Archive for the ‘Reflections’ Category

Rami Ungar the Writer: Twelve Years Since Creation!!!

Posted: August 2, 2023 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections
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Happy Birthday to the blog,
Happy Birthday to the blog,
Happy Birthday to Rami Ungar the Writer,
Happy Birthday to the blog.

So yeah, it’s been exactly twelve years since this blog was created. Hard to believe, right?

For those of you who don’t know, I first created this blog a few weeks before I was supposed to start college at Ohio State. I was sitting in the library down the road from my mom’s house, on one of their computers, and signed up for WordPress. I had barely any idea what I was doing back then. I had just heard that having a blog might be a good way to build an audience for when I published my first book (which I always considered an inevitability).

Even so, I consider that moment a turning point in my nascent career. Before then, while I had had one paid publication and some unpaid publications prior to the blog, I was still just writing on my parents’ computers and those who knew me as a writer were confined to my social circles. But beginning with my blog, I was able to start making connections with people from around the world. Blogging opened my world, and was essential in me making the connections that would help me grow as a writer and as a person.

Today, at the time of this writing, my blog has over two-thousand posts, over fourteen hundred subscribers, and gets between fifteen hundred and two-thousand views per month. And over the last year, this blog has seen me through so many things in my life: all the editing on Hannah and Other Stories; the publication of That Which Cannot Be Undone, my dragon bat story, and The Dedication of the High Priestess; the audio book for The Pure World Comes was released; I celebrated my first Halloween, Hanukkah, and Passover in my condo, among other things; I took part in the Face of Horror contest and The Great Editing; I went to my first ever Stoker Con; I celebrated several big publishing anniversaries, including The Quiet Game‘s ten-year release anniversary; and, as I announced the other day, I got a grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

I wonder what will happen in the next year? Obviously, Hannah is due out next month, and I have big hopes for that book. But what else? I was invited to submit to an anthology, but we’ll see if that story gets accepted or fits the publisher’s vision for the anthology. And I have a number of stories I need to edit and start shopping around, so hopefully that goes well. And I want to try and finish writing Crawler, the mummy novel I started last year.

Whatever happens, I know I’ll have the support of so many amazing readers and writers behind me. Reading this blog, reading my books, and leaving their thoughts in comments and reviews.

Speaking of which, if you would like to preorder Hannah and Other Stories, or you would like to check out any of my books that are already available, I’ll leave links below. And if you like what you read, please leave a review online so I know what you thought.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night, happy anniversary, and pleasant nightmares!

Hannah and Other Stories: Preorder here

The Pure World Comes: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Goodreads, Audible, Chirp, BingeBooks, LIbro.Fm, Storytel, Palace Marketplace, Hoopla, Vivlio, Smashwords, Thalia, Scribd, Spotify

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

Snake: Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and Kobo

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

“If You Build It, They Will Come.”

Posted: July 21, 2023 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Picture about ten years ago. You’ve released a book, but after an initial ten or so sales, no one is looking at your book or leaving reviews. Your blog has barely a hundred followers, and you maybe only get one or two views a day. Sometimes you get more, but those days are rare and they don’t usually get you more than ten. Also, you’re sending out short stories to plenty of publications–non-paying, because you think those publications are easier to get into and you’re working your way up to paid publications–but over and over, it’s just rejection after rejection.

Thoughts about what you’re doing wrong and how are you supposed to become a writer like this flit through your head.

This was me at times during my early writing career, specifically after the release of The Quiet Game. Variations of it, I’m sure, other writers have gone through at various points of their careers, including well into them. Some may even entertain giving up fiction writing, that they don’t have what it takes to become anything in this industry.

Repeated disappointment can be quite the demotivator.

That being said, if you keep trying and can get through the disappointment, perhaps something amazing can happen.

Despite the disappointment, I kept writing and blogging and submitting. I published some more books (two of which I later took out of circulation for reasons I won’t get into), and they got fans. A few even scared people. My blog kept growing and people started rooting for me in earnest. I started working with some other writers to give advice on writing and self-publishing, and it helped increase my influence. I got a lot of rejections on my short stories, but I did get some publications, and that helped me stay motivated.

In 2017, I joined the Horror Writers Association, and not too long after, I joined the newly-formed Ohio chapter. Finally, I’d found my people. And somehow, I ended up becoming the chapter coordinator, which is still my position today (I was reelected by popular vote).

I honestly feel Rose was a turning point in my career, both as a validation of all my previous efforts and a sign of things to come.

