D.T. Neal's Blog, page 26
February 5, 2023
The Death of Books?
I've always been a zeitgeist guy -- I soak up vibes and sometimes channel them in stories I write. It's a fairly unconscious thing, which probably makes it more unnerving.
One vibe I keep getting is the ongoing decline and fall of books as the primary vehicle (or channel, if you prefer) for storytelling. We keep seeing the big trad publishers consolidating into fewer players, we fiction magazines folding, see newspapers (themselves in dire peril of oblivion) ditching their book review sections, etc.
Books enjoyed a place in pop culture for a long time, but book publishing depends on a seemingly dwindling set of avid readers, which creates a weird situation -- those small pools of readers have a (currently) massive range of book choices.
But, at the same time, we've seen the pop culture go from a broadcasting perspective to a narrowcasting one -- a sea of niches, basically, and the idea of any kind of broad-reaching beststeller seems almost quaint. Once the current giants of Baby Boomer Book-writers (B3s) dies, there will be no one to succeed them. Certainly, nobody with that kind of massive reach. And there won't be the supportive infrastructure that those B3s enjoyed. The fiction market will heavily contract, and with a mind to costly overhead, the remaining big trad publishers are going to simply publish fewer books.
It's telling to me that many of the television shows and movies are being sourced from comic books and video games, versus novels. Novels aren't novel, anymore -- they're old media, and aren't necessarily well-suited to the attention spans and lifestyles of so many of the remaining readers.
Ebooks still grind on, audiobooks are out there, but those are reflective of what I'm talking about, too -- people are moving away from the habit of reading for pleasure, and what we're seeing more is people borrowing books over buying them. I saw a news article about a bookstore that offers people pickles for used books. Is that what it's come to? Pickles for books?
Leaving aside even the assessment of quality of the books in question, the overall environment and buying habits of the remaining readers are definitely shifting. Those of us (myself included) with massive home libraries of books increasingly look like the vinyl LP hoarders, who steward their collections of albums. While the Cult of Vinyl still endures, it's very much a cult at this point.
Books are going the way of the LP, which is to say that there'll always be some fans of it as a form of media, the age of the bestseller is fading very quickly -- when's the last time a book came out that broadly captured the cultural imagination? GONE GIRL came out in 2012, which is a long time ago, now -- it's one of the last I remember like that. If there are others since then at that scale, I don't know them, which means they're likelier to be niche successes, versus big box bestsellers.
Niche is the new normal, which means that nearly all non-celebrity authors are screwed in attempting to write fiction as a full-time profession.
We're seeing it in the indie attrition going on, as well, which is symptomatic of the broader malaise. Mystery, Thriller, and Romance writers will likely keep going -- they have dedicated, even voracious niche readerships. But the rest? Not so much, once the B3s are all gone.
As a lifelong book lover (to say nothing of being a writer), it makes me sad. I'll keep going, of course -- I'm too stubborn to quit. But the environment now is a far harsher one than when I was a late teen, eager to get my work out there. It's easier than ever to get a book made, and harder than ever to get anyone to care about it, or to even notice it. When the B3s are all gone, there'll be no authors of equivalent stature (not even close) to take their place. I'm sure trad publishing is bugging about that.
One vibe I keep getting is the ongoing decline and fall of books as the primary vehicle (or channel, if you prefer) for storytelling. We keep seeing the big trad publishers consolidating into fewer players, we fiction magazines folding, see newspapers (themselves in dire peril of oblivion) ditching their book review sections, etc.
Books enjoyed a place in pop culture for a long time, but book publishing depends on a seemingly dwindling set of avid readers, which creates a weird situation -- those small pools of readers have a (currently) massive range of book choices.
But, at the same time, we've seen the pop culture go from a broadcasting perspective to a narrowcasting one -- a sea of niches, basically, and the idea of any kind of broad-reaching beststeller seems almost quaint. Once the current giants of Baby Boomer Book-writers (B3s) dies, there will be no one to succeed them. Certainly, nobody with that kind of massive reach. And there won't be the supportive infrastructure that those B3s enjoyed. The fiction market will heavily contract, and with a mind to costly overhead, the remaining big trad publishers are going to simply publish fewer books.
It's telling to me that many of the television shows and movies are being sourced from comic books and video games, versus novels. Novels aren't novel, anymore -- they're old media, and aren't necessarily well-suited to the attention spans and lifestyles of so many of the remaining readers.
