Unspeakably Busy

Jeez Louise. Where does the time go? Seems like the year was just beginning and it’s already coming to a close. Sorry I’ve neglected the blog a bit, but it’s been hectic with a capital “H” around here.

Some of you may know that a new book I co-edited with Chad Helder was just released. Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet is an anthology of 23 original short stories that melds horror and queer themes. Chad and I assembled an incredible roster of talent for the collection, including personal favorites like Lee Thomas (Lambda Literary Award winner for The Dust of Wonderland), Sarah Langan (Bram Stoker Award winner for The Missing and author of the equally outstanding The Keeper), Kealan Patrick Burke (Bram Stoker Award winner for The Turtle Boy and author of one of the year’s best collections, The Number 121 to Pennsylvania), and too many more fabulous writers that I could go on about for days on end. Check out more about the anthology.

This is my first attempt at editing anything of this scope and size, and I really hope readers respond favorably to the book. Waiting for the reviews to come in is always the worst part. The experience itself was most enjoyable (slush pile and all!). I hope you’ll mosey on over to Amazon or the Horror Mall and pick yourself up a copy. Chad and I also did a few interviews in support of the collection, which you can read here and here.

I’m also editing a new non-fiction collection of essays on (surprise!) slasher films for Dark Scribe Press. A call for submissions went out last month, but the incoming traffic has been slow. Hopefully, after the holidays my inbox will be bursting. This will be a very cool project, with essays on individual slasher films and more general pieces of the genre. There will be lots of trivia and interactive slasher quizzes to test your fanboy IQ, as well as some exclusive interviews with some of the great (albeit underrated) scream queens of the 80’s. We’ve already got interviews completed with Lesleh Donaldson (Happy Birthday to Me, Curtains), Jodi Draigie (The House on Sorority Row), and the super-reclusive Meg Tilly (Psycho II). This will be the ultimate in reading pleasure for slasher fans. Now, hopefully, we can get the submissions rolling in. Otherwise, I may just be penning the book myself.

Even with these larger projects, I still found time to do a little writing of my own. My short story “The Night Nurse of Cobblestone” will be appearing in the medical-themed Malpractice: An Anthology of Bedside Terror coming early next year from Necrotic Tissue. I’ve also contributed two poems to an intriguing themed poetry project called Death in Common: Poems from Unlikely Victims (Daverana Enterprises), edited by Rich Ristow. Both “Tyro” and “Chatroom Hustler” recount the last hours in the lives of two victims of a fictional serial killer. Finally, I’ll have an original essay appearing in the non-fiction anthology My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women who Inspire Them (University of Wisconsin Press) that was edited by Michael Montlack. One guess who my diva subject was(!). Still have one or two short stories out to various markets, so there may be more announcements if the acceptance gods smile kindly upon me.

Dark Scribe Magazine celebrated its one-year anniversary this past October. The wonderful Editor-in-Chief that I am, the milestone was completely overlooked until last week. To celebrate, the magazine is running an amazing contest that features a signed hardcover book club edition of Bentley Little’s The Academy and a one-of-a-kind (well, one of two — he signed one for me, too) signed publicity photo. If you know anything at all about Little, you know that he never does book signings or much PR for his books, and he related to me that he has never signed an author photo before (and then proceeded to tell me with his inimitable honesty that he’d never sign one again!). To enter, you’ll need to become a registered reader of DSM. Once registered, you can log in and the contest link will appear. Once you’re a registered reader, you can also vote in the magazine’s annual awards program, the Black Quill Awards. Nominations were just announced.

The Renewed and Final Girl are waiting patiently for their literary draftsman to put his pen to paper and resume their creation. Plus, Chad and I have been fleshing out a novel collaboration. Not sure if that’s ambitious or just plain crazy with all that’s on our collective plates.

Man, if there were only a few more hours in each day.