The Pulps and the Mythic

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I have been toying with the idea of publishing my novels in a different format. Currently, I’m using a smaller but still standard paperback size for my two novels Shoot the Devil and Monsterly (a novella). It may be a surprise to some, but I’m not selling many copies of either book. To mix things up and maybe spur some traffic, I may republish them in a mass market paperback size, with new covers that more resemble those of the classic pulps era. I figure I can brand myself this way, as I am a fan of such pulps as The Shadow, Doc Savage, and various horror book covers of that era. It would also be at a cheaper price point, which may sell more copies. Of course, I may change my mind, but its a thought. It also depends on how affordable I find an artist that specializes in that particular style of illustration. It also hinges on if I want to publish my next (in progress) novel in that style or not.

I have also been running a campaign for the new hex crawl role playing game Mythic Bastionland. It’s setting is a mythic Britannia type, with knights, myths, omens, and strangeness. I’m liking it so far. It has just the right amount of prep and seat of your pants play, providing plenty of tools to do both. I added some of my own dark and gothic strangeness as well, because I’ve got a reputation to uphold after all.

On the goth dark wave front, I have found a few new bands that I have added into my usual rotation. Ash Code and Vioflesh are excellent bands, each having that dark, deep, mood vibe of a hidden basement vampire club, which I am fond of for reasons (specially Vioflesh). With a different vibe altogether, I’m also loving the band Night Chill with instrumental songs that cross, rock, surf music, and goth, with the added bonus of a theremin. They have produced several EPs and singles so far, and I eagerly await a full album of their material.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Vandal Moon’s new concept album. Give it a spin if your into a goth, cyberpunk, dance vibe. It’s a bit different then their last two excellent albums, but creative and excellent in its own way as well, you just need to be in the right mood.

That’s all for now ladies and gents. Keep it spooky.

The Electric October waltz

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It’s that time of year once again, the most wonderful time of the year. The October waltz, the spooky season is in full swing, the vampires sharpening their fangs, the witches brooms lift that much more higher, and the skeletons buff and polish their bones. I started playing my Halloween playlist weeks ago, cramming more horror movie viewing parties in before the waltz fades out.

I’ve been keeping to the grindstone, writing my novel and failing to post regularly on my new Instagram account. I did have an author photo shoot the other day, so I will have proper photographs for book jackets and promotions (if my image shows up on film). Not that anyone is clamoring for my picture, that I know of (that shadowy goth woman in the neighborhood notwithstanding), but fake it until you make it. Soon, my dark and gruesome mug will be seen all over my social media no doubt.

Speaking of horror movies, I did manage to finally watch Sinners. It was certainly well made, and acted, with a good mix of horror and drama. To be honest, I thought it took slightly too long to get the vampires into the story. They also (SPOILERS) totally wasted the idea of native American vampire hunters in that time period. I expected them to return and help take out the vampires later. I want to see them featured in a spin off as soon as possible.

That’s all I have for now. Enjoy your Halloween to the fullest, and as always, keep it spooky.

Writing the dark wave

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Time seems to have flown by on black wings since my last post. Unfortunately, there is not much to report. I am still typing away on my new dark fantasy novel, title yet to be revealed. The middle act is coming together as I wrestle with pace and character development. It has a relatively small cast, but none of them will remain unscathed by the end of the book. I’m having a grand time forming the world of Larkwynn page by page, gothic, often dangerous, and fantastical, with shrouded mysteries yet to discover.

I finished reading Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. This was my introduction to Hobb’s writing, and I enjoyed the story and characters immensely. It is a large tome, brevity not being one of her strong suits, but I was in the mood for a rousing pirate yarn, and she delivered. I mean, who doesn’t like a good pirate story with a heap of fantasy thrown in for good measure? No really, who?

On the music discovery front, I have found new favorite goth dark wave (and -ish) bands Hallowed Hearts, Crying Vessel, a Cloud of Ravens and Batzz in the Belfry. If i had to choose, Crying Vessel is the killer of the bunch for now. Not to forget that Peter Murphy’s new album is a bell ringer for sure.

