James Dorr's Blog, page 51

British Anthology Scare Me Received, Now In Paperback Too

Wednesday late afternoon what should bounce into ye olde Computer Cave mailbox but my authors copy of the anthology SCARE ME. This is the one from Esskaye Books (see August 26 — including Amazon links for Kindle — et al.) with my story, “Pets,” originally published in THE DARKER SIDE: GENERATIONS OF HORROR (Roc Books, 2002) as well as reprinted in THE TEARS OF ISIS.

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The story itself is one about insects and civil unrest, set in a country in Eastern Europe just after the breakup of the Soviet Union. A less than nice period for many who lived it, but much like our own pandemic year of 2020 one in which comfort animals might become especially welcome — even such as might not normally be considered desirable companions.

As Editor/Publisher M. L. Smith explains, [a]ll the tales in these pages refuse to rely on tired horror tropes and instead bring new chills. Instead of werewolves and vampires we have sinister cults, an unexplained (and unexplainable) club, questionable innocence, unconscionable evil, and more. . . In all, these add up to “Twelve Slices of Horror,” of which mine is tenth.

And one thing more, it’s available now in print as well as e-format, for which one may press here.

After The Kool-Aid Cover Unveiled

Wow, things are happening fast this month! Perhaps in a run-up to Halloween (and just wait until after and the “desert” times of even as much/over a week to wait between news items)? In any event, the following comes from Editor Dawn Ellis Shea via Facebook:

Just wanted to share the cover for the book. I just received it this morning. We chose to go with an old school political style cartoon with the “politicians” spraying their Kool-Aid on to the “people” who have turned into zombies. It was done by Don Noble and we think he did a terrific job of bringing our vision to life.

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I will work on opening the preorder when I get home tonight and post as soon as it is up, then everyone can share!

The book is AFTER THE KOOL-AID IS GONE from D&T Publishing (cf.September 27, 5). In the world we live in today, what is more horrific than true life? to quote from the initial call. Seems everyone has a view and a stance. So, what will happen after the kool-aid is gone, when decisions have been made and eyes have been opened? In my case the answer is a tale called “Invisible People,” originally seen in the magazine DARK INFINITY (not to be confused with BLACK INFINITY, of which we’ve seen a bit in the near past), for December 1992-3. That’s right at the end of the George H. W. Bush presidency, the earlier Bush, just after the self-called “Reagan Revolution,” the story thus extoling the importance of outward appearances and keeping one’s nose clean, conforming and keeping the lowest profile one can — and especially not noticing things not supposed to be seen.

But, ah, these were the days too of “trickle-down economics” that remain today, when even playing “by the rules” doesn’t guarantee one’s safety from being betrayed. More on which (the book, that is) to come.

Serendipity Strikes: Indiana Horror Review 2020 Up At End Of September

It’s up on Amazon as of September 30 and, to be honest, it had already slipped my mind. Including that I had a story in it. But by golly there it is, discovered this afternoon by pure chance, lurking on Amazon!

The book, INDIANA HORROR REVIEW 2020: What is it with the Hoosier state that inspires authors from all over the world to dredge up their darkest visions to make readers tremble and shudder? Could it be the ghost towns that dot the landscape? Or do we fear the living ghosts that walk its cities, large and small, that breed and fester on dashed hope and creeping dread? Or do their dark writings mirror the thoughts we thought we had buried deep beneath layers of civility, exposing them for what they are, reflections of the darkness all around us, propagated through us and our offspring, who emulate and improve on our own wickedness?

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Thus saith the blurb.

For my part of this, let us take a short trip on the wayback machine to August 28 and the announcement of the invitation to submit, subsequent acceptance, and contract signing of a reprint tale titled “Eudora,” originally published in BLOOD TYPE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF VAMPIRE SF ON THE CUTTING EDGE (Nightscape Press, 2013). Eudora is from a Greek word that can be translated as “generous gift,” and the story combines science fiction and horror with one of disease — perhaps in the wake of COVID-19 a tale for our times. Or, as footnoted in my post here at that time, “E.g., vampirism does not social distance well.”