Ebooks still grind on, audiobooks are out there, but those are reflective of what I'm talking about, too -- people are moving away from the habit of reading for pleasure, and what we're seeing more is people borrowing books over buying them. I saw a news article about a bookstore that offers people pickles for used books. Is that what it's come to? Pickles for books?
Leaving aside even the assessment of quality of the books in question, the overall environment and buying habits of the remaining readers are definitely shifting. Those of us (myself included) with massive home libraries of books increasingly look like the vinyl LP hoarders, who steward their collections of albums. While the Cult of Vinyl still endures, it's very much a cult at this point.
Books are going the way of the LP, which is to say that there'll always be some fans of it as a form of media, the age of the bestseller is fading very quickly -- when's the last time a book came out that broadly captured the cultural imagination? GONE GIRL came out in 2012, which is a long time ago, now -- it's one of the last I remember like that. If there are others since then at that scale, I don't know them, which means they're likelier to be niche successes, versus big box bestsellers.
Niche is the new normal, which means that nearly all non-celebrity authors are screwed in attempting to write fiction as a full-time profession.
We're seeing it in the indie attrition going on, as well, which is symptomatic of the broader malaise. Mystery, Thriller, and Romance writers will likely keep going -- they have dedicated, even voracious niche readerships. But the rest? Not so much, once the B3s are all gone.
As a lifelong book lover (to say nothing of being a writer), it makes me sad. I'll keep going, of course -- I'm too stubborn to quit. But the environment now is a far harsher one than when I was a late teen, eager to get my work out there. It's easier than ever to get a book made, and harder than ever to get anyone to care about it, or to even notice it. When the B3s are all gone, there'll be no authors of equivalent stature (not even close) to take their place. I'm sure trad publishing is bugging about that.
February 4, 2023
Playing Favorites?
People sometimes ask "What's your favorite book you've written?" -- which is an unintentionally triggering question for a writer. The flip answer is "The one I've just finished writing." -- the honeymoon period that comes from completing a successful book is always pleasant, if fleeting.
But, if someone asks this, what they're really wondering is which book is worth their time to read. Which is why it's sort of a loaded question, since any writer worth their ink and paper loves the books they've written.
From my perspective, there are books that have been fun to write, and books that have been difficult to write. One of my books (heh, I won't say which) tormented me to write, stubbornly evading resolution that very nearly broke me. Others were a breeze and a delight to write.
Looking at the body of work, I love them all, but for different reasons. They all tell stories I thought worth telling when I wrote them, and I love them for that. There are ones that I think readers who are new to me might read first over others -- they're like "entry-level" books, suppose, versus ones that might be more demanding for someone coming to me cold.
It's partly why I wrote a trio of novellas:
RELICT
SUMMERVILLE
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
They're intended as quick, even introductory reads for readers who are unfamiliar with me and my writing style. Curiously, RELICT is my most-popular book, for whatever reason. People dig the sea creature feature aspect of it, I guess.
In terms of my novels, I think three of the more approachable ones -- again, thinking in terms of a new reader to my work, would be (not in order):
CHOSEN
SUCKAGE
THE CURSED EARTH
I think CURSED is probably the most "user-friendly" of my novels, although it's also my longest (and has a lot of characters in it), which can be a barrier for readers with short attention spans.
CHOSEN is easily my darkest horror novel. I still look back on that one and find true horror in it. I've had readers in the past tell me it's their favorite of my books. I liked writing this one, my own spin on a zombie story (being generally sick to undeath of zombies, personally), but I recognize that this one is a legitimately very dark novel. Inasmuch as it's a horror story, I successfully channeled horror with it.
Whereas SUCKAGE is one I've had readers tell me is "smooth" and "cool, like jazz" -- which amuses me, since it's really a story about emotional abuse in many ways, just with vampires. I guess in my effort to come to terms with things, I wrote that one smoothly. But, again, it's vampires, and if readers are either over vampires, or thirst (haha) for glamorous vampires who aren't a-holes, they might be put off by such a book.
My WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY are three books I'm somewhat reluctant to recommend to new readers of my work, even if they're fans of werewolf stories. Not because I don't believe in the books, because I do. Rather, because if readers groove on werewolf romance (ack), they're not going to find it in those books. I know that hipsters are terribly triggered by the first book in the series -- I skewered the hipster culture of the time so thoroughly that hipsters detest SAAMAANTHAA. There's just more of a journey with those three books, and I feel like readers are better-suited tackling those other books before getting to them.
