Archive for the ‘Scary Stuff’ Category

State Fair: Finished

Posted: January 12, 2015 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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A picture from the Ohio State Fair, which was a big influence on my own “State Fair”.

Well, it took me a day longer than I wanted it to, but I got it done. This is my final short story for winter break, and I got it done. This one’s called State Fair, and it’s about a ghost haunting a state fairgrounds who becomes infatuated with a girl he sees one day. It’s different than some of my other short stories, very literary but also very ghostly. I also think that this short story’s first draft is much better than my usual first draft, and I wish I could have submitted this one to my creative writing class to critique. I think they would’ve liked this very much.

From the moment I had the initial idea for this short story, I knew this one was different, that it was special. It’s probably why I decided to work on it over winter break. I also got to integrate many of the lessons I got from last semester and from some books I’ve been reading recently with this story, which I think might have contributed to the quality I feel this first draft has (though I still can’t keep a short story under forty-five hundred, it seems).

I’m still deciding what to do with this short story. My ultimate goal for State Fair is to submit it to a contest on campus for short stories. The deadline’s in mid-February, so I have a little time to edit and maybe get another person to take a look and give me some feedback. I got an honorable mention for my submission last year, so I think that this year I’ve got a pretty good chance with State Fair. Whatever the case, I’ll keep everyone posted and let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I’m watching my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Oregon Ducks, and I want to see how this game ends. Tomorrow I get back to working on my thesis Rose, with the hope of getting that done by late February. I’ll keep everyone updated on what i’m doing and how things are going. Wish me luck and have a goodnight, my Followers of Fear.

Miranda’s Tempest: Finished

Posted: January 5, 2015 in Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Double, double. Toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Mwa ha ha ha!

I’ve just finished the second draft of The Murderer’s Legacy, which I’ve renamed Miranda’s Tempest (after trying Miranda’s Retribution and Miranda’s Reprisal). This is the same short story I had a breakthrough on Christmas after having a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to fix that one since I wrote the first version back in May. It took me a couple of days, but I got it done. This draft is about forty-eight hundred words long, it seems I can never get a short story done without it being over 4,500 words.

A lot has changed from the original draft and the second draft. The original was set in a magical version of Victorian England, was complicated and cumbersome, and my protagonist wasn’t enough of an asshole like I wanted to portray him. This version makes magic the result of one person, and my protagonist is a total asshole, like I wanted. Plus I got to add in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Can’t complain about that.

Like all my short stories, it could stand some editing. A lot of the story involves flashback and exposition, and I’m worried that might be less in the story’s favor than I think. We’ll see what I can do. I’m hoping that I can get a few people I know to take a look at it before I edit it, maybe get some feedback. There are a couple of fantasy magazines that I think could be interested in this one if I can polish it up a bit.

In the meantime, I have one more short story I’d like to get done before I get back to working on Rose. It’s called State Fair (might change it to The State Fair later on) and its about a ghost haunting a state fairground who becomes infatuated with a girl attending the fair one day. I’m hoping to submit it to an annual short story award they have at Ohio State every year. It’s the kind of thing they tend to like, so I’m hoping they’ll go for it. But first I have to get it finished. In fact, I’m going to start working on it now, and also through tomorrow if I can, I have the day off tomorrow so I shouldn’t have any problem working on it then.

Well, that’s all for now. Have a good night, my Followers of Fear. I certainly am.

What Happened Saturday Night: Fourth Draft Finished

Posted: December 31, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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As I mentioned in my last post, I was taking a break from Rose to write, edit, and rewrite some short stories. I started by doing the fourth draft of What Happened Saturday Night, which has gone through quite a number of changes since its first draft. I have to say, this might be the best draft I’ve done so far. It took it a long time to get to where it is now, but I think my classmates would have enjoyed this draft much more than some of the other drafts I’ve turned in this semester. That’s the hope, at least.

In any case, I managed to keep this story about a young girl becoming a werewolf at the same time she discovers her sexuality on the two main characters and on their interpersonal struggles. I also got to explore the sensation of being a wild beast on the hunt, and I think I got the ending just right. I may do some more edits on it before I send it off to someone to critique or to a magazine (haven’t decided which I should do first yet),  especially with a small part of the climax, but I’m hoping that this might be the last time I have to do serious editing to the story.

I hope to submit this one to an LGBT literature magazine, of which there are apparently many, and some of the ones I looked at seem to specialize in a wide range of genres and formats. Maybe an editor from one of them will take a look at What Happened Saturday Night and think it’s the perfect match for their magazine. We can only hope, right?

Well, I’m going to do some reading as research for the rewrite of The Murderer’s Legacy, which I’m thinking of renaming to fit with the new direction I want the story to go in. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, have a Happy New Year, my Followers of Fear and stay safe out there. Don’t party too hard. That’s my job!

Review: The Babadook

Posted: December 14, 2014 in Review, Scary Stuff
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A truly terrifying time.

I know I don’t usually do back-to-back reviews, but this time around is an exception. Especially since this film is so damn good. It’s actually won a couple of awards and is nominated for plenty more, so I think it’s especially deserving of a review.

The Babadook follows Essie Davis as Amelia, a widow who refuses to confront her own grief over the death of her husband or the fact that her young son Samuel (played with convincing skill by Noah Wiseman), while brilliant enough to do advanced magic tricks and build weapons, has some behavioral problems (as evidenced by the weapons). One day Samuel finds a pop-up book entitled Mister Babadook, about a boogeyman-like creature whose name is derived from the onomatopoeia of two quick raps and three steady knocks. Anyone who sees it will be menaced by it until it kills them. Thus starts a terrifying saga in which both characters toe the line between reality, insanity and a world only barely glimpsed by man.

Jenifer Kent does an excellent job as a first time writer and director on a very small budget, easily weaving together a story where the audience can’t tell if the Babadook is real or a shared psychosis (or folie a deux for those poetic types) between mother and son. Throughout the film you’ll see evidence that it could be either or both (which is what I’m going with). Davis is wonderful, portraying a mother with heavy baggage who is trying to deal with what life has dealt her in the best way possible and suffering from it as well, while young Wiseman should get an award for how well he played such a psychologically demanding role. The atmosphere is great, the exploration of parenthood under rough circumstances is poignant, and the storytelling was executed well. I had to put my hands over my eyes several times because it was so scary.

I hope more people discover The Babadook, because it is a really awesome horror film that reminds one of the original Night of the Living Dead in its power to terrify and to tell a story worthy of analysis. All in all, I’m giving this film a 4.5 out of 5. I’m definitely hoping for more films from Ms. Kent, especially if they’re as terrifying as The Babadook was. And if there’s a copy of that picture book, I would like one.

Not recommended for anyone with a pet (especially a dog) or small children. Or both.

Snake: Six Months Since Publication. Also, a Holiday Sale

Posted: December 10, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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snake

How far would you go for love and revenge?

Boy, do I have plenty of good news to share with everyone. Including the publication of two of my stories in Strange Portals, today is the six month anniversary of the publication of my second novel, Snake. Maybe because I’ve been so busy this past semester, but it feels like so much longer since that book came out.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Snake yet, it’s a thriller novel following a young man who dons a mask and becomes a dangerous serial killer in order to save the woman he loves. It’s gotten some very good reviews since it came out, and I’m quite proud of how it’s done. Here’s what some people have said since Snake has come out:

Rami Ungar makes a promise to (the reader) in all his writings: he WILL scare you, and if he does “his job is done.” Snake will scare you. I am a huge Stephen King fan, so this should give you some idea of my tolerance level for gore, death and mayhem – I was scared. Rami takes you into places you would never have believed possible, and manages to pull his hero (and eventually his heroine) out of them against all odds. If you like to be scared. If you LOVE to be scared. You should read this book.

Angela Misri, author of Jewel of the Thames

Quite gripping story. enjoyed a lot reading this.

Jyoti

Well, I took yet another vacation where I made my family “just wait until I finish this chapter.” This page-turning read was another great effort by Rami. He is not afraid to take risks in plot twists and turns, character development and he takes the reader on quite the journey in this book. So looking forward to his next creation!

Michele Kurland

And partly in honor of this milestone, but mostly because of the holiday season, all my books are on sale from today December 10th through December 31st. This includes e-books and paperbacks getting marked down. So if you haven’t read The Quiet Game, Reborn City, or Snake yet, this is the best time to do so. Especially if you want or need something new and different to read this month.