In 2018, I got my novel Rose, which I wrote as a college thesis, accepted for publication. I was going to be traditionally published. Thus followed fifteen months of editing and rewriting, during which my anxiety disorder also manifested. Somehow, through all of it, I got the book published and people liked it. To this day, it’s still my most popular book.

Also, in 2019, I had a short story, “Car Chasers,” published in an anthology and was paid five-hundred dollars for it. To this day, it’s still the most I’ve ever made off a single story.

During 2020 and COVID, I kept writing. I met with my fellow writers virtually and we helped each other along. I attended my first event as a vendor in Iowa, and learned a lot. In 2021, I attended events and got more stories accepted and published, including The Pure World Comes and Hannah and Other Stories. In 2022, the former came out in paperback, ebook, and audio book, and I got more work accepted, including The Dedication of the High Priestess, which to this day I still think is some of my best work ever.

Also, after nearly two years of work, my friends and I created a small press and released That Which Cannot Be Undone, an anthology of Ohio horror.

This year, editing on Hannah reached the point we could set a release date. I went to Stoker Con, where not only did a lot of people know who I was, but many people, including my heroes in the horror genre, were eager to meet me. (And they were so nice!) A few even agreed to be eARC readers for Hannah.

Also, I’m working on a grimdark story for an anthology I’ve been invited to, and there’s a chance other stories may be released this year. This past week, The Quiet Game reached its ten-year release anniversary and more people are reading it than ever, especially this week. And I was at the Columbus Book Festival this past weekend and sold more books and made more than I’ve ever earned in four years of vending. I don’t expect the same results this weekend at Gem City Comic Con, but I’m hopeful for good things.

Me and my fellow Ohio horror writers at the Columbus Book Festival. I’m on the end.

And I’ve heard from plenty of people, including an old coworker and my tattoo artist, that they’re reading my work and enjoying it so far.

(Yes, I have a tattoo artist. Surprise!)

All this isn’t to brag. It’s to say that if you keep working hard and working to improve, things won’t stay the same. You can build a foundation for yourself, a catalog of work. And then readers and colleagues and more will be drawn to you. They may even eagerly await your work. You may not be able to write full-time, let alone live the Stephen King lifestyle, and it may take a shit ton of time, but you could become someone whose work people enjoy.

Or, to quote Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

And isn’t that what we all want, in the end?

That being said, I do hope I’ll be writing full-time by 2028. I actually asked my Tarot cards if I could be writing full-time in five years, and they said there’s a strong possibility. That’s poured gasoline on the fire under my ass. I can’t wait to see what happens under this level of motivation. Wish me luck, Followers of Fear!

Thanks for reading, my Followers of Fear. I’ve been wanting to do a post like this for a while. I hope many of you found it helpful.

Also, I’ll be in Dayton, Ohio this weekend for Gem City Comic Con to sell books and do Tarot readings. If you can stop by, please do so. And if you can’t, click that button thing below. It’ll take you to my Books page. If you’re looking for new reading material, there’s plenty there to choose from. Just remember to leave me a review if you end up reading something of mine so I know what you thought.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Rami’s Books and Book Links

Marketing is No Walk in the Park

Posted: July 6, 2023 in Reflections, Writing
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A little dramatic, but it sums up the feelings of many writers towards marketing very well.

Writers–especially those aiming to make writing their full-time job someday–have it rough. Not only do we have to figure out how to write stories, how to edit them, and how to get them published, but we have to figure out the marketing angle so people actually read our work once we publish it. And that part can be trickier than even putting two sentences together.

I might have mentioned, but in the wake of Hannah coming out in less than three months, and on the advice of my publishing company, I’ve changed my marketing strategy for new books coming out. Prior, it was something along the lines of “get the mentions out there, but don’t inundate. You don’t want to annoy people.” Now, it’s closer to “Inundate! Inundate! Inundate!”

Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration. I’m definitely increasing the number of ads and mentions I put out on my social media. I’m also doing a giveaway (more on that below), telling as many people in person I can, putting out more Hannah-themed YouTube videos (BTW, check out my channel), and reaching out to as many BookTube channels and podcasts as possible.

I’m also trying, per my publisher’s advice, to show how excited and enthusiastic I am for this book and for people to read it. You know, as opposed to sounding like, “Buy! Buy! Buy!”

And I am. Enthusiastic and excited, that is. I’m so glad that this book and these stories are coming out! I’m so looking forward to hearing what people are going to say what the ebook is out, and the possibility of a paperback and even an audio book if the ebook does well! I can’t wait to hear if the stories give people nightmares, and taking photos of people who have copies of the book (I’m hoping I can get some with their e-readers if it takes a while to get to paperback status)! And I’m looking forward to celebrating with friends and family when the book comes out.

