Kevin Lucia's Blog, page 36
August 30, 2013
Michelle Pendergrass, Natalie Phillips, and a Memoir of a Bully
Let me tell you a story.
About a naive fifteen year old (henceforth referred to as "our hero") and a Bully, and how (details withheld) our hero made the mistake of talking about Bully with a friend (and actually only as a secondary character), and was overheard by Bully's girlfriend, (who, it was rumored, he also "bullied") who then went and - predictably - told her Bully.
Bully then embarked upon a two year campaign of intimidation, which included slowing down by our hero's house, gunning the engine like he was going to turn into the driveway, then speeding off while flipping our hero the bird; taunting in the halls between classes with threats of physical violence, rumors spread of same physical violence. Our hero didn't know what to do or who to tell, so he said nothing to no one.
After Bully graduated, he encountered our hero (now a lot less naive) and his dad at a football game in the city, and because Bully was backed by his posse, (a very important asset for bullies everywhere) he harassed our hero and his father in the middle of the game, threatening physical violence upon both of them, until our hero's father mentioned something about his shotguns at home. That defused the situation, but despite appealing to Bully's girlfriend (now a senior) through a lame guidance counseling office intervention, Bully kept haunting our hero's football practices and later his basketball games.
But by the time our hero was eighteen years old and a senior, said Bully had disappeared, rumored to be in the Army. Ironically, our hero encountered Bully several times later when he was twenty-four or so, but because Bully was alone...our far less naive hero was ignored.
And then, when our hero encountered the Bully one last time, when he was twenty-six, it was in a bar with several of his friends. Out of the blue, Bully accosted our hero (who had grown and become stronger) because he was surrounded by his posse, and a face-to-face shouting and shoving match broke out. However, when the time came for the first strike, Bully reached PAST our hero...
To hit the shortest member in the group.
Who happened to be a wrestler. Luckily for Bully, Former Wrestler slipped on a puddle of beer, and then the bouncers intervened.
And our hero hasn't seen Bully since. Which, of course, doesn't mean that Bully won't pop up again. There's many reasons why our hero still lifts weights and keeps in good shape. One of them is that, should he have to defend himself physically, the contest won't be totally one-sided.
Suffice to say, our hero has developed a powerful dislike for bullies of all kinds, especially bullies who bully their girlfriends.
Now, zoom to the present.
We all know about the Miley Cyrus twerking debacle. If not, you probably live in a cave and are better off for it. In any case, out of the many jokes and lamentations of the future of society and Billy Ray Cyrus' claim that the devil - and David Lynch and Disney - are responsible for Miley's twerking, some rather unsavory comments (that revolved around the need for both Miley's twerking partner Robin Thicke and Billy Ray to "smack Miley for being a ho") surfaced from a prominent member of the IWA (Indiana Horror Writers Association).
I know very little about that organization past my long and wonderful friendships with both Maurice Broaddus and Michelle Pendergrass, and my slightly shorter but no less wonderful friendship with Natalie Phillips. In any case - bad as it was for the officer of a professional writers' association to speak so cruelly and unprofessionally in such a public manner, apparently this wasn't a "isolated Facebook-OOPS" incident. This was just the latest in a continuing trend that had been confronted in the past. Unfortunately, at the time of this most recent gaffe, nothing had been done about the situation.
And earlier this week, Michelle Pendergrass and Natalie Phillips decided to take a stand and resigned from the IHW, followed by most of its female members, and several male members.
The result of which was...bullying.
Of several degrees worse and with more personal nastiness than our hero ever faced. I won't rehash the whole thing, because you can read Michelle's detailing of it here, and not only that, you can see some of the bullying in action, with little trollish gems such as these:
"I see why you were abused and mistreated, that’s probably what’s wrong with the loud mouth too, to bad you didn’t get some sense beat in to you!"
Now, let me go on record in saying that I don't know the folks Michelle Pendergrass has taken to task. AND, I highly suspect that gem is from a mistakenly supportive friend or spouse, not the folks Natalie and Michelle have issues with. BUT, regarding their claims that Natalie and Michelle are unprofessional and have torn the IHW apart with their "their big mouths" and dragging "names through the mud" I can say this:
I don't know those other people.
