Rami Ungar The Writer

Halloween Writing Workshop with HWA Ohio

Events in 2023

Posted: October 12, 2023 in Living and Life, Writing
Tags: "The Face of Horror" contest, Anchorage Mansion, authors, Bexley Public Library, entertainment, Hannah and Other Stories, haunted Ohio, Hidden Marietta, horror, HWA Ohio, living and life, Ohio Chapter of the Horror Writers Association, Ohio Chapter of the HWA, reflections, scary stuff, writing

Hey folks! Told you I’d be doing a non-Hannah or Face of Horror post at some point soon.

Anyway, it looks like I have two final events for 2023 (and that’s deliberate so I don’t tucker myself out). On October 30th, 2023, I’ll be at the Bexley Public Library with my friends in HWA Ohio for the Halloween Writing Workshop. We’ll be teaching some tips and tricks for writing flash fiction and then writing flash fiction together. It’ll be from 7 PM – 8 PM, and if you want to, you can join us! Just use the link below to RSVP.

And this is exciting, because I’ll be doing an event with Hidden Marietta in Marietta, Ohio! Yeah, I’ll be doing a reading and book signing at their location, the Anchorage Mansion. You know, the one I found was really haunted (see this post to get all the spooky details)? I’m looking forward to working that into my reading!

Anyway, it’ll be happening on Saturday, November 11. Details such as time and whether you need to RSVP prior will be announced as we get closer. And there may be someone else there doing something cool, like reiki healing or Tarot reading, so look forward to it.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to make dinner. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Hannah and Other Stories: All the Excerpt Videos

Posted: October 10, 2023 in Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: "The Face of Horror" contest, entertainment, Fuseli's Horses, Hannah, Hannah and Other Stories, horror, living and life, Poor Unfortunate Souls, Queen Alice, scary stuff, The Autopsy Kid and Doctor Sarah, The Red Bursts, What Errour Awoke, writing, YouTube, YouTube video

If you weren’t aware, I have a YouTube channel (which you can find here). And over the past several weeks and months, I’ve been uploading videos of me reading from Hannah and Other Stories. And as of earlier this week, I’ve uploaded videos from each story in the collection. And since everyone here doesn’t subscribe to my YouTube channel (a crying shame, I know), I thought I would post all those videos here on the blog for you to see. In the order they were uploaded, too.

First, we have “What Errour Awoke,” which is probably my favorite story to read from:

I know the angle for this one was weird. First video trying to be atmospheric and all that. We had improvement with the next video, which was directly from “Hannah:”

And with the “Queen Alice” video, I got special stands for my candles. They rock!

After that, I went with “The Autopsy Kid and Doctor Sarah,” which is the closest to extreme horror Hannah gets.

And then we get to the carnivorous horses. You know, “Fuseli’s Horses?” That’s a popular story in the collection.

Then we have The Red Bursts.

And finally, we have “Poor, Unfortunate Souls,” which has a similar camera angle as the first video. Totally not intentional, but in a weird way, it was kind of like going full circle.

Well, I hope you enjoyed those. I know they’re not much, but I do these videos so that you may possibly show interest in the collection. And in that spirit, I’ll be posting links below. If you’re interested, please check out Hannah and Other Stories and let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and doing so helps other readers decide whether to check out the book.

Also, if you could subscribe to my YouTube channel, I would appreciate it. The stuff I post isn’t like the top YouTubers, but often they’re stuff I love or want to share it. And occasionally I even get ghosts on camera! So check it out.

And if you could, I’m trying to up my rank in the Face of Horror contest, so if you could vote for me, I would appreciate it. Who knows? I may even win. Thanks!

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I swear, I’ll do some non-Hannah or Face of Horror posts in the near future. Hopefully, you all aren’t annoyed with all this promotional stuff. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

This Year’s Halloween Costume and Yard

Posted: October 8, 2023 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff
Tags: Azathoth, cosmic horror, Cthulhu, Cthulhu Mythos, Halloween, Halloween costume, Halloween decor, Halloween season, horror, kigurumi, living and life, Nyarlathotep, scary stuff, Shub-niggurath, The King in Yellow

Did I need to write a post about this? No. Am I going to anyway? Oh, hell yeah.