But with posts nearly every day, especially on Facebook and Twitter, I can’t help but feel that I’m spamming the platforms. And it’s hard to tell on which platforms I’m having any sort of success. You can tell on most of them how many people see your posts, as well as how many people like, comment, and share them, but clicking on links or getting sales is almost impossible to tell.

Some days, it’s easy to feel like I’m shouting into the void of cyberspace and somehow isolating myself further, rather than bringing people closer to me. Let alone potential readers.

Still, I got to try. And while I’m trying, I’m trying to increase my enthusiasm and my love for these stories to the people seeing my posts. With any luck, something will pan out and more people will want to read the book. And that would make me happiest of all.

That being said, if anyone has any advice to help me get this book to readers, I’m all ears. Every little bit helps. Thanks in advance!

Speaking of Hannah, there’s still some time between now and the 14th. If you would like to win a signed copy of my first collection, The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones, all you need to do is preorder a copy of Hannah and Other Stories. And if you then send me proof of your preorder at ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com, you’ll be entered to win said copy. The winner will be announced on the 17th.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Hannah and Other Stories Preorder Link

One Year a Homeowner

Posted: July 2, 2023 in Living and Life, Reflections
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Me on the day I bought my home. That was an exciting day.

Hard to believe it’s been a year since I moved into my condo. A year and a few weeks of being a homeowner, on top of that. But still, it’s incredible to think about.

And living in a home I own has been great. I live in a great neighborhood with nice walking trails and a gas station/mini-mart nearby. It’s a short drive from work, as well as anywhere else I want to go. It’s way more affordable than staying in my old apartment complex (or any of the places I looked at) would have been. I have my own dishwasher and laundry machines. And I can make modifications and renovations to my home as I please, provided I have the funding for it.

That being said, owning a home isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. It comes with responsibilities. I had to replace my toilet about a week into staying here, and I’ve probably spent a thousand dollars on my shared garage’s issues already (my neighbor and I are both hoping we won’t have to spend anymore on it in the near future). And then there was the time the disposal went out during Passover, making the sink and dishwasher unusable. And those are only some of the problems I’ve had to deal with.

Like I said, not all butterflies and rainbows. And I haven’t even gotten into how hot the upstairs can get when the heater’s on. Makes you want to open the window in winter!

My writing space. It’s gotten even creepier since this was taken.

Still, despite all that, I still love this place. I love putting up all my eclectic artwork and showing off all the weird stuff I’ve collected and put up in this place. I love going under the stairs to get my wine making supplies (hopefully I can make some dandelion wine soon). I’ve even gotten some new pieces of furniture, like a credenza and a wine cabinet, and they’re nice additions to the place. And I love thinking of all the things I’m going to do to this place over the coming years as I continue living here and saving money.

And I know how damn lucky I am. As I’ve said in previous posts, there are a lot of people in my age group who can’t afford even a starter home or a condo like mine because the market right now is not designed for them. Too many older folks downsizing, property prices rising, never enough starter homes or affordable apartments, laws and ordinances that make building bigger homes more profitable than building starter homes, corporations buying up new properties so they can sell them back at exorbitant prices.

I could go on. But to sum it up, for a lot of people my age, the former American Dream of owning a home is currently out of reach, and may be forever. Now, their American Dream is just to survive with what money you have and maybe find something that fulfills you in your spare time.

Yikes, this got dark in a way I didn’t expect. Let’s fix that.

My first Halloween here. I went as big as possible for it. I plan to go bigger this coming fall.

Anyway, I’m so glad I have my condo, and I hope that I get to spend many happy years here writing stories, building equity and growing as a person. And I can only hope more people in my generation get the chance to experience this. Provided they have the money to cover a mortgage and everything else, of course.

Oh, one last thing: my condo’s nickname is “the Haunted Condo!” A friend came over and called it that, and now it’s kind of stuck. Sadly, the only thing haunting this place is me, but someday that’ll change. After all, this is me we’re talking about. Who knows what might happen during some of my planned renovations?

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

StokerCon 2023 Was Amazing!!!

Posted: June 19, 2023 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Tales across the US
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Me being silly in front of a big poster.

I’m back, Followers of Fear! And let me tell you, I had the best time at Stoker Con, the biggest convention for the horror writing community in the world! Four days spent with my comrades in the Horror Writers Association discussing all things horror and enjoying all things macabre. Honestly, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had!

