Joshua Chaplinsky's Blog, page 2
October 26, 2023
“Letters to the Purple Satin Killer” coming June 2024 via CLASH Books
Based on the short story of the same name, originally published in Thug Lit #20, reprinted at Trigger Warning Short Fiction, and included in my collection, Whispers in the Ear of A Dreaming Ape (CLASH Books). Cover by the illustrious Matthew Revert.
PRE-ORDER FROM CLASH BOOKS NOW!
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Jonas Williker is considered one of the most sadistic serial murderers of the modern era. This epistolary novel explores the aftermath of his arrest and the psychological trauma of those who lived through it.
The Pennsylvania native brutalized his way into the zeitgeist during the early part of the new millennium, leaving a trail of corpses across five states before his eventual arrest. All told, Williker was responsible for the rape and murder of 23 women, and is suspected in the deaths of dozens more. His calling card—a torn piece of fabric found on or inside the bodies of his victims—helped popularize his now ubiquitous nickname.
The Purple Satin Killer.
In the years following his arrest, Jonas Williker received hundreds of letters in prison. Collected here, these letters offer a unique glimpse into a depraved mind through a human lens, including contributions from family, the bereaved, and self-professed “fans.” They represent a chilling portrait of the American psyche, skewering a media obsessed culture where murderers are celebrities to revere. What you learn about the man from these letters will shock you, but not as much as what you learn about yourself.
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“Chaplinsky breathes some much-needed life into the serial killer genre, taking the unique and utterly brilliant angle of turning the focus onto us, and our morbid fascination with these depraved individuals. This book ought to come with a bottle of bleach, to dip your soul in after you’re done.”
—Rob Hart, author of Assassins Anonymous and The Warehouse
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April 6, 2021
February 1, 2021
November 3, 2020
“The Paradox Twins” is now available
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The Paradox Twins is a copyright infringing biographical collage that exists on the Internet, pieced together by an unknown auteur.
Named for the famous thought experiment, it concerns estranged twin brothers who reunite at their father’s funeral to discover they no longer look alike. Haunted by the past (and possibly the future), they move into their father’s house to settle his affairs, only to reignite old rivalries and uncover long-hidden secrets, most of which involve the young woman who lives next door.
An epistolary work comprised of excerpts from various memoirs, novels, screenplay adaptations, and documents of public record, The Paradox Twins is an experimental, sci-fi ghost story about the scariest, most unknowable quantity there is—family.
Out Now From CLASH Books
“The Paradox Twins” coming April 2021 from CLASH Books
THE PARADOX TWINS
Pleased to announce that my new novel, The Paradox Twins, will be published by CLASH Books in April 2021. Cover by Matthew Revert.
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The Paradox Twins is a copyright infringing biographical collage that exists on the Internet, pieced together by an unknown auteur.
Named for the famous thought experiment, it concerns estranged twin brothers who reunite at their father’s funeral to discover they no longer look alike. Haunted by the past (and possibly the future), they move into their father’s house to settle his affairs, only to reignite old rivalries and uncover long-hidden secrets, most of which involve the young woman who lives next door.
An epistolary work comprised of excerpts from various memoirs, novels, screenplay adaptations, and documents of public record, The Paradox Twins is an experimental, sci-fi ghost story about the scariest, most unknowable quantity there is—family.
June 18, 2020
“Letters to the Purple Satin Killer” video
Recently filmed a video of myself reading an excerpt of my story, “Letters to the Purple Satin Killer”—IN CHARACTER— for the Night Worms youtube channel. Introducing… The Ladies Behind The Letters!
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January 30, 2020
“Satanic Panic Attack”
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I’ve got a new story in Dark Moon Digest #38, out now from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. It’s called “Satanic Panic Attack”, and is written in the style of one of those old, text-based adventure games, like Zork. I had a lot of fun with this one and am proud of the way it turned out. I think DMD is the perfect home for it.
