Douglas Hackle's Blog

New Interview With Douglas Hackle

The folks over at Weird Lit Magazine were nice enough to interview me as their featured author for their Summer 2025 issue, wherein I talk about my new short story, "Please, God, Don’t Let Dogs Die Anymore," writing my brand of weirdly unhinged fiction, and other stuff..

ABOUT WEIRD LIT MAG

"Weird Lit Magazine is a platform for the weird and boundless. We support freedom of expression, community engagement, and the open exchange of ideas. We publish quarterly on the solstices and equinoxes."

The Summer 2025 issue includes a new short story from me, “Please, God, Don’t Let Dogs Die Anymore.” While you’re there, consider checking out the other stories in the issue and delving into Weird Lit's archives.

Sincerely,

dh

Please, God, Don’t Let Dogs Die Anymore

My new short story, “Please, God, Don’t Let Dogs Die Anymore,” appears in the latest issue of Weird Lit Magazine, available now.


You might know that I haven’t written or published anything new in a few years. So if you're one of the 4.3 people out there in the universe waiting for a new Douglas Hackle story, here it is. Also, Weird Lit is a cool little online mag, so while you’re there, consider checking out the rest of the issue and delving into their archives.

Sincerely,

Fyodor Dougstoevsky or whatever

New Edition of CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES Is Available

Hey! The new edition of CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES, my out-of-print first book and first short story collection, is now available on Amazon (paperback, Kindle and KU). Freshly edited and reformatted, it's sort of a 10th anniversary edition (11th, if you want to get technical about it), with a new introduction from Brian Bowyer.

I also have a limited number of review copies (epubs) to offer in exchange for honest reviews posted here on Goodreads, Amazon, or elsewhere. Shoot me a DM if you’re interested in receiving one. Thanks!





Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Clown-Tear-Jun...

Praise for CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES...

“Masterful. No one writes like Hackle, and you're gonna have a blast with anything he releases. CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES ranks among his best. Modern fiction gets no better than this.” —Brian Bowyer, author of Metro Kinetic

“This is one damned fine cup of absurdist fiction. I loved every story and tried to make them last as long as I could...but eventually, I finished. NOW, THAT'S SADDER THAN THE TEARS OF A CLOWN!” –Melki on Goodreads

“Douglas Hackle is a mad genius…I always enjoyed his work but this book is a masterpiece in bizarro…More people need to hear about Hackle. Some writers’ minds are just different from the rest. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.” —Kevin J Kennedy, author of Halloween Land

“Douglas Hackle is a skilled writer who molds language to evoke a world where pop culture references can become characters and typographical characters can become deadly weapons. If you love language, irony and surreal imagery, you will love CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES.” —Charles Austin Muir, author of This is a Horror Book

“This book pretty much earned itself 5 stars with the first four stories, but for the sake of completeness I read the rest of it anyway…Insanely inventive, wildly funny and - most importantly - not even a little bit like anything else you've ever read in your life, this is hopefully the first of many books from Hackle that deserve a spot on your shelf. —John McNee, author of Doom Cabaret

“This collection has solidified Hackle's position as one of my favorite current authors. Yes, the stories are bizarre, weird, crazy, and sometimes outright offensive. However, behind every disturbing detail is a bit of brilliance. These stories had me roaring with laughter and trying to come up with tales that could top their absurdities (which, to this point, I have failed). Hackle has the mind of a genius, drunk on the tears of clowns. As soon as I finished reading the final story, I started planning ways I could brainwash myself into thinking I had never read it so that I could experience everything for the first time again.” —Nathaniel Tower, author of Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands

“I did not expect to read stories like these. I don’t know what I expected. Since I approached this book with certain bizarro sensibilities already in place, I knew it would be a wild ride, but dear reader, this book is something else…This book will, most probably (if you are open to the experience), alter your perception of reality, and the ways in which you comprehend the kinds of imaginative feats possible on the page.” —Jamie Grief, author of Decker: Port of Call: Hawaii

