Posts Tagged ‘scary stuff’

Thoughts on Lovecraft: Part 3

Posted: February 7, 2017 in Review, Scary Stuff, Writing
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So I started up a binge on H.P. Lovecraft again right after the new year. I’m not sure why; maybe I was just in the mood for him, or maybe something I read made me think of good old Mr. Lovecraft and I wanted to pick him up again.Or maybe the YouTube video where I discovered Uzumaki mentioned him, and that did it. Whatever the case, I’ve noticed that the gaps between my binges are shortening with every binge. I first put him down in September 2015 after first buying my edition of his collected works, picked him up again in June 2016, put him down once more the next month and picked him up again in January 2017. I wonder when I’ll be in meeting Mr. Lovecraft again? Early summer, maybe?

Now if you don’t know who H.P. Lovecraft is (and there seems to be a lot of you who don’t), let me tell you about him. Lovecraft was a writer from New England who wrote in the early 20th century, and is considered the father of cosmic horror, a sub-genre of horror that deals with man’s inconsequential place in our universe, and that some revelations about that are so powerful, they cause you to go mad (it’s the kind of stuff that keeps you up at night if you think too much about it).

I started reading Lovecraft two years ago because I heard he was very influential on some of my favorite writers and filmmakers, and each time I delve into his work I like to write my thoughts on him (see Parts 1 and 2 here). So what did I think this time around?

Well, I have to say, the further I get into Lovecraft’s work, the easier it is to read. I’ve mentioned before that he writes like he’s living in the 1820s rather than in the 1920’s, but I think as time goes on, he learned to write in a more contemporary style while still sounding like he was a contemporary of Poe. I’m not sure that the collection I have of his work is chronological, but if it is, then I’m definitely seeing him develop into a better writer. I also think I’m getting a better grasp at what makes Lovecraft so memorable. Before, I probably would have used generalizations, such as “he’s creepy” or “vaguely disturbing.” Now, however, I’m able to point out what exactly about the story sticks in my mind and why it is successful or not successful, such as the mysterious nature of the monsters in one story or the twist at the end of the story in another.

I also think that the stories written in this period (assuming that the stories are ordered chronologically, of course) are much better than his previous works. I got to read one of his famous stories “The Call of Cthulhu,” and I found it very interesting. Not just because it contains one of Lovecraft’s most famous characters, but it has the essence of his cosmology and philosophy in that story. The idea of man as the insects of the universe, and greater beings just waiting to come back and take over is succinctly and powerfully presented through the narrator’s encounters with the titular demon-god’s cult.

Got to read the story with this guy.

 

I also really liked the short story “Pickman’s Model,” about an artist who draws very disturbing paintings in an old colonial home. It was well told, and I really enjoyed the twist at the end, which even I didn’t see coming.Same with “Cool Air,” a short story about a doctor living in an apartment building. I read the list at the end of that story, and I was like, “Damn! That’s actually very clever.”

If there was any story I did not like, then it was the last story I read by him this particular binge, and also the longest. “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” a novella that felt like an acid trip ending  in a Lewis Carroll ripoff.* It was too long, silly trying to be serious, and like I said, the ending rips off Lewis Carroll in the most obvious way. I kind of wish I had skipped over this one.

All in all though, I’m really starting to gain a healthy respect for H.P. Lovecraft. He added a lot to the horror genre, even if he didn’t live to see his influence, and I can see why he’s still read today. I don’t know when I will pick up his work again, but I have a feeling I am in for a treat when I do.

In the meantime, I found out there’s a movie version of “Call of Cthulhu,” so I will try to get my hands on a copy of that. Hopefully I’ll get it soon, and when I do, you’ll hear my thoughts about it.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I hope to have a new author interview out Friday, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Until then, pleasant nightmares.

*Weirdly, it wasn’t acid he was on. LSD wasn’t invented until year after Lovecraft died, so there’s no way he could have gotten his hands on it. Or Lewis Carroll, for that matter. Which begs the question: if those two were high when they came up with their respective stories, what were they high on?

The “First Day, First Paragraph” Tag!!!

