rewrites), I’m likely going to be stuck in it for a while. Possibly till next year, if you can believe it! (Some of these stories will need to be edited again once I have beta readers look them over, after all.)
I’ll hopefully have news to share about this soon.
But you know, it’s not the worst thing. Yeah, except for that essay, I’m mostly putting original works on the back burner until I can get through editing all of these stories that I’ve let sit for so goddamn long. And I really have some new work I want to throw myself into!
But like I said in the WWII joke, I think all this editing is going to have an effect on my writing career. And unlike WWII, the effect will hopefully be positive:
I can’t really get into it right now, but I’m making progress with finding a home for The Shape of Evil. People are reading and enjoying Symphony, and people are getting excited for the return of Hannah and Other Stories. And I hope these four novellas will be published together as a collection. I think this essay, once edited, will make a great entry into a magazine or essay collection. And that short story is rough, but I think it’ll be quite spooky once it’s ready for readers’ eyes.
So, I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing: working on these stories so I can get them to you and, if I’m lucky, maybe write full time someday. I’m working hard to make those goals happen.
That being said, once I’m out of this Second Great Editing, I’m going to dive headfirst into some new stories. You can bet your ass on that!
(I’ll also finish my mummy novel Crawler and that witchy novella I was working on at the beginning of the year. I hate leaving things unfinished. Especially when I think they’ll be amazing once they’re done.)
One last thing, my Followers of Fear: this weekend is the Columbus Book Festival. This annual festival is full of amazing writers, vendors, and entertainers, and my fellow Ohio HWA members and I will have a booth there as well. So, if you’re in central Ohio this weekend, July 12 and 13, 2025, please head to the Main Library and Topiary Park in downtown Columbus. I would love to see you.
And if you can’t stop by but still want to support me, you can check out my work. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, there’s something for every horror fan, so why not grab a book and take a look? There’s even some free stuff. I’ll include a link to my books page below.
And if you like what you read, please leave a review. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and other readers in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.
The folks of StokerCon waiting for the Final Frame competition to start.
Here’s a riddle for you: what took place in Connecticut last week, had nearly 800 people in attendance, and I was among the attendees? StokerCon! Yes, last week, horror writers from around the world descended upon Stamford, Connecticut. There, we had panels, a short film competition, and our annual awards show, the Bram Stoker Awards, noting superior achievement in horror from the previous calendar year.
(There was also apparently dripping goo and weird liminal spaces out of the Backrooms in the hotel, and somehow, I missed both! I’m annoyed about that, especially the weird liminal space. That would make a great YouTube video!)
As I said in a previous post, my goal for this StokerCon was to level up my writing career and get that much closer to writing full time. This would be achieved by going to panels that I thought would help me reach that goal, being on my first ever panel, and, of course, pitching The Shape of Evil to agents and editors. (Plus meeting new people whom I could network with, but I try to make that more about making new friends than trying to make new business connections.) Did I accomplish my goals? Well, let’s talk about the con and we’ll see.
Hanging with Logan Johnson, one of the organizers of this year’s StokerCon, the moderator on my panel, and a new friend, at the banquet cocktail hour.
Seeing all my friends (meeting new ones). One of my favorite things to do at StokerCon is just to see all my horror-writing friends. Many of us only know each other through social media, so it’s nice to meet in person or to catch up with one another when the last time we saw each other could be a year or two ago. So, of course, I did plenty of that. The hotel had a lobby and a restaurant/bar, so outside of panels, we would gather there or on the second floor (that was where most of the con stuff happened) and just talk. We catch up, discuss our lives and our projects, and just shoot the shit. It’s lovely!
Plus, there’s always new people to meet. I actually got to know quite a few people whom I’d never met before, and it was fun to ask how they were enjoying the con and what they were working on or up to with their horror writing careers. Obviously, some were already well-known within the community, but most were just like me: working stiffs who enjoy horror and hope to make our marks in the genre. I’ve connected with a lot of these people now, and I’m hopeful we can continue to be friends and support each other as we work on our stories.
