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Amanda M. Blake

~ Of fairy tales and tentacles

Amanda M. Blake

Tag Archives: horror aficionados

Girl hungry: Friday Update

01 Friday Mar 2024

Posted by amandamblake in A Few Thoughts, Novels, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

climate change, crystal lake shallow waters flash fiction, extreme horror, goodreads group, hell come home, horror aficionados, job interview, job search, poem, Poetry, question not my salt, readalong

News:

I received my contributor copies of Question Not My Salt yesterday. Sometimes I’m at a loss how to stage a book, but QNMS has a built-in background in most homes. It’s really exciting to hold a book someone else chose to publish.

If you’re interested in joining a read-along for the month of March, I’m a guest author at the Goodreads group Horror Aficionados. You can comment on the book or ask questions in an interview style, and I’m contractually bound in blood to answer. It’s a short, propelling read, so if you can stomach the subject matter, it should be a lot of fun.

“Hell Come Home,” my sad, sweet, quiet Christmas horror story won 2nd place in the Shallow Waters flash fiction contest at the Crystal Lake Patreon.

In real life news, I had my first real interview for a job this week. It went really well, despite a scheduling snafu and realizing I didn’t have much in the way of nice clothes left since the last time I was this size. Most of my wardrobe is casual. I managed to find one decent outfit, though, and I bought more and plan to shop some more later today, so crisis averted. May I just say that mastering the elastic waistband rather than rigid fastening on work slacks is a game-changing feat of fashion technology?

Works in Progress:

I’m still relaxing a bit at the moment, which isn’t to say that I’m not working. I wrote two more short stories, edited two, and now I need to edit the last one. Then I’ll probably start my editing projects. But I also want to finally finish reading IT, too, so that might come first.

I’m also starting a poetry project this month for the seasonal poetry collection coming out in September, and I’ll probably do something a little different with the Crow Calls prompts, play around with lyrical or longer poetry instead of short flash pieces. So the Poem of the Week going forward for this month will be from a previous March, I think.

Books I’m Reading:

IT by Stephen King
Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
Ending in Ashes by Rebecca Jones-Howe

Things I’m Listening To:

Fleurie
Svrcina
Blacklist playlist
Abyss/Ascent playlist

Things I’m Watching:

Martyrs
Thanksgiving
The Predator
Viral
Dead Silence
Bone Tomahawk

Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (watchalong)
Angel series (watchalong)
CSI series
NCIS series
NCIS: Hawaii series
Home Town series
Murder, She Wrote series

Poem of the Week:

cracks in the ground
widen into caverns
the rivers ripped
through now run dry
leaving empty beds with
unquenchable thirst

Goblin fruit: Friday Update

23 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by amandamblake in A Few Thoughts, Poetry, Short Stories, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

books of horror, crystal lake entertainment, goodreads, group read, horror aficionados, horror novel, indie book brawl, interview, out of curiosity and hunger, question not my salt, rankings

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

News:

My interview with Crystal Lake Entertainment host A.F. Stewart is up on YouTube, where I talk about my inspiration for Question Not My Salt.

Question Not My Salt is also a March 2024 group read at the Goodreads discussion board Horror Aficionados. The Group Read thread hasn’t been created yet, but if you want to read along next month, feel free to join us!

I’m not too attached to rankings, but it’s been interesting watching QNMS’s since its release. It’s consistently higher than I’m used to my books being (in the hundreds rather than the hundred thousands), which means I’m getting modest but steady purchases. Out of Curiosity and Hunger ain’t doing too badly either (for me), since I’m a contender for the Indie Book Brawl at Books of Horror at Facebook, and people are starting to find it.

Works in Progress:

I’ve started applying for jobs and have no idea what my future holds or when, but as far as I’m concerned, my writing sabbatical is over, and that means allowing myself a little mental rest. This also means a certain amount of disorganized chaos. I intend to start editing in March, but there’s still a week till then.

I wrote a short story for a themed contest, and I have one more short story I’d like to write for a themed call. On a whim, I created a poetry chapbook that I’m not sure whether I’m sending in or saving for later, and I’m stitching it together today. Contemplating whether I have enough available short stories for a themed short collection. Having an existential crisis. Sad that our False Spring seems to have been the start of Actual Spring (although we’ve been known to have odd cold snaps in March-May). You know, the usual.

Books I’m Reading:

IT by Stephen King
Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
Ending in Ashes by Rebecca Jones-Howe

Things I’m Listening To:

Lily Kershaw
Delain
Abyss/Ascent playlist
YouTube playlists

Things I’m Watching:

Hostel: Part II
Hostel: Part III
Mandy

Frozen (horror)
Devil’s Pass
Bite

Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (watchalong)
Angel series (watchalong)
CSI series
The Mentalist series
The Irrational series (finished)
Helix series (finished)
Queer Eye series
Abbott Elementary series
All Creatures Great and Small series
Murder, She Wrote series

Poem of the Week:

for four hundred years
i abstain
chalice dry
length of long tongue
desiccated

so that when some
young thing
bleeds
for me

i am compelled to
devour

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