I KNOW Michelle Pendergrass both as a dear friend, spiritual adviser and have also worked with her PROFESSIONALLY, as an editor. She is a strong person with convictions in a world that expects, ever more, every day, for strong people to restrain their convictions (whether you're liberal or conservative, it doesn't matter. Have a conviction or belief? Just be quiet, please) And worse yet, she's a woman - an intelligent, strong woman with strong convictions.
Horrors.
Again, I can't say I know these folks, even on a Facebook level. I've not dealt with their nastiness. But when Maurice Broaddus leaves the same group because of the same reasons, and folks like Lucy Snyder, Chesya Burke and Micheal Knost speak up, that's a lot like Neil Gaiman and Jon Scalzi snarking about that recent blog entry about "what makes a professional writer." The opposition is shown for what it is: small, nasty, dismissive, and belittling.
In essence, they're a bunch of bullies that wanted Michelle and Natalie to go away and be quiet, and when they wouldn't, they harassed them and attacked them all week long. Do I have evidence this, past the comment on Michelle's blog? No. But I trust both of them, and have - contrary to claims - thought them both to be the epitome of kindness, compassion and professionalism.
To be clear, I am not shooting down the IWH or those involved. I don't know them, and have no axe to grind. Neither am I a feminist, a liberal, a conservative, a whatever.
I'm a human being.
And I hate bullies, and had to face one alone, myself. And there's only one way to stand up and make bullies go away: that's to face them with your friends, because bullies only attack when they have the advantage on those who are alone.
However little (or great) my support is, it goes with Natalie and Michelle.
They are not alone.
About a naive fifteen year old (henceforth referred to as "our hero") and a Bully, and how (details withheld) our hero made the mistake of talking about Bully with a friend (and actually only as a secondary character), and was overheard by Bully's girlfriend, (who, it was rumored, he also "bullied") who then went and - predictably - told her Bully.
Bully then embarked upon a two year campaign of intimidation, which included slowing down by our hero's house, gunning the engine like he was going to turn into the driveway, then speeding off while flipping our hero the bird; taunting in the halls between classes with threats of physical violence, rumors spread of same physical violence. Our hero didn't know what to do or who to tell, so he said nothing to no one.
After Bully graduated, he encountered our hero (now a lot less naive) and his dad at a football game in the city, and because Bully was backed by his posse, (a very important asset for bullies everywhere) he harassed our hero and his father in the middle of the game, threatening physical violence upon both of them, until our hero's father mentioned something about his shotguns at home. That defused the situation, but despite appealing to Bully's girlfriend (now a senior) through a lame guidance counseling office intervention, Bully kept haunting our hero's football practices and later his basketball games.
But by the time our hero was eighteen years old and a senior, said Bully had disappeared, rumored to be in the Army. Ironically, our hero encountered Bully several times later when he was twenty-four or so, but because Bully was alone...our far less naive hero was ignored.
And then, when our hero encountered the Bully one last time, when he was twenty-six, it was in a bar with several of his friends. Out of the blue, Bully accosted our hero (who had grown and become stronger) because he was surrounded by his posse, and a face-to-face shouting and shoving match broke out. However, when the time came for the first strike, Bully reached PAST our hero...
To hit the shortest member in the group.
Who happened to be a wrestler. Luckily for Bully, Former Wrestler slipped on a puddle of beer, and then the bouncers intervened.
And our hero hasn't seen Bully since. Which, of course, doesn't mean that Bully won't pop up again. There's many reasons why our hero still lifts weights and keeps in good shape. One of them is that, should he have to defend himself physically, the contest won't be totally one-sided.
Suffice to say, our hero has developed a powerful dislike for bullies of all kinds, especially bullies who bully their girlfriends.
Now, zoom to the present.
