Aaron Polson's Blog, page 80

Goals...What Goals?

Here's a blast from four months in the past:


Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now I have four. Finish revisions of Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and query that sucker by the end of the school year. Write my third "novel"--a dark thing I'm tentatively calling The House Eaters. Write at least one high quality story a month. Quality may require that I set the story aside for at least a week before revising--a challenge for this submission junkie. Give myself some

Tweet, Tweet...The Energy Theif

A post in two parts:

1. Tweeting my own horn. I don't really do "tweet" stories (notice all the itty-bitty markets that have cropped up lately?), but I couldn't resist Tweet the Meat. My tweet is due tomorrow at 6 PM Pacific. Follow them for a load of blood and guts in little bite-sized bits.

2. Give me a form rejection, please. When I queried for the first time in '07, most of those queries went out as traditional snail mail. Of the email I sent, I received a response from about 90%. The

Having a Couple of Poles in the Water

Here's where the ol' Kansas boy shines through; I'm using a fishing metaphor for the querying process.

I've slapped on a new coat of spit and polish to Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and sent a few queries. Yes, I'm still querying The House Eaters. I see this as having two different poles in the water (each sporting different bait). I'm not sure who/what is going to be in the pond, so I might as well bring the whole arsenal. The agent field is much more open for Rock Gods because it is more mai

Necrography #1 Now Available

Necrography #1 is now available from the Necrography website for the low price of (are you ready for this bit?) $6.66. (I know...I know...)

My short, "Brian Cullen's Confessional"--a story that involves a child's sandbox in a very unchildlike way--is included, along with a host of other fiction/poetry/art & photography. For the price, it seems to be a good deal.

Fiction:
"Gran'ma's in the Bathroom (...and she's not coming out)" - Ken Goldman
"The Gardener" - Mathew F. Riley
"Omen of the Oven" - Larr

Henry's Dream

Music makes this writer write.

For the past couple of years, Brian Eno has had a pretty solid spot on my playlist. Tom Waits will always hold a special place in my dirty ol' heart. But, if I look back at the last fifteen years or so, it's Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, hands down.

Enter, Henry's Dream. Probably my favorite album by Cave & co.

From the opening track, the raw instrumentals and dark lyrics twine together in something that is just beautiful. If you like your music moody and bleak, that

Book Review: The Between

Let me tell you what I thought about The Between by Tananarive Due.

I am a snob when it comes to my reading time. I'll read short stories until the apocalypse, especially those written by real, live People I KnowTM, but novels...I need some pretty strong recommendation. As a wannabe writer, I want to emulate the best of the best, and that starts with my reading selections.

The Between was mentioned on this list, posted at the Horror Writer's Association website. I read the blurbs online, checked o

What was that Last Line?

The podcast of "The Eyes Have It" cut off at the last moment...I'm sure you can infer the last line, but for those of you who have to know:

"His old pocketknife sat on the table, alone, smeared and sticky with blood. The jar, the eyes, and Gina were nowhere to be found."

That's it. The end. Shuffle along.

Tomorrow: I offer my thoughts on The Between by Tananarive Due.

This Sunday: check out Fifty-Two Stitches for a lovely tale by Jodi Lee.[image error]

How to Know You Aren't a Romance Writer

A student recently brought me a copy of Forbidden Passion by Marilyn Cunningham. Yes, it's one of those romance novels: A Candlelight Ecstasy Romance from Dell. Copyright 1987. ISBN: 0-440-12660-6. You can pick up a used copy through the Amazon marketplace for a penny (plus shipping). I wouldn't recommend it, of course, but in the interest of full disclosure...the student purchased it for 49 cents at Goodwill as a joke.

From page 117:

"She felt the night crowding around her."

Oh good, I th

Tell Us More About...Spider

Here's how I build a character:

On the way to Mom's house last Spring for Easter, I was listening to my iPod while the rest of the family dozed. Enter song #1, "Spider and I" by Brian Eno.

"Spider and I sit watching the sky
On a world without sound
We knit a web to catch one tiny fly
For our world without sound
We sleep in the mornings
We dream of a ship that sails away
A thousand miles away."

I started thinking about spiders...real spiders. They're basically deaf, y'know. Then I flipped over to Belle an

The Character that Killed Three Markets

Yes...you steal from me, I steal from you. Danielle Ferries took the "favorite stories" post and made something different. Now I steal her something different and present my five favorite characters (in no particular order).

Spider - a vampire, but not one of those modern day/emo/sexy vampires. No, Spider is a monster, a creature that loves blood and will drain a pet dog or a small girl in one meal. He has no eyelids but a mouth full of jagged, broken teeth. His surrogate son, a homeless boy name