Recent Acceptance

Hey everyone! I recently got some acceptance letters and sold a few stories! Coming out in just a few weeks, my story "Intellectual Property," will be featured in a new science-fiction magazine titled The Age of Androids. This new magazine will be given away for free to the first 5,000 attendees at the San Diego Comic-Con. I am extremely thrilled to have such a presence at this years comic-con! If even half of the people who get a copy, read it, then I will have several thousand readers for my story! Unfortunately I do not have a cover image to put up yet, but I hope to soon! Here is their logo for now...

I have what I believe to be my best short horror story yet, "The Horror at Engle Farm," that will be published in Barnyard Horror (James Ward Kirk Fiction). This anthology will also have a flash-fiction piece of mine called "The Blue-Eyed Deal." It will hopefully be available by the end of summer.

I also had one of my crime/noir stories picked up by the same publisher for the Indiana Crime Review 2013. You can check on the status of either book at: www.jwkfiction.com

I am starting to get more stories published overseas as well. I just got a flash piece also picked up for a U.K. anthology release titled Dark In The Limelight. This anthology looks really exciting and I am thrilled to be a part of it. It will not be available until early 2014 though.

This is being released by Horrified Press in the U.K. and the editor is Gavin Chappell from Schlock! Webzine.

Static Movement just picked up one of my stories for their anthology titled In the Darkness. This probably won't be out for a year though as Static Movement is so far behind on their publishing schedule. Here is their proposed cover design, but I have seen their covers change as they get closer to press:

I also have a nonfiction piece that just got accepted for Five2One: The Literary Freakshow online magazine. Check them out at: http://five2onemag.onimpression.com/p/welcome.html

I also sold one story to a new publisher that I have been asked to keep secret for now. I can tell you that my story is the fifth that they have in line for publication and as it gets published, I will tell you all! The story I sold to this mysterious publisher is entitled "Snapshots of Hell."

Overall the last few months have been good for me in placing stories. Now I just have to get to work on that novel!

ROCK 'n' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL 101 -Cable TV show

Hey everyone! Besides writing fiction and non-fiction stories for print, I also write/co-produce a little cable TV show that is shown on Channel 18 Time Warner Cable in the Moreno Valley/Perris/Riverside area of Southern California. The show is called Rock'n'Roll High School 101 and so far we have completed three episodes! Each episode features actual high school students that I am trying to teach about varied musical genres. The behind-the-scenes camera and sound people are also high school students. I do this in conjunction with Teenvision Productions out of Val Verde High School.

Our first show was on PUNK rock, from 1976 to now, and you can view it on Youtube for free here:

Our second show was on SURF music from the 1960s to now and featured interviews from The Tornadoes, John Blair, and Susan Surftone along with performance footage. You can see it here:

The newest show is on ROCKABILLY music and stems from the 1950s and goes up modern trends like Psychobilly. This show features interviews and performance footage by Ray Campi, Phil Alvin, Deke Dickerson, and Dick Blackburn. Check it out:

I actually made a pilot for a show like this back in 1988 that was to be called America Rocks. This show looks much better with the up to date technology! I enjoy doing this show as I get to meet and interview interesting musicians and share good music with local youth.

Music Writing

Besides my current obsession with writing fiction, I have been known primarily as a nonfiction music and pop-culture writer. There are several music magazines that I am a regular contributor of. I conduct interviews, write album and concert reviews, personal experience pieces, etc. I have been writing about music since 1985 when I started my first zine; Disturbed Minds.

I currently contribute to several music magazines; The Big Takeover (sold in Barnes & Nobles and other major chains), Ugly Things, Maximum Rock'n'Roll, and Record Collector News.

I have written articles and conducted interviews on countless bands/musicians over the last 25+ years including: Vandals, Bags (Alice Bag), The Controllers, Deadbeats, White Flag, Dead Milkmen, Insted, Ray Campi, The Tornadoes, Susan Surftone, Deke Dickerson, John Blair, Phil Alvin, and so on...

I have been a big fan of music even before attending my first concert; Elvis Presley at the Anaheim Convention Center in 1976! I will probably continue to write for music for a long time to come.

