Archive for the ‘Progress Report’ Category

“Hannah:” First Editing Notes Received

Posted: March 6, 2022 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
6
The placeholder cover I made for Hannah and Other Stories. I can’t wait to show you all the official cover someday soon.

Well, the story I was writing for that one anthology will have to be put on pause. Good thing I don’t have to submit till June.

So, as many of you are aware, back in October I signed with BSC Publishing Group to release a collection of short stories. The collection is going to be called Hannah and Other Stories and will consist of seven short stories, novelettes and novellas, including: Hannah, which follows two ghost hunters whose latest investigation has consequences for multiple people; The Autopsy Kid and Doctor Sarah, about a young girl’s relationship with a budding psychopath; and Poor, Unfortunate Souls, in which a rave underneath the streets of Paris receives an unexpected and horrifying guest.

Anyway, since I signed that contract, some time has passed, and I’ve been writing and editing stories like crazy so I don’t get rusty. And today, I finally received the first round of edits. And it looks like I have a lot of work to do!

Man, I wish all those edits I’d done back in spring and summer last year were enough to spruce up the stories. But I guess I wasn’t so lucky.

On the bright side, I still have some pretty clear memories of when I edited Rose back in 2018 and 2019. That was the last time I edited an entire book with a publisher, and it was quite the learning experience. Given what I remember, I will take it story by story, part by part, and try to identify the same issues my editors did, as well as using their suggestions to improve the story.

I will also make sure to take care of my mental and emotional health. It’s not something that’s talked about enough in the writing community, but this path we walk takes a toll on us writers. And that’s especially true when it comes to publishing an entire book! When I got the first edits back on Rose, for example, I went into a tailspin of anxiety. There were a lot of issues with the novel, a couple of which led to me rewriting around two-thirds of the book. Needless to say, I was upset with myself that I missed so many issues and worried I wasn’t going to be able to fix them. It took a lot of work for me to calm down again and start to work on the book again.

This time around, I’ll be better prepared. As I said before, I’ll take each story one at a time, and I’ll try not to let the issues with each story get under my skin. After all, not only have I been through this ordeal before, but I wrote these stories already and the publisher thought they were decent enough in their imperfect state that they wanted to publish them. If I was able to do that, I can edit the stories to a state where they can be released.

Plus, I have a support network I can rely on if things get to be too much, and I’ve already ordered my comfort anime from the library (nothing like a Sailor Moon binge to make you feel refreshed). Add in some ice cream and the occasional pizza delivery, and I’ll be fine.

Anyway, I’ll keep you all updated on the progress of the book, as well as my other projects. I may also write a post on maintaining your mental health during the publishing process at some point. In the meantime, if you’re looking forward to Hannah and can’t wait to read it, or you need something to read in the meantime, I’ll include links to Rose and my other books down below. Who knows? You might just find your new favorite horror story down below. Let me know what you think.

And please also check out the anthology Dead of Winter from the Dublin Creative Writers Cooperative and Spark Street Media, which contains the story “Azazel Dances” by myself and Richard Gerlach. It’s a great story inside a great anthology, so why not check it out?

And with that, I’ll take my leave. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Dead of Winter: Amazon

The Quiet Game: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo.

Snake: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible, B&N

Agoraphobia: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

Mother of the King: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada

The Pure World Comes: Readict app (free with ads)

The First Story of 2022 is Finished!

Posted: February 3, 2022 in Novella, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

I would say pop some champagne, but I decided to abstain from alcohol this month. It’s healthy to do every now and then. I think I’ll stick to tea instead.

Okay, enough weird asides. As of this evening, I’ve finished a novella I started working on back in December, making this my first completed story of the year. The story is called “They Sleep Within the Rock,” it’s exactly one-hundred pages and is about twenty-six thousand, four hundred words. Which is just a bit shorter than I thought it would be.