And it was in Pittsburgh, which despite how difficult it is to drive in, was the home of George A. Romero, so his presence was felt throughout the convention. Hell, the city has kind of embraced Romero as sort of a patron saint, and the George A. Romero Foundation was even a sponsor for the con, so that made it extra special.

But back to the con. Honestly, how can I describe it to you? I guess I could go over the things that made it memorable to me while also supplying photos here and there. Yeah, that works, so let’s go for it.

All the awesome panels! I think there were over 60 panels and classes to take, and I attended as many as I could. All were a lot of fun and quite educational. I didn’t sit on any panels, but I did enjoy watching them. Some, like the Evolution of the Zombie panel, were more like a conversation between the panelists and the audience. Probably helped that I walked in pretending to be a zombie in need of caffeine and snacks.

The panel for portraying drug use and drug addiction. Started out funny, but quickly got serious.

Others, like the Bisexuality in Horror and the Mental Health in Horror, hit me in a personal space (for those unaware, I’m bisexual, and I am on the autism spectrum. I also have ADHD and an anxiety disorder, among other things). It was interesting to hear what others had seen about my communities in horror and how we can portray them better in our stories.

Others, like Writing Nonfiction and Pitching Your Novel, I went to see what tips I could glean from my more experienced colleagues. I got some great info from the former that are already producing results, and the latter will come in handy in a couple of years once I finish Crawler.

Every panel was definitely worth it!

Author readings! While I was there, authors gave and attended readings for upcoming and recently released works. I did a reading with Barbara Cottrell, Jeremiah Dylan Cook, and Gabino Iglesias on Friday. We each took turns, with me going third. Of course, I read from Hannah, specifically the story “What Errour Awoke.” I think people enjoyed it.

Me during my reading. And yes, I wear that hat and cloak during plenty of events.
From left to right: Jeremiah Dylan Cook, myself, Gabino Iglesias, and Barb Cottrell.

Of course, the best reading was from Clay McLeod Chapman. And it wasn’t even a reading, but a one-man show! He’d basically memorized a monologue where a seventh grade boy recounted learning sex ed and how the diagrams of the reproductive systems resembled Lovecraftian entities (and they kind of do, from a certain point of view). He flailed and gesticulated around the room while speaking loudly. It was the most hysterical histrionics I’ve ever seen! I wish I’d seen it on camera.

The Final Frame competition was intense!

Final Frame film competition. On Friday night, we gathered in one of the ballrooms for a competition of 13 short horror films from around the world. These films ranged from the comedic to the terrifying, and most were quite good. The clear winner was “The Queue,” about a content moderator for a video-sharing platform who finds the videos are way more than meets the eye. God, that film was so terrifying, my brain tried to repress it minutes after I’d seen it! If you get the chance, definitely go out and see it.

Honorable mentions go to “Shut,” “Eric,” “Drop Dead,” and “We Forgot About the Zombies.”

The Awards Banquet. Saturday night was when the Bram Stoker awards were awarded, and it was lovely. After a tasty dinner, awards were given out in Superior Achievement for a variety of categories (and I love that it’s “Superior Achievement,” not “Best”). There were a lot of laughs from our speakers and presenters, and some beautiful moments. Cynthia Pelayo became the first Puerto Rican horror author to win Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection, and to win a Bram Stoker, overall. And Gabino Iglesias became the second not too long after, while also winning Superior Achievement in a Novel, the first Puerto Rican to do so.

And a lot of people won Stokers for the first time, leading to tears. I got to hug a lot of people who won their first Stokers after years of trying, and I was happy to be there for those moments. It was beautiful, and I’m so happy for them.

People showing interest in my work! Throughout the convention, people were showing interest and even preordering copies of Hannah and Other Stories (which you can do here). And during a mass author signing (think a book fair within a very small hotel room where you can either buy books or bring your own to get signed), I sold plenty of copies. It put a hop in my step to have so many people wanting to read and support my work.

Being with my people! It’s great being connected to so many horror writers online, and even meeting a few over Zoom or even in person from time to time. But it was nothing compared to meeting so many likeminded individuals in person, and being able to discuss horror subjects so openly. Hell, I had two different conversations on cannibalism in one evening!

Being part of this community, being able to meet and talk with people I’d only interacted with online, and making new friends, is truly special.

