Posts Tagged ‘Crawler’

“Crawler:” Halfway Through the First Draft!!!

Posted: October 7, 2026 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Praise Anubis, Osiris, and Amun-Ra! After four years, I have finally reached this point!

So, if you’re unaware, let me explain. Back in 2022, after I had moved into my current home and needed a project to work on, I started a mummy novel tentatively called Crawler. The plot followed a mummy on a rampage in a small Ohio town. I got about eight chapters into what was then thirty before I had to put the novel on the back burner and work on something else. I thought, at most, I would be leaving Crawler alone for a couple of weeks. Maybe a few months.

It was four years. Yeah, it was four years. I have no excuses. I just kept finding other things to work on, and I kept meaning to get back to it, but I just never did.

Until this year, that is. When I finally decided I would get back to the novel and finish it. And then in July, right around the time I started the novel four years ago, I started working on it again. I went over the chapters I originally wrote, updating them as I went. And then, after those were edited, I started on new material. New chapters. Some I inserted into the narrative on the spur of the moment, thus expanding the story from thirty to thirty-four chapters.

And despite how crazy my life gets, and several nights where I had to be a responsible adult and take care of things at home rather than write, and God knows what else, I have been making steady progress. And as of last night, I have finished seventeen chapters. Meaning, unless I add more chapters on the spur of the moment, I am officially halfway through Crawler.

Honestly, I am ecstatic about this. There were times when I thought this book would languish, unfinished, for years and years. And when I finally got back to it, and there were nights where I couldn’t work on it for one reason or another, I wondered what the hell I was doing. But, maybe because I’m so damned stubborn, I persisted with it. And now, half the book is written, rather than just eight chapters.

And damn, it’s a lot of material, too! At the time I’m writing it, the page count (8.5″x11″, double-spaced, twelve-point font, Times New Roman) is 204, and the word count is 55,845. To say the least, this book is going to be a real doorstopper when it’s done. As long as Snake or Symphony for Walpurgis when it’s done (and those are some chunky books). I hope that doesn’t scare off potential publishers!

But that’s far in the future. In the meantime, I’m going to take a short break from Crawler. (Don’t worry, I don’t plan to let it grow into another years-long break.) And during that break, I’m going to work on some shorter stuff, including an essay that a friend of mine inspired me to write and which I hope to submit later this month. After that, assuming there’s nothing stopping me, I’ll get back to Crawler and hopefully finish it up.

I look forward to the day when I can make that announcement.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m going to brew a cup of tea, read a little, and then hit the hay. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

I’m Still Alive

Posted: September 6, 2026 in Living and Life, Progress Report
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“I’m not dead yet,
I can dance and I can sing.
I am not dead yet, I can do the Highland fling.
I am not dead yet. No need to go to bed.
No need to call the doctor because I’m not yet dead.“

That, my Followers of Fear, is from the chorus of “Not Yet Dead,” one of the songs in the musical comedy Monty Python’s Spamalot. A show I would love to see someday, but as of yet, I have not had the opportunity to do so.

It is also a good opener to a post to let you all know that, yes, I am still alive. I know it might seem like I wasn’t, or maybe, God forbid, I have given up on this blog! After all, it’s been nearly a month since I last posted on here. But in reality, I’ve just been super busy lately. You know how it is: between the writing and the day job and everything else, I’ve just been a busy little demon.

Plus, as I mentioned back in February, I don’t want to post just to keep up with some demand or to make sure I stay visible. I want to post because there’s something worth posting about. Whether that be my thoughts on writing or horror, a review of a book I really think you should read, or I have an announcement that I want the world to know about.

Sadly, I don’t have any of those right now, but I did feel it was necessary to check in. And since I’m here, why don’t I give you some updates on how things are going with me? Ready? Okay!