As for the plot, the story is about a group of white supremacists that try to establish a “whites-only enclave” in the American West, only to find out that the land they’re on has a history to it, and may be cursed. The story was inspired by a news article I read about white supremacists trying to buy up land and housing in rural areas to establish their own mini ethnostates. Yes, that’s something they’re trying to do, and I hope they’re never successful at it.

Anyway, I read that article and thought, “I can write a story about that. There are so many ways to make a story about people trying to establish a place like this scary.” It took some brainstorming, but I managed to come up with something that I liked and, over three months, I got it written out. And I found it quite therapeutic, as well. There’s been such a rise in anti-Semitism in the US and worldwide lately, and the horrors reigned on my people, such as last month’s synagogue hostage situation in Texas, have been rising as well. It was nice to be able to visit some horror back.

That being said, I don’t know if the story is any good. It was therapeutic and I enjoyed writing it, but that’s no mark of a good story. Plus, I’m sure there are plenty of things that could use improvement in the story. Perhaps there’s even a need to rewrite certain parts.

Well, I’ll try to edit it later this year if I can. I say “later this year” and “if I can” because I’ll soon be editing the stories for my upcoming collection Hannah and Other Stories, so that’s obviously going to take up some time. And after so much editing, I may just want to write rather than edit another novella. But hey, at least whenever I do return to it, I’ll be able to see it with fresh eyes. That’ll be helpful, for sure.

So, what’s next? I think I’ll take the weekend to relax and refuel my creativity. I have an important blog post I want to put out before Valentine’s Day, so that’ll take priority. And I want to edit that superhero horror story I wrote last year and see if I can find a home for it. And after that…well, we’ll see what’s going on then.

But for now, though, I think I’ll hit the hay. Good night, my Followers of Fear. I hope wherever you are, the winter storm isn’t causing you too much trouble, and that you have pleasant nightmares.

“That Which Cannot Be Undone” is Fully Funded!!!

Posted: January 24, 2022 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

I should be in bed now, but I can’t! I’m too energized, too excited, too joyous! That Which Cannot Be Undone, the anthology my friends and I have been trying to create, is fully funded!

So, if you’re new around here and have never heard of this anthology, then let me first say hello. I’m happy to have you reading my blog and showing interest in my career as a writer. Secondly, over the course of the pandemic, some of my fellow Ohio horror writers and I came together to form our own publishing press, Cracked Skull Press, with the goal of putting out an anthology of stories that emphasized writers from our state. Furthermore, the stories would all be set in Ohio and would revolve around the theme “that which cannot be undone,” which became our eventual title.

To fund this project, we launched a Kickstarter campaign back in late November, and worked our butts off to get noticed and to get people to pledge to support us. I’m proud to say, with four days left of the campaign, we are fully funded and have exceeded our funding goal!

There are so many people I want to thank. To the people who pledged, of course, you get a huge thank you. We literally could not be doing this without your help. An even bigger thanks to the people from this blog, my Followers of Fear, who pledged their support. It means a lot that you support my projects and my career, and I’m so happy to have you supporting this one. To the writers who said they would contribute works to our anthology if we were fully funded, and to the many individuals who posted and promoted the Kickstarter, we also extend a big thank you. We can’t wait to showcase your stories and list your contributions in the Donor section. And to the other members of Cracked Skull Press, Ray Pantle, Randall Drum, and David Day, I’m so glad to be working with you and can’t thank you enough for the hard work you put into this project. There will be more hard work from here on out, but I’m sure we’ll be up to the challenge.

And if you still want to be part of this project in some way, there are still a few days left of the anthology. You can still pledge your support and thereby help us in case we encounter further costs to this anthology. Or if you’ve already pledged, you can increase how much you pledge before the end of the campaign. You can do so using this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

I’m so excited right now, my Followers of Fear. I can’t wait to tell you what’s coming next with this project and our eventually publication in October 2022. As with all my other projects, I’ll make sure to keep you updated on this one, right up until it’s out in print/ebook.

