Darius Jones's Blog: A Writer Begins

SPECIAL: My First Book Is Out Today

Today, my first book, “The Books of Hours” debuts. I’m so excited to share it with the world. Alien Buddha Press has a Spotlight on the book now with some select poems.

I’ve compiled some FAQs on where you can find the book and how to leave a review.

Where can I get the book?

You can get it on Amazon here.Or order it from me directly. Direct Message me on Instagram (@DariusJonesWrit) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dariusxjones), tell me how many copies you want, and I can...

Announcing My Debut Book—and Appearance in Baltimore

I’m excited to announce I’ve sold my first book. My debut book “The Books of Hours,” a collection of 24 poems, will be published by Alien Buddha Press on September 16.

That’s right! For the first time, you’ll be able to buy a printed (hard copy) book that I wrote. This is my first traditionally published book, the first to appear in print, and my first poetry book. So, lots of firsts here! (Just to clarify: I have self-published books before digitally, but never “traditionally” published a...

Mid-Year Writing Update: A Look Back at StokerCon and New Poetry

This month has been a whirlwind.

It started with a friend’s wedding in California, then was right back to Connecticut for StokerCon (the Horror writer’s conference). I wrapped that up, and then it was back to work, work, work.

I’ve had some good writing news this month and the conference was a blast. So, let’s break things down one by one.

StokerCon: How It Went

StokerCon. It’s always a blast, but always exhausting. I think, like me, many writers are introverts, so talking, and t...

Where to Find Me at StokerCon

Folks, ain’t going to lie, I was a bit down about the writing life earlier this year.

I had received a whole raft of rejections pretty consistently since the start of the year. They kept piling up, especially on two pieces (one a story and one a novella) which I thought (and think) are quite good. That made me fall deeper into this funk. And then, I took a break.

I stepped away for a week from the day job, took a trip out to Oregon, and spent some time out at my parent’s place which is ...

Spring Update: New SciFi Story Out and Poem Acceptance

Ok. Time for the spring Writing Update and we start with two bits of good news.

New Story Out  
Timber Ghost Press just published a new story of mine: “Turtles.”

I’m super excited about this one. It has the vibe of a Suspense/Horror, but is definitively a Science Fiction story. Basically, it’s everywhere I want to be.

It was inspired, in part, by a visit I took to the Summit Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee . (If you ever get a chance to go to one of the U.S. Natio...

Where My Writing Is Headed in 2025

It’s time to take a look ahead. There aren’t too many people wanting to do that lately, and I get why. But I feel it’s important to focus on some things I can change/control and I’m excited to see my writing move forward this year.

Overall, I’m pleased with where my writing is at right now. But I want to put down a mile-marker here to re-focus, to clarify, and emphasize things for myself. So I can check in later in the year to make sure I’m still on track. With that, let’s get to it…  

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A Look Back: 2024, My Year of Living Uncomfortably

Lately, I’ve been thinking life is about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is, about challenging yourself to expand, to change, to grow. Like I’ve said before, it’s about getting just a bit uncomfortable by shrewdly matching challenges to your current skill levels in whatever vocation/job/hobby/craft you’re into. (Not my original idea. The book, Flow, has much more on this). That way, you can build up your skill levels steadily over time—and I think that’s one of the most gratif...

Writing Update – Fall 2024

Ah, Autumn! Towards the end of summer nothing’s going on and then—suddenly EVERYTHING is. That’s Fall for you.

Accordingly, there’s lots of stuff to update you on. So, let’s begin…

Come Catch Me at the Baltimore Book Festival
This Sunday I will be on the panel, “The Monster Has Your Back” at the Baltimore Book Festival.  It’s my first experience at a “mainstream” literary festival (as opposed to a Horror or Sci-Fi Convention). So, that should be interesting, if anything, from a “cultural an...

Live Reading: Come See Me at Elaine’s

A quick note, mostly for those of you in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area:

I will be doing a LIVE reading at Elaine’s in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia on July 28, starting at 7 p.m. I will be appearing alongside Brýn Grover and Bryan Nowak. We will also have a panel beforehand about where the Horror genre is headed, followed by a book signing afterwards.

Elaine’s is a great space that serves Egyptian Mediterranean food and drinks. They’re trying to create a “literary salon” here ...

Writing Update June 2024: Readings, Signings, and Doubling Down

A few things of note in the last month to share. Then, I’m going to take a bit of a summer “break” in which I’ll be writing, writing, writing.

My First Book Signing
I did my first combined reading/book signing at the Purcellville Public Library in Virginia on June 8.

This was the first time I had a table where I signed and sold my books (even if these were poetry collections I appeared in and not books I wrote solo). I also moderated a panel with six fellow writers which I thought featu...