  • The writing is going well. I’ve been making slow but steady progress on Crawler, the mummy novel I’ve been working on. It’s not as fast as I would hope, but it’s better than making no progress, which is what I was making for four years. And I will continue to work at it, while also finding a more permanent title for the story. (There’s a movie with a similar name coming out soon, and “Crawler” was never meant to be a permanent name, anyway.)
    I’ve also been working on and sending out other stories here and there, and I’m hoping to have news on some of them any day now. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even have a publisher for The Shape of Evil, my 3D Printer from Hell novel. You never know.
  • I got a pay raise at work. This is very good, as I’ve had to replace both my water tank and my washer and dryer this summer (and the latter was a saga of trying to find something that fit my tiny laundry room, let me tell you). But it also means that I’m able to save more, which means I get closer to writing full time. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: how does getting paid more at the day job lead to writing full time? Well, it means I can save a bit more after each paycheck (hopefully, anyway). And if that happens and I decide to leave that day job for writing someday, I’ll have more savings to rely on and I won’t have to go back to work in an office so quickly.
  • I’m planning some travel for the near future. It’s still early days, but I’m working on going on a trip or two not related to a convention or book event. It’s been some time since I did any sort of trip like that (remember, my last one was supposed to be Israel in winter 2024, but that got canceled due to the war), so I’m looking forward to it. However, a lot of details are still in the air, so I will wait to give you any specifics until I have some stuff nailed down. Until then, know that I’m looking forward to sharing plenty of photos with you.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I can guarantee it won’t be another month till you hear from me, but it might still be a while. In the meantime, you can keep up with me by following my social media accounts, which I will link to down below. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 55 days till Halloween. Who’s already putting up their Halloween displays?

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Updates on “Crawler”

Posted: July 23, 2026 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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You know, I thought I would have this post out much sooner than this. But things have been busy these last two weeks. There’s been work, the Columbus Book Festival,* an article to write, and even submitting a short story for Bram Stoker consideration (if you didn’t know, that takes a lot more work than you know). All that slowed me down and kept me from working on my writing.

Oh, I may have also written a poem and a flash fiction piece on the spur of the moment. That took up an afternoon.

But I have finally done it. As of last night, I have finished going over all the chapters of Crawler I’ve previously written.

Now, if you didn’t know, Crawler is the tentative name of a mummy novel I started writing in 2022. I got about eight chapters in before stuff involving Hannah and Other Stories popped up and I had to put it on the back burner. And then, through various circumstances and lots of projects, four years passed. And I have not been happy with myself for letting it sit unfinished for so long.

That’s why I decided to make sure I got back to it this summer. And I’m happy to say, as of last night, I’m all caught up with the story thus far.

So, how is Crawler so far? Well, I knew in the four years there were things I would need to change. I even had a few ideas of what needed to change. However, even I was surprised by how many flaws I noticed. Granted, it’s a first draft, so flaws are par for the course. But there were quite a few parts where I was like, “What the hell? That makes no sense! Why would this or that character do something like that?”

I also ended up cutting a lot of sections that were unnecessary or rewriting others so they flowed better and didn’t stick out like sore thumbs. Or changed the characters’ motivations or feelings so they would fit better in the story. And my God, did I do so much work to make the timeline make more sense.

I guess it’s a sign of how much I’ve matured, both as a person and as a writer, in these four years. Then again, it has been four years, and a lot has happened. I’ve read lots of books, written and published lots of new stories, and had all sorts of experience. It’s natural I’ve learned a few tricks and gotten a bit better at writing stories. Not to mention noticing the issues my stories have before I let others see them.

So, what’s next? Well, obviously the next time I work on it, it’ll be the first time I’ve written new material for Crawler in four years. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also worried that it’ll take forever to get through the rest of the book. Hell, I’m worried it’ll take time just to get through a single chapter! Just the first eight are around thirty-six thousand words, or a decent-sized novella. Yeah, this book is going to be a doorstopper when it’s done.

And you never know what life will throw at you. For all I know, next week I could get told to edit something for publication, and spend a month just doing that!

Well, no reason to get worried about what might or might not happen. I’ll keep working on Crawler and hopefully make some good progress before the summer is out. Hell, maybe I’ll even be finished with it by the end of the year. I’m going to try and see if I can make it happen!

Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s late, I’m tired, and I have work tomorrow, so I should get ready for bed. Hopefully I have something to post about very soon. If not about Crawler, then maybe some good news or some thoughts on writing. You never know.

