The detective arrives at the crime scene and finds the body is nearly identical to another murder. A soldier is walking through a swamp, when they are warned by their sergeant that mines are buried underfoot. The bride leaves her groom at the altar, looking to find herself after years of being told what she should do with her life. The singer comes across Robert Johnson’s guitar, thought to be long lost, and finds there’s more than just history attached to it.
All of these could be the beginning of a story that starts in media res.
Latin for “in the middle of things,” a story that begins in media res is one that starts midway through the plot, rather than at the beginning. And believe it or not, a lot of stories start like this. Hell, you’re probably familiar with most of them. The Star Wars movies arguably all start in media res, as they all start when a conflict is well underway. The novel Gone Girl begins with the protagonist’s wife being discovered missing. Wicked, from novel to musical to movie adaptation (love those last two) always start with the Wicked Witch being a well known figure and with several events implied as having happened and being common knowledge.
That last example brings up something important: how do these stories start in the middle when there’s who knows how much backstory we’ve missed? Often, this is accomplished through dialogue, flashbacks, and exposition. Flashbacks are especially popular, with the majority of Wicked being flashbacks, and the Deadpool films using flashbacks to explain why the film starts off with Wade Wilson getting into some insane shit.
And in horror, in media res is also quite popular. From the classics like Dracula, Frankenstein and Jekyll & Hyde to modern entries like Firestarter and Nightmare on Elm Street. Many of my own stories also start this way: Rose begins with Rose Taggert waking up in a greenhouse with no memory of how she got there or of the past two years, “Queen Alice” begins with my main character Joshua Blumfield already giving his report on the urban legend, and “The Dedication of the High Priestess” begins with Annie Hummel going to a gallery after already serving as a model for three paintings.
Why do horror authors, as well as authors in other genres, begin their stories this way? Well, one thing is the immediate hook. Take Nightmare on Elm Street: it starts with Freddy crafting his claws and then chasing after a teenage girl, only to wake up right on time. We’re immediately left wondering what happened and why, and that keeps our interest.
This oil painting by friend and colleague Iseult Murphy is based on “The Dedication of the High Priestess.” The story is an excellent example of a story starting in media res.
It also makes for great suspense. Take Nightmare again: we’ve already witnessed what Freddy’s capable of in the first scene, and so we wonder what else he can do. Would that have happened if we started with Freddy’s first murders and then getting killed by the parents? That opening violence builds up our expectations and keeps us enthralled.
Finally, you manage to get through a lot of exposition writing this way. Take Gone Girl, for example. Gillian Flynn could have started the story with Nick and Amy meeting, getting married, and the fracturing of their relationship before Amy’s disappearance, but would that have been as fun? It’s more interesting and suspenseful to read about the disappearance and then see how their relationship developed.
Another great example would be my story “The Dedication of the High Priestess” (spoilers for a story that came out in 2022). As I said, that story starts with my protagonist Annie already having modeled for a famous artist. She then goes through the gallery, which then causes her to be caught up in the King in Yellow’s plot to come to Earth. I could have started with Annie taking ballet classes, being scouted for the painter’s new series, doing the modeling gigs, and then going to the gallery, but that would have taken a lot of time and pages, and a lot of effort to keep readers interested. Starting with the gallery showing, using dialogue and exposition to explain how we got to this start, and then getting straight to the horror was very effective.
So, there’s a lot of reasons to use in media res to start a story, no matter the genre. It won’t work with all stories (looking at you The Hogfather, Die Hard, and Kill Creek), but if it works with your story, and you can do all the backstory parts without any issue, I see no reason not to use it. After all, I use it all the time. And look at me now!
Thanks for reading, my Followers of Fear. I’m about to start a new story, and it starts so in media res, some readers might need to read the start again. I thought about starting it from earlier in the events of the story, what I would normally reserve for flashbacks or exposition, but it felt like it would take too long and take up too much of a word count. Thinking about it and weighing my options made me want to write this blog post.
And now, if you need me, I’ll be busy writing what may be the most Halloween-y story I’ve written to date. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!
A temporary cover for The Shape of Evil. I think it captures the idea of the novel pretty well.
‘Twas the night before Christmas (and Hanukkah, coincidentally). And all the Haunted Condo, only the Rami was stirring. Because he’d finished the second draft of The Shape of Evil, AKA the 3D Printer from Hell story, and he’d only just gotten around to drinking the celebratory wine and writing the celebratory blog post.
Doesn’t rhyme, but I’m not much of a poet, so I think it’s okay.