Be that as it may, at only about 1500 words “Eudora” might be an excellent tale for reading aloud at your Halloween party (virtual, one hopes). Released by James Ward Kirk Publishing, INDIANA HORROR REVIEW 2020 is up now on Amazon in both print and Kindle editions, and may be purchased by pressing here.

Bloodsaints, Happy Head Update Announced

Sometimes we need just a little reminder. Thus today’s email contained this notice: Hello, Bloodsaints! I am sorry for the lack of news, I have posted some on Facebook, but not everyone follows me there. The anthology will be finishing up soon. I am editing the stories and finishing up a couple of mine. I had a few people back out on me, a writer and a friend who agreed to help in editing. Not to mention I have been dealing with a pandemic as I work in direct care for those with disabilities. Shit has been crazy to say the least on many fronts, but the anthology is still on track to finishing up.

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And so it continues, I want to thank all of you for your contributions and your patience! When I do this again, I will see about finding a team to split up the work so that way the process can move quicker. I know none of us was ready for 2020 to be so crazy, but it is what it is, and us writers must carry on!

The book in question is to be called BLOODSAINTS ANTHOLOGY (see July 2) and with, yes, a reprint from me originally published in WICKED MYSTIC for Spring 1996. It’s also to be a charity anthology with profits to go to COVID-19 relief with UNICEF, a worthy cause or so it seems to me, with stories to contain elements of either: Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, Grindhouse, bizarro, or extreme dark psychological thriller. Or in other words, who could resist?

So my puck in the pack is a 2700-word opus called “Mr. Happy Head,” about a man who seems to find true happiness in others’ pain (when he was little he’d aspired to become a dentist’s hygienist, but ended up having to settle for being a serial killer) and, oh yes, he’s dead. Of which more will appear here as it becomes known.

“Late-Evening” Stories For Thoughtful Young Published

The word came today from B Cubed Press, STORIES FOR THE THOUGHTFUL YOUNG has been published!

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Originally listed here as assorted variants on BEDTIME STORIES (actual titles will sometimes change while a book is in its development stages), the volume contains a huge number of tales with a modern tinge, that is even if often set in the past with a lesson today for thoughtful living. And while it may have seemed a longish time coming, it’s available now in both print and Kindle, with a second volume of poetry scheduled for the future.

My entry into these hallowed halls is a “different” take on the tale of Snow White, her evil stepmother, and seven height-challenged individuals in the jewel mining trade. The title is simply “Snow” (see June 10, 5, et al.), and it runs to about 2000 words, a bit on the long side as the stories here go, but as noted above there’s a large number of them. For more information, as well as ordering — and realize it’s already autumn with Christmas not all that far off for your own thoughtful offspring — one need simply press here.

Ten Ways The World Ends, For Your Stay-At-Home COVID-19 Movie Viewing

If the ancient Mayans were to be believed, humanity should have been gasping its last on 21 December 2012. Lol, they obviously hadn’t heard of 2020 and all the crap that has come with it so far. . .

We’re pretty confident that Covid-19, or Trump, isn’t how the world will end (fingers crossed). So what form will our inevitable doom be taking? Nuclear war? Airborne space-virus? Unceasing plague of motorised zombie-vampires?

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As ever, movies have the answers — so here are ten of the most spectacular apocalyptic visions ever committed to celluloid.

Thus the introduction to “Apocalypse Wow! The 10 Greatest Apocalypse Movies Revealed” by “The ShortList Team,” from SHORTLIST.COM but unfortunately sent only as an email, not an attachment, so I can’t simply provide a link. But I own DVDs of four myself and have seen all but two, which I think I’ll look up. And while some are of course better than others, the four I do own, numbers 2, 5, 9, and 10 on the list, are (in my opinion at least) “must-sees.”

So, in order, the list (if none other, EVERYONE needs to see number 5 — and note the attitudes of the people that fuel the disaster): THE QUIET EARTH, CHILDREN OF MEN, ZOMBIELAND, THE ROAD, DR. STRANGELOVE, THE OMEGA MAN, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, 12 MONKEYS, A BOY AND HIS DOG, THREADS.

Enjoy!

