Detention Hall

So one of my detainees came into detention hall with nothing to do yesterday. I told him to grab a book from the bookshelf. His pick: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Um...don't think he was going to read that one. So I handed him:

And showed him my story in Blood Lite II. The first line of "The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish" begins with the words: "On their way to drunkenness..."

Detention hall kid: "This story is making me thirsty."

True story.

Blood Lite II on the Shelves

Hey look, they shelved it under "Armstrong" because her name is first on the cover. Gotta love bookstores, eh?

Owen was at the store with me and asked about the "red stuff" on the cover...I'm glad he didn't pay much attention to the other Kelly Armstrong books (I'm not ready for that talk with my seven-year-old).

On the Way to the Cooking Section...

My wife and I went to Borders over the weekend to buy a vegetarian cookbook for her sister's birthday. I thought I'd swing through the horror section, just for giggles, and what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a fat stack of Blood Lite II. I thought the street date was this Tuesday (as listed at Amazon and others), but surprise, surprise.

My father-in-law (we were visiting for the weekend) insisted on going out and grabbing a copy. He even made me sign it. I'm also quite embarrassed to say, he asked the clerk for the "Aaron Polson" book. I tried to explain I was just a nobody in book loaded with familiar names...of course the store computer offered a blank, item not found screen.

Let's not even talk about the extended family questioning me about being a horror writer...

Vampires. Sparkles.

Look! I'm in a book with famous people!

Hey...that vampire has braces. Sparkly braces. Heh.

One for You, One for Me

Sick Things is now available at Amazon.com and other fine retailers. My longish story, "Ranching the Sleore," has one of the most bizarre climaxes I've written to date. This one isn't for the kiddos...but what do I write that is?

The cover art is er...eye catching. (sorry for the ocular reference)

Speaking of cover art, I had a peek at the cover for Blood Lite II: Overbite the other day...mums the word for now, but it is shiny.

Have a good weekend.

My Most Humbling Experience to Date

The Table of Contents (TOC) for Blood Lite II: Overbite...

Death and Taxes—Heather Graham
Table for Two—Jeff Ryan
Treatment—J.A. Konrath
Dead Clown Séance—Christopher Welch
The Day the Devil Swallowed a Heapin’ Helpin’ of Pride at the Beaulahville Gospel Jubilee—Scott Nicholson
Piecemaker—Don d’Ammassa
Good Breeding—Lucien Soulban
Tails—John R. Little
Dog Tired (of the Drama!)—L.A. Banks
A Sweet Girl for Todd—Mark Onspaugh
Dark Carbuncle—Kevin J. Anderson & Janis Ian
Tastes Like Chicken—Jordan Summers
Presumptuous Beast Throws Sumptuous Feast—Mike Baron
Bad German—Edward Bryant
The Halloween War—Brian J. Hatcher
Oh, the Ho-Ho Horror—Joel A. Sutherland
The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish—Aaron Polson
Dick and Larry—D.L. Snell
Son of…a Bitch!—Sam W. Anderson
Her Lucky Day—Allison Brennan
A Wing and a Prayer—Sharyn McCrumb
Barewolf—Daniel Pyle
American Banshee—Eric James Stone
The Epicurean—Amy Sterling Casil
The Ghoul Next Door—Nancy Kilpatrick
Daycare of the Damned—Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Season’s Tickets—Derek Clendening
The Close Shave—Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn
Shaggy Dog Story—Steve Rasnic Tem
Eight-Legged Vengeance—Jeff Strand
Lucifer’s Daughter—Kelley Armstrong

The book is slated for an October 2010 release.

(Who the hell is this "Polson" character, and why'd they let him in?)

Goals 2010 and Other Updates

I suppose I need to put together a "goals" post or else I won't have anything upon which to reflect at the end of the year. Make sense?

Just like last year, there are things I want out of 2010. Some I can control; some I can't.

What I can do:

1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market.

2. Finish my final pass of Loathsome, Dark, and Deep and have it ready to query/submit in February. (Get on this one, eh?)

3. Write my fifth novel*--a ghost/suspense/YA thing with no title but one hell of a first line:

When I was younger, I imagined numerous ways to kill my sister just to see if she'd come back and haunt me.

4. Write at least one high quality story a month (or 12/year). I've gotten better at letting my stories "age" before editing. I'll do even better this year.

5. Buy something from the small press every month. And read it. And review it for Skull Salad. More than one would be sweet.

I would like the following to happen as well, but these items require outside "assistance":

1. Land an agent/sell a book.

2. Sell another story to a pro paying market.

Speaking of that pro-rate sale, my first such sale is to Blood Lite 2, an anthology of humorous horror from the HWA edited by Kevin J. Anderson. The story: "The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish". Why I'm stoked: exposure. Pocket Books is the publisher which means Blood Lite 2 will find its way to many bookshelves in genuine brick-and-mortar stores. I'm glad I took the chance and subbed.

Oh, and things are coming along with The House Eaters. My editor sent a "head's up" email that she was about halfway through. All smiles here.

Enjoy your week...and ignore the post-holiday blahs.

*good God...fifth novel?