Posted: February 1, 2017 in short story, Writing
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first-day-first-paragraph-tag

Once more, I’m doing this tag. Why? Because it’s fun. And I still want to see if I can spread it around the Internet. Since I created this tag, I’ve tagged four people. Too soon to tell if #4 has done the tag, but I’ve gotten two of the previous three to do the tag, so the success rate isn’t too bad.

Anyway, here are the rules of the tag:

  1. Publish your own post on the first day of the month.
  2. Use the graphic above
  3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
  4. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  5. Post the first paragraph of a story you’ve written, are writing, or plan to write someday.
  6. Ask your readers for feedback.
  7. Finally, tag someone to do the post next month (for example, if you do the tag on the first of August, the person you tag has to do it on the first of September), and comment on one of their posts to let them know the good news.

Published on February 1st? Check. Used the graphic above? Check. Guy from Slovakia is actually a…Czech. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Anyway, not going to thank myself. That’d be weird. I have explained the rules though, so I’m doing a good job otherwise.

Today’s paragraph is coming from the titular story of my collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. That collection was the first work I published myself, and it’s my most reviewed as well. That’s either because it’s been around the longest or it’s also very short. Or both.

Anyway, enjoy:

It was a tranquil Saturday morning at St. Dunstan’s School for Girls as Traci opened her eyes and stretched. Slipping out of bed, Traci moved past her sleeping roommate and across the hall to the bathroom to shower. As she showered, she couldn’t help but feel like she was forgetting something. She wasn’t sure what, but she knew she had forgotten something and whatever it was, it was important. But what on Earth could she have forgotten? It was Saturday, which meant no required Mass. She had some homework, but she’d get that done after breakfast, and there was nothing to do in town today. What could it be?

Comments? Thoughts? Let’s discuss.

And now to tag someone to start a new chain. Let’s see…I choose my friend Adan Ranie! Adan, you’ve been tagged. I hope you decide to take this up and I hope you have fun while doing it.

That’s all for now. It’s February, so I’m hoping for good things this month. Don’t know what form those good things will take, but anything’s possible.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear!

Getting to Meet RL Stine

Posted: January 29, 2017 in Living and Life, Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Today I ordered an Uber ride from my apartment to the Drexel Theaters in the Bexley neighborhood for a special event. And there I saw something terrifying: the poster for Tommy Wiseau’s The Room. That film is horrible! I’ve seen clips of it, and it’s painful. And apparently the theater shows the film every now and then. And people apparently come to see it. That’s some dark, sadomasochistic stuff right there.

But I was really there because Gramercy Books Bexley was having a big weekend in honor of its opening, and the highlight of this opening weekend celebration was a viewing of the Goosebumps film, followed by a reading and a book signing with RL Stine himself!

Now if you don’t know who RL Stine is, what rock are you living under? Well, he’s the author of the popular Goosebumps children’s books, which are probably the most famous horror series for kids in literature. I’d read them as a kid, well before I knew I wanted to write horror, and was probably an early influence on me. So when I visited Gramercy a couple weeks ago (they’ve been open for a little while now, but they had their celebration this weekend. Kind of like a belated birthday party, I guess) and saw they were hosting RL Stine, I knew I had to buy a ticket to meet him. And I bought a couple of his books too, including some of his adult fiction (did not know the guy wrote adult fiction, but I was happy to purchase a couple books from him).

Sunday came. I enjoyed the movie (see my review of the movie from 2015), and was amazed by the mix of adults who grew up with the series and kids who were reading Goosebumps twenty-five years after the first book came out (yeah, twenty-five years. Time flies, huh?). I always thought Goosebumps was a phenomenon of the 90’s and early 2000’s, but it’s endured beyond when I stopped reading the books. Perhaps kids will be reading the Goosebumps books years and years from now, like how we read Alice in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables over a hundred years after each book came out. I certainly wouldn’t mind reading them to any kids I might have in the future.

rl-stine-reading

Anyway, the film ended. We waited as the staff from Gramercy set up a podium and microphone at the front of the theater. And then Mr. Stine himself ambled down the aisle, a hunched-over over man in a dark red shirt and dark khakis with large glasses and an amiable smile. He told us about how he had used to visit the Drexel Theaters to watch cartoons and old monster movies, the titles of which he said influenced how he titled his own stories. He also told us a story about how he actually might’ve seen a ghost as a kid (and which he hinted very heavily he made up for us), and then read for us some stuff from his upcoming book, Slappy Birthday to You. Hearing him read it brought me back to my childhood, I tell you.

