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Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Publish Like a Motherfucker Course 7: You Got a Bloody Right

Hey, everybody!  And a Happy Soon-To-Be-New Year!

I'm delighted to bring you a seventh installment of "Publish Like a Motherfucker (With Stephen Kozeniewski)," and our second with a special guest!


I'm pleased to welcome Splatterpunk Award-winning author Wesley Southard!  Wes's new book CRUEL SUMMER will be coming out in ebook and trade paperback.  Since he's already sold his Italian language and limited edition hardcover rights, I thought this might be a good opportunity to talk about all the different ways you can make money off a single manuscript. 

Stop by my business page next Wednesday, January 6, at 8:00 pm EST.  We will, of course, record it for posterity, but if you have questions, you'll want to be there live to participate.  And, as always, if you're interested in future PLAM courses, let me know in the comments below, on social media, or during the course.

Course 7:  You Got a Bloody Right
Date:  Wednesday, January 6
Time:  8:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  You finally got a book published!  Now that cash cow is milked, right?  Well, not quite.  Along with special guest Wesley Southard I'll be discussing:

- how worried about rights should I be when signing a publishing contract?
- what are all the different kinds of subsidiary rights?  which ones should I be paying for and which ones should I be paid for?
- should I be doing all this myself?  isn't this what you pay an agent for?

Monday, December 28, 2020

2020 This is Horror Award Nominations

Hey, everybody!

2020 is almost (thankfully) over.  Around bookworld that means it is awards season.  I've been reflecting on my year, which has been a bit less productive than the last seven, but I blame that largely on a pandemic-shaped hole in the middle.  Still, I had a few works come out that are eligible for awards.

If you're so inclined (please don't feel obligated), you can nominate my works listed below for the 2020 This is Horror Awards.  You can do so by e-mailing awards@thisishorror.co.uk with the subject line "This is Horror Award Nominations 2020."  This year they're also accepting a one-sentence explanation of why the work is worthy of nomination.  More rules and information can be found here.

So, without further ado, here are my eligible works for 2019:

Novel of the Year

THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE


Anthology of the Year

BREWTALITY


Cover Art of the Year

THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE by Don Noble


Other recommendations:


Since you can nominate two works in each category, and some categories I'm not even eligible in, here are some of my recommendations:

Novel of the Year 

    THE MAGPIE COFFIN by Wile E. Young
    THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS by Stephen Graham Jones
    THE RAVEN by Jonathan Janz

Novella of the Year

    SLAVES TO GRAVITY by Wesley Southard and Somer Canon
    THE DEMON IN THE GLASS by Matt Wildasin

Short Story Collection of the Year

Anthology of the Year

    ONE OF US: A TRIBUTE TO FRANK MICHAELS ERRINGTON
    MIDNIGHT IN THE PENTAGRAM
    UNDER HER BLACK WINGS

Fiction Magazine of the Year 

    "Unnerving"
    
Publisher of the Year

    Grindhouse Press
    The Evil Cookie Publishing
    Dunwich Edizioni

Fiction Podcast of the Year

Nonfiction Podcast of the Year

    "The Horror Show With Brian Keene" 
    "The Ghost Writers Podcast"

Cover Art of the Year

Monday, December 21, 2020

Publish Like a Motherfucker Rides Again (Redirect)

ICYMI...

Head on over to the group blog and check out my latest impromptu "Publish Like a Motherfucker" session.  Or just check it out below.  Either way, enjoy the fuck out of it.


Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Publish Like a Motherfucker Course 6: So, in Review...

"Publish Like a Motherfucker (with Stephen Kozeniewski)" 

Originally Recorded: Monday, December 7, 9:45 pm EST 
Syllabus: For some reason, everyone's talking about book reviews today. Something must have happened on Twitter. But as long as it's in the air, in this unscheduled, impromptu course I discussed: 

- what do book reviews do for you as a writer or a reader? 
- what does the book reviewer owe the author and vice versa? (hint: the answer is nothing.) 
- should you always, never, or sometimes read the reviews? 

More information on PLAM and links to previous episodes can be found here.

For the video that inspired this one, thank booktuber Gloria McNeely.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Back Jacket Hack Job: THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE (Redirect)

Hey, everybody!  Over on ye olde groupe blogge this week I recreated, with painstaking detail, the exact narrative voice of my good friend and writing partner Wile E. Young.  You should really check it out.  I promise it'll be more fun than a hundred Super Bowls.

Monday, November 23, 2020

(Virtual) ChessieCon or Bust!

Hey, everybody.  It's been a bitch of a year in so many ways, but one of the worst for writers and readers is not getting to see each other at conventions and trade shows.

I hope to see you this weekend at another virtual event, ChessieCon, which is routinely one of my favorite events of the year.  Below are my panels and some links.  Hope to see you there!

Date: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday November 27-29

Location:  Virtual
Panels:
Friday 4:00 pm EST - "Turkey Awards Judging Panel"
Friday 5:30 pm EST - "How To Get Published"
Friday 8:30 pm EST - "Humor in SF/F Writing Friday"
Saturday 10:00 am EST - "Making an Unlikeable Person a Likable Character"
Saturday 13:00 pm EST - "Crowdfunding for the Beginner"
Sunday 10:00 am EST - "Non-European Mythological Creatures"

Monday, November 9, 2020

What Did Trump Do That Was Really So Bad?

The title of this blogpost, more or less, is a question that I saw posed on Facebook today.  I expect it will be posed a lot more often in the next few days.  I honestly started to draft a response to the original poster, but decided against it for my own sanity.  Still, it seems like a question begging for an answer, so I'll try, and if you like what I have to say, you can just link to this blogpost in the future when the question comes up.

First and foremost, I need to concede that the covid-19 pandemic is not, strictly speaking, Trump's fault.  Although largely unique in modern history, it would best be understood in the context of a natural disaster, or what your insurance policy likely calls an "Act of God."  I just want to preface these first few entries with that, because I don't want to be accused of saying I blamed Trump for something he had no control over.

1.)  Trump Did Nothing to Prevent the Pandemic

Trump pulled epidemiologists out of China who in previous potential pandemic situations called the world's attention.  His much touted China travel ban, which was pretty much the only step who took to stop the virus from reaching American shores, only applied to Chinese nationals.  In a sense, the "ban" encouraged American citizens to rush home from China faster, likely exacerbating the situation, and he implemented no ban against European travel even when the virus was already spreading across Europe.  Trump also disbanded the White House's pandemic unit.  As I stated above, I know he did not cause the pandemic per se, and it's impossible to say what might have happened had he taken better precautions, but the current severity and scope of deaths is on his head.

2.)  Trump Exacerbated the Pandemic

Trump repeatedly, knowingly lied to the American people about the dangers of covid-19 up until the day shutdowns were ordered.  His news conferences after that were often littered with incorrect or out-of-date information.  He asserted on numerous occasions that he was joking or being sarcastic about things like injecting yourself with bleach or taking hydroxychlroquine.  Even if he was joking (I watched each of those conferences, and he absolutely was not, but just for the sake of argument) he should not have been goofing off at a national press conference.  The "I was just fucking with ya" excuse may work with a frat house president, but not with our nation's head of state.  He refused to wear a mask, disparaged mask wearing long after the science had coagulated, encouraged people not to comply with lockdown and stay-at-home orders, and continued to hold major superspreader events all throughout the year, all culminating in he and large swathes of his staff and family catching it.  Again, the virus may have been an Act of God, but this behavior made the consequences much, much worse.

3.)  Trump Exacerbated the Greatest Loss of Jobs Since the Great Depression

To reiterate for a third time, while Trump did not directly cause the pandemic, he sure whiffed on his response to it.  Fourteen million people just flat out went out of work.  To his credit, he shepherded one relief package through congress.  Then promptly said "Fuck it, I'm campaigning for the rest of the year."  Democrats in the House offered multiple relief packages and the White House, not Senate Republicans, shot them down.  For political purposes, I should add, but that could be argued, I suppose.  Again, the outbreak was not directly his fault, however a lot more could have been done to prevent such dire economic woes.  I get the whole "the economy was doing great until the virus hit" outlook, but that kind of misses the point.  When the virus did hit, why didn't the genius businessman/economist fix things?

4.)  Trump Employees and Tolerates Nazis

Look, Stephen Miller is a Nazi.  Not in a "oh, Kozeniewski's a leftie so he must think everybody right of Eisenhower is straight-up Hitler" kind of way.  I mean he is a self-described, loud and proud white supremacist.  He is also Trump's senior policy advisor.  There are literal Nazis in the White House.  I will avoid hyperbole, because there are several other senior staff who I think are very not good people who I would describe as Nazis in the "I'm a leftie" way, but that might technically count as hyperbolic, so I will refrain from that.  But the fact remains: there are straight-up Nazis Trump appointed to positions of power in the White House.  There was a Nazi rally in Charlottesville in 2017 and they killed a lady.  There are protesters in the streets as I write this waving swastikas.  I know that racism never really went away in America or anything, but I did not think we would be talking about actual Nazis in America in the 21st century as more than a kook outlier.  If I need to explain to you why that is inherently bad, then go ahead and leave me a comment, but I will state unequivocally that if you defend Nazis, you are a bad person, morally and ethically.

5.)  Trump Has Normalized Corruption

I'd prefer this blogpost to be concise, rather than a laundry list.  We've all seen the laundry lists, and you can go google one if that's what you're interested in.  So let's just stick to the facts, as dispassionately as I can put them.  Seven of Trump's senior White House advisors have been indicted or sent to prison.  Trump himself was impeached for corruption.  He was not convicted, but I'm trying with everything in me to stay dispassionate, so I will not say he was acquitted for partisan reasons.  Trump has been the subject of over 3,500 lawsuits in the last thirty years.  Admittedly, a lion's share of those must have been before he was elected.  Finally, the Mueller independent probe found multiple cases of corruption which could not be prosecuted only because Trump was a sitting president.  I don't want to put words into the dude's mouth but he basically said, "Yeah, dude's a criminal, but it's up to congress to act, not the DoJ."  Look, I know that just by writing this paragraph people could come at me with a thousand razors and tell me why I'm wrong about any individual case.  But at the end of the day Trump has surrounded himself with criminals and has very likely been committing crimes himself, while buffeted from the consequences by dint of his unique office.  That's the most dispassionate way I can put it.

So there you have it.  I could go on and on.  But these five points are, in a nutshell, why Trump has been so bad.

Monday, November 2, 2020

Google Search: How Should I...? (Redirect)

Hey, all!

Check out this post I did over on ye olde grouppe blogge answering your biggest questions of the moment, such as how to vote and who to vote for.

All right, I'll give you a little preview.  For the love of God, get out there and vote tomorrow if you haven't already.  And, for the love of God, don't vote Republican.


Friday, October 2, 2020

New Release Announcement: BREWTALITY


 Hey, everybody!  I am delighted to announce the return of Braineater Jones in the short "Braineaters in the Mist," appearing in the extreme horror anthology BREWTALITY, available today.

But don't just stop by for the stunning return of Braineater.  No, no!  Far greater talents than me grace these pages, include splatterpunk luminaries Edward Lee, Jeff Strand, Monica J. O'Rourke, and Christine Morgan.  Don't miss out!

You can pick it up now, in ebook or paperback, on:


And if you'd care to share on social media, or even just with your friends, we'd all very much appreciate it.  Thanks, everybody!

Monday, September 28, 2020

Horror Christmas Kick Off (Redirect)

Hey, everybody!  Hopefully, you're wondering how the live Horror Show listener mailbag I mentioned on Wednesday came together.  Well, in case you missed it live, you can hear all about (and even watch the recording in its entirety) over on the group blog here.  And if you want to pick up your own Horror Show Balloon Pack before they're sold out forever, you can grab one here.


Wednesday, September 23, 2020

The Horror Show With Brian Keene After Party

Hey, everybody!