Me and my fellow HWA Ohio members: DM Guay, Neil Sater, Sarah Hans, and John Kachuba.
Me with Gabino Iglesias, first Puerto Rican author to win the Bram Stoker award in Superior Achievement in a Novel.
Me with Alma Katsu, Lee Murray, and Barbara Barnett, three amazing ladies of horror. Alma and Lee won Stokers later that evening.
Me with John Langan and Phillip Fracassi. The former and I had plenty of laughs sitting next to each other at the banquet.
Me with Patrick Frievald.
Me with Clay McLeod Chapman.
Me with Brian Keene.

So yeah, Stoker Con was absolutely amazing, and I was so happy to be able to go. And while I probably won’t be able to go next year (San Diego is a little too expensive for me), I would definitely like to go. Maybe next time, I’ll be able to sit on a panel. Maybe I’ll even be nominated for a Stoker award. That would be nice.

Opening ceremonies. It was great.

And if you get the chance, I would highly recommend going to Stoker Con. It’s a fun time and you can learn a lot. I’m already so inspired and can’t wait to start writing this week. Imagine what it’ll do for you.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I got a lot of work to do before the day is over. But don’t worry: I’ll be back real soon. There’s still plenty to talk about.

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

What Exactly is Weird Fiction?

Posted: June 4, 2023 in Reflections, Writing
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Photo by Niko MonDu00ec on Pexels.com

I’ve heard certain stories and writers described as weird fiction and weird fiction writers. I’ve also heard of New Weird, which refers to writers whose work is representative of a new wave of weird fiction. And I can think of examples of fiction that is described as “weird fiction.” Yet, I still find myself wondering from time to time, “How do you define weird fiction?”

Most people I’ve talked to–and I’ve talked to many–say “I know it when I see it” when it comes to weird fiction.* However, being a non-human entity and having a very loose definition of “normal” in a world that seems to defy anyone’s definition of normal, that still isn’t enough for me. And I know HP Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos is considered weird fiction, but is that because it involves tentacled monsters?

As usually happens when these sort of questions bug me to no end, I do research. And after talking to a lot of people, reading some articles, and watching a few YouTube videos on the subject, I think I’ve finally come to some conclusions.

For one thing, “weird fiction” isn’t a specific genre like literary, romance, sci-fi or horror fiction. Rather, it’s a designation given to stories and writers who take traditional concepts within their genre and then find some way to turn them on their head and make them weird. Lovecraft and his friends’ fiction was called “weird horror” because it featured ancient cosmic beings with lots of tentacles instead of ghosts, werewolves and vampires. And today, you can call Junji Ito “new weird” because his work features women with their tongues being replaced by snails and their heads becoming the shells, or towns cursed by the concept of a spiral.

And this can apply to all sorts of other genres and kinds of stories. Magical realism, cryptozoological erotica, bizarro fiction, they can all be considered weird. And you can add weird to any sort of story. For example, perhaps you can write a romance story where the couple is actually a single person and their reflection. Or weird Western, where cowboys ride into a wilderness resembling that melting clock painting by Salvador Dali.

And now that I think about it, my own novel Rose could be considered weird fiction. I mean, I usually categorize it as “fantasy horror” or “paranormal fiction,” but it’s about a young woman turned into a plant/human hybrid (and that’s just the start of her problems). If that’s not weird, then I’m a sea lion (and I’m not).

Apparently, Rose could be considered “weird fiction.” I never realized.

So, how does one write weird fiction? Well, I don’t think anyone sets out to write exclusively weird stories. I think they’re just trying to create something original and that leads to going down a weird route. That being said, if you want to write something weird, here are a few things you can try to make it weird:

  • Disrupt the real. Weird fiction comes from being weird, so it helps if your story breaks either the characters’ or the readers’ sense of reality. In terms of the latter, you could modify the world in some way so that something weird by our standards is considered normal in the world of the story. One example I can think of is a story I once read where imaginary friends were real entities and an accepted part of the human life cycle, similar to losing your baby teeth or going through puberty.
    In terms of the former, write the story in a way where you and the characters share a similar reality, but then that definition of real goes out the window in a big way. Think Alice falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, or perhaps Little Red Riding Hood’s trip to her grandmother’s house becomes Lovecraftian and surreal.
  • Tentacles and cosmic elements. It’s a little stereotypical, but as I said, much of what made Lovecraft’s stories weird were the tentacles and the other elements that became the foundation of cosmic horror. So, if it works, why not use it?
  • Ask “what if I added this?” Plenty of times, we writers create our own stories by encountering another story and thinking of what we would add if we were the ones writing it. Just do the same thing, but think in terms of strange things you can add. And not just to other stories, but to just daily situations. What if you added surrealism to a religious matchmaking search, or if there was some visible way to instantly identify someone as having committed a crime? Thinking along those lines could allow you to write a weird fiction story.
  • Defy genre. While genres are categories we created, they do play a big role in writing and publishing. If you can write a story that doesn’t fit any particular genre but has elements of several, especially fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, it could be considered weird. There’s a bit more to it, but that can be a clear indicator of weird fiction.

