Why All the Facelifting?

Some people out in the world wide web may have noticed some new clothes on old books, including a name change for my novel, Loathsome, Dark, and Deep. Yes, I took it to the courthouse, filled out the appropriate paperwork, and now it has a new name: The Forest of Ruined Men. Why? It's a bit more marketable. I think.

Okay. I'm not a marketing genius. I'm not even a writing genius, but I write. And revise. And write some more. And re--well, you gather the general idea. What I know is this: since coming back to writing, all my earnings are going to charity. I used to drop a fair bit in the community pot before, but now all of it--all my sales, Smashwords earnings, KDP sales, etc., goes to help the uninsured of Douglas County receive health care.

This reluctant salesman finds it a whole helluva lot easier to ask folks to spend money if I know that money is going to do something positive. The nickels and dimes for which I begged before mean little to me, but my chosen beneficiary, Health Care Access, can do so much good with my money. Why Health Care Access? Why health care for the uninsured? I thought everyone had insurance now?

No.

Health Care Access does good work here at home. It's a cause in which I believe--and it makes it so much easier to spend time and energy selling books. My nickels and dimes can become diabetes treatment for someone without insurance or the resources to purchase it. My nickels and dimes mean early cancer detection so someone can qualify for state aid and treatment. I believe we have a duty to help everyone access quality health care, and I'm starting in my hometown.

So yes. This is what I'm doing.

And here's more of what I've done to help what I'm doing:

It's like they're a happy family now... a series even... and guess what? I'm laying groundwork for a third "Sons of Chaos" novella. It's going to be a cold one.

And you know what? I'd love it if you bought an ebook or read anything I've written--but sending some love to Health Care Access is beautiful, too, and you don't even need an e-reader.

Elective Surgery

I'm learning some tricks about publishing--lessons which are different in the small press/short fiction market and the mass commercial market.

1. Editors and readers of smart short fiction mags differ from the general reading public. Several reviews of my short fiction collections have brought this to my attention. Most recently, a reviewer in the UK wrote: " I particularly enjoy short stories that offer a final twist. I don't recall any of this collection having what I would regard as a decent ending" of Violent Ends. Ouch. Anyone in the UK want to counter that with some mild words of praise? I'll give you a cookie...

Anyway, final twists? Good luck getting a story with a "twist" ending published in most mags.

2. Commercial readers, by and large, don't give a sh*t about how beautiful your prose is. In fact, some will simply regard creative word-play as "typos" and snark about it.

I've published a few pieces under pseudonyms. No, I won't tell you what they are, yet, because they aren't in my genre. Let's just say they aren't my best work. Trust me. What I will tell you is that they are outselling In the Memory House, a book on which I worked for half the year. Gives a guy pause...

3. Cover art matters to everyone. I've given Black Medicine Thunder a Facelift and cover art change:

From this:

To this:

I think I like. You?

WIP Wednesday Gets Around

Let's start in Australia, where this:

has just been released. Not only is the cover art delicious (I promised scary, right?), but lookie here...I'm sharing a TOC with Terry Dowling. (I'm humbled, to be sure.) My little story, "The Weight of Children's Stories" is about stories (and caves, and monsters, and...oh just read it). Grab a copy in PDF or lovely dead tree edition.

On to the United Kingdom, which happens to be where the incredibly talented Cate Gardner lives. I've finally formatted and uploaded Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits to the Kindle store, and you know what? Cate's generously priced the book at 99 cents. Yippee! Check it out on Amazon.

Okay, so my WIP takes place in New Mexico, way back in the territorial days. 1881 to be exact, just about a year after the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad. Welcome again to the world of the Sons of Chaos (first seen in Black Medicine Thunder). I don't want to give too much away:

The thing had him by the throat, and the pistol fell with a thunk to the wooden floor.

So should I mention the "thing" takes out his heart? I did say scary, didn't I?

Monday Meanderings & Ebook Week

So, it's Read an E-book Week? Who knew? I suppose I should mention I've uploaded my serialized novella, Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos, to Kindle. The e-book version is available with two bonus stories and a sample chapter from Loathsome, Dark & Deep for 99 cents. How much did you pay for your last cup of coffee?


Plenty of other delicious e-bookage out there, too, including The Bottom Feeders, The House Eaters, the aforementioned Loathsome, Dark & Deep, and Rock Gods and Scary Monsters.

Because it is really about tearing down boundaries between writer/reader, each one of my indie published books (that would be self-published, wink-wink) is priced at 99 cents.

Speaking of indie-publishment, Strange Publications is taking pre-orders for Anthony J. Rapino's Uprooted chapbook through next weekend. Grab it and all the goodness for only $6. Real paper! Real art! Really good (and spooky) writing! Price includes world-wide shipping. You should stop by Anthony's new website and kick the tires, too. I hear there are contests.

Formatting is coming along for Cate Gardner's collection, Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits, and I hope to have that available for the Kindle (are you ready for this) for 99 cents by week's end.

Whew. So much to read. So affordable. So why not?

(I think I just channeled Monty Hall.)

WIP Wednesday Gets Edited

I'm finalizing edits for We are the Monsters, and just landed on this paragraph:

My tiny penlight beam glinted on the rippled surface of the water. It wasn’t exactly as still as glass, but calm. Tranquil enough it was hard to imagine any bodies under the surface, whether it be a boy drowned fifty years before or the water-logged corpse of Nate Nemechek. Even at night, deep blue night when the ghost and demons of the world were to rise and shamble about, dragging their carrion path across the world, I couldn’t feel it.

