Six Sentence Sunday: It’s a Curse

Howling out of Dark Valentine Press later this month, “It’s a Curse” is one of the Roman Dalton stories in Drunk on the Moon, tales of the werewolf detective created by Paul D. Brazill. Mr B has lured me into the crime world much like a stranger with candy. I may be some time. This…

Six Sentence Sunday: Revelation

Today’s six come from a pivotal story in my life: not for its quality (though I find some things to enjoy even now) or because it was my first “official” publication (though it was) but because it brought me kind words from Clive Barker. His Lord of Illusions short story contest inspired me to write…

Six Sentence Sunday: Mandrake Anthrax

I’ve been getting all noir lately. I blame Mr B. Ireland’s so lovely, but I’ve been setting stories here that are undeniably grim. So I blame Ken Bruen, too. While I’m spreading the blame around, might as well point a finger (or two!) at Mark E. Smith, too. If he hadn’t written a lyric like,…

Women’s Day, Con-Eire & BitchBuzz

Happy International Women’s Day! A day to celebrate and a day to chastise because there’s a long way to go yet and I’m getting more than a little impatient at fighting the same battles I have fought since childhood. There has been progress, I remind myself, but there’s a long way to go until NO…

Six Sentence Sunday: High Plains Lazarus

I began writing this story about a day before I went off to Trinoc*coN one year, because I knew I had to read something and I suddenly decided I hated everything I’d ever written (yes, I have those kind of days). It came from the voice: as soon as I heard Finn’s voice in my…

Writer Wednesday: Jan Kozlowski

My pal and fellow Horror in Film and Literature lister, Jan Kozlowski, first fell in love with the horror genre in 1975 when the single drop of ruby blood on the engraved black cover of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot hypnotized her into buying it. She sold her first story, Psychological Bacchanal to the EWG E-zine…

Tuesday’s Overlooked A/V: Thirst & Linear Obsessional Recordings

A bit of news first: my story that asks the question “what if Christopher Marlowe wrote like an Elizabethan Hunter S. Thompson?”AKA “Fear and Loathing in Deptford,” is featured at the World SF Blog. World SF is dedicated to posting links, news and original content related to science fiction, fantasy, horror and comics from around…

Howling Back into View

You can’t keep a good series down! Back on the prowl with another wild howl, it’s Drunk on the Moon — bigger, badder and better! Coming soon from Dark Valentine Press, home of the original Roman Dalton story by Mr B, the dark vision that kicked off the series. In addition to yours truly, the…

Writer Wednesday: John Claude Smith

John Claude Smith is a writer of dark speculative fiction, music journalism, and poetry. Most of the short fiction veers into horror, while the novels tend to meander into a weird mix of magic realism, psychological and supernatural nuances, and, again, horror. Late 2011 saw the publication of his first book, The Dark is Light…

Whoosh, Whomp & Whoogah

Photo by Eileen Smith Okay, sue me — I love alliteration. It’s the Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse poetry what are to blame. Besides, these are words that are fun to say out loud. Go on, do it. I’ll wait. Okay? So the “whoosh” is because January is nearly done. Eeek! How has the first month…