“It breaks just about every rule of storytelling, which is quite a feat in these Bizarro heavy times…You walk away with a clear feeling of how odd Doug Hackle is. It's almost like finding an anonymous notebook in the halls of a high school that was dropped by someone who wrote these twisted little things never intending anyone else to read them.” —Ray Fracalossy, author of Tales from the Vinegar Wasteland

“What makes Hackle’s writing so much fun is his unpredictable wordplay and his juxtaposition of low-brow fare and academic trivia...I’d point out the highlights, but that’s almost the entire book” —Gary Arthur Brown, author of Governor of the Homeless

“Hackle is the sort of absurdist writer who reminds me why I'm reading absurdist fiction in the first place. This book is hysterically crazy fun, really demonstrating how enjoyable and wild this kind of fiction can be. If you don't find something that makes you laugh in this book, or that disgusts you, then you probably didn't read it.” —David S. Atkins, author of Apocalypse All the Time

“Bonkers Bizarro at its best. Warning, Clown Tears are addictive!...Hackle is the undisputed Badass Boss of the Bizarro.” —Trish Wilson

“I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to read something amazing that is unlike anything you've ever read before.” —India Brittany LoPresti

“My mind is blown. Literally. It needs a new fuse -sleep- before I can absorb any other information without twisting it into a Douglas Hackle tale. This read is like those psychedelic colors on that new Scooby-Doo show that zoom in, out, rotate, and play Jedi mind tricks on your brain. I have never read anything like this.” —Ms. Nikki on Goodreads

“I’m calling it right now: Douglas Hackle is going to be HUGE! And I don’t mean that in the John-Goodman-at-a-Chinese-buffet way. I mean that in the Gangnam Style guy way. Douglas Hackle is a 100% certified Angus all-beef patty genius.” —Danger Slater, author of Moonfellows

“When it comes to fiction, Hackle's work definitely pushes the boundaries on storytelling and stylistic conventions…It goes off the deep end, as surrealism is wont to do, but Hackle does it with tact, never compromising the integrity of the craft for the sake of making the reader say, "What the fuck?" In sum: weird AND awesome.” —Kirk Jones, author of Aetherchrist

“Hackle is a master of bizarro fiction: highly cultish, insidiously strange, and totally fun to read.” —Frances Winkler

“Reading CLOWN TEAR JUNKIES is taking a stroll through the demented mind of Douglas Hackle. Unlike most other collections of short stories, Hackle does not spin the same piece of yarn 26 times and that is what I love about this one.” —"sappho_reader” on Goodreads

“For page to belly-laugh ratio, this one gets 5 stars. Incredibly singular in its bizarreness and easily one of the funniest collections of prose I've yet encountered. Bravo, Hackle, you silly bastard.” —Matt on Goodreads

“I can't remember reading a book that left me feeling empty when I finished because I wanted to continue down the path of creative Douglas Hackle fiction. I hope it's not a long wait for the next installment of Doug Hackle's stories that he creates to satiate my appetite for wonderfully original stories that only he seems to be able to pen in such an appetizing way.” —Jessica on Amazon

Clown Tear Junkies Re-Release: Coming Soon

Hey, Goodreaders. Long time, no talk.

Here's the cover reveal for the upcoming re-release of my out-of-print first book, Clown Tear Junkies. This will be a 10th anniversary edition of sorts (11th if you want to get technical about it).

Edited by Arthur Graham and with a new introduction by Brian Bowyer.

Coming later this summer...



Peace,

dh

Free Review Copies of My New Book

Hi, Goodreaders.

I still have a few paperback copies left of my latest book, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM & Other Tales of Unkindness.



If you're interested in receiving one to review here on Goodreads, a book review site, bookstagram, booktube, a personal blog, etc., and can get around to reviewing it within, say, a month or two, send me a message. U.S. only.