Other than that, the only thing I can recommend is read plenty of weird stories and practice writing them. And while writing weird fiction isn’t exactly necessary for any writer, it can be a lot of fun and lead to some memorable stories. Hell, it may help you write more mainstream fiction. So, why not? Go ahead and get weird with it!

What tips do you have for writing weird fiction? Do you have any favorite stories that are considered weird?

*Fun fact: that phrase was coined by US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in 1964 in his opinion on the case Jacobellis v. Ohio regarding a definition for obscenity, specifically hard-core pornography. The more you know.

Thanks for reading, everyone. It was a long article, but I wanted to get it out before I tried to intentionally write a weird fiction story (usually it happens by accident). I hope you enjoyed a post without a mention of Hannah (which, now that I think about it, has a weird story or two as well).

Anyway, I’ll be back soon enough. There’s some exciting stuff happening this week, after all. So, until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Avoiding Burnout. Both as a Writer and as a Person

Posted: May 30, 2023 in Living and Life, Reflections
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A representation of someone dealing with stress and burnout, courtesy of Wikipedia.

I’m exhausted.

At work, there has been a lot going on. A lot of ongoing projects that all require my immediate attention, a lot of things that need an answer five seconds before the question was asked. Just a lot going on, and much of it won’t be resolved until middle of summer, if at all.

At the same time, my personal life has been going through a low cycle. I’ve been dealing with a lot of shit, recently. I’m not going to go into detail, but it’s been a drain on my mind, body and soul. Enough that I’m honestly surprised I haven’t collapsed into the nearest chair or couch and refused to get up.

And I mentioned that all the frenetic editing I’ve been doing this past month has really drained me. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve been thinking of not writing for a while. Maybe not until after Stokercon.

After the latest bullshit that’s cropped up in my life, I’m taking some time to focus on me. I’m still doing writing stuff (more on that below), but I’m also cutting out some writing stuff that’s going to cause me more stress and give me burnout. For example, instead of going down to Cincinnati for Hamilton Pride Festival this weekend (HWA Ohio has a table there this year), I’ll be staying home and just recuperating. Maybe going on a few errands so I can make some homemade dandelion wine, among other things. But mostly, I’ll just be relaxing at home.

In fact, since yesterday I’ve been devoting as much time as I can to just relaxing and recovering from everything that has been going on. And because of it, I’ve actually felt a return of my creative faculties. I’m actually itching to get back to writing again. Don’t know if I will, but it’s a good sign that I’m itching to write again.

And it’s important, whether you’re a writer or not, that you take care of yourself if you start to feel the symptoms of burnout (constant exhaustion, reluctance or lack of motivation for activities you normally enjoy, a feeling of helplessness and defeat, etc.). We all experience stress, but if we don’t take care of ourselves and let these feelings eat away at us, it can lead to further problems in the near future. This includes health problems and problems at work.

Do something different. Watch some movies you enjoy. Read some books. Take a weekend to sleep in. Treat yourself to a spa day, or go out with your friends to your favorite bar or restaurant. Do something that relaxes you and brings you joy. And if the source of your burnout is your job or something else about your life you feel you can’t get rid of, consider looking for a new job or seeing a therapist for other solutions. You’ll thank yourself for it and may even be able to enjoy life and hobbies again.

Hell, it’s working for me, and I’ve mostly been watching scary movies and making plans to spend time with friends and loved ones. Maybe I’ll be able to write before my birthday, let alone Stokercon!

And if you would like more information on burnout and avoiding/treating it, you can read this article from HelpGuide.org. It’s helpful stuff.

What are your tips for avoiding burnout? Have you gone through anything similar?

One more thing: I’ll be on the Author’s Roundtable podcast with David Musser on Thursday evening, with the podcast becoming available on Friday. We’ll be talking with a whole bunch of other authors on tips and tricks to help aspiring authors get started on their careers. You can check out the podcast and the previous episodes here.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Taking Brand Names out of My Stories

Posted: May 25, 2023 in Reflections, Writing
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So, one thing that really surprised me about the editing process for Hannah was that I had to get rid of brand names from the stories. YouTube became WeTube, and Kroger and Meijer became Lundgren’s, etc.

