WIP Wednesday: Blood from a Stone

The boys and I paid visit to Grandma this week, allowing me another opportunity to mine my poor ol' hometown for story ideas. How many times can I squeeze words (blood) out of these stones?

The factory building which inspired "Spider and I" is gone. Gone-gone. It used to be in front of the ugly sheds in the picture above.

These limestone gates still guard Greenwood Cemetery. I've called it by various names in the past, but the cemetery, and the creepy pond behind it, inspired various tales, including "The Bottom Feeders" and the as-yet unpublished "Wanting It". I learned to drive on the gravel roads in Greenwood. I guess Mom thought I couldn't do much damage to the residents.

I love the old, creaky Carnegie Library downtown. It's one of only 30-odd Carnegie Libraries in the U.S. still used as a library. The sinister top floor spawned "In the Primal Library". I've also used it as a setting in my YA WIP (crying out to be edited and revised), Borrowed Saints.

There's more, of course. Hell, the whole town of Clay Center has become my fictional Springdale (setting of The House Eaters and several stories). It's not the most original location, but it's mine. I'll keep on squeezing as long as she has something to give.

I've Got This Devil on My Shoulder...and It's Talking About the Kindle

...or maybe I have too much Rain Man playing in my head. (Three of my classes watched the first half today...a little comparison/contrast thing I do with Of Mice and Men).

Today at JA Konrath's blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, he interviews Karen McQuestion, a self-pubbed Kindle author with some serious sales numbers. Go ahead. Read the article. Be wowed.

I am. I tossed up The Bottom Feeders and Other Stories a few weeks ago, knowing short story collections are a hard sell in the real world, let alone via ebook. Thanks to you lovely blog-reader people, I've sold a few copies. Nothing to write home about.

It was an experiment. Still is.

And now I'm prepping another one. There are so many ways to fail as a writer, I might as well try them all, eh? With The House Eaters forthcoming from Virtual Tales and Loathsome, Dark, and Deep on sub with a publisher with whom I'd really like to work, I still have one decent novel floating around in a drawer. One I haven't really worked to hard too sell. (we won't mention the unmentionable books hiding in the darkest reaches of a hard drive)

Stay tuned...or not.

WIP Wednesday: Four Projects of the Apocalypse

Since this is a blog about writing (for the most part), I'll start with my latest WIP...the now-desperate-for-a-title YA ghosty-type story. I've only just begun in earnest, adding at least 1K words a day for the past few. The flip flop between brother and sister's POV (all 3rd person, of course) is making for an interesting narrative with nice parallel stories. I'm pleased.

An excerpt (from Phoebe's storyline):

Lunch in the cafeteria was hell. Phoebe gathered her brown bag from her locker, shut it gently, and slunk through the bustling corridors toward the auditorium. No one would be there between fourth and fifth period. The auditorium had been her secret, her hiding place, her sanctuary...

I've had a number of older stories I'm pretty pleased with, so, as most of you know by now (via Twitter, etc.), I put together an ebook collection. The free version of The Bottom Feeders and Other Stories includes ten previously published pulpy-horror tales. I wanted to release a Kindle edition, and since I can't offer a free version there, I added four stories, including two previously unpublished. I can't have people paying for the same thing they'd receive for free elsewhere. Because we live in an era of choice, I'm offering the "bonus edition" via Smashwords for 99 cents. If you like pulpy-horror tales, please give it a look. I consider this an experiment in 21st century storytelling. I'll let you know how it works out...



And I'm reading, of course. I took a break from Darkness because a used copy of Michael Moorcock's The Black Corridor landed in my mailbox the other day. I picked up the book after reading a mention of it in The Book of Lists: Horror under "the ten best sci-fi horror novels". I can't say I'm disappointed 50 pages in...more to come. The Black Corridor is out of print (the only copy I could find was via Half.com, but it was a quite affordable book club edition). Courting Morpheus also landed in the ol' mailbox on Monday, and I'm salivating for a crack at that. One book at a time, dear Aaron.

Finally, Barry Napier's chapbook, The Final Study of Cooper M. Reid, is available for preorder at Strange Publications. Strange will only produce 26 hand-lettered copies, all signed by the author (guess I should get him those signature sheets, huh?), and the price is too affordable to miss. As with all Strange chapbooks, it includes two previously published stories by Mr. Napier. You can also purchase a "subscription" to the first three chapbooks in the series for a considerable discount.

Chilling Short Fiction: Five of My Favorites

I've never been much a fan of "best" or "top five/ten/twenty-five" lists (even though I've thrown together a few myself). Call this a list of some of my favorite works of short fiction fitting the Halloween spirit. I'm sure I'll add more in time.

1. "The Lonesome Place" by August Derleth. No other single story has influenced my own writing more than this short story by Lovecraft's biggest fan. You can find snippets on the 'net (like at Google Reader), but the real value is in finding a dusty old book with the whole text.

2. "The Assembly of the Dead" by Chet Williamson. I've read this piece more than any other I've not taught. (as a teacher, I have too many touches with some stories to count) The end still baffles me, but in a good way: just enough mystery, just enough darkness.

3. "The Caterpillars" by E.F. Benson. You can read this one yourself.

"Occasionally one fell off on to the floor, with a soft fleshy thud, and though the floor was of hard concrete, it yielded to the pincerfeet as if it had been putty, and, crawling back, the caterpillar would mount on to the bed again, to rejoin its fearful companions."

4. "The Rats in the Walls" by H.P. Lovecraft. Only recently has this piece unseated "In the Vault" as my favorite by Mr. Lovecraft. Gawd...the ending. Just read it.

5. "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" by Joe R. Lansdale. Say what you will about Mr. Lansdale, he spins one helluva entertaining story. "Incident..." kept me going right up to the end, then blam!--punch to the gut (in the best way possible).

I'll add more before Halloween. Promise. I haven't even touched King or Poe, so you know it's going to get messy.

What else should I consider? What are some of your favorites?