So, as I said before, The Shape of Evil‘s second draft is now complete. And this novel, as I also said before, is about a 3D printer from Hell. I started writing it back in March, thinking it would be a novelette or short novella, and finished it as a novel back in August. Right around Thanksgiving, I began work on the second draft, and I finished it earlier today.
I would’ve celebrated right then and there, but at that point, I had to run an errand, then grab some takeout, and then do my usual routine of watching Die Hard on Christmas Eve. But now that that’s taken care of, it’s time to let you know and celebrate!
Overall, I saw a ton of improvement with the second draft. Not just with spelling/grammar/punctuation, but in finding plot holes and fixing issues I missed in the first draft. I also took out a lot of stuff that I thought worked for the first draft but, on the second go around, didn’t work. The final result was ten pages and around twenty-eight hundred words longer, at 283 pages (8.5 x 11 inch paper with 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced), and 75,300 words. That’s about two thousand words less than the first Harry Potter novel (no, I will never stop using that book as a good comparison, even if the author is now a TERF).
So, what’s next for The Shape of Evil? Well, I plan to find a beta reader who can also double as a sensitivity reader. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my main character is non-binary trans, and I’m cisgender, so I would like someone from the trans community to read the manuscript and give me feedback to ensure I’m respectful to the community. I already have a few people in mind, so hopefully one of them would be interested. And if not, I have a few other ways to find someone.
Whoever reads it, after I get their feedback, I’ll do another draft. And after that draft is done, I think I’ll be ready to pitch this novel to agents. Particularly anyone at StokerCon this coming summer.
In the meantime, I have a new short story I want to write, and I have a new collection to start the work of self-publishing. No, I am not slowing down. I’m brimming with too much drive and imagination, and am nowhere near burnout, so I’ll keep plowing on!
(That being said, I am planning on spending at least one day in the coming week or so just chilling on the couch in my pajamas and reading or watching anime. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, so no time like the present!)
Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll certainly be back soon with more news for you. Until then, good night, pleasant nightmares, and to all those who celebrate, Merry Christmas! May we all get visited by three spirits (whether we want them to come or not).
So, I have an announcement regarding Hannah and Other Stories. If you’re unaware, Hannah and Other Stories is a collection I wrote that was published by BSC Publishing Group on September 23, 2023. The collection contains tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, among other things.
The collection has been well-received, if the reviews I’ve gotten are anything to go by. Unfortunately, sales have not been as good as they might have been, despite my best efforts, and, with my contract ending earlier this year, BSC Publishing has decided to relinquish the rights to publish the book back to me on January 1st, 2025.
Which means on January 1st, 2025, Hannah and Other Stories will go out of print.
Honestly, I’m going through several emotions at the moment. But the major one is acceptance. It is what it is, and I’ll always be grateful for BSC helping me get Hannah to the level it was. Trust me, I have a feeling it wouldn’t be as well received as it was without their help on the later drafts. Having to go through this kind of sucks, but I know it could be a lot worse.
And I also feel hopeful and determined. You see, once the rights are back in my hands, I can publish the book again, either with another publisher or self-publish. And I think I’ll self-publish. Not immediately, but at some point in 2025. I’ll release Hannah and Other Stories again, and it’ll be the same great book as before.
Well, with some changes. BSC’s business model called for only selling paperbacks if there’s enough demand for the ebook. Now, I’ll be able to publish a paperback, which I’m sure plenty of people who haven’t converted to ebooks yet will appreciate.
I also plan to return the Lovecraftian elements to “What Errour Awoke,” one of the stories in the collection. BSC wasn’t a fan of the Lovecraftian and wanted me to take them out. In the end, we compromised and made it semi-cosmic, but it’s never sat right with me. Now, I have an opportunity to make that story the way it was supposed to be, rather than how it was. (I may make a few more changes, but that’s the big one.)
And I think I’ll shell out for a new cover. Something I think will not only attract readers, but symbolize the book’s rebirth to a tee.
2025 is going to be full of possibilities.
So yeah, Hannah and Other Stories is going away for a while. But it’ll come back sometime in 2025, better than ever and in paperback, too. And if it does well enough? Maybe an audiobook version as well. It could happen.
For now, though, if you haven’t read Hannah yet, you still have fourteen days and about five hours to get an ebook copy. Even if you don’t read ebooks, buying a copy will help me in the long run and show me that there is plenty of demand for this book. And if you do read ebooks, please read it. And then leave me a review so I know what you thought. Not only will I really appreciate it, but it’ll help when Hannah eventually returns.
Hmm…between Hannah and the collection I’ve been working on, 2025 is looking like the year for collections. Maybe I’ll do a third as well? Well, we’ll see. However many I release, I hope they all do well.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Links for the book are below. Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night, pleasant nightmares, and thank you for always supporting me. It means the world to me.
