Blog

by on

And the pandemic continues! Though I’m no longer on a weird shift at work, I am still trying to get used to this new lifestyle. Cooking, cleaning, sewing…this new pandemic lifestyle is Amish! Or Amish if the Amish had Zoom meetings and Skype!

I’ve been making masks for hubby and I, especially important since our state is opening back up TODAY! I’m on the fence about the issue, because I don’t like the risk but understand why our state feels it’s necessary. I don’t know who these people are who can live without a job or who can get by on the government passing out $1200 every now and then, but I’m not one of them. And I’m pretty nervous about the “benefits” continuing for very long. That money has to come from somewhere, so today’s “benefit” becomes next year’s extra tax burden. We aren’t fixing the financial situation, we’re prolonging it because eventually our government-version payday loan is going to come due. That said, I’m in no hurry to die, either. So for now, I’m not going to be rushing into anything. I’m going to stay Amish for a while longer.

Though I haven’t been getting much writing done, I’ve stayed on track with reading.

April 2020 #500Stories500Nights

  • April 1: “One Night in Bangkok,” by Camille Griep (Drabblecast 352)
  • April 2: “The Feathered Cloak,” by Edward Ahern (Cast of Wonders 116)
  • April 3: “Beer on Sunday,” by Nick Mamatas (Tales to Terrify 8)
  • April 4: “Ariadne,” by Jennifer R Povey (Gallery of Curiosities 27)
  • April 5: “Caper,” by Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond The Pale 4)
  • April 6: “Kiriki Grocery,” by Tory Hoke (Drabblecast 355)
  • April 7: “Concerning That Whole God Thing,” by Curtis James McConnell (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron 10-12-13)
  • April 8: “Blink Twice,” by Rebecca Birch (Overcast 30)
  • April 9: “Breath Stirs in the Husk,” by Eileen Wiedbrauk (Pseudopod 406)
  • April 10: “The Bad Poets Society,” by James Aquilone (Cast of Wonders 115)
  • April 11: “Sredni Vashtar,” by Saki (Nocturnal Transmissions 17)
  • April 12: “What it Sounds Like When You Fall,” by Natalia Theodoridou (Nightmare Magazine Jan 2019)
  • April 13: “An Exodus of Wings,” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Drabblecast 356)
  • April 14: “Eurydice in Capricorn,” by Neil James Hudson (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron 2-10-14)
  • April 15: “Herb,” by T. Ku (Nocturnal Transmissions 19)
  • April 16: “The Madman of Paris,” by Aaron Palmer (The Wicked Library 823)
  • April 17: “A Streetcar Named Desire,” by Tennessee Williams
  • April 18: “There Will Always be Dragons,” by Benjamin Sperduto (Gallery of Curiosities)
  • April 19: “Junk Science,” by Brahm Revel (Tales From Beyond the Pale 6)
  • April 20: “Alienated,” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (Drabblecast 354)
  • April 21: “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” by Charles Dickens (Nocturnal Transmissions 20)
  • April 22: “Death of a Salesman,” by Arthur Miller
  • April 23: “Spores,” by Seanen McGuire (Nightmare Magazine 6-4-14)
  • April 24: “Ten Wretched Things About Influenza Siderius,” by Rachael K. Jones (Drabblecast 358)
  • April 25: “Pictures in Crayon,” by Elizabeth Shack (Cast of Wonders 119)
  • April 26: “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Poe (Nocturnal Transmissions 21)
  • April 27: “The Humpback’s Wardrobe,” by Timothy Day (Overcast 40)
  • April 28: “The Anniversary,” by Den Patrick (Pseudopod 410)
  • April 29: “Clint Radigan’s Intergalactic Genitourinary Clinic,” by Lynda Clark (Drabblecast 357)
  • April 30: “Recitatif,” by Toni Morrison (LeVar Burton Reads, Mar 30 & Apr 6 2020)

Since I have literally written nothing since sometime in February, I’ve gotten fed up and decided I need to take back my writing life. So, I’m going to do Story A Day May. My goal is to write one flash story (1000 words) every day. Will I make it? Probably not, but even if I only hit 1/3 of the goal, that’s 10 more stories than I would have had otherwise. It’s a win any way I look at it. Really, I’ll be thrilled if I end up with TWO stories at the end of the month (yes, I am the queen of low expectations), but I’m going to give the challenge my very best shot!

