Columns

Out of the Pandemic, A Writing Renaissance

June 9th, 2022

Michael O’Connell of Jacksonville, Florida retired in his 60s. He had started his writing journey years before, but doesn't feel he took it seriously until 2020. Due to the realities of the pandemic and an awareness of his own age, he started thinking about how precious time was. He got serious, hired a writing coach, and started writing short stories as he worked to rewrite the draft of a first novel.

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The Thrilling Impact of Gone Girl Ten Years Later

June 7th, 2022

It’s been ten years since Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn took the world by storm. By skillfully subverting genre tropes and brazenly embracing, not just unlikeable characters, but creating one of the most diabolical villains in Amy Dunne, Flynn mastered a formula that skyrocketed the book to success. She was able to take familiar expectations and twist them in unexpected ways. And the result was addictive.

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Five Poetry Collections to Read This Summer

June 6th, 2022

Summer is on the horizon and there’s something about this time of year that just makes me want to read poetry. I like nothing more than curling up on my porch and diving into a new collection from Button Poetry or perhaps sitting outside during a storm and picking up a favorite from Black Ocean.

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It’s Thomas Hardy’s Birthday (Do We Care?)

June 3rd, 2022

Author photo via Wikipedia The short and lukewarm answer is that we should probably care, and not just because he had such an intimidating mustache.

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Selling Books on Truth Social

June 2nd, 2022

Truth Social is taking social media by storm. What? There are pathetic storms that don’t really have lasting impact, right?  Either way, is it possible that Truth Social, Donald Trump's new social media platform/spite project, is a fertile ground for book selling? Let's find out. The Ground Floor Social media platforms always start slow. Twitter used to be home of the inane micro-blog, shit like, “Had lunch, yum!”

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The Books of Horror Facebook Group: Readers Take Over

June 1st, 2022

I went to my first convention in a long time in March of 2022. My head was spinning, being out amongst my peers after spending so much time in pandemic-induced isolation. I was so happy to see everyone. But after I calmed down a bit, I noticed something different. Where had all these readers come from, who were buying so many books? Who were these new writers, that already had a loyal audience?

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Song of My Postpartum Self: A Letter to Walt Whitman

May 27th, 2022

Author photo via Wikipedia Dear Walt Whitman– My daughter is four months old, an earth-dwelling Capricorn with stars in her eyes. She was born on the January wolf moon during a blizzard, the world dressed white, dusted with snow and small pellets of ice. We didn’t meet when she was lifted out of me, her small body trembling, reaching, searching for my voice.  My husband held her first.

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Things to Do in Denver StokerCon When You're Dead

May 26th, 2022

I haven’t written in months. I’m a full-time publisher and new dad, and when I have free time it’s spent playing music. I’m tired but feeling good. I just finished up what was basically a publishing tour, culminating with StokerCon in Denver last week. I'm here to share the highs, lows, and in-betweens of what I did in Denver while feeling dead.

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The New Splatterpunks

May 20th, 2022

David J. Schow is credited with having coined the term "Splatterpunk" in the mid-1980s. In hindsight, horror fans and writers view the Splatterpunk movement as a counter-culture response to the conservative views and policies of the time. It is also seen as a pushback against the quiet, literary styles of horror that dominated the scene. Even though there was a range of horror being published throughout the decade, attention just felt focused on quieter horror.

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10 Horror Books Perfect for Summer

May 19th, 2022

When I think of summer, I think of long, lazy, weekend days hanging out in the backyard. I like to make some kind of refreshing drink and have some fruit salad or potato salad on hand so that when the BBQ gets started, there's not much else to do but chill in the hammock with a good book. These are the books I'm visualizing for all you summertime horror readers out there. I see you! 

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