And yes, don’t worry, this won’t be the last project from Cracked Skull Press. We’ll have plenty of ideas for further projects. Keep an eye out and get ready for great stuff on the horizon.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

“That Which Cannot Be Undone:” One Week Left in the Campaign!!!

Posted: January 20, 2022 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

I know I said I’m trying to cut back on this self-promoting stuff, but you have to admit this is a good enough reason to post.

So, as you all probably know by now, some writer friends of mine and I formed a publishing press, Cracked Skull Press, and are doing a Kickstarter campaign for our first anthology, “That Which Cannot Be Undone.” Every story within the anthology will be set in Ohio, written by Ohio horror writers, and center around the theme “that which cannot be undone.” If we make our funding goal, we plan to release it in October.

And guess what? As of today, seven days before the end of the campaign, we’re just $999 away from making our funding goal! I know! You cannot imagine how excited we are by reaching this milestone.

Of course, we need your help to reach the finish line, so we would be honored if you would pledge your support to the anthology. Folks who do will be listed in the Donors section at the end of the book, but you can also get an electronic and print copy of the anthology sent free of charge; signed copies of books by the contributing authors; amazing swag, including Ohio horror-themed Tarot cards (you’ll plotz when you see who’s on the Death and Devil cards); and for our highest pledges, you could come to our release party with a plus one! You can use the link here to contribute: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

And if you’ve already pledged and want to pledge more, you can use the “manage pledge” feature on Kickstarter to increase your pledge. Just saying.

Anyway, thank you all for pledging and sharing the Kickstarter campaign. Working on this anthology has been such a journey and we’re so glad to see that it looks like we might reach our funding goal. And we at Cracked Skull Press know we wouldn’t get this far without you. We can’t wait to show you your support and faith was well worth it.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I just wanted to log on and let you all know where the campaign stands. You’ll hear from me again about this on the results of the campaign. In the meantime, one more thing I want to mention:

A week from this Saturday, January 29th, 2022, I’ll be at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ohio for the Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo. It’s a convention full of ghost hunters, psychics, paranormal enthusiasts, and one or two authors like me, which you know is going to be fun! I’ll be there signing books and doing Tarot readings, so I hope to see you there!

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, pleasant nightmares!

Nothing in Particular Today, But…

Posted: January 15, 2022 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

I’ve been wanting to post something for the past several days, but I have nothing to really post about. But I’ve been getting antsy and current events are not helping (type “Texas synagogue” into Google and you’ll understand why), so I’m blogging about things going on in my life. If only just to distract myself and to let you all know I’m still alive.

And if you Googled what’s happening in Texas, please pray to the deity of your choice that everything turns out alright.

So, in my personal life, things aren’t too bad. Work was a little crazy during the first week of January (which is pretty much par for the course), but this week things got calmer, so I didn’t feel like tearing my hair out. And all month, I’ve been looking for a new apartment to move into when my lease ends this summer. I’ve got a few possibilities already scouted out and am on the waitlist for, so hopefully I’ll have a better idea on where I’ll be living soon.

On the writing front, things have been crazy! The work for the Kickstarter campaign has taken up quite a bit of my time (more on that in a bit). However, I have found time to write, or at least attempt to write. As I said in a previous post, I’ve been working on a story where I terrorize neo-Nazis, and that’s been going well. Actually, while finishing up the most recent chapter of that, I managed to fix a few problems with the logic of the story and cut out a superfluous character. It’ll still take me some time to get the first draft finished, but I think it won’t be too bad once it is. It’ll be in need of a lot of editing, but it won’t be half-bad.

On another note, the Kickstarter for “That Which Cannot Be Undone,” the horror anthology I’m helping to create, is 77% funded! Yeah, pretty amazing, huh? We think we can reach our full funding by the time the campaign ends in twelve days, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure that happens. In the spirit of that, I’m offering up signed copies of my books Rose, Snake and The Quiet Game for people who pledge to the campaign. So if you want to read some of my works (signed, no less), and help support the career of me and fellow Ohio horror authors, this is a great opportunity to do so. You can use this link to pledge: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

77% and counting. Why not join us?

