Forrest > Recent Status Updates

I'll have some very good news about one of my novellas and a publisher I'd hoped to print my work for many years now. Can't say much at the moment, but I will before too long. Don't want to jinx it, but I am jazzed about this one!

Wow. "The Seventh Wave" finishes this volume with, dare I say it? A splash. At turns, deeply sad, empathetic, and desperate, this story ends on a high note of pure terror. Possibly the most effective story in the volume, the voice of the narrator is strong, not in intensity, but in its depth. And the story will push and pull at your heartstrings until they're about to break until the inevitable, yet shocking end.

Slawkenbergius, I think I love you. These sections have the most dense concentration of subtle innuendo that I've ever read. My, oh my, Sterne has made noses soooo naughty!

"An Element of Blank" presents a coming-of-age story of three girls, now women, who experienced something - though it's never quite clear how fully - of a demonic possession those many years ago. Now, the possessor is back and the girls are wiser and braver than . . . what, exactly? Memory is a fickle mistress and cannot be trusted. And, yet, it must. But trauma, while it cannot erase the past, can redact it.

Okay, gotta crank through some reading now that I'm back from vacation. Ironic, I guess, but taking an Alaska cruise leaves little time for reading as there's so much to see. Also, I took lots of notes in my writing "Uncommon Book," which is going to result in a short story or two. But I've just received two books from a friend (Adam Cantwell) and I'm going to a bookstore next week and, yes, I will buy books.

Got a decent chunk of this read while on vacation. And by "decent chunk," I mean 9 pages, of which I really understood maybe a third. When I finally get more facile with Latin, I'll go through it again (and probably laugh at my wholly incorrect and inadequate notes). Yes, this is a reading experiment. I'm allowed to fail and try again.

I suspected the final conceit of "So Much Wine" about three-quarters of the way through. The disconcerting narrative could only lead to one conclusion, in the end. I was right. But I still love this story, not because of the way it concludes, but because the writing throughout devoured my attention, pulling it away from the fact that I already knew what was coming. The journey is more important than the destination.

There's just enough Lovecraft in "The Unknown Chambers" to call the story Lovecraftian. "Deep Ones" are mentioned once, as is Lovecraft himself. If you're familiar with the mythos, you'll figure out what's happening or going to happen early on. If not, then this might be a good introduction to Lovecraftiana not from thr man himself. Disconcerting and stultifying, it's a good mythos tale, but not spectacular.

It's only two pages since my last update, but this is actually quick progress for me. Learning Latin takes time, and I knew this was going to be challenge when I started (digging in to a text like this). So, I'm plugging away and learning more as I go. Of course, I'll have to reread the first part of the book after I finish, so I can revisit and see how far I've come with the language.

Another story in the register of Aickman, "The Vestige" tracks a hapless traveler who has lost his passport, phone, and money. A traveling worst nightmare scenario. But it's not the terror of the loss or fear of being a stranger in a strange land that affect the reader, though these are sharp elements in the story. It's the mystery of a past that might not have been and a present that also might not be.

I love Tristram's asides to the reader. In this most recent one he says, essentially (I'm paraphrasing) - "I've just told you an unfortunate incident about noses. It ties back to a story about an ancestor and his nose. Noses are important. Here, I will show you why they are so important, as I am an authority on noses. Isn't this all so wonderful?"

Is it condescension or coaching or both? I don't care. I love it.

I need to sit with "Knots" for a while. It's a story about control and abuse, but there's a supernatural thread passing throughout that takes it firmly into the territory of the weird. It's heartbreaking, though, to think of those in abusive relationships that can't or won't get out. What are the knots that tie them to the situation? Mental illness? Emotional immaturity? Or something much more sinister than that?

Finally, a preface! Now maybe the main character can be born!!!

Just got word that my short story "Black Eyed Finch" will be published as a chapbook by Zagava press.

More potential news on the horizon . . . I'm a little giddy about this one.

Egaeus Press's anthology A Soliloquy for Pan recently went through it's second printing snd, once again, I missed my chance to get a copy. If Rucker's "The Secret Woods" is representative of the quality of the other stories in that volume, I have lost out on a treasure. It evoked in me both a deep emotional response and intellectual resonance. It's a gem in Rucker's crown.

Rucker captures liminality in a bottle in "The Other Side". It's not a horrific tale, far from it, though the weird element might be considered horrific by some. Dark? Yes. But this was a somber contemplative piece drenched in sadness. Reflective and vaguely hopeful at the same time. Not only is liminality the subject of the story, but Rucker has captured the feel and mood of the liminal. Outstanding!

Man, when is this child going to be born for crying out loud?!?

"The Seance" was first published in Uncertainties, volume 1 and I can . . . certainly . . . see why. It's the vagaries peeking around corners, not the jump scare or obvious gore, where the real terror lies. Or does it? Just when you think you know something or, worse yet, someone, another angle reveals the hint of things you really don't want to see clearly. But you're the curious type, aren't you? Careful!

I might have some more book news in the coming weeks. Pretty excited, if it all comes to pass.

I'm not quite sure why everyone was so excited about the sermon. Trim's reading of it was spectacular, but the sermon itself? Boring.

"The Dying Season" is composed (with a deft authorial hand) of a series of mis-steps by a fragile, emotionally-shakey woman who is on a supposed vacation in an off-season resort. This is not a fairytale but a tale of dark fairy that leaves one befuddled and even less sure of one's place in the world, like a psychogeographic black blot on the map, where being found is being lost. An unsettling tale.

Nothing quite like the structure of reality shifting halfway through the book to add some intrigue to the story.

I am becoming enthralled. I am, however, glad that I am familiar with the symbolism, the surrealist, and the Cthulhu (and particularly The Dreamlands) Mythos.

Ah, now the famed Sermon.

Things are coming together, which means they are beginning to fall apart.

Good intro, bro.

Anyone have opinions on the work of Pascal Quignard? Never read him, but I'm intrigued, and there are scant reviews of his work in English on goodreads. If you've read him, let me know what you think!