Thanks,

dh

P.S. Never heard of me? Here are some nice things people have said about my work:

“Douglas Hackle is one of the best writers of bizarre, absurdist work out there.” – Charles Austin Muir

"The best bizarro absurdist in the business.” – Amy M. Vaughn

“Hackle may be the best absurdist story writer working today.” – Bradley Sands

“He's consistently delivered some of the weirdest, wildest, most well-written fiction I've ever read.” – Arthur Graham

“The head honcho of the absurd, the governor of wackiness, the top dog of insanity…Intelligent and imbecilic, Douglas Hackle is one of the most unique voices in bizarro fiction.” – Zoltán Komor

“…a master of the short story.” – Rodney Gardner

“Hackle is a laugh-out-loud genius.” – Donald Armfield

“…one of bizarro fiction’s sharpest satirists.” – Bizarro Central

“…always hilarious, horrific, and brilliantly written entertainment. Highly recommended!” – Brian Boyer

“Douglas Hackle is an evil genius.” – Kevin J. Kennedy

“My mind is blown. Literally. It needs a new fuse…I have never read anything like this.” - Nikki Howard on Clown Tear Junkies

“When it comes to Mr. Hackle, you don’t have a shot in hell of predicting what’s going to happen, even if he’s just told you. […] You can’t know where the story will take you, what the characters will do and say, how it’s all going to shake down in the end, even one page before that end.” – Melodie Ladner

“Hackle isn’t afraid to get you clutching your seat with fear only to have you giggling in the next sentence, and vice versa.”– Ben Walker at Kendall Reviews

“Batshit craziness! […] I honestly think that if you’ve never read a bizarro book, this might be the one you should grab.” – Livius Nedin (former host of the Booked. podcast) on TERROR MANNEQUIN

“… Zoltergeist the Poltergeist is an absolutely superb piece of Bizarro horror – and as a result, a novel that should be considered an exemplar for the rest of the genre to follow and attempt to best.” – The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer

“This book is an absurdist masterclass, and it may be that the whole problem with the world is that there isn't enough of this kind of thing in it […] Did War and Peace or Crime and Punishment change my life? I don't really think so, to be honest; maybe slightly? Did this book change my life? I shit you not, it kind of did, actually.” – Dirk Wartman on Is Winona Ryder Still with the Dude from Soul Asylum? and Other LURID Tales of TERROR and DOOM!!!’

The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM & Other Tales of Unkindness - Review Copies Available

Hey, Goodreaders.

I have a few paperback copies left of my latest book, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM & Other Tales of Unkindness.



If you're interested in receiving one to review here on Goodreads, a book review site, bookstagram, booktube, a personal blog, etc., and can get around to reviewing it within, say, a month or two, send me a message. U.S. only.

Thanks,

dh
______________________________________________________________________

About the book (from the back cover):

In a world where the letter “r” has yet to be discovered, a man named Han Solo and a man named You-Don’t-Have-To-Be-Lonely-At-Farmers-Only-Dot-Com must face something old and evil that lurks behind a locked door in the suburban basement-dungeon in which they are imprisoned...

To impress a girl, a unicycle-riding, cask-of-amontillado-drinking fool travels to Afghanistan to obtain a dead sewer rat...

An investigator attempts to find out if a missing teenage girl named Lovey Dovey has run off with Bleak Zeke—a toothless, one-armed old man who happens to be the number one boyband in America...

When an African Studies student becomes bored because all they ever do in his African Studies courses is sit around and listen to the song “Africa” by Toto, he registers for a class called Introduction to AULD SKULL, only to discover that no one appears to know what the cryptic phrase “AULD SKULL” refers to, not even the professor teaching the class…

Douglas Hackle neither wanted nor planned on becoming the boss of a yakuza gang—but things don’t always go as planned, do they?...