Going to panels. As I said, with a few notable exceptions, the panels I went to were ones I thought would be helpful for me as I move forward in my writing career. This included a panel on getting your stories adapted for film (it nearly happened once to me, so I thought I’d get some tips in case it happened again), and on how to get along with others as a professional. This one was particularly important to me, because being on the spectrum, I often feel like everyone but me was given a rule book on social interaction at birth and I have a lot of catching up to do. I actually brought this up during the Q&A section at the end of the panel, and what I should do in case I made a mistake. The answers I received were very reassuring. Not just to me, but, as I learned afterwards, to others in the audience who also were neurodivergent and felt the same way. I even got thanked a few times for bringing the topic up, which surprised me but also made me glad I asked.
As for the other panels I went to, one was about a Jewish writer who, while not a horror writer, had some dark themes in some of his work (I’m going to have to read that at some point), and a panel on using public domain characters and stories in horror (as someone who’s seen the Winnie the Pooh and Steamboat Willie horror films, I couldn’t resist). All in all, they were very educational, and I’m glad I went to them.
The signature scavenger hunt. As you might expect, I went a little crazy in the dealer room and bought way too many books. One of the books was The Rack, edited by Tom Deady, which is pictured above. It’s an anthology of stories inspired by those vintage horror paperback covers from the 70s and 80s. I bought it directly from the editor, Tom Deady, in the dealer room, and he signed it. And then I ran into one of the writers in the anthology, Erick Nunnally, a little while after. On a spur of the moment, I asked him to sign the book where his story began, which he did. And then he suggested I get the other authors in the book who were in attendance at StokerCon to sign. Which I did.
Ultimately, I think I managed to get half the authors to sign their stories. Most of those were done during the Mass Author Signing, where you can go around a big room and get your books signed by the authors who wrote them all at once. That was fun, because I also had them sign other books they’d written I’d bought, and then got signatures from other authors whose books I had copies of. The rest were just during random meetings during the con, and they were always happy to sign.
So yeah, I spent a good portion of StokerCon on a bit of a scavenger hunt, but it was still a lot of fun, and I only missed three of the authors who were in attendance (maybe next year?). And now, I have a cool knickknack in my personal library, which I’m currently reading through and loving! So, no regrets whatsoever.
From left to right: Rob Costello, Gaby Triana, Tamika Thompson, myself, Aaron Dries, Rae Knowles, and Logan Johnson.
Being on my first live panel. I’ve done a few StokerCon panels in the past, but they were always pre-recorded on Zoom for the virtual audiences. And while that is great, I’ve always wanted to tackle being on a live one. Not only did I get to do just that last week, but it was on a topic I am passionate about: Authentic Representation in Horror, which was about including marginalized communities and voices in horror and how to do so. And wow, did a lot of people show up! By the end, nearly all the seats were taken. I guess other people wanted to talk about this as well.
To say the least, the conversations were illuminating. I even had a few moments where I was like, “I never thought of that.” Honestly, I want to give this panel its own blog post, so I’ll stop there, but I’ll say this: it was great being on a panel like that. I look forward to doing it again someday soon.
The pitches. I’m sure a few of you skipped ahead just to find out how this went. Yes, during StokerCon’s annual session dedicated to connecting authors with agents and editors, I did get to pitch The Shape of Evil. And you know what? I got results. Three agents and one editor asked me to send them part or all of The Shape of Evil, which I did on Monday after taking a little time to recover from all the travel (and that traveling is worth a blog post on its own).
To say the least, I am beyond happy about this result. It went way better than I thought it would go, even with practicing pitches beforehand (always recommended), and I am hopeful that at least one of them will want to help me get The Shape of Evil published. I’ll likely know something by the end of the summer. And, of course, if it all goes well, I’ll be sure to let you know.
***
Ultimately, StokerCon was an amazing time for me. Sure, this year’s hotel was weird, but I had fun with friends, accomplished my goals, and made sure to celebrate everyone else’s accomplishments with them. And next year, we’re doing it again: at the end of the awards banquet, it was announced that, to control costs and to ensure StokerCon continues to go in a direction that’s as good as possible for as many people as possible, it’ll be in Pittsburgh for the next two years.
Obviously, I’m stoked, since that means I can drive there. In fact, I’ve already bought my ticket! And next year will be the 10th annual StokerCon, so it should be extra special. (Yeah, I thought it’d been around for longer, too. Color us both surprised.)
