aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 22, 2012 - 8:24pm

I have been mulling this over for awhile now and I decided to just go for it. Since I am in a state of stasis with the Psychosis Anthology, a long waiