Monthly Archives: January 2022
“Floor Song Tango” accepted to OUT OF TIME: TRUE PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS!
My house from hell.
I’m thrilled to announce that my piece, “Floor Song Tango”—a short memoir about the powerful grip the haunted house I grew up in had on me for most of my life—has been accepted to and will be published in Timber Ghost Press’ upcoming anthology Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters!
As painful as this was to write–talk about things you’d rather forget? Um, yeah–this was cathartic. I was finally able to get this place to stop haunting me and put it where it belongs: in the past.
I’ll keep you posted on the publication date, which will be later this year.
“Mating Call” now available in PARabNORMAL
It’s here! How pretty are these copies of parABnormal Magazine’s December 2021 issue? The issue contains my story “Mating Call”—I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say there are angry bird ghosts involved!
This is the only place you can get this story, so if you’re on the hunt for something new of mine, you can order a PDF or print direct from the publisher.
PRINT–$12.00– https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/parabnormal-magazine-december-2021-edited-by-h-david-blalock
Or on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3Kx4h9H
(Note: You’re better off ordering from the publisher’s website. They are faster and more efficient, in this case, and the printed books come beautifully packaged in nice brown paper—at least, my four that I ordered did. It was really a nice experience).
My copies arrived professionally-wrapped in sturdy, high quality brown paper. It was like receiving an antique book. Beautiful!
The day CHALLENGER shattered the sky
My housemate, Charles, had this BETA cassette of news coverage he recorded on the day the CHALLENGER shattered the sky. I’ve done a lot of watching of old footage, and was grateful to discover that what’s on this tape isn’t available online anywhere, at least not yet. I plan on converting the footage to digital/DVD so that it can be preserved at least a little bit longer.
I’m not making light of, exploiting, or glamorizing a national tragedy that broke this nation’s heart. Thirty-six years ago today, the Challenger disaster took seven amazing people and ended an era.
I was a week shy of 15 when it happened, and it profoundly affected me—and still does. In an odd sort of way, the shock of that moment foreshadowed the one that was to come just a few months later, when my mother passed. For many GenXers, it was our first experience with death, and Read the rest of this entry
It’s GENERATION X-ED Pub Day!
I’m not so thrilled about that god-awful sweater I’m wearing in that photo, but I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce that Generation X-ed, which contains my short story “Nothing to See Here,” is now available in dust jacket hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook!
Crammed with all sorts of throwback goodies and the original collection written completely by those of us who lived through them, this should definitely be on every GenXer’s shelf (and makes a great gift for that impossible-to-buy-for GenXer in your life because JARTS are hard to find)! Here’s a look at the stellar TOC!
In From the Cold – Adrian Ludens Read the rest of this entry
2021 Wishes & Intentions Update
I’m a couple of weeks behind on this, but January 2 was Wishes & Intentions Day! My friend Heather and I write—just free-flow, no premeditation—things we’d like to accomplish, achieve, receive, or do in the new year. On Wishes & Intentions Day, we open the envelope for the prior year, see how many we got, and then make our new one.
In 2021, out of 63, I accomplished Read the rest of this entry
Three Good Flicks for Haunted House Junkies
It’s stating the obvious: haunted house movies—even not so good ones—are scary, because, on a metaphorical level, what they’re really about is what happens when someplace we deem safe isn’t really safe at all. The house is the stand-in for that secure thing—an actual home, a family structure, a romantic relationship, a job, our physical health—and the “haunting” is the stand-in for anything that threatens it: fire, foreclosure, death, infidelity, unfair treatment, terminal illness. In the end, why haunted house movies are effective—and popular—is because they prey on our fear of destabilization.
This is probably why so many of them have the same tropes—but if you’re a junkie like me, who’ll give any haunted house movie a fair shot until it proves otherwise—you’re used to that; in fact, you expect it.
That said, here’s a couple of recent ones on Netflix Read the rest of this entry
Betty White and the 8 of Cups
It’s everywhere that Betty White died a couple of weeks before her centennial. Although she was special to me for so many reasons, this isn’t a tribute post—it’s really just something I found interesting.
On what would’ve been her 100th birthday on January 17, I was working with my Golden Girls Tarot Deck and the image on the 8 of Cups struck me: Rose is walking away.
Tarot cards have a myriad of meanings, depending on which cards they’re surrounded by in the spread and their provenience. But what struck me about the 8 of Cups is that, while the most dire of its meanings is abandonment, it’s also simply walking away from something that no longer serves you for something new.
This image made me sad, but it was also a comfort. Goodbye, Betty. I hope there’s a whole lot of better cheesecake in the heavenly kitchen.
Adventures in the Inbox …
34 Orchard, the dark literary magazine I founded in 2019, is my baby, and while it has faced its challenges, it does well and brings me a lot of joy.
The past three days were a little bit rough, but it also reminded me that I have a lot of great people in my life, that everything happens for a reason—and that sometimes, you need things to burn to the ground so you can rise from the ashes. I don’t even know why I’m sharing this here, exactly–it’s not customary, or a good idea, for editors to talk about their negative experiences publicly. It might even be considered unprofessional. But I just have this feeling someone out there needs to hear this today, so whatever. I’m human.
The short version: 34O was listed Read the rest of this entry
Ruminations on Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK
I’m going to preface this by saying I’m not even close to knowing much about the late George Romero’s films, and in fact, I’m not even a fan of his work—mostly (I know, understand, and can appreciate its brilliance, and I think he was a genius. Zombies are just not my thing). He has, however, thanks to Night of the Living Dead, become synonymous with a specific brand of horror, so fan expectations are set.
I just watched George Romero’s gorgeously restored lost gem, 1975’s The Amusement Park, which has been available as a Shudder exclusive for a while now. In my opinion, this is one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen; if you enjoy the work my magazine, 34 Orchard, publishes, then you will definitely be into this—this is profound, visceral, disturbing, real-world, inevitable horror.
I will keep this all spoiler-free, Read the rest of this entry
GEN-XER? Show your pride with SWAG ahead of the release of GENERATION X-ED!
Me, rockin’ my GenX-ed T-shirt!
The release date of Dark Ink Books’ Generation X-ed —which contains my short story “Nothing to See Here”—is almost here! Hardcover, paperback, Kindle and Audiobook will be available January 26, and if you want to pre-order the print editions, you can do that here: https://bit.ly/GetGenXed
Since it’s the first (and I think, only) anthology featuring GenX horror stories written by real GenX-ers, if you’re a GenX-er (or even if you’re not and you want to know what it was really like?), then this is a must-own for your shelf (yes, even if you’re not a big reader). It’s chock full of references to all things GenX: from rotary phones to the Challenger, from Satanic Panic to leg warmers, it’s all here.
However—here’s something even cooler: show your GenX pride and get some swag! Beer and shot glasses, coffee mugs, stickers and T’s—fun for you or the GenX-er in your life (because they make great gifts). Check it out on the anthology’s official store here.
You can get a mug with all the writers’ names on it, or you can get a mug with just the logo.
Know a GenX-er hitting 50 this year? What’s better than the book, some swag, and maybe one of those great old snacks we used to have that are still around, like (Jeno’s, now Totino’s) Pizza Rolls, Cool Ranch Doritos, or microwave popcorn? Just a thought!
You can also visit the official Generation X-ed page, which has all sorts of treats like advanced reviews, way-back memories from the writers, links for purchase in several countries, trailers, and other goodies. Check that out here: https://rowlandbooks.com/generation-xed