Well, this is a hell of a thing.  I have been trying to get a book signing with the crew of The Horror Show with Brian Keene at my balloon store off the ground all year.  It was all put together and ready to go...for mid-March.

So.

Obviously, that didn't happen.  Rather than let it go, we put in some legwork and turned it into a virtual Q&A, with options to purchase books online.  This will also serve as a debut of my store's Halloween line, in case you were wondering what the fuck horror has to do with balloons.  (Although, if you were thinking that, you probably haven't been to the movies in the last few years, Georgie.)

So!



I hope you will join us live on Saturday at 1:00 pm EST for the Horror Show After Party.  If you have questions for any of our guests, which include Brian Keene, Mary San Giovanni, Dave Thomas, Matt Wildasin, and Phoebe, you can either ask them live or leave them in the comments below this post.  (I'll be taking questions from a variety of sources.)  

You can join the e-vite here.

You can bookmark the event here.  (It'll remain at this url even after it's gone live.)

Or even easier, you can watch it in the embed below.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

I'm Looking for a New Assistant

UPDATE:  This position has been filled. Thanks so much to everyone who applied!

Hey everybody.

Last year I dipped my toe into the water of something I've always dreamt about: having a Personal Assistant.  I hired indie author Jess Eppley, and put her to work on all of my marketing, rights projects, agent solicitation, that sort of thing.  And it was everything I imagined.  I could just sit down and write, while my PA attended to marketing so well the job paid for itself.

Now, having weathered (God, I hope) the hardest part of the pandemic, I'm in a position to be able to hire a PA again.  I've been kind of reluctant to put something out on Facebook or Twitter because I can imagine when posting a job announcement you'll get swamped with a bunch of completely unqualified applicants.  So here's hoping (tentatively) that if you've read more than 280 characters of me talking about this, you're someone who can actually help, or know someone who can.

What I'm looking for is someone who can work for ten to twenty hours a week.  Basically, I can happily fill up that time for the near future, but you take on as much as you can handle and set your own schedule.  Work would all be sedentary and remote.  Picture: drafting hundreds of e-mails, FB posts, tweets, and so forth, then keeping track of it on spreadsheets.

If you have experience in indie publishing, that would be ideal, because I won't have to explain all the ins and outs to you.  But if not, as long as you are organized, pay close attention to detail, and have a pretty strong command of the written word I can use you.  I actually think the ideal candidate would probably be someone who is interested in a career in writing, for instance a college student majoring in journalism or creative writing, because I think the skills and contacts you would pick up as my PA could serve you in the future.  So, it could just be a job if you have secretarial skills, but if you have publishing aspirations, it could be something closer to an apprenticeship.

If you know somebody like that, or you are somebody like that, shoot me an e-mail to skozeniewski at yahoo and we'll discuss.  Thanks, everybody!

Monday, August 17, 2020

A Personal Favor

Hey, everybody!

I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this blogpost, but I like to think that what people like about me (if you like anything) is that I try to be up front and as transparent as possible. Hell, I have an entire series of articles on here called "Making the Sausage." Even when I'm faking it to make it...I'll usually straight up tell you I'm faking it to make it.

So, here's the deal. THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE got a little bit fucked. That's just the long and short of it. Wile E. and I worked for years on this baby, Grindhouse Press put months and countless dollars into advertising and producing it, and by the time all was said and done, it dropped on March 16, 2020.

Now, if that date sounds familiar, it's because that was the same week the pandemic emergency was declared in the U.S. I'm not going to lie: I put out a few tweets, but I really wasn't focused on marketing PFH that week, or, really, in the months since. So, PFH got a little bit fucked.

Grindhouse's business strategy is to attend a ton of conventions, and move a ton of paperbacks at those conventions. It's been a great strategy...up until this year. Some small presses focus on e-books, some try land a big fish to help the little fish, some spend thousands on marketing...anyway, the point is, Grindhouse is a great press, which is extremely good to their authors, financially and otherwise, and it just so happens that their marketing strategy suddenly became untenable. So, PFH got a little bit fucked.

Wile E., as it happens, has a customer-facing day job, one that did not go away due to the pandemic, but one that got much harder as a consequence. At the end of his 12- and 16- hour shifts, he's been lucky to get home and see his family and get some ZZZs before doing it all again. So, PFH got a little bit fucked.

And I'm not quite as overwhelmed at the day job, but I did just start a new job...and I'm carrying my old job...and one of my old direct reports retired...so I've been doing three people's jobs since April. And trying to figure out how to do that all remotely. And at the end of the day, marketing books has not been at the top of my frazzled mind. So, PFH got a little bit fucked.

We are lagging terribly on reviews. I haven't been able to reach out to reviewers and bloggers, neither has Wile E., neither has Grindhouse. I'm going to start. I'm going to try. But I also recently lost my personal assistant, and she was a godsend with doing this work last year. While I had Jess, I could write every time I sat down. Now, every spare minute I get I have to choose between writing and marketing and review querying and soliciting agents and seeking out foreign publishers, and all the other time-consuming shit that goes into being an indie author. So, PFH got a little bit fucked.

Like I said in the beginning, this is an embarrassing post to write. It's embarrassing because I want to appear in public as the guy who's always got his shit together. And it's embarrassing because some of you reading this are out of work and don't know what to do with your kids, and have a million other issues on your mind, and my book's marketing woes probably seem like more than just First World Problems, they probably seem like Top 1% First World Problems or some shit. But, as I said, I try to shoot straight, and there's the straight truth.

So, what I would really like to ask is, if you've read THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE, could you please take two minutes and leave a review?

A five word review is fine. Any star rating is fine. I'll take "I think this book sucked" and one star over no review any day, trust me. I've written and spoken many times about the importance of honest reviews over exaggerated positive reviews. Anyway, if you can help me out with this, I would consider it a personal favor, which you can call in, Godfather-like, sometime in the future. Thanks, everybody!

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Reading this Saturday!