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.
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.
AI is everywhere these days. And unfortunately, it’s making inroads into the creative industries.
In September, the organization behind National Novel Writing Month announced they would allow participants to use AI programs to write their novels for them (you can see my post about that here). Then HarperCollins, following some academic presses, announced it would be offering some of its non-fiction titles to Microsoft for training their language-learning models (LLMs), AKA the same programs that “write” fiction for people, provided the author consents. And earlier this week, Bookseller reported that AI publishing company Spine would be using AI to publish up to 8000 titles a year, while also charging authors $5000 to use their programs to proofread, publish, and distribute books. You can read both articles on this subject here and here.
This is only confirming many creatives’ worst fears about how AI may be used by companies to make money. After all, you don’t have to pay a program for their work, which means the company keeps all the profit. This could potentially make it harder for creatives to make a living or even a side hustle by writing, making art, editing, make music, or a hundred other things. And after the writers and actors guilds fought so hard last year to keep AI from cutting in on their work!
Now, I’m not necessarily against AI. I think AI has plenty of useful applications. For example, Google’s AlphaFold program is apparently predicting proteins and coming up with new ways to treat some of our worst diseases. And I think many people would be happy if AI made certain aspects of life, such as cleaning our homes, easier. (God knows I would love it if a program could clean my bathtub, rather than me.) However, I don’t think AI should be in the entertainment business!
For one thing, there’s the issue that often, the literature and art used to train the programs is used without the creator’s permission. I’ve heard from plenty of creators who found out their work was being used without permission, which they considered theft (and I can’t disagree). And it’s not just authors and artists dealing with this; some voice actors are actually suing a company for using their voices without their permission (you can watch a news report about it here).
Then there’s the problem with AI trying to create literature or art. It doesn’t actually create anything new. Unlike humans, who can learn from other creators and then learn to subvert tropes or play with ideas to try new things, AI programs can only look for patterns and then apply those patterns. It’s essentially paint-by-the-numbers. And it’s hardly perfect. In fact, it rarely is!
I’ve played around with AI (if I’m going to criticize it, I might as well). This includes writing programs. And they’re difficult to keep on track. You’re constantly having to get the writing back on track because the program forgets something it wrote before. And from what I’ve seen, the language is hardly that deep. It’s pretty barebones. No inner monologues about character feelings or philosophical discussions in-text about the nature of good and evil, love, death, etc. It can get the actions and maybe the conversations, but it can’t do anything like Stephen King’s musings on goings-on in the Lot in Salem’s Lot, or the Savage Garden in the Vampire Chronicles.
AI art is worse, including WordPress’s new AI art generator. (Yeah, that’s a thing now.) I played around with it recently, and while it is fun, it’s still problematic. Sometimes, you get some good stuff, like this image of Batman taking a kid trick-or-treating (something I could see happening in the right comic storyline).
But then you get this Spider-Man art I made.
Don’t see the problems? Spider-Man’s spider symbol looks more like a stain on his top, his neck looks like it was twisted around a hundred and eighty degrees, the webbing looks more like chains than webbing (and on the left arm is coming out of the wrong place), and the bus has an extra twenty feet on it that’s being kept up by magic.
And that’s just one example. I did a bunch of ballet-themed pictures because AI-generated ballet art shows the issues with AI programs about fifty percent of the time (and I like ballet). Half the time, the dancers had extra limbs or missing limbs. And sometimes, the program couldn’t properly reproduce something I input into the prompt. Look at this picture of Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Leatherface skipping through a field.
Yeah, that’s not what I was going for. Jason is wearing Michael’s boilersuit, and the other two look like a masked warrior wearing weird make-up holding a sword and…I don’t know. A random guy with a machete? I tried this prompt four different times, and not one got close to what I was looking for.
So, to reiterate, while companies are going all in on AI in the hope that it can make them a profit, they’re working with programs that are flawed, can only copy, and sometimes rely on stealing to get trained. All while threatening the livelihoods of authors and artists.
Well, the good news is, while AI is making leaps and bounds, it may eventually implode. In one scenario, AI will eventually begin to copy itself, flaws and all, leading to the programs producing increasingly subpar creations. In another, such as this video seems to suggest, the facilities needed to store data for AI programs will start to consume tons of water and electricity. Water and electricity that, more often than not, comes from the same sources as regular people’s water and electricity. That competition will eventually move in favor of people unless a compromise or solution presents itself, and may eventually lead to limitations on AI facilities.
Still, it’s a fucking pain that the real creators have to compete with ones and zeros to prove we’re the superior creators. Hell, sometimes we have to go on strike to get the message across! In addition, some creators don’t seem to see the issue. I spoke recently to a creator who didn’t see what the big deal was and even welcomed the challenge from AI. Let me tell you, she was exhausting.