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

*BTW, this year I hit a new record. 51 books sold! I’ve never had such a successful festival before. Hopefully it’s not the last time I have such success, either.

Updates on What I’m Doing

Posted: June 22, 2026 in Progress Report, Writing
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You know, the last time I did one of these posts, I had barely anything to say other than I’d done a new draft of The Shape of Evil. I just wanted to let people know all the things I was juggling at that time.

Well, eight months have passed since then, and things are moving faster than a cheetah running from a shoggoth (or seem to be). So, since who knows what might happen from day to day, I am going to give you guys some updates on what I’ve been up to lately.

First, The Shape of Evil. As I said in my last post on the book, I rewrote the book to be a Young Adult novel and undid some of the changes I made in the fourth draft. Now, this crazy little novel about a 3D printer from Hell has been sent out to publishers and agents, and hopefully I’ll get a bite. I won’t say if there’s been any interest or not, in case that somehow jinxes me. But I will say that I have lots of reasons to hope. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this summer, I’ll be able to announce something regarding the book.

In the meantime, I have some short stories to work on. As some of you may remember, I finished a new story back in April about a guy who thinks his stepdad is Sweeney Todd. I got some feedback on the first section of that story from my critique group, so I’m going to go over their feedback and make some edits based on what they say. Then I’ll edit the rest of the story before getting some beta reader feedback. Hopefully after the beta reader has given me some feedback and I’ve done another draft, I can find a home for this story.

My writing life lately.

I also have a science fiction story that I literally just finished last night. It’s focused on alchemy and homunculi, and even though it’s the first draft, I feel like it’s really strong work. I’ll probably give that an edit and then find a beta reader for it as well fairly soon. Hopefully after going through taht process, I can find this story a home as well.

Of course, that might be difficult. Both stories are novelettes, and the Sweeney Todd one is close to short novella length. I just can’t help but want to write epics, it seems. Still, I want to try. I’ve found homes for stories that I never thought I would find homes for before. Maybe I can do it again.

And guess what? After leaving it on the back burner for so long, I am finally going to get back to working on Crawler! Now, if you’re unfamiliar, Crawler was a mummy novel I started in 2022 after moving into my condo. And then working on Hannah and Other Stories put it on the back burner. And then other stuff kept coming up, and The Shape of Evil became a novel when I thought it would be a novelette, and the next thing I knew, four years had gone by!

That has always been a thorn in my side. I have this novel that I think would make a great story, but it’s sitting there, halfway done, and still unfinished! Well, this summer, I aim to change that. I’m first going to edit the Sweeney Todd story, and then I’ll work on Crawler. Maybe if I need a break, I’ll work on the alchemy story and other short works, but Crawler will be the priority. And maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll have another novel written by the end of the year.

Or not. Something could come along that upsets this schedule and forces me to change gears or priorities. There’s always a possibility of that. You never know. Life is constant change, after all. But for now, this is the plan I’m sticking to.

Oh, I’m also applying for a grant next month. With any luck, that will help with some new projects in the near future. But that will have to wait until next month.

Like a cheetah from a shoggoth, I’m running towards my goals.

And in the meantime, as you are no doubt aware, the Columbus Book Festival is next month! If you’re in the Columbus, Ohio area on July 11th and 12th, stop by the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s downtown branch and the adjoining Topiary Park for a festival featuring authors, merchants, dancers, food trucks, and so much more! Me and my friends in HWA Ohio will have a tent there again this year, and we’re looking forward to meeting so many readers, both new and familiar. So, if you can, please stop by. We would love to see you.

And if you can’t stop by and would still like to support me, or you’re just looking for a scary book to read, you can check out any of my books! From strange gods and plant/human hybrids to carnivorous horses and Mafia-hunting serial killers, I have something for every horror fan, including some free stories. I’ll leave a link to my books page 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. I’m off to enjoy the rest of my evening so I have the energy to do some editing later this week. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Rami Ungar’s Books

Well, I Got Myself Into Another Great Editing

Posted: July 8, 2025 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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Lots and lots of editing in my future. Again.

