Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! From what I've seen in the movies being a mom isn't easy. *High five*
I've been crazy busy (and I'm going to continue to be for a while. No FB or anything else for me. Just no time when I'm working 60 hours a week, writing, reading, critting, and living in the sunlight) but I have a few new things interested parties could check out.
My latest guest blog is live on the fantastic Cate Gardner's website. Thanks, Cate!
***Let's not pull any punches***
And Read Horror did an interview with me. Thanks, Michael!
***A quick footnote in an annotated life... (or whatever the hell that means)***
My new novella IMMERSION is looking good. Just waiting on my buddy Shaun's crit and then I'll have it ready for my publisher.
Waiting to hear back from several short story markets.
NURSERY RHYMES 4 DEAD CHILDREN is shipping soon. I'm so excited. It'll be available in digital and paperback, too. Will take pics when I get my copies in.
Dark Discoveries 18with one of my stories alongside work by Joe Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, and other talented fellas is shipping. Grab a copy (unless you're one of the people I already told I've bought a copy for.)
I paid for the the Crowmother tees and will have a contest in a couple weeks when I get them in. One man and one woman are going to up their sexy vibe.
Lots of other stuff going on, but I don't have time to get into it all. Thanks for all the support and faith. I hope you're all well except for the jerks I don't like.
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
I strip in an interview (and other news)
***
It’s been a great year, which I’ll be posting about as soon as 2011 rears its pretty head. For now, a talented and entertaining writer—Mark Allan Gunnells—just interviewed me on his blog. Fun! We share space at both Darkside Digital and now Sideshow Press! You can read the interview here: Lee’s boogie woogie.
And tomorrow I’ll be posting my interview with Mark on here. He has some entertaining work you don’t want to miss!
In other news my story DADDY SCREAMED WITH US is going to be included in Delirium’s Horror Wired anthology. It’s a hardcover and I’m excited because I LOVE Delirium’s roster and quality! And it’s the second limited edition hardcover featuring my work. Neat, yeah? It is to me. I’m pumped. Bouncing off walls in my fancy yellow helmet.
I had an invite to an anthology with some of my favorite writers too! Can’t wait to write the story for this one and see/hold the end product!
Still waiting for the release of my novelette from Sideshow Press (see previous blog post). I’m so thrilled to be working with Tom and Billie and having work alongside some of the horror genres rising stars (Sam W. Anderson, Mark Allan Gunnells, Erik Williams, and a few others.) *Beaming*
I received my contributor copies of Tasmaniac Publications Festive Fear: Global Edition. It’s beautiful and has my story “A Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky” alongside Tom Piccirilli, Paul Kane, Tim Curran, Kaelan Patrick Burke and lots of other talented folks. Sweetness. I’m looking forward to reading some reviews when they start coming in!
Also got some great books from James Beach. Dark Discoveries is running an excellent deal. Check it out HERE!
Working on a novel (The Dampness of Mourning), and editing a novella, pitched a novella to one of my favorite publishers, and got some other irons in the fire. I hope you’re all staying busy too (and having fun with it!)
Don’t forget to come back and read Mark’s interview tomorrow. If you love dark work he’s your man.
It’s been a great year, which I’ll be posting about as soon as 2011 rears its pretty head. For now, a talented and entertaining writer—Mark Allan Gunnells—just interviewed me on his blog. Fun! We share space at both Darkside Digital and now Sideshow Press! You can read the interview here: Lee’s boogie woogie.
And tomorrow I’ll be posting my interview with Mark on here. He has some entertaining work you don’t want to miss!
In other news my story DADDY SCREAMED WITH US is going to be included in Delirium’s Horror Wired anthology. It’s a hardcover and I’m excited because I LOVE Delirium’s roster and quality! And it’s the second limited edition hardcover featuring my work. Neat, yeah? It is to me. I’m pumped. Bouncing off walls in my fancy yellow helmet.
I had an invite to an anthology with some of my favorite writers too! Can’t wait to write the story for this one and see/hold the end product!
Still waiting for the release of my novelette from Sideshow Press (see previous blog post). I’m so thrilled to be working with Tom and Billie and having work alongside some of the horror genres rising stars (Sam W. Anderson, Mark Allan Gunnells, Erik Williams, and a few others.) *Beaming*
I received my contributor copies of Tasmaniac Publications Festive Fear: Global Edition. It’s beautiful and has my story “A Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky” alongside Tom Piccirilli, Paul Kane, Tim Curran, Kaelan Patrick Burke and lots of other talented folks. Sweetness. I’m looking forward to reading some reviews when they start coming in!