That’s it for this month. Until next month, stay spooky, my friends!

by on

Well, who ever thought we’d be living in a global pandemic? We are all living in a real-life horror story, and it’s hard right now to focus on anything but that!

My writing has taken a hit because of it. I’ve been doing a great job of keeping my work out there, making the rounds, but I haven’t written squat. Part of it is time. I’m an essential employee where I work (which I’ve been trying to tell them for years! Ha!), and I’m adjusting to a new social-distancing work schedule. Getting up at 2 am for work is something I haven’t had to do in years! It definitely takes some getting used to. Plus, my college class is still going, though we are no longer meeting in person. So I’m trying to fit readings and classwork in there, too. I really feel like these days I go to work, come home and make food, do my homework, and by the time I’m done with that, it’s time to go to bed and start all over again.

Speaking of making food . . . holy moly, I had no idea how often hubby and I ate at restaurants! My cooking skills are SO rusty, but since I’m the first one home, I’m responsible for supper these days (hubby is an essential employee, too, at another business). Figuring out meals and cooking them is another drain on my time that I normally don’t have to worry about.

But part of the not writing is that it just feels so . . . ridiculous? Is that the right word? Maybe. What horror story could I possibly write that is scarier than what’s really going on in the world right now? Plus I’m stressed out–my personality type does not deal with uncertainty well at all–which makes me have zero creative spark.

I also haven’t felt like doing much reading beyond what I have to do for my class. Normally, I listen to five or six podcasts a day and pick one to include on my #500 list. Now, I have to force myself to listen to one a day so I can keep up with the challenge. I *should* be listening to more, because it is never good when I spend too much time in my own head, and my job really means I can end up spending a lot of time in my own head if I don’t have something else to listen to and occupy my mind while my hands are busy with the mice. I did complete the March challenge, though, and I’m resolved to keep at it in April, too.

March 2020 #500Stories500Nights

  • Mar 1: “Roman Fever,” by Edith Wharton (https://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/calendar-attachments/Roman%20Fever%20-%20Edith%20Wharton.pdf)
  • Mar 2: “The Ape That Would Not Die!” by Megan R. Engelhardt (Gallery of Curiosities, Dec 15 2016)
  • Mar 3: “Alone, Together,” by Robert Kirkman (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, 9-11-13)
  • Mar 4: “Mothers, Watch Over Me,” by Maria Haskins (Cast of Wonders 401)
  • Mar 5: “Die Sleeping My Sweet,” by Glenn McQuaid (Tales From Beyond the Pale 19)
  • Mar 6: “Things Boys Do,” by Pemi Aguda (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, 2-19-20)
  • Mar 7: “The JPEG of Dorian Gray,” by Brian Trent (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron)
  • Mar 8: “The Case of the Signet Ring,” by Aaron Vlek (The Wicked Library 905)
  • Mar 9: “The Surstrommings Chest of Drawers,” by Irene Cantizano Bescos (Tales to Terrify 421)
  • Mar 10: “The Call of Cthulhu,” HP Lovecraft (Nocturnal Transmissions 4 & 5)
  • Mar 11: “Primrose or Return to Il’maril,” by Mary McMyne (Drabblecast 353)
  • Mar 12: “The Steeplechase Flourish,” by Patrick Meegan (Nocturnal Transmissions 18)
  • Mar 13: “Knitting in English,” by Brit E. B. Hvide (Cast of Wonders 400)
  • Mar 14: “Rat’s Alley,” by Timothy Mudie (Tales to Terrify 419)
  • Mar 15: “Kinda Like Salmon,” by Keffy Kehrli (Drabblecast 350)
  • Mar 16: “In the Eyes of the Needy,” by Jonathon Schneeweiss (Drabblecast 350)
  • Mar 17: “The Man in Number 23,” by Christopher Long (The Wicked Library 902)
  • Mar 18: “How Pappy Got Five Acres Back and Calvin Stayed on the Farm,” by B.C. Bell (Tales to Terrify 4)
  • Mar 19: “A Thousand Echoes in One Voice,” by Deborah L. Davitt (Overcast 97)
  • Mar 20: “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacob’s (Nocturnal Transmission 11)
  • Mar 21: “Unforgotten,” by Christopher Fowler (Pseudopod 404)
  • Mar 22: “The Giant Who Dreamed of Summer,” by Jess Hyslop (Cast of Wonders 111)
  • Mar 23: “The Sun Greeter,” by Marilyn K Martin (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron 9-1-13)
  • Mar 24: “Forgiveness,” by Joseph Konrath (Nocturnal Transmissions 6)
  • Mar 25: “Is There Anybody There,” by Kim Newman (Tales to Terrify 5)
  • Mar 26: “An Evening At The Club as told by Dr. Horatio Boyle,” by Kate Philbrick (Gallery of Curiosities Vintage Clubbing Double Feature 12-31-16?)
  • Mar 27: “Gingerbread Men,” by Myk Pilgrim (The Wicked Library TWL 821)
  • Mar 28: “The Malthus Alternative,” by Jamie Mason (Cast of Wonders 113)
  • Mar 29: “An Egg of Stone and Steel,” by Stephen Williams (Nocturnal Transmissions 12)
  • Mar 30: “The Last of the Spice Schooners,” by Philip Brian Hall (Gallery of Curiosities 12-31-16)
  • Mar 31: “The Crush,” by Glenn McQuaid (Tales From Beyond the Pale 3)

