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Goals, goals, goals. Lots to do, so I’m keeping the blog short and sweet. As long as I don’t slack off, I’ll stay on track for my stories this year. I have two currently in the editing stage, which will bring my total to six new stories this year. That leaves me four-plus months to write two more stories to meet my goal of eight for this year. I should be able to make it, depending on what 2020 throws at us next.

I finished The Girl With All the Gifts and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though I haven’t re-watched the movie yet, I’m pretty sure the ending of the movie wasn’t as good as the end of the book. I prefer stories without a tidy resolution or “happy” ending. I like stories that end in “all hope is lost” or “nothing will be the same again,” and I prefer it to be broad of scope (as in, not one person’s loss, but humanity’s loss/change).

(WARNING: Spoilers Ahead) That’s why I liked the ending of Stephen King’s story “The Mist” much better than the movie. The story ended with the surviving characters driving, driving, DRIVING to get out of the mist, and never finding the end. The movie, on the other hand, ended with the gut-wrenching decision to murder-suicide the whole crew, and then the army showed up with flamethrowers and the mist was dissipating. Sure, it was horrifying, but it wasn’t an all hope is lost or nothing will be the same again except for those few characters. In other words, it was sad in the same way that losing family in a car accident or to a disease is: it’s individual loss. The rest of the world goes on.

So now I’m even more ready to watch the movie again and see how it ended. Or really, see all of it again. I just don’t think it’s a good sign that I barely remember the movie at all. Who knows, though, maybe I was just wasn’t in the right frame of mind the first time I watched it. I’m willing to give it another chance.

July 2020 #500Stories500Nights

  • 1: “Flashlight Man,” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 3-18-20)
  • 2: “Stranger,” by Jeff Buhler (Tales From Beyond the Pale 29)
  • 3: “Where Justice Ends, Vengeance Begins,” by David Boop (Gallery of Curiosities, 9-22-17)
  • 4: “I Know What to Do,” by Yvonne Navarro (Tales to Terrify 21)
  • 5: “Bringing Down the Mast,” by Floris Kleijne (Startship Sofa 635)
  • 6: “The House That Dripped Character,” by B.G. Hilton (Pseudopod 642)
  • 7: “A Moonlit Savagery,” by Millie Ho (Nightmare Magazine, 4-22-20)
  • 8: “The Raven,” by Poe (Nocturnal Transmissions 31)
  • 9: “Jump,” by Cadwell Turnbull (LeVar Burton Reads, 10-14-19)
  • 10: “The Cave in the Lake,” by Max Lobdell (Nocturnal Transmissions 33)
  • 11: “The City of the Gone Away,” by Ambrose Bierce (Pseudopod 643)
  • 12: “See You on a Dark Night,” by Ben Peek (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 4-8-20)
  • 13: “The Day I Didn’t Meet Christopher Walken,” by Martin Mundt (Tales to Terrify 23)
  • 14: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving (1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales podcast, 10-19-16)
  • 15: “Second Hand,” by Andres Neuman (Selected Shorts podcast, 5-28-20)
  • 16: “Valedictorian,” by NK Jemisin (LeVar Burton Reads, 2-3-20)
  • 17: “Showing the Colours,” by Erica L. Satifka (The Overcast 50)
  • 18: “Benjan’s Affliction,” by Daniel Willcocks (The Other Stories 9.2)
  • 19: “That Which the Ocean Gives and Takes Away,” PL McMillan (Nocturnal Transmissions 77)
  • 20: “The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell (Litreading, 6-7-20)
  • 21: “Speak, Speak,” by Julia Alvarez (Selected Shorts, 5-21-20)
  • 22: “Tideline,” by Elizabeth Bear (LeVar Burton Reads, 1-27-20)
  • 23: “Once More Unto the Breach (But Don’t Worry, the Inflatable Swords Are Latex-Free),” by Tina Connolly (Uncanny Magazine 35A)
  • 24: “Devil’s Bridge,” by Frances Hardinge (Cast of Wonders 420)
  • 25: “The New Mutants,” by Angelique Fawns (Podcasts from 3F-Third Flatiron, 6-30-20)
  • 26: “Tales We Tell,” by Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond the Pale 31 & 32)
  • 27: “The Algorithm,” by Matthew C. Butcher (The Other Stories 54.1)
  • 28: “The World Ends in Salty Fingers and Sugared Lips,” by Jenn Reese (Uncanny Magazine 35A)
  • 29: “The Water Museum,” by Nisi Shawl (LeVar Burton Reads, 10-7-19)
  • 30: “Good Neighbors,” by Frank Oreto (The Overcast 129)
  • 31: “Degustation,” by Ashley Deng (Nightmare Magazine podcast, 6-17-20)