So anyway, I hope you decide to check out any of my books, as well as Strange Portals (which, by the way, is free to download). And if you like, or if you dislike, what you read, please let me know. Just leave me a comment or write a review. I would love to hear what you say.

Well, that’s all for now. Happy reading and happy holidays, my Followers of Fear. You are all, as far as I’m concerned, a gift to me.

“Buried Alive” and “Travelers of the Loneliest Roads” Have Been Published In “Strange Portals” Anthology

Posted: December 7, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Some exciting news to share with you all. I’ve been holding off until I had some more details, but it’s out now and I’ve got to share it with you all.

Last month I received word from colleague and fellow author Joleene Naylor that she was putting together an anthology of horror/paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy short stories for a holiday season release and she was looking for submissions. Despite my crazy busy life I did some editing on two short stories of mine, “Buried Alive” and “Travelers of the Loneliest Roads”, and sent them in. I’m extremely pleased, grateful, and proud to say that they both got into the final anthology!

I’d like to thank Joleene for this awesome opportunity (you should seriously check out her blog, the link for which is above), and I’d encourage you to check out the anthology “Strange Portals”, which contains works from several different authors, including AK Stein, Adan Ramie, Roxanna Matthews, Jolene, myself, and many more. Right now the anthology is only available from Smashwords as an e-book (the link to download it is right here), but it’ll be available for Amazon soon (and I’ll be updating this post when it is, so keep an eye out for that update). Did I mention it’s free to download? Well, it’s free to download. So that’s even more incentive to check it out.

Well, that’s all for now. I’m really excited, as you can understand. I’m even listening to my go-to celebration song, “Voodoo Child” by Rogue Traders, playing now, that’s how excited I am. I’m taking the rest of the night off, my Followers of Fear. You have a good one, okay?

*Update: As of December 9th, the Amazon link was posted. It costs $0.99 because Amazon never does anything free, but what are you going to do? Anyway, the link is here if you want to check it out. I certainly will.

What Happened Saturday Night: Third Draft Finished

Posted: December 6, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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I’m not sure how I did it. I’m not sure I care to know how I did it. I just know that I finished the third draft of “What Happened Saturday Night”, formerly known as “Frauwolf”. And boy, what a writing marathon that was! I just didn’t stop writing.

After hearing the criticisms of my classmates, I went through the story, adjusting the first half or so (the half they really liked) and then completely rewrote everything past page 7 or so (the half they disliked). Throughout the editing and rewriting I tried to keep in mind that, even though this was a werewolf story, it was also a story about two people who really care about each other. A story about human interaction, in other words. And isn’t that all literature? It’s about how humans interact with each other and/or their environment. Even in ghost stories, it’s about human interaction, about confronting our fear of mortality and the afterlife.

I’d do well to remember that for future stories, and not try to create an amazing, complicated universe before working on the human aspect. Perhaps now that I’ve written it down I will.

Anyway, I also played around with some of the already apparent symbolism in the story–using a werewolf as a metaphor for awakening to sexuality, I wonder how many others have used that one? Probably a few–as well as switching the story to present tense. I actually had originally planned to do the second draft in present tense, seeing as Rose is written that way as well, but at some point I slipped back into my standard past tense. Well, it’s closer to what I’d planned, and the ending works better now than it did in the second draft, so I’m hoping my teacher approves.

And speaking of endings, when I was typing out the last words of the story, my iTunes started playing “Va, pensiero”, an Italian opera piece as sung by Russell Watson. It’s such a beautiful piece, and it seemed to fit the ending of the story so well.  I think that’s a good sign for this draft.

Anyway, I sent it off to my teacher. She’ll review it and let me know what she thinks. Hopefully I’ll get some good feedback on this story. Because of the LGBT themes, I figure I could send it to a magazine that specializes in that sort of literature. I’ve already found a few that might be good fits. Fingers crossed that they like what I send them.

Well, I’m tired, it’s very late, and I’ve got more work to do tomorrow (still got a thesis to get through, after all). I’ll see you guys in the morning.  Goodnight my Followers of Fear. Don’t let the werewolves bite.

What Happened Saturday Night: Critique Day

Posted: December 3, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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You may also know this story by its original title, Frauwolf. It’s still the same story as well, about a girl who’s a werewolf and who is in a relationship with another girl. And its second draft got critiqued in my creative writing class.

