"If stories are lies, then they are good lies, that say true things." - Neil Gaiman
My flash piece, Black Dog Whispers, is featured in this month's issue of The New Bedlam Project, a pretty neat creation of Jodi Lee and Louise Bohmer. Basically, New Bedlam is a haunted town where oddness abounds. That, and most the townspeople have been suffering insomnia for ages. Sounds like my kind of place.
Anyway. Enjoy. If you'd like, leave a comment after the story.
On the heels of the release of Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned (B&N, Amazon, SP), Scott Christian Carr's wildly original novella, Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers, has already begun to create some excitement among advance readers. Hitlers is the second installment in the Scandalous Misadventures of Hiram Grange series.
One of those readers is none other than Loyd Kaufman, President of Troma Entertainment and Creator of the Toxic Avenger. Kaufman read Hitlers, and said it was:
"more fun than a barrel full of Hitlers... The best novel since Don Quixote!"
Greg Hall, the master of ceremonies over at the Funky Werepig radio show was equally impressed:
“Somewhere in the Underworld, Lovecraft is grinning with delight and Hunter S. Thompson is raising his bottle high. You won’t find a darker, more twisted character than Hiram Grange.”
But the lavish praise and adoration don't stop there! Renowned sci-fi author Patricia Anthony, who wrote Cold Allies, Brother Termite, Conscience of the Beagle, Happy Policeman, Cradle of Splendor, God's Fires, Flanders, and Eating Memories said this about Hitlers:
"Scott Christian Carr is one of the most insightful writers I know. He's also one of the funniest. Reading 'Twelve Little Hitlers' never fails put you under an intellectual pleasure-dome, which is great in and of itself --- The unexpected surprise is, you'll also laugh your ass off!"
Stay tuned for the January 2010 release of Carr's Hiram Grange and the Twelve Little Hitlers!
The Hiram Grange Chronicles finally begins with Book One of the series, Hiram Grange & The Village of the Damned, available now on Amazon. You certainly don't have to pick it up to understand my title, Book Four - Hiram Grange & The Chosen One - but it would help, and also it'd be great help in building a fan base for the series. The first installment has received glowing advance praise, and I'm jazzed that several authors whom I respect and admire have agreed to read mine ahead of time and provide blurbs for me, also.
I'm anticipating a lot of fun with this series, my title in particular. I've several extra scenes I had to cut due to length, but they all tie into the story nicely, so I plan on releasing them as "webisodes" and through the newsletter, so be looking for that. As a teaser - now that everything is all coming unwrapped - I've thrown in some of the artwork related to my title. Just make sure you go check out Malcom McClinton, the man who has given Hiram his disreputable but endearing mug.
Issue 7 of Shroud Magazine, featuring my interview with the producers of the film adaptation of Brian Keene's "Dark Hollow" and the debut of Brian's column, "Seminal Screams", is now available. Brian's column will detail classic, must reads for those who want to read and/or write in the horror genre. Pick up today. Great Christmas gift for your little darklings at home!
"Shroud is excited to offer Shroud 7, more than 150 pages of thrilling fiction, insightful articles, and amazing art encompassing the many exciting facets of dark fiction. In this issue, Shroud is absolutely thrilled to showcase an exclusive excerpt of best selling author, John Shirley's, latest novel. In addition, Shroud 7 will have original and horrific stories and columns from Brian Keene, Timothy P. Remp, Jackie Gamber, Richard Alan Scott, Jason Keene, Michael Knost, Robert Canipe, D.L. Snell, Kevin Lucia, The Brothers' May, Norman Rubenstein, Joel Sutherland, Adam J. Whitlatch, Adam Blomquist, and so many more! More than 150 pages of amazing and intelligent dark fiction. From noir to Horror!"
My latest non-fiction piece is now available in Guideposts' new inspirational collection Praying from the Heart. It's book#1 in a 12-book series on prayer called True Stories of Extraordinary Answers to Prayer.
My story is "More Than We Asked For", and it's about the challenges my wife and I have faced in the past year or so with the diagnosis of both my son and daughter as special needs children, and how prayer especially has been something that's supported us through this.
It's currently available here, but I imagine eventually it'll be on Amazon, and can be purchased through brick and mortar stores, also.
The submission call is still open for stories to fill the other eleven books, so I'm hoping if the "muse" sings, I'll have another story to pitch for this series soon.
Hmm. Just realized how that sounds...
Happy Halloween, everyone. What costumes shall you be donning tonight? My daughter is very much still in her "Disney Princess" phase. She had the choice of them all and chose Cinderella, however, based on her fascination with Hallmark's "Halloween On Ice", I'm guessing next year's choice might have a little more teeth.
Speaking of teeth, Zack is - in true form - going as the "king of the jungle" tonight, as a big ole lion...
Although I have to admit, I liked last year's "Bam-Bam" costume a lot better.
Me? Sadly, no costume this year. Took me too long to figure out how to manage it. HOWEVER...I'll be collecting parts to my costume all through the off-season, and will be ready for next year. In fact...I may just suit up for Horrorfind 2010's costume contest. I mean, I'm no Mike Lombardo....