Okay. I’m off to work on those two stories. Until next time, stay spooky!

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Can you believe the year is half over already? On one hand, it seems like it flew by; on the other, it seems like 2020 is the year that will. not. end.

I’m not too far behind on my goals this year. All my goals are on track except:
1) write 8 stories
2) write a horror poem
3) work on the website

I was way ahead on my eight-stories goal, and then, well . . . global pandemic. I’m working on my fourth story of the year right now, so I’m only a week or two behind. As long as I don’t drag my feet (or, god forbid, 2020 doesn’t throw more outrageous nonsense at us), I should be able to get back on track.

The horror poem is a pipe dream. It might happen, it might not, but I’d like to give it a shot.

And fixing up the website? Well, that’s a project that’s going to be like my student loan: with me for the rest of my life.

I stayed on track with my reading. Here is my June 2020 #500Stories500Nights list.

  • June 1: “The Cell Phones,” by Karen E. Bender (LeVar Burton Reads, 9-18-18)
  • June 2: “The Hunting Ground,” by Siri Paulson (Daily Science Fiction, 5-29-20)
  • June 3: “Reading the Room,” by Aeryn Rudel (The Overcast 127)
  • June 4: “Wedding Announcement,” by Colin Nissan (Selected Shorts podcast, 4-16-20)
  • June 5: “A Kiss With Teeth,” by Max Gladstone (LeVar Burton Reads, 3-16-20)
  • June 6: “Breathe,” by Brad C Hodson (Tales to Terrify 18)
  • June 7: “Thanks, But We Already Ate,” by Juliana Rew (Podcasts from 3F–Third Flatiron, 12-21-14)
  • June 8: “Twilight of the Electric Shadows,” by Paul R Hardy (Gallery of Curiosities, 3-27-20)
  • June 9: “A Hook, An Eye,” by Erin Strubbe (Daily Science Fiction, 5-28-20)
  • June 10: “Sarah Minds the Dog,” by Kim Newman (Tales From Beyond the Pale 33)
  • June 11: “The Hofzinser Club,” by Michael Chabon (LeVar Burton Reads, 10-28-19)
  • June 12: “Dracula’s Guest,” by Bram Stoker (1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales podcast, 10-27-19)
  • June 13: “The Green Princess,” by Kristin Holland (Nocturnal Transmissions 27)
  • June 14: “Corruption,” by Matt Butcher (The Other Stories 8.1)
  • June 15: “Images Across a Shattered Sea,” by Stewart C Baker (The Overcast 45)
  • June 16: “The Eyes of the Soul,” by Michel Faber (Selected Shorts podcast, 4-16-20)
  • June 17: “Isolation Point,” by John Shirley (Tales to Terrify 18)
  • June 18: “Skinwalker, Fast-Talker,” by Darcie Little Badger (LeVar Burton Reads, 3-2-20)
  • June 19: “Second to Last Stop,” by Evan Dicken (The Overcast 46)
  • June 20: “Speaking in Tongues,” by Glenn McQuaid (Tales From Beyond the Pale 25)
  • June 21: “Women’s Running Magazine,” by Luke Kondor (The Other Stories 9.1)
  • June 22: “Special Delivery,” by JW Zulauf (Nocturnal Transmissions 30)
  • June 23: “Robots Don’t Cry,” by George Edwards (Cast of Wonders 128)
  • June 24: “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White,” by Maria Dahvana Headley (Uncanny 001)
  • June 25: “Lost Boys,” by David Turnbull (Casket of Fictional Wonders, 11-22-17)
  • June 26: “The Whisperer in Darkness,” HP Lovecraft (Drabblecast 366 & 367)
  • June 27: “Breadman,” by Robert Lennon (Selected Shorts podcast, 4-23-20)
  • June 28: “Afternoon in Linen,” by Shirley Jackson (New Yorker Fiction Podcast, 5-1-20)
  • June 29: “Let Those Who Would,” by Genevieve Valentine (LeVar Burton Reads, 3-23-20)
  • June 30: “A Sound of Thunder,” by Ray Bradbury (1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales podcast, 4-15-16)