So, what can we do? Well, if you work with publishers, check with them on their AI policies. I asked both the ones I’ve worked with, and one’s already gotten back to me with a definite No. Just simply ask what their policy is on AI-generated material is, so it doesn’t sound accusatory. You can also reach out to your elected representatives and ask them to support legislation that protects creatives over programming.
You should also support creators who don’t use AI. Buy their book and artwork, leave reviews online, and make sure to let people know that those you support don’t use AI. (For the record, no AI beyond spellcheck is used in my work.)
And, as always, make your voices heard. If we aren’t silent, people will notice. And if they notice, they may be swayed to help us.
As many of you know, Kill Creek by Scott Thomas has become one of my favorite novels, if not my favorite (you can read my review from 2018 here). So, when I heard Thomas was releasing a collection of four novellas, I had to get my hands on it. And while it took me longer than I wanted to get through it (I picked it up in September and only just finished it), I’m glad I got to read it.
Taking place in a fictional version of Kansas that’s part of the same universe as Kill Creek (and possibly his other novel Violet, I’m not sure), each novella follows a native who gets pulled into horrors beyond their control. Three of these stories connect to the very land and the entities, natural or supernatural or preternatural, that inhabit and make up Kansas, all of these stories deal with dark histories and hidden truths, and each story connects in some way to the authors who were the stars of Kill Creek,* enhancing the reading experience.
The first novella, The Door in the Field, follows a young construction worker with anger issues who joins his boss for a drink after an incident, and ends up spending a night in terror. This story does move a bit slow at times, but it’s a thrilling tale full of blood, violence, and cosmic horror that pays off well at the end with the reveals and the main character’s growth. My one major criticism is that the novella is kind of a story within a story, and the framing device doesn’t really add much to the story. It doesn’t take anything away, but it doesn’t add much, either.
The second novella, Wear Your Secret Like a Stone, follows a troubled young woman who, after her pick of book for the Halloween display at her job is taken down by a customer complaint, goes on a mission to get her favorite book back. Only along the way, she learns some frightening local history which is more alive than she thought. I think this might have been my favorite novella of the bunch. It’s atmospheric, the protagonist is likeable, and the ending is a dark fantasy twist that will bring you chills.
The third novella, The Boy in the Woods, is about a young boy who, on the last night at camp, finds himself in the middle of a slasher story with a rage zombie twist. It’s a wild ride of a story with a sympathetic protagonist and a the way the slasher/rage zombie aspect are approached gives both tropes new life that I wasn’t expecting. If Wear Your Secret was my favorite, then The Boy in the Woods is a close second.
The final novella, One Half of a Child’s Face, is about a mother who is able to see into her ex’s apartment building al a Rear Window. There, she frets about not having her daughter living with her full-time and gets a vicarious thrill at watching the residents live their lives…until a strange painting in an empty apartment seems to throw an evil influence over the building’s residents. Of the four novellas, I would consider this the weakest. It takes a long time to build to anything and there are quite a few plot threads left hanging at the end. However, the last fifty pages are so were hard to put down and I enjoyed reading them.
All in all, Midwestern Gothic by Scott Thomas is a worthwhile collection of novellas. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate it a 3.9. Pick up a copy, settle down in your favorite chair, and prepare to be transported to a different sort of Kansas.
*If you haven’t read Kill Creek, don’t worry. You can still read the collection just fine. Kind of like how you can watch The Big Bang Theory and still laugh at all the jokes while not necessarily getting every sci-fi or comic book reference the characters make. Still, I highly recommend Kill Creek, so if you’re curious, read that one, too.
Every year, I do this post. Every year, you guys seem to like it. I imagine it’s because I make sure to get good graphics for it. Anyway, with only 36 days and a few hours left in 2024 (yeah, where did this year go?), it’s time for my annual assessment of the year and what I hope will happen in the coming year.
And let’s start by being honest: 2024 was a shitty year.
Yeah, I had hoped roaring at it like a tiger would make the year too scared to fuck with me, but I think it either got mad at me or my roar had no effect. Either way, this year sucked. The war in Ukraine continues on, with no sign of an end anytime soon; the war in the Middle East continues, and that’s not likely to end anytime soon soon, either; the 2024 presidential election ended in a way most people in the world feared it would; riots occurred in England in response to a stabbing in Southport; several countries experienced unrests, coups, and God only knows what else; hurricanes pounded the US and other nations mercilessly; prices have continued to rise on necessities like food, gas, and housing; and do I need to go on?