Members of HWA Ohio at StokerCon. I have a feeling next year, we’re going to have a much bigger showing.
I wonder what will happen. Will I sit on another panel or two? Do a reading? Somehow get on the ballot and get to be a nominee? I guess we’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll work on getting my stories out there and meeting new readers and having plenty to talk about when I drive to Pittsburgh next year.
In the meantime, I’ll have a new blog post out Monday, so keep an eye out for that. And until then, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and have a wonderful start to your summer. I know I am.
Hello, my Followers of Fear. I’m back from StokerCon and I’m sure you’re expecting me to go into detail about that. I plan to do so, believe me, but I need a little more time to process what’s happened, so I won’t be doing that this post.*
Instead, I want to talk about something else this weekend, which hasn’t happened in a long time: I got new fan art!
I’ve long believed that fan art is one of the most honest expressions of love from a fan to a creator, so I’m very touched to have received a new piece. This piece comes from Louise C, a fellow horror writer and a Follower of Fear I met over on BlueSky. She’s been reading several of my stories since we met, and I’m glad not only to have her among the Followers, but that she gave me this amazing piece of fan art, which was intended as a birthday present for me (my birthday was quite recent, if you didn’t know).
Not only that, but she had the fan art created by a commissioned artist! Yeah, really. According to Louise, she somehow won a free commissioned art piece and decided to use it to give me a birthday present. I told her I was really flattered and that, if she wanted to do this, I would be honored. I also told her she could choose whatever the fan art was of.
The result is below.
Pretty awesome, isn’t it? I love the expression on the character’s face. So cocky and full of pride and self-assurance.
If you don’t recognize the character, it’s the Akolouthos, the master of the dragon bats in my novelette “Disillusionment and Trauma Sometimes Go Hand-in-Hand.” He’s described as an extremely tall man of eight or nine feet, with yellow eyes and teeth and wearing a long black coat and broad-brimmed hat. And, as you can guess from one of my stories, he’s not exactly human.
You know, this isn’t the first time that this particular story, which was one of the previously published ones in Symphony for Walpurgis, has had fan art created for it. When I first came up with dragon bats (they came before the story), Iseult Murphy, another friend, fellow writer, and Follower of Fear, created the fan art you see below. It was the first time I ever received fan art, and spurred me to write a story about dragon bats.
I’m glad to know the story is still scaring enough people to generate new fan art.
Thank you again, Louise, for this deliciously scary fan art. It’s such a wonderful birthday present, and there’s a good chance it’s going to end up on my wall, in the spot where my favorite pieces of fan art go. If it does, I’ll be sure to send you a photo.
And, because I would be remiss if I didn’t do this, if you would like to read “Disillusionment and Trauma Sometimes Go Hand-in-Hand” and see this villain in action, you can grab a copy of Symphony for Walpurgis using the links below. It’s the second story in the collection. And if you end up liking what you read, please leave me a review and let me know what you think! After all, reviews help both me and other readers in the long run.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time (which will hopefully be later this week), good night and pleasant nightmares.
*I will say, however, that I did get a chance to pitch The Shape of Evil to some agents and editors. And I got instructions from four of them on how to send the manuscript to them. Which, yeah, is great, no doubt. However, if one of them wants to work with me to get The Shape of Evil published, that’s when we’ll have a real celebration.
All you need to do is turn on the TV or go online to see that, particularly in the US, we’re in scary times. This is the first year in several years where the White House or the federal government as a whole haven’t acknowledged Pride Month, and governments around the world are rolling back rights for the LGBT community, especially for trans people. In the past two months, there has been a huge rise in the number of violent attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, with the most recent being the attack on a run to bring awareness to hostages held captive in Gaza a week ago today.
And at the time I’m writing this, National Guardsmen and Marines are being forced at the direction of the President to attack people in LA protesting the ICE raids on immigrant communities.
And this is just a fraction of all the horrible things that have been happening to marginalized communities lately. Honestly, it’s not hard to feel afraid. I’ve certainly felt quite nervous on more days than one, especially after the attack at the Jewish Capital Museum last month. It doesn’t help that some of these actions seem to come from national governments, like the rollback of federal protections and celebrations on marginalized communities, or the UK Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender identity in April.
