IN THE DEEP DARK wins a contest!

Last month a friend of mine mentioned that a horror author he knew was holding a contest to find the scariest short story. I’d only written one horror short story, but the reception to it had been positive enough that I figured it had a chance, so why not submit and see what happened. The prize, other than the recognition of course, was a $50 Amazon gift card, and for someone like me that’s a real boon. So, I sent it in and waited.

Yesterday the results were announced, and IN THE DEEP DARK won! Edward Lorn, the author and contest creator, said about my story, “Justin’s piece terrified me to no end, both while reading, and long after the final page turned. This is what scares E. Blood and guts and acts of violence during intimate moments, are all well and good, and I enjoy them on a regular basis, but when you can create atmosphere, then you have a winner.” Wow, that’s incredibly nice to hear. And he’s right, in that horror shouldn’t just get to you while you’re reading it. It should stay with you long after you’ve put it down, the words always in the back of your mind and ready to frighten you all over again when you least expect it. Stephen King did it to me with SALEM’S LOT, and William Peter Blatty did it with THE EXORCIST. The fact that I could do that to someone else makes me smile big time.

If you’d like to read this story, head over to Edward’s site and check it out. If it will add extra incentive, keep in mind that I’m planning on using this short story as the prologue to my upcoming horror novel. It’ll take a few tweaks to make it fit, but it works too well not to do that. So, yeah, there you go.

Thanks to Edward for liking my story as much as he did, and to Jeff Brackett for letting me know about the contest in the first place. You’re both gentlemen and scholars.