Also got some great books from James Beach. Dark Discoveries is running an excellent deal. Check it out HERE!
Working on a novel (The Dampness of Mourning), and editing a novella, pitched a novella to one of my favorite publishers, and got some other irons in the fire. I hope you’re all staying busy too (and having fun with it!)
Don’t forget to come back and read Mark’s interview tomorrow. If you love dark work he’s your man.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Personal note...
My personal life has taken a nose dive and the song “If I only had a brain” sums it up pretty well. I need to regroup, make amends, and find a way to make things right. So, that’s what I’m going to do—work on fixing things I’ve broken, and write, and read, and face up to my actions. I shut down my FB pages for a bit. They are too distracting, it’s too easy to pretend everything is right in the world when it’s not, and too easy to get caught up in having fun with all the people I like instead of dealing with some issues I should have dealt with a long time ago to treat Kara like she deserves.
I’ll be back, I just don’t know how long it will take to do what I need to do. You guys rock though. Thanks for sharing so much joy with me.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Eat Your Wheaties Before Starting a Knife Fight…
***Been a great time creating a mythos that ties together the Red Piccirilli trilogy I’m writing and my Reckoning and Redemption novels. It’s been a blast actually and I see these characters popping up in short stories and novellas too. For some reason they speak to me. Does it come from reading some of my favorite writers who have built worlds within worlds, writers like Gary Braunbeck and John Connolly? I think partly. And I think part of it is there is much to mine from certain storylines and certain characters. When I wrote the original draft of “Nursery Rhymes 4 Dead Children” I had no idea it was going to branch out and infect other stories, other books, but it has, and I love it. I’ve had a hard time writing short stories because the arc feels so fast, and even at novel length it is still only a smidgen of a characters life. Yeah, I can do this. I can go for a multiple book arc spanning a dozen characters lives because I want to, because it excites me.
What about your writing excites you? Have you thought about it? If so, have you used it?
I’m nearing the end of a very dark book (Within This Garden Weeping) that features Red Piccirilli thrown back and forth between this world and Glory on the Green. He has things he’s overcome, both internal and external, and he wears pride and disgrace beautifully. I hurt for him because the journeys he’s been through have scarred him, but they’ve also made him grow. Nearing the climax of the book I can say, quite firmly, that he is no longer the boy he is in "Before Leonora Wakes." It’s sad to see a child stripped of their innocence though, when all around them adults trundle past in denial, busy, exhausted, pretending they’re happy. Like my novella “Iron Butterflies Rust” I wrote recently (and still need to edit—damn blasted time!) I feel like I’m refining my voice, that it is clearer, more intense, and yet more subtle, and touching in places than I could have executed four months ago. I think I’m learning a lot from my buddies Shaun Ryan, and Kevin Wallis, and my sweet lady Kara. And I’m probably learning some stuff on my own, all of these experiments I’ve subjected myself to finally paying off. Yay!
And I rewrote (for the sixth time, and yeah, I’m really happy with it this time) a long story called “As I Embrace My Jagged Edges” and subbed it to Burning Effigy Press for chapbook consideration. They kick major ass, and if you haven’t heard of them, buy Lee Thomas’s chapbook The Black Sun Set and tell me it’s not outstanding all across the board.
I also subbed a story to the CaféDoom/Shock Totem contest ! It’s a strange story about the bonds of love, about giving up, and about being a man even after life steals your testicles (metaphorically, of course.) Wish me luck!
Also of note:
Mercedes M. Yardley, this fine lass with a silver voice just made for reading her work, was on The Word Count Podcast and it will make you smile and nod your head. Give her a listen and let her know she did a fantastic job. She’s in about the ten minute mark. (Also Aaron Polson, another writer I respect, does a reading on there as well. Give him a nod. Tell him how well he did too.)
My buddy Steve Lowe has a crooked book coming out called "Muscle Memory." He writes lean and mean, and well worth the money. The books will officially release at BizarroCon on Nov. 13(ish) during the annual convention of the weird in Portland(ish), OR.
I hope that everyone is doing great, giving it their all, taking pride in what they do and what makes them unique. Smile, say cheese, because life is constantly taking your picture.
What about your writing excites you? Have you thought about it? If so, have you used it?