But those weren’t the only things I had to take out. Ohio State University, which was featured in What Errour Awoke and which was mentioned in Hannah, has been renamed Aurelian University. And Disneyland is now Mueller Land. Yeah, Disneyland was in a story at one point, but now it’s Mueller Land. And I was really surprised I had to change those both.

As my publisher explained, we have to be careful, because if we use a real brand and the company that owns the brand thinks the depiction is negative, they can sue both me and the publisher. Which makes sense. I mean, Apple doesn’t allow its products to be used by bad guys in movies and TV shows. If you see someone in a movie using a generic android phone, chances are they’re bad guys. And in the TV show Chuck, the name of the store where the main character works is a Best Buy parody called Buy More. And given that the store is regularly depicted as being staffed by lazy, incompetent, and oftentimes creepy employees, or is the sight of shootouts and spy shenanigans, it makes sense that the creators would change the name.

Also explains why Subway, which was a sponsor for the show in later seasons, was only ever eaten by the good guys. As far as I can remember, I never once saw a bad guy in that show going for Subway.

Still, that show also depicted Stanford University as a major recruiting center for CIA operatives, and during the first season, the main character has negative feelings towards the school due to his being framed for cheating and getting kicked out while there. Did Stanford not care? And if it didn’t, would Ohio State really care that some characters in my collection were students there?

On the bright side, I was able to keep Slender Man in Queen Alice. Even though he’s a copyrighted character (I know, most people think he’s public domain as well), I was able to keep him as mentioned in Queen Alice because he illustrates an ongoing phenomena regarding Internet boogeymen. And in What Errour Awoke, I was able to keep a reference to Die Hard because, as my editor put it, Nakatomi Plaza is not a copyrighted name or actual location and everyone loves a Die Hard reference (truth).

I still find myself wondering about this, though. Some authors, especially big-name authors, can put references to brands, businesses and universities, among other things, into their work and don’t think twice about changing them. Occasionally, you even see song lyrics from famous songs! Gerald’s Game‘s antagonist draws his name from lyrics from “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band, and My Best Friend’s Exorcism had lyrics to many popular songs from the 1980s, albeit sung with the wrong lyrics because that’s what the characters liked to do. Not sure if that counts as parody or fair use, but it doesn’t change the fact that We Got the Beat by the Go-Gos was used as an exorcism chant later in the book.

And how does Law & Order: SVU get away with using TikTok and TikTok stars in one episode? Yeah, season 23, episode 5. Even if the app isn’t portrayed as having any bearing on the bad guys in that episode, I can’t imagine TikTok was happy to have its name used in the show like that.

I guess what I’m saying is, there’s a lot to using real brands in fictional contexts that I don’t get. It’s incredibly nuanced, and you can’t get away with using a real brand by using it in a positive light and then pointing to the copyright text at the beginning of the book stating that all characters, settings, and whatever are fictional or used fictionally. In which case, more often than not, it might be better to just turn a popular brand or institution into a fictional version with a name that may or may not reference the real thing. YouTube becomes WeTube, Disneyland becomes Mueller Land, Ohio State University becomes Aurelian University, and…well, you get the idea.

Do you have any insight on this, my Followers of Fear? Please sound off in the comments below.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Just a reminder, though: this Saturday I’ll be at the Canal Town Book Festival in Dover, Ohio, selling books. If any of you are in the area, please stop by and visit. Also keep an eye out for some exciting news on the horizon regarding Hannah and Other Stories. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

So Much Still to Learn

Posted: April 25, 2023 in Reflections, Writing
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As I mentioned in a previous post, BSC Publishing Group’s editors and I had several Zoom and email discussions regarding the content in my upcoming collection, Hannah and Other Stories. During the discussion, I realized a lot of things about my stories and my writing in general that needed improvement. And this led to some discussions with one of the editors about my writing, writing horror in general, and what directions I could go with my writing.

I won’t go into details, because some of it is for stories that you have yet to read, and I really want things to be a surprise. But the biggest conclusion I came to was that there’s still so much I need to learn as a horror writer.

I mean, I kind of already knew that, but I think part of me thought I’d become some sort of authority on horror writing, and the content meeting, as well as all the discussions that followed, really made me see the light. All of a sudden, I’m understanding why some of my stories haven’t been accepted, what fatal flaws I’ve allowed to slip into my storytelling, and what needs to be fixed so I can write not just effective horror stories, but publishable horror stories.