Hey, everybody!  Make sure to stop by the Scares That Care Virtual Convention this Saturday, August 1.  I'll be appearing with a brand new reading at 9:15 am EST alongside the inimitable Jeff Strand!  Best of all, it's all for a good cause.  You can read more of who will be appearing here.  Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Night Worms Interview

Hey, everybody!  Check out this interview Wile E. Young and I did with Mother Horror over at Night Worms.  I guarantee it's more exciting than fifteen Super Bowls.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Publish Like a Motherfucker is Back!

Wile E. Young
Hey, everybody.  Due to popular demand "Publish Like a Motherfucker (With Stephen Kozeniewski)" is coming back for a fifth installment.

And this time with special guests!

Stop by my business page this coming Saturday, June 23 at 3:00 pm EST.  We will, of course, record it for posterity, but if you have questions, you'll have to be there live to participate.  And, as always, if you're interested in future PLAM courses, let me know in the comments below, on social media, or during the course.










Date:  Saturday, June 20
Time:  3:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  Now that you know how to write, can you learn how to write together?  With special guests Stevie Kopas and Wile E. Young, in this episode we'll be discussing:

- when is the right time to collaborate?  when is it wrong?
- how can two animals as solitary and persnickety as writers come together?  what are some methods to the madness?
- is a writing duo better than the sum of its parts?

Monday, June 15, 2020

My Thoughts on the Black Lives Matter Protests

I've been very quiet for the last two weeks.  Not entirely silent.  I've replied to a few tweets, maybe commented on social media here or there.  But for the most part I assumed that my role during the Black Lives Matter protests was to shut up, listen as much as possible, and amplify black voices wherever I could.

Trying to take that tack, I reached out to a black author I respect a great deal and asked him to write, well, this blogpost.  However, he encouraged me to express my own thoughts, because too many people are scared to get involved in the messy, complicated discussion of race in America.

Well, so, this may not be very good, but it will at least take up that challenge honestly.  I should also state unequivocally that the opinions presented in this piece are entirely my own as a private citizen and in no other capacity.

Two weeks ago yesterday I was terrified.  Inconsolable, in fact.  Donald Trump had just declared that the military would be moving into the cities to "dominate" the "battlespace."  These are, of course, two words that have been picked apart by every pundit in the universe since then, so by now you've certainly felt the existential dread I felt that day.  If I was slightly ahead of the curve in being shocked, it was only because of my day job.

For the past twenty years (my entire adult life, really) I have served in the military in one capacity or another - as an ROTC cadet, an Army officer, and a civilian employee of the Army and later the Navy.  The first time I heard the words "Posse Comitatus" was as a seventeen-year-old college student in a military ethics class.  Back then the shadows of the Oklahoma City bombing, Waco, Ruby Ridge, and the like loomed large.

For some of you, depending on your age, I suspect you may have first heard the strange legal term this month.  But its meaning has never really changed.  The military does not operate on American soil.  The National Guard, in cases of emergencies, and under the oversight of state governors, occasionally.  But the federal military?  It's quite simply never supposed to happen, like Caesar crossing the Rubicon.

Of course, Caesar did cross the Rubicon and at the beginning of June it seemed that Trump would be casting his own die.  Two weeks ago I was certain that Trump's latest outrage would also be the last and final outrage: the complete destruction of democracy in America.  If the military was called upon to suppress the protests, and I was a part of this military, even in the minor, middling capacity that I am, didn't that make me complicit?  If not merely complicit, perhaps a collaborator?  Perhaps even a war criminal?

For the first time I seriously considered resigning my post in protest.  And it was a terrifying idea.  Would I toss my career of twelve years aside?  Quit my job in the middle of the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression?  Cast aside all of my current and future prospects and safety?

But to support a military coup?  Even in the tiniest capacity?  What would that make me?  What would history say about me, let alone my own conscience?

In discussing this with my girlfriend, she asked me, "Well, aren't service members supposed to disobey illegal orders?"

To which the answer is...complicated.  Yes, of course.  When told to hold a gun to an enemy prisoner's head and threaten him for information, a Soldier is supposed to say, "Sir, I cannot comply with that order as it violates the Geneva Convention, the UCMJ, and the Army's code of ethics."  But even in a cut-and-dried case like that some service members will falter.  Allen West became famous, and was elected to congress, after committing just that war crime.  And if, as is often the case, if it's much, much more complicated than this scenario, it may not always be clear what the correct and ethical thing to do is.

Frankly, as officers, a lot of times we were told that we would have to take responsibility if an order turned out to be illegal.  Sometimes, since you told Private Snuffy to do something, you're responsible instead of Snuffy.  This is why the military has courts and tribunals and more lawyers than you could imagine.

So, the short answer to this already overly long question, is that, yes, some service members would ignore the president's illegal orders.  But some would also immediately feel that wrenching sense of their entire careers disappearing, the same way I did, and would decide, "Well, the commander-in-chief told me to do it, so it's on him, even if it is wrong."  And, some, of course, will face no moral quandary at all, and will simply believe that the BLM deserve to be put down.

In Trump's America, the Justice Department tells us the true story of what happens when people disobey illegal orders.  They just get fired and replaced with more compliant people.  Which would also be in the back of the mind of anyone at the Pentagon considering disobeying Trump's "dominate the battlespace" orders.

In the recent Netflix show "Space Force" General Naird, in being faced with a moral question of whether to resign or not, says something like, "I know I'm not the best, but I also know I'm not the worst."  This struck a chord with me, as it no doubt would with many service members and their DoD civilian counterparts.  In short, maybe I should just roll over on this little issue, because I know I can still do good.  Besides, if I don't follow illegal orders, my replacement surely will, right?  And then the war crimes will still happen, but all I will have achieved is losing my career.

So, in a long and winding, roundabout sort of way, you understand the melancholy I found myself in two weeks ago.  A lot of innocent heads were about to be smashed in.  America was about to do what it has always done: make the black man bleed and blame him for it, like the abusive partner who says, "Why do you force me to hit you?"  And I was on the wrong side of history.  Some of those skulls about to be smashed in were going to be tallied on my eternal soul.

Everything in me screamed that despite all of Trump's outrages over the years, despite the resiliency we had, somehow, as a society, shown up until now, this was it.  The last straw, the end of the Great Experiment, our version of the Reichstag Fire.