SAAMAANTHAA was the first novel I unleashed on the world, and I was still finding my way as a novelist. Again, I stand by the work, but it's like listening to a band's demo reels of eventually popular songs -- I got to where I was going, but have since refined my style in a fashion that produces what I consider far smoother journeys for readers. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows? But that book's not for everybody, and that trilogy is something I rarely recommend out of the gates. I joked once (in an interview, back when people actually cared about what I wrote) that I intended for SAAM to be "The MOBY-DICK of werewolf novels, but actually may have written the ULYSSES of werewolf novels, instead" -- a statement packed with irony, since the specter of James Joyce haunts SAAM throughout. But it gets at the point I was trying to make. SAAM isn't for everybody, whereas those other books I mentioned are certainly intended for wider audiences.
And there it is. Probably more than anyone would want to know!
But, if someone asks this, what they're really wondering is which book is worth their time to read. Which is why it's sort of a loaded question, since any writer worth their ink and paper loves the books they've written.
From my perspective, there are books that have been fun to write, and books that have been difficult to write. One of my books (heh, I won't say which) tormented me to write, stubbornly evading resolution that very nearly broke me. Others were a breeze and a delight to write.
Looking at the body of work, I love them all, but for different reasons. They all tell stories I thought worth telling when I wrote them, and I love them for that. There are ones that I think readers who are new to me might read first over others -- they're like "entry-level" books, suppose, versus ones that might be more demanding for someone coming to me cold.
It's partly why I wrote a trio of novellas:
RELICT
SUMMERVILLE
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
They're intended as quick, even introductory reads for readers who are unfamiliar with me and my writing style. Curiously, RELICT is my most-popular book, for whatever reason. People dig the sea creature feature aspect of it, I guess.
In terms of my novels, I think three of the more approachable ones -- again, thinking in terms of a new reader to my work, would be (not in order):
CHOSEN
SUCKAGE
THE CURSED EARTH
I think CURSED is probably the most "user-friendly" of my novels, although it's also my longest (and has a lot of characters in it), which can be a barrier for readers with short attention spans.
CHOSEN is easily my darkest horror novel. I still look back on that one and find true horror in it. I've had readers in the past tell me it's their favorite of my books. I liked writing this one, my own spin on a zombie story (being generally sick to undeath of zombies, personally), but I recognize that this one is a legitimately very dark novel. Inasmuch as it's a horror story, I successfully channeled horror with it.
Whereas SUCKAGE is one I've had readers tell me is "smooth" and "cool, like jazz" -- which amuses me, since it's really a story about emotional abuse in many ways, just with vampires. I guess in my effort to come to terms with things, I wrote that one smoothly. But, again, it's vampires, and if readers are either over vampires, or thirst (haha) for glamorous vampires who aren't a-holes, they might be put off by such a book.
My WOLFSHADOW TRILOGY are three books I'm somewhat reluctant to recommend to new readers of my work, even if they're fans of werewolf stories. Not because I don't believe in the books, because I do. Rather, because if readers groove on werewolf romance (ack), they're not going to find it in those books. I know that hipsters are terribly triggered by the first book in the series -- I skewered the hipster culture of the time so thoroughly that hipsters detest SAAMAANTHAA. There's just more of a journey with those three books, and I feel like readers are better-suited tackling those other books before getting to them.
SAAMAANTHAA was the first novel I unleashed on the world, and I was still finding my way as a novelist. Again, I stand by the work, but it's like listening to a band's demo reels of eventually popular songs -- I got to where I was going, but have since refined my style in a fashion that produces what I consider far smoother journeys for readers. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows? But that book's not for everybody, and that trilogy is something I rarely recommend out of the gates. I joked once (in an interview, back when people actually cared about what I wrote) that I intended for SAAM to be "The MOBY-DICK of werewolf novels, but actually may have written the ULYSSES of werewolf novels, instead" -- a statement packed with irony, since the specter of James Joyce haunts SAAM throughout. But it gets at the point I was trying to make. SAAM isn't for everybody, whereas those other books I mentioned are certainly intended for wider audiences.