That’s it for now. Everyone keep it spooky out there.

Larkwynn and Ravenblack

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The start of another quarter crept up behind me with the point of a blade to my throat, telling me to complete what I have begun. I do my best to comply. I have reached close to the middle point of the dark fantasy novel I am writing.

I don’t like to talk about what I’m writing during the process, but I will divulge a bit. When I created the world for my story, I came up with the name Atios for it. However, by the time I had reached around the fourth chapter, I found that name had been used by someone else. Searching the web, it was difficult to tell how known Atios was to others, but in my despair, I felt the need to change it anyway. My replacement was the name Larkwynn. This time it is chiseled into stone, no matter what may come.

I received the proofs for my Kairo short story River of the Blue Carmina for Weirdbook Magazine #49. Look for it to be on virtual news stands soon.

Lastly, I recently discovered a murder of goth and goth adjacent bands that are now in heavy listening rotation (lest I give the wrong impression, I’m pretty goth adjacent myself, with a dark leathery wing overlap). The favorite discovery is probably Mono Inc. from Germany. Their album Ravenblack is simply delicious, and they have a new album coming out this year. Sirenia and Ancient Myth are great more metal sounding bands. Rounding out the parade are darkwave bands Feyleux, The Birthday Massacre and Harsh Symmetry.

May your all April showers bring melancholy gray clouds and black eyeliner tears.

Don’t call this a reboot

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So, it has been a long time, I acknowledge that. Some things have changed and some remain the same.

I am still hard at work writing a dark fantasy novel set in a world of my own making. A world overtaken by a magical darkness, where a new spark of light, unwilling and corrupted though he may be, is the only hope in stopping an unchained evil, and possibly resurrecting a sacred order of good. My plan is to finally finish it by the end of 2025. I may shop it around to publishers before self-publishing as I have my two other books. Fingers crossed that this will be my breakout hit.

I am still waiting on two of my Kairo stories to be published in upcoming Weirdbook Magazine issues. I have a Frankenstein monster in WW2 short story looking for a home.

In addition, I am in the exploratory phase of starting a radio show/ podcast called Electric Darkness (hence the name of the Web site). This will be an audio show that will showcase music (synth, dark, spooky), some old ghost stories, maybe interviews, all in a cozy, low key, dare I say ASMR tone. Of course, I will also use a tiny portion of it to promote my writings.

Stay tuned.

state of the writer

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As the new year has begun, so too has a new novel. I say novel and not novella, as I am pretty confident this next book will be long enough to be considered a true novel. You see, my next novel is a high fantasy novel and the world building has already begun. This will not be epic fantasy, but fantasy nonetheless…and dark. Think Universal Monsters meets Lord of the Rings. Hoping this will be a series as well.

I have a couple of short stories making the rounds; a Frankenstein monster in WW2 story, and another Kairo story. I should really write one or two more Kairo stories and publish them as a collection.

Still waiting for the Weirdbook Magazine issues that contain more Kairo stories to be out. Seems like that magazine’s publishing schedule has gone off the rails. Hopefully they get things on track again. It is a great magazine for weird stories.

The reception for my last book, Monsterly, has been great (I am assuming since I have only one starred review on Goodreads). If you read it, or any of my books, please leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Since I cannot afford to flood Amazon with ads for my books, this is the only marketing I have.

That’s all for now. Catch you later.

State of the Writer Address

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I’m really not very good at this blogging thing. It appears that my last post was in October. My apologies.

I started the Monster 50 in hopes that it would inspire me to post with more regularity. It has, and has not, done so. I fully intend to complete this endeavor with only 19 left to go.

Progress on the new novel has been going slow (surprise). I intend to pick up the pace, with hopes of completing, and publishing it by the end of the year. This is what I am calling my Eighties novel. It is set in the Eighties, includes lots of monsters, music and mayhem, all around Halloween time. The story features multiple characters, including a former scream queen now disk jockey, a South Korean movie martial artist, an elderly rockabilly musician in a nursing home, and a young boy with a seemingly dark curse and love for dark music. It is based on an idea that I have had germinating for a long time. Can’t wait to unfurl it on the world.

