Category Archives: News
Time for the H.P. LOVECRAFT FILM FESTIVAL—tickets (virtual and live) are here!
THE KICKSTARTER FOR THE H.P. LOVECRAFT FILM FESTIVAL & CTHULUTHON 2024 IS NOW LIVE! This year’s theme is Dunwich Harvest Festival and includes several hours of short and feature-length films, Q&A’s with filmmakers, and panel presentations.
The virtual option—happening on a computer or phone near you!—is from October 18-22, while the in-person option at the historic Hollywood Theater in Portland, OR is October 4-6.
Link is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hplffpdx/h-p-lovecraft-film-fest-and-cthulhu-con-harvest-in-dunwich
One of the big honors for me this year is that I was asked to participate in this year’s Challenge from Beyond, which will be published in the annual Microfiction Contest Winners volume! If you get your tickets through Kickstarter, the book is one of the add-ons!
The Kickstarter only runs through September 22nd, so be sure and hurry and get your package and exclusive goodies now! YES, TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE after the Kickstarter, but why wait? You can only get the goodies through the Kick, folks! If you DO decide to wait, be sure to sign up for their mailing list so you know when they’re available: https://hplfilmfestival.com/
And…we’re off! HPLFF CHALLENGE FROM BEYOND 2024
I’m thrilled and honored to announce I was invited to participate in the 10th anniversary of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival’s CHALLENGE FROM BEYOND! I was assigned to kick off this round robin-style piece*, and I’ve officially—as of yesterday—completed my contribution and have passed the baton to Andrew S. Fuller. After him will be Molly Tanzer, Maxwell Marais, and Wendy Wagner!
The working title for this story is “Questionable Morel”—but it could, possibly, change. Either way—it’ll be published as the flipside of Lovecraftian Microfiction Volume 10, coming this fall/winter. I’ll keep y’all posted when you can pick it up—and watch this space for info on getting your streaming tickets for the HP Lovecraft Film Festival!
These volumes make fabulous cosmic Christmas gifts. If you’re interested in past volumes (many are out of print—these are limited edition), the ones that are left available on their site are Vol. 9 (which contains my microfiction, “Independence”) and Vol. 8 (which contains my microfiction, “Sea Legs”). The CHALLENGE FROM BEYOND 2015 and 2016 editions are also still available (but there may not be many copies). You can get those books HERE: https://arkhambazaar.com/books/
*In writing, a round robin means one writer pens a section, then passes it to another writer to write section 2, and so on. Most people know what a round robin is, but I figured just in case.
MONSTERS IN THE MILLS is here!
THRILLED to announce Monsters in the Mills, with my story “Cinched,” is now available in instant e-book and paperback pre-order! If you like abandoned (and some pieces are definitely 34O if you like that), you’ll love this!
Behind graffitied fences or obscured by woods, the abandoned mills of New England watch. For thrillists and historians, urbexers and developers, or just the average passer-by. Omnipresent and looming, the mills lure the innocent to their mysteries, secrets…and terrors.
The We are Providence writers hunt what lurks among the crumbled bricks and strangling sumac. A widower on a demolition crew wakes the revenants. A musician rents a foundry’s rehearsal space…and otherworldly tenants are practicing on him. A lonely girl combs the ruins to find an unsettling friend; a bitter punk moves into a refinery where her bestie vanished, and a criminal breaks into a cloth factory to discover a sentient—and sinister—machine.
These eighteen terrifying tales suggest when abandoned mills beckon, it’s best to ignore them.
After all, they’ve come to collect their due.
You can get the ebook instantly or pre-order the paperback here: https://bit.ly/4bhZmWa
SPECIAL OFFER! Take a photo Read the rest of this entry
I belong to We Are Providence!
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been a member of the Rhode Island-based writer’s community We Are Providence since November of 2023, and what a ride it’s been! I’ve had strong Rhode Island ties since the early nineties, when I did undergraduate work at the University of Rhode Island. Over the past thirty years, I’ve spent so much time in the state it feels like home, and the folks in We Are Providence have not only welcomed me with open arms, they have made me feel like I truly belong.
Helmed by Christa Carmen (The Daughters of Block Island) and L.E. Daniels (Serpent’s Wake: a Tale for the Bitten), we’ve just put the finishing touches on the group’s second anthology, Monsters in the Mills, which releases in August (and includes a brand new story by me called “Cinched”).
If you love all things abandoned, this collection is for you. Edited by Christa and L.E., cover art by Mr. Michael Squid, and introduction by Faye Ringel, and published by Australian-based Interactive Publications, here’s the back cover copy (if you’re wondering if I wrote it because it sounds like me, yes, I did):
♦
DEEP IN THE WEEDS, THEY WAIT.
Behind graffitied fences or obscured by woods, the abandoned mills of New England watch. For thrillists and historians, urbexers and developers, or just the average passer-by. Omnipresent and looming, the mills lure the innocent to their mysteries, secrets…and terrors.
The We are Providence writers hunt what lurks among the crumbled bricks and strangling sumac. A widower on a demolition crew wakes the revenants. Read the rest of this entry
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2024 ToC!