After that, we all got in line in the theater lobby to get our books signed. The line was very long, circling around the lobby, and I managed to get into it around the circle area. After about ten minutes in line or so, I finally got to the table. And the whole time I was thinking to myself, “Don’t embarrass yourself, Rami. Don’t embarrass yourself.” His wife took my copy of Stay Out of the Basement, the book I’d decided to have Mr. Stine sign and which might’ve been the first Goosebumps story I ever read (I can’t remember very well, I think I was six when I started reading them). He asked me my name, and I said it, though I think he heard “Robbie,” given the noise of the lobby. He signed it, and then I told him what I wanted to tell him:

“I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Stine. I read your books as a kid, and now I write horror and science fiction. And I think you were an early influence of mine. I just wanted to thank you for that.”

Me with RL Stine himself.

Me with RL Stine himself.

He gave me back my book with a smile. If he said anything, I can’t remember what it was. Maybe “That’s nice,” or “You’re welcome,” or perhaps just “Uh-huh.” I think he’s heard that maybe a few times at this point in his career and that he’s used to it, but I was happy to have told him.  And I was allowed to take a photo with him afterwards, which you can see here.

I left after that, got an Uber home. Overall, I was happy. I said I’d felt like a child earlier, and in a way, I was. My inner kid was there this whole afternoon, from watching the movie to hearing and finally meeting RL Stine himself, feeling wonder and exultation at getting to meet this early influence of mine. That kid is often with me, reminding me why I write scary stories and powering the imagination needed to tell these stories. And I’m glad he came out with me today.

I sadly didn’t get Mr. Stine interested in reading my books, but that’s okay. I was just glad I didn’t embarrass myself by saying something stupid or offensive (I sometimes get a little starstruck in front of famous or powerful people, and that makes my logic circuit misfire sometimes). And it’s something to aim for, you know? I’m working on finding ways to make sure more people want to read my stories, and maybe someday one of those people will be RL Stine, along with all the other authors I look up to. I just have to keep writing and working hard and maybe someday all I dream will come true.

And I have four RL Stine books on my bookshelf in the meantime to keep me occupied. Definitely feel happy about that.

Thanks to the Drexel and Gramercy Books for making my weekend. I hope you can tell what this opportunity meant to me just by reading this post. I look forward to continuing to support you both in the years to come.

Review: “Uzumaki” by Junji Ito

Posted: January 22, 2017 in Review, Scary Stuff
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I love manga and anime, but I often have trouble getting my hands on horror manga and anime that is actually scary. I’ve found plenty with ghosts, zombies, homunculi, serial killers, and death games, to name a few, but often they’re mixed with other genres to make them more palatable for non-horror fans. Other times I have heard of a scary one, but I can’t get my hands on it (still trying to get my hands on Corpse Party), and other times I just don’t know of some series that I should. So when I actually hear and find some manga or anime that is actually scary, I rejoice. Case in point, Uzumaki by Junji Ito, who is considered one of the greatest horror manga artists from Japan, and it shows in this series.

Uzumaki literally translates into “spiral,” which is the essence of the manga. The story follows Kirie Goshima, a teenage girl living in the town of Kurozou-cho. One day, her boyfriend Shuichi tells her that his father has become obsessed with spiral shapes, to the point that he is losing his grip on reality. This leads to a gruesome series of events that reveal a curse upon the town and the surrounding area, a curse involving spirals, spirals that hypnotize and entrance, spirals that terrify and excite, spirals natural and unnatural. And once the curse sets in, it doesn’t let go.

From the very beginning, Uzumaki is quite extraordinary. Ito illustrates with  incredible attention to detail, which in a horror manga  is necessary if you really want to convey a sense of terror. I mean, look at the imagery below.

Holy crap, that is both well-drawn and scary! You can see every detail, how much  work is put into each stroke of ink to make the imagery look realistic despite being an illustration. And the best part is, Ito is not concerned with aesthetic beauty. You look at most animation, and it’s meant to be pleasing to the eye. To be cool, or pretty, or adorable. Ito doesn’t concern himself with that. He’s concerned with just making you squirm, and he does that so well with his illustrations.

