Bloodbaths, Blessings, and the Great Inferno

The last few weeks have been wonderful and testing, they've brought me joy even as they've flayed me. I don't think it's enough to just soul-search. I find myself peeling back my flesh and inspecting the bad patterns I have, the way I self-sabotage, and slowly I'm learning to take responsibility for the misery I've caused others and myself. Luckily I have a wonderfully beautiful soul in my life who respects me and respects herself, a woman who has enough courage to dig through the layers of muck that have accumulated over both our hearts, and together we've begun to chip away, to understand the things that have driven us and the things that still haunt us.

She sees my best and worst yet still believes in me, still inspires me, gives and gives of her time and talent, showing me the side of humanity that has always given me hope. The selfless side. I'm grateful for her, have been for months as we've shared our greatest dreams and deepest fears, and I'm glad we're learning to understand each other (and ourselves) even if it's rarely easy.

She makes me smile.

Thank you, Kara. I adore all you've done to enrich my life. You make it look easy.

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I had two sales recently.

#1 sold to Jason Sizemore's anthology The Zombie Feed. He was the first editor to ever give me detailed feedback and encourage me to keep at it a couple of years. THIS FINAL DECEMBER DAY is a story about the end of the world (obviously), about regret and love, how sometimes all we can do is cling to those we love, and that's okay, it's enough.

#2 sold to Shock Totem. Like the novella I recently finished and the novel I'm working on now, BENEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW came about as if I'd entered a trance while writing, climbed inside myself and torn down some walls. It's beautiful, sad, and powerful. It has more of my heart in it than any short I'd written before. I'm honored beyond words that ST accepted it.

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Kevin Wallis, a fine writer and editor for Liquid Imagination, just released his collection through Bards and Sages. Here's what Gary Braunbeck said about it:

"An impressive, often unnerving, and always gutsy collection, Beneath the Surface of Things easily marks Kevin Wallis as a writer to Beware of with such stories as Redemption Song and No Monsters Came That Night. Every story showcases Wallis' determination to break through the so-called boundaries of dark fiction and explore disturbing and sometimes even eye-opening new worlds, some without, but most within. You owe it to yourself to look Beneath the Surface of Things."

Cate Gardner also has a wonderful collection up for pre-order and shipping soon. You can buy it here: Strange men in pinstripe suits

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And lastly... time is counting down for the close of The Scary Talent Show (Oct. 7th) See the previous post for your chance to win a one-year subscription to Dark Discoveries, a groovy tee-shirt from The Bag and The Crow, or a sexy novella from the ever popular Tasmaniac Publications. :D

Respect yourselves.