Deathly December!

Ah...May all the good tidings of the season be yours! It is a time for gifts so here is my humble offering...the Schlock! Webzine December issue is out now, and features one of my most reprinted stories; "Glint of Evil."

The issue can be read for FREE (this is your gift!) on their website, but for an even better reading experience, go to Amazon and get the FREE kindle version to read wherever you go.

Here is the Schlock! website, which is full of great reads:

http://www.schlock.co.uk/

And here it is on Amazon for kindle (also FREE):

http://www.amazon.com/Schlock-Webzine-Vol-Issue-17-ebook/dp/B00H047ED0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1386122150&sr=8-7&keywords=schlock+webzine+vol5

"Glint of Evil" is an early story of mine and although it may not be my best work, I am still proud of it. My story stems from ideas that were circulating in my head after reading a lot of H.P. Lovecraft...specifically "The Tomb." I wanted to write something that sounded a bit 19th century/archaic, yet had a creep factor that made you wonder just how true the events/places are. To be honest, all of the names and places and even the situation with the dam and the flooding are all REAL! I did my research. I wanted realism. I entwined a horror story around reality, which to me is how the best horror stories should be.

HUGE THANKS to GAVIN CHAPPELL AND SCHLOCK! WEBZINE! They are doing their best to give up and coming writers a place to start.

NEWS FLASH!!! CELLAR DOOR II out now in both kindle and paperback form at Amazon. Here's what it looks like:

I originally wrote a story titled "Sempiternal Denouement" (a.k.a "Gold Rush") specifically for CELLAR DOOR Volume I, but for some unknown reason, it didn't make the cut. So here it is now. James Ward Kirk Fiction decided to pick it up for Volume II. This is a horror story of a different sort. No monsters. No murderers. Just the dead and nature in the Louisiana swamps over a hundred years back.

Get CELLAR DOOR II here for kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Cellar-Door-Beauty-Terror-Volume-ebook/dp/B00H4OBQ2Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386647912&sr=8-2&keywords=cellar+door+II

Or here for a paperback copy:

http://www.amazon.com/Cellar-Door-Volume-II-Beauty/dp/0615907539/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386647912&sr=8-1&keywords=cellar+door+II

I don't have much else going on this month. I just plan to write as much as I can and have even started a novel. January looks to be exciting with several of my newest stories seeing print. I have a reprint of my award-winning story, "The Horror at Engle Farm," in the January issue of NIGHTMARE ILLUSTRATED. The drawings that accompany my story are by Niall Parkinson and the layout looks exciting. I also have one other surprise printing that I can't say much about right now, but I will say that there is a new horror publisher in town that is getting ready to unleash some amazing horror and I am a part of their release schedule with a previously unpublished long-short story (8,000+ words) entitled "Snapshots of Hell." Don't miss that!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November Nocturnus

November has struck! Yes...The holidays are approaching fast. I plan to relax and enjoy them, but I also hope to get in some more writing. This whole last year of 2013 has been extremely gratifying in that I have seen so much of my writing published...just amazing! I never thought I would have so much of my work printed this year. I made it into 15 anthology books, 1 print magazine, and several online websites! I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring. I also hope to start work on a novel soon.

***NOTE: I was also recently contacted by the Horror Writers Association to be informed that my story "The Horror at Engle Farm" was being considered by HWA judges. This does not mean that I have won anything, but it is an honor to be considered. If my story passes two more votes, then I win 'Best Short Story.' Please send some good mojo my way as I would really be thrilled to win and go to the award ceremony!

November holds its own surprises. I recently found out that another of my stories was just published in the new THIRTEEN: VOLUME THREE anthology from Castle Easkey Books. You can get it as a print or eBook through Amazon, or the company's website.

Get it here on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Volume-Three-Andrew-Hannon/dp/1493744399/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1385394432&sr=8-1&keywords=thirteen+volume+three

Coming in December/January: if all goes as planned I should have a story (with artwork by Niall Parkinson from Ireland!) in the January issue of NIGHTMARE ILLUSTRATED (issue #4) and a reprinted story in the December issue of Schlock! Webzine.

Upcoming in the new year I have already had stories accepted into several more anthologies: UGLY BABIES II & CELLAR DOOR II (both from James Ward Kirk Fiction) and a bunch of Static Movement anthologies (If they ever see print! Already been over a year on one of them!) including: HARDBOILED, THE BADLANDS, THE UNDEAD WAR, THE END, WHAT LIES BENEATH, and IN THE DARKNESS. I also have a short piece that should see print for Stuart Hamblin Comics and a lengthy story that I sold to Phrenic Press that I am still waiting on. I will post some covers as these titles draw nearer to completion.

Happy thanksgiving to you all! Gobble gobble!

OCTOBER IS HERE!

Yes...Time for Halloween/Samhain is drawing near...Here is a little cheesecake witch to tempt you:

I actually own this pulp magazine. I found it a few years ago at a local swap meet. It is one of my favorite images of a witch.