So, as you know, I LOOOOOOOVE Halloween. In fact, I pretty much celebrate it year round and try to get people to freak out with me between late August and November 1st. So, I take great delight and great preparation in my Halloween costume and my front yard (especially now that I have a front yard).

So, without further ado, let me show you my very special Halloween costume. Behold, I am…Cthulhu!

Pretty cool, huh? I’m wearing a kigurumi, which is a Japanese costume you can wear as streatwear, as a costume, or as onesie pajamas. I got them as a birthday present, and have worn them for a couple of YouTube videos. And now that it’s October and it’s gotten colder, I’m wearing this as both pajamas and as a costume. Isn’t it awesome?

I may also wear other stuff, and I’ll be sure to take photos, but this will be my main costume. Besides, it’s so comfy!

And here’s my yard this year. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, so now my yard’s even more creepy! Check it out!

What’s your favorite part? I’m quite proud of the big spider web. I found one that’s not dangerous to wildlife (because, as you may have heard, the stuff that we’ve stretching across our bushes for years can kill birds and small animals) and which I can still hang scary spiders on. One’s even got a baby head! Isn’t that freaky!

And next year, I’ll go even bigger and creepier! Maybe even a giant statue that moves when motion is triggered in front of it!

Whether I dress up as a cosmic horror entity again is another matter (remember last year, when I was the King in Yellow?). Though I’m not sure how I would dress up as Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, or Shub-niggurath without getting an expensive and elaborate costume that’s hard to move around in. I mean, can you imagine what those costumes would like? Without going mad, that is?

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I don’t have work tomorrow, so I’m going to pop popcorn and watch a scary movie. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Speaking of Halloween, as you’re probably aware, Hannah and Other Stories is out now and is scaring everyone silly! If you would like to check out these stories full of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, you can do so using any of the links below. And if you do, please leave me a review after you read the book. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps readers decide whether or not to check out the book.

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

Rami’s Face of Horror page

The Face of Horror Contest: Onto the Witch Trials!

Posted: October 5, 2023 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Scary Stuff
Tags: "The Face of Horror" contest, contest, entertainment, Hannah and Other Stories, horror, living and life, progress report, reviews, scary stuff

Well, here we are again, my Followers of Fear. I’ve made it past the Bloodsucker round and am now onto the Witch Trials round. And this will be the round that will make or break me. In fact, if things happen like last year, I may not survive this round.

So, if you didn’t know, the Face of Horror contest is a contest I’ve been participating in since last month. Competitors compete against one another to stay high in the rankings in order to make it to further rounds. To get through the rounds, competitors mobilize their social media followings for daily votes. The final winner will get a cash prize and a photo spread in Rue Morgue magazine with Kane Hodder, AKA the actor who played Jason Voorhees the most.

I’ve survived the Bloodsucker round, so now we’re in the Witch Trials round. And here is where it’ll get way more cutthroat than previous rounds. You see, I had to stay in the Top 5 in the Bloodsucker round. But now, I need to stay in the Top 2 spots to survive.

If I stay in second place, I’ll go into the Re-Animator round, and have a further chance to stay in the contest. If I get into first place, I’ll get a short break and compete in the Living Dead round after the Re-Animator round. Either way, I still have a fighting chance.

At the time I’m writing this, I’m currently in second place, so I think I have a chance. Still, if I manage to survive the Witch Trials round, I think I might seriously have a real chance to win this whole contest. I would totally love it if I did.

Anyway, if you would like to support me, you can go to my contest page using the link below and cast a daily vote for me. Or you can buy extra votes by donating to a charity associated with the contest, but only do that if you want to. Whatever you do, we’ll know on October 12th if I made it or not.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I look forward to keeping you updated on my progress in the contest and whether I have a real shot of winning this.

One last thing, my Followers of Fear: Hannah and Other Stories has been out nearly two weeks now and has been doing spectacularly! It’s received reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and all so far have been around five stars. Like I’ve been saying, this book full of ghosts, budding serial killers and carnivorous horses (among other things), is perfect Halloween reading. And if you would like to check it out, I’ll leave links below.