Some of you may remember that, for most of 2023, I was in what I called The Great Editing. It was a phase where, except for the occasional short story, I did nothing but editing. Mostly stuff related to Hannah and Other Stories‘s first time out, but a few other stories I was editing. When it was done, I hoped to do nothing but write original stories for a long, long while.

Well, man (or whatever entity I am) plans, and God (or whatever entity runs this universe) laughs.

Because I did write a few original short stories last year. And then I wrote The Shape of Evil, which took up half the year. And then I did another couple of stories. Then I did an edit of The Shape of Evil, followed by edits of the stories that were going into Symphony of Walpurgis. Followed by one original story, and then another edit of The Shape of Evil in time for StokerCon. Then I edited stories for Hannah‘s re-release. And then I edited a novella while also writing an essay (which I will likely have to edit soon before I can submit it).

So yeah. I’m in the Second Great Editing. I thought the first one was the editing to end all editings, but I guess a second one was just inevitable! I set myself up for that with the choices I made. And now I’m suffering through it. And it will likely set up the future of my career for decades to come.

Okay, enough with the World War II joke. Point is, I’m stuck in this Second Great Editing. And with two more novellas, that essay, and a short story to edit (plus another novella which needs serious rewrites), I’m likely going to be stuck in it for a while. Possibly till next year, if you can believe it! (Some of these stories will need to be edited again once I have beta readers look them over, after all.)

I’ll hopefully have news to share about this soon.

But you know, it’s not the worst thing. Yeah, except for that essay, I’m mostly putting original works on the back burner until I can get through editing all of these stories that I’ve let sit for so goddamn long. And I really have some new work I want to throw myself into!

But like I said in the WWII joke, I think all this editing is going to have an effect on my writing career. And unlike WWII, the effect will hopefully be positive:

I can’t really get into it right now, but I’m making progress with finding a home for The Shape of Evil. People are reading and enjoying Symphony, and people are getting excited for the return of Hannah and Other Stories. And I hope these four novellas will be published together as a collection. I think this essay, once edited, will make a great entry into a magazine or essay collection. And that short story is rough, but I think it’ll be quite spooky once it’s ready for readers’ eyes.

So, I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing: working on these stories so I can get them to you and, if I’m lucky, maybe write full time someday. I’m working hard to make those goals happen.

That being said, once I’m out of this Second Great Editing, I’m going to dive headfirst into some new stories. You can bet your ass on that!

(I’ll also finish my mummy novel Crawler and that witchy novella I was working on at the beginning of the year. I hate leaving things unfinished. Especially when I think they’ll be amazing once they’re done.)

One last thing, my Followers of Fear: this weekend is the Columbus Book Festival. This annual festival is full of amazing writers, vendors, and entertainers, and my fellow Ohio HWA members and I will have a booth there as well. So, if you’re in central Ohio this weekend, July 12 and 13, 2025, please head to the Main Library and Topiary Park in downtown Columbus. I would love to see you.

And if you can’t stop by but still want to support me, you can check out my work. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, there’s something for every horror fan, so why not grab a book and take a look? There’s even some free stuff. I’ll include a link to my books page below.

And if you like what you read, please leave a review. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps both me and other readers in the long run.

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

Rami Ungar’s Books

Getting Back on Track

Posted: March 7, 2025 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I can be a real idiot sometimes.

So, back in December, I posted about my plans for 2025 in terms of what I want to accomplish with my writing (you can read that post here). What I didn’t mention was that I had no plans to write anything longer than a novelette. I’d edit the novellas and novels I’d already written, like The Shape of Evil and the four I hope to shop around when I’ve finished editing them. But I wouldn’t work on anything longer. Just short stories and novelettes until those stories were finished and edited and published. And only after I’d gotten back to my mummy novel, Crawler, and finished the first draft of that.

(For those of you who are unaware, the Horror Writers Association defines a short story as 1,000-7,500 words, a novelette as 7,500-17,500, a novella as 17,500-40,000, and a novel is 40,000 words and up.)

So, with my plan in place, I started on a witchy Halloween story that I thought would be maybe a long novelette at most.

And that story ended up going up to 20,000 words! And it’s not even done!