The ToC for 34 Orchard Issue #9, Spring 2024, is here!
In this issue, twenty-one artists take stock of the nature of waiting: its anxiety, its despair, its loneliness. Its hope, drive, and passion. Its anticipation … and its futility. Featuring work from not just the US, Canada, and the UK, but also Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Japan, and the Philippines. You won’t want to miss it!
Cover Art: When the Light Dies – Keith Molden
D-Day – Norie Suzuki Read the rest of this entry
If you missed the “Candlewood’s Creepy Tales” I-95 interview… listen here
If you missed the Halloween drive-time Ethan & Lou Show interview on the creepy tales of Candlewood Lake, you can listen to it here…lasts about ten minutes!
The original “7 Creepy Tales of Candlewood Lake,” in case you’d like to read those, are here:
http://nehw.blogspot.com/2016/08/legends-of-candlewood-lake-guest-blog.html
Looking for 7 Creepy Tales of Candlewood Lake as featured on Ethan & Lou?
This map marks the tales’ (approximate) locations.
Did you hear about the tales of Candlewood Lake on I-95’s Ethan & Lou Show today (Halloween?) Here’s where you can go read them all: http://nehw.blogspot.com/2016/08/legends-of-candlewood-lake-guest-blog.html
If you grew up on or near the lake, do you remember any of these? I asked a few people when I was working on this and found out that yes, many do (everyone, especially, seems to recall the one about “The Kids in the Pipe” up at Lynn Deming)…and almost no one didn’t know Chicken Rock!
Anyway, enjoy! If you remember any of this, feel free to share in the comments below.
My sister prepares to jump off a concrete wall into (very shallow) water at the CTTA Beach in New Milford, CT, in the summer of 1982. Ah, unsupervised children. It was a thing.
Creep out your Halloween drive time tomorrow with me on I-95 Rock!
THRILLED to announce I’m going to be on I-95 Rock (WRKI 95.1 FM) tomorrow—yes, HALLOWEEN!—at 8:20 am to talk about Candlewood Lake’s creepy legends with Ethan & Lou (The Ethan & Lou Show)! This is very exciting!! Tune in on your drive-time at 95.1 FM on your radio dial, listen through the app, or you can listen LIVE at this link: https://i95rock.com/listen-live/
Ethan Carey, in particular, is really interested in Candlewood Lake—its history, its culture, and its legends and lore. I hope to get the chance to shed some light on the origins of some of its creepier campfire tales.
Read more at the links below!
“The Lost Souls of Candlewood Lake: Did they make it out alive?”
https://i95rock.com/the-lost-souls-of-candlewood-lake-did-they-make-it-out-alive/
“The Tale of the Lost Souls of Candlewood Lake”
http://i95rock.com/those-that-stayed-behind-beneath-candlewood-lake/
“Stories of Candlewood Lake Monsters that are Obviously Urban Legends”
http://i95rock.com/dont-panic-stories-of-a-candlewood-lake-monster-are-simply-urban-legends/
“The Ghosts of Candlewood Lake’s Chicken Rock”
https://i95rock.com/the-ghosts-of-candlewood-lakes-chicken-rock/
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Table of Contents for Issue 8, Autumn 2023 – Coming November 10!
I’m thrilled to announce 34 Orchard’s Autumn 2023 issue’s Table of Contents!
Teeming with unreliably-narrated ghost stories, Issue 8 includes many burgeoning and experienced voices as well as special surprises. We’re privileged to bring you a brand new tale by Read the rest of this entry
My 8-minute flash fiction “It Can’t Rain All the Time” free on SUDDEN FICTIONS PODCAST!
Hello, all! Been a while because I’ve been buried (as usual).
So…what happens when your fortune cookie only gives you bad news? Find out in my flash fiction, “It Can’t Rain All the Time,” now available on the Sudden Fictions Podcast. It’s beautifully read by Richard B. Wood, and it’s an eight-minute listen. Here’s the direct link:
Sudden Fictions Podcast is also available on Apple, Spotify, and other podcasts, and if you like quick fictions, Wood publishes a lot of cool stuff. Here’s his schedule for the month of March, the theme of which is PROPHECY:
3 MAR: Episode 9 – Eden Bailey “Life in the Air”
10 MAR: Episode 10 – Kristi Petersen Schoonover “It Can’t Rain All the Time”
17 MAR: Episode 11 – ****SPECIAL GUEST****
24 MAR: Episode 12 – Jason McIntyre “Train Car Six”
31 MAR: Episode 13 – Andrew Butters “The Prophecy”
I have enjoyed ALL of the stories on this ‘cast so far. To listen to all of these and the archive all the way back to January, visit R.B. Wood’s site here: https://rbwood.com/dir/category/podcasts/sf-podcast/
I DO have a few more announcements—progress on the Candlewood: Jerusalem screenplay is being made, and TWO other short stories were just published…but I’ll get to those, so watch this space! Right now, I’m still playing catch-up, as we’re putting the finishing touches on the Wicked Sick anthology and Issue 7 of 34 Orchard.