As for the other projects, the paperback and ebook editions of The Pure World Comes is on schedule. I’ll be reaching out to a cover designer I’ve worked with before on the cover soon, and once I have that, I can start uploading/formatting the actual book on a publishing platform. And I’ll be starting work on Hannah and Other Stories soon, as well as following up on some submissions this weekend. With any luck, I’ll be able to post a real update on something soon.

Anything else? Oh yeah: in about two weeks, I’ll be driving over to Marietta, Ohio for the Hidden Marietta Paranormal Expo. It’ll take place on the 29th at the Lafayette Hotel, and I’ll be selling books and doing Tarot readings while there. Hope you can make it!

Well, that’s my update. I’m off to heat up dinner, watch a movie, and then do a late-night writing session. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and please pray for what’s happening in Texas.

“That Which Cannot Be Undone:” Halfway Through the Kickstarter Campaign

Posted: December 28, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to tell you a funny story from this weekend: so my youngest sister and I drove up to Cleveland to spend some quality time with my dad and stepmom. Since just about everything was closed due to COVID, we had a movie night and watched Freaky, which I mentioned in my review that my dad wanted to see. Unusual for him, seeing as he hates horror and only reads my work because it’s mine.

Anyway, we’re watching the movie, and in an early scene a girl is getting brutally murdered by the serial killer using a toilet seat. My dad is grossed out by the gore and turns to me, because I was singing the movie’s praises when it came up as a possible viewing choice, and says, “Rami, what the–?”

Just then, the shot changes from the girl getting murdered to two teens hooking up in the garage. We all burst out laughing at the perfect timing. Even my dad found it hilarious. And yes, he enjoyed the film, though he didn’t care for the gore.

Alright. So, as many of you are no doubt aware, I’m involved with a small publishing press, Cracked Skull Press, and we’re currently fundraising for our first anthology. That Which Cannot Be Undone: An Ohio Horror Anthology will be written entirely by authors based in or from Ohio, with their stories set in Ohio, and revolving around the theme “that which cannot be undone.” It looks to be an amazing anthology.

As I said, we’re fundraising for the anthology with a Kickstarter campaign, and we’re currently over 40% funded on this project. And as of today, we’re halfway through the campaign’s duration. It’ll come to an end on January 28th, 2022. And I’m asking you all to help us reach our goal by pledging your support. If you help us get to our goal, my friends and I will be able to put some amazing original short stories into the anthology. Doesn’t that sound like a ton of fun?

We’re working hard to make this anthology a success. I hope you’ll support us and even pledge to the campaign!

Plus, there are a number of perks to pledging to our campaign. Depending on the pledge you choose, you can get listed in the donor section of the book, as well as your very own e-book and paperback copy. Interested in a copy of a book from one of the authors? How about a special limited edition horror-themed candle? Or how about being included in a story by one of our authors? That’s right, you can be included as a character in a story by a great horror author! Doesn’t that sound like fun?

So, if you’re interested in supporting us in the creation of this anthology, you can check out the campaign, the various updates and the awesome pledge choices we have available using the link below. We’ve already announced some of the awesome authors we’ve brought on, and will be posting updates periodically as we get them. And whether or not you can pledge, we appreciate it if you can share news of the campaign on your own blogs or social media. The more people who know about the anthology, the more likely we are to make our goals, so every mention helps.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you’ll continue to support us as we work hard to make this anthology, and our dreams of writing terrifying stories, roaring successes. And if I don’t post anything new before the end of the week, I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May 2022 be leagues better than 2021 was.

Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and please get vaccinated so society can stop shutting down for indefinite periods of time every four to six months.

