Horror Aficionados discussion
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
>
November 2019 Group Read of MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD with 25 Guest Authors
message 201:
by
Latasha
(new)
Nov 02, 2019 12:50PM
Mod
reply
|
flag
Mod
Latasha wrote: "Justin’s Favorite - 4🌟 you just throw us right in! I liked this story but it’s kinda sad too."So happy you liked it, Tosha! You're right, there is a level of sadness to the character's (and ghost's) plight.
Just finished up the first four stories so far. Great start!I really liked how Justin's Favorite ended. Very creepy and unnerving!
Finished the first 2 stories. Tug of war made me feel a bit too sad, I've watched both my parents and a number of beloved people die of cancer so it was never going to leave me in a good place :(Devil's Dip - I was a bit disappointed that (view spoiler)
Ginger wrote: "Just finished up the first four stories so far. Great start!I really liked how Justin's Favorite ended. Very creepy and unnerving!"
Thanks, Ginger! Happy that you liked it!!
General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see how things unfold further down the track?
Mod
Mod
Latasha wrote: "Todd, I loved your story. Ginger! There’s a cult in it!! (We love stories with cults)."Thank you! If you love stories about cults, you're going to enjoy Devil's Creek next year. :-)
Started the book last night - loved Devil's Dip! I really liked Tug of War though it was sad - a real heart string puller. Being touched by the death of my dad and actually watching him die, I could almost imagine visualizing that story. I could really connect with the characters in that story and sympathized with them.
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."Good question. Since horror is supposed to fill us with dread or terror, it's rare that a strong horror short story ends with a traditionally happy ending. In fact, I can't think of any at the moment. A horror novel, on the other hand, has more room to play with the characters, has more time to develop them, and so the novel might have an ending that hints at or even offers a solid bit of hope at its conclusion. If well done, that can be very satisfying for the reader, who has spent a lot of time with the characters. However, as with anything that is forced, a clunky, poorly written "yay, now everything's okay!" ending is not only unrealistic, but it suggests that the writer doesn't trust the reader to handle the material that came before.
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."Great question, Krystal. My short stories rarely (if ever) have happy endings and I often feel cheated if I see a horror film or read a book/short story or whatever in our genre and everything ends up tied neatly in a bow with pretty bits of glitter attached - you know what I mean. I always like to leave my main protagonist in a dangerous, deadly, other-worldly (or whatever is most appropriate) situation and let the reader imagine what could lay in store for them - if indeed there is any possibility of a future in which they could exist in some way, shape or form. So, in answer to your second question - yes, I pretty much always think beyond the end of the written story
Mod
Love your answer, Catherine. I love a story that leaves me wondering....but I hate it when it's just sequel baiting.
Mod
Latasha wrote: "Todd, I loved your story. Ginger! There’s a cult in it!! (We love stories with cults)."Well, you're right on the cults theme Latasha! :D LOL!
Todd wrote: "Thank you! If you love stories about cults, you're going to enjoy Devil's Creek next year. :-)"Sounds awesome Todd!!
Mod
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."Great question, Krystal.
Personally, every story is different. I'm sure none of us go into a piece thinking, "this is gonna end poorly for this character."
Like the majority of my works, I jump into a scene and see where it takes me (and you). Short horror fiction lends itself to the creepy or freaky ending really well. You have a reader sitting with you for a few minutes and as the author, you want to really unsettle them, or move them. You want an emotional reaction. It's tricky to do, because they have to be invested in the character. So you have to work quickly within the minimal word count.
I think that's the main thing. You just want to connect and then get the emotional kick, whether its sad, scary, or happy.
As for the residual effects of any story, some do stick with you after you reach the end. For me, some of those short stories evolved into novels. For example, the first chapter of Blood And Rain and the prologue to The Haunted Halls were pieces I thought were going to be short standalone stories. As I revised them, they really tugged at me. I couldn't stop my mind from taking them forward.
Then there are times when I'm glad the story has ended and I never want to go back there again. See "Flaws" (from Slush)
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."I think it depends on the story. Like Glenn said, I never go into a story thinking "This guy's going to have a bad day," primarily because a good story will always defy the writer's expectation. I learned a long time ago to trust where the story is going and let it dictate itself.
