Posts Tagged ‘Being in the Fallout (essay)’

My First Published Piece of 2025 is Live!!!

Posted: March 2, 2025 in Journalism, Reflections
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I’ve been meaning to write and post this all Saturday. But I slept in way later than I meant to, and then my day got busy, and…oh wait, it’s Sunday? Shit. Well, might as well get to the good news, then.

So, you might remember back in January, I got my first acceptance of the year, a non-fiction article about how people move on after learning their favorite celebrities have monstrous sides. That article, “Being in the Fallout: Options to Take When Your Heroes Reveal a Dark Side,” was released on March 1st by Trollbreath Magazine. Which, at the time this blog post came out, was yesterday!

I’m really proud of this article. A few times of year, we find out a celebrity we love is evil or has some really dark stuff in their history, and it’s not always easy to move on or even to figure out how to react. This article goes over the most common methods, while also incorporating some well-known examples of problematic or even horrible celebrities.

If you’re at all interested, please consider giving the article a read. Like I said, I’m quite proud of it and would love to hear your thoughts on it. Plus, reading it, or even purchasing a copy of the magazine, would help Trollbreath immensely in the long run. I’ll leave a link below.

Being in the Fallout

I would like to thank Trollbreath for publishing my article and being my first publication of 2025. Especially with this article. It really means a lot to me. And I would like to thank my critique group, who helped me get this article into shape prior to submitting it. As I tell people, writing is a solitary act, but getting that writing into print takes multiple hands.

Now, before I go, my Followers of Fear, there’s some more news/reminders I want to share:

  • First, I have another non-fiction article coming out later this year. Not sure exactly when, but it might be sometime in summer. I’m really looking forward to it, as it’s going to be from a well-known horror publication. I can’t wait for you to read it.
  • This Saturday, March 8th, I will be at the Akron Book Fest at the Akron Downtown Library in Akron, Ohio. I’ll be there representing HWA Ohio, so I won’t be selling books or doing Tarot readings, but I’ll be happy to talk to you about the books our members put out and how awesome horror is. So if you’re in the area, please stop by!

And that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll probably have something out again very soon, so keep an eye out for it. But until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

My First Publishing Acceptance of 2025!!!

Posted: January 12, 2025 in Living and Life, Non-Fiction, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

Oh happy day! Not only is Symphony for Walpurgis is now available on Apple Books (see my last post), but I just got my first acceptance of the year today! God, if only I had ice cream and beer on hand, I would be partying right now!

Maybe I’ll get some when I go to see Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare tomorrow…

Anyway, I’m sure you’re all curious to know what’s been accepted for publication. Well, it’s an essay, and it’s going to appear in Trollbreath Magazine, a speculative fiction magazine that publishes a wide variety of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They’re rather new, but they already seem to be doing well, and I’m excited to be able to help set the tone for the non-fiction pieces they publish in the future.

You can learn more about, get back issues of, and support Trollbreath Magazine by visiting their website here.

As for the essay they’re publishing, it’s “Being in the Fallout: Options to Take When Your Heroes Reveal a Dark Side.” Inspired by the allegations against Neil Gaiman last year (and which I make reference to in the essay), I look at some of the paths fans can take when their idols turn out to have really disgusting views or have committed horrible acts. The Gaiman allegations really upset me in particular, and wondering how I should treat him and his work in the wake of that inspired me to write the essay.

So, between now and March 1st, when Trollbreath’s spring issue comes out, we’ll edit the essay to make sure it’s up to snuff. I’m looking forward to the creative process and to seeing it in the final product.

You know, despite current events being a total shit show, things have been going mostly well for me. Especially in the writing department! I’ve been making strides in both writing new stories and getting Symphony for Walpurgis in people’s hands. Plus, one of the sensitivity readers for The Shape of Evil has been sending me updates every now and then, and from what they said, they like it so far.

And now this. My first acceptance of the year! All within the first two weeks of 2025. What’s going to happen with the other 50? Actually, don’t tell me. I want to find out for myself. Still, it makes me think that if I keep working hard, things will keep working out for me this year. Who knows? By this time next year, I could be on my way to writing full time.

But in the meantime, I would like to thank Trollbreath Magazine for accepting my essay for publication, and I want to thank my critique group for giving me feedback on my essay. I literally couldn’t have done it without any of you.

Now, if anyone needs me, I’ll be reading before heading to bed. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.