“That Which Cannot Be Undone:” The Crowdfunding Campaign is Live!!!

Posted: November 29, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

About two weeks ago, I posted that some friends/fellow Ohio horror authors and I had formed a small publishing press, Cracked Skull Press, with the goal of producing an anthology that highlights Ohio horror writers. (You can read that blog post here.) This anthology, “That Which Cannot Be Undone,” will be full of stories revolving around the theme “that which cannot be undone” (hence the title), set in Ohio, and, of course, written by Ohio horror writers.

Of course, these books don’t come out of nowhere, and that’s why we’re turning to you. We’re running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise the funds for production, paying the authors and the editor, and other costs. The total we’ll need is around ten thousand dollars, and if you pledge to help us, you can get some really awesome perks, including your own copy of the book. Some of them are even signed!

And, if we’re not able to make our crowdfunding goals, you won’t get charged! You only get charged if we make our goals.

All that being said, we really hope you will support this project. Ohio is mostly known for its sports teams and for being a swing state. Yet we have a strong community of horror writers, some of whom are award winners! Case in point, already signed onto this project are Bram Stoker-winning authors Lucy Snyder, Tim Waggoner, and Gary Braunbeck, and New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Megan Hart, all of whom are longtime Ohio residents. Not to mention lots of other writers that aren’t as well-known but have talent that deserves recognition.

Oh, and there’s this one guy named Rami Ungar. You might have heard of him? He’s okay, I guess. He deserves more recognition as well.

Anyway, supporting this campaign and this anthology will help shine a light on a group of horror writers who have plenty of stories to tell. Why not give them a spotlight and help contribute to Ohio horror?

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll include the link for the crowdfunding campaign below. I hope you’ll support our efforts and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish with that support. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and Happy Hanukkah!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

This, I Manifest

Posted: November 18, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

When I was in New Orleans a couple weeks ago, there was this voodoo shop on Bourbon Street I visited almost every night I was there. I did buy from that shop, but I also just liked looking around. There were so many cool things there: statues and masks, clothes, books, Tarot cards, candles, voodoo dolls, incense, and so much more! I’d have taken a photo if it were allowed. And one of the nights while I was there, I got a Tarot reading from one of their resident psychics/readers.

The reader, Eshu, had me follow him into the back room and pick out thirteen Tarot cards from a Thoth Tarot deck while I closed my eyes. I did so, picking out cards by trying to feel a tingling or heat or magnetic pull in my fingertips. And after I picked out my thirteen, he started reading what the cards had to say.

I can’t remember all that he said, because sadly the human memory doesn’t work like a video camera (what I wouldn’t do for it to do so when I want to), but I remember some specifics. For one thing, he said that I had a power within me, that he sensed that from when I stepped into the room, and that it was manifesting out in the real world. He also noted that this power came from darkness within, but it wasn’t evil or bad, and that it was leading to big things for me. Prominent cards, if I remember right, were the Fool and the Magician.

Could Hannah and Other Stories be evidence of something manifesting?

To me, in the moment, this made sense, and it still does. My writing career is going extremely well these days, and writing is a form of magic or power, as the Magician evidences. And if it’s not manifesting right now, with the many stories I’ve released this past year and the acceptance of Hannah and Other Stories for publication, I don’t know what is! That also plays into the Fool card, which represents a great opportunity or chance.

And what is horror writing if not taking a darkness that isn’t necessarily evil and manifesting it in the real world?

Don’t answer that, it was rhetorical.

In the two weeks or so since I got back from the Big Easy, a lot’s been going on. I’ve been editing a story for one anthology, the crowdfunding campaign for That Which Cannot Be Undone is about to launch and people are really showing interest (click here to learn more about that), I’ll likely be meeting with an editor soon from BSC Publishing Group to discuss Hannah, I’m on track to put out a paperback, ebook, and maybe even an audio book of The Pure World Comes, I was interviewed by the Columbus Jewish News (click here to read that article), and I may have had an idea for something I can release in the first half of 2022.