And there it is. Probably more than anyone would want to know!
February 2, 2023
Epicuriosity
(Composing this entry while some Portuguese chicken-potato stew I made is simmering on the stovetop, making my place smell so good!)
While I'm not a foodie, I'm definitely an Epicurean. That's such a weighty word, it's hard to say it as an American without feeling self-conscious, but I've actually read Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher I respect, and find something of continuing value in his ideas.
In the broader sense of the term, I'm a fan of cooking, which is something I developed on my own -- although I'd say that growing up in an Italian stepfamily meant that I was exposed early on to a food culture mindset, so I was well-primed to do that as an adult.
My love of cooking flows into my prose, definitely. Many of my indie horror books have mentions of food, meals, recipes, drinks, etc. That's an autobiographical aspect of my work that percolates into the fiction -- I don't always have recipes in there, but they do show up from time to time, just because it's fun for me to add that.
Professionally, I've worked in fast food, pizzerias, and cafeterias as a young man, and always have great respect for food service workers and the restaurant industry -- a great restaurant is a treasure. I fondly recall various dishes I've had at assorted places over the years -- like when I first came to Chicago, there was a diner up the street (no longer there anymore, sadly) that made the most incredible soups -- I still aspire to making the soups they had there, because they were so good. First finding my way in the city, it was nice to have a place like that to go to.
While I'd never be able to be a chef (they're uniquely gifted), I did consider it in my youth, and I always respect what they do. I was thrilled when THE MENU came out, because it was such a perfect horror concept, although the movie is far more satire than outright horror, it was entertaining for me.
While I'm not a foodie, I'm definitely an Epicurean. That's such a weighty word, it's hard to say it as an American without feeling self-conscious, but I've actually read Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher I respect, and find something of continuing value in his ideas.
In the broader sense of the term, I'm a fan of cooking, which is something I developed on my own -- although I'd say that growing up in an Italian stepfamily meant that I was exposed early on to a food culture mindset, so I was well-primed to do that as an adult.
My love of cooking flows into my prose, definitely. Many of my indie horror books have mentions of food, meals, recipes, drinks, etc. That's an autobiographical aspect of my work that percolates into the fiction -- I don't always have recipes in there, but they do show up from time to time, just because it's fun for me to add that.
Professionally, I've worked in fast food, pizzerias, and cafeterias as a young man, and always have great respect for food service workers and the restaurant industry -- a great restaurant is a treasure. I fondly recall various dishes I've had at assorted places over the years -- like when I first came to Chicago, there was a diner up the street (no longer there anymore, sadly) that made the most incredible soups -- I still aspire to making the soups they had there, because they were so good. First finding my way in the city, it was nice to have a place like that to go to.
While I'd never be able to be a chef (they're uniquely gifted), I did consider it in my youth, and I always respect what they do. I was thrilled when THE MENU came out, because it was such a perfect horror concept, although the movie is far more satire than outright horror, it was entertaining for me.
January 31, 2023
Electrical Current Events
I typically don't talk a lot about my WIPs -- for me, it's best to keep the steam in the boiler while I'm working on something, versus letting out details in dribs and drabs.
But I will say that two current WIPs -- both intended for trad markets -- are scaldingly, blisteringly, witheringly political in nature. And I'm fine with that. America's staggering along in a place that's ripe for satire. I can't pretend not to see what I'm seeing, and I certainly can't refrain from writing about it without feeling like I'm omitting something significant.
I don't apologize for being political. I'm honest about it, and I'm not didactic when I write about political topics. However, there are things just asking for satire, and I satirize them.
Deal with it
Writers and artists need to be tackling this stuff, because we're the sensitive, observant souls out there who are perceiving things that the "nice" people out there aren't comfortable talking about.
But I will say that two current WIPs -- both intended for trad markets -- are scaldingly, blisteringly, witheringly political in nature. And I'm fine with that. America's staggering along in a place that's ripe for satire. I can't pretend not to see what I'm seeing, and I certainly can't refrain from writing about it without feeling like I'm omitting something significant.
I don't apologize for being political. I'm honest about it, and I'm not didactic when I write about political topics. However, there are things just asking for satire, and I satirize them.
Deal with it
Writers and artists need to be tackling this stuff, because we're the sensitive, observant souls out there who are perceiving things that the "nice" people out there aren't comfortable talking about.