After Hasselhoff Amadeus Zuncle inherits a castle in the rugged mountains of central Bulgaria, life is great until he discovers his sole neighbor is his own funeral…

The third collection of short fiction from Douglas Hackle, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM and Other Tales of Unkindness includes the newly revised, out-of-print novelette “The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM ” and thirteen other stories, ten of which are published here for the first time. (less)

Kindle Book Sale

Happy Friday, youse guyz. Hey, the kindle versions of my short novels Zoltergeist the Poltergeist and TERROR MANNEQUIN are on sale for 99 cents each for the next 24 hours or so. Here are the Amazon links:

Zoltergeist the Poltergeist
TERROR MANNEQUIN

If you pick up either one and read it, consider posting a rating and a short review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thanks!

dh

New Book Release: The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM & Other Tales of Unkindness

My new book, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM & Other Tales of Unkindness, is now available.

As always, if you happen to pick up a copy and read it, please consider posting a short review on Amazon, Goodreads, or elsewhere. Thanks.

Get a copy HERE.

From the back cover:

In a world where the letter “r” has yet to be discovered, a man named Han Solo and a man named You-Don’t-Have-To-Be-Lonely-At-Farmers-Only-Dot-Com must face something old and evil that lurks behind a locked door in the suburban basement-dungeon in which they are imprisoned...

To impress a girl, a unicycle-riding, cask-of-amontillado-drinking fool travels to Afghanistan to obtain a dead sewer rat...

An investigator attempts to find out if a missing teenage girl named Lovey Dovey has run off with Bleak Zeke—a toothless, one-armed old man who happens to be the number one boyband in America...

When an African Studies student becomes bored because all they ever do in his African Studies courses is sit around and listen to the song “Africa” by Toto, he registers for a class called Introduction to AULD SKULL, only to discover that no one appears to know what the cryptic phrase “AULD SKULL” refers to, not even the professor teaching the class…

Douglas Hackle neither wanted nor planned on becoming the boss of a yakuza gang—but things don’t always go as planned, do they?...

After Hasselhoff Amadeus Zuncle inherits a castle in the rugged mountains of central Bulgaria, life is great until he discovers his sole neighbor is his own funeral…

The third collection of short fiction from Douglas Hackle, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM and Other Tales of Unkindness includes the newly revised, out-of-print novelette “The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM ” and thirteen other stories, ten of which are published here for the first time.

Coming soon...

In a world where the letter “r” has yet to be discovered, a man named Han Solo and a man named You-Don’t-Have-To-Be-Lonely-At-Farmers-Only-Dot-Com must face something old and evil that lurks behind a locked door in the suburban basement-dungeon in which they are imprisoned…

To impress a girl, a unicycle-riding, cask-of-amontillado-drinking fool travels to Afghanistan to obtain a dead sewer rat….

An investigator attempts to find out if a missing teenage girl named Lovey Dovey has run off with Bleak Zeke—a toothless, one-armed old man who happens to be the number one boyband in America.

When an African Studies student becomes bored because all they ever do in his African Studies courses is sit around and listen to the song “Africa” by Toto, he registers for a class called Introduction to AULD SKULL, only to discover that no one appears to know what the cryptic phrase “AULD SKULL” refers to, not even the professor teaching the class…

Douglas Hackle neither wanted nor planned on becoming the boss of a yakuza gang—but things don’t always go as planned, do they?...

After Hasselhoff Amadeus Zuncle inherits a castle in the rugged mountains of central Bulgaria, life is great until he discovers his sole neighbor is his own funeral…


The third collection of short fiction from Douglas Hackle, The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM and Other Tales of Unkindness includes the newly revised, out-of-print novelette “The Ballad of TERROR TINY TIM ” and thirteen other stories, ten of which are published here for the first time.

BookTube Review of Zoltergeist the Poltergeist

'Sup, y'all?

BookTuber Well Read Beard reviewed my latest novel, Zoltergeist the Poltergeist. Check out his video review HERE.

Sincerely,

D