That said, I think a happy ending must be earned, and there must be a cost to the character(s) when they emerge on the other side. They might be alive and maybe they've overcome the antagonist, but there's always a toll to be paid.
So...maybe there is no such thing as "happy endings" in horror fiction. Not really. I'm not saying there shouldn't be; rather, I think "bittersweet" is the best outcome we can aspire to, because there's always a toll, and for whatever a protagonist gains at the ending, there is always something they've lost or forfeited to get there. You can't crawl through a ditch of muck without staining your clothes, you know?
Mod
Thank you! If you love stories about cults, you're going to enjoy Devil's Creek next year. :-)"
Who DOESN'T love cult stories? ;)
Who DOESN'T love cult stories? ;) /i>Survivors of death cults, maybe? ;-)
Mod
Survivors of death cults, maybe? ;-)"
Good point... ;)
Melanie wrote: "Finished the first 2 stories. Tug of war made me feel a bit too sad, I've watched both my parents and a number of beloved people die of cancer so it was never going to leave me in a good place :(D..."
Oo, that's a great road Bill could have gone down!
One thing I had in mind while writing Devil's Dip, that I don't think translated well on paper, was the question of whether or not Bill was actually being haunted or just suffering from a breakdown. There's hints of it, like when he's wondering how a person's mind can deteriorate, is he genetically predisposed because of his father, does Mike not remember Devil's Dip because he never called that night? I don't know that it necessarily needed to be a black and white question within the story, but it's where my head was at while writing. I didn't even consider that type of an ending, which would confirm the ghost's existence, because I didn't know what's true or not for Bill.
I also don't know if that would have been in character for him. He was a bit of a doormat that let the world walk all over him and had turned bitter and broken and useless because of it. Which, for me, was just as much a horror story as the White Lady.
Mod
Thank you! If you love stories about cults, you're going to enjoy Devil's Creek..."
I imagine cults aren't too thrilled by them....
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."What a great question, and it's fascinating to see how some of the other authors answered it. I don't necessarily think horror short stories work better with 'unhappy' endings, but given the macabre subject matter of most horror fiction, it only makes sense that many of them do.
As far as "Last Call" is concerned (I won't say too much, because I know most people haven't gotten to my story yet), I knew exactly how I wanted it to end before I started writing, but what I wasn't sure about was how I was going to get there. That's often the case when I write short fiction. With a novel, it's kind of the opposite for me - I often start writing with no clear idea how anything is going to end...
Elizabeth wrote: "Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on..."Wow, love this answer and couldn't have said it better. So... what she said :)
And nope, I've never seen a ghost, and I'm fine to keep it that way.
Todd wrote: "Who DOESN'T love cult stories? ;) /i>Survivors of death cults, maybe? ;-)"
Hahaha! Great point. 😏🤣
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."I really wasn't sure how to answer this one. How my horror stories end depend on how my characters let me end them. My characters develop a life of their own and it's as if they're whispering to me as I write. They're quite insistent, so I do what they say. Some tales end up unhappy, some end up with a ray of hope for the protagonist. Sometimes, rarely, I even kill off the protagonist...just because with horror you can do that. You can do anything really. In my The Last Vampire I not only kill off the two main characters but the whole world. Well, it is an end-of-the-world story.
Kenneth wrote: "Question for all of the authors:The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"
Ken, I have. When I was sixteen my Great Aunt Mary died. She was old and sick so it wasn't unexpected. In the middle of the night before her funeral I woke up and stumbled down the hallway to the bathroom. There she was at the end of the hallway in a soft ball of pulsating light...my dead Aunt Mary. Still old as I last saw her. Now Aunt Mary was from Austria and only spoke German. The last ten years of her life she lived with my Grandmother Mary Fehrt. They were very close. As the ghost floated at the end of the passageway she kept muttering, "Mary! Mary!" and a whole string of German words I couldn't understand; her arms outstretched toward me. She was looking for my grandmother. I ran back to my room and jumped under the covers, shivering. Next morning I tried to tell myself it was a dream. But to this day, I know the truth. It wasn't a dream. Great Aunt Mary had been a ghost.
Melanie wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "I have coordinated with the authors and we will be making up 5 Horror Book Boxes filled with signed copies of many of the contributing authors previo..."I totally agree - this is awesome!
