Cross Another One off the Bucket List…

…and I'm one step closer to death, my friends. Just got this in the mail today--a contributor's copy of Esli ("If"), one of Russia's oldest science fiction magazines featuring a translation of my story "Citizen of the Galaxy," and some really great art. Unfortunately, I don't read or write Russian, so you're going to have to settle for some cell phone pics of the issue.

Which gets me off-topic a little. Now, I love getting paid for my work, seeing it posted on a website or printed in a magazine or anthology, but there's really nothing like the thrill I get when I see some incredibly talented artist create a work based on something I wrote.

It just makes me feel so damn lucky.

So I'd like to sincerely thank: Dominic Black, Christoph Shulz, Anthony Pearce, Leslie Herzfeld, and all the other illustrators who've shared their talents. They deserve your praise, your attention, and any/all art commissions you have. 

Still Can't Believe my Luck

In my experience, genre publishing is feast-or-famine, and while I'm riding high on a pair of fine podcast publications this month, my excitement is tempered by the long, quiet winter I know is just around the corner.

Still, if you've got a moment…

Pseudopod just published my horror story "Saturday," read by none other than the inestimable Mikael Naramore. Seriously, the guy has narrated fiction by Nora Roberts, Clive Barker, Wesley Chu…and now me? He could make a grocery list sound epic.

If horror isn't your thing, J.S. Arquin at The Overcast just did a phenomenal reading of my SF satire Black Friday. So give it a listen while you wait in line for that new flatscreen. 'Tis the Season and all that.   

Better yet, Unlikely Coulrophobia is just on the horizon, and the Autumn Cthulhu kickstarter is set to go live in the next few weeks.

Damn, maybe winter won't be so bad, after all.

It's Finally Here...

There's a hard edge to the breeze and the leaves are just beginning to rust. Ahh, it must be autumn, my favorite time of the year.

What better way to usher in the season of slow decline than with a cavalcade of creepy Lovecraftian thrills. What? Oh no, my dear, I've no agenda at all…only a selection of fine publications to show you. Go on, take your pick… 

I'm pleased as hard cider punch to announce not one, but two of my stories appearing under the auspices of the venerable Lovecraft eZine. The first: "Gently Down the Stream" published in the most recent issue. The second: "Cul-de-Sac Virus" in the very, very aptly titled Autumn Cthulhu--which I would recommend to any lover of mythos horror on the hideous strength of Laird Barron, Gemma Files, and John Langan alone. The fact I somehow made it onto the table of contents with such great authors is still an October miracle.

If you're looking for some more hopeless fare, might I suggest Apotheosis--a collection of 21 visions of a world completely lost to the old ones' unfathomable whims? Curated by Jason Andrew, it just happens to include my story "Of the Fittest" where I try to show you can really go home again.

Ah, but dark fantasy is your poison of choice? Well, look no further than Hides the Dark Tower, an anthology of fiction based around a symbol that has ghosted through prose from King, to Nervel, to Browning. 

But it's Halloween, what about the traditional monsters? Oh no worries, my friend, Chaosium has you more than covered with Mark of the Beast, an assortment of werewolf stories where you most assuredly won't find the eponymous lycanthrope hiding within a handsome, yet brooding love interest or high school drama--not that I have anything against those particular genre staples. These are shape changer tales, pure and simple, running the gamut from gothic, to fantasy, to cyberpunk. So curl up in the light of the full moon and give it a try.

Last, but most assuredly not least. My story "Melpomene's Heirs" will be appearing in Unlikely Story's Coulrophobia anthology. Clowns--scary, sad, delightful clowns--need I say more?     

Even if none of these strike your fancy, I do hope that you will have a wonderful autumn. I know I will.

Now in Delightful Digital Surround Sound (if you have digital surround sound

I'm excited to report the last month has ushered in a veritable cavalcade of podcast sales. My science fiction story: "Moving Away" originally printed in the, sadly defunct, 10Flash Quarterly was read by Alex C. Renwick on Toasted Cake, a clever little podcast headed by the incredible Tina Connolly, yes that Tina Connolly.

Also, Pseudopod will be producing my horror story "Saturday," originally printed in Shock Totem #9. I love all my stories, but "Saturday" is one I'm particularly proud of, so it's really exciting to know it'll get the Pseudopod treatment.

Also, also, The Overcast, a fresh, new podcast out of Portland, Oregon will be producing my SF satire "Black Friday" sometime soon. In just a few short months of operation The Overcast has featured fiction from Erika Satifka and Caroline Yoachim, two of my favorite short story authors. I'm honored to be in such august company.