Now, by that point, I had been working on the story since before New Year’s, and I was so frustrated by how busy my life has been, so I completely forgot about my promise to myself and just forged on ahead for a while. But then I found myself just hesitating, not wanting to get further when I knew it could take me another month or two, given my current life.

That was when I remembered my promise to myself. And I slapped myself in the head for not keeping it!

So, the witchy Halloween story is now on hold until I’ve finished Crawler. In the meantime, I’m going to work on something I know will be shorter.* After that, the sensitivity readers should both be done with The Shape of Evil (one’s already sent me their notes), so I’ll probably give that one more round of edits.

After that? Probably another guaranteed short story. We’ll see.

But for now, I should head to bed. I’ve got the Akron Book Fest tomorrow, and I’ll need all the energy I can get.

After I get back home, however, I’ve got a great scary story idea to look forward to writing. And did I mention the story was inspired by Hamilton?

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

*Then again, I thought the witchy Halloween story would be short. So who knows?!

Updates on My Plans & My Stories

Posted: December 2, 2024 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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Well, we’re officially in December. 2024 ends in just 29 days. I would say thank God, but I’m not convinced 2025 will be much better. Still, gotta be optimistic. Gotta keep plugging along. Gotta keep making plans, writing stories, and making things in my mind into realities.

And that’s what I’m doing now. Making plans, writing stories, and making them into reality.

First, my Israel trip. That’s fast approaching. And assuming the ceasefire with Hezbollah holds and nothing else happens, I should still be able to go. It’s been nearly a decade and a half since I was last there, so I’m really hoping things calm down a bit and move towards resolution.

In the meantime, I’ve started on the second draft of The Shape of Evil, AKA the 3D printer from Hell story. In fact, I’m already a fourth of the way through the draft! I’m averaging a chapter every time a night, starting from the night before Thanksgiving. Considering that it took me six months to get through the first draft, moving through the book this fast is a dream come true! I might be done well before I fly out later this month.

I hope so, anyway. When I started thinking up this story, and I realized that my three main characters would each have a disability, with the lead being non-binary, I felt this story would be important. And after the events of last month, I feel like this book could be timely. No, it is timely. And I’m determined to get it in the best shape so that when I pitch in June, I can find a home for it sooner rather than later.

Me every evening, working on the next big thing.

And after the second draft is done? Well, whether I go on my trip or not, I have a plan. I’ll find a beta reader/sensitivity reader for The Shape of Evil, and then work on three goals: writing a bunch of new short stories; editing three novellas; and putting out a new collection in the spring. The first two, I’ll be switching on-and-off working on. First a new short story or novelette, then one of the novellas I worked on earlier this year. Then another short story, then another novella, and then…well you get the idea.

With any luck, I’ll be able to start shopping these novellas I’ve written as a collection at some point, while also have a bunch of shorter stories to submit to every publication I can find.

As for the new collection, I’ll start in January or February by announcing the title, revealing the cover and release date, and getting the marketing machine rolling. I’m honestly very excited for you to learn more about this collection. I have a very good feeling about it.

Looking forward to doing this next year!

And if all goes well…who knows? Maybe I’ll somehow find more time for writing and even–finally!–get back to writing my mummy novel, Crawler. Yeah, I know, I know. I keep saying I will, and then something puts it further down the To Do list. But I will get it done. You’ll see. I’m making it a goal.

In the meantime, if you would like to support me while I work on all these projects, or if you’re in the mood for something scary to read, or if you’re looking for a good gift for the horror fan in your life, why not consider getting one of my books? Not only would it be a great gift for yourself or for someone you know, but you’d be giving me a gift as well.

Besides, plant/human hybrids? Strange gods? Mafia hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses? I got something for every horror fan, including free stuff! So, why not check them out? I’ll leave a button for my Books page below. Look and see what calls to you.

Rami Ungar’s Books

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m going to at least try to start on the next chapter of The Shape of Evil (as I recall, this next one is rather long). Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Updates on What I’m Doing

Posted: October 17, 2024 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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Occasionally, there’s a lot I want to post about, but none of it is enough for a new blog post on its own. In those moments, especially when it’s been a minute since I last posted, I like to do a little (ha ha!) post with quick updates about what I’m working on lately and things going on in my life.

So, without further ado, let’s get to some updates!

Working on New and Shorter Works

As many of you know, I spent most of last year editing various stories, especially those in Hannah and Other Stories. After the Great Editing was over, I wanted to do nothing but write new things, and a lot of them, too. And I’ve done just that, working on one short story, a couple of novelettes, two novellas, and, much as I didn’t expect it to, a new novel (more on that below). In total, I’ve written six new stories. One, “White Leaves,” will be published on an upcoming episode of the Tales to Terrify podcast, another is with an alpha reader, and the others need a second draft.

Looking forward, I have three new stories I want to work on. One, a story set in the Cthulhu Mythos, I’m currently writing an outline for. Once all three are done, I’ll actually edit some of these stories and try to get them published.

Shape of Evil and Crawler

Remember I mentioned above I wrote a novel? That novel, The Shape of Evil, was originally supposed to be a novelette or a novella, but I guess the story had other plans. Otherwise, I would have hesitated before committing to such a long project. Anyway, the story is about a 3D printer from Hell, and I plan to do a second draft of it in December. While the novel took me six months to write, I’m hoping the editing takes only a few weeks to two months.

Afterwards, I plan to get a beta/sensitivity reader to look at it (the protagonist is a non-binary teen, so I want to make sure I’m representing the community in a way that’s positive), and do another draft based on their feedback. After that…well, I want to pitch this story at StokerCon next year. See if I can find an agent or publisher for it right off the bat. We’ll see what happens.

And as for my mummy novel, Crawler, yes, I still plan to finish it. I need to finish all these other stories and then edit some of them, but yes, I still plan to finish it. I hate that I haven’t worked on it for so long, but I will get it done. Just you wait and see.

Upcoming Events

As many of you know, I have a big day on October 26th, 2024, here in Columbus. First, the downtown library will be hosting HWA Ohio for an event called Scary Saturday. It’ll be a big day full of readings, short lectures, fun and spooky games, and plenty of local authors selling their books, among other things. I’ll be there selling copies of Rose and giving a lecture on how horror can be therapeutic to some readers, as well as generally helping out.

And then in the evening, some of us will be heading over to the Thurber House, a local writing-focused organization, for their Halloween celebration to do readings and attend spooky tours. I’ll be reading from Rose and selling whatever copies are left over. Should be a good time.

And while I might be doing fewer events next year (can you blame me in this economy?), I do have a few I’m already scheduled to attend. I’ll be at Akronomicon in Akron, OH on February 1st, 2025, and I’ll be at Halfway to Halloween in Ann Arbor, MI on May 11th, 2025. Both sound like big events, so I’m looking forward to being there for the very first time.

And if other events come up, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Other Stuff

There are some things I would like to discuss in detail here, but I’m not ready to do so just yet. I will say that I’m doing more to take care of my physical and mental health due to changes in my life. I am working out and eating healthier these days for the former, and I’ve noticed a vast improvement.

As for my mental health, I’m just doing a lot of different things, including finding time for self-care and talking to the right sort of people, to make sure life’s worries and cares don’t get me down. I’ve also noticed a vast improvement on this.

(Though for both, there is still room to improve).

Finally, a big announcement: I’ll be going to Israel at the end of the year.

I know, I know, there’s a war and I disagree with A LOT of what Israel’s government does. However, I do feel that the Land of Israel is my homeland and maybe the last refuge for me and my fellow Jews on this Earth. And it’s important at this time for my people to ensure this country continues to exist, whatever our feelings about the current situation.

Besides, I haven’t been since I was 17 and a friend of mine is getting married there, so I guess no time like the present.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you’re as excited to read the works above I mentioned once they’re ready. In the meantime, if you want to support me, or you’re just looking for a good scary story (and I figure you would be, with only fourteen days to go to Halloween), I have plenty of good stories for you to check out. From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan, including some free stuff. I’ll leave a button below if you want to check out my work. And if you do, be sure to leave a review so I know what you thought.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Book Links and Excerpts

Updates on What I’m Doing

Posted: April 24, 2024 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Writing
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So, it’s been more than a week since my last post. And I have some things I wanted to talk to you about. Problem is, none of them are enough for a blog post on their own, so I’m doing an updates post. Because let’s face it, those have worked before! Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to lately:

I’m Writing about a 3D Printer from Hell

You know how after the Great Editing, all I wanted to do was work on some new stories and not edit for a while? Well, I’ve been doing just that, and have so far written one short story, one novelette, and two novellas. Only the short story has been edited and is being shopped around, while the rest are waiting on their second drafts.