We all know about the Miley Cyrus twerking debacle. If not, you probably live in a cave and are better off for it. In any case, out of the many jokes and lamentations of the future of society and Billy Ray Cyrus' claim that the devil - and David Lynch and Disney - are responsible for Miley's twerking, some rather unsavory comments (that revolved around the need for both Miley's twerking partner Robin Thicke and Billy Ray to "smack Miley for being a ho") surfaced from a prominent member of the IWA (Indiana Horror Writers Association).
I know very little about that organization past my long and wonderful friendships with both Maurice Broaddus and Michelle Pendergrass, and my slightly shorter but no less wonderful friendship with Natalie Phillips. In any case - bad as it was for the officer of a professional writers' association to speak so cruelly and unprofessionally in such a public manner, apparently this wasn't a "isolated Facebook-OOPS" incident. This was just the latest in a continuing trend that had been confronted in the past. Unfortunately, at the time of this most recent gaffe, nothing had been done about the situation.
And earlier this week, Michelle Pendergrass and Natalie Phillips decided to take a stand and resigned from the IHW, followed by most of its female members, and several male members.
The result of which was...bullying.
Of several degrees worse and with more personal nastiness than our hero ever faced. I won't rehash the whole thing, because you can read Michelle's detailing of it here, and not only that, you can see some of the bullying in action, with little trollish gems such as these:
"I see why you were abused and mistreated, that’s probably what’s wrong with the loud mouth too, to bad you didn’t get some sense beat in to you!"
Now, let me go on record in saying that I don't know the folks Michelle Pendergrass has taken to task. AND, I highly suspect that gem is from a mistakenly supportive friend or spouse, not the folks Natalie and Michelle have issues with. BUT, regarding their claims that Natalie and Michelle are unprofessional and have torn the IHW apart with their "their big mouths" and dragging "names through the mud" I can say this:
I don't know those other people.
I KNOW Michelle Pendergrass both as a dear friend, spiritual adviser and have also worked with her PROFESSIONALLY, as an editor. She is a strong person with convictions in a world that expects, ever more, every day, for strong people to restrain their convictions (whether you're liberal or conservative, it doesn't matter. Have a conviction or belief? Just be quiet, please) And worse yet, she's a woman - an intelligent, strong woman with strong convictions.
Horrors.
Again, I can't say I know these folks, even on a Facebook level. I've not dealt with their nastiness. But when Maurice Broaddus leaves the same group because of the same reasons, and folks like Lucy Snyder, Chesya Burke and Micheal Knost speak up, that's a lot like Neil Gaiman and Jon Scalzi snarking about that recent blog entry about "what makes a professional writer." The opposition is shown for what it is: small, nasty, dismissive, and belittling.
In essence, they're a bunch of bullies that wanted Michelle and Natalie to go away and be quiet, and when they wouldn't, they harassed them and attacked them all week long. Do I have evidence this, past the comment on Michelle's blog? No. But I trust both of them, and have - contrary to claims - thought them both to be the epitome of kindness, compassion and professionalism.
To be clear, I am not shooting down the IWH or those involved. I don't know them, and have no axe to grind. Neither am I a feminist, a liberal, a conservative, a whatever.
I'm a human being.
And I hate bullies, and had to face one alone, myself. And there's only one way to stand up and make bullies go away: that's to face them with your friends, because bullies only attack when they have the advantage on those who are alone.
However little (or great) my support is, it goes with Natalie and Michelle.
They are not alone.
August 23, 2013
Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love - by Mercedes Murdock Yardley
First of all, if you've never read anything by Mercedes Yardley, you need to take care of that right now.
Beautiful Sorrows
was one of the best things I read this year, but don't take my word for it. Several stories from that collection ended up on the Ellen Datlow's Honorable Mention Long List for Best Horror of the Year, and that's a pretty fine endorsement in and of itself.
Well, Mercedes has got something new coming out from Ragnarok Publications, and anything new by Mercedes is something worth celebrating. It's called Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love, and if that doesn't intrigue you, then maybe the cover will:
Anyway, to keep abreast of things, go over and LIKE:
www.facebook.com/RagnarokPublications
for updates and release information on Mercedes' book. This looks pretty fabulous, honestly....