Lastly, my story "Gently Down the Stream" will be appearing in the July issue of The Lovecraft eZine. The eZine is one of my perennial favorites, both as an author and reader. Mike Davis always does an amazing job finding truly talented readers, but also commissions original art for every single story.

To be completely honest, I listen to a lot of podcasts. Not just fiction,but movie and book reviews, history, psychology, interesting news, and pretty much anything that strikes my fancy. In particular, the following are almost always on my iPod.

• The Horror Movie Podcast: I love horror movies, but don't have a lot of time to watch them, so the HMP crew serve as my first line of defense against terrible cinema. Specifically, I enjoy the mix of academic, critical, and street-level analysis provided by the diverse cast of HMP--whose cast boasts not only a former professional film critic, but also a writer/director, and two PhD's.  

• The Sci-Fi Movie Podcast: Sensing a theme? I was recently clued into the Sci-Fi movie podcast by a friend, and have been gobbling up episodes ever since. The reviews tend to run from a half hour to an hour, and so are perfect for my drive home from work. Really, what drew me to the podcast was the sheer breadth of their catalog, which covers everything from The Star Wars Christmas Special to The Last Starfighter, to Alien.

• 99% Invisible: If you aren't listening to this, you should be. Episodes run less than twenty minutes on average (great for a quick jog or drive) and are basically a grab bag of interesting ideas. I haven't pillaged anything yet, but you can bet some of what Roman Mars covers is already worming its way into my fiction. The episodes on the history of the OUIJA Board and Winchester Mystery House are particularly noteworthy.

• Invisibilia: Sensing another theme? I've always been fascinated with what makes people do and say the things they do. This led to the first of my superfluous degrees and a brief stint in Clinical Psychology…which led me to look for a different career. In any case, Invisibilia not only fulfills my curiosity, but is damn interesting in the bargain. Their very first episode, exploring how and why good people sometimes think terrible thoughts, is one of my favorites.

• Hardcore History: Okay, so after I got out of Psychology I got it into my head to be a college history professor. Terrible job prospects and pay eventually disabused me of that notion, although not before I'd acquired two more useless degrees. Despite being several years removed from my Early World History classes, I still hold an abiding interest in the past, particularly all the inventive and terrible ways humans have managed to kill one another over the years. Be warned, Hardcore History doesn't cover subjugated knowledges or new social history, it focuses on military matters, pure and simple. But if you're interested in how horrible the Mongol Invasions, or World War I, or the Punic Wars were--look no further. Dan Carlin seems to delight in depicting in gruesome detail the sheer scope and brutality of warfare over the ages, and what emerges is a surprisingly unbiased narrative--sort of like The Gallic Wars meets All Quiet on the Western Front.   

Oh, I also listen to Pseudopod, Escape Pod, Podcastle, The Drabblecast, The Lovecraft eZine, Toasted Cake, and a host of other fiction podcasts, but if you're here, you probably already know all about them.

As always, if there are any podcasts you enjoy, feel free to share them below. Despite my overflowing playlist, I'm always looking for more. 

Feeling Down? Read About a Clown!

So, well, I'm not really afraid of clowns per se, but I've never really been comfortable around them. No particular reason, no formative incident buried in my childhood memories, hell, the father of one of my friends growing up was a professional clown with Barnum & Bailey, and he was hilarious (when I was six).

I've read articles citing everything from the uncanny valley, to the fact clowns model socially transgressive behaviors, to the lingering shadow of John Wayne Gacy on the popular consciousness, and yet, I feel like there's something more primal. Evil Clowns have been around for centuries, Grimaldi from Dickens' Pickwick Papers, being the first I came across (if there are earlier evil clowns I'm excited to hear about them). Really, I feel it's trying so hard to be loved that makes clowns just a little bit monstrous.  

Maybe that's why clowns still have a place. Like an old, rickety roller coaster they shudder and screech, rattling through our imaginations in a blur of mismatched clothes and wide, feverish grins. Clowns represent the outsider in every way that counts--their dress, their high voices, the casual violence of slapstick--there's an element of schadenfreude in every performance.  

Why do clowns make me uncomfortable? I don't think I’ll ever know, but, like most things that scare me, I find them absolutely fascinating. So understandably, I leapt at the chance to plumb the depths of my unease in in prose. Better yet, the wonderful editors at Unlikely Story enjoyed my work enough to publish it in their Coulrophobia: Remix anthology.

Right now, it's still in kickstarter stages, but looks pretty set to meet the funding goal, which is great. I'd be shilling one of the $50 rewards (a story critique by yours truly), if someone hadn't already snapped it up. In any case, knowing the quality of the authors I managed to squeeze into this anthology clown car with, I'm excited as hell to see the thing in print.

Don't be scared. Or better yet, be a little scared, it'll make show more fun.