Overall, a rough year.
Granted, there were some nice things that happened this year. From July till earlier this month, I felt intense hope for the future of our nation thanks to a certain leader whom I hope we haven’t seen the last of. And the solar eclipse, as well as the northern lights being seen farther south than usual, was cool (I only saw one of those, but still cool). But all in all, it was a really shitty year.
On a personal level, yeah, 2024 was also quite shitty at times. The return to the office three days a week at my workplace had a ripple effect which caused my office’s workload to triple, leaving us stressed and struggling to stay on top of it. As a result, several times my performance suffered, which has had far-reaching consequences. I was unable to get Hannah and Other Stories into paperback, which was a major goal for me this year, and because of the economy and some other factors, I did not do as well at certain events as I expected. I was diagnosed with diabetes in August, which was a huge upset for me and has required me to make major adjustments to my lifestyle (don’t worry, I’m doing okay, but it still sucks); and it looks like my trip to Israel is in jeopardy because every airline is cancelling flights into the country due to the war (God forbid I get to visit my people’s homeland!).
Yeah, it’s been bad. I had to actually start attending therapy due to the huge amount of crap and stress I’ve been through this year. And I doubt I’m the only one.
Life was rough, but at least I got some good writing done this year.
Still, there were some highlights, and I try to focus on them:
I wrote some of the best stuff I’ve ever written this year, including a new novel, The Shape of Evil, which I plan to pitch at StokerCon next year; my first adaptation, a radio play of “Hannah” from Hannah and Other Stories, was released on Halloween (you can check that out here); my short story, “White Leaves” was released on the same day on the Tales to Terrify podcast (you can listen to that here); and despite underperforming at certain events, I did very well at others, and will probably make a profit this year instead of a loss.
Also, I started work on a new collection, and I plan to put it out in spring next year. More to come on that later.
Outside of writing, my health has improved thanks to all the changes I’ve made in my lifestyle; I’m still in a well-paying job that allows me to cover my expenses (and hopefully I’ll stay in the job or something similar until I’m able to write full time); I was able to do some traveling and even visited a few haunted locations; I had a couple of vacations over the year that were really restful and relaxing; my sister got married, and we got to do a little celebrating with her and the new in-laws; I got two new, really awesome tattoos; and I might still be able to travel to the Holy Land later this year.
So yeah, shit year, but I still have things to be thankful for (and right before Thanksgiving, too).
And what will happen in 2025? Well, like I said, I plan to release another collection and pitch The Shape of Evil to agents and editors at StokerCon (expect me to start editing later this week); hopefully I’ll get some more stories written and published, and maybe even (finally!) get back to writing my mummy novel Crawler; I’ll be seeing some amazing Broadway shows and a few ballets; hopefully I’ll get closer to writing full time; I plan to get another tattoo in the spring; and maybe I’ll do some more traveling. I do want to go back to Vegas or New Orleans again, if I can afford them, or even go abroad.
And I expect I’ll be resisting certain things from our incoming government, but sadly, life can’t be trouble free.
In any case, I hope 2025 comes with the resolution of certain world conflicts, and that any new troubles are mild compared to what they’ve been these past few years.
How was your 2024? And what are you hoping or expecting for 2025? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
One more thing, my Followers of Fear: as you know, the holiday season is upon us. And if you’re looking for some good horror to read, or you’re looking for a gift for that horror-loving friend in your life, why not try some of my books? From plant/human hybrids and strange gods to Mafia-hunting serial killers and carnivorous horses, I have something for every horror fan. I’ll leave a button below so you can check out my bibliography.
And if you like what you read, please leave a review online so I know what you thought. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps other readers, as well.
And until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.
I am not a woman. I have never been a woman. And, unless reincarnation is a thing, I probably never will be one.
However, I do write from the point of view of or stories centering around women and girls quite a bit. And while I’ve been told a few times I do the female point of view well, I would never call myself an expert. No matter how often I spend time around the many women in my family (it’s a lot), or how many times I read or watch stories about women (even if they’re by women creators), that’s never going to change.
So, when I’m writing or editing a story, occasionally I’ll think to myself, “Hold up. Could this be problematic or offensive?” This actually happened the other night, with a story focusing on an actress, and I found myself wondering if some of what I was working on might be upsetting to some readers.
In that moment, I’m glad for the existence of sensitivity readers.
If you’re unaware, sensitivity readers are readers who review a work of literature for offensive content, like stereotypes or bias. They’ve been controversial, as some feel that sensitivity readers stifle artistic license or are trying to be moral gatekeepers, and a few have been employed to go over books by Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl, thus changing the books from their original contexts. But in situations like this, where I want to tell a specific kind of story but I don’t want to accidentally offend someone by including something that I may not even realize it’s offensive, sensitivity readers are a godsend.
(I also work in a job where the goal is to foster diversity and inclusion and to combat prejudice, so maybe my views on sensitivity readers, as well as my goals in using their services, are a bit different from other writers.)
So, that story I mentioned earlier? It’s with sensitivity readers now. Two women, both of whom are writers and one of whom is already familiar with my work, agreed to help me make sure this story is as good as it can be. And I’m sure they’re going to give me some excellent feedback once they’re done with it. Feedback which will ensure this story makes it out into the world someday.
And when I finish the second draft of The Shape of Evil, AKA the story about the 3D printer from Hell, I’ll employ the services of a sensitivity reader and use their feedback to improve the story before I pitch it to agents and publishers. After all, the main character is non-binary, and while I am in the LGBT community, I am not trans. So, I will need someone from that community, preferably someone who is non-binary, who can look at the story, tell me what I did right, what I got wrong, and what I can do to improve.
After all, I want to deliver the best stories possible, and I’m aware that I have my blind spots. What better way to make sure I do the first part than by having someone who can help me with the second part?
Do you use sensitivity readers? What has your experience been like?
That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m off to bed and to get some rest before the weekend. And until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.
In recent days and across my social media, as well as on my blog, the number of people following me has grown by leaps and bounds. Why is that? I have my theories, but this post isn’t about theories. Instead, it’s to better introduce myself to my new Followers of Fear, as I like to call the people following me and supporting my writing career.
And since I’m a horror writer, obviously I’m doing thirteen items to get to know me better.
So, without further ado, here’s what will hopefully be a fun introduction to yours truly. And who knows? Perhaps some of my long-time Followers of Fear might learn something that’ll surprise them. It’s happened before!
I’m a writer of horror and dark fantasy with five books under my belt. I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and in college, I started self-publishing books. My first book was a collection called The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones, which came out in 2013. The next year, I published a slasher novel called Snake about a serial killer hunting mobsters in New York City (think John Wick, Taken and Friday the 13th got smashed into a novel). Both did okay, and continue to get readers today.
Five years later, I published my first novel with a publisher. Rose was released by Castrum Press in summer 2019, and followed a young woman turned into a plant/human hybrid (and that’s just the start of her problems). I followed Rose in 2021 with The Pure World Comes, a Victorian Gothic horror novel about a maid who goes to work for a mad scientist. And last year, in 2023, I published my second collection, Hannah and Other Stories, which was released by BSC Publishing Group.
That’s all five of my books out now. I’m proud of all of them and all I’ve managed to do with them over the years. And I plan to put out more in the years to come.
All five of my currently available books. I love them and am so proud of them (and their awesome covers).
I’m Jewish, queer, and have disabilities. Growing up, my life has been an interesting ride, to say the least. Not only did I grow up in a fairly religious Jewish household, but both my father and mother are rabbis. I went to a Jewish day school for most of my youth, learning Hebrew and Judaic subjects for half the day and then learning normal stuff the rest of the day. I also went to synagogue nearly every week, and attended Jewish teen and college groups until I graduated.
To this day, I still practice a lot of the religious practices I grew up with and feel a strong connection with my faith and heritage.
I’m also bisexual. I figured that out in college, and came out about half a year after I came to that realization. Probably took me that long to get comfortable with it because, even surrounded by accepting people and LGBT family members, I still worried about being persecuted. However, I did come out and it was all good, which was reassuring. And then some years later, I realized I was also aromantic (if you’re unfamiliar, it means I can’t feel romantic desire or attraction). Which, looking back, felt pretty obvious, considering I didn’t care about having a relationship all my life. But when I realized it, it was still a bit of a revelation.
And finally, I’m on the spectrum. Have been my whole life. I also have ADHD, a form of albinism, an anxiety disorder, and most recently, diabetes. Yeah, that last one was only diagnosed a couple of months ago, and it sucks! To say the least, it was a shock for me and I miss not being able to eat sweets or have a drink as much as I used to. But, on the bright side, I’ve improved my health by leaps and bounds since finding out, and I plan to keep it that way. Too much to do in my life, after all.
And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve made it a goal to increase representation of these three groups, as well as their intersections, in my fiction. So far, I’m meeting that goal, and hope to release some of those stories soon.
My writing influences. My major influence is, without a doubt, Stephen King. I read IT as a preteen and it was a formative moment in my life! That whole summer, I was transported to Derry, Maine and, when I finished that book at summer camp, I knew what kind of books I would write for the rest of my life.