Well, Mercedes has got something new coming out from Ragnarok Publications, and anything new by Mercedes is something worth celebrating. It's called Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love, and if that doesn't intrigue you, then maybe the cover will:
Anyway, to keep abreast of things, go over and LIKE:
www.facebook.com/RagnarokPublications
for updates and release information on Mercedes' book. This looks pretty fabulous, honestly....
August 14, 2013
On How Maybe I'll Never Write Longhand Drafts Again
This is one of those blogs that might not be of interest to anyone, but it's on my mind, so I'm posting to purge, basically. In any case, an interesting development popped up the last few days. After bulling my way through Billy the Kid and handing it off to the first round of beta readers, then writing two consecutive novellas and several short stories all on my NEO2 Alphasmart without handwriting them first (which is a major accomplishment for me) I decided to play with an older novella. I discovered three things:
1. sometimes work is too old to recover
2. I really had a hard time typing from a handwritten rough draft
3. All I really wanted to do was sit down with my NEO2 and type a new story straight from my heart and head
What does this mean?
Most likely, nothing. I'm pretty spent, having written like a maniac for the last several months, and I probably just need some downtime to recharge my batteries for works of longer duration (READ: Only a day, because I succumb to writer's guilt pretty easily). Also, I've had the burning desire to write a bunch of short stories - have been keeping a notebook full of ideas for the past year or so - and the short story engine seems to be humming pretty strongly right now (also a rarity) so maybe it's just time to write some short stories.
But, I couldn't help noticing that I had no desire whatsoever to type the twenty-or-so pages I'd left hanging in this novella. Those handwritten pages - about a year old or so - seemed so...confining. Restrictive. And even though the story is one I'm interested in...I just didn't want to type what I'd written a year ago.
Not sure if this is meaningful or not. I have another nearly finished novella that's also composed of mostly handwritten pages. Is that also in jeopardy, because I don't feel like typing from handwritten pages anymore?
Most likely not. Part of this also comes from still being an on-spec writer. In other words, I've got no deadlines or obligations right now. Let's say, for example, that the publisher looking at two of my novellas says: "We want these both, and would like a third, too." Well, sure as shooting I'd be on top of that novella, finishing it.
But I guess right now I can enjoy the luxury (dubious as it may be, because as I've said before, I'd give up a big chunk of that luxury for a relationship with a publisher) of basically saying: "Screw it. I don't feel like writing that right now, I want to write this."
And I should enjoy that while I can. Say I sell my Billy the Kid trilogy - I'll be living with Billy the Kid for the next three years, probably exclusively. And that'll be fine, because I'm definitely ready for that stage. So for now, I'll just take the moment and enjoy my freedom, I suppose.
Also, there's a good development, here: I can now admit that converting to typing only and leaving behind pen and paper handwritten rough drafts is a good thing. In fact...I almost wonder now if the stories are BETTER this way. I can still polish the prose in subsequent drafts, but I wonder if the stories are purer now, closer to ME, because I'm just gushing straight onto the keyboard instead of meticulously writing and then rewriting and crossing out.
Who knows? I'm probably over-thinking things, like always. Anyway, it's safe to say, I think, that handwriting rough drafts is a thing of the past, and I'm just going to take the next few weeks and enjoy the freedom of writing whatever I want to...although, I still am looking forward to hopefully HAVING deadlines someday that aren't self-imposed.
August 12, 2013
I Talk Briefly About My Reading Diet, And Another Good Reason Why I'm Not Ready to Self-Publish
First up, I have a brief guest entry over at In other news, I solidified another good reason why I'm ultimately not ready to jump into self-publishing. I've cited lots of reasons so far - lack of a loyal readership, not being a seasoned-enough writer/self-editor - but probably the biggest factor that trumps all of them?
Money.
Start-up capital, pure and simple.
Last week I posted some covers for an experiment I'm considering for Things Slip Through, which involves releasing a few short stories from the collection on Amazon, trying to draw some folks to my work and the collection.