I’ve also been reading (in Audible) The Girl With All the Gifts. I saw the movie, and thought it was okay, but the book is much, much better (aren’t they always?)! I haven’t finished it yet. My “reading day” is planned out such that I try to listen to short story podcasts during the morning, then listen to novels on Audible in the afternoon. Once I finish it, though, I will probably go back and give the movie another watch.

I’ll probably do the same thing with Annihilation. I waited *FOREVER* to see the movie (I don’t go to theaters, and it was being held hostage in that “available to buy or watch on premium channels but not available to rent for a couple of years after release” business model). And then, after all that wait . . . I didn’t like it. Sure, it was pretty, and the soundtrack was phenomenal, but . . . meh. It just wasn’t my cup of tea (in fairness, I’ve heard people raving about the newest Colour Out of Space, and I thought it was pretty and pretty meh, too). I ordered the (Annihilation) series on Audible, hoping that the “book is better phenom” holds true with it, too, but haven’t started listening yet. Once I do, then I’ll watch the movie again.

(PS Side note. You know, when a lot of people talk about Annihilation, they talk about the big scary bear scene, and how horribly frightening that was and how it gave them nightmares. But my favorite movie is John Carpenter’s The Thing. When you compare the scenes of “people tied to chairs with a monster looming” from the two different movies, it becomes clear why the bear scene really didn’t do anything for me.)

I’ve got another podcast story coming up, this time at Nocturnal Transmissions. I’ll post a link on the webpage once it’s available for your listening pleasure. In the meantime, you can listen to two of my stories at:

Sympathy for the Devil, episode 126 at The Overcast podcast

Star Jelly, episode 436 at the Tales to Terrify podcast

See you next month…hopefully…it is 2020, after all, and you never know what’s going to happen next!

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giphy.com

Oops! Guess who forgot to post her blogpost on the first of the month? The sad part is that the post (sans link below to Tales to Terrify) was done in the the last days of May, and I just forgot to post it! Better late than never, I guess!

On the writing front in May, I participated in the Story A Day May challenge last month, and I’m thrilled with the results. I did very well at the beginning of the month but by about the 21st or so, the whole thing derailed and my results were hit and miss. After it was all over, I ended up with about 20 new flash fiction rough drafts. Not bad. Most will probably never make it to being a polished story, but I’ll probably be able to work up and use three to five of the stories. That’s a win in my book!

Next, I’m participating in 1000 Words of Summer. This is a two-week challenge of writing 1000 words a day. Just like Story A Day, I’m planning to do a 1000 word story (extremely rough draft) every day. Am I focusing a lot on new writing rather than polishing up and sending out stories? Yes. As the saying goes, you can’t edit what doesn’t exist. I’m trying to build a bank of rough drafts to work with. The writer’s version of “building inventory.”

My reading list this month included an audio novel, Sherman Alexie’s You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me. It was one of the best books I’ve read this year, and a big part of that was because I listened to it in audio format read by the author himself. Either the emotion he expresses in the reading is genuine or else he’s a damn fine actor. Either way, it made it even more like he was right there with me, sharing the story. It’s not spec fic, so if that’s your only love, you probably won’t like the memoir. But if you like memoir or literary fiction, you are going to love it. Five stars, and I recommend listening to the audio version, if you can.

