Short Story Update

Here's some short fiction on the burner.....

"SNIFFING A PAPER ROSE" (done and looking for a home). A man's nightmares open a door and something reaches for him.

"THE SCREAM OF THE BUTTERFLY" (an oldie that I dusted off, rewrote, and can now let out to see the light of day). A cautionary tale for those who think the world should just be torn down.

"UNQUIET" (working title). This is my first stab at a zombie story. For a while I thought I had something against zombie stories and then realized that I had something against the same damn zombie story. This might turn out pretty good.

"MASSACRE AT UNITED PIE" (pending). You know, a person gets tired of this dire stuff. This one'll be short and a lot of fun. Yes. Marauding pastries. And only one brave woman can save us!!

"MASON PARK, 2 a.m." (pending). A WitchHammer story set back in the late 1920's. Woo!

There's more, but that's what's on the burner for the next month or so.

Yes, Virginia, there's a lot going on over here.

Slaughter

My very talented friend, Marcus Griffin, has a book out in July of 2009. It's called "Slaughter", and it's basically as if Charolette's Web was written by Thomas Harris. Check it out at http://marcusfgriffin.com/

WitchHammer

Nearly five hundred years ago, LENNOX NORTHCROFT bound his descendants to an entity of endless vengeance. “THE OLD FRIEND” reaches into our world through the Northcrofts, driving them relentlessly in it’s ancient war against the enemy gods of “THE CITADEL”. There have been twenty-one “WitchHammers” since Lennox, some of them willing champions, some helplessly sacrificed to the darkness, and all of them doomed.

The war goes on.

WitchHammer's a series that begins with the death of Leland Northcroft, the twenty-first in this long war, and the beginning of Nathaniel's journey down that terrible road. I'd like to think it moves into Lovecraftian themes of vast and unknowable horror but, at the same time, is about something very human.

Book One, "HARVEST", is done (and topped off at a respectable 240,000 words). It deals with the death of Leland, the succession of Nathaniel, and introduces The Citadel through the very nasty "Cigar Bob" and the tormented Natasha King. Like I said: some serious supernatural horror elements but, at the same time, Harvest is about the everyday struggle to remain human.

Conventional wisdom and the feedback of most is that it needs to be broken down into two books. If it is, well then, Book "Two" will be called "BLOOD AND ROSES". Personally, it's one book and works better as one. This is something I'm still wrestling with, but a big part of me wants to stick to my guns and keep it one book.

Book Two (or "Three", depending on what happens) is well under way. It's called "THE SHEPHERD" and it's shaping up to be a pretty powerful sequel to Harvest.

Stay tuned.