Then something unexpected happened.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army General Mark Milley, was videotaped in Trump's entourage during the now infamous moments when peaceful protesters were gassed and cleared out of Lafayette Park ahead of curfew so the president could show off a picture of himself holding an upside-down Bible aloft over his head.  (Never, incidentally, did I think I would write anything like that sentence.)

The CJCS is the top uniformed military officer in the country, subordinate only to the Secretary of Defense and the president.  Now, Tolstoy might have argued with me, but I think future generations may never know how close we came, within a hair's breadth, perhaps, of total immolation two weeks ago, save for one man's embarrassment.  We may also never know if GEN Milley would have made the same decisions he made next had he not been videotaped strolling around the wreckage of Washington, D.C. that day.  I'd like to believe he would have, that he needn't have been embarrassed into it.  But I guess there's no knowing a man's heart, or would-have-beens.

In any case, what happened next was extraordinary.  I received an e-mail from GEN Milley, distributed to the entire military of the United States, stating, in essence, that diversity is our strength, the military does not and will not act on American soil, and be not afraid.

But I still was, of course.  Because Milley could be sacked as easily as FBI Director Comey or Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Ukrainian attache LTC Alexander Vindman or the five inspectors general in the last two months, or the lawyers on the Michael Flynn case, or...well, the list kind of goes on.  It's been like a Saturday Night Massacre every day for the past three and a half years.

A few days passed.  The protests continued but the rioting had quietened down.  I remember initially hearing people saying that the BLM protests had been entirely peaceful but that right-wing infiltrators had stepped in to start riots, shoot at police, and break shit in order to illegitimize the peaceful protests.  I remembered doubting that initially.  Surely not everyone is perfect, right?  That doesn't mean that there's a Proud Boy hiding and chuckling every time a brick gets thrown.

But, whether it was criminals, false flag agitators, or just bad actors within the movement who caused the strife, the protests started cleaning themselves up.  And as they self-policed, it seemed harder and harder to justify the uniformed police bashing in heads.  And Trump's water carriers in the conservative media started to look even more foolish than usual as they cried for the blood of...well, Americans with signs.

Then I received an e-mail from a high-ranking admiral.  Not quite as high-ranking as GEN Milley, of course, but, then again, nobody is.  And her letter said, in essence...diversity is our strength, the military does not and will not act on American soil, and be not afraid.

That caught my eye.  I remembered commenting on it to my girlfriend at the time.  After twenty years interacting with the military in one capacity or another, I can tell you exactly what kind of e-mails a nobody like me gets from admirals and generals.  They fall into three broad categories:

1.)  Happy Thanksgiving.  Stay safe and don't eat too much turkey this weekend.  If you get drunk, call a cab.

2.)  Hi, I'm so-and-so.  Glad to join you./Bye, it was nice working with you.

3.)  The command has accomplished some massive, obscure goal you probably didn't even know about because you're busy doing your day-to-day job.  Kudos!

So, to get two e-mails from leadership in less than a week about current events is...unprecedented, to say the least, in my experience.  The military, in fact, prides itself on its apolitical nature.  Honestly, although nothing very pointed appeared in either letter, the subtext was jarringly direct.

Then the walls started tumbling down.  People in positions of authority (save the president, of course) started...actually listening to the protesters.  With the video tape of a Minneapolis police officer leaning on George Floyd's neck for nine solid minutes, it was hard to argue that he wasn't a straight-up murderer or that the three officers who assisted him were complicit.  They were charged, and Floyd's murderer's charges were elevated.  A few sheriffs and peace officers started kneeling and marching with the protesters instead of antagonizing them.  In small ways, mayors and governors across the country made small concessions to the bare humanity of their constituents, filling the gaping chasm of leadership left, as always, by the White House.

I won't say that the small changes coming from the mayoral mansions are not political and calculated.  Of course they are.  In every negotiation there comes the desire to trade as little as possible in exchange for as much as possible.  So I have no doubt every leader in America is trying to placate the protesters rather than seek meaningful change.  But if this leads to meaningful change, if society continues to hold their feet to the fire, if the protests don't let up, and leaders are reminded of what the people are capable of, and what they're capable of stopping, perhaps we will have meaningful change instead of some tokens exchanged in bad faith.

Then I got another e-mail from an admiral further own the chain.  Then another.  As I said, I have never received an even semi-political message from the leadership in the past.  To receive so many, reminding us all of our duty, the oaths we took to the Constitution, it seemed like a sea change.  While the criticism of the president was nothing even remotely like explicit, the message was still clear: the military will not go marching into any American cities.  That last bastion of non-partisan service may still exist, unco-opted by this nightmarish administration.

So, I don't see a bright and shining future of certainty and Star Trek-level cooperation.  But I see signs, surprising signs, small in some cases, shocking in others, promising in some, that democracy may not be dead.  That is was up to black Americans to bring us to this point is, in some ways ironic, but in truth not the least bit surprising.  The black community has always borne our nation's greatest burdens, often unacknowledged, often uncompensated.  To acknowledge their sacrifice, now, at last, perhaps much too late, is the least the rest of us can do, even as they continue to march and protest and throw their bodies in front of the batons in defense of all our rights.

Friday, May 29, 2020

THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE on "Butterflies Make Me Angry!"

Check out this week's "Butterflies Make Me Angry!" podcast for a rousing rendition of the first chapter of THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE.  Enjoy!



Friday, May 15, 2020

Virtual Reality (redirect)

Hey, everybody!

I know we've all been suffering in lockdown for the past two months.  Well, last month over on the group blog I talked about some of the virtual events I've been participating in.  Check it out, and hopefully kill some time. 


Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Publish Like a Motherfucker (with Stephen Kozeniewski)

Hey, everybody.  I've got some exciting news!

One of the things I miss most about the pre-lockdown days is the opportunity to pass down some of my hard-won industry knowledge to aspiring authors at conventions, readings, and signings.  So I've decided to host a series of online courses called "Publish Like a Motherfucker (with Stephen Kozeniewski.)"