And on top of that, his storytelling abilities are great. Unlike other horror stories, the horror is based on abstract concepts. A geometric shape, the spiral, is what we’re supposed to be afraid of. You’d never think a spiral shape like the one below would be scary, but Ito uses his illustrations, storytelling, and the turn of a page to weave this frightening tale where we’re forced along to find out what happens, fining stranger and stranger things on the succeeding pages. And best of all, Ito just takes things in the most unexpected directions, inserting the spiral into strange places we normally wouldn’t see it. I won’t say what happens, but things like snails or pregnant women get matched with the spiral, and it becomes terrifying. It’s made even better that you don’t actually get a lot of explanation. With ghosts or vampires, you get a mythology on how they work and how to deal with them. In Uzumaki, Ito leaves it up to the imagination as to what’s happening. It’s very unnerving in a Lovecraftian sense to see how this town becomes part of some strange curse around a geometric shape, and never get an explanation.

Doesn't look scary at first. Wait and see.

Doesn’t look scary at first. Wait and see.

If there is one criticism I have, it’s that the people of the town don’t really come to terms with what’s going on as fast as they should. At a certain point, it becomes impossible not to face what’s happening in the town, but up until then, there are plenty of signs that something’s up, and not one of the main characters realize they have to get up and get out before it’s too late. Even the guy who’s constantly saying they should leave doesn’t. At least make an attempt!

But other than that, Uzumaki is a terrifying story of cosmic horror that takes something harmless and give it a weird, disturbing form that will surely stay with you for a while after you finish reading it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving Uzumaki a 4.8 out of 5. If you enjoy horror and don’t mind visual reading like comic books and manga, definitely check out Uzumaki. I’m glad I did, and I will try to track down the move version as soon as possible. Because after seeing these sorts of pictures, I’m curious as to how they’re translated into the cinematic world.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear. Pleasant nightmares.

Review: Blair Witch (2016 film)

Posted: January 15, 2017 in Review, Scary Stuff
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The original Blair Witch Project was a huge phenomenon, no matter what you thought of it. But after the disastrous and nonsensical sequel (the closest I’ll ever get to watching that piece of crap is the Nostalgia Critic review, that’s how bad it is), fans despaired of ever getting more Blair Witch. But last year, Lionsgate announced a new film, and fans wondered if that would be the follow-up they wanted. Now, I wasn’t a fan of the original when I saw it. I thought it was a silly found footage film with really stupid characters (follow the creek! It leads somewhere, you dumbasses!). But I was open to a sequel, and I wanted to see if they did better than the original.

I can say, they definitely did better than the original. The film follows James, the younger brother of the girl from the original movie, his girlfriend Lisa, his childhood friend Peter, and Peter’s girlfriend Ashley. James has been haunted since his sister disappeared when he was four, so when footage purporting to show his sister alive hits the Internet, James wants to find out more, and Lisa decides to make it the subject of her documentary project. They meet up with Lane and Talia, the people who found the footage, who accompany them into the woods. And that’s when things get creepy.

So what did Blair Witch do well? I liked that with this film they tried to actually answer the question of whether the Blair Witch is real or just mental stress gone wild (I won’t say what for those who want to be surprised). They also try to explain things from the first film that never got answered, like what the stick figures represent, or why that guy at the end of the first film was standing in a corner. And I like that they try to give some context to the Blair Witch. While I do maintain that mystery and unknown make a horror villain scarier, the first film overdid that so that we had no idea what to think. This film tries to balance that.

I also thought it was cool how the characters stocked up on everything to make sure that they don’t end up lost. They have walkie-talkies, GPS devices, earpieces that have GPS and cameras built in and are apparently damage-proof (though how do the girls with their long hair never obscure the cameras?). They even have a drone for aerial shots and location tracking! That’s so cool (though I realize that the use of a drone in my new short story The Red Burst isn’t as original as I thought it had been).