I started with the book and just had to catch up on four pages of discussion posts...woah, that alone with all the stories about ghost sightings is worth participating here.I already read the first four stories, and just starting to get in the mood... I love the diversity of the stories, which was already perfectly shown with 'Tug O' War 'followed by 'Euphemia Christie', both giving off a totally different atmosphere.
For authors I already know, I am curious whether I will 'recognize' their voice in the story, and for others I am eager to delve in and get to know their style.
Jonathan's introduction perfectly summed up my expectations, and I really would have loved for him to add a small piece about every contributing author, as he suggested (but unfortunately not did, I guess that would have gone beyond scope...).
My first question is of a more general, maybe practical kind: how does an anthology come to life, how do you decide which authors to add, which stories to choose? And most of all: how do you decide on the order of the stories?
As for the creepy cover, I'd like to know whether it is based on a real photograph or completely made up? I like the bluish shades and its suggestive, but vague quality, which makes it work for all stories alike.
I just finished 'Justin's Favorite'. The scene where (view spoiler) was particularly creepy. I always find that the unknown is far more unnerving than knowing what horror you're facing.
Jon Recluse wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond t..."I know what you mean, Jon :)
Kimberly wrote: "Just read "Euphemia Christie"--Cat really does atmosphere to perfection!!! And I LOVE the stories that let your mind wander after they're finished, imagining what else could be going on then. . . ."Thank you so much, Kimberly. I am delighted you enjoyed Euphemia.
Mod
That was one of my favorite parts of the story, too!!
Hunter wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "Question for all of the authors:The ghost story is considered the oldest form of horror story. Have any of you had real life ghost experiences?"
My family lived with the ghost of..."
That is super creepy, Hunter. Do you know how he got to be there?
Kathryn wrote: "Hi everyone! Okay, it's November 2, 2019. Halloween is over. Whew, this year is going by so quickly. I just wanted to introduce myself - I'm Kathryn Meyer Griffith and my story "The Gravedigger's S..."Sounds great, Kathryn! It's nice to meet you.
Catherine wrote: "Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on..."I love this answer, Catherine!
Mod
I already read the fir..."
Great questions, Elke, and ones that will no doubt have long-winded answers. Here goes...
As many of you know, I set up the Group Reads with Guest Authors here in Horror Aficionados. In the few years that I’ve been doing it, I’ve made relationships with many great authors. Starting a couple of years ago or so, as many small horror presses folded, I would get approached from time to time by some of these authors and they would suggest that I should start up a horror press. At the time, I didn’t feel that I knew enough about the industry to be successful. I mean, look at how many presses had shut their doors. I was definitely interested, but I didn’t want to become a statistic. So I took the next year or so to study the industry, talk to many publishers and authors, and tried to find out what worked and what didn’t. At the end of the 2018, I felt comfortable enough with what I had learned and started up Silver Shamrock Publishing at the beginning of this year. The first project I had mapped out to tackle was MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD.
My goal was to put out an anthology that not only would I want to read, but hopefully so would many others. Since ghost stories are the oldest form of horror tales and have always been one of the best selling sub genres in horror, it became a no-brainer.
One of the things that I’ve noticed with anthologies is that there always seemed to be a marquee author or two and then a bunch of filler. I really wanted to come out of the gate strong with our first anthology and I felt the way to do that is to only nab the best writers I could amass. For this, I leaned on the relationships I had built over the last few years doing the monthly reads with the guest authors. To my surprise, many of them said yes.
Another trend that I found bothersome over the last few years in horror was how prevalent the lack of editing was in so many books. I made up my mind that I wanted the cleanest books possible. For that, I turned to Kenneth Cain. He came highly recommended and I quickly found out why. The guy is an absolute perfectionist and we soon discovered that we shared many common goals and ideas on what makes for a good book. I can tell you, with a clear conscience, that MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD wouldn’t be half of what it is today without Ken’s relentless drive and hard work. He is the reason this baby is as clean as it is and I couldn’t be more proud of the results.
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but we all know that everyone does. I know I certainly do, even if it’s subconsciously. Yet, even with this being common knowledge, so many self-publishers and traditional publishers pinch their pennies on their covers, and it shows. The last thing I wanted to do was have page after page of these great stories only to have a cheap cover that looked like my third-grader designed it in elementary school. For this, I turned to the person who I thought designed the best covers in the business, Kealan Patrick Burke. I had a vague idea of what I wanted and Kealan took those scattered nuggets of random thoughts and designed a cover that, honestly, made me weak in the knees when I first saw it. Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I think he knocked it out of the park.
