“I’d say I love you, but that’d be weird.” ~ K. Allen Wood, Editor of Shock Totem, in the Foreword to Shock Totem 8.5: Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted — Valentine’s Day 2014

The special holiday issues of Shock Totem come in this neat little half-sized format…perfect for the pocket or purse!

Shock Totem has made quite a name for itself over the past few years, and deservedly so…I’ve read some memorable pieces that made me put down the book and say to myself, “Wow!” So last year I was thrilled when ST Editor Ken Wood asked if I’d contribute a Holiday Recollection to one of their special issues, this one for Valentine’s Day (they have one for Christmas which features a Holiday Recollection by writer and friend Stacey Longo. You can get that here; there is also one for Halloween which hit stands this past October! Check that out here).

What came out was “Something to Chew On,” which talks about the first time I had a broken heart…and it’s not what you think. I’ll give you a hint — it’s about meatloaf.

MEATLOAF IS EVIL.

Here’s the rest of the TOC:

* Clocks, by Darrell Schweitzer
* Lose and Learn, by Brian Hodge (Holiday Recollection)
* Hearts of Women, Hearts of Men, by Zachary C. Parker
* Unlearning to Lie, by Mason Bundschuh (Holiday Recollection)
* Sauce, by Catherine Grant
* Something to Chew On, by Kristi Petersen Schoonover (Holiday Recollection)
* Silence, by Robert J. Duperre
* Hanging Up the Gloves, by John Dixon (Holiday Recollection)
* Golden Years, by John Boden
* Akai, by Jassen Bailey (Holiday Recollection)
* She Cries, by K. Allen Wood
* The Same Deep Water As You, by Bracken MacLeod (Holiday Recollection)
* One Lucky Horror Nerd, by James Newman (Holiday Recollection)
* Omen, by Amanda C. Davis
* The Scariest Holiday, by C.W. LaSart (Holiday Recollection)
* Broken Beneath the Paperweight of Your Ghosts, by Damien Angelica Walters
* Everything’s Just Methadone and I Like It, by Violet LeVoit (Holiday Recollection)
* The Sickest Love is Denial, by Richard Thomas (Holiday Recollection)
* The Man of Her Dreams, by Tim Waggoner
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)

My two favorite fiction in here, in case you’re wondering, is “Clocks.” It’s unbelievably sad. Schweitzer has truly captured the nature of heartbreak through loss–what real-life horror is.

Shock Totem 8.5 is available for free on Kindle Prime, for $2.99 for Kindle purchase, and for around $7 for the print edition — which, because of its adorable size, would make a wonderful gift for that horror lover in your life (perhaps with a box of Godiva?). This page on Amazon gives you access to all three editions (and please keep in mind that, as with all Amazon items, the prices can fluctuate. What I wrote at press time may not be exactly correct by the time you read this): http://amzn.com/0988272385