K.C. Grifant's Blog, page 12

Sneak peek: Hydrophobia, a Houston Hurricane Harvey Charity Anthology

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I’m excited to share a sneak peek of the cover for an upcoming anthology on disaster-related horror stories, which will include my tale “What The Storm Brings.” The book, published by Stitched Smile Publication, is a charity effort to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. I’m greatly looking forward to this book for two reasons: I’m pleased to see authors and editors putting their talents to help others, and I’m also very intrigued to read a collection of disaster-related horror stories, one of my favorite sub-genres (when it’s safely in the realm of fiction).

More details, including publication date and donation information, soon to come!

Sneak peak: Hydrophobia, a Houston Harvey Charity Anthology

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I’m excited to share a sneak peak of the cover for an upcoming anthology on disaster-related horror stories, which will include my tale “What The Storm Brings.” The book, published by Stitched Smile Publication, is a charity effort to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. I’m greatly looking forward to this book for two reasons: I’m pleased to see authors and editors putting their talents to help others, and I’m also very intrigued to read a collection of disaster-related horror stories, one of my favorite sub-genres (when it’s safely in the realm of fiction).

More details, including publication date and donation information, soon to come!

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Halloween reading: new horror stories in October publications

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After a bit of a publishing drought, some good news came through the last few weeks. I have stories appearing in five publications this fall. Three are available for order this month, just in time for Halloween! Details below:

Horror Bites Magazine

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The October 2017 issue of Horror Bites Magazine features a reprint of WHAT STORMS BRING, a tale of what happens when a superstorm brings more than just wind and rain to an East Boston apartment. From the editor:

Horror Bites Magazine is an online horror magazine. In each issue of Horror Bites Magazine, we cover the spread of horror found in the web’s darkest nooks and crannies, from creepypasta to creature features, to fiction almost too weird to be called horror.

—Zen of Horror author and Horror Bites Magazine editor Kelby J. Barker

 

California Screamin’

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I am thrilled to share that one of my stories will debut in an anthology showcasing 14 Southern California-based horror authors. California Screamin‘ edited by Danielle Kaheaku with an introduction by New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, debuts in late October 2017. Check out that amazing cover!

From the webpage:

California.

Close your eyes and say it: California. Images of perpetual sunshine, swaying palm trees, and blue waters lapping at sandy beaches. That one word conjures visions of gold and fame, luring dreamers to its mythic shores. The original peoples lived in an abundant paradise. The Spanish found a familiarity to their homeland. The Gold Rush, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley promised instant wealth. But the beaches are only a sliver of this vast land. Beyond it lie expanses of deserts, mountains, and rugged coastline cutting it off from reality. Isolated, California reveals a dark side—wraithlike fog of the northern coast, dense shadows in ancient forests, and hellish heat of vast deserts. It is to these places you will journey. Within these pages, you will find stories of primeval specters, soured fantasies, transplanted vampires, bizarre geography.

This is the reality of nightmares…

This is California Screamin’.

 

Into Darkness Peering

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Into Darkness Peering by Alban Lake Publishing, is a collection of dark tales inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” and features a reprint of one of my ghost stories.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
    But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
    And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—
            Merely this and nothing more.

–Edgar Allen Poe  

 

 

Don’t Do It Alone (Women in Horror Month post)

[image error]Don’t do it alone

By KC Grifant

Writing is hard. Whether a novice, intermediate or pro, there’s no denying that writing can be a very difficult—though incredibly rewarding—art form. It’s hard enough to deal with the mountains of rejections, the endless time required to write, the frustration of words that just aren’t coming. That’s why connecting with other writers is so important: it is much-needed fuel to keep us going and can help make us better at our craft.

But I like to be alone

One stereotype of writers, often with some truth to it, is that we tend to be introverted or at least very much in our heads, letting conversations pass us by as we think about the latest book we read or wonder how to capture someone’s peculiar mannerism in the written word. We require A LOT of alone time, not only to do the actual writing but also to tap into sources of inspiration.