I'm still refining my plans, but in the process I've started putting together files on Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Program) and I've started toying with some very simple covers...covers that were free to make.
I then posted them to Facebook and asked for honest opinions.
And I got them.
None of them were bad, really. Most folks thought a few covers were just too plain and didn't reflect my voice strong enough. I still plan on going forth with the experiment, after tweaking a few covers. But one thing that was really stressed: hiring cover designers.
And to be honest, I just can't afford that, right now. Also, after toying with prepping the short stories for Kindle format, I've decided that for a novel-length project, I'd be much better off hiring someone for that, too.
And I can't afford that right now, either.
Now, I'm not whining about how poor I am. We make do and pay our bills and live comfortably. But we're definitely not in the place to spend money on publishing projects with no guarantee of recouping the expenses, and that's ANOTHER factor: there's no guarantee. I know several authors who have done very well self-publishing. I know others who haven't done well at all, and I'm not sure what separates them. They all seem to have great covers, great editing and good "pedigree" as authors.
But some are doing great, others aren't. And I can say - without getting too personal - we just don't have the disposable cash for such a risk.
Author Nicole Cushing mentioned on a FB thread awhile ago that it's probably wise to approach self-publishing as a small business. And to launch a small business successfully, you need a certain amount of start-up capital or disposable income.
Which I just don't have.
So ironically, I just can't afford to self-publish right now. That sort of thing will require careful budgeting, and right now, it just doesn't fit in.
However, that's fine, because it coincides with the reality that I don't have a big enough loyal readership to warrant self-publishing a title right now. I figure I'll be ready to self-publish when it feels like I've got a decent readership (however one determines that), but most importantly, when we can fit it into the budget without risking the mortgage, or swapping it for groceries.
Until then, of course, I'll just experiment here and there in ways that won't incur too much risk (which, of course, I realize will diminish the returns, but these experiments will be mostly learning experiences), and, of course, keep plugging along at the keyboard....
August 10, 2013
By My Father's Hands - Brian Lucia Photography
As it turns out, creativity runs in the Lucia family. I started writing very early - 8th grade - and my sister always excelled at art, which she laid aside for a long while before taking it back up again in the last ten years. She's yet to create an online presence, (she really should get on that) but she has sold some paintings (I believe) in a few gallery shows. We have several of her paintings hanging around the house. The one on the left is my favorite and hangs in my office. (Of course, horror author likes the spooky Halloweeny tree against orangish-sunset sky picture. Go figure.)
My father, however, exercised his creativity long before we showed up. Back before digital photography, through the seventies, eighties and nineties, Dad took hundreds of wildlife and nature photographs. He had a darkroom, developed and framed those pictures himself.
And now Dad has entered the online world, converting all those photos into digital format and craving a space out for himself in the digital landscape for his work. And we all know how hard that is, especially us writers. One advantage cyberspace offers us in promoting our work: a nearly unlimited audience to appeal to. One disadvantage: a nearly unlimited source of competition from literally millions of folks with the same idea.
Anyway - if you like classic nature, wildlife and landscape photography, peruse my father's collection, click LIKE for the pictures you enjoy, share with your friends, maybe even order something, if you feel moved to do so.
Now, all I need to do is get my sister's work on the 'Net...
August 9, 2013
HORROR 101: The House As Parasite
Another edition of Horror 101 is up at Tales to Terrify, and this month's podcast could be titled: "The House As Parasite." This month I look at The House Next Door by Anne River Siddons,
Burnt Offerings
by Robert Marasco and the seminal classic
Hell House
by the late Richard Matheson. In this particular podcast, I discuss how each of these "houses" feed off those who inhabit them; or, in the case of Hell House, is haunted by something that feeds off people. This month's recommended reads in "the house" motif is another novel by Johnathon Janz, House of Skin, and Dark Inspiration , by Russell R. James.
Next month we'll be shifting our focus a little bit and looking at haunted/damned/cursed
apartments (note: these can be cross-listed as "religious horror" also) in Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin and The Sentinel by Jeffery Konvitz, with a possible nod toward The Brownstone , by Ken Eulo.