Now, lets talk about the authors. They really made my job easy. Since MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD was an invitation-only anthology, I didn’t have to sift through mountain after mountain of lukewarm to mediocre submissions. I knew who I wanted, and I can honestly say that each of them delivered in spades. What’s the old saying? “You’ll never have to apologize, if you surround yourself with quality.” It’s true and I want to thank each and every author in MIDNIGHT for delivering the goods and your talent definitely shined though.
As for the order, Ken Cain and I sat down, and believe it or not, it came together quite quickly. We knew that McCammon and Monteleone were the centerpieces of this all-star cast and there would be many readers that simply picked up the book only because they were in it. We didn’t want to put them in the front and have those readers to simply read their stories and put the book down, so we put them near the back. Shannon Felton quickly became the unanimous choice to lead off be we knew we wanted to come out of the gate with a bang and introduce people to a new author with some serious chops. If you look at the reviews, almost all of them mention enjoying Shannon’s story, Devil’s Dip, so hats off to her. This is her absolute first time having anything published, folks. The rest of the dominoes fell pretty easily into place. There’s quiet horror next to a more visceral horror next to southern gothic and so on.
Lastly, MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD is the first of a whole series of Midnight anthologies Silver Shamrock has planned. The next one, MIDNIGHT IN THE PENTAGRAM, has already been introduced and it centers around an Occult/Demons/Possession/Satanism theme. We’re collecting stories for it as we speak and look to release it in 2020. Shortly after that, we’ll be unleashing our third, MIDNIGHT FROM BEYOND THE STARS, which will have an alien horror theme. Stay tuned. Lots of good horror coming your way!
Alan wrote: "Chad wrote: "it came from a picture prompt, an illustration that was was probably created in the late 1800s/early 1900s...."I have waited in a a hospital room for death to come for a loved one. I..."
Most appreciated, Alan. And I'm sorry you had to go through that.
Shannon wrote: "Chad- "Tug O War" was amazing! You hit that note of dawnin..."
Thank you, Shannon!
Melanie wrote: "Finished the first 2 stories. Tug of war made me feel a bit too sad, I've watched both my parents and a number of beloved people die of cancer so it was never going to leave me in a good place :(D..."
I'm sorry you had to go through that, Melanie!
Marie wrote: "Started the book last night - loved Devil's Dip! I really liked Tug of War though it was sad - a real heart string puller. Being touched by the death of my dad and actually watching him die, I coul..."Ouch! I'm sorry you went through that, Marie!
Krystal wrote: "General question to the authors: Do you think horror short stories work better when they have 'unhappy' endings for the main protagonist? Do your minds go beyond the story that's on paper and see h..."Not at all...just whatever the story calls for. A story shouldn't be just about the ending but the whole ride getting there.
Chad wrote: "Most appreciated, Alan. And I'm sorry you had to go through that..."Most of us will experience something of that if we live and love long enough. It was my father's death. Despite the situation having been the most uncomfortable of my life and no doubt equally horrible for all the immediate family assembled, the experience was not without some good humor and laughter. That was a tribute to who he made us to be.
Thank you for all the insightful answers!Also fascinating to hear how it all came together, and exciting that there'll be more to watch for!
I finished both Chad's story and Catherine Cavendishs' yesterday. I loved them both, but Chad's really hit me hard.Like many others here, sadly, I've watched two family members, my dad and his sister, die of cancer. It was much as described in Tug of War. The description of what goes on during those last days was spot on, which made the ending that much more surprising.
Mod
I saw in a user's review this: Hunter Shea's Drown expands on characters he has written previously, adding a fun and interesting new chapter to their adve..."
I haven't read Hunter's story yet, but he has a Paranormal team of Jessica and Eddie. Forest of Shadows is where Jessica's interest "begins", but I'd have to look up the first of the novels where the two characters work together.
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Until Summer Comes Around (other topics)Witches with Bonus Witches II Apocalypse (other topics)
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women (other topics)
Sinister Entity (other topics)
Blood and Rain (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hunter Shea (other topics)Hunter Shea (other topics)
Hunter Shea (other topics)