And I know that, with how scary it is lately, it feels very easy and somewhat natural to retreat into yourself and distract yourself with only books and TV and things that make you feel good. And I totally get that; there are days when I want to do nothing but watch anime or read books. And if you need to take care of your mental health, you should totally do that. DO NOT ignore your own well-being.
But if writing horror has taught me anything (and it’s taught me many things), it’s that we have to stand up to what scares us if we want to not only fight back but move forward. In fact, horror often teaches me and my fellow horror fans how to deal with current events, because what scares us, including in current events, often makes it into our stories. So, we need to stand up to what’s happening right now and for what we believe in.
So, what can we do? Well, some years ago, I heard a Christian minister say this during an event to commemorate Martin Luther King day: “Sometimes, the least you can do, and often what can say the most, in hard and scary times, is to be there and to ask if someone needs a hand.” Those words have stuck with me through the years, and I think that, right now, that’s a good place to start. Sometimes, just showing up and saying you support them and want to help can do wonders!
In fact, I know this from personal experience. Last week, after the attack in Boulder, some of my non-Jewish friends posted on social media their condemnation of the attacks, and how committing violence, especially against innocent people, was never okay. After hearing condemnations from mainly my fellow Jews and not enough from outside the community, seeing that support helped alleviate so much of my negative feelings.
So, at the very least, show up. Whether that be by showing up at an event or making your voice known online, asking how you can help can help those in marginalized communities feel that much safer and supported, and give them the strength to fight back against oppression. And if you feel safe enough to, please show up to events, reach out to your elected representatives, or sign your name to petitions. And,, of course, donate to organizations that help out with these causes. Doing so may feel like small gestures, but they can have huge impacts. Hell, during the first Trump administration, lawyers at the DOJ did confirm that the protests against certain policies did have an effect on what actions the administration took during the rest of the term.
So, don’t be afraid to show up and to ask what people need. Your little act may end up having the greatest impact on both someone else’s life, and on the world as a whole.
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ve been wanting to post something like this for a while now, but what’s happening now really made it a priority. Honestly, I wish I could do more, like that nationwide protest on Saturday against the military parade and a certain someone acting like a king. But as you know, I’ll be at StokerCon during that time. At the very least, I’ll be on a panel about including marginalized communities in horror and pitching a novel that puts my money where my mouth is. So, at the very least, I’m helping out in that way.
Anyway, until next time, my Followers of Fear. I hope you’ll take the message of this post to heart. Stay safe out there while still helping where and when you can. And until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.
Lately, my life has been nothing but growing excitement. Well, that’s not entirely true: there’s a bunch of other stuff. But work has been getting better lately after several months of insanity, and I’ve been balancing my life very well, which has allowed me to notice the excitement more clearly than if life was too busy and I was super exhausted.
And it’s not surprising that life feels like it’s nothing but excitement. For one thing, StokerCon is fast approaching, and there’s plenty I’m looking forward to with that. For one thing, as you know, I’ll be pitching The Shape of Evil to agents and editors there, and I’ve done the majority of my prep in that respect (a friend of mine who will also be pitching, and we’ll be practicing our pitches together as we get closer). Not only that, but I’m involved with a couple of panels, which I wasn’t the last time I went.
One is a virtual panel, “Understanding Historical Horror,” which I was the moderator of. I say “was,” because we filmed the panel ahead of time. As I suggested the panel (I blame “Sinners” inspiring me), I was asked to moderate and film it. And it went well! We had some great panelists–Philip Fracassi, John Langan, Alma Katsu, and John Kachuba–and we had an enjoyable hour and a half of filming and talking about historical horror: what it was, how to go about writing it, and the ethics of writing it. It will premiere during StokerCon, and will be accessible for those attending virtually.
The second one is “Authentic Representation in Horror,” which will focus on including marginalized communities in the horror community and in horror stories. As you probably know, that’s a subject near and dear to my heart, so I’m eager to talk about it with some like-minded writers in front of an audience. We’ve already spent some time emailing each other, suggesting topics for discussion and what we need as individuals to be more comfortable. That panel will also be livestreamed, so we’ll hopefully get a lot of people tuning in online as well as attending in person.