August 7, 2013
Flashing You Soon....
NOT what some of you are thinking, I'm sure...but a rare piece of flash fiction, JUST A DREAM, will be in a forthcoming collection of flash fiction called Dark Bits, from Apokrupha, the same folks who produce the very fine ezine/yearly print collection, Lamplight Magazine. Of course I'm prejudiced about that, my serial novella
And I Watered It In Tears
being in their first run (the free first issue is here).And, I'm pretty happy to see my name in the same TOC as Bruce Boston, Jeremy C. Shipp, Kathy Ptacek, Willie Meikle, Bob Ford and half dozen other folks who - with myself - are starting to become a regular band of "the usual suspects."
I'm also happy because flash fiction doesn't come easily to me. I usually don't even try to write it at all, but this story just sorta "dropped in whole" in the best of possible ways: as a dream. I literally dreamed it, rolled over and woke up, then wrote it later that day. That's only happened once before, with a novella currently under consideration. Gotta love it when that happens...
Check out the TOC below:
August 6, 2013
Am I Professional Writer or Hobbyist? WHO CARES?
Here's my blog on the whole "what's a professional writer" thing, though other people have already said it much better than I ever could:
Brian Keene
John Scalzi
in response to a blog on what it means to be a professional writer.
...so here's the brief:
1. I get up every morning at 2:30 to write, have done so for six years. I write when the kids nap, during lunch breaks, on notepads during staff meetings, and sometimes before bed at night. When I have a week to myself - like next week, when Madi goes to day camp - I'll spend six hours a day writing
2. I have sold stuff. A few times, that actually helped pay a some bills, or usually, pay for gas on the way home from a Con
3. I try my best to treat everyone with respect, courtesy - be they an A LISTER or someone just starting out - try my best to take offense at nothing, and I do my best to always be polite
4. I'm timely with the rarely solicited work
5. I realize that writing is both business and art
6. And I try to take nothing personally
I have yet to sell a short story for the HWA's "professional rate." It's certainly a goal of mine, but more because I'd like to earn equal to my efforts than as a status symbol, something to prove to myself that I'm a "professional." I certainly want to land a mid-list novel with an advance, at least once, but that's more because I'd like to see in-store distribution of my work, just once.
Am I a professional writer or hobbyist?
I. DON'T. CARE.
See, I write all the time - obsessively, sometimes - not because I need to convince myself I'm a professional, but because I HAVE TO. I'M A WRITER. I have a burning desire to WRITE, all the time. To me, writing = breathing. It's a necessary life-function. As to whether or not I'm a professional, as I mentioned on Brian Keene's blog the other day, I would hope that would be determined by my work ethic, integrity, behavior, timeliness and treatment of others in the genre.
The best response to all this is Robert Swartwood's, whose very situation demolishes that blog. Robert has made self-publishing work for him. He no longer holds a day job and can afford to write full-time, one of his books becoming a USA TODAY Bestselling Author. But by that blog's definition, he's not a professional writer.
Also, Stuart David Schiff, editor of the famed WHISPERS magazine and anthologies, worked full time as a dentist. Editing WHISPERS - which collected some giants in speculative fiction - was his passion, and I dare say he left a HUGE mark on the genre. But, according to that blog, he wasn't a professional, either.
I should clarify - I've never met the author of that blog, have no personal feelings toward them, and this isn't an attack on them. But the blog was casually dismissive towards the hundreds - thousands? - of writers laboring dutifully at their craft. If I'd read that as a new writer, I might've said: "Well, I'm done..."
Am I a professional writer? Who cares? This is what I do, it's what I was MADE to do, and I'll continue right on doing it.
Brian Keene
John Scalzi
in response to a blog on what it means to be a professional writer.