I’m nearing the end of a very dark book (Within This Garden Weeping) that features Red Piccirilli thrown back and forth between this world and Glory on the Green. He has things he’s overcome, both internal and external, and he wears pride and disgrace beautifully. I hurt for him because the journeys he’s been through have scarred him, but they’ve also made him grow. Nearing the climax of the book I can say, quite firmly, that he is no longer the boy he is in "Before Leonora Wakes." It’s sad to see a child stripped of their innocence though, when all around them adults trundle past in denial, busy, exhausted, pretending they’re happy. Like my novella “Iron Butterflies Rust” I wrote recently (and still need to edit—damn blasted time!) I feel like I’m refining my voice, that it is clearer, more intense, and yet more subtle, and touching in places than I could have executed four months ago. I think I’m learning a lot from my buddies Shaun Ryan, and Kevin Wallis, and my sweet lady Kara. And I’m probably learning some stuff on my own, all of these experiments I’ve subjected myself to finally paying off. Yay!
And I rewrote (for the sixth time, and yeah, I’m really happy with it this time) a long story called “As I Embrace My Jagged Edges” and subbed it to Burning Effigy Press for chapbook consideration. They kick major ass, and if you haven’t heard of them, buy Lee Thomas’s chapbook The Black Sun Set and tell me it’s not outstanding all across the board.
I also subbed a story to the CaféDoom/Shock Totem contest ! It’s a strange story about the bonds of love, about giving up, and about being a man even after life steals your testicles (metaphorically, of course.) Wish me luck!
Also of note:
Mercedes M. Yardley, this fine lass with a silver voice just made for reading her work, was on The Word Count Podcast and it will make you smile and nod your head. Give her a listen and let her know she did a fantastic job. She’s in about the ten minute mark. (Also Aaron Polson, another writer I respect, does a reading on there as well. Give him a nod. Tell him how well he did too.)
My buddy Steve Lowe has a crooked book coming out called "Muscle Memory." He writes lean and mean, and well worth the money. The books will officially release at BizarroCon on Nov. 13(ish) during the annual convention of the weird in Portland(ish), OR.
I hope that everyone is doing great, giving it their all, taking pride in what they do and what makes them unique. Smile, say cheese, because life is constantly taking your picture.
Friday, October 8, 2010
There's a river full of bodyparts lodged in my frontal lobe
*I took a week off FB and some other online places and got a lot of work done. I completed a decent first draft of a new story for the CafeDoom/Shock Totem contest and will enter as soon as the story is tightened up! I plan on wowing them, but a lot of people might hate it. I like to take risks. Also pounding this new novel, Within This Garden Weeping, into the ground before it can do so to me (actually, I don't think it's going to be a novel. I think it's going to be a longish novella, and I also think I'm going to send it out after editing and try to sell it because I haven't been very active with trying to sell longer work. That's right. I suck.)
I have another Dark Sci-fi story that needs tending but I think there's too much sex and crying, but what can you do? Really, what can you do? I say, "Give the characters what they want." :P
Reading "Jack Cady's "Street, which is an amazing book. I'm copying it out by hand, which is a slow process but I feel like I'm learning and internalizing a lot. That man could write!
Also reading Haunted Legends (edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas) and have yet to be disappointed--all stories being very good and some of them outstanding. Well worth the money.
Since I took a week off I'm extending the deadline for The Scary Talent Show until Oct. 15th! We have some great entries so far but it never hurts to have more! Send your short story (up to 3k), poem, photo, video of you dancing or singing, poem, whatever you want in, as long as it's entertaining to more than just your imaginary friends, and you'll be in the running to win a one-year subscription to Dark Discoveries, a kickin' tee from The Bag and The Crow, or a sexy novella from Tasmaniac Publications. All fine prizes. All things I own too, and I have very good taste.
On Oct. 16th those entered people can cast their votes for their favorite at the new Scary Sad Stories blog :D The winner will be announced on Halloween! One entry per person to: scarysadstories (at) yahoo.com
My story, Daddy Screamed With Us, is also on the bestseller list again at Horror Mall! And it's been recommended for a Stoker Award a few times! Not very exciting for you if you don't like me, but very exciting for me and people who do like me! If you haven't read it, it's a good way to sample my fiction for a cheap price (a buck forty-nine).
I'm pretty happy with what I've been splaying on the page this past month or two and can't wait for people to read it. There is a maturity, perhaps, that was only hinted at before. Of course, I could be full of shit. But I don't think I am. :P
Treat yourselves and those you love well! (<--Yeah, I'm bossy, but it's good for you.)
I have another Dark Sci-fi story that needs tending but I think there's too much sex and crying, but what can you do? Really, what can you do? I say, "Give the characters what they want." :P
Reading "Jack Cady's "Street, which is an amazing book. I'm copying it out by hand, which is a slow process but I feel like I'm learning and internalizing a lot. That man could write!