The current project is what I hope will be a novella about a 3D printer from Hell. Most likely, it’s going to end up a novel and I’ll be like, “Rami, what did you do?” But if it ends up being that long, so be it. I’m going to care more about the quality of the words instead of the quantity of the word count (though that is important).

Anywho, right now this project, which doesn’t have a title yet, is still early in the first draft. I’m trying to work on it every opportunity I get, and I hope to get further along before too much time passes. After that, I plan on working on a few more (hopefully much shorter) tales. And after that? Well, I think I’ll go through editing all these stories and then finding some of them homes.

Ongoing projects

So, before you ask: yes, I am still planning on getting back to my mummy novel Crawler. It’s just that I wanted to work on a bunch of other stuff and not commit to another huge project for a while. Granted, that might have blown up in my face, with the 3D printer story possibly going the same route as The Pure World Comes (God, I was so naive to think that would be a novelette). But I still plan to get back to it before the end of the year and finish the first draft.

In the meantime, I’m also putting together two new collections. Yes, you read that right: two new collections. All I can say about them is that one will be made up entirely of novellas, and the other will be made up entirely of novelettes. How many in each, and which stories will be in it, I’ll let you know when the projects are a lot further along. But let me be clear: I am working on these, and will update you when it’s appropriate to do so.

Finally, I’ve also started research on a new essay. Won’t say what it is yet, but it’s going to be horror focused, and it’s also going to revolve around one of my favorite things. Like everything else, I’ll keep you updated on any developments.

Important anniversaries are coming up!

So, I realized yesterday that three of my books have anniversaries coming up and these are going to be important ones. First, The Pure World Comes will be celebrating its second anniversary since being released in paperback and ebook on May 10, 2024. Feels like it’s been out a lot longer, but yeah, I counted to be sure. Two years.

Then, Snake will celebrate ten years since release on June 10, 2024. Yeah, the big one-oh. Kind of snuck up on me, didn’t it?

And finally, on June 20, 2024, Rose will celebrate five year since it was first released. I know, I know. Hard to believe, right? It amazes me too that that book came out just before the pandemic!

With all these anniversaries, I’ll be doing something to celebrate each, so be sure to stick around. And if you haven’t read those books…well, if you need some reading material right now, go check those three out. They’re scary and awesome, if I do say so myself. You can check them out using my Book Links and Excerpts page, which is linked to the button below.

Book Links & Excerpts

Anything else?

Well, I’ve been busy with HWA Ohio stuff. As a chapter, we’re really growing and getting noticed in all the right ways, so as Chapter Coordinator, I’ve been busy with that and making sure we all get more exposure and readers. With any luck, some of us may even be able to take our careers to brand new heights.

Also got some events I’ll be going to soon, which I am looking forward to (see my last post about those). Hope you’re looking forward to and maybe stopping by some of those as well.

I’ve been putting up a lot of stuff on my YouTube channel, including some writing advice videos I’m proud of. Definitely check those out and consider subscribing to my channel.

And…that’s about it. I mean, I could talk about work stuff, or the fact that it’s Passover, but I don’t feel like it. Also, it’s getting late, and I have to go into the office tomorrow, so might as well stop here.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares. I hope whatever you’re doing, it’s working out well for you.

My Writing Goals for 2024

Posted: January 1, 2024 in Reflections, Writing
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Happy New Year, my Followers of Fear. I wasn’t going to do this sort of post, let alone on New Year’s Day. After all, I went over a lot of this stuff in my “Looking Back at 2023, Looking Forward to 2024” post. But plenty of my writer friends were posting their 2023 accomplishments and their 2024 goals on social media, so I thought, “Why shouldn’t I? And why should I limit myself to however many characters?”