(And hopefully the anti-woke police won’t show up and cause a problem, lol.)
Add in getting to see so many friends, and it’s no wonder I’m excited for StokerCon!
Pretty much how I feel these days.
But StokerCon aside, there are other reasons I’m excited. For example, Symphony for Walpurgis is doing well. It’s only been out a little over three weeks since my latest collection released, but it’s been selling well and a lot of people have been telling me they’ve been enjoying it or expressing interest in getting copies of their own. One person in the horror community I really admire actually reached out to me yesterday to ask if she could have a review copy, which made my day! I’ll be seeing her at StokerCon, so I’ll give her a copy then.
And then there’s so much more! For one thing, we’re in the middle of Memorial Day weekend, and I’m already enjoying all the things I’m planning on doing this weekend, including getting some much needed sleep and doing a lot of projects I’ve put off till now. In fact, I’ve already made some progress with those projects, and I’ll tell you more about them when the time is right.
My Tarot cards say that for June, all troubles will pass, and lots of good things will happen in time. I can’t wait to see if that comes true!
And my birthday is coming up, which is another reason to get excited. I’m already arranging to get a nice massage on the day of, eat ice cream, and hang out with friends (not necessarily in that order and definitely not at the same time). It’ll be a nice celebration of my life and my inevitable inching towards death before heading off to a certain convention I’ve mentioned a hundred times already.
And a hundred other things are happening or will happen that just get me excited and full of zest for life and so glad I’m at this point in my life. Hell, even my Tarot cards seem to have caught something, because lately the majority of my readings have been super-positive! And if there’s something more to the cards than just pure randomness, then that’s significant!
And I’m looking forward to seeing how all these things play out. Whether it’s StokerCon and what I plan to do there, or the Doctor Who season finale, or even just trying out a new recipe this weekend. It’s nice to not only have so much to look forward to, but also to experience it when it arrives.
Makes me wonder what else I’ll get excited about as the stuff I mentioned above happens. I guess we, and especially I, will find out soon enough!
Me, my grandfather Seymour Ungar of blessed memory, and my dad Rabbi Michael Ungar at the English Department’s Graduation Breakfast.
I did promise I would write about this in its own post. And I do my best to keep my promises.
This past Saturday, May 10th, as well as being the Halfway to Halloween Expo in Ann Arbor and the third anniversary of when The Pure World Comes was released, it was also the ten-year anniversary of my college graduation. When I became an alumnus of The Ohio State University.
Wow. Ten years. It’s kind of crazy to believe. Some of you were following me even back then, reading as I made my way through my college experience, the highs and lows and everything in-between. I remember it being a very momentous occasion. All of my immediate family, as well as some of my grandparents who were close enough to make it, came to see me make that walk. I remember the head of our alumni association at the time making a speech, none of which I remember, as well as the former Secretary of Health and Human Services speaking as well (and someone booing her, which felt tacky AF). And I remember going down from the stands, getting my diploma, and then coming out feeling different. When I reached my apartment to change, I knew I was different.
I was a graduate.
Not even a year later, when I went on campus for a job interview, I felt so out of place walking among all those students. An adult among relative children. Ridiculous, because some of them were my age or older, and there wasn’t much separating us, but still.
And now, ten years later, how do I feel?
Well, obviously I’m glad I went to college, and that I went to the college I did (Go Bucks!). Sure, there are some things I would have done differently if given the chance to do them over, but I feel like most of my experiences there, positive or negative, made me into the person I am today.
But do I feel any momentous feelings regarding the passage of time? Or that I want to go back to my student days?
My sister Adi and I after I’ve gotten my diploma. And I’m about to go on the craziest journey I’ve yet to experience in my short life.
Not really, no. In fact, when I remembered on Saturday that today was the ten-year anniversary of that momentous occasion, I didn’t really feel anything. I just noted it like how one notes that it’s a bit warmer than the day before, or that I need to put something on the shopping list before I go shopping on Monday. It was a fact, nothing more. And as for whether I want to go back…well, whenever I have dreams about being back in school, no matter what grade I’m in or which school it is, I’m always annoyed about the situation. So I’d say going back feels more like a hassle than a chance to relive my glory days.