Happy reading and pleasant nightmares, Followers of Fear. And if you do read it, I hope you’ll leave a review so I know what you think.

Hannah and Other Stories: One Week Since Release!!!

Posted: September 30, 2023 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: Cemetery Dance, entertainment, Halloween, Halloween season, Hannah and Other Stories, horror, living and life, publishing, reviews, scary stuff, short story, short story collection, writing

Heya Followers of Fear. Can you believe it’s been a week since Hannah and Other Stories was released? I’m having trouble with it, simply because I had such a wild week, so it feels longer than seven days. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that seven days have passed since Hannah came out.

Now, if you’re new here, Hannah and Other Stories is my new book, a collection of seven short stories. Among those stories are tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, among other things. It took over two years of work to get it ready for publication, and was finally released last week on the 23rd.

Since it released, I’ve heard from quite a few Followers of Fear that they’ve either bought the book and have started reading it, or they’re planning on getting it soon. Not only that, but I even got a really nice review! Joshua Gage, a reviewer for Cemetery Dance magazine’s website, posted this review on their site. Here’s a quote from the review that I really liked:

Hannah and Other Stories is a really solid collection of horror stories that span the gamut from cozy and comforting to gory and disturbing…After you have read this book, you will wonder why you didn’t own it already, and will most likely want to read everything Ungar has written.

Wow! Now that’s a compliment. And I would love it if more people read all my work.

Mr. Gage also put out this nice tweet to help with spreading the word:

Those flesh-eating horses are quite popular. I wonder if they’ll become the best-known part of the collection?

Anyway, at the time I’m writing it, Mr. Gage’s reviews are the only review, but I’m sure more will come in time. And when they do, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Trust me, I will. You can’t get me to shut up about this book.

Anyway, if you’re looking for something good to read this Halloween, you can’t go wrong with Hannah. I’ll include links below so you can check it out. And if you read it, I hope you’ll leave a review online. After all, I love reader feedback, positive or negative. And your reviews help other readers whether or not to check out the book.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope you’re looking forward to going into October like I am. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Rami Ungar’s Face of Horror Profile

The Face of Horror Contest: Onto the Bloodsucker Round

Posted: September 28, 2023 in Living and Life, Scary Stuff
Tags: "The Face of Horror" contest, contest, entertainment, horror, living and life, scary stuff

Well, I made it to the fourth round! Not bad. Thanks for getting me this far, everyone.

Anyway, if you didn’t know, I’m taking part in something known as the Face of Horror contest. Competitors compete to gain votes and get through the rounds. The final person standing gets a cash prize and a photo spread in Rue Morgue magazine with Kane Hodder, who played Jason Voorhees the most of any actor.

As of this evening, I’m now in the Bloodsucker Round, the fourth round of the contest. And guess what? I’m only this far thanks to you all. Every time you cast a daily vote for me (or buy extra votes that go to charity, some of you may be doing that, I don’t know), you help me stay high in the rankings and ensure I get through to the next round.

Now, I need your help again for this next round. In the Bloodsucker Round, every group of contestants is down to its Top 10, and now we’ll be whittled down to the Top 5. Now, at the time I’m writing this, I’m #4 in the rankings for my group. However, if I slip below fifth place, I may never get back up. So, if you would be kind enough to help me, I would appreciate it if you could continue voting for me through October 5th. Either you can vote for me for free every day, or, if you’re comfortable with it, donating to charity for extra votes.

If you do, who knows? I could even get to the final rounds.

Anyway, if you would like to vote for me, you can do so using the link below. I look forward to updating you on my progress and I hope when we discuss this again, I’ll have made it to the fifth round.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

The End of the Great Editing?

Posted: September 28, 2023 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
Tags: "The Face of Horror" contest, Crawler, editing, entertainment, Hannah and Other Stories, horror, living and life, mummy, novel, progress report, publishing, reflections, scary stuff, The Great Editing, writing

It’s almost October, meaning we’re three-quarters of the way through calendar year 2023.