Thus, I’m writing a full blog post.

So, with all that said, let’s get into my writing goals and how I plan to keep busy on the writing front.

FINISH THE SHORT WORKS I STARTED

After the Great Editing ended last year, I went through my list of ideas and chose seven story ideas I thought would be fun to work on (and hopefully had a chance of getting published). I’ve already finished two stories: a surprisingly short weird horror story called “White Leaves,” and a Jewish exorcism story called “The House on Lafayette Square.” And at the moment, I’m working on a story about owls under the temporary title “Strigiformes.”

With this particular goal, I aim to finish “Strigiformes” by Martin Luther King Day, and then get the other four stories done by around May. Don’t know if I will, but God knows I’m going to try. I’m already at the halfway point of “Strigiformes,” so assuming nothing messes with my life between now and the 15th, I should be off to a good start.

FINISH CRAWLER

My big project for 2024, assuming nothing else pops up, is to finally return to my mummy novel Crawler and finish it. Hopefully after I finish these last four and a half short works, and around May-ish. I want to go over what’s already been written, then get around to finishing the first draft.

Don’t know if it’ll get published at some point, but I definitely want it to be at least finished. I hate the feeling of it being left undone when I feel it has great potential.

GROW MY AUDIENCE

This one should be pretty self-explanatory. I love my Followers of Fear and how ardent you all can be, but I am a writer. We love having people enjoying our work. So, I’m trying to build my audience and the number of people who I can claim to be Followers of Fear.

Part of this will be done by selling books at events, which are great places to meet new readers, and another part will be some slight changes to how I do things on social media.* With a bit of luck, the right interactions, and sympathetic algorithms, maybe more people will come to love and look forward to my stories when they release.

*BTW, I’ve left Twitter due to Elon Musk going full anti-Semite and have moved to Threads and BlueSky. So, if you want to follow me there, click on the links.

GET SOME ACCEPTANCES

Again, this is also self-explanatory. While I do self-publish some of my work, I still like to get publishers to release some of my stories. There are benefits to going indie and going through a publisher. And all that being said, I hope to have some presses accept my stories and help me polish them up to their most beautiful before letting them out into the world.

And I may self-publish some stuff, as well. If the circumstances are right.

HAVE A GOOD 2024 FISCALLY

Writing is a passion and a calling, but it is also a job and a business. That’s especially true during tax time. And while this past year, I had the most income from writing ever, I also had a lot of expenses. Not enough to overtake my income, but still, a lot. For 2024, I hope to have fewer expenses. Or that my income far outpaces my expenses. It’s something I’ll be working on throughout the year, so hopefully it goes well.

MAYBE ANOTHER COLLECTION?

Yeah, putting together and editing Hannah was difficult at times, but it was gratifying, too. And I’m thinking of maybe putting together another collection. If I do, what stories will be in it, what it’ll be called, if there will be a theme, and if I self-publish it or not, we’ll see. This part of the future, at least, is still up in the air.

MAYBE AN ADAPTATION?

I know, I know. Getting any of my stories adapted into any medium is a long shot. Still, some things happened in 2023 that give me hope that it could happen. (And if you’re lucky, you’ll hear about what later this year.) So, I’m putting it on this list as a goal.

GET THAT MUCH CLOSER TO WRITING FULL-TIME

This is my overall goal for 2024. Granted, this is my overall goal every year. But I feel like I made significant progress this year towards this goal in 2023, and I feel like 2024 will take me even further. I want to get to the point where I can actually see a path to eventually being able to write full-time. Where it stops being just a dream and starts to morph into a reality.

If the majority of these go these goals go well, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll end 2024 with goals towards making dreams reality in 2025. And wouldn’t that be glorious?

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope 2024 treats us all very well (though honestly, I feel like roaring at the year to intimidate it instead of hoping it’s nice to us is a better move). Thank you for all the support you guys showed me in 2023. I hope you continue to do so in 2024. And one way to do that is to read my books and leave reviews, and/or follow my social media. I’ll leave buttons that’ll take you to where you can find both.

Book Links and Excerpts
About Me

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! RAWR!!!

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