Jason Howl's Blog - Posts Tagged "spiders"
Arachnophilia, the little story that wouldn't die
Arachnophilia started its life as a short story, appearing in the magazine HelloHorror.
This was a story I'd worked on for most of a year. I was a little worried that the subject matter, not to mention the length (a hefty 9.5K words,) would cause most folks to pass. When editor Brent Amour accepted it I was floored, particularly as HelloHorror was only the second place I'd sent this story.
http://www.hellohorror.com/JasonHowel...
The cover for the August issue was another pleasant surprise. Brent swore it was a coincidence. Jenny Smith, an artist and a secretary in a Vancouver law office, sent in the painting as an unrequested submission and I'm glad she did. Apparently so was the editorial team at HelloHorror--her work has appeared on the cover many times since then.
http://www.hellohorror.com/JennySmith...
That image of a woman stepping out of her own skin, the outer woman looking guarded and the inner woman looking shy but pleased (in my interpretation--follow the link and make your own) still comes to mind when I think of poor, beleaguered Joy and poor, stupid-in-love Peter.
A few years later, I came back to my weird little story, expanded it and added illustrations. In that way, Arachnophilia molted and grew into the Deluxe version found here:
Arachnophilia
Joy, by the way, makes a brief appearance early another novel:
ANNEE: A Girl and her Monster
I've considered writing another story about Joy, to catch up with her in her 40s or even later on when she is a little old lady. Maybe she and Annee will share an adventure. It may depend on reader feedback whether Joy gets to feed (and love) again.
This was a story I'd worked on for most of a year. I was a little worried that the subject matter, not to mention the length (a hefty 9.5K words,) would cause most folks to pass. When editor Brent Amour accepted it I was floored, particularly as HelloHorror was only the second place I'd sent this story.
http://www.hellohorror.com/JasonHowel...
The cover for the August issue was another pleasant surprise. Brent swore it was a coincidence. Jenny Smith, an artist and a secretary in a Vancouver law office, sent in the painting as an unrequested submission and I'm glad she did. Apparently so was the editorial team at HelloHorror--her work has appeared on the cover many times since then.
http://www.hellohorror.com/JennySmith...
That image of a woman stepping out of her own skin, the outer woman looking guarded and the inner woman looking shy but pleased (in my interpretation--follow the link and make your own) still comes to mind when I think of poor, beleaguered Joy and poor, stupid-in-love Peter.
A few years later, I came back to my weird little story, expanded it and added illustrations. In that way, Arachnophilia molted and grew into the Deluxe version found here:
Arachnophilia
Joy, by the way, makes a brief appearance early another novel:
ANNEE: A Girl and her Monster
I've considered writing another story about Joy, to catch up with her in her 40s or even later on when she is a little old lady. Maybe she and Annee will share an adventure. It may depend on reader feedback whether Joy gets to feed (and love) again.
