If I Only Wrote One Story...

If I could only keep one story, which would it be? Which one best exemplifies my "style"? What about you, if you are a writer? Which story, novel, play, poem, etc. best represents you?

I think I'd go with "The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable"--mostly because I hope, hope, I'd make the same choice as the protagonist.* But there are other stories I love, too many to hold in one hand.

"Wanting It" from Shock Totem 3 is a love letter (okay, a sorrowful love letter) to my childhood.

"The Weight of Children's Stories" from Midnight Echo 5 chilled me as I wrote.

Plenty more...

But if I only had one, it would be "The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable". Aqueous has released The Saints are Dead, including a shiny, spiffed-up version of the story.

You can still read the "old" version online at A Fly in Amber. Or, if you want the shined-up story with sixteen others, this is for you:


*I'm just not that good with spray paint.

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?

A Repeat, a List, and an Echo

It's Monday, which means I'm tired and sunburned from watching the Kansas City Chiefs put a whooping on Jacksonville, 42-20. I'll admit there was a little nail-biting in the third quarter, but after a pick six by Derrick Johnson, the hammer was most effectively brought down.

Okay, enough sports blah-blah-blah.

1. A Repeat

Friday night (I had the day off after a marathon twelve-hour parent/teacher conference day on Thursday), we held our second trying-to-be annual "drive-in" movie night in our backyard. It was load of fun as you can obviously tell in this out-of-focus and rather dark picture:

Last time around, we watched Scooby-Doo. This year, it was Shaun the Sheep, Little Sheep of Horrors. Claymation fun for everyone! (Yes, we projected the movie on a sheet attached to our roof.)

2. A List

The table of contents for Day Terrors (from The Harrow Press) is official, and it includes:

Ataraxia — Scott Brendel

Sea of Green, Sea of Gold — Aaron Polson

The Wish Man and the Worm — J.M. Heluk

The Woman in the Ditch — Scott Lininger

And the Crowd Goes Wild — John Jasper Owens

No Sin Remains A Secret — Jack Bowdren

The Heat Has Fangs — Trent Roman

In Lieu of Flowers — Chad McKee

Down Where the Blue Bonnets Grow — Daniel R. Robichaud

The Infatuate — Adam Walter

Fiddleback — Lorna D. Keach

Daddy Long Legs — Harper Hull

Miss Riley’s Lot — Gregory Miller

Closing the Deal — Lee Clark Zumpe

Customs — Mark Rigney

A Day at the Beach — Lawrence Conquest

Uncle Alec’s Gargoyle — Rebecca Fraser

Carrington Cove — Davin Ireland

Lollipop — Jason Sizemore

Companion — Rob E. Boley

Sands of Time — E. C. Seaman

The TOC with story blurbs can be found at The Harrow. I had fun with my story because it let me make up more crazy sh*t about Kansas. I sure like to make up crazy sh*t about Kansas...

3. And finally, an Echo...as in Leigh Blackmore has informed me that "In the Cave of Stories" will find a home in Midnight Echo #5 (Midnight Echo being a publication of the Australian Horror Writers Association). I love this piece and it was well worth the wait to hear the "yes".