Tag Archives: snot

Human masks: Friday Update

02 Friday Aug 2024

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

News:

“Snot” made it to third place in last month’s Shallow Waters flash fiction contest.

I also sold a poem, but I’m not sure whether I can share more details than that.

Works in Progress:

Summer is a slow time for horror writers, and the markets have gone down in general, too. However, things start kicking up in August, and I submitted two novels, some poems, and at least six short stories yesterday alone. Crossing my fingers, but I’ve learned not to necessarily hold my breath.

I finished the first edit of Book & Candle (Meridian Book 5), and I’ve started on the second round. Ideally, I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend so I can proofread Crooked House (Thorns Book 5). After that, I have a novelette and a novel to tackle.

Things I’m Reading:

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
Why Didn’t You Just Leave edited by Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios

Things I’m Listening To: (as you can probably see, I’ve started just listening to all my music alphabetically)

Within Temptation
Aida soundtrack
Aladdin (1992) soundtrack
All I Ever Wanted by Kelly Clarkson
All of Me by Mandy Harvey
All That Echoes by Josh Groban
All That For This by Crystal Bowersox
Alright, Still by Lily Allen
Amaranthe by Amaranthe
American Idol singles

Things I’m Watching:

Anaconda
Twisters
S.W.A.T. series
Grey’s Anatomy series
Kitchen Nightmares series
Hoarders series
America’s Got Talent series
CSI: Miami series
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Supernatural series
White Collar series
Murder, She Wrote series

Poem of the Week:

give two children a tree to climb
they will eat from its fruit
give Pandora a box and say
it must never be opened
deflect the blame for the
inevitable enviable curiosity
of those who never knew better
until seeds were sown
and knowledge released

Fiddling: Friday Update

19 Friday Jul 2024

Posted by in A Few Thoughts, Novels, Series, Thorns

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

News:

She’s a saint. He is sin. Under my other name, Avarice & Creed is available for pre-order! There was a prompt somewhere at some point suggesting a subversion of Hallmark Christmas movie tropes by having a sweet young woman teach a cruel demon CEO the meaning of Christmas. In this case, we have a ‘virgin sacrifice’ of forced marriage to a billionaire avarice demon. I love all my stories for all sorts of different reasons, but I’ve noticed that my green-cover novels linger with particular fondness in my mind. (See also, Skeletons (Arcanium Book 9), which received less love than I have for it.)

My violent spring poem “Vernal” is featured in Renascentum, Quill & Crow’s Crow Calls Volume VI, which you can buy here.

“Snot,” my sea horror flash fiction, should post tomorrow at the Crystal Lake Patreon for the Shallow Waters flash fiction contest.

Works in Progress:

I’m a little less than halfway through the professional edits of Crooked House (Thorns 5). I’m still enjoying little special surprises I forgot I wrote. Period cramps hit yesterday, so I’ve been struggling, but I should be back to form tomorrow.

Books I’m Reading:

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
Why Didn’t You Just Leave edited by Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios

Things I’m Listening To:

Agnes Obel
Lily Kershaw
Abyss/Ascent playlist

Things I’m Watching:

The Ruins
NCIS series
So Help Me Todd series
Kitchen Nightmares series
Hoarders series
The Amazing Race series (finished)
America’s Got Talent series
CSI: Miami series
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Supernatural series
White Collar series
Murder, She Wrote series

Poem of the Week:

i will rise from the pandemonium
you cast me into as though the chaos
of angels singing is not cacophony
our wings the mechanism of angelic demise
if we cannot bear flight or halo in our own name
then we will rise on cloven hooves
and balance wreaths on our horns
we will ascend anew and walk our way
not to paradise but a garden of earthly delights

Twisted nerve: Friday Update

05 Friday Jul 2024

Posted by in A Few Thoughts, Novelettes/Novellas, Poetry, Short Stories, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Drift is an excellent vacation read, short and sweet. Highly recommend reading it by the water.

News:

My sea story “Snot” is a finalist in this month’s Crystal Lake Shallow Waters contest. Enjoy the Horror in Paradise theme for $5/month.

Works in Progress:

I finished Masque soon after last week’s update for a total of 110,972 words. I’ve already come up with a few ways to improve it in the first edit. Given my attention span, I think I’m almost certainly burned out from pushing the pace (not to mention reasonably afraid and depressed with the state of the Union), so I took the weekend to try to recover. Editing all month should help that, too.

I’m working on the edits for May Cooler Heads Prevail now and should finish the first edit by end of day. Since it’s so timely with its themes, it’s difficult to push through, but depending on escapism is difficult, too, because it feels like falling for bread and circuses, being the toad in the boiling pot and telling myself everything is fine and I don’t need to worry. The trouble is that I don’t know what to do if things go more wrong than they already have. If the rim of the pot is too high, what’s a poor toad to do when they realize the pot is boiling?

Books I’m Reading:

Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin
The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

Things I’m Listening To:

Old Favorites playlist
Fourth of July playlist
Witchy YouTube playlists

Things I’m Watching:

The First Omen
Midsommar
Under Paris
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
Hamilton
The Bay
Elsbeth series
Kitchen Nightmares series
Summer Baking Championship series (finished)
Hoarders series
Worst Roommate Ever series (finished)
The Amazing Race series
America’s Got Talent series
CSI: Miami series
CSI: NY series
Supernatural series
White Collar series
Murder, She Wrote series

Poem of the Week:

the universe is a night-blooming flower
creation its opening into light in darkness
stardust the persistent scent of jasmine
expanding in hedonistic spread
but preparing eventually to close