Because writers tend to be more cerebral than average, and even occasionally socially awkward (raising my hand here), it can be hard for us to feel comfortable sharing our work with others. Writing is in many ways incredibly personal, even if you are writing fiction. The fear of being judged, especially when we’re just starting out, is intense.

Despite the powerful inclination to go it on our own, writing groups and associations are incredibly important, both for prompting personal growth and for providing solace against the overwhelming odds. Sometimes it’s easy to feel like a charlatan or failure or like you’re not a real writer. Maybe you haven’t been published yet or have but with little success. Maybe you can’t write full time or can’t even find the time to write every day. But as long as you are writing, slow or painful as it sometimes is, you are a writer. Having a group can help you remember this.

This is especially important when it comes to genre writing. I had tried for years and years to find a writer’s group but after the occasional writer workshop or conference, I often felt more frustrated and isolated than ever before. The problem, I later realized, is that many general writing classes and groups are very heavily focused on literary fiction. As a genre writer (I write horror, science fiction and fantasy), this can be incredibly isolating because, though there are many core best writing practices among all types of writing, genres have unique challenges and focuses that literary writers just won’t get.

Though you will absolutely learn to grow as a writer by studying the craft and putting in the hours of practice, nothing can substitute feedback from actual writers—and writers in your genre. Getting other perspectives is invaluable too (such as from family members and friends) but your fellow writers are more likely to articulate problem areas and provide constructive edits.

Finding your tribe

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is where I found my current writing family so to speak. What I love about the HWA is that anyone can join one of the different tiers of memberships (called associate, affiliate and active), depending on their number of qualifying publications. This lets a wide range of members join: from beginning writers with no publications under their belts, to New York Times bestselling authors, and everything in between. I’ve also met publishers, screenwriters, publicists, agents and editors in HWA, which gives a wonderfully wide perspective to the field of horror.

HWA has regional chapters (I co-founded the San Diego HWA Chapter last year), which gives a lot of freedom for local members to choose what they want to do and how often to meet. Aside from the yearly national horror writing event, StokerCon, and the stellar mentorship program, one of my favorite things about HWA is how well women are represented. As just two examples, the current HWA President, Lisa Morton, is an award-winning fiction writer and one of the world’s leading experts on Halloween (read her WiHM blog recommendations on horror stories featuring female protagonists here), while California-native and HWA member Nancy Holderis a New York Times bestselling author whose latest work includes the novelization of the new Ghostbusters movie. Founded in 1985, HWA is the oldest running organization of its kind and boosts many other famous and luminary women in horror as well. Membership spans well over 1,000 participants in over a dozen countries.

There are plenty of other groups out there too, depending on what you write. Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime and Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America are just a few. But maybe an official organization isn’t your thing. Many bookstores offer reading groups and author signings and that can be a great place to meet other writers (Mysterious Galaxy and Dark Delicacies are two examples of independent bookstores that support horror writers in Southern California). All it takes is a casual chat, a suggestion to read each other’s work and you’re good to go! I highly recommend in-person writing groups or exchanges: just like with education, there is a huge benefit to networking, meeting and interacting in person that cements relationships in a way that takes much longer online. A word of caution here: no organization or group is perfect and writers’ groups are what you make of it. For a successful dynamic in a group or writing-based relationship, the interactions should be positive, strive to uplift each other, and based on honesty.

Sharing your stuff

Whatever writers’ group you join or writer friend you connect with, eventually you will want to share your stories. It’s good to have ground rules and a shared expectation of what level of feedback all parties are looking for. In general, offering a “beta read”–reading each other’s near-final, polished works with feedback consisting of overall and general impressions–is a good place to start.

As for ways of sharing, I like Google Docs personally, because it’s free, works offline and online, and is incredibly easy to share, track changes and add comments–plus you can easily write, edit and comment through its corresponding phone apps.