Here’s the tiniest of tastes:
SATANIC PANIC ATTACK
Copyright © 1984, 1987 Dark Moon Games, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Revision 666 / Serial number 69105
SATANIC PANIC ATTACK is a text based game of strategy and black magic. Use your cunning to navigate the world and advance your powers. Only the most adept of apprentices shall achieve initiation into the dark coven. Enter “start” to begin.
>start
Bedroom
You awake to the sounds of the KROZ morning crew blaring from an alarm clock radio. Evil red numbers display the time: 6:30 AM. A snooze button dominates the clock’s center. Sunlight spills through the window, highlighting the Commodore 64 on your desk. The desk has two drawers. Posters of leather clad musicians paper the walls. The scent of bacon wafts in through the door
January 6, 2020
“Playing Doctor”
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Out now, from Necro Publishing: The Big Book of Blasphemy, featuring my story “Playing Doctor.” Super proud to be in this monster TOC. #grateful #blessed
Allie pinched the slide between her fingers and unzipped the body bag. The hook and hollow of interlocking teeth parted to reveal a familiar face, one as stoic as her own. Its cloudy blue eyes stared unseeing from within the plastic shroud. Her father had warned her, but she’d insisted on preparing the body all the same. “By myself,” she told him. He didn’t like it, but knew better than to argue…
October 29, 2019
Free Review Copies
September 11, 2019
Whispers in the Ear of A Dreaming Ape -Now Available!
[image error]Cover by Matthew Revert
My debut short story collection, OUT NOW from CLASH Books. Thirteen weird pieces of literary genre fiction. Singularities, ciphers, and reappearing limbs. Alien messiahs and murderous medieval hydrocephalics. A dark collection that twists dreams into nightmares in an attempt to find a whisper of truth.
Order Directly from CLASH BOOKS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LETTERS TO THE PURPLE SATIN KILLER
TWICE AMPUTATED FOOT
THE BLACK HOLE
HOMUNCULOID
MAISON D’OEUFS
MUMMER’S PARADE
THE HAND OF GOD
SUPREME MATHEMATICS: A CIPHER
WHISPERS IN THE EAR OF A DREAMING APE
THE WHOLE INFERNAL MACHINE
AFT LAVATORY OCCUPIED
THE GOSPEL OF X
NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE
“This is dark stuff, but fun, without any hipster wink of irony or cynicism. Writing stories that are simultaneously grim and good-hearted is a fucking tough line to straddle, and writing them well… let’s just say I don’t see that often. Chaplinsky walks a barbed-wire tightrope here. In short, good shit.”
—Craig Clevenger, author of The Contortionist’s Handbook
“In Whispers in the Ear of a Dreaming Ape, Joshua Chaplinsky takes readers on a wild ride through a landscape of darkness and absurdity. You may think yourself safe, but you’ll learn soon enough—no one rides for free.”
—Kevin Kolsch, writer/director of Starry Eyes, Pet Sematary
“If you’re sick of tepid short stories that taste like watered down milk, Whispers in the Ear of a Dreaming Ape is the collection of multi-colored, bite-sized brain pan bullets that might just be the cure. Joshua Chaplinsky has an imagination both of depth and breadth, and no two stories are alike. You can practically hear the lively, fascinating, hallucinatory click of his brain throughout the book. An enjoyable read for all of us dreaming apes.”
—Autumn Christian, author of Girl Like a Bomb
“The weird tales of Joshua Chaplinsky are full of magic and surprises. Whispers In the Ear of a Dreaming Ape is one of the most original short story collections of the year. A must-read if you like your fiction smart and strange.”
—Cameron Pierce, author of Ass Goblins of Auschwitz, Our Love Will Go the Way of the Salmon
“Spend some time in Chaplinsky’s weird and wild stories and you may want to bathe afterward, but you will have been relentlessly entertained.”
—Kelly Thompson (Eisner nominated comics writer – Deadpool, Captain Marvel, X-men)
REVIEWS
The Big Smoke
Dead End Follies
Kendall Reviews
INTERVIEWS
LitReactor (w/ Rob Hart)
Kendall Reviews
Gingernuts of Horror
The Page 69 Test at The Next Best Book Blog
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