And I’m still going strong on short story reading. Here’s my May 2020 #500Stories500Nights list:

  • May 1: “Kraken Rising,” by Andrew Reid (Pseudopod 410)
  • May 2: “On the Nose,” by Hall Jameson (Drabblecast 357)
  • May 3: “P3T Shop,” by Gary Buller (Gallery of Curiosities 2-3-17)
  • May 4: “Party at the Witch House,” by Richard Kellum (Pseudopod 410)
  • May 5: “SPAM,” by Savannah Burney (LeVar Burton Reads 2-17-20)
  • May 6: “Her Husband’s Hands,” by Adam Troy Castro (Tales to Terrify 10)
  • May 7: “The Ripple at Cedar Lake,” by Glenn McQuaid (Tales From Beyond the Pale 7)
  • May 8: “This Stagnant Breath of Change,” by Brian Hodge (Nocturnal Transmissions 22)
  • May 9: “Sundae,” by Matt Wallace (Cast of Wonders 122)
  • May 10: “Our Problem Child: Langerfeld the Moon,” by Marilyn K Martin (Podcasts from 3F–Third Flatiron)
  • May 11: “The Long Way Home,” by Tim Waggoner (Tales to Terrify 14)
  • May 12: “Bigfeet,” by Michael Strickland (Cast of Wonders 121)
  • May 13: “Natural Selection,” by Larry Fessenden (Tales From Beyond the Pale 11)
  • May 14: “As Worlds Collide,” by Stephen Michell (LeVar Burton Reads 2-10-20)
  • May 15: “The Chambers Tape,” by Graham Reznick (Tales From Beyond the Pale 10)
  • May 16: “Jack and the Griffin Eggs,” by Alexandra Grunberg (Cast of Wonders 121)
  • May 17: “Starter House,” by Jason Palmer (Drabblecast 362)
  • May 18: “I, Igor,” by Liam Hogan (Gallery of Curiosities 11-23-16)
  • May 19: “Taxidermy and Other Dangerous Professions,” by JR Johnson (Cast of Wonders 123)
  • May 20: “End Game,” by Nancy Kress (LeVar Burton Reads 2-14-20)
  • May 21: “Snow,” by Dale Bailey (Nightmare Magazine Podcast 6-17-15)
  • May 22: “Going Viral,” by Dan Koboldt (Podcasts from 3F–Third Flatiron 3-14-15)
  • May 23: “A Red One Cannot See,” by Barbara A. Barnett (Gallery of Curiosities 6-2-17)
  • May 24: “This Oracle Moon,” by Jeff Buhler (Tales From Beyond the Pale 22)
  • May 25: “Barn Burning,” by Haruki Murakami (New Yorker Fiction Podcast, 1-1-20)
  • May 26: “Only Orange,” by Camille Bordas (New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice Podcast, 12-17-19)
  • May 27: “Black Matter,” by Vivian Shaw (Pseudopod 655)
  • May 28: “The Foster Portfolio,” by Kurt Vonnegut (LeVar Burton Reads, 4-13-20)
  • May 29: “A Sound of Thunder,” by Ray Bradbury (1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales [podcast], 4-15-16)
  • May 30: “I Bought a Little City,” by Donald Barthelme (New Yorker Fiction [podcast], 7-9-07)
  • May 31: “Anhedonia, Here I Come,” by Colin Barrett (New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice podcast, 4-10-16)

While you are checking out some of the stories from the list, why don’t you pop over and listen to two of my short stories that have been produced as podcasts:

“Sympathy For the Devil” is available at the awesome The Overcast podcast.

“Star Jelly” is available at the amazing Tales to Terrify podcast, episode 436.

Both are wonderful podcasts that I listen to all the time (see above list, lol), and I’m proud to have them produce my work in audio format!

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

Photo by Ellery Sterling on Unsplash

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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!