Songs For The Raven

Songs For The Raven is another anthology released recently by James Ward Kirk Fiction: http://www.jwkfiction.com/

Here is the publisher's description for this anthology:

Songs for the Raven investigates the human condition, trying to establish a literary approach to horror by bringing together stories and poetry that show us thoughtful perspectives of the painful truths that humanity tries to hide from itself, the deep, subconscious currents that run through our collective minds. We express emotion in many ways, often caused by our mood, following established patterns handed down through generations and reinforced in the myriad literary works that we all read at one point in our lives. In many works these emotions seem manufactured, trite even, carefully constructed veils that distract us from the deeper feelings that life itself imparts. This anthology examines those deeper emotions, tries to analyze the feelings through poetry and prose that digs deep into the human condition and that reflects the unsavory aspects of our very souls, bringing shadows to the light or shrouding them in even darker shadows. For where there is light, there is shadow and the authors wonder, at all times, what lies beyond the shadow, what really drives and motivates their characters, uncovering the awkward and uncomfortable facts or our lives and our very existence. Can anyone say they live life truthfully, guileless, free from the burden of little and bigger lies? The authors dare ask these questions and in the ensuing silence they tread on the delicate shards of broken souls, grinding them beneath their stone cold heels, hoping that the feeling will evoke emotions real and raw that spill forth like a song of bitter anguish. And from the shadows, the raven observes, ponders, waits, listens to the songs, selecting the right moment to show painful, blinding truth…

Here is my review of it from GoodReads:

 In an age of hack filled anthologies, I found this one to be really exciting in it's scope. The horrors of humanity. Not your average monster book, but more a mirror showing the monster within us. Some truly disturbing pieces like "Bereft" by Paula D. Ashe and "Soulman" by Chantal Noordeloos. I was shocked by "Danger to Society" by Julienne Lee in how the nihilism of the piece so closely mirrored my thoughts on my flash contribution entitled "Light." Of course I may be bias as I contributed to this anthology, but I truly believe that this is one of the most literate horror anthologies conceived in recent times and should be read by anyone that enjoys a trip through the dark side of humanity.

I really like the scope of this anthology. I also think some of my best flash fiction pieces to-date are printed here: "An Abstract of Measures" and "Light." Both of which I am very proud of. This book also features, yet again, a fantastic William Cook cover:

Get the print version here on Amazon (now available for Kindle too):
http://www.amazon.com/Songs-The-Raven-Kenneth-Goldman/dp/0615791735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371484054&sr=8-1&keywords=songs+for+the+raven

Grave Robbers

This fine anthology features one of my short stories that was sort of written as an homage to HP Lovecraft's earliest stories like "The Tomb." This anthology was the beginning of my association with the most dynamic up-and-coming publisher in the horror/noir field; James Ward Kirk Fiction. Here is their homepage: http://www.jwkfiction.com/

Grave Robbers is a superb anthology of everything that relates to...you guessed it...Grave Robbers! I was thrilled by the cleverness of many of the pieces. This book is a nice mix of poetry, flash fiction, and short stories. This was edited by James Ward Kirk, who is rapidly becoming a master craftsman of dark fiction publishing. This anthology also features another cover designed by William Cook:

You can get this in print version from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Robbers-James-Ward-Kirk/dp/0615780423/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371483964&sr=8-3&keywords=grave+robbers

Rigorous Mortis: A Mortician's Tales

A small press in Canada called Scarlett River Press printed one of my stories in their anthology of horror titled Rigorous Mortis: A Mortician's Tales. This came out in early 2013 and I was surprised to see it as they never told me that they had selected my story for publication. I call this a 'happy accident.' I'm glad they used my story and I wish them the best of luck in their continuing endeavors. Here is their website: http://www.scarlett-river-press.ca/

Here is the fine William Cook designed cover:

You can get this both in-print and Kindle edition at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Rigorous-Mortis-A-Morticians-Tales/dp/0987744267/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371482205&sr=8-1&keywords=rigorous+mortis

A Raven Above Press

Please support small indie publishers! Here is the link to the books available page of Los Angeles based A RAVEN ABOVE PRESS http://www.lorinrichards.com/books.html

They published one of my dark poems in their book A Seer's Guide to the Haunted Labyrinth, which was released in late 2012.

Welcome to my lair...

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog page! For those of you just getting to know my fiction, I thought some background was in order...I was born in Hollywood, California and have lived most of my life near Los Angeles. I grew up with a love of mystery, sci-fi, horror, and comic books of all types! In my past I have worked for television, both behind-the-scenes and as talent. I have also worked for newspapers and magazines in all capacities, from layout to editor. I have also done some film work, from production to talent. I currently teach English/Writing. My love of reading has helped me to be the writer that I am today.

What kind of stories do I write? Most of my stories are dark fiction or noir. I write stories with bizarre twist endings that leave the reader thinking.

Who are some of my main influences? The writers that have really inspired me (in no particular order and not a complete list): Fredric Brown, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, M.C. Beaton, Rex Stout, Ross MacDonald, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Robert E. Howard, along with many others including new works of fiction.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about me and my stories. I hope that you enjoy them.