Gordon Grice's Blog, page 2
November 29, 2024
The Perfect Christmas Gift for the Curious Kid: Cabinet of Curiosities
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Direct from the Publisher
What kid doesn’t love picking up shells on the beach, or finding a bird’s egg or snake’s rattle, or—treasure of treasures—a fossil? Then taking it home to put on a shelf or in a shoebox? That same impulse has, since the Age of Exploration, motivated collectors to turn their passion into amazing “cabinets of curiosities”— collections of beautiful and unusual objects that in many cases became the seeds of the world’s great natural history museums.
Cabinet of Curiosities is exactly the book for every young explorer who loves finding stuff in nature and bringing it home. Lavish, oversize, illustrated, and chock-full, it introduces kids to the wonders of natural history and the joys of being an amateur scientist and collector. Nature writer Gordon Grice, who started his first cabinet of curiosities at age six when he found a skunk’s skull, explains how scientists classify all living things through the Linnaeus system; how to tell real gold from fool’s gold; how to preserve butterflies, crab shells, feathers, a robin’s egg, spider specimens, honeycombs—and a skunk’s skull (and other skulls and bones); how to identify seashells; the difference between antlers and horns; what a thunder egg is and where to find it; the metamorphosis of cicadas; what a porcupine quill is made of; what to do with a shark’s tooth; how to read animal tracks. And then, what to do with your specimens, including how to build a cabinet of curiosities out of common household objects, like a desk organizer or a box for fishing tackle.
Reviewed in New York Times
I take some kids collecting--from the publisher's blog
Mentioned in Baltimore Sun
Reviewed in Boys' Life
Wisconsin Public Radio's Central Time interviews me about Cabinet of Curiosities
Science Friday interviews me
Read an excerpt about bones (courtesy of Science Friday)
Reviewed on Boing Boing
November 3, 2024
Edgar Allan Poe's Murders
Why did Poe write so many stories about murder? The terrifying true crime behind it all.
October 27, 2024
Halloween Special: Stupefying Stories for Free! Limited Time
Stupefying Stories #26, including my monstrous horror story "Stone," will be free to anyone with a Kindle from Sunday, October 27, through Thursday, October 31. And if you don't have a Kindle, you can still get this issue free by downloading the free desktop app.
Here's the hype, and the table of contents, from the publisher:
IT'S OUR ANNUAL HORROR SPECIAL, AND IT'S A DOUBLE-ISSUE!
Edited by award-winning author and cyberpunk legend Bruce Bethke, STUPEFYING STORIES is the place to read tomorrow's famous writers today! Stupefying Stories 26 is our annual double-length horror special, and it features 22 all-new stories to thrill and chill you, written by—
Whether your tastes run to science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, or something so new it doesn't yet have a name, you're sure to find it in STUPEFYING STORIES!
October 3, 2024
Hear My Horrid Yammers
Over on Youtube, I've been revealing all sorts of odd facts about classic horror stories by Edgar Allan Poe, M. R. James, and even William Shakespeare. I call the series Horrid Yammers. Drop in when you have a few minutes and take a listen.
August 21, 2024
Tales from the Dark Side Takes Bronze
At the recent International Regional Media Association awards, my essay on nocturnal wildlife won the bronze for writing on Nature and the Environment. The piece first appeared in the September-October 2023 issue of Oklahoma Today Magazine. I'm grateful to editor Nathan Gunter and his crew for letting me do this kind of writing!
July 2, 2024
NEW--Stories for Under a Buck
You've seen them in magazines and anthologies. Now, thanks to Grendel Press, you can buy selected stories at low cost without having to buy the whole book.
European settlers reported them from the beginning—the hairy people called shumacki or sasquatch. Mostly they left humans alone, but there were some ugly encounters. On the Arkansas River in the winter of 1822, a hooting and growling band of shumacki pelted settlers’ cabins with stones and drove them from the territory. In 1870, workers with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad captured a juvenile and sold it to a carnival, which held it on display until it died, wheezing and pustuled, of smallpox. As late as last year, a shadowy figure stepped from a ditch near Lynnwood, Washington to leer at a stranded motorist. But the most brutal meeting in history happened on the Beaver River in 1882 during a spell of . . . Wet Weather. 99 cents from Grendel Press.
Ever since his funeral, Dad’s been acting strange. He eats too much, he smells bad, and his drinking’s out of control. But he’s still family, right? A flash-sized tale of sinister transformation. Only 99 cents for A Bowl of Beer at Grendel Press Direct.
Everybody in town has heard the story of the killer clown and the babysitter. Terrence and Stacy know the truth is worse than any urban legend. They’re young, smart, and proud of their three boys—and their lives are about to shatter. It starts with little things: A chess game the kids shouldn’t know how to play. A game of hide-and-seek that goes on way too long. A strange voice just below the household noise. And the missing pounds of sugar. What’s wrong with the boys? And what are they talking to when they think no one’s around?
It's been out of print for years. Now SUGAR comes creeping back! Only 99 cents at Grendel Press Direct.
