From the pollution: Friday Update
News:
I’ll be reading a narrative poem from the Verdant with Splinter and Thorn section of poetry collection A Nightmare for All Seasons, “Venus,” for the Horror Talent Showcase put on by Mae Murray on March 29, 8-10 PM EST. You can purchase your free ticket for this event here.
Undertaker Books has posted their Table of Contents for the Carnival of Horror anthology coming out April 4. My story “Exile,” a sweet-sour tale about a clown who has grown too big for his circus, is part of this one. I was so happy to come up with a story idea for this sub call, so I’m thrilled to be part of the anthology.
I can’t find an article about it, but I’m tentatively happy that Dusty Deevers’ incredibly broad ‘pornography’ bill looks to have not made it out of committee, per Authors Against Book Banning. There’s still the SCREEN Act in the Senate and a few Texas bills that I have an eye on as far as what’s dangerous and paves the way for book banning/book burning, but that it didn’t get far in Oklahoma is a good thing in a sea of bad.
Works in Progress:
I finished the first round of edits for Tattered & Torn (Meridian Book 6) a few days. As anticipated, I cut a lot of words due to overwriting while trying to figure out where the story would go and how to get from one side of dialogue to the other. I cut 25K words from about 111K to 86K words, which is a substantial chunk.
I’m a little less than halfway through the second round, and it’s definitely moving a lot faster, which speaks to my ability to make really good changes, not just cuts, in the first round. I hope to finish by the end of the weekend—by end of Saturday would be ideal, but I’m on my period, and that makes things less certain.
Once I finish, I’ll send it in to my editor, then try to write a few short things before tackling Tooth & Claw (Meridian Book 7) edits.
Books I’m Reading:
The Fisherman by John Langan
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause
Things I’m Listening To:
Singer-songwriter playlist
Things I’m Watching:
Twisters
Warlock
Power Rangers (2017)
Thinner
Nosferatu (2024)
CSI: NY series
CSI series
Criminal Minds series
Spring Baking Championship series
Slasher: The Executioner series
Reacher series
Grey’s Anatomy series
The Equalizer series
S.W.A.T. series