I’m also majorly influenced by the ideas of HP Lovecraft and the subgenre of cosmic horror, as well as Anne Rice and a ton of anime and manga. All those creators and stories have led me to writing some really insane stories, such as Rose, which I mentioned above, or “Fuseli’s Horses,” one of the stories in Hannah, which is about carnivorous horses.
But I’m not complaining. People seem to like my work, after all.
I love going to the movies and to the theater. It’s rare that a month goes by without me going to see a movie. Usually it’s a horror film or a new superhero film, but I sometimes go see comedies, fantasy and sci-fi films, and anime films getting theatrical releases. I just love going to the movies! I didn’t get to go as much as I wanted when I was growing up, so starting in college, I went as often as possible. And I still do.
Most people are surprised to learn I like ballet. Then they see how much it appears in my stories.
And now that I have a decent day job, I also go to the ballet and to touring Broadway shows. My interest in ballet started probably in college, and as a working adult, I got really into it. It’s gotten to the point where I’m kind of obsessed and look for ways to insert ballet and dancers into the stories I write! And as for Broadway shows, I think Disney movies as a kid primed me to be a fan of those, though the breadth and depth of musicals out there is far wider than Disney can think up, as it turns out.
Now, I have subscriptions to both the local ballet company and to touring Broadway shows that stop in Columbus. And I have to say, I think I would be just as psyched for one of my stories to be adapted into a ballet or Broadway show as I would be for a movie. Maybe even more.
I have several tattoos. To be precise, I have a chest tattoo of a tiger with a blue Star of David, a full back tattoo of one of my favorite ideas from the horror genre, a wrist tattoo referencing some of my favorite anime, and a Tarot card on my right leg that’s about halfway done. However, while I have my tattoos, I don’t normally share photos of them. That’s partially because I just don’t feel the need to. My tattoos are for me to express myself and to have my body reflect who I am. So, their existence on my body is enough for me.
Still, they’re awesome. And I plan to get more as time and money allows.
My most popular work is Rose. I’ve been publishing for over a decade now, but none of my work has done as well critically or commercially as Rose. And I think I know why: it’s the unusual story of a woman turned into a plant/human hybrid. Very weird, very Kafkaesque, and very fantasy horror. Add in that it’s a short but twisty read with Japanese folklore and mythology mixed in, and it’s not surprising that that book does so well.
Plus, you gotta love that cover.
Anyway, if you would like to check out Rose, you can check out its page HERE. I hope you like it if you read it.
I go ghost hunting at least once a year. I’ve been lucky to go to several different locations to ghost hunt. From famous places like the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, OH and the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, MA, to lesser known locations such as the Anchorage Mansion in Marietta, OH and the Bellaire House in Bellaire, OH, with the hope to visit and revisit many, many more.
Also, I try my best to get my investigations on YouTube and upload them to YouTube. So, if you would like to check out my ghost hunting videos, you can check out my channel HERE. They’re spooky good!
I make my own wine. Most people don’t realize that you can brew your own alcohol at home, but it is, and there are plenty of people of doing it, including me. I’ve made a batch of plum wine, and I just finished and bottled a batch of pumpkin wine (yes, pumpkin wine). And I’ve been making my wines based on colors of the rainbow: plum wine is red, and pumpkin is obviously orange. Yellow will be dandelion wine, green will be mint, blue will obviously blueberries, and indigo/violet will be elderberries. And I can’t wait to try them all!
The pumpkin wine I made, all bottled up. Looks good, doesn’t it?
I bought my first home two years ago. For millennials like me, it’s hard to find an affordable home, let alone a non-fixer upper that you don’t have to share with a bunch of other millennials. However, I was lucky enough to find and buy a small condo for myself two years ago, and I’ve been living in the Haunted Condo, as I call it, ever since.
Sadly, it’s not very haunted by anything except me. I don’t know why, I’ve done voodoo rituals and everything else to make the place haunted, but so far, no otherworldly dice. At least I can make one hell of a Halloween display every October and decorate the inside as I like!
My yard is the spookiest in the neighborhood every October.
I’m the chapter coordinator for HWA Ohio. The Horror Writers Association is an international organization that supports horror writers and helps them network and grow. Ohio’s chapter is about six or seven years old, and I’m the guy who runs it! Which was never my intention: some other members organized the chapter, and I volunteered to find a venue. Somehow, I kept arranging locations for us to meet, and that morphed into becoming the chapter coordinator. And after the parent organization set a formal election process for chapter coordinators for all chapters…well, I ran without competition. I guess people think I’m doing a good job or something?
Anyway, HWA Ohio has its own website, which lists our members and puts out news about us. If you would like to check the website out and support us, click HERE.