As awful as things seem now, in the middle of the pandemic, I am keeping hope alive and planning for summer as if this will all be over by then. It’s an important part of keeping one’s sanity to keep hope alive. As such, we have purchased a new camper in preparation for the summer camping season. Though it has arrived at the dealer, we haven’t been able to pick it up yet because our old camper (our trade-in) is still buried in a snowbank in the backyard. Expect pictures to be forthcoming, hopefully in next month’s blog.

For now, stay home and stay safe, and hopefully we’ll all have happier news to share next month.

by on

So what kind of progress have I made on the website update?

  • I changed my little Cthulhu divider so that it better matches the new site design.
  • I decided I hate this new design and really wish I could go back to the old one, lol. Oh, well, what can you do? Change is inevitable.

On the writing front, I’ve finished my second new short story of the year and sent it out into the world. The first of my stories to be produced as a podcast should be in production soon, and I’ll let you know when it’s released for your listening pleasure. Not too long after that, another of my stories will be available at a different podcast. I’ll keep you updated!

While it’s great when I have good writing news to share, writing really tends to be one or two acceptances followed by long, difficult droughts of rejection. An average acceptance rate for a writer of genre short fiction is 3-5%. Think about that. That means the average is that you need to send a story out 50 times before it is accepted. That’s a lot of work, especially when “sending it out” doesn’t just mean popping off a new email. A lot of publishers have special formatting guidelines, which means you’ll probably be making small tweaks—or major formatting changes—at least 1 out of every five times you send it out. Worse still there aren’t even 50 pro-paying markets for horror, which means your odds of professional publication in a horror magazine are even more stacked against you (and I believe it’s the same situation for scifi).

To make matters worse, you experience a lot of “false starts.” You send out works to publishers, and then they close. This has already happened once this year, as I sent a story to Factor Four Magazine, waited a few months, and then received an email saying they were shutting down and releasing all stories.

I appreciated their email notification, though, because most sudden closings end up ghosting the writer.

These ghostings generally fall into two subsets. The first are those that I like to call seagulls: they put out a call and vanish. I had four last year. I subbed works and heard nothing back. I queried and received no response. Eventually their social media goes dark (or hasn’t been updated in the last 18 months).

Then there are the stringers. They sometimes start out like seagulls, just vanishing off the face of the earth, but then, like the undead, they resurrect to give an update. What happens from here on out is what distinguishes a stringer from an unexpected hiatus. With an unexpected hiatus, a publisher runs into problems, maybe disappears for a while, then returns and gets everyone updated and get back to work, accepting and rejecting work and meeting their commitments. For the record, I’m totally fine with unexpected hiatus. Life happens. But stringers pop up with an update. Then they vanish for a little while again. Then they pop back up with an update . . . then vanish . . . then update . . . Stringers seem to live lives that are a series of unfortunate events. Unfortunately, this keeps people hanging on, because they want to give the publisher the benefit of the doubt. Nobody wants to kick someone when they are already down, but where do you draw the line? I had two of these last year (and one publisher is still doing this; I’ve pulled my stories, but others are still hanging on and waiting).