Final Pulp Lit, Saturn Moons Proof Received, Issue Slightly Delayed

The week winds on with Wednesday night bringing an email from PULP LITERATURE Managing Editor Jennifer Landels, including a PDF (cf. September 11, et al.), to the effect that they’re slightly behind on their production schedule for the Autumn issue. So goes the life, in this case of publishers as well as authors.

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However, this did give a chance as well for a final look while it’s in the final proofreading stages, especially to check such ancillary items as author biographies, bylines, and titles. And as it happened I did find one or two problems, albeit minor, hence noted and sent back this afternoon. This will issue 28 including my story “Moons of Saturn,” originally published in 1993 in Algis Budrys’s TOMORROW and also reprinted in THE TEARS OF ISIS, a somewhat surrealistic tale of the 1980s Voyager space probes and two people watching the pictures being sent back on TV.

So, things back on track, hopefully I’ll receive my copy in time for Halloween although, in that it will be coming from Canada, maybe November will be more likely. In either case, watch for announcement here.

25 Gates Of Hell Cover Unveiled, To Be Out For Halloween

The email from Editor/Publisher R.L. Burwick was almost triumphant: I proudly present to you . . . the cover for 25 GATES OF HELL! With my imp in this inferno a tale called “The Re-Possessed” (see July 3, et al.), about a Victorian undertaker and why it’s always best to be honest in paying one’s debts.

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A moral screed in a way, that is.

25 GATES OF HELL itself is a sequel of sorts to an earlier volume from Kyala Publishing, Inc., in 2018, 19 GATES OF HELL — the devil has apparently been busy with six new gates added — and, like its predecessor, will be a collection of general horror. Just bigger and better. “The Re-Possessed” for its part has a bit of a history too, having originally been published in CEMETERY RIOTS (Awol From Elysium Press, 2016) and reprinted once in the “dreadpunk” anthology DEADSTEAM (Grimmer & Grimmer Books, 2018).

Then one final item from today’s email: Also wanted to let you know we’re planning on releasing around the 27th or 28th of this month! Or in other words, look for 25 GATES OF HELL to be out in time for Halloween.

Madame Gray Proofs For Wormbreath Received

Another short wander down Memory Way, this time to May of this year and a contract, from an anthology with the promising title of MADAME GRAY’S CREEP SHOW. The call had been for original stories — well-written, spine-tingling tales of horror infused with black humor (gallows humor) — and as it happened I had a piece that just might do, so I bit at the bait. Who wouldn’t? The story was one sold once before, to a publication then semi-immediately canceled before it could appear. And so it had languished.

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The tale was called “Wormbreath” and was about a man with a keen sense of humor, but also a failing marriage and a surly daughter — and who, as the story begins, is dead. It’s an earlyish story that I’ve always been fond of, although with a possibly . . . coarse? . . . sense of humor which hadn’t helped it in the marketplace since, until last spring when Mme. Gray bit back.

And now, contract signed, oh, ages ago, the edited copy came back late Friday for my going over. So, doing so and finding very few errors — a really good job! — back it went today.

Now It Can Be Revealed: Birdcatchers Poem Up In HWA Poetry Gallery

And here it is (cf. September 21)! My poem, “The Birdcatchers,” originally published — well, that info all appears under the poem — is now available to Horror Writers Association members in the just-published October NEWSLETTER. This is the monster (well, size that is) Halloween issue and I and it appear sixth of twelve poets in the “Gallery of Poetry,” way, way down toward the end of the contents.

So for those who’re not members — or just over anxious — please enjoy it here too as a lagniappe:

THE BIRDCATCHERS

They come from the plains outside the city
with cages and baskets,
a flurry of screeching,
to show off their wares.

These are the birds they have snared at first morning,
when dew is heavy:
the merlins, the windhovers, juggers and owls,
blue-and-white taloned birds, birds without feathers,
— all scales and sharpness —
the carrion eaters.
Birds of the night.

These are bought by the city’s young women
because, it is said, they make excellent pets.
Because, it is said, they crave only spun sugar,
molded in spheres,
to the shape of the eyes of one faithless in love.

[First published in The Tome, Summer 1992. It also appears as part of the story, “The Birdcatchers,” in my 2013 collection The Tears of Isis, as well as in my all-poetry Vamps (A Retrospective).]