One man wallows in grief for a murdered wife. One is slipping away into the bipolar blues. They meet when their moods dictate, speak bluntly to each other, talk about books or music, eat some take-out, and go their separate ways. If one goes missing, the other is allowed to look for a body. They call it friendship, and for a while it has worked. But now things are coming to a crisis. Maybe a strange new kind of séance is the answer—the kind where you pay cash at the door, watch for blood on the floor, and never expect a refund.
Go All the Way Through for only 99 cents.
The witch Medea uses her skills to rejuvenate her dying father-in-law. Now, her husband Jason wants her to use them again—for the darkest reason she can imagine. Will she do it? And will Jason live to regret it? A tale of dark magic, betrayal, murder—and dragons. Three Fathers is only 99 cents from Grendel Press.
The new hired man said his name was Grant, and for all Morland knew, it was. He brought nothing but a bindle. But living—and dying--in the Colorado wild changed him. They had a hell of a time carrying his corpse home. He was bigger, swollen with decay; or maybe he’d just had plenty to eat. Soon, he’d be raising Cain In the Mountain Valley.
Rugged Western horror in a wintry landscape for only 99 cents.
The evidence was plain. The soul lingered in the human body a day past death. Young Dippel’s discovery was surely his road to fame. The next step was obvious. He would confirm his theory by catching a soul and planting it—somewhere. No matter what his family said. Dippel's Monkey--an old-fashioned tale in the tradition of Universal monster movies. Now only 99 cents.
Meanwhile, you can still read these other stories for free.
NEW--Buy one story at a time!
You've seen them in magazines and anthologies. Now, thanks to Grendel Press, you can buy selected stories at low cost without having to buy the whole book.
Everybody in town has heard the story of the killer clown and the babysitter. Terrence and Stacy know the truth is worse than any urban legend. They’re young, smart, and proud of their three boys—and their lives are about to shatter. It starts with little things: A chess game the kids shouldn’t know how to play. A game of hide-and-seek that goes on way too long. A strange voice just below the household noise. And the missing pounds of sugar. What’s wrong with the boys? And what are they talking to when they think no one’s around?
It's been out of print for years. Now SUGAR comes creeping back! Only 99 cents at Grendel Press Direct.
One man wallows in grief for a murdered wife. One is slipping away into the bipolar blues. They meet when their moods dictate, speak bluntly to each other, talk about books or music, eat some take-out, and go their separate ways. If one goes missing, the other is allowed to look for a body. They call it friendship, and for a while it has worked. But now things are coming to a crisis. Maybe a strange new kind of séance is the answer—the kind where you pay cash at the door, watch for blood on the floor, and never expect a refund.
Go All the Way Through for only 99 cents.
The new hired man said his name was Grant, and for all Morland knew, it was. He brought nothing but a bindle. But living—and dying--in the Colorado wild changed him. They had a hell of a time carrying his corpse home. He was bigger, swollen with decay; or maybe he’d just had plenty to eat. Soon, he’d be raising Cain In the Mountain Valley.
Rugged Western horror in a wintry landscape for only 99 cents.
The evidence was plain. The soul lingered in the human body a day past death. Young Dippel’s discovery was surely his road to fame. The next step was obvious. He would confirm his theory by catching a soul and planting it—somewhere. No matter what his family said. Dippel's Monkey--an old-fashioned tale in the tradition of Universal monster movies. Now only 99 cents.
Meanwhile, you can still read these other stories for free.
July 1, 2024
FREE STORIES!
Horror stories (and a couple of essays on the genre) you can read for free!
Samantha's always so distracted. What's she thinking about--and what's she listening to? Her sister will regret finding out about the "Laughter from the Next Room." Read this quietly creepy tale free in the spring issue of The Arkansas International.
Killing is easy. . . but what do you do afterward? Venture into the world of crime with Where’d You Get That Ringtone?, free on Shotgun Honey. Not for the squeamish.
The true story of the gruesome experiments that inspired Frankenstein. Free in Gamut #1.
A lyrical tale of zombies. Read Hungry for Love by Gordon Grice free on MetaStellar.
"Mrs. Packer." A creepy, cringy tale of terror from Gordon Grice--FREE in Zone 3.
"Happy to Be Hollow." Essay about an old science fiction trope by Gordon Grice on Stupefying Stories. FREE!
"If Gold Runs Red" by Gordon Grice is the cover story in the November 2022 issue of Metaphorosis.
Read or listen free
In the summer of 1816, Mary Shelley and Lord Byron changed the world with a new breed of monsters. Also, "Doctor Polidori Shared a Case History." A monstrous transformation by Gordon Grice in the Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter. (Free!)
May 20, 2024
New Horror Story: Laughter from the Next Room
Samantha's always so distracted. What's she thinking about--and what's she listening to? Her sister will regret finding out about the "Laughter from the Next Room." A quietly creepy tale by Gordon Grice in the spring issue of The Arkansas International.
New Story: Laughter from the Next Room
Samantha's always so distracted. What's she thinking about--and what's she listening to? Her sister will regret finding out about the "Laughter from the Next Room." A quietly creepy tale by Gordon Grice in the spring issue of The Arkansas International.