Many novices are afraid of sharing their work for fear of someone stealing your idea. I was in the same mindset for a long time. However, this is more self-defeating than protective. Most cases of plagiarizing I’ve heard of happened after the stories were published. Regardless of pre or post-publishing, the law is on your side: you will inevitably have digital records and files to support your case and can always send “Cease and Desist” letters and take legal action if necessary. You could have the best ideas in the world but it’s not going to matter until you write it, and then share it, beyond yourself.

Talking with other writers and people in your genre can lead to all sorts of good stuff: formal collaborations, the right piece of feedback to make a plot fall into place, and simple inspiration to keep on going. The most valuable thing I learned from my writing groups so far is that, so long as you work hard and strive to improve, you’re not a failure as a writer, no matter how large that mountain of rejection letters grows.

Connecting with kindred spirits is soul food for writers of all levels. Right now is a great time to be a horror writer, for men and women alike, so find your writing buddies and get to work!

This post originally appeared on The Horror Tree and the San Diego Horror Writers Association for the 2017 Women in Horror month.

Turning Tides: the jellyfish you never want to meet

“Drabbles” are exactly 100-word stories, flash fiction taken to an extreme. The challenge is to incorporate style, character and plot–all within a paltry 100 words.

“Turning Tides,” my scifi-horror, environmentally themed drabble, was first published at The Horror Tree‘s “Trembling with Fear” January 29, 2017 edition and later at The Drabble. Read at the links or below:

Turning Tides

By KC Grifant

The quivering masses bobbed above the shipwreck, trailing a plum-colored cloud.

Maggie tapped on her underwater camera. With the warming ocean temperatures, jellies were reproducing at unprecedented rates, spawning never before seen species.

It was beautiful until tentacles wrenched off her snorkeling mask. She kicked upwards but felt both electrified and numb. Neurotoxins, she thought. Her mind glommed around an emphatic declaration:

Ours.

Each flick of the buzzing tentacles onto her face imparted a new vision: massive jellies swallowed ships, clogged harbors, suffocated whole cities. Her throat gasped, desperate.

Ours.

The continents sparkled with purple dust, the seas liquid amethyst.

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The Weird West World of Doomtown

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A board game + poker + Weird Wild West = what’s not to love? That about sums AEG‘s Doomtown Reloaded game, which is was a one-on-one battle for Wild West town dominance through character and land card abilities, board maneuvers and shootouts via poker hands. Add in a slew of colorful and quirky characters–law dogs, abominations, outlaws and mystics–and it’s not just a game, but a world.

I recently had a chance to write several short fiction pieces to accompany previews of new cards. It was a lot of fun and my first time writing for a board game!

Read “Satiating the Darkness” – A Showstopper Conclusion.

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Read “Rites of the Smoking Mirror.”

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Read: “Speaks-with-Earth.”

The full backlog of Doomtown stories are here.

Horror Stories in Lovecraft eZine available!

My story BETTER HALVES and other unsettling paranormal and cosmic tales are now available in the print issue of Lovecraft eZine (#36), published by Mike Davis.

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I wouldn’t want to run into that creature at night!

 

 

FRIGHT MARE – Women Write Horror

I am honored to have my story reprint, “What the Storm Brings,” included in this Stoker finalist anthology with a number of excellent female horror writers. FRIGHT MARE – WOMEN WRITE HORROR is now available on Amazon in print and ebook format. Check out that eerie cover!

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Horror short story: BETTER HALVES in Lovecraft Ezine

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Credit: Heather Landry

My latest horror story, BETTER HALVES, and other disturbing tales are available in the new issue of the excellent Lovecraft eZine (#36). This piece was conceived at a Cape Cod inn whose owners had a strange obsession with mirrors…

Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments! Also check out the wonderfully disturbing illustration by SandPaperDaisy Art .

Speculative Short Story in Electric Spec: MASS EXODUS

Everyone suddenly gets the ability to fly, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Is it aliens, superpowers or something more sinister?

Read more in my newest story, MASS EXODUS, and other science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction tales are available in the latest issue of Electric Spec. 

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I also wrote a guest author’s post explaining the idea for the story.