Columns

Value Your Fucking Work (Pt. II)

November 2nd, 2021

Original Header images via Monstera And we're back. To recap, you can read Part I HERE.  We left off talking about token payments, which brings us to the most controversial form of compensation of all: none.  IT’S “FOR THE LOVE,” MAN No, it really isn’t. 

Read Column →

Value Your Fucking Work (Pt. I)

November 1st, 2021

Original Header images via Monstera Hi, folks. This article is aimed at the newer writers in the audience. That said, even if you’re a reader or a fan who cares about authors and their place in the publishing world, this may still be useful for you. 

Read Column →

10 Indie Halloween Horror Reads

October 29th, 2021

TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET, GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO READ! All Hallows' Eve is finally upon us, which means it's time for some spooky reads. If you're like me, you seek out a grim tale that evokes a deep sense of nostalgia, a reminder of Halloween's past. We may be "too old" for trick or treating, but there are books that are guaranteed to transport us to those long coveted nights of dressing up and hoarding enough candy to last until the next year's festivities.

Read Column →

Storyville: My Top 12 Horror Films of the Last Four Years

October 28th, 2021

Over the last four years, I’ve seen a few good horror films, and so, this being October, I thought I’d share my top  horror movies with you. So here we go, in roughly chronological order

Read Column →

Writing Good Gore

October 27th, 2021

Webster’s defines “gore” as “a small usually triangular piece of land.” Wait, that’s not right...the definition we’re all looking for is...EIGHT definitions down?! Does anyone cool work at Webster’s? Can they hire like one cool person? We’ll just use our own definition: Gore is the gross stuff, the stabbing, the shredding, the exploding heads and pierced eyeballs, the blood and guts and then more blood that usually make for peak disgust in a horror story.

Read Column →

How I Learned that Finishing the Book is its Own Accomplishment

October 25th, 2021

Original images via Ann H & Temo Berishvili It took me four years to finish a new novel-length project.

Read Column →

The 10 Scariest Horror Books of 2021 — Ranked!

October 22nd, 2021

Goodbye, Mexican Gothic! Goodbye, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires! Say hello to 2021 and our new crop of horror books, fresh off the press! As usual, horror authors didn’t disappoint this year, delivering a flood of haunted houses, creepy coincidences, brilliant re-imaginings, and lingering mysteries that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Read Column →

Stick the Landing: How to End a Horror Story

October 20th, 2021

Too many horror story endings unravel like a half-assed mummy, fall apart like the chunks of a chainsawed traveler who gassed up in the wrong Texas town, or confuse the hell out of everyone like a Blair Witch Project remake that’s totally unnecessary, but I guess someone felt like a drone would really bring a lot to Blair Witch lore. How can you avoid the most common slip-ups? What do readers hate? How can you stick the landing in your horror story? 

Read Column →

5 Nonfiction Books to Get Spooky with This Fall

October 19th, 2021

If there’s anything I like more than disappearing into a good horror novel, it’s diving into the history of things that go bump in the night. And sure, I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for research and history, but when that first chill of autumn air hits my face, I suddenly feel reinvigorated to learn about all things witchy, occult, and monstrous.

Read Column →

The Three Seasons of Stephen King

October 18th, 2021

In 2014 I decided to reread all of Stephen King’s books in the order they were published. Richard Chizmar of Cemetery Dance had started the Stephen King Revisited project that November, and invited others to join in. Grady Hendrix did something similar with his Great Stephen King Reread over at Tor.com.

Read Column →