Indiependence
I wrapped up my last indie horror book with THE THING IN YELLOW -- anything else I write horrorwise will be aimed at trad in some fashion.
I've been writing indie horror for a long time, and I've contributed plenty to the genre, despite (or in spite of, heh) the overall lack of sales and interest from anyone, from 2011 - 2023, the following horror books:
The Wolfshadow Trilogy:
SAAMAANTHAA
THE HAPPENING
NORM
Other novels:
CHOSEN
SUCKAGE
THE CURSED EARTH
Novellas:
RELICT
SUMMERVILLE
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
Short story collection:
THE THING IN YELLOW
Poetry (meta-book tied to Wolfshadow):
LUPINIA
It's a strong body of work, and I'm proud of it, but from my perspective, how much more good work do I just throw out into the indie horror void?
There's enough literary critical mass there for anyone remotely interested in my work to read it to last them for awhile. I know some readers who've done it and/or are doing it. And I'm greatly appreciative of that!
But my future work needs a better chance to get seen, discovered, read, etc. There's way too much junk out there that makes me feel like we're all wading in the Death Star trash compactor, hoping somehow to get seen, even as we're staggering around in the muck.
I know how to write novels, novellas, short stories, and everything in between. Anything else I have that's remotely horror-adjacent will be aimed for trad, likely in a horror-thriller framework.
When I was younger, I just wanted my work to get out there. Now that I've done that, I want more readers, and that means moving out of the indie horror cesspool (and it truly is a cesspool, if you're paying attention) and get my next wave of work seen by more readers.
It's entirely possible that the combination of my aesthetic, my style, my interests, and my politics (very strongly left) won't appeal to mainstream audiences. I may always be a niche writer. But I still have to try. I think the quality of the work is there, and I've worked very hard to get here.
I liken it to indie bands who've played small club circuits and want to move to bigger venues. That's where I'm going. In the meantime, readers who might care can read my indie horror work if they want to, to prepare them for where I'm going as a writer.
I've been writing indie horror for a long time, and I've contributed plenty to the genre, despite (or in spite of, heh) the overall lack of sales and interest from anyone, from 2011 - 2023, the following horror books:
The Wolfshadow Trilogy:
SAAMAANTHAA
THE HAPPENING
NORM
Other novels:
CHOSEN
SUCKAGE
THE CURSED EARTH
Novellas:
RELICT
SUMMERVILLE
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
Short story collection:
THE THING IN YELLOW
Poetry (meta-book tied to Wolfshadow):
LUPINIA
It's a strong body of work, and I'm proud of it, but from my perspective, how much more good work do I just throw out into the indie horror void?
There's enough literary critical mass there for anyone remotely interested in my work to read it to last them for awhile. I know some readers who've done it and/or are doing it. And I'm greatly appreciative of that!
But my future work needs a better chance to get seen, discovered, read, etc. There's way too much junk out there that makes me feel like we're all wading in the Death Star trash compactor, hoping somehow to get seen, even as we're staggering around in the muck.
I know how to write novels, novellas, short stories, and everything in between. Anything else I have that's remotely horror-adjacent will be aimed for trad, likely in a horror-thriller framework.
When I was younger, I just wanted my work to get out there. Now that I've done that, I want more readers, and that means moving out of the indie horror cesspool (and it truly is a cesspool, if you're paying attention) and get my next wave of work seen by more readers.
It's entirely possible that the combination of my aesthetic, my style, my interests, and my politics (very strongly left) won't appeal to mainstream audiences. I may always be a niche writer. But I still have to try. I think the quality of the work is there, and I've worked very hard to get here.
I liken it to indie bands who've played small club circuits and want to move to bigger venues. That's where I'm going. In the meantime, readers who might care can read my indie horror work if they want to, to prepare them for where I'm going as a writer.
January 30, 2023
Snow way
I've lived in Chicago since 1993, so I've seen the weather here in all of its glory. Cold was always the primary winter manifestation over massive snow, at least in the city. Obviously, we've had some big snows over the years, but they're generally atypical.
As global warming has continued/intensified, however, the classic Chicago winter has changed to the extent that actually getting a snowfall is almost a novelty at this point.
So, I take some wintery delight in seeing some flurries fall, even as it's laced with sorrow and pathos that such things are clearly going away as the planet heats up. I read somewhere that eventually, Chicago's climate will be more like Cincinnati's, which is bad across the board, since I lived in that area for a time--I'd rather have nice flurries and bitter cold than freezing rain and tornadoes! But that's just me...
