Gordon Grice's Blog, page 5

Creepy New Horror

 Par·am·ne·sia – a condition or phenomenon involving distorted memory or confusions of fact and fantasy, such as confabulation or déjà vu.

Paramnesia. Unique horrors on a fascinating theme. Featuring Gordon Grice's "Real Estate."

Rated R.

New on Stupefying Stories: Happy to Be Hollow

 

It's one of the oldest tropes in science fiction. And the whole premise was debunked more than two centuries ago. So why am I happy to see it in Godzilla vs. Kong? Read my essay on the Stupefying Stories blog to find out. 

Mayhem in Shotgun Honey

 

Killing is easy. . . but what do you do afterward? I’ve ventured into the world of crime with Where’d You Get That Ringtone?, new on Shotgun Honey. This three-minute read is free, but not for the squeamish.

Strange Tales of Ecology

American Burying Beetle by Ashley Dietrich

The passenger pigeon went extinct more than a century ago. Today, another species is feeling the effects. Strange tales of ecological connection in the March-April issue of Oklahoma Today. Article by Gordon Grice; extraordinary paintings by Ashley Dietrich.

 

Newest Story: Twist the Lid

 

"It was getting dark and already the coyotes were talking in the distance. The horse was distinctly uncomfortable. She pulled at her halter. Then she noticed Mitch, rooted where he was, unable to cross the creek, and she bolted and was brought up short. Her second lunge tore the tether loose and sent leaves fluttering in a cloud. She ran from him. He saw things from her point of view then. He saw himself standing on the bank gazing after her, his face and clothes greasy, his eyes a dull white with bright white irises. The horse screamed with a woman’s voice."

"Twist the Lid": a tale of terror by Gordon Grice in Night Terrors 24.

Scare Street is proud to present fourteen diabolical new tales in this bone-chilling collection. Each ghastly page unleashes a new nightmare, ripped from the depths of your psyche.

New Story: If Gold Runs Red

Nothing grows right around here—too many legs, too smart, too hard to kill. And if you do kill something, you’d better bury it deep. Things don’t rest easy on Saxum Creek. "If Gold Runs Red" by Gordon Grice is the cover story in the November 2022 issue of Metaphorosis. 


Metaphorosis is the magazine of beautifully written speculative fiction. Available in paperback or Kindle. 

Grice on New Vampire TV Shows

When a plague of vampires hits TV, who you gonna call? Me, among others. Happy to be quoted in Neal Justin’s article in the latest Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

New Monster Story Starring Medea

 

New!

 

You know the myths. . . now hear the other side. Monsters, heroines, and goddesses from Greek myth take arms in Musings of the Muses, a new anthology from Brigids Gate Press. Featuring “Three Fathers,” a story of Medea by Gordon Grice:

 

He was seeing something in the next world and trying to puzzle it out. She could have told him it was a goddess grooming a black horse, brushing the burrs from its tail. Medea had never been into that world, but she’d glimpsed the goddess of the crossroads when they met at midnight, had prayed to her and listened to the crows who brought back messages. .  .

 

Lizards on the Prowl

 

Neighbors are always trying to eat you, as a certain collared finds out in my story “Lizard Lunch,” now available in The Creative Field Guide to Northeastern Oklahoma. My little reptilian opus is one of dozens of pieces packed into the niftiest design job I’ve seen in years, with photography and paintings spilling out of every page.

 

The Creative Field Guide project began in 2020 as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic when schools were shut and kids and adults were stuck at home. Many of us turned to the outdoors for solace and certainty. “Go touch some grass” was a common phrase—meaning whatever worries you were experiencing, they might be alleviated by going outside and touching something real, alive, and natural. People also took up new creative hobbies, like baking bread, journaling, or trying out a new art form. In that dark first year of the pandemic, it was clear that creativity was needed in all areas of our lives—in business, in education, at home, and in the caretaking of ourselves and the planet. Combining these ideas, the Creative Field Guide to Northeastern Oklahoma was born: a book that grounds its readers in this place and expands the field guide genre with original artwork, creative writing, and creative writing prompts and art activities.

 

The Creative Field Guide to Northeastern Oklahoma inspires people of all ages to spend time outside and learn about the place in which they live (and the creatures with which they share it) and endeavor to protect and create art about it. While the book is designed for youth, it helps foster the creative inner worlds of people of all ages, encouraging them to share their perspectives with the outer world and to value and care for our environment.

 

You don’t have to live in Oklahoma to love this book. Take a copy into your backyard, a neighborhood park, or a state park—it works with you wherever you can be outside.

 

Get your Creative Field Guide.

Of Grass, Bison, and Massacres

You’ve read about the importance of rain forests. . .  but what about grasslands?

 

On the highway to Rita Blanca National Grassland one wind-torn afternoon, I found a trio of pronghorn pacing me. I was going sixty, which means they were too. Pastures of yucca and buffalo grass unrolled around us. The three bounded to within ten feet of the road—maybe less. I could see the chocolaty fur of their snouts, the rough texture of their horns. They seemed ready to spring in front of me. Ten feet looked like an easy leap for them. I wouldn’t give them the chance. I sped up. So did they. 

Read the rest  of my essay about the peculiarities of bison hair, Custer's other massacre, and hope for life on Earth. Then catch me chatting with the Oklahoma Today crew about it all on this podcast.