While the characters are as flat as can be (found footage films are worse on that subject than many  slasher films), the actors do a very good job with what they have. There’s this palpable tension when James and his crew meet Lane and Talia, and find out they have a Confederate flag hung up in their house (Peter and Ashley are black. Awkward!), and that tension carries on through the course of the film. And when these characters are afraid, you buy that they’re afraid. It’s not goofy or hammy, it does look scared.

And finally, there are some creepy moments, particularly in the final third. There is a creepy, at times claustrophobic atmosphere, and you do feel that while watching. The jump scares are also very good, and I always like a good jump scare when balanced with other elements in a film.

Oh, and that shaky camera movement! I hate that shaky camera movement! And it gets a lot more annoying when you add in electronic interference with the camera. We want to see a film, not unsteady hands and technical issues with the equipment!

That being said, Blair Witch does have its problems. For one thing, the film kind of does the same point-for-point story copy that The Force Awakens did with A New Hope, but while that was okay there, here it’s not. I understand that it was trying to tie back into the first film with all the appropriate nods to the audience, but I think the film might’ve been better by going a different route. With horror sequels, we like for new ground to be tread, or we get bored. And while they do explain some things, others aren’t explained very well or at all, and to top it all off, the film may have revealed a little too much near the end.

While there are plenty of grades I could give this film, I do think Blair Witch is a much more successful horror film than the original was, and for that, I’ll be giving it a 3.0 out of 5. It’s not the best horror film, but it’s a good Blair Witch film, and I think in the end that’s what the filmmakers were hoping for. Even if they’ve probably made it difficult to ever make another Blair Witch film ever again with that ending (though that might be a good thing).

“The Red Burst”: First Draft Finished

Posted: January 11, 2017 in Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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Well, I’m writing this at a time I’m normally preparing for bed, but what can I say? When you’re on a roll and nearing the end, you just don’t stop writing.

Now, if you didn’t know, I’m taking a short break from working on Full Circle to work on some short stories. This particular short story, The Red Burst, is one I particularly had fun writing. The story is about a man and his husband who go to visit the former’s sister in a small town, only to find out that something that gives off bursts of red light (hence the title) is driving the residents insane. It’s definitely a dark story, and it’s special too for a number of reasons. One is that this story is very HP Lovecraft-influenced in many ways.

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with HP Lovecraft, he’s a horror author who wrote during the first half of the twentieth century, and has become very influential since (see my posts on my forays into his work, Part 1 and Part 2). A lot of his themes include the idea that humanity are ants in the grand scheme of things, that there’s no real meaning to existence, and that there might be things in the universe that are bigger than us and might see us as a food source or playthings. This is called cosmic horror, and I tired to incorporate those themes into The Red Burst. I got so hooked on the Lovecraft aspect of the story, I actually started reading his work again, and I listened to Lovecraft-themed relaxation videos on YouTube while I wrote the story (yes, those are a thing. Look up Ephemeral Rift on YouTube if you’re interested).

Another thing I liked about this story was that I got to incorporate a gay couple into the story. Even better, a Jewish gay couple! I like having diverse characters in my stories, and I know a lot of LGBT Jewish couples, so it was interesting having that sort of couple in the story, portraying not just their relationship but also their faith and how the events of the story affect that faith. I have a feeling though some of those LGBT couples I know will be coming up to me asking if I based the characters on them. The answer to that, of course, is no, because they haven’t done anything horrible enough to warrant that treatment from me.

And a final thing that I enjoyed with writing the story was that I got to use a drone in it! I don’t know why, but including modern elements in horror stories is just a blast for me. It’s like, “look, there’s a powerful demon from Hell, and now there’s an augmented reality game!” Or, “there’s a ghost after me, but at the same time, superhero franchises!” It’s like they don’t go together, but at the same time you make them go together, and it’s an incredible result. Plus with some, like the drone, you feel like there aren’t that many stories with the same elements in them, so you’re kind of exploring new territory. It’s a real thrill.

So what’s next for this story? Well, I’ll give it some time and return to it at a later date to edit it. It’s around 7,500 words, but I’ve discovered quite a few Lovecraft-themed magazines that are open to longer stories, so I may find this one a home. And if it does get published, I think people will really enjoy it. Especially Lovecraft fans who like a story with his themes but without language that was prevalent in early 19th century.