If you’d like a more in-depth look at the state of genre publishing, check out the following link. It’s a very good and thorough analysis: #SFF2020: The State of Genre Magazines

On the reading front, I’m still on track with my participation in #500Stories500Nights. I’ve even added a few new podcasts to my regular “reading” list. I don’t know what the deal is with the Gallery of Curiosities podcast list, if it’s my reader or what, but almost all of their older stories appear in my podcast reader with the same date (12-31-16). So until I get through the back catalog, we must deal with a little confusion.

February 2020 #500Stories500Nights

  • Feb 1: “Space Samurai,” by Rachelle D. Lawrence (Space Squid https://www.spacesquid.com/space-samurai/)
  • Feb 2: “Chasing A.I.M.E.,” by Sean Patrick Hazlett (Overcast 36)
  • Feb 3: “Elo Havel,” by Brian Evenson (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 1-15-20)
  • Feb 4: “Do Not Resuscitate,” by Dan Fields (Nocturnal Transmissions 57)
  • Feb 5: “Mr. Jinkies,” by Brandon Faircloth (Nocturnal Transmissions 58)
  • Feb 6: “No Signal,” by Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond the Pale 16)
  • Feb 7: “Not the End Yet,” by Nicole Flattery (Electric Lit 1-29-20)
  • Feb 8: “Decay,” by Richard Saxon (Nocturnal Transmissions 55)
  • Feb 9: “Symbios,” by A Konrath (Nocturnal Transmissions 1; NOTE: This story DEVASTATED me. The deep dread, sadness, and profound sorrow I felt while listening to this one were feelings not evoked by a mere “story” in a very long time. I know part of it is I’m a dog nut, so maybe the story won’t break you as bad, but it really hit me right in the feels. Well done, A Konrath. Well done!)
  • Feb 10: “Help,” by Hailey Piper (Tales to Terrify 411)
  • Feb 11: “The Repossession Man,” by Evan Osborne (Nocturnal Transmissions 7)
  • Feb 12: “The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex,” by Tobias S. Buckell (LeVar Burton Reads 5-14-19)
  • Feb 13: “Tunnels,” by Brian Trent (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron 12-20-19)
  • Feb 14: “Hierarchy,” by Patrick Meegan (Nocturnal Transmissions 9)
  • Feb 15: “Void Song,” by Travis Heermann (Tales to Terrify 418)
  • Feb 16: “Eight O’clock in the Morning,” by Ray Nelson
  • Feb 17: “The Happiest Place,” by Kevin Wabaunsee (Pseudopod 661)
  • Feb 18: “Trick-or-Treat in Hell,” by Robert Jeschonek (Tales to Terrify 405)
  • Feb 19: “1884,” by Michael Grey (Nocturnal Transmissions 2)
  • Feb 20: “The Boyproof Watch,” by John Longenbaugh (Gallery of Curiosities 12-31-16)
  • Feb 21: “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (I read it for class, but I’m listing it because it’s one of my favorite stories, right up there with “The Lottery.”
  • Feb 22: “Grizzelka’s Bridegroom,” by Mary E. Lowd (Overcast 122)
  • Feb 23: “Mud,” by Salinda Tyson (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron)
  • Feb 24: “The Call of Cthulhu,” Lovecraft (Nocturnal Transmissions 4 & 5)
  • Feb 25: “Food Chain,” by April Snellings (Tales From Beyond the Pale 8)
  • Feb 26: “At Lorn Hall,” by Ramsey Campbell (Night Magazine Podcast 11-28-12)
  • Feb 27: “Night on the High Desert,” by Connie Vigil Platt (Podcasts from 3F, 10-4-18)
  • Feb 28: “Animal Cruelty,” by Martin Smith (Nocturnal Transmissions 10)
  • Feb 29: “The Lake Manawaka Meat Lover,” by Sheldon Birnie Kyle (The Wicked Library 903)

That’s it for this month! Until next month, Stay Spooky!

by on
New & Improved

Well, here we are. As you can see, I finally made the plunge and updated the website from the old, discontinued template to a new one . . . which is still an older template and so it will probably be discontinued any day now that I’ve chosen to use it for my site.

I’m not completely happy with the design, some elements don’t work (like I haven’t figured out to get rid of the “Add a comment” text all over these blog posts; I don’t have commenting turned on, so I’d like to get rid of that text), and some pages aren’t complete yet. And, my little Cthulhus need to be changed because they look weird standing in that little white divider bar. So as you pop back for visits, there will be changes and upgrades, but at least it’s a start.

