Aaron Polson's Blog, page 68

WIP Wednesday: This I Believe

If you've never listened to NPR's This I Believe , you just might be missing something. Maybe.

What do I believe?

I believe in persistence, for one thing. I believe the underdog fights harder because he/she has something to prove. I believe in rewrites.

I believe I'm ready to start revising Loathsome, Dark and Deep. This past week, I finished "The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish" (yes, I changed his name); it's my most Joe R. Lansdale-style tale (think "Stepping Out, Summe...

Libraries vs. Bookstores & Honorable Insight

Because I needed something to do while sick this weekend, I broke down the honorable mentions from 2008's Best Horror as selected by Ellen Datlow. My copy of the book should be somewhere between Delaware and my house (according to Amazon), but the full list of honorable mentions is available here.

If anyone is curious like I am, you can download the list of all markets receiving 5 or more mentions in PDF here. I listed everything periodical as a "magazine" (even though some consider themsel...

More Book Trailerage

First, a new trailer for Fifty-Two Stitches...

Then, go read Robert Swartwood's lovely "Dead Weight".

Finally: start writing.

The submission window for year two starts on Halloween, 2009. Guidelines here.

Doping

She holds the trophy above her head as the stadium erupts in applause.

Despite the cacophony of hands slapping together and cheering voices, the single "boo" lances her in the ear. The trophy drops a few inches, a miniature tennis pro in gold hovering in front of her face.

"Boooo!"

The cheers evaporate. Murmurs travel around the seats in waves away from the man in the fifth row. He cups his hand to the side of his mouth.

"Cheater!"

She narrows her eyes and tightens her fingers around the base of t...

Sometimes, I'm Not So Scary

Thanks to Jameson T. Caine for the AlienSkin reminder; I'd forgotten my story, "Melons" was up this month. It features a recurring character of mine, Pete Archer, a hobo/magician of sorts who first appeared in "Catalog Sales" from Necrotic Tissue #4 (download for free). Pete shows up again in next year's edition of Champagne Shivers ("Lullaby, Little Monster"). What a rascal.

Anyway, "Melons" was inspired by a Japanese folktale. I love Japanese stories, full of magic and mystery and demons...

WIP Wednesday: Scraps

I was trying to sew together some stray bits and pieces, hopefully rendering something worthwhile from the fragments of my flash drive. So then, I take a walk, and WHAM!

...new ideas start smacking me around like a stubborn mackerel. (die fish, die)

Other than furiously scribbling notes and typing bulleted points, I rewrote a thrice rejected piece this week, finished a longer tale about Gary Sump, "The Great God Gary Sump", and flirted with revisions to Loathsome, Dark, and Deep. I've also m...

Stew

Not the good lamb with Guinness kind, but a bit of everything in today's post...even a recipe for stew if you hold on 'till the end.

My flash story, "Policy Woes" is up at Hypersonic Tales. Sort of a science fantasy, definitely dark, and a little disturbing. I chalk this one up to a "popcorn dream" ala Joe R. Lansdale (if you don't know what I mean, read one of his short fiction collections).

Bards and Sages Quarterly is running a survey for their "best of the year". Not that you would wan...

On Eating One's Tail: The Death of Necrography and the State of Short Fiction

Another small press magazine bit the dust. As a former contributor, I received an email that Necrography was no more. The publisher produced one and only one issue (which can still be purchased through Amazon.com), and my short story "Brian Cullen's Confessional" found itself in the TOC. It's a nice little magazine, glossy and slick with clean layout.

Am I sad that another paying market has bitten the dust? Yes.

Am I surprised? No.

I turned to writing short fiction when my first novel was i...

Little, Awful Things

The first of them hits a window with a wet thunk. Valerie jerks upright at the sound.

"What the 'ell was that?"

Richard mumbles, rolls over and pulls a pillow over his head.

Valerie clutches the quilt, listening. A few more smacks—amplified noises like insect kamikaze against a windshield at high speed—echo from the kitchen.

"Richard, wake your lazy arse." Valerie shakes Richard's shoulder.

He moans, sucks a breath into his lungs, and opens his eyes. "What you want to go and wake me for?"

"Somethin...

Starve Artist, Starve!

How much is art worth?

I always like to understand an idea's evolution. This post comes by the way of Jeremy Brooks who sent me to this post from Amanda Effing Palmer, but the seed was planted when I read about author royalties at Galleycat a few weeks ago.

I quote from the comments:

Marvin11: "I think that writer [sic:] make MORE than enough money"

PeterKing: "writers should be writing because of their love for the craft, not for the money"

I could go on...but you are all big people. Read for ...