In the meantime, I’ll return to Full Circle ASAP and get to work on finishing that. I still have quite a ways to go, but after working on some short stories involving werewolves, cars, and insanity-causing red lights, I think some gangster science fiction shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll let you guys know if there’s anything new going on when the time comes.

Until next time, my Followers of Fear! Pleasant nightmares!

2016 In Review; 2017 Up Ahead

Posted: January 1, 2017 in Living and Life, Reflections
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Well, I’m doing that thing where authors look at the year before and be hopeful about the year to come. And I have to say, 2016 was not the easiest year to deal with. Even the people who called 2015 shitty say 2016 was worse. Many people we cared about, from celebrities to icons to just ordinary loved ones, died. The world was rocked by a number of incidents, big and small, that showed that hate and prejudice is still alive and well in many countries one would consider tolerant (let alone the openly-intolerant countries). Groups like ISIS, and events like Brexit and the American presidential election left people the world over confused and terrified about the future. Illnesses and conflicts and starvation raged, and people suffered.

And movies that were supposed to be great, like Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, and Ghostbusters, either were terrible or didn’t make the money they should’ve (stuff like that bums me out).

Yeah, this year has been tough. But there have been some amazing things, good things, that have happened this year. We have comedians like Trevor Noah and Jon Oliver and Samantha Bee, who are using their platforms to educate people about existing issues and even find ways to do some good. Thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria and other areas have found homes in more stable countries, and have started rebuilding their lives. Celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson are using their fame to fight for issues like feminism and equal pay. Hollywood is putting out more movies and TV shows that reflect their viewers, including black-ish, Speechless, and the Fast & Furious movies, to name a few, and while there are still missteps here and there, this shows that the makers of our media care about our opinions. And we nearly had our first female president! It didn’t happen, and it would’ve been cool if it did, but it still shows how far this country has come in terms of women’s rights. And the world got Tape Face from America’s Got Talent. I swear, I could watch his video every day, he’s so clever with the visual gags!

But wait, there’s more! This from YouTube and Vine star Thomas Saunders on reasons to smile:

God, that’s a lot of good, isn’t it? I wish he would’ve added Lucifer on that TV show listing though. That show makes my day!

On a more personal level, 2016 actually went pretty well for me. Yeah, all the nasty stuff I mentioned up above bummed me out, but there were many good things this past year. For one, my mother got married to her partner of several years, which was made possible by the 2015 Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriage nationwide. That was a blast, and something I was glad to see finally pass. My mother and stepmother are so happy together, and I’m glad they get to be together in the eyes of the law as well.

Around that time, I got offered a couple of jobs/internships! One of them was here in Columbus, and it translated into a full position that I’m still working at right now. It’s a great job, where I’m promoting diversity in my organization with an office full of good people, and getting great pay and benefits while I do it.

In addition, my job has allowed me to move out of my dad’s house and into my own apartment, and even to buy new furniture and a new laptop. I’m paying all my bills on time and still have money to save, which is huge for me! And if things continue to go as they are, who knows? I could even get a cat or save up for a dream vacation to the UK and Ireland! I would love for those to happen.

My sciatica has improved! Yes, for those of you who don’t know, I have sciatica, a condition in which a nerve in the back is squished by spinal discs, causing severe pain in one leg and the lower back. I’ve had this since some time around graduation, but over the summer and through fall and beginning of winter, I started doing some new exercises and other stuff to improve my condition. At the time I’m writing this, I feel only mild discomfort, and sometimes not even that. By next summer, I could be completely cured of it!

This got published!

This got published!

But that’s not all. I released a new book, Video Rage, back in June, and it’s finally started to get some reviews! In addition, nearly all of my books have received new reviews this yer, and more people are discovering them every day. Heck, even my coworkers are reading my books! And on the social media side of things, my blog has grown, accruing nearly 900 subscribers, and passing the five-thousand like milestone. And pretty soon, I’ll be passing the fifty-thousand views milestones. One of my posts actually went kind of viral, garnering over nine-hundred views in the first five weeks of being published, and receiving more views since then.

But there’s more! I started the final book in the Reborn City series, and as of the most recent chapter, I’m a sixth of the way through the book! I could have it released sometime next year! I’ve also written several short stories, and I’ve had some great ideas, both for stories and for strategies to make sure more people discover and read my books. I can’t wait to put some of these to work.