School is back in session, so writing progress has been slow. I did manage to write up a fun little piece of vampire flash fiction and get that sent off, but most of the writing work in January was resubmissions and biting my fingernails as not one, but THREE of my short stories were shortlisted. I’m still waiting to hear back on the third one, but the first two didn’t quite make the cut for the publications they were submitted to. As I’ve said before, I have a love/hate relationship with shortlisting: it seems if I’m told my story has been shortlisted, it’s like a curse and the work is rejected; if there’s no shortlisting (or I’m not told about it), then my work is accepted. It’s the “always a bridesmaid” for writers, I guess.

I read (or listened to) three long-form works of fiction in January:

  • Huckleberry Finn (yes, it was for class, but if I have to slog through it, I’m counting it!);
  • The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, by Drew Hayes (Cute and funny, sort of like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, but with vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures);
  • Chernobyl 01:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster, by Andrew Leatherbarrow (there are two nonfiction topics where I read *everything* I can get my hands on: biohazards and nuclear accidents).

Here is the list for this month’s #500Stories500Nights. I recently discovered Third Flatiron Publishing has a podcast, so you’ll be seeing those pop-up in next month’s reading list. Though all the stories on the list are good, the single asterisk means the story stood out to me in some way; a double-asterisk means it *really* stood out and I really enjoyed it (and probably wish I had written it, lol).

  • Jan 1: “The Thames Valley Catastrophe,” by Grant Allen (Pseudopod 665)
  • Jan 2: “Hunger,” by Daniel Willcocks, (The Other Stories 3.1)
  • Jan 3: * “The Miner’s Door,” by Daniel Willcocks (The Other Stories 1.4)
  • Jan 4: * “Sugar and Spice,” by Jennifer R. Donaohue (Overcast 99)
  • Jan 5: ** “All the Hidden Places,” by Cadwell Turnbull (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, Mar 6, 2019)
  • Jan 6: ** “Small Medicine,” by Genevieve Valentine  (LeVar Burton Reads 52)
  • Jan 7: “A Night of Many Months,” by CL Holland (Pseudopod 681)
  • Jan 8: “Doll Re Mi,” by Tanith Lee (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, May 15, 2013)
  • Jan 9: “Stitched Wings,” by Beth Cato (Overcast 27)
  • Jan 10: “Rubber Jungle,” by John Crinan and Hannah Mariska (The Other Stories 47.4)
  • Jan 11: “Pupae,” by Ben Errington (The Other Stories 12.3)
  • Jan 12: ** “Cannibals,” by Joe Maggio (Tales From Beyond the Pale Ep 14) (note: if you’re a Vincent D’nafrio fan, you’ll be able to “see” his face throughout this whole story. . .so awesome)!
  • Jan 13: * “Sea Girls,” by Daniel Wallace (Levar Burton Reads, 7-31-18)
  • Jan 14: “The Flier,” by Joseph O’Neill (New Yorker The Writer’s Voice, 11-5-19)
  • Jan 15: “Frozen,” by DJ Tyrer (Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter, Jan 2020)
  • Jan 16: “Someone Decorated My House for Christmas,” by Brandon Faircloth (Nocturnal Transmissions Ep 66)
  • Jan 17: “Peripheral Work,” by CC Smith (Tales to Terrify 415)
  • Jan 18: “You-Go-Back,” by Elise Fourier Edie (Gallery of Curiosities 12-31-16)
  • Jan 19: “Daddy’s Girl,” by Eleanor R. Wood (Overcast 33)
  • Jan 20: “The Eight People Who Murdered Me,” by Gwendolyn Kiste (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 11-20-19)
  • Jan 21: ** “Yiwu,” by Lavie Tidhar (LeVar Burton Reads 10-2-18)
  • Jan 22: ** “Missing, Presumed Dead,” by R. T. Raynaud (Nocturnal Transmissions Ep 64)
  • Jan 23: * “Lambing Season,” by Nicole J. LeBoeuf (Tales to Terrify 413)
  • Jan 24: “Pomegranate, Pomegranate,” by Jack Westlake (Pseudopod 682)
  • Jan 25: ** “The Infamous Bengal Ming,” by Rajesh Parameswaran (Nocturnal Transmissions Ep 60)
  • Jan 26: “Rotting Pumpkins,” by Max Lobdell (Nocturnal Transmissions Ep 61)
  • Jan 27: “Next,” by David Greske (The Wicked Library TWL 915)
  • Jan 28: “Full,” by Seras Nikita (Tales to Terrify 416)
  • Jan 29: * “Gentlemanly Horrors of Mine Alone,” by Donald J. Bingle (Gallery of Curiosities 11-20-19)
  • Jan 30: ** “Cold Reading,” by Glenn McQuaid and April Snellings (Tales From Beyond the Pale 15)
  • Jan 31: “DST, INC,” by Robert McCammon (read by the author himself: https://www.robertmccammon.com/2019/11/26/robert-mccammon-reads-a-new-story-dst-inc/)