Also reading Haunted Legends (edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas) and have yet to be disappointed--all stories being very good and some of them outstanding. Well worth the money.
Since I took a week off I'm extending the deadline for The Scary Talent Show until Oct. 15th! We have some great entries so far but it never hurts to have more! Send your short story (up to 3k), poem, photo, video of you dancing or singing, poem, whatever you want in, as long as it's entertaining to more than just your imaginary friends, and you'll be in the running to win a one-year subscription to Dark Discoveries, a kickin' tee from The Bag and The Crow, or a sexy novella from Tasmaniac Publications. All fine prizes. All things I own too, and I have very good taste.
On Oct. 16th those entered people can cast their votes for their favorite at the new Scary Sad Stories blog :D The winner will be announced on Halloween! One entry per person to: scarysadstories (at) yahoo.com
My story, Daddy Screamed With Us, is also on the bestseller list again at Horror Mall! And it's been recommended for a Stoker Award a few times! Not very exciting for you if you don't like me, but very exciting for me and people who do like me! If you haven't read it, it's a good way to sample my fiction for a cheap price (a buck forty-nine).
I'm pretty happy with what I've been splaying on the page this past month or two and can't wait for people to read it. There is a maturity, perhaps, that was only hinted at before. Of course, I could be full of shit. But I don't think I am. :P
Treat yourselves and those you love well! (<--Yeah, I'm bossy, but it's good for you.)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Strange Award, Context Strutting, People Bashing
***
It’s been a great week. Had four days off work and got a bunch of writing and critting done. :D
My novella is cooling down now, and soon I’ll start editing. I’m excited because it IS the best thing I’ve written and I think it has more heart at 160 pgs than my last few novels have. And my new short turned out just the way I wanted it too, which is always nice. It was one of those that kinda wrote itself. Yay! My heart tells me it is much too dark for the anthology I wrote it for, so I think I’ll have to send it somewhere else.
Kara helped me setup a FB fanpage and we’re talking about running a contest soon. Fun! And if you like my work you can leave me some love, here: I think Lee is Hot and I wish he’d buy me a scarf
I will be attending my first convention this year! Context in Columbus, Ohio at the end of the month. I’m taking some special goodies to give away. :D
I also started using Scribd, which I’ve had for a while but didn’t mess around with because I heard it gives you herpes. I’m posting the first half of most of my work that is out now, or that will soon be released. It’s pretty neat. Take a read, let me know what you think! Thanks!
A story has to start before it can end
Also, I was interviewed! This time I got to answer questions! How exciting! It was a lot of fun, and a big thank you to AJ Brown for asking! He’s interviewed Jeff Strand for Dark Recesses, works with Horror Library and several other places, and he’s a damn good writer too. We talked about my crazy dance skills, a fun project I’m working on with Kara, and the secrets to having 18 children and still keeping your sanity. You can read the interview as soon as it’s posted.
Kara McElhinny gave me a strange award along with some other people. Thanks, Kara! Now I get to pass it on by awarding seven other people for their strangeness in the blogosphere. Fun! (I copied all of this stuff below off her blog because I was too lazy to write my own. Don’t tell…)
The 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits' award is given to only the strangest of folk, and as the recipient of such you are deemed very strange indeed. Congratulations. Now you must go forth and celebrate the strangeness of friends (and strangers - strangers are always allowed) by nominating blogs run by strange folk. *Beware, some people don't like you to refer to them as strange…Try to avoid them if possible.
Note that Cate Gardner's short story collection 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits' is forthcoming this October from the fine folks at Strange Publications.
Some rules:
1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (don't mess with strange people).
3. Nominate seven other blogs telling us why you think the recipient is strange enough to deserve the award.
4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs.
5. And, if you email catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you've received the award for your strangeness, she'll enter you in the biggest kick-ass Strange Men competition ever. Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits.com (click on the award link on the home page)
So them be the rules behind this strange contest. Do check out her link as there are some cool prizes available.
And so I bequeath this award, and all the accompanying strangeness, to the following people who are among the most strange that I know (and adore like crazykins)... (<--Those are not my words. Hehe.)
1. Shaun Ryan’s blog
is new. Give it a read and tell me this guy is not one strange and deep cat! I learn tons from him and it’s great to see he’s sharing his thoughts with the masses now!
2. Sam W. Anderson’s blog
It is rumored that Sam is actually from the planet Xadar 6.317652. That’s plenty weird. And he has a midget throwing/lizard fetish. *
3. John Mantooth’s blog
John seems like a ‘normal’ guy. That makes him very strange to me.