So proud to have a story from this collection adapted into a radio play.
I recently had my very first story adaptation. Remember my collection Hannah and Other Stories, which I mentioned above? Earlier this year, I became acquainted with a producer for WCBE 90.5, a local NPR station who interviews local creative types. He also runs a yearly Halloween show, where a short story is adapted into a radio play, with the roles played by local high schoolers.
“Hannah,” the lead story in Hannah and Other Stories, was this year’s story. It was my first time having a story adapted, and it was so, so good! The kids did really well in their roles, and it was amazing hearing my story brought to life on the radio.
And if you would like to listen to it, you can! It’s available to stream online, and you can listen to it in full HERE. Let me know what you think if you listen to it. The more people who listen, the better for future shows and future students. Plus, who knows? Maybe another one of my stories will get adapted. It happened once, didn’t it?
I tend to break out in song at any provocation. I kid you not, this is something I did daily in high school, and which I do quite frequently these days. In fact, I’m part of a critique group with some of my fellow Ohio horror writers, and they say it’s not a meeting if I don’t burst out in song at least once!
Too bad I sing badly, but hey, why should I let that stop me?
What I’m working on now. I’m juggling a few projects at the moment. For one, I’m putting together another collection of short stories, and I hope to have more on that in the coming days and weeks. I also recently finished a new novel, The Shape of Evil, which is about a 3D printer from Hell, and I hope to have that ready for pitching to agents and publishers by June next year. Finally, I also have a collection of novellas I plan to work on at some point, and I have a mummy novel I started but put aside for other projects that I plan to get back to.
Plus some short stories to send out to magazines and anthologies here and there. Yeah, I’m a busy guy, aren’t I? But that’s kind of the way I like it.
Anyway, that’s thirteen things you need to know about me. I hope you enjoyed learning about me, because I enjoyed writing it. And if you did, be sure to follow this blog and my other social media to keep up with what I’m doing and when I have new work coming out.
And if you would like to check out any of my other work, I’ll leave a link to my book page down below. You’ll find all my published works and then some there, including free stories. And if you like what you read, I hope you’ll leave a review online so I, as well as other readers, know what you think.
Until next time, my Followers of Fear, good night and pleasant nightmares.
In the wake of many current events, including current events, especially ones that leave us reeling and afraid and horrified by the state of the world, it’s not uncommon for many writers to wonder something: what’s the point? What’s the point in writing a fiction story when there’s so many horrible things happening out in the world today?
I especially hear this regarding horror. Sometimes from horror writers and horror fans, but more often from people who may not be fans. They may ask, “Who needs horror when all this horrible stuff is happening out in the world?”
And I’m sure we’re going to hear plenty of that in the weeks and months and years to come. What is the point of writing fiction when everything seems to be spiraling in the real world? And isn’t there enough real horror out there without fictional horrors making their way in there?
My fellow writers, and even those non-writers who may be asking these questions: this is exactly the time we need new fiction stories. Over the next several years, and far beyond, past every bad thing that will happen in our future, we’ll need fiction to get through it. Stories heal us. They offer us an escape from the bad things happening in our world and allow our minds to heal. That way, we can face the world, and whatever might happen to us in our lives, with new strength and determination.
Just look at the pandemic. For many people, streaming new shows and movies, or reading new books, or rewatching the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe up until that point (like I did), gave us the means to deal with our anxieties and loneliness. Sure, it didn’t help with everything, but God, did it give us a much needed boost.
That’s the power of story. It heals. So don’t put down your pen, asking what good your story does. It’s doing more good than you would think possible.
And to the horror writers: your work also heals. I did a whole talk on this subject at the Scary Saturday event the other day (you can watch that video HERE), but to summarize my points, horror can be therapeutic for many people. There’s even been studies on the subject, and those studies show that fictional horrors help heal fans by reminding them of how good their lives can be, as well as how bad.
It’s also true for the writers, who can find horror helpful in dealing with their own anxieties and traumas.
Not to mention fiction is a great lens to help you study, understand, and recontextualize the events of the world, with speculative fiction like horror and science fiction doing this especially well. Maybe that’s because those genres are such present and forward thinking genres that we can’t help but look at the world and put our thoughts into the stories we create in those genres.
So, to summarize: WRITERS! Your work is needed now more than ever. AND HORROR WRITERS! Don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t be filling the world up with fake horrors when there are enough real ones. Instead, let those people know that now is the best time for fictional horrors. Because your fake ones will give somebody the strength to fight the real ones. Whether that be on the national or international stage, or just getting through a very rough day.
Thank you, happy writing, and pleasant nightmares. I look forward to seeing what new stories you all produce.
Rami Ungar The Writer 