But I imagine I can come up with something fairly decent, in fact...maybe even an escort for the lovely lady herself...err....himself...
Recently I've had the chance to reminisce over old stories, works I wrote almost two, maybe even three years ago. As any writer can attest, even months-old writing looks putrid and flat on the page. Now imagine coming back to a work that's several years old. All your old ticks, flaws, and tendencies are there, full-fledged, screaming at the top of their lungs.
Conversely, when I read decades old work, I'm actually surprised that even back then, I verged on my current style. For example, my word economy in exposition was atrocious, so was my POV (point of view) and I was WAY in love with adverbs and dialogue tags, but the dialogue itself was pretty good for how young I was.
The other day I received edits back for a short story I placed in an anthology awhile ago. At this point, that's something I'm used to; in fact, it's become a mark of a quality publication. However, the story's place in my "lexicon", if you will, is crucial - it's pre-Borderlands Writers BootCamp, (those of you who've been or heard know what I mean by that), but not only that - very early in my MA, and pre-Hiram Grange, which was like a year of workshop rolled into one work.
I opened the document, and I'd like to say I was shocked by all my mistakes, but that would be putting it mildly. What I did was slam the laptop shut and run screaming for my literary mommy. (Not sure who that would be. Maybe Rob Dunbar or Kelli Dunlap would qualify). I'm immensely grateful said editor was willing to take it in the first place.
Now obviously, I'm going to print it out and do the edits. I'm a writer. I want to be published. I like cash, too. Also, I figure it will be good for me. I've become happy with the state of my craft, but I believe I should never be content. Going over this early story will help with that.
On the other hand, there are old stories that are fun to read, and even though the glaring mistakes still jump out, we like the story so much we can't wait to get a chance to edit in all we've learned since writing it. A few weeks ago I had the chance to read my very first published/paid-for work ever, a novelette entitled "The Way Station", which bagged Editor's Choice Honors for the first edition of Coach's Midnight Diner.
It's about two years old, and the word economy is not so great, there's POV issues, and too many dialogue tags. People, however, still really like it. So do I; I just want to give it a good brushing up, chop out maybe 2,000 - 3,000 words. Still, it has what I believe is a defining element in my work: a moral core. Not a religious one, mind you, but a thoughtful comment on the human existence/experience/condition.
For me, that's what makes a story worth writing and reading, genre irregardless - be it cyberpunk, horror, fantasy, or something as out of the box as Hiram Grange - a comment on the human experience. I don't have any pretensions of being literary myself, but over the course of my teaching career, many students have asked, "What makes a work literary"?
"A lot of things," I always reply, "but in the end the most important aspect: that it makes a significant, insightful comment on the human condition, one lots of folks can relate to."
Using my definition, a lot more works can be considered literary, I suppose. There are other things to consider, too...things like artful craft, a definitive voice and complexity of plot and structure, cultural significance...but that's why most of us take the time to read, right? Because we find resonance in those stories, because they say something about this terrible/awful/wonderful/confusing/beautiful thing called humanity.
As long as I can write things like that, in a way that satisfies me artistically, touches people, and garners respect in the industry...then I'll feel like I've actually done something, here.
I had the distinct pleasure of taking part in Union Center Christian Church's Art Show On Main, a coffee-house style arts celebration held this past weekend. Art Show On Main is a wonderful exhibition of the arts: musical, graphic, paint, clay, sculpting, and the written word. Artists from as far as North Carolina, Massachusetts and even Canada took part in the festivities.
All the "artists in residence", if you will, held critique workshops, sat on a Q & A panel that examined the "daily life of the artist", and then performed or presented their artwork in a true coffee house setting that was rich in style, substance, and outright talent. The atmosphere was welcoming, cordial, friendly, and most of all...artistic.
Best all was its clarity of focus: yes, held in a church it featured artwork created from a spiritual mindset, but the focus was firmly placed on the arts themselves. The collection of artists and their work was very diverse, and again - though presented in a fairly wholesome, family atmosphere, this was a celebration of art and all its forms, not a Sunday school service.
Probably the most enjoyable part of the experience was meeting and working with Massachusetts horror writer Dan Keohane, who met with my Creative Writing students the day before. Both he and I conducted critique workshops, served on the Q & A panel, then performed readings later on during the show.
Both our readings were extremely well received, considering the mixed crowd. Dan read from his first novel, Solomon's Grave, while I read from my novellete "Way Station", an Editor's Choice selection in the very first Coach's Midnight Diner. A pin drop could be heard during both readings, which seems to be a good indication of what folks thought.
A good time was had by all, and yes - both Dan and I moved some product, but that wasn't the most important thing. Again, the best element was getting to meet with yet another one of my writing Brothers-at-Arms, and spending time among those who appreciated art well done.
Yes, it's back. Enjoy it in all it's randomness.
My Hyper-Caffeinated Mind: A Blog of 3 AM Proportions.
What I'm Reading: