Aaron Polson's Blog, page 67

Treats

"I think I got everything." Zach dropped two plastic grocery bags on the floor.
"Everything?" Nick asked. "What'll it be this year?"
Zach patted one bag. "Apples."
"Going old school?"
"Sure. Why not?" Zach rustled through the other bag, producing a box of generic razorblades and package of caramels. The blades rattled together as he tossed both on the small table.
"Okay...what's with the caramels?"
Zach shook his head. "For the apples, of course. Helps hide the razor marks." His lips curled into ...

WIP Wednesday: What I Read

I have a "you are what you eat" philosophy about reading. Aside from work written by authors I know personally (including those of you I only know in the digital sense), I tend toward highly recommended material written by acknowledged pros. I'm sure I'm missing some diamonds in the "rough", but reading time is limited (like too much of my life these days).

This is the third year I've picked up Ellen Datlow's Best of the Year--the first year in which the book is solely dedicated to dark ficti...

You Have My Permission To Slap Me Down

One of my colleagues (who knows about my secret life) asked why I don't strut around: "Look at me I'm a published author."

My response: "Do you know how much rejection is involved in each success?" But maybe I have a problem with self-promotion.

Self-promotion is a sticky subject. I want people to read my work (and like it of course...the two go hand in hand), but if I ever, for one fraction of a nano-second, come across as a cocky ass, you have my permission to lay the biggest case of 'net sma...

Splat...

...go my thoughts, spraying every which way.

Firstly, two great contests find themselves in full, um, gear. KV Taylor asks what nasty (fictional) villain or other undesirable you might bring to a Halloween party. Barry Napier wants recommendations for quality, online dark fiction at his blog. Try 'em out. You might win something fun.

Secondly, Cate Gardner will be cheering on our NaNoWriMo suckers friends. I'll be there, too, bringing the pictures (each post in November will have an "inspiring"...

Quiet Time

He sent away for the box six weeks ago. Finding the ad in the back of an old issue of Carnage Corps at the comic shop, he tore along the dotted line and pushed the rough, pulpy paper inside his waistband. His breath froze in his chest as he walked past the clerk. Heart ready to burst, his rubber soles pounded against asphalt, and the ad flew away with the next day's mail.

The box arrived on a rainy day. The boy scooped it into his arms, brushed his damp sneakers on the rug in the foyer, and...

WIP Wednesday: I Need an Intervention

Just as I wrapped up edits on my flash pieces last week, just as I thought it was safe to delve into full revisions of Loathsome...another short story idea seized me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I blame it on American Fantastic Tales , a new two-volume collection from the Library of America (more on this in the future).

So I'm writing one more short story while limping along with Loathsome. Call this one "Guarding the Dead":

Sometimes, when I dream of gates, I imagine one wrought of...

Chilling Short Fiction: Five of My Favorites

I've never been much a fan of "best" or "top five/ten/twenty-five" lists (even though I've thrown together a few myself). Call this a list of some of my favorite works of short fiction fitting the Halloween spirit. I'm sure I'll add more in time.

1. "The Lonesome Place" by August Derleth. No other single story has influenced my own writing more than this short story by Lovecraft's biggest fan. You can find snippets on the 'net (like at Google Reader), but the real value is in finding a du...

Premature Burial

Not mine.

A student asked about the term "graveyard shift" this morning which led to a bit of interwebTM investigation. Yes, "accidental burial" signaling devices were once in vogue. For a fascinating starting place to research the topic of premature burial, I recommend this article from Snopes.com.

Ah, the macabre. What a wonderful month is October! Today, we read "The Raven":



Enjoy Monday.

Consultation

The thing stoops as it lumbers through my door. The eyes blink, shades drawn over milky cue balls.

It grunts.

Trudging toward me, it allows both hands--if you could even call the gnarled, wicked mass of flesh at the end of its arms hands--to drag the floor. The knuckles scrape the carpet, shhhhhk, leaving an oily trail. Blood? Something else?

Me: choking on my heart. My hands sweat.

The mouth opens, revealing rows of teeth like broken chalk, only green. It lifts its body onto a desk, hand...

On Persistence

Yesterday, Melissa De Kler at Nossa Morte notified me that my short-short "Tesoro's Magic Bullet" will appear in a future issue. I'm thrilled. Nossa Morte is a quality market, garnering four honorable mentions in The Year's Best Horror (ed. by Datlow). I've read, and enjoyed, their offerings for the past two years.

But here's the back story: this wasn't the first time I've submitted to Nossa Morte. Or the second. Or third.

I think you can see the pattern.

"Tesoro's Magic Bullet" was at least...