I have been creating a campaign for the Numenera RPG, and just started running it as GM for a small group. Running an RPG is a great workout for my writer’s brain. Creating NPCs, plot hooks, and story lines, improvising on the fly when needed, really get the creative juices flowing. I am having fun with it now, but hope it doesn’t encroach on my novel writing too much.

As previously mentioned on Twitter, I have sold two more Kairo short stories. River of the Blue Carmina will be in Weirdbook Magazine #48, and A Nightly Hanging will appear in #50. I have also finished another Kairo story that needs a home, as Weirdbook is booked out through 2021.

That’s it for now. Catch you later.

Top 5 Vampire Films

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I’ve seen a few vampire movie lists pop up recently, and have found that I disagree more often than not. While my tastes usually veer more to the classics than modern, the dearth of modern vampire movies (let alone ones that are good), does nothing to dissuade me from doing so.

Therefore, I present my top 5 vampire films, with a few honorable mentions added for variety.

  1. Dracula (1931)- I never grow tired of watching this film. Love Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Dwight Frye as Renfield, Helen Chandler as Mina and Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing. Tod Browning sometimes gets a bad rap for creating a stagy atmosphere, (specially when compared to the Spanish counterpart for their version shot on the same set) but there are a ton of memorable shots and scenes he helped to create. I also like the newer score Philip Glass created for the film on the DVD I have. If you have not seen this film, this Halloween is the perfect time to remedy that.
  2. Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966)- I could just as easily choose The Horror of Dracula or Dracula Has Risen From the Grave. The Dracula films from Hammer Studios are all superb. Christopher Lee is a highly menacing and almost animalistic Dracula, yet his noble, refined bearing can be glimpsed often in the way that he presents himself. I love the way that Dracula returns in this one. It involves a lot of bright red blood, of course. You can’t go wrong with any of the Hammer Dracula films, but this is my top choice today.
  3. What We Do In the Shadows (2014)- True confession: I laughed so hard at parts of this film that I may have snorted loudly and rolled around unable to breathe. It was wonderful. You can tell that Tiaka Waititi and Jermaine Clement have a lot of love for vampires. You couldn’t make this as funny as it is without having that love in the first place. Shot in a documentary fashion that follows a group of vampires that happen to be flatmates, this is one of the best modern vampire films. Now, let us all have a moment of silence for poor Petyr.
  4. Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)- I know what you’re saying. This is a Frankenstein film and not a vampire one. Wrong. It is just as much a Dracula film as Frankenstein. Bela Lugosi plays the role of Dracula again, and is a delight as he tries to revive the Frankenstein monster and give him the brain of a simpleton, Lou Costello’s Wilbur, to more easily control him. The wolf-man is along for the ride as well, of course. The jokes are great, as usual for Abbott and Costello, though the monsters are all played straight as if unaware they are in a comedy. This is a mainstay at my household, with my now eleven year old daughter asking to watch it every October.
  5. Fright Night (1985)- The premise of this film is great. What if a vampire moved in next door to your house? What if no one believed you? What if a horror host was your only help in defeating this vampire? If only more movies featured horror hosts as character. Maybe there would be a glorious revival of horror hosts across the streaming channels of the land (this is happening a bit already if you know where to look,but that’s another blog post entirely). With Roddy McDowell as the horror host, Chris Sarandon as the vampire and William Ragsdale as the young horror fan next door to the vampire.

Honorable mention: The Brides of Dracula, Interview With the Vampire and Blacula.

News!

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New Novel!

My new novel, Shoot the Devil, is now available on Amazon via Kindle or snazzy paperback edition. Sonny Blackstone, a hunchbacked hitman, is hired to kill the devil to save a man’s soul. During which he runs into angels, demons, a phantom automobile race, and a travelling circus with one giant attraction.

Follow this link to purchase. Ratings and reviews are the lifeblood of authors, so don’t be afraid of leaving one. Thanks, and catch ya later.