Next months’ reading list will probably have a few more text-based (rather than podcast-based) stories because it is Bram Stoker Awards time, so I’m reading with an eye as to which I’m going to vote for. It’s also been a situation where I’ve learned something: the best way to share/get something widely read is to use the path of least resistance. By this, I mean that some authors share a link to their work, often in Dropbox, so you can download it. Most authors share an email address where you can contact them for a copy. Guess which one I do more often? Food for thought!

That’s it for this month! Until next month, stay spooky!

by on

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I love a new year and all the possiblities it holds. We all have so much optimism at the beginning of the year . . . but usually my optimism runs out by March, lol.

#500Stories#500Nights Update

As will probably be the case most of the time, my list is skewed toward audio. I can listen to half a dozen stories a day via podcasts or audible, but I have a hard time chiseling out the time to read even one text-based story. So if you’re thinking, “Sheesh! Why is the list mostly podcasts?!” it’s because the format is easier to consume in great quantities. And why these particular podcasts, aside from they have an awesome variety? The more frequently listed podcasts (like Overcast and Pseudopod) make their stories available to the major podcast feeds; some mags create a podcast but only make the cast available on their website. Visiting individual websites is something I don’t have time to do because I’m usually listening at work.

I’ve put an asterisk by the stories I particularly enjoyed, and a double asterisk by the stories I *REALLY* enjoyed or found interesting.

Dec 1: “The Curfew,” by Roddy Doyle (The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice, Nov 26, 2019)

Dec 2: *“Bulletproof,” by J. Askew (The Other Stories, 46.3)

Dec 3: “For your safety and Comfort. . .” by Michelle Ann King (The Overcast 111)

Dec 4: *“The Crusted Depths,” by Daniel Willcocks (The Other Stories podcast, Oct. 20, 2019)

Dec 5: “Well Enough Alone,” by Holly Schofield (The Overcast 112)

Dec 6: *“The Bleeding Maze: A Visitor’s Guide,” by Kurt Fawver (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, Aug 7, 2019)

Dec 7: *“The Lesser of Two Evils,” by Shane Halbach (The Overcast 113)

Dec 8:  *“Antripuu,” by Simon Strantzas (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, July 10, 2019)

Dec 9: *“In the Walls,” by Robert Reed (Daily Science Fiction, 12-6-19)

Dec 10: **“The School,” Donald Barthelme (Read this one. Seriously) https://www.npr.org/programs/death/readings/stories/bart.html)

Dec 11: *“The Vaults of Yoh Vombis,” by Clark Ashton-Smith (Pseudopod 611)

Dec 12: “The Night Princes,” by Megan Arkenberg (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, June 5, 2019)

Dec 13: “Mofongo Knows, by Grady Hendrix (Pseudopod 612)

Dec 14: “Mastiff,” by Joyce Carol Oates, read by Louise Erdrich (The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Nov 2, 2013)

Dec 15: “Figure 8,” by E. Catherine Tobler (Pseudopod 614)

Dec 16: *“Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island,” by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, May 15, 2019)

Dec 17: *“Different Kinds of Darkness,” by David Langford (LeVar Burton Reads #19)

Dec 18: **“Eternity Plus Package, 89.99/Month,” by Michael Milne (Overcast 118)

Dec 19: “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, read by A.M. Homes (The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Nov 12, 2008) (Of course, this is a given absolute favorite)

Dec 20: *“The Solstice,” by Kev Harrison (The Other Stories 47.1)

Dec 21: “The Fliers of Gy,” by Ursula K Le Guin (LeVar Burton Reads podcast, 6-19-18)