October...or OctoBEER for some...is shaping up to be a busy month. I can't believe that it has only been a year now that I have been pushing myself to write and that I've already been published so much. It is truly gratifying and I thank anyone who has taken the time to read one of my stories, or better yet, published one!

So...October...Here is a schedule of releases coming out that have one of my stories:

OCTOBER 9th: Halloween Hootenanny on the Horror Writers Association Blog. On this day only, two of my printed articles on Halloween records are being reprinted on the HWA blog with label scans!

Check it out here: http://www.horror.org/blog/

Also on OCTOBER 9th: 100 DOORS TO MADNESS will be released from Forgotten Tomb Press. This will be available for sale on Amazon and features a disturbing flash fiction piece of mine along with 99 other flash stories from authors from around the world. Get it here:

http://www.amazon.com/100-Doors-Madness-hundred-macabre/dp/1492896470/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381594275&sr=1-1&keywords=100+doors+to+madness

OCTOBER 16th: Horrified Press is releasing an anthology titled JUST ONE MORE STEP. This anthology deals with stories set around the end of existence or just post-apocalypse. I have two classic short stories in this book that are in the vein of Fredric Brown. Short and with a punch! More info on their site: HORRIFIED PRESS

OCTOBER 23rd: Horrified Press will be releasing two more titles with my stories in them; DARK IN THE LIMELIGHT and NIGHTMARE STALKERS AND DREAM WALKERS. I have two short pieces in the first book and one longer piece in the second. Both of these books will certainly gain a lot of attention to Horrified Press from the U.K. and I'm thrilled to be working with them.

Also in October...October 4th through 6th you can download the Kindle version of SERIAL KILLERS TRES TRIA (James Ward Kirk Publishing) for F-R-E-E on Amazon! I have one short story in that anthology titled "The Killer of Little Souls" that you may find interesting.

Also, a true story of a time that something supernatural happened to me and my mother will be available as a free read on the FASCINATION WITH FEAR blog. They tell me that my story will be up in the second or third week of October. Check it here:

As you can see...October is a busy month for me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND TRICK-OR-TREAT TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BONES is now available!

Everyone has bones...Out now is the latest anthology from James Ward Kirk Publishing entitled...guess what...BONES!

It is available as a paperback or Kindle download here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bones%20ward%20kirk

I have one short story in this titled "Witchbone." Also, check out another anthology from this same publisher titled CELLAR DOOR. I have one drawing and one photo that were used in that.

Zombie Attack!

I am thrilled to have a story in the new zombie anthology from Source Point Press! Their books look amazing and they are working hard to build a good reputation for quality. Source Point Press included my only sort-of zombie story in FEAST OF THE DEAD: HORS D'OEUVRES.

Help support independent publishers and get your hands on some zombified fiction here at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Feast-Dead-Source-Point-Press/dp/0989650456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377358225&sr=8-1&keywords=%22feast+of+the+dead+hors%22

Also, check out the publisher's blog to see their other awesome releases:

http://sourcepointpress.blogspot.com/

Crime Does Pay!

I just got back from a long vacation to find this facebook post:

"Indiana Crime Review 2013 will be publishing this month. My (James Ward Kirk) Editor's choice goes to William J. Fedigan for "Happy as Cotton Candy." Murphy Edwards's Editor Choice Award goes to Greg McWhorter for his story "The Twilight of Men’s Lives." Of course, the anthology contains so much good writing that it wasn't easy making choices but we had to choose one each so we did."

Wow! I had no idea that they would like my story so much. I wrote it about two years ago and it was my first attempt at writing noir. I am truly happy that someone likes it! I thought it was a pretty good story, but the artist can never gauge how others will experience it. Here is the certificate that the publisher posted:

Although the book is titled Indiana Crime Review 2013, you didn't have to be from Indiana to submit to it. That is just the state the publisher lives in. The print version is now on sale at Amazon so get it already!

http://www.amazon.com/Indiana-Crime-Review-2013-Volume/dp/0615861636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376015568&sr=8-1&keywords=indiana+crime+review+2013

Schlock!

Hey everyone...The first horror story that I ever tried to write (years ago) has finally seen publication in the newest issue of Schlock! Webzine from the U.K. My story is titled "Lost and Found" and it is fitting that it is seeing the light of day in a publication called Schlock! It is not my best story and seems pretty derivative of Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos without anything too unique about it. It's the kind of filler story that you would have seen in a pulp magazine of the 1930s or 1940s. Do I seem like I am being hard on my story? Yes, I am, but there are some twists that I think are redeeming...The ancient book that I mention in the story is real and the way in which they are able to stop the monster is unique. I have never read of anyone using the technique that I employed. Oh well...read it if you must. The guys at Schlock! are very cool and deserve much praise, especially Gavin Chappell, for all their efforts to give a new writer an outlet and put forth so much material on such a frequent basis.

Read "Lost and Found" for FREE here: http://www.schlock.co.uk/index.html

Or purchase the Kindle edition here on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Schlock-Webzine-Vol-Issue-ebook/dp/B00E1VF46O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374339789&sr=8-2&keywords=schlock+28