...so here's the brief:
1. I get up every morning at 2:30 to write, have done so for six years. I write when the kids nap, during lunch breaks, on notepads during staff meetings, and sometimes before bed at night. When I have a week to myself - like next week, when Madi goes to day camp - I'll spend six hours a day writing
2. I have sold stuff. A few times, that actually helped pay a some bills, or usually, pay for gas on the way home from a Con
3. I try my best to treat everyone with respect, courtesy - be they an A LISTER or someone just starting out - try my best to take offense at nothing, and I do my best to always be polite
4. I'm timely with the rarely solicited work
5. I realize that writing is both business and art
6. And I try to take nothing personally
I have yet to sell a short story for the HWA's "professional rate." It's certainly a goal of mine, but more because I'd like to earn equal to my efforts than as a status symbol, something to prove to myself that I'm a "professional." I certainly want to land a mid-list novel with an advance, at least once, but that's more because I'd like to see in-store distribution of my work, just once.
Am I a professional writer or hobbyist?
I. DON'T. CARE.
See, I write all the time - obsessively, sometimes - not because I need to convince myself I'm a professional, but because I HAVE TO. I'M A WRITER. I have a burning desire to WRITE, all the time. To me, writing = breathing. It's a necessary life-function. As to whether or not I'm a professional, as I mentioned on Brian Keene's blog the other day, I would hope that would be determined by my work ethic, integrity, behavior, timeliness and treatment of others in the genre.
The best response to all this is Robert Swartwood's, whose very situation demolishes that blog. Robert has made self-publishing work for him. He no longer holds a day job and can afford to write full-time, one of his books becoming a USA TODAY Bestselling Author. But by that blog's definition, he's not a professional writer.
Also, Stuart David Schiff, editor of the famed WHISPERS magazine and anthologies, worked full time as a dentist. Editing WHISPERS - which collected some giants in speculative fiction - was his passion, and I dare say he left a HUGE mark on the genre. But, according to that blog, he wasn't a professional, either.
I should clarify - I've never met the author of that blog, have no personal feelings toward them, and this isn't an attack on them. But the blog was casually dismissive towards the hundreds - thousands? - of writers laboring dutifully at their craft. If I'd read that as a new writer, I might've said: "Well, I'm done..."
Am I a professional writer? Who cares? This is what I do, it's what I was MADE to do, and I'll continue right on doing it.
August 5, 2013
Why You Should Submit to The Midnight Diner, and A Great Blurb
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First, I just received a great blurb (probably the last I'll share until release day) for my upcoming collection through Crystal Lake Publishing, from none other than Norman Prentiss:"An impressive debut collection from one of the horror genre's best new authors. The stories in Things Slip Through are rich with atmosphere and suspense, and author Kevin Lucia weaves in a compelling wraparound tale that adds new layers of significance. Lucia is a true craftsman of the horror story, with a fine sense of the genre's best traditions."
--Norman Prentiss, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Invisible Fences and The Fleshless Man
Norman is one of the finest writers around, so obviously I'm absolutely beside myself this morning, making me ever more excited (and, admittedly, still anxious), about the collection's release in November, 2011.
But mostly, I want to talk this morning about why you should submit to The Midnight Diner, which is now open to submissions, and why, if you can, you should contribute to their funding campaign. I won't go through the whole history of The Diner, you can get that here, but suffice to say: now that they're got funding to pay ALL contributors, this should be a no-brainer for most writers.
First, don't be scared off by their faith oriented origins. Put it this way: yes, they're looking for well written, complex, deep stories about faith and all that entails...but they don't want CHRISTIAN, RELIGIOUS fiction. READ: Anything that would never fly in the CBA (Christian Bookseller Association) you should send to them. Consider it the second cousin to Maurice Broaddus' Dark Faith .
But the stories don't need to be about faith at all. The second story I published with them in Volume Three, "Lonely Places" and the third story that would've been published with them (except for release date conflicts) "The Gate and the Way" had nothing to do with religion or faith at all, and that makes ANOTHER great reason to submit: it's an open-ended genre/speculative collection, and we SORELY need more of those, instead of uber-themed collections all about the same thing.