Dec 22: *“A Fate Worse Than Death,” by Matthew Butcher (The Other Stories 3.2)

Dec 23: “Dimensions,” by F.I. Goldhaber (Overcast 104)

Dec 24: *“Malotibala Printing Press,” by Mimi Mondal (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, May 1, 2019)

Dec 25: “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie),” Junot diaz (The New Yorker: Fiction, podcast, Jun 1, 2007)

Dec 26: *“Soft Mary’s Flood,” by Steven Pirie (Overcast 100)

Dec 27: “58 Rules to Ensure Your Husband Loves You Forever,” by Rafeeat Aliyu (Nightmare Magazine Podcast, Feb 20, 2019)

Dec 28: *“Jackalope Wives,” by Ursula Vernon (LeVar Burton Reads 32)

Dec 29: **“Fyrewall,” by Stefani Cox (LeVar Burton Reads 31)

Dec 30: “Blue Christmas,” by Jessica Levai (Overcast 119)

Dec 31: *“Terry Rowlings, Success Coach,” by Luke Kondor (The Other Stories 3.3)

What Else I’ve Been Reading

During mornings at my day job, I’ve been listening to the short story podcasts. During the afternoon, I’ve been listening to audiobooks. I started with Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. This one is interesting because, in my opinion, it fits in three genres: Native American fiction, fantasy fiction, and new adult fiction. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to try it because I avoid young-adult and new-adult fiction like the plague (not that there’s anything wrong with it; I just know from experience I don’t enjoy YA & NA at all). I dabble in fantasy, but it’s not my go-to genre. On the other hand, Native American fiction is my jam.

It was good, and I can see why it has received so many accolades, but it was also very YA-NA and wasn’t my taste. However, if you enjoy the genre, I would highly recommend it. It’s like if Bella was Native and a fiercely independent monster hunter (watch out Edward!); or if Hermoine was!

My second audiobook didn’t quite work out, either, though I thought I’d made a solid choice: Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. I’ve read this one before when I was a kid, and it illustrates the danger of revisiting a beloved story/movie/etc from the past. I love Bradbury, and I remember loving this story back in the day. But this time around, the story felt incredibly dated. The dialogue was way too Leave it to Beaver for me. “Aw, Gee Wally, that’d be swell.” And every word out of Mr. Halloway’s mouth seemed contrived and forced. His dialogue just didn’t seem natural. Then again, this is really YA too, so maybe that’s part of it. I just have no taste for the genre at all anymore. So now I’m all disappointed that I don’t like the story anymore.

2019 Goals Update

I actually did really well on my goals this year. I’m pretty damn proud of myself.

Update the website: Nope. Okay, so this one didn’t work out so much. Carrying it forward. Hope I can do it this year.

Send out 8 new short stories (which implies *writing* eight new short stories): CHECK (on a technicality). I began eight new pieces of short fiction this year, but I only finished and sent out seven. The reason the eighth didn’t get finished is because my English class required 10 short papers, 3 long papers, and a group project. So, for that class, I wrote and edited over 35 pages. My short stories are usually only 8-10 pages. So I’m counting all that writing for the English class as the eighth story.

Make a decision on four older, as-yet-unpublished stories: trunk or fix. CHECK! I ended up working on them a bit and sending them out again…only to have them rejected. I’m probably going to trunk them in 2020.

Resubmit at least four previously published stories to reprint markets. CHECK!

Read one long form work every month. CHECK! Did it, and then some, and added the:

Read #500Stories500Nights. Started a long-term short story challenge. CHECK (so far, so good, anyway).

2020 Goals

Update the website. I’m not giving up on this goal!

Write and send out eight new short stories again. I’m going to use lessons learned from my 2019 attempt to make reaching this goal easier this coming year.

No goal related to the four or five older, unpublished stories I have lying around. I’ll probably just trunk them and concentrate on new stories and reprints.

Resubmit three previously published stories. This goal is slightly reduced from last year in order to give me more time for new stories.

For a reading goal, I’m going to stick with #500Stories500Nights.

And for something totally different: dabble in horror poetry. It’s so VERY different from what I normally do that I don’t even want to set a “send out X poem(s)” goal; I’d just like to try to write one horror poem, just for kicks.

That’s it for this month! Until next month, happy reading!