Look folks, this has been a tough year. But for everything I’ve said above, and stuff I haven’t said, it’s been a pretty good one too. And while a lot about 2017 looks scary, we can do a lot to make it a great year. It’ll take some work, but we can make 2017 suck less than 2016 did (I can even post about some of my ideas on how to do just that in another post if you guys want), and to achieve all that we ream.

So will I make a thousand followers? Will I publish another novel and some short stories? Will I get an agent or a contract with a publishing company? Will I get a cat or that vacation? Will we cure AIDS, or improve education, or save the environment? Will the new American president be good at his job? I can’t say with any certainty. But it’s what I hope for. And if not, I’ll do all I can to improve that situation.

Happy New Year, my Followers of Fear. May 2017 bless you and leave you with plenty of reason to smile.

The “First Day, First Paragraph” Tag

Posted: January 1, 2017 in Novel, Writing
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first-day-first-paragraph-tag

Happy New Year, Followers of Fear! It’s January 1, 2017, and I’ll be talking about the past year in another post, but right now, it’s time to see if I can make this tag I created catch on. It’s time for the “First Day, First Paragraph” tag. And if you don’t know the rules, here they are:

  1. Publish your own post on the first day of the month.
  2. Use the graphic above
  3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
  4. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  5. Post the first paragraph of a story you’ve written, are writing, or plan to write someday.
  6. Ask your readers for feedback.
  7. Finally, tag someone to do the post next month (for example, if you do the tag on the first of August, the person you tag has to do it on the first of September), and comment on one of their posts to let them know the good news.

Published on January 1st? Check. Used the graphic? Check. Thank and link back to the person who tagged me? Not necessary, I created this tag. Explain the rules? Done.

Now to post the first paragraph of one of my works. As last month I did Video Rage, and the month before I did Reborn City, I think this month I’ll do Snake. For those of you who don’t know, Snake is a novel I published back in 2014 about a serial killer hunting down members of a powerful mafia family. It’s like Taken with a much more violent and horror-themed twist to it. It’s definitely one of my darker stories, and it’s also one of my favorites. Enjoy:

Paul Sanonia had been touched by a nightmare, an unbelievable disaster that had manifested in reality where it shouldn’t belong. Tonight, he was dwelling on the nightmare in St. Mark’s Cathedral—it didn’t matter that it wasn’t a Catholic cathedral, at this point a mosque would do—and no matter how many times he turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t see what the reason was behind it all, why his life had to have been touched, and why his cousin’s life had to have been touched more.

How did that opening paragraph sound? Let me know in the comments below.

And in the meantime, I’m going to tag someone to do this on February 1st. And it only seems fitting that I tag the author who helped me get this book to publication. I choose Angela Misri, author of Jewel of the Thames. Hope you decide to do this Angela, and have fun with it!

Alright, I’ve got one more post to release today, so I’m going to get to work on that. Until next time, my Follower of Fear.

The Quiet Game: 14th Amazon Review!!!

Posted: December 25, 2016 in Review, Scary Stuff, short story, Writing
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tqg cover

Hello again, Followers of Fear. Enjoying your Christmas/Hanukkah/preparations for Kwanzaa/whatever else is going on right now?

Earlier I mentioned that I got two new reviews on separate books, each from the same person (see my last post for the one on Video Rage). And yesterday, when I wasn’t looking, the same shopper, going by the title…Shopper, also left a review of The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones, a collection of original short stories I wrote, and my first published book. It’s my most juvenile of works, but it’s also my most reviewed and definitely one of my most beloved stories, with a rating of 4.1 out of 5.

I think part of the draw is that it’s short, only five stories.

Shopper gave their review the title Samson Weiss was my favorite, in reference to the title of one of my short stories, and rated the book a 4 out of 5. Here’s what they had to say:

This collection had great reviews, I don’t disagree. I kept reading about Addict. I found that story disconcerting. The author chose the very unorthodox second person point of view, which was unsettling, and therefore pretty effective. The story that grabbed my attention was the tormented senator Samson Weiss.