I’m not entirely sure why that is. Perhaps that’s because so much has happened in the ten years since, personally and on a global scale. It could be that either the world started becoming a darker place to be, or I started realizing the true extent of its darkness, or both, after college, and that dampens the feelings a bit. Maybe my sense of nostalgia only extends to formative media that I experienced at a certain age, rather than phases of my life.
Most likely, it has to do with not just being a different person than I was then, but the kind of person I am. I’m always looking forward, rather than looking back. Rather than focus on what happened or what I wish happened, I prefer to look into the future and daydream of what might happen or what I hope will happen.
But hey, maybe that’s all for the best. After all, there’s a time and place for everything. There was a time when college was one of the main focuses of my life, and that time has long ended. And like I said, I still have fond memories of what I experienced during those four years. Not to mention knowledge from my classes and life lessons that I’ve carried with me through the years. And I will always be grateful for that.
I think I’m a good example of OSU’s motto in action. At least, I hope so.
I just don’t want to focus on what was and what could have been. Instead, I want to focus on what is now and what could be.
Which, in its way, is probably a good thing. And I bet my old alma mater would agree. After all, Ohio State’s motto is disciplina in civitatem, or “education for citizenship.” And I got the education I needed to make my way as an adult and a citizen in this crazy world, trying to improve it and eke out a living as best I can. And if I’m not dying to go back or constantly wistful for my college days, then I consider it a job well done.
How do you feel about your college days, Followers of Fear? Do you miss them? What do you think and how do you feel when you look back at them? Let’s discuss.
It’s that time again. No, not the time to promote my work or to make bizarre faces. One of those will come later. No, it’s time to talk about the events I’ll be doing in the near future! As you know, I try to go to as many events as possible. It’s a great way to meet new readers, and once or twice, I even get a few readers who come with the hope of meeting me in-person. So, I occasionally post updates on which events I’ll be at, in case any of my Followers of Fear want to stop by and see me.
So, without further ado, let’s get talking about the events I’ll be attending over the next few months.
First, I’ll be at the Halfway to Halloween Expo at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor, MI on Saturday, May 10, 2025. This is a huge gathering of horror fans, with food trucks, a hearse show, plenty of vendors, and even a haunted house attraction you can go through! I’ll be there selling books (including my new book, Symphony for Walpurgis) and doing Tarot readings, and you can buy tickets on the day of, so if you can stop by, please do. I would love to see you.
Fast forward to June, and I’ll be heading to Stamford, CT for StokerCon from June 12-15! If you’re unfamiliar, StokerCon is the premier convention for horror writers, hosted by the Horror Writers Association, and I’m going there this year to see all my horror-writing and horror-loving friends. And if all goes well, I’ll also be sitting on some panels and maybe even pitching The Shape of Evil to editors and agents. And if you want to come and hang out, I would love to see you.
A couple of weekends later, I’ll be at the Big Ohio Book Con in Medina, OH on June 28-29. It’s a relatively new con sponsored by Black Cat Books & Oddities, but from what I hear, they had a big turnout their first year, and it looks to grow, so I’m looking forward to selling books and doing Tarot readings there. If you’re interested, please stop by. Obviously, I would love to see you.
And last, but definitely not least, HWA Ohio will be having a booth at the Columbus Book Festival in downtown Columbus, OH on July 12-13! This is a humongous book festival, with over 40,000 guests streaming through the downtown library and Topiary Park last year. And with hundreds of authors, booths for nearly every imaginable interest, performances, food trucks, and so much more, you wouldn’t want to miss out on it this year. Plus, me and my fellow Ohio horror writers are holding a booth together, so you’re bound to find something there if you visit. So, why not stop by? All of us would love to see you.
And that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If there are any more events I’ll be at, I’ll be sure to let you know. And, of course, I’ll be sure to remind you prior to the events themselves. Any more than that, however, and I worry I’ll get annoying about it.
But if you’re unable to stop by any of them but you still want to support me, or you’re just looking for a good horror story, I’ll leave a link to my book page below. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and Jewish exorcisms, I have something for every horror fan, so be sure to check them out. And if you like what you read, please leave a review somewhere so I (and other readers) know what you think.
That’s all for now my Followers of Fear, but I’ll be back soon (you can probably guess why). Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!
Rami Ungar The Writer 