As global warming has continued/intensified, however, the classic Chicago winter has changed to the extent that actually getting a snowfall is almost a novelty at this point.
So, I take some wintery delight in seeing some flurries fall, even as it's laced with sorrow and pathos that such things are clearly going away as the planet heats up. I read somewhere that eventually, Chicago's climate will be more like Cincinnati's, which is bad across the board, since I lived in that area for a time--I'd rather have nice flurries and bitter cold than freezing rain and tornadoes! But that's just me...
January 29, 2023
Earlybirdwatching
I've always been an earlybird. Even as a kid, I would get up before dawn, just hopping up and diving into my day, while the world still slept. Morning person, most definitely.
I weaponized that with my fiction-writing, especially by the time my first child was born, back when I was 32! That was a point for me when I decided to get serious about my writing.
Not that I wasn't before, but from 17-32, I would sporadically send out stories to magazines (remember them?), would read a ton of authors, and did a tremendous amount of longhand journaling. All preparatory for what I was to become.
Much of my writing time back then was rooted in trying to develop my style and voice, not feeling good enough, and, tellingly, not thinking I had much to share with the world in terms of insights -- I kicked my own ass in that regard, feeling that it was presumptuous for me to write as if I knew jack about the world. I felt like I needed to *experience* life more before I could meaningfully write about it.
Fast-forward to myself as a newly-minted father, blearily rail-commuting to work, and telling myself that if I didn't start writing "for real" now, I never would. Fatherhood lit a writerly fire under me, and I finally felt I'd experienced enough of life to feel justified writing about it.
Sidenote: I'd written two novels before then -- one was a fantasy novel I'd written longhand (!!) in 1992, and the second was an adult contemporary novel I'd written in 1998 -- that second effort was when I realized how much I truly loved writing, how central it was to my being, and that I could actually do it. All the journaling in those years was me sublimating my writing -- like steam slipping out from a boiling teapot.
Those fledgling efforts paled before the literary workhorse I was to become from 32 onward: write, release, reject, repeat. Over and over again. Those who know me best know I'm a machine when it comes to writing.
Those early morning hours were, are, and always will be my sanctuary, where I work alone in peace and quiet, just my words and me. I do wish more people read my work, but that predawn paradise is as close as I get to sacred.
I weaponized that with my fiction-writing, especially by the time my first child was born, back when I was 32! That was a point for me when I decided to get serious about my writing.
Not that I wasn't before, but from 17-32, I would sporadically send out stories to magazines (remember them?), would read a ton of authors, and did a tremendous amount of longhand journaling. All preparatory for what I was to become.
Much of my writing time back then was rooted in trying to develop my style and voice, not feeling good enough, and, tellingly, not thinking I had much to share with the world in terms of insights -- I kicked my own ass in that regard, feeling that it was presumptuous for me to write as if I knew jack about the world. I felt like I needed to *experience* life more before I could meaningfully write about it.
Fast-forward to myself as a newly-minted father, blearily rail-commuting to work, and telling myself that if I didn't start writing "for real" now, I never would. Fatherhood lit a writerly fire under me, and I finally felt I'd experienced enough of life to feel justified writing about it.
Sidenote: I'd written two novels before then -- one was a fantasy novel I'd written longhand (!!) in 1992, and the second was an adult contemporary novel I'd written in 1998 -- that second effort was when I realized how much I truly loved writing, how central it was to my being, and that I could actually do it. All the journaling in those years was me sublimating my writing -- like steam slipping out from a boiling teapot.
Those fledgling efforts paled before the literary workhorse I was to become from 32 onward: write, release, reject, repeat. Over and over again. Those who know me best know I'm a machine when it comes to writing.
Those early morning hours were, are, and always will be my sanctuary, where I work alone in peace and quiet, just my words and me. I do wish more people read my work, but that predawn paradise is as close as I get to sacred.
January 28, 2023
M3GAN
I caught M3GAN last night, and greatly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the unrated version, just on general principles, but it was highly entertaining.
I'm always fascinated and intrigued by AI, so I was already primed for this one. Even though I knew exactly where it was going, it was worth the ride through the Uncanny Valley.