Samson Weiss and the senator were two different characters, but I’m glad they enjoyed the collection, and that they agree with the other reviews:

5 wonderfully crafted tales! I purchased this as an eBook originally and put off reading it for quite a while, I really wish I hadn’t waited. Sometimes when one purchases a collection of short stories you expect some of them to be less entertaining or of lower quality than the others, but none of these disappoint. Well worth the money, especially considering after you read each story the author gives you creative insight into what inspired him to write each tale, which is really wonderful.

Jeff D.

This is the first time I’ve read any of Rami’s stories. I was very impressed with the wide variety of stories and the way he wove the paranormal into each piece. Paranormal is not something I usually read and I enjoyed this collection very much. The collection reminded me of the Twlight Zone. The descriptions were especially well developed. Keep on writing Rami!

Arthur Siegal

All of the stories were really diverse and fun to read. I also enjoyed the authors blurbs about each stories origination and development. Keep up the good work!

Kim B.

And if I’m lucky, The Quiet Game will continue to get good reviews in the years to come. I know one of my coworkers bought a copy (I left her a very nice message when I signed it for her), so hopefully she’ll leave me a good review after she reads it.

Speaking of which, if you’d like to check out The Quiet Game, I’ll post the links below. And if you do decide to check out the collection, please let me know what you think. Positive or negative, I love feedback (though if the past two weeks are any indication, I especially love positive feedback), and it makes me strive harder to be a better writer. And I would love to hear yours.

That’s all for now. Happy Holidays, my Followers of Fear.

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

Review: “Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis” by Anne Rice

Posted: December 15, 2016 in Review
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When I first heard about Anne Rice’s new novel, I thought to myself, “Wait. Lestat and Atlantis? Together? Either this is going to be the most brilliant thing ever or this series has finally jumped the metaphorical shark.” I can now say, having read the book, that there was no metaphorical (or literal) shark-jumping. This book was bloody brilliant, from seductive opening to heartwarming and uplifting ending.

Taking place not too long after the adventures of Prince Lestat (read my review of that here), Lestat and the vampire world is slowly but surely adjusting to all the changes that occurred in the last book. Lestat is getting used to living with Amel, the spirit that animates the tribe, though that has its problems here and there. To many vampires, it is a renaissance for their kind. That is, however, until the vampires are approached by beings who look human, but aren’t. And they’re not vampires either, or spirits. This is something totally new. And they know of Amel, and of a legendary city that has permeated our legends for centuries. The revelations they bring, and the changes they want to make, will shock the vampire world forever.

First off, I love the prose. Anne Rice writes with a style that’s light taking sugar and gossamer and turning it into words: sweet, ephemeral, beautiful. And as always, her characters are full of love, love of life and love of each other. I swear, if mankind was as affectionate as the vampires are, we would have much fewer problems getting along.

But that’s standard for an Anne Rice novel. The rest is anything but standard. The plot has so many unexpected twists which always leaves you wanting to read on and find out more. With the one twist I was able to predict, I thought it would ruin the story for me, but the story is so well-written that it kept things from getting that way. I also like the new characters, not just as characters, but in how they add new dimensions to the series. You’d think twelve books in, there’s only so much innovation a universe can get, but these characters literally added a whole new sphere to the series, and I would love to see this sphere explored in later books (which I hope we get). Not only that, but in many ways, these new characters are challenging to the vampires. They put them in a whole new arena that the vampires aren’t used to, and it’s interesting to see the vampires react to these new situations.

And finally, the philosophy in this book is just out of this world. It really made me think a bit about Earth’s major religions, and about the way we interact with one another. And if a novel can make you do that, it’s definitely one you’ll want to pick up and take a look at.

I can’t really think of anything that makes Realms of Atlantis bad or is a flaw in the story. Like I said, there’s a twist I predicted early on that I thought might ruin the story, but that wasn’t the case. Anything else would really be nitpicking, and I don’t see any need to do that.

All in all, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis is even better than the book that preceded it, earning a solid 5 out of 5. It’s beautifully written, twisty, and not only reminds me that these vampires still have plenty of life in them forty years after they first graced bookshelves around the world, but inspires me to work harder so that one day I can be said to write stories so good, that even Anne Rice will want to read them.

Go check it out, and see for yourself.

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