Luckily this time I won’t have to rewrite the whole damn story again, or I might seriously turn into a werewolf myself and go on a rampage  (boy, wouldn’t that make for an interesting horror movie). My classmates found this draft much easier to read and felt that the first half was awesome, that the language was superb and that the emotions between the two main characters felt real. Most of all they were glad I’d changed the story from a crazy fast-paced psycho-drama that left little time to linger on the actual story and made it more about the characters themselves.

The thing they didn’t like is that near the end of the story I add a new character, who happens to be a psychopath, and it just takes the story in a bad direction. Well, in my defense I had only so many days to finish the new draft and I was pressed for time, so when I got stuck I went with what first came to mind.

In any case, I only have about half a short story to rewrite rather than a full short story, and I have to turn in a third draft by next Wednesday. God help me, because I have an eight-page Shakespeare paper due the day before and I still have three and a half pages left. Plus I’m still figuring out where to go with this short story of mine. Boy, is my life crazy!

Well, I’m going to turn in. I’ve had a long day, I’m exhausted, and I need my rest if I’m going to tackle either of these tomorrow. Wish me luck Followers of Fear, because I have a feeling I’m going to need all the luck I can get. Goodnight, everybody.

Epic Rap Battles of History: Jack the Ripper vs. Hannibal Lecter

Posted: December 1, 2014 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff
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Can you say, tailored to my tastes?

This morning Epic Rap Battles of History released their latest video, which this time around is serial killer-themed. To be specific, it’s Jack the Ripper, the famous Victorian serial killer whose identity has never been discovered (contrary to popular reports) rapping against Hannibal Lecter, born in the novels of Thomas Harris and made famous in portrayals by Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen. The two killers are played by Dan Bull (Jack the Ripper) and ERB star EpicLloyd (Dr. Hannibal Lecter).

And here I thought they couldn’t make me any happier when they made Stephen King vs. Edgar Allen Poe. I hope they do Stan Lee vs. Walt Disney some time. Or Alice Liddell vs. Dorothy Gale. Or maybe even Anne Rice vs. Stephanie Meyer! Those would be awesome.

Actually, I kind of predicted this battle: back in June when this video came out, I hoped for a Jack the Ripper vs. Freddy Kreuger video. Well, I got one half of that combo, didn’t I?

Anyway, enjoy the video. I certainly did.


Who do you think won? I’m having a hard time deciding, personally.

Rose: One-Third of the Way Through

Posted: November 24, 2014 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well, I finally got an email from my thesis advisor M on what he thought about my new thesis outline. Here’s what he had to say:

Very full chapter outline.  You’ve sure thought it through.  At this point, it looks solid.  It’s going to be about execution, of course.  But I say go ahead with your plan and keep writing.

He also signed it M. That’s kind of funny, considering that I keep forgetting to ask him if I can call him by something other than “M” on my blog.

But back on point, the new outline reduces the story by about six chapters from twenty-seven to twenty-one, making the story much simpler and allowing me to focus on the two main characters. And since I’m now eight chapters in, I’m now officially a little over a third of the way through the story! Woo-hoo! Only thirteen more to go!

As with my previous novels, I’ve counted out how many pages and words I’ve written so far. At the moment, Rose is about sixty pages in (that’s 8.5″ x 11″ pages), with an average of seven and a half pages per chapter. And at this moment, the word count is 17,546 words, with about 2,193 per chapter. So we’re around the length of a novelette at this point. At the rate I’m going though, it’s likely to be novel length (sixty-thousand words or higher) before long.

So next up is to, like M said, execute what I’ve written in the outline on the actual page. My next step is to slowly make the story much stranger than it already is (if you’re new here, Rose is about a woman who is resurrected through magic by her stalker, and that’s just the start of her problems), while also exploring the relationship between Rose and the antagonist. Hopefully by the end of this story it’ll be a very scary, very strange story that’ll be both moving and terrifying.

Well, I hope to start on Chapter Nine before long. I’ve got some homework to do, and I’m in the middle of editing something right now, so that might slow me down a little bit, but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to catch up before the end of the month. By New Year’s I’d like to have at least gotten started on Chapter Fourteen. We’ll see what I do.

Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear. I’ve got a busy schedule these days, so I need all the luck I can get! I’m sure a lot of you can relate.

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