Trajectories

How ’bout this for the opening line for a story:

The cunt of cold-war technodeath was in it’s prime when they decommissioned the missile base hidden deep in the  Everglades…

Yeah, it’s over the top, but tough shit.  I’ve decided to pull out the filters on my grindhouse story, “Smoked.”  Need to get it out of my system.  Ideas are percolating, the characters are copping attitudes and Darryl will soon be pistol-whipped and dragged behind a police cruiser.

This one has drunk driving, vehicular homicide, psycho-toxic industro-military waste, wandering spirits, cannibalism, amputation, brush fires, spiritual possession, zombie roadkill, multiple personality and torture.

I love post-modern romance.

I seem to have reached the ebb of one of my periodic mannish-depressions that mark my descent into the “manopause.”  I no longer despise all living things, sleeping is somewhat regular and life doesn’t seem like a placeholder for death.

With a little luck, I’ll be peaking by the weekend.

Don’t Let the Smoke Get In Your Mashed Eyeballs

Finally.

Finished the first draft of “Smoked,” a story I’ve been working on for months.  I’m so freakin’ prolific it hurts.

The ending needs a lot of work and will be rewritten several times over, but it’s an ending.  It’s 5000 words and needs to lose some weight.

In a first draft, it’s just baby fat.

This is another of my “Tales from Beyond the Urban Development Boundary.”  The UDB stories are all set in South Florida.  A couple have been published, one will be in the upcoming print issue of Necrotic Tissue, and another, “Red Tide,” is (I think?) shortlisted for the “Dead Bait Anthology” at Severed Press.  They received the story, they’re closed to submissions, and they haven’t rejected it.  At least, not to my face.  I did email the editor but haven’t received a reply.

We’ll see.

“Smoked” may be the best of the bunch.  Or not.  Maybe I’ll know six months from now when I finish the second draft.

I’m so s-l-o-o-o-w…

Greetings from Mexico Beach Florida!

Many people don’t realize what a big state Florida is. Nine hour drive overnight from Miami to where I am right now, trying to update this blog using my parent’s old Windows 98 machine.  Sorry for the typos, but  I can only see about half of what I’m typing so this should be innaresting.

Anyway… add about 4 more hours to the drive if you were doing the full state from Key West to Pensacola.  It’s as bad as Nebraska.  (Not really…)

Came up with my son for a 4-day visit.  These visits are always a bitter-sweet thing (my mom handles the sweet and my dad covers the bitter) but they do okay for 85 and 89 (not saying much — although the old man was helping me dig a hole in the back yard so we could chainsaw some tree roots,  and he can still handle a shovel… not that the though of clobbering him with it hasn’t crossed my mind a few times.  And the chainsaw and  hole would have been a convenience.

Considering that he lives on sausage and coffee he’s in  pretty good shape.  I guess piss and vinegar keep keep it from congealing in his veins.

Hate to leave, but can’t wait to get back home.

My New Business Plan

What the hell’s going on here?

Nothing, much. This iTouch keyboard will ensure that this will be a short post, though.

Only have one story submitted right now. Red Tide, my Floridian Cthulhu story, was subbed to the “Dead Bait” antho which I think has closed. Maybe good that I haven’t heard anything yet.

Preparing to send Baby Teeth to the pro markets, it’s tight little story with a lot of creep and, atypically, no naughty words.

Now working on Smoked, another Florida pulpfest. This will give me enough for a collection of South Florida stories… have been wanting to publish this and sell them out of the back of my truck at touristy places in the keys. Maybe give away a pair of cheap sunglasses and beach chair with each one.
May not make any money at it but it’d be some fun.

Malpractice Review

Just a quick post… a brief review of Malpractice Anthology at Horror News.

… The point is, I loved the crap out of this book and you would be a moron not to be willing to drop $16 for something this good. Buy yourself a copy, and maybe even an extra one for that friend that is going under the knife. Forewarned is forearmed after all…

Available at Stygian Publications

(Sorry, not a direct link to the review, just select “Malpractice” from the framed set of links on the right.)

Here I go again…

… starting another story when I have about ten others in limbo. What can I say? The others bore me. I’m like a crow, dragging the shiny new thing back to the nest and pecking on it for a while before flying off to find a new one.

This one is called (working title) “Baby Teeth,” and it’s about the Tooth Fairy.

And by fairy, I of course mean a dark skulking thing that lives in holes and can sneak through tiny openings in your house to get to your children’s teeth, preferably while they’re still attached. There are pieces of childhood attached to those teeth, you see, and the fairy joneses for childhood fantasy and kidnaps imaginary friends. It gorges on childhood imagination and leaves no money behind, but may leave a sting that makes the stung part swell up, turn black and rot on your body. And you better hope it’s not your tongue.

Word count 3200 and I’m almost done. This one’s not going to sit around.

Malpractice is Available!

It’s Available!

Actually, it’s “Malpractice: an Anthology of Bedside Terror” but inside you’ll find my short story, “Available.”

So… “Available” is available for your consumption, hopefully not consumption as described in the story.

To obtain this frightening pamphlet (for medicinal use only) go to the Necrotic Tissue website. You can order Malpractice and subscribe to the gleaming new print version of Necrotic Tissue, which will feature my story, “El Dorado” in the first issue.

Two full doses of HoJay from one convenient location. How can you pass it up?

Seriously though. The “staph” of NT are a nice bunch of people and deserve your support. Help them out! Keep the horror alive! Don’t miss out!

Buy it now!

El Dorado Goes Necrotic!

I finally found a home for “El Dorado” at Necrotic Tissue magazine.  This will be the fourth story they’ve picked up.  I have a short story in their first issue, a flash piece in last fall’s issue and a short in their soon-to-be-released anthology, “Malpractice: an Anthology of Hospital Horror.”

“El Dorado” will be in their first print issue, and it’s always nice to be able to wrap fish or severed hands in your very own writing.

If you haven’t done so, register with them and download their archive pdfs. Good weird stuff for free!

The Horror Haunt

I suck at networking.

I’ve tried to get into the MySpace/Facebook circle jerks social sites, but I can’t see it being a productive use of time.  I set up an account on MySpace under HoraceJames, feel free to look me up.

I’m such an asocial loner that I’m probably beyond hope.

However, I recently found a more manageable alternative over at the Horror Mall, the Amazon.com of all things dark and darker.

It’s called “The Haunt,” and it’s basically a social networking site with a narrower focus.  A lot of writers were already there, so, I signed up and this is my page.

Go on, friend me.  I double dog dare you.

The Necrotic Tissue T-shirt

I just received my third Necrotic Tissue from Minnesota Scott, kindly editor of that fine publication,  so I guess the time as come to make my fashion statement and pimp the zine.

Really, I’m just getting NCTee 1 broke in real good. It has a nice rotting flesh smell, with notes of gangrene and fish slime. Tasty.

Here it is, modeled by yours truly and accessorized with my male spawn. Picture was taken about a month ago on the Loop Road in the Big Cypress at a place that may or may not be “The Lizard Pit” (I ain’t saying.)

And if I haven’t beat it into your head enough, you can read the whole sordid tale at Necrotic Tissue (first issue) and hear the podcast at Well Told Tales. Just follow the links over there on the right somewhere, or go to “My Black Pages,” “Read Mo’ Ho'” for direct links.  And if you haven’t done so, subscribe to Necrotic Tissue. Their latest issue is just out and rocks all-encompassingly. It’s free, subscribe! Or don’t and be a turd-fondling loser, see what I care.