Also - and stay with me on this one - editor Michelle Pendergrass has never sold or published a single line of fiction, and we NEED THAT DEARLY, also. Why? Because we need more editors who KNOW they're editors, know that's their calling, and are damn good at it...which Michelle is. Now, that's not to say that she isn't a fine writer or won't publish sometime in the future. But she KNOWS good fiction when she sees it, (which means, Diner contributors, you CANNOT fall back on the tropes as a crutch), and right now, she's committed to being an editor, not editing a bunch of collections to enhance her WRITING career.
Anyway, you should definitely submit to the Diner, especially now that it's become a paying venue, because I believe it will become the kind of place to sell genre fiction that might not fit in anywhere else. As usual, I'll be submitting, knowing it will only be kept if its worthy.
And you should submit, too.
August 1, 2013
DOWN IN THE DARK in ANTHOLOGY YEAR TWO: INNER DEMONS OUT
My weird-western shoot-out, DOWN IN THE DARK - which introduces my Billy the Kid - will be this year's Anthology collection, Inner Demons Out. Here's the final TOC, and I'm happy to see my name here, as well as see three of the Hiram Five also...
Mine, Not Yours; Bracken MacLeodUnknown Caller; Craig D. B. PattonOld Man’s Winter; Stacey LongoBulimia Daemonica; Richard WrightA Poor Sinner’s Hands; John GoodrichThe Dying House; BE ScullyStaining The Memory; Andrew WolterDesperation; Mandy DeGeit The Amazing Vinnie Stitcher; K. Allen WoodSuki; Victorya ChaseMommy’s Not Perfect; Meghan ArcuriDead Letter Office; Robert DaviesMADD; Scott Christian CarrMy Aching Black Heart; TG ArsenaultDown In The Dark; Kevin LuciaThe Freeze; Tracy CarboneDark Song for Icarus; Timothy P. FlynnHarold At The Halfcourt; Errick A. NunnallyIt’s Nice Not to Have to Share; David BernsteinThe Interloper; David North-MartinoThe Soldier’s Wife; T.T. ZumaThe Morning After; Michele MixellCooking With Kate; g. Elmer PerkinsEvening Commute; Scott GoudswardSkinny Girl; Julie StipesSticks and Bones; Michael BaileyMurder Confit; Marianne HalbertEight Minutes; Holly NewsteinATLHEA; An Open Letter from Hiram Grange to his Childe Lost…; Scott Christian Carr
Photo credits; Candace Yost, Susan Scofield
Also, The Four Horsemen are running a cool little special in which you get a copy of Anthology: Year One (with my story LAMENT) and a Four Horseman Pint glass. Check it out on their website.
Mine, Not Yours; Bracken MacLeodUnknown Caller; Craig D. B. PattonOld Man’s Winter; Stacey LongoBulimia Daemonica; Richard WrightA Poor Sinner’s Hands; John GoodrichThe Dying House; BE ScullyStaining The Memory; Andrew WolterDesperation; Mandy DeGeit The Amazing Vinnie Stitcher; K. Allen WoodSuki; Victorya ChaseMommy’s Not Perfect; Meghan ArcuriDead Letter Office; Robert DaviesMADD; Scott Christian CarrMy Aching Black Heart; TG ArsenaultDown In The Dark; Kevin LuciaThe Freeze; Tracy CarboneDark Song for Icarus; Timothy P. FlynnHarold At The Halfcourt; Errick A. NunnallyIt’s Nice Not to Have to Share; David BernsteinThe Interloper; David North-MartinoThe Soldier’s Wife; T.T. ZumaThe Morning After; Michele MixellCooking With Kate; g. Elmer PerkinsEvening Commute; Scott GoudswardSkinny Girl; Julie StipesSticks and Bones; Michael BaileyMurder Confit; Marianne HalbertEight Minutes; Holly NewsteinATLHEA; An Open Letter from Hiram Grange to his Childe Lost…; Scott Christian Carr
Photo credits; Candace Yost, Susan Scofield
Also, The Four Horsemen are running a cool little special in which you get a copy of Anthology: Year One (with my story LAMENT) and a Four Horseman Pint glass. Check it out on their website.