That last one came to me yesterday when I realized a short story I finished earlier this week had some similarities to another story I wrote this year. And I thought, Wouldn’t it be interesting if they were released together? I thought of a third story that might go well with them. and now this idea for a mini-collection of novelettes has sprung up. So who knows? Depending on a couple of things, I might be putting out three novelettes together.

So maybe I’m manifesting that power born of darkness within me, and maybe it’ll lead me to new heights in my writing career. Which, for a guy who tells people he’s an eldritch entity from another dimension, that’s something I’m happy with. Or the exact opposite could happen. I don’t know. I love using the cards, but I still have to remind myself they might just be fairy tales and hokum.

Still, with things going the way they are, with Hannah and That Which Cannot Be Undone and maybe even this novelette collection, I want to believe that Eshu’s cards were onto something. And that the Nine of Swords I’ve pulled from my readings these past two days, which represents anxiety, despair, and a sense of oppression, symbolizes what I’m putting into my readers rather than something I’m going to feel in the near future. We’ll see what happens.

Get these and other books this holiday season. And make sure to let the authors know what you think.

And while we wait to see what happens, you looking for something to read or for your horror-loving cousin? Then I have the books for you! Yes, I’m advertising my books. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Anyway, I’ve got a ton of stories available right now in paperback, ebook and even audio book, as well as stories in some great anthologies. You can check out the fantasy-horror novel Rose; the serial killer thriller Snake; my first collection, The Quiet Game; or the anthologies Into the Deep, The Nightmare Collective Part II, Dark Nature and The Jewish Book of Horror. I’ll leave links below.

And if you like what you read, leave a review online somewhere. That way I’ll know what you think and so will other readers.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to conjure new nightmares so I can keep manifesting that power from within. Until next time, pleasant nightmares!

The Quiet Game: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo.

Snake: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

Rose: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Audible, B&N

The Jewish Book of Horror: Amazon, B&N

Dark Nature: Amazon

Nightmare Collective Part 2: Amazon

Into the Deep: Amazon

Announcing “That Which Cannot Be Undone: An Anthology of Ohio Horror”

Posted: November 14, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

It’s time I tell you about something exciting. A project I’ve been working on in secret with my friends and fellow Ohio horror writers.

So, for a while now, my friends and I in the Ohio chapter of the Horror Writers Association have wanted to put together an anthology of Ohio horror and bring some attention to the writers here. I mean, we’ve got Bram Stoker nominees and winners here, for the love of God! But the HWA has its own anthologies and standards for those anthologies, so chapters can’t do their own anthologies under the HWA banner. The only solution was to either partner with a publisher, or to form a publishing press ourselves.

Some of my friends in HWA Ohio and I decided to go the latter route.

Over the course of the pandemic, we formed Cracked Skull Press, did a ton of research and planning, and now, we’re working on putting out our first anthology: “That Which Cannot Be Undone: An Anthology of Ohio Horror.” This anthology will be full of stories set in Ohio, written by Ohio horror authors, and revolving around the theme “That which cannot be undone.” We’ve already brought on Bram Stoker winners Lucy Snyder, Tim Waggoner, and Gary Braunbeck, as well as NYT and USA Today bestselling author Megan Hart, as well as Bram Stoker winner Jess Landry to edit the anthology. My friends and I are super excited for this anthology and we can’t wait for you to read what we come up with!

However, to get this project off the ground, we’re crowdfunding the anthology on Kickstarter. We’re looking to raise $10,000 to pay authors, cover Ms. Landry’s editing fees, and take care of other costs. And that’s where you come in: we’re hoping you’ll support us in this endeavor. All pledges are voluntary, and you won’t be charged unless the campaign is successful. Plus, there are all sorts of perks with pledging, such as swag and copies of the final project!