Over the next week I'll be teaching the following four courses over Facebook Live at my business page.  I'll be publishing the completed courses later to YouTube so they'll be available for posterity, but one of the things I value is audience participation, so if you're interested, please try to make it to the live events.  

I'm going to plan on each course being about an hour, but if the interest is there I'll happily keep speaking until we get through all of the questions in chat.  Your questions will help guide each course.  And if interest is high, based on these initial courses I may plan more in the future, possibly with guests.  The sky's the limit!

Course 1:  "Writing Non-Shittily"
Date:  Wednesday, May 6
Time:  7:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  The first step to getting published is writing something worth publishing.  In our inaugural course, we'll be discussing:

- the importance (?) of genre
- choosing your literary form (the difference between novels, novellas, short stories, etc.)
- getting it written


Date: Friday, May 8
Time:  7:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  Let's talk traditional publishing.  Is it still the brass ring that all authors are reaching for?  Is it even all its cracked up to be?  In this course we'll discuss:

- what's the difference between self-publishing, traditional publishing, and hybrid?
- finding the right agent or publisher
- when will you start getting that Stephen King money?

Date:  Monday, May 11
Time:  5:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  You could write the word "fart" ten thousand times in a row and be holding that book in your hands by the end of the week.  But is self-publishing the path for your masterwork?  In our third outing we'll cover: 

- the hidden costs of self-publishing
- the hell yeah benefits of being your own business partner
- tips and best practices for the authorial entrepreneur
Date:  Wednesday, May 13
Time:  5:00 pm EST
Syllabus:  You finally did it!  You're now holding that novel or whatever the hell in your grubby little mitts.  So the long road to success is finally over, right?  Well...  In our final (depending on popular demand) outing we'll be talking about:

- social media marketing
- moving paper in meatspace
- getting reviews and attention

Friday, May 1, 2020

Reading and Writing and the Fucking Apocalypse (Redirect)

Hey, kids!

Hope you're holding up.  I haven't been keeping up with my group blog redirects for, um, obvious reasons.  In any case, I wrote a bit about what it was like having a book release the day the pandemic hit home here, so go ahead and check it out.

Stay safe!

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

CoronaCon Appearances

Hey, everybody!

I hope you're hanging in there.  In case you missed it, I appeared at a virtual convention on April 18, the first CoronaCon.  If you missed it live, you can still catch up.  I've cued up all three of my appearances below, but the whole thing is worth a watch, naturally.  You can also read a recap by our good friend Erica Robyn here.  Enjoy!

Panel:  "Finding New Readers"
Participants:  Mary SanGiovanni, Stephen Kozeniewski, Aaron Dries, Wile E. Young, Steve Pattee (M)
Timestamp:  c. 41:00



Reading:  Excerpt from "Leader of the Pack," episode six of "Silverwood the Door."  Includes Q&A.
Timestamp:  c. 5:16:00



Panel:  Versatility and Cross-Genre
Participants:  Brian Keene, Jonathan Janz, Stephen Kozeniewski, Shane D. Keene (M)
Timestamp:  c. 5:43:00

Thursday, April 16, 2020

The Quintessential THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE Post


Hey, everybody!  THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE, co-written by Wile E. Young and released by Grindhouse Press is now available for purchase and has a Goodreads page.

Here's where you can find out more online:

A release announcement on the Grindhouse Press website
A review on Cellar Door Lit Rants and Reviews
A review on Jay Wilburn's blog
A review on Yoyogod's LibraryThing
Mentioned in a LitReactor Article
A mention on Erica Robyn Reads
A review on Erica Robyn Reads
Mentioned in Kenzie Jennings's interview on Ginger Nuts of Horror
A review in Library Journal
Recommended in Library Journal

Videos:

THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE was the featured sponsor on this episode

(starts c. 3:30)
An interview with Mother Horror of Night Worms

An interview on The Horror Show with Brian Keene
A reading for Night Worms
Wile E.'s interview on "Matters of Faith"
A review from Gloria McNeely
A review from Erik Smith
An interview with TBM
An interview on Horror Business

Monday, April 13, 2020

CoronaCon or Bust!

Hey, everybody!  I hope to see you all this weekend (virtually, of course) at the first ever CoronaCon.


CoronaCon will be featuring some of the talent that was not able to appear at Scares that Cares Wisconsin, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.  I'll be appearing at a panel at 10:30 am EST and doing a reading at 3:00 pm.  Hope to see all of your pretty faces (comments?) there!

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Free Book: MIDNIGHT RITUALS


Hey, everybody!  As authors, one of the small things we can do to support pandemic relief is offer free entertainment for those practicing social distancing.  So, as of today MIDNIGHT RITUALS is free, courtesy of editor (and contributor) Robert Swartwood.

This chapbook also features short works from:

- myself
- Brian Keene
- Mary San Giovanni
- John Boden
- Wesley Southard
- Kelli Owen
- Robert Ford

I hope you'll check it out.  Also, I should point out that this is in addition to my offer of one free e-book, not in lieu of.  So, please take me up on that as well if you have not already.

Stay safe, stay entertained, and most importantly, stay home.  I'll see you all again on the other side of this thing.

Monday, March 16, 2020

New Release: THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE


Hey, everybody!  In spite of the existential horror that is apparently just the world we live in now, I'm pleased to announce the release of my "reverse haunting" novel THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE, co-written by Wile E. Young and released by Grindhouse Press.  I hope you'll grab a copy and share the new on social media or even just tell a friend.  (On the telephone, please - keep up your social distancing.) 

Also, as a courtesy to my co-author and publisher, if you're taking me up on my offer of a free e-book, please do not request this one, but please do take me up on the offer.  And stay safe out there, everybody!

Friday, March 13, 2020

One Free e-book

Hey, everybody!

Hope all’s going well with you and you and yours are staying safe and healthy.

In the interests of supporting social distancing, I’m going to do what I’ve seen many of my peers and friend doing: offering a free book as a small distraction in this difficult environment.