Before 2023 started, I announced that I would be doing something called The Great Editing, where I would spending several months deep in editing stories, mainly drafts of Hannah and Other Stories, plus a couple of novellas and novelettes. Every now and then, I’d take breaks to work on original work, and hopefully it would be done in a couple of months.

Somehow, the Great Editing extended through the summer, and in recent months has been very revved up as I go through stories I wanted to get edited back in the spring. Sure, I still worked on original stories, such as the story I wanted to submit to the grimdark anthology* and a weird fiction story, but for the most part, I’ve been doing a ton of editing.

And promoting for Hannah and the Face of Horror contest. But mostly editing.

Now, I think I’m close to finishing this insane process. I’ve got one more story I’m definitely editing, then another I haven’t decided if I want to edit or if I want to put it in the proverbial trunk. After that, unless beta readers or publishers have notes for me (and usually those edits can be done in less than an hour), I plan to end the Great Editing and work on some original stories. In fact, I have five or six shorter works I want to work on, because they just intrigue me and seem like a ton of fun.

And after those are done, I want to get back to Crawler, the mummy novel I started last year, then put on the back burner, and then entirely off the stove. I’d like to go over what I’ve written once more, apply all the learning and experience I’ve gained since I last worked on the book, and then get to the end of it. I absolutely hate that this book is unfinished, especially when it has such potential. Perhaps by this time next year, it’ll be finished. I would like that.

Well, before that happens, I need to get some edits done. Wish me luck, my Followers of Fear. If I can, I’ll finish The Great Editing done by Halloween.

*Unfortunately, the story I wrote for the anthology wasn’t exactly grimdark, so the anthology rejected it. However, they did say it was a great story and really enjoyed it, so I was happy to hear that. I’ve already resubmitted it, and will hopefully have news soon.

How about that, my Followers of Fear? I only mentioned Hannah and the Face of Horror without trying to get you to buy something or take part. But don’t worry, I’ll do plenty of that in later posts.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and 33 days till Halloween! Release the scary clown army!

“Hannah and Other Stories” Has Finally Been Released!!!

Posted: September 23, 2023 in Progress Report, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
Tags: audio book, BSC Publishing Group, ebook, editing, entertainment, Hannah and Other Stories, horror, living and life, paperback, publishing, release date, scary stuff, writing

Everybody, quick! Light the sparklers! Get out the snacks! Pour the wine! Play the wild dance music! Put in your favorite horror movie! Prepare a sacrifice for the Great Old Ones! Summon demons to dance with us while we writhe in terror and ecstasy! Run through the streets in terrifying costumes while carrying lit torches! But most of all, find a place to read and start reading, because Hannah and Other Stories is finally released and available to read!

Okay, so if you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months, Hannah and Other Stories is my new collection of short stories. It was first accepted by BSC Publishing Group in October 2021, and we’ve been spending the past two years making sure it’s ready for all of you to read when the time comes.

And now, that time has come: today is September 23rd, 2023, meaning Hannah is finally out for you all to read. And I am so excited for you all to read this collection! I’ve been saying it for a while now, but Hannah is the perfect book to read for the Halloween season. And why wouldn’t it be? It has tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, just to name a few!

Anyway, if you preordered the book, I hope you’re looking forward to getting into it. And if you haven’t, I hope you decide to download a copy today. I’ve put a lot of hard work into this collection and I cannot wait to see what everyone thinks of it.

And whether you preordered the book or just bought a copy today, I hope you’ll let me know what you think when you finish reading it. Amazon, Goodreads, blog posts, articles on horror sites, even a tweet or Facebook status would be great. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, as it helps me become a better writer. Not to mention, your thoughts help other readers decide whether or not to check out the book.

Now, I know Hannah is only available in ebook at the moment. But if it does well enough, it may get released in paperback and even audiobook editions! So please support the book, even if it’s only in an ebook format, and maybe we’ll get those other formats as well.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. If you would like to check Hannah out, I’ll leave links below. Remember to leave those reviews out there! And until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!