And like I said, it’s all voluntary, so you don’t have to pledge if you don’t want to. However, we hope you’ll support us and make this project a reality. As I said, we’ve got a lot of talented horror writers here in Ohio, and we want to show people that. And who doesn’t like new horror? Besides non-horror fans, I mean.

Anyway, the campaign starts on November 29th and runs for 60 days. You can check it out using the link below and sign up for notifications from the campaign. My friends and I at Cracked Skull Press thank you for your support and we can’t wait to show you what we Ohio horror writers can come up with.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crackedskullproject1/that-which-cannot-be-undone-an-ohio-horror-anthology

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ve got a YouTube video to make for the campaign and then a new short story to finish (it’s literally consuming me from the inside out!). Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Back Home and Ready to Work Again

Posted: November 8, 2021 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Well, I’m back from my vacation. I enjoyed making memories in St. Louis, the city I was born in but did not remember; I learned I am not a Las Vegas person, but that the Mob Museum is really cool, as is Zak Bagans’s Haunted Museum (more on that later); and I absolutely fell in love with New Orleans, especially the French Quarter.

Now that I’m back, though, I’ve got work to do. And I don’t just mean my day job (though that will be taking up a good chunk of my time). I’m ready to get back to writing and finding homes for my stories. Here’s what’s on the docket:

The Pure World Comes and Hannah

I’m hard at work on getting a paperback, ebook and even an audio book of The Pure World Comes out next year. The goal date is the first Tuesday of September, September 6. Why that date? It’ll be a little over a year since The Pure World Comes was released on the Readict app, and right as the Halloween season gets into full swing. And a lot of books, including successful ones, release on Tuesdays, so might as well.

Anyway, I’ve gone through the manuscript for TPWC again and cleaned up some of the errors I missed for the Readict version (don’t tell VitaleTek). I’ve looked into some platforms that will get a paperback and ebook onto sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and one that does audio books as well. And I’m talking with some audio book narrators. With any luck, I’ll definitely have the paperback and ebook out on September 6 and the audio book out not too long after, if not on the day of.

As for Hannah, the new collection of short stories that was accepted for publication while I was traveling, I cannot wait to send copies to people I know named Hannah and make them think the titular story is based on them (believe me, it’s not). Also, I was just emailing with the publisher, BSC Publishing Group, today. We’ll soon be starting work on the stories, just as soon as an editor is settled on. Once that’s done, I imagine we’ll go through each story, editing until it’s as close to perfect as possible. Then we’ll discuss a final order for the collection, and then let it out into the world.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on this. The hope is to get Hannah out at some point in 2022, so I imagine things will be hectic moving forward. Still, if people enjoy the book when it comes out, than it’ll be worth it.

And that brings me to my next point…

Crawler

I know I was going to start work on this novel right after I got back from my vacation. And you know, I still want to. However, Hannah is going to take up A LOT of time. In fact, it might take up as much time as a novel might. With all that in mind, it would be a bad idea to work on a new book while editing another. I would keep bouncing back between one and the other, and I would get super-annoyed by how little progress I’m making on Crawler because I have to keep putting it down and work on Hannah.

So, for now, Crawler will have to wait.

Yeah, I know. I was excited for it as well. I even made some edits to the outline the other day and thought it would be a kick to work on. But that’s too much of a balancing act when I’m still working a day job.

Still, I want to work on new stories. I don’t want to just be editing, especially in-between the stories that need working on. Luckily, I have a million ideas for short stories, including about ten that I came up with during my vacation. Not only that, but I’ve had some success lately writing and finding homes for shorter works, and they’re easier to put down if something comes up.

So, when not working on stories in Hannah, I’ll be working on new short stories and novelettes, and hopefully finding homes for them after they’re edited. Not sure which one I’ll work on first, but I’m currently leaning towards one that incorporates elements of Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe (and no, it’s not a pandemic story. I did that already this year). It should be fun to work on.

And eventually, I will get to writing Crawler. It’s just a matter of the right time.