Honestly, it’s been rough to realize how much I still have to learn and how many ways I’ve actually been sabotaging my own stories. It’s been enough to make me doubt my own abilities as a writer…for a second. Then I remembered this is why we have editors and beta readers and why authors are their own worst judges and how we also need this feedback so we can grow and become better writers. If we never learn from others or discount what our editors and beta readers say, we end up writing really bad stories that never get published.

So, this whole experience, while slightly disheartening, has been a good eye-opener for me. Hopefully I can learn from this past week and write some stories that magazines and publishers will want to release and readers will want to read. I’m already thinking of ways to improve the stories I still need to edit, including “They Sleep Within the Rock” and “It Changes You,” and stories I might want to tackle next. I’ve also thought of ways to change Toyland and Crawler, and, of course, I’ve had plenty of thoughts of how to improve the stories in Hannah. With any luck, I can put these thoughts into practice and edit these stories so that they’re worthy of the promise at the top of this blog and on my business cards: “Scared yet? My job here is done.”

I look forward to updating you all on my progress.

One last thing, my Followers of Fear: I know I got into all the events I’ll be attending yesterday (you can see that post here), but I got confirmation on one more today, so I’ll add it to the end of this post. So this summer, I’ll be a guest at Gem City Comic Con on July 22nd and 23rd, 2023 in Dayton, Ohio! I’m really looking forward to this convention, so if you can stop by, please do so. I don’t know if they’ll let me do Tarot readings yet, but I’ll be happy to sign your book.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

The Balancing Act Between the Author and the Publisher

Posted: April 21, 2023 in Reflections, Writing
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In Tarot, the Two of Cups represents reconciliation and balance in a relationship. It’s a card I thought often of during these past few days while figuring things out with BSC.

The relationship between an author and a publisher is a collaboration. The author creates a work, and the publisher helps them get the work cleaned up enough to be published. Together, they release the book into the world and put in the work to make sure the book gets to as many readers as possible. That’s all known.

But, as I said above, the relationship between the author and their publisher is also a relationship. And a relationship is often about give and take, compromise, and balance.

I was reminded of this fact recently during a two-hour Zoom meeting with my editor at BSC Publishing Group. BSC, as you probably know by now, is releasing my new collection, Hannah and Other Stories, later this year. Part of the reason why I wanted to release this collection with a publisher is that I knew these stories would need help reaching their full potential, so I wanted a publisher with experience that could help me reach that potential. Plus, the people working for BSC know the industry well and are enthusiastic about helping their authors reach as wide an audience as possible.

This particular meeting was a content meeting. Simply put, we were looking over the individual stories and seeing what in the story’s content could be fixed in the next draft. This way, we could continue to improve the stories by identifying any story issues and maybe cutting out anything that would be too controversial or souldn’t help the stories. And my editor had plenty of suggestions for the stories, some of which I’d already hit upon. Most I didn’t have an issue with. They either made sense from the get-go or they made sense after a bit of explaining.

A few things that came up, I was glad to receive. I mean, if you haven’t already noticed, I’m a white male. And, try as I do, I don’t always see things from outside that perspective. It’s good that my editor and others at BSC are women and can see outside that perspective. They pointed out more than a few things I didn’t realize might come off as problematic. And now that I know, I can change and learn from these examples so (hopefully) I don’t make that mistake in the future.

Other suggestions, however…I had more than a bit of hesitation.

Look, I’m normally an amenable guy. I like getting along with people and I’m usually good with going along with someone else’s suggestion if it’s not a big deal. But without getting into details (spoilers, you know), some of the suggestions my editors made just didn’t sit right with me. And I pushed back, which resulted in a lot of emailing back and forth.

And that’s something you have to keep in mind when you work with publishers. While they do want to help you get your book out there and even further your career, they do have their own ideas, goals and needs. And sometimes, all that with conflict with your vision in some way or another. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just the way things are. And ultimately, the best you can hope for is either coming to an understanding, or a compromise.

Otherwise, the relationship between author and publisher could dissolve and the book go unpublished, or the relationship between author and publisher is extremely unbalanced and the two parties, as well as the resulting book, suffers.

Ultimately, BSC and I were able to talk it out, come to a few agreements, and reach a compromise. And now we have a direction for the next draft of this book. Soon, I’ll get the notes on the second draft from them, and we’ll go from there. What happens next…well, we’ll see. At the very least, we’re still able to get along and still committed to getting this book out. And that’s what’s important.

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