So, if you’re interested, take a look at my Published Works page.  If something catches your fancy, shoot an e-mail to me at:

skozeniewski at yahoo dot com

I will be happy to send you one free e-book for your personal recreation.  (Although it would be nice if you left me a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your favorite review site.). I have the following formats available:

.pdf
.mobi (Kindle)
.epub (Nook, Kobo, etc.)

Monday, February 24, 2020

Women in Horror Month #11: Caroline Kepnes


Hi, everybody!  I was shocked and delighted when today's guest agreed to come on the blog.  Let's meet her and then ask a few questions to close out Women in Horror Month for 2020!

About Caroline Kepnes:



Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of YOU, HIDDEN BODIES, and PROVIDENCE. The hit Netflix series "You" is an adaptation of her debut novel and follow-up. She’s currently writing the third book in the JOE GOLDBERG series. After graduating from Brown University, Caroline lived in New York and wrote about pop culture for "Tiger Beat" and "Entertainment Weekly." She moved to Los Angeles and wrote episodes of "7th Heaven" and "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts Caroline now splits her time between Los Angeles and Cape Cod.

Interview:


SK:How are you involved in the world of horror?

CK:  I've loved to be scared ever since I was a kid. It meant the world to me when Stephen King tweeted about reading YOU. When I was growing up, his books were all around our house, and that was the good kind of house of horrors. I've made friends with a lot of horror writers online and I love to learn about books from "Mother Horror" (AKA Sadie Hartman). Horror people are so much fun. Kealan Patrick Burke just tweeted about my book PROVIDENCE and mentioned people "creepily fapping to Joe from YOU" and I mean that's the horror community. Funny, warm and always passionate about the books that they love.


SK: Who or what terrifies you?

CK:  This morning I was up early--this happens when I'm almost done with a revision. just can't fucking sleep--and I drove to a mini-mall and there was a man screaming at the sky that he just can't take it anymore. It was scary. It was sad. It was disturbing to see other people seeming unbothered. I was a little spooked by those people too because of course, when you live in a city, you build a shell, but those shells can be scary, you know? And then I got my coffee and though about the artificial sweetener in there and this great old documentary "Sweet Misery", which is about how poisonous it is....So yeah, a lot terrifies me in 2020! Especially when I'm writing this much.


SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?

CK:  Mark Matthews invited me to contribute to an anthology about addition called LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING. Mark's story is incredible, and the same can be said for all the stories in the collection. I mention this experience because I've really connected with the other writers in the collection. It's a microcosm of the horror community. It's good people. 


SK:  Who are your favorite female horror icons?

CK:  Kim Liggett is 's a horror writer. a pathos writer, just a damn good writer. And the kindest person, too. I read THE LAST HARVEST a few years ago and I've gushed to her about that book. It really stayed with me and scared me and it's been so exciting to see THE GRACE YEAR getting a lot of love. I can't wait to see what Kim loves next. And Mary Shelley...well the impact she had on me and countless other writers, I mean she's a perma-icon.


SK:  What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?

CK:  I'm finishing up a draft of the third book in the YOU series. So close to the end that I'm in my own horror state of I wanna finish so bad and I don't wanna finish, I am gonna miss this book! If you watched "You" on Netflix, you would probably enjoy reading YOU and HIDDEN BODIES. And I love to see more people reading my book about the horror of love, PROVIDENCE. I already mentioned LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING but I'll mention it again because it's a great gateway to authors. :) I've got another short story in an upcoming anthology, but it's not time to promote that just yet!

About LULLABIES FOR SUFFERING:



"Chilling. Thought-provoking."
-The Library Journal, (Starred Review)

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible. Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can't stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart.

Six stories: three novellas, three novelettes, written by a powerful list of talent, all featuring the insidious nature of addiction--damaged humans craving for highs and wholeness but finding something more tragic and horrific on the other side.

FEATURING:
Caroline Kepnes, author of YOU and HIDDEN BODIES
Kealan Patrick Burke, author of SOUR CANDY and KIN
Mercedes M. Yardley, author of PRETTY LITTLE DEAD GIRLS
John FD Taff, author of THE FEARING
Mark Matthews, author of MILK-BLOOD
Gabino Iglesias, author of COYOTE SONGS

"A plunge into the agony and the ecstasy, the inescapable nightmare of addiction."
- Alma Katsu, author of THE DEEP and THE HUNGER

Friday, February 21, 2020

Women in Horror Month #10: Hildy Silverman


Hey, everybody!  I'm very fortunate to meet with today's guest a few times a year at conventions, so I thought it was far past time to invite her on the blog.  Let's meet her briefly and then find out more.

About Hildy Silverman:



Hildy Silverman was the editor-in-chief of "Space and Time" Magazine for 12 years. She is a short fiction author whose recent publications include, "My Dear Wa'ats" (2018, BAKER STREET IRREGULARS II: THE GAME'S AFOOT, Ventrella & Maberry, eds.), "The Lady of the Lakes" (2018, CAMELOT 13, French and Thomas, eds.), and "Sidekicked" (2019, RELEASE THE VIRGINSVentrella, ed.). Her nonfiction articles have appeared in numerous legal and medical professional journals and blogs. In the mundane world, she is the Digital Marketing Manager for Oticon Medical US.

Interview:


SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?

HS:  Professionally, I was involved as the publisher of Space and Time Magazine for 12 years. Despite the title we published a lot of horror, as did our founder, Gordon Linzner. I also write horror short fiction and am a past president of the Garden State Horror Writers. Personally, I love the genre – I read a great deal of horror and enjoy horror movies and television series.

SK: Who or what terrifies you?

I find concepts related to loss -- of autonomy, a loved one, freedom – most terrifying. The inescapable, the unrelenting. The horrifying thing or fate you simply cannot avoid or escape, no matter what you do.




SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?

HS:  I have been fortunate – probably because (so far) I only write short stories -- but I haven’t personally experienced any sense of exclusion or loss of opportunity just because I’m a woman. That said, I think gender is clearly still relevant, in that I know many other people have experienced issues due to being other than cisgender straight white men. I’ve been involved in or observed discussions of how horror has been something of a “boys-only club” for a long time. However, I find it encouraging that this is finally being acknowledged, and many established members are helping open up the genre to becoming more inclusive.

SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?

HS:  Hard to narrow it down! Among authors, the obvious two – Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson – can’t even have a discussion of female horror icons without them. My favorite in fiction are Sigourney Weaver (Ripley) from the "Alien" films and Michonne in "The Walking Dead."




SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?

HS:  My next horror story, “Divided We Fell” will be released in early March in THE DYSTOPIAN STATES OF AMERICA (Bechtel, ed., Haverhill House Publishing). This story is a favorite of mine, and it has been well-received during various live readings I’ve given as part of promoting the anthology. The anthology is a collection of dystopian-themed horror with an impressive table of contents that I’m honored and humbled to be included in. All proceeds will go to the ACLU, so buyers will not only be getting great stories, they’ll be doing something positive for our country at the same time.


About THE DYSTOPIAN STATES OF AMERICA:



A charity anthology benefiting the ACLU Foundation, featuring dystopian views of the future (for America and / or the entire world) should the current regime remain in power.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Women in Horror Month #9: Lucy A. Snyder


Hey, everybody!  I'm absolutely delighted to have today's multi-award-winning guest today.  Let's meet her and then jump right into the interview.

About Lucy A. Snyder:



Lucy A. Snyder is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of over 100 published short stories and 12 books. Her most recent titles are the collection GARDEN OF ELDRITCH DELIGHTS and the forthcoming novel THE GIRL WITH THE STAR-STAINED SOUL. She also wrote the novels SPELLBENT, SHOTGUN SORCERESS, and SWITCHBLADE GODDESS, the nonfiction book SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE HEAD FOR FUN AND PROFIT: A WRITER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE, and the collections WHILE THE BLACK STARS BURN, SOFT APOCALYPSES, ORCHID CAROUSALS, SPARKS AND SHADOWS, CHIMERIC MACHINES, and INSTALLING LINUX ON A DEAD BADGER. Her writing has been translated into French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Czech, and Japanese editions and has appeared in publications such as "Asimov’s Science Fiction," "Apex Magazine," "Nightmare Magazine," "Pseudopod," "Strange Horizons," and THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR. She lives in Columbus, Ohio and is faculty in Seton Hill University’s MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. You can learn more about her at www.lucysnyder.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @LucyASnyder.

Interview:


SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?

LAS:  I write and edit horror, and I mentor up-and-coming horror writers. In terms of my writing, I frequently contribute short stories to horror anthologies. I co-edited the CHIRAL MAD 4 anthology with Michael Bailey, and I provide developmental editing for private clients, many of whom are writing horror. Most of my mentoring happens in Seton Hill University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program, but I also offer writing coaching for private students as well.


SK: Who or what terrifies you?


LAS:  In real life, I'm not bothered by many things that people are typically afraid of, like snakes or spiders or clowns. Okay, I mean, don't test this by leaving a clown in my bed or something; that's gonna be weird for me and the clown. The things that freak me out the most are heights and cockroaches. I would be very unhappy taking a hot air balloon excursion if the basket was filled with palmetto bugs.

But in fiction? If you think about things in just the right way, most anything can be completely terrifying. That's one reason why I appreciate the use of the uncanny in dark stories, because that's all about finding the sinister, frightening aspects in things that should be comfortable and familiar.


SK:  Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?

LAS:  Horror isn't insulated from the things that affect our culture at large; there are many well-documented challenges to being a woman in the arts, so of course there are challenges to being a woman horror writer. Women get published less and once they're published are reviewed less than their male counterparts. There's the issue of sexual harassment and assault at horror conventions. There are a whole bunch of ways that women are more negatively impacted than men are.

The good news is, the situation is getting better, though not as consistently or quickly as would be ideal. But that's a big factor in why I'm a writing educator and mentor: I want to help the next generation of writers along.


SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?

LAS:  I tend to side-eye the idea of icons, idols and heroes because while a person's work might be brilliant, people are inherently flawed and we can all point to people who made great art but who did terrible things in their private lives. The dictionary definition of an icon is that it's someone who's the object of uncritical adoration or devotion. All of us working in horror need to approach work (and the people who create it) with our eyes open.

But anyway, in terms of women who have written horror, I most admire the work of Shirley Jackson, CaitlĂ­n R. Kiernan, Toni Morrison, and Joyce Carol Oates. Those are my top four; if I list more we'll be here all day, because there are a whole lot of women writing phenomenal horror novels and stories these days.

For horror actors, I've long loved the work of Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. In recent horror movies, Octavia Spencer, Sally Hawkins, Essie Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Natalie Portman have been great.


SK: What are you working on/promoting currently?

LAS:  This month, my story “My Knowing Glance” will be out in 
MISCREATIONS: GODS, MONSTROSITIES & OTHER HORRORS (Written Backwards). My story “Abandonment Option” will appear in THE DYSTOPIAN STATES OF AMERICA (Haverhill House Publishing) very soon as well.

I'm in the midst of writing a serial novel, BLOSSOMS BLACKENED LIKE DEAD STARS, for Broken Eye Books. It's a Lovecraftian space opera, and once it's complete, BEB will release it as a paperback.

I have two new books coming out later this year. My short story collection HALLOWEEN SEASON will be out from Raw Dog Screaming Press in September. And my new Lovecraftian southern gothic novel THE GIRL WITH THE STAR-STAINED SOUL (Chaosium, Inc.) should be out sometime this year as well.

About MISCREATIONS:



What happens when we make monsters? What happens when we make monsters of ourselves? Grotesque beings lurch from our darkest dreams. Vicious beasts stalk our twisted pasts. Lost souls haunt our deepest regrets. They are the blood on our hands. They are the obsessions in our heads. They are the vengeance in our hearts. They are MISCREATIONS: GODS, MONSTROSITIES & OTHER HORRORS. Edited by Bram Stoker Award-winning editors Doug Murano and Michael Bailey. Featuring a foreword by Alma Katsu, and illustrations throughout by HagCult.