Other Projects

Of course, I also have stories to edit for other publications. “The Hanukkah Massacre,” co-written by Richard Gerlach, will be published in Dead of Winter early next year, and we’ll have to edits for that. Not only that, but I have another project I’ve been working on that I may actually be able to talk about very soon.

So yeah, as it turns out, I’m going to keep being busy this year. Probably into the beginning of next year. Still, it’s better than not having anything to work on. And hopefully all this leads to more people reading my work and letting their friends know to read my work.

One last thing before I sign off, though:

Zak Bagans’s Haunted Museum

If you didn’t already know, Zak Bagans from the TV show Ghost Adventures has a museum in Vegas filled to the brim with haunted artifacts he’s collected over the years from ghost hunting, as well as items donated to the museum. This includes haunted dolls, actual skulls and skeletons, shrunken heads, serial killer murderabilia, and more stuff than I can name! I was there on October 30th, Devil’s Night, for a tour, and then a few hours later I went back for some late-night ghost hunting, what they call a flashlight tour.

And I experienced stuff on both tours.

Highlights include:

  • In the room with Ed Gein’s cauldron and shovel (inspiration for Norman Bates and Psycho, if you don’t know. Look him up), I smelled the smell of cooking meat. Apparently I’m not the only one who smells that in that room, either. Considering he made clothes out of body parts, God only knows what he did with that cauldron!
  • There’s a room with a guitar that might be possessed. It was found on the body of a teenager who died while playing the guitar. I felt so uncomfortable in that room. Nothing really happened in there, and it didn’t have mood music like the basement did (Satanic rituals supposedly took place down there), but it freaked me out anyway. I did not like that room.
  • The Dybbuk Box (inspiration for my story “Samson Weiss’s Curse” and the movie The Possession) had a few things happen. Using a device called a spirit box (it scans through radio frequencies quickly and any voices that come through over multiple sweeps might be a ghost or other spirit), I heard a voice come through saying “dybbuk” multiple times. And at one point, when I asked if anyone was in the room with me, I heard a woman’s voice whisper, “Yes.”
  • In another room containing the remains of a demonically possessed house Zak owned in Indiana before having it torn down, I got some voices through the spirit box. At one point, I asked if anyone wanted to talk to me, a voice responded immediately: “No.”
    Yeah, I thought that was cheeky, too. But that’s not all. Another device called a MEL-meter went off at one point in that room (it measures electromagnetic changes in the air around it) and later, a woman’s voice hissed through the spirit box, “Raaaah!” And I knew it was trying to say my name!
  • Finally, in one room containing a painting taken from Adolf Hitler’s vacation home, Bergdorf, I got voices coming through the spirit box. Apparently, there’s an evil energy attached to the painting and it affects anyone who touches it. I asked if anything evil was attached to it, and a voice came through saying, “Evil.” I then asked if it might be Hitler’s spirit, and I got a “Yes.”
    Not sure if that was actually Hitler’s spirit, as the painting wasn’t near Hitler when he committed suicide. It may have just been an evil energy/spirit messing with me (or nothing at all, if I’m being skeptical). But it made me smile to know that this Jew was standing in front of a painting belonging to Hitler and maybe his ghost and letting him know how bad he failed. I almost went “Neener, neener, neener” to the painting, but provoking the spirits wasn’t allowed.

Oh, and guess who was there? Right before we went into the house to explore for ghosts, we watched a safety information video. Then we split up into two groups. And as my group went around the corner to the building’s back entrance, guess who passed us by and wished us luck? Zak Bagans! I turned to the girl in front of me and whispered, “That was him!” She replied, “I know!”

And yes, he’s as tall as he looks on TV. In fact, I think he’s about a head taller than me. I just find that an interesting detail.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have work in the morning, so I’m going to get to bed. I look forward to letting you know what’s going to happen next (whatever that is). Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Older Entries
Newer Entries