4. Ben Eads blog
Ben catapults his career forward via the mafia and solid writing. What makes him strange though is his urge to dance drunkenly with mannequins.
5. AJ Brown’s blog
AJ is strange because he passed up the chance to be a Victoria Secret Supermodel! Do you know how much money those people make?!?!
6. Kevin Wallis’s blog
Sure, Kevin just looks strange, but I’m sure he has other odd qualities too. :P
7. Ken Wood’s blog
Hell, just look at the title of his blog. One weird fella. :D Entertaining too.
All of these guys are damn fine writers. I would have picked a woman but I know M, Kara, Nat, and some of the other kickass ladies were already picked for this right away.
So, yep. Life is fun. Enjoy yourselves! Read some fiction! Live!
It’s been a great week. Had four days off work and got a bunch of writing and critting done. :D
My novella is cooling down now, and soon I’ll start editing. I’m excited because it IS the best thing I’ve written and I think it has more heart at 160 pgs than my last few novels have. And my new short turned out just the way I wanted it too, which is always nice. It was one of those that kinda wrote itself. Yay! My heart tells me it is much too dark for the anthology I wrote it for, so I think I’ll have to send it somewhere else.
Kara helped me setup a FB fanpage and we’re talking about running a contest soon. Fun! And if you like my work you can leave me some love, here: I think Lee is Hot and I wish he’d buy me a scarf
I will be attending my first convention this year! Context in Columbus, Ohio at the end of the month. I’m taking some special goodies to give away. :D
I also started using Scribd, which I’ve had for a while but didn’t mess around with because I heard it gives you herpes. I’m posting the first half of most of my work that is out now, or that will soon be released. It’s pretty neat. Take a read, let me know what you think! Thanks!
A story has to start before it can end
Also, I was interviewed! This time I got to answer questions! How exciting! It was a lot of fun, and a big thank you to AJ Brown for asking! He’s interviewed Jeff Strand for Dark Recesses, works with Horror Library and several other places, and he’s a damn good writer too. We talked about my crazy dance skills, a fun project I’m working on with Kara, and the secrets to having 18 children and still keeping your sanity. You can read the interview as soon as it’s posted.
Kara McElhinny gave me a strange award along with some other people. Thanks, Kara! Now I get to pass it on by awarding seven other people for their strangeness in the blogosphere. Fun! (I copied all of this stuff below off her blog because I was too lazy to write my own. Don’t tell…)
The 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits' award is given to only the strangest of folk, and as the recipient of such you are deemed very strange indeed. Congratulations. Now you must go forth and celebrate the strangeness of friends (and strangers - strangers are always allowed) by nominating blogs run by strange folk. *Beware, some people don't like you to refer to them as strange…Try to avoid them if possible.
Note that Cate Gardner's short story collection 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits' is forthcoming this October from the fine folks at Strange Publications.
Some rules:
1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (don't mess with strange people).
3. Nominate seven other blogs telling us why you think the recipient is strange enough to deserve the award.
4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs.
5. And, if you email catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you've received the award for your strangeness, she'll enter you in the biggest kick-ass Strange Men competition ever. Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits.com (click on the award link on the home page)
So them be the rules behind this strange contest. Do check out her link as there are some cool prizes available.
And so I bequeath this award, and all the accompanying strangeness, to the following people who are among the most strange that I know (and adore like crazykins)... (<--Those are not my words. Hehe.)
1. Shaun Ryan’s blog
is new. Give it a read and tell me this guy is not one strange and deep cat! I learn tons from him and it’s great to see he’s sharing his thoughts with the masses now!
2. Sam W. Anderson’s blog
It is rumored that Sam is actually from the planet Xadar 6.317652. That’s plenty weird. And he has a midget throwing/lizard fetish. *
3. John Mantooth’s blog
John seems like a ‘normal’ guy. That makes him very strange to me.
4. Ben Eads blog
Ben catapults his career forward via the mafia and solid writing. What makes him strange though is his urge to dance drunkenly with mannequins.
5. AJ Brown’s blog
AJ is strange because he passed up the chance to be a Victoria Secret Supermodel! Do you know how much money those people make?!?!
6. Kevin Wallis’s blog
Sure, Kevin just looks strange, but I’m sure he has other odd qualities too. :P
7. Ken Wood’s blog
Hell, just look at the title of his blog. One weird fella. :D Entertaining too.
All of these guys are damn fine writers. I would have picked a woman but I know M, Kara, Nat, and some of the other kickass ladies were already picked for this right away.
So, yep. Life is fun. Enjoy yourselves! Read some fiction! Live!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)