It's doing well enough that I'm sure there'll be a sequel, and they've really already got a setup for that scenario, but I almost hope they don't do it, because it'll be even campier than this one, and I worry that the drive to profit from a winner will spoil future efforts. But M3gan was a great character, very wonderfully realized.
Plotwise, I feel like there could have been a bit of bolt-tightening here and there, but overall, good fun and it made me laugh.
I'm always fascinated and intrigued by AI, so I was already primed for this one. Even though I knew exactly where it was going, it was worth the ride through the Uncanny Valley.
It's doing well enough that I'm sure there'll be a sequel, and they've really already got a setup for that scenario, but I almost hope they don't do it, because it'll be even campier than this one, and I worry that the drive to profit from a winner will spoil future efforts. But M3gan was a great character, very wonderfully realized.
Plotwise, I feel like there could have been a bit of bolt-tightening here and there, but overall, good fun and it made me laugh.
Here's the Thing...
Today's the cover reveal for THE THING IN YELLOW, my thirteen-story collection/homage to the classic Chambers book from 1895! I'm a big fan of THE KING IN YELLOW so this was a labor of love for me, the culmination of a project I'd first begun in 2017, when the concept popped into my head.
Normally, I don't take so long from concept to execution, but I let this one marinate for a time, wrote the stories in it over the past five years, until I was satisfied with the end result.
I'm excited for readers to dig into it when it launches February 28! The stories are interwoven and interconnected within the overarching themes and motifs of the Yellow King mythos. The stories are:
THE YELLOW JOURNALIST
SECOND ACT
GILDING LILY
THE WOUND ON THE WORLD
ENSHRINED
THE STARVING ARTIST
THE EYE IN THE SKY
THE THING IN YELLOW
PALLID MASQUERADE
YELLOWJACKET
THE YIELDING PILLAR
AN INKLING
DEVOID.
I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Most of my writing output these days is novels and novellas; I haven't done a short story collection in over eight years, but I still love short stories, and this collection crackles, has lots of easter eggs and cross-references (both within the collection and with THE KING IN YELLOW), and was a blast to write.
Cannot wait for this one to come out!
Normally, I don't take so long from concept to execution, but I let this one marinate for a time, wrote the stories in it over the past five years, until I was satisfied with the end result.
I'm excited for readers to dig into it when it launches February 28! The stories are interwoven and interconnected within the overarching themes and motifs of the Yellow King mythos. The stories are:
THE YELLOW JOURNALIST
SECOND ACT
GILDING LILY
THE WOUND ON THE WORLD
ENSHRINED
THE STARVING ARTIST
THE EYE IN THE SKY
THE THING IN YELLOW
PALLID MASQUERADE
YELLOWJACKET
THE YIELDING PILLAR
AN INKLING
DEVOID.
I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Most of my writing output these days is novels and novellas; I haven't done a short story collection in over eight years, but I still love short stories, and this collection crackles, has lots of easter eggs and cross-references (both within the collection and with THE KING IN YELLOW), and was a blast to write.
Cannot wait for this one to come out!
January 27, 2023
Write, Right, Rite, Wright...
...another thing: I write far more than I read these days. I still shoehorn some reading into my daily schedule, but in terms of output, I'm writing far more than I'm reading.
My TBR pile is easily around 60+ books, and I'm a slow reader. Ironically -- I'm a fast writer, but a slow reader; I'm probably using different parts of my brain when writing than when reading, which is kind of interesting to contemplate, since I'm left-handed, so lord knows how I actually process language.
But it's a fact that I write far more rapidly than I read. If a neurologist wants to study my brain activity while writing versus reading, I'm game.
Anyway, I'm super-picky about what I read and like, and I'm a slow reader, so if/when I actually get around to reading something, just know that I'll take some time before I finish it. Nothing personal!
My TBR pile is easily around 60+ books, and I'm a slow reader. Ironically -- I'm a fast writer, but a slow reader; I'm probably using different parts of my brain when writing than when reading, which is kind of interesting to contemplate, since I'm left-handed, so lord knows how I actually process language.
But it's a fact that I write far more rapidly than I read. If a neurologist wants to study my brain activity while writing versus reading, I'm game.
Anyway, I'm super-picky about what I read and like, and I'm a slow reader, so if/when I actually get around to reading something, just know that I'll take some time before I finish it. Nothing personal!