It's a weird little book, but I like it.

Other things I like? How about an idea for a second Sons of Chaos novella?

(shhhh...don't disturb Fred while he's at work)

So Long, Thanks for all the __________

I'm out of town for the weekend, but leave you, dear readers, with the following debris:

Another installment of The Borrowed Saints and the rip-roaring conclusion of "Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos".

Enjoy your weekend.

Works Not in Progress Thursday

I can't seem to finish a story.

Oh, I've been writing them, but each disappoints in the end. I'm sure there's a few possible reasons for this:

1. I've forgotten how to write.
2. I'm more critical of my work now.
3. I'm more critical of venues to which I'll send my work.

On #1...I hope this isn't true. I still "get" it. The words are still there. I keep scribbling little notes, typing sentences, developing characters, putting them in unfortunate situations....

So maybe it's #2. I like some of what I've written lately, but I don't love it. I should love it, right?

And I know #3 is part of the equation. In the beginning, I was happy to have a "yes" from anyone. I'm just not there any more. Pay and prestige aren't the only deciding factors--I want to send something that is a fit for the magazine/anthology/etc. With more experience, I find the list of possible markets for any particular story grow smaller (and smaller).

So, yeah. Working. Writing words. I suspect I need some dedicated editing and revision time...

I've been reading, too, and falling in love with much of what Kelly Link writes. If you're unfamiliar with her work, "The Specialist's Hat" is a good place to start. Don't be surprised if you finish the story with more questions than answers.

(By the way..."Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos" finishes this week at Red Penny Papers)

The Proverbial Sh*t Hits the Fan

***please forgive any spammy emails from my address...I've been hijacked, again***

I failed to mention yesterday's installment of "Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos" at The Red Penny Papers yesterday (bad writer!). Oh yes, things go from bad to severely f*cked this week, or as Max would say, "What the heck?"

(We've worked so hard at keeping the little scamp's language clean. Can't you tell?)

Also, review goodness from ScaryMinds re: Dark Pages Volume 1...

"And Cargo by Aaron Polson calls to mind the best of Romero in a sort of sifting through the ashes of post apocalyptic society way."

Awwww...I conjured Romero. (I'm not even sure if the things out there in the dark were zombies. Hell Heck, this review at ASIF suggests it was a vampire apocalypse. Now I'm confused.)

Trailer Schmailer

I've tooled around with Sony Vegas Studio a little of late, and look what popped out:



(I recommend viewing at YouTube; just click on the title in the top left of the video box.)

I also discovered The House Eaters is now listed at Goodreads. Spooky, really.

Thanks to anyone who has read the first installment of "Black Medicine Thunder..." over at The Red Penny Papers. KV Taylor has put together one fabulous piece of digital pulp.

Today, a group of consultants will film me "doing my thing" in my classroom. Spookiest moment yet. (They even plan to show it to other teachers...the fools!)

WIP Wednesday: September Wakes

The first edition of The Red Penny Papers is hot from the "virtual press" and you can read:

“The John” by Corinne Duyvis
“Pluvial” by NK Kingston
“Shaper of Dreams” by John Cash
“Postcard Wings above Blackpool Sands” by Cate Gardner
and...
“Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos” Episode 1 by Aaron Polson

I'm a little (a wee bit) excited to see Abraham Reaver (the rather gruff looking gent on the cover) released to the wilds of the interweb^TM.

Thanks to editor extraordinaire KV Taylor for the opportunity to write something fun.

__________

Now, September. What will we do with you?

I'd like to do an editing pass on Borrowed Saints. It has languished on my hard drive since last May. So sad. I have a few ideas for a rework of the ending, so yeah, maybe I can do that, too. I've finished another story for We're All Liars Here. I'd like to squeeze out another 10K or so on that project by the end of September. No promises, though.

Steady as she goes.

Oh, How Delightfully Sensational!

If you don't know about KV Talyor's The Red Penny Papers yet, it's time you gave it a gander. Not only is the artwork to die for, The Red Penny Papers is where you will find my serialized novella, Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos, this fall.

Sensational, you ask?

Well, yes. Therein you will find:

• undead buffalo
• deals with the devil
• all manner of facial scars
• necklaces made of human teeth
• and a mean ol' bastard named Reaver

...not to mention a cameo (or two) by characters from Loathsome, Dark, and Deep.

Excited? I am.

WIP Wednesday: More Fistfights, Please

I put the lid on a short story yesterday which, among other things, involved a girl watching her father crush an old man's throat with his booted foot. Needless to say, the father didn't know his daughter was watching. Yes, it was rather a dark little tale.

Currently, I'm revising my not-so-top-secret novella, and I've decided I need more fistfights. At least one more, to get the action rolling.

Maybe the hint of one is enough:

“Amanda.” The woman’s blue eyes burned into Isherwood’s gaze. She had a fire inside, blue like ice but sharp as a barber’s razor—he could see the cutting blade in that glare. “Amanda Reaver.”

Lawton pulled on his chin. “Jesus. You’re Reaver’s—”

“Daughter. Yes.”

“And he’s in the stockade for—”

“Decking me in public?” She pointed to her bruised eye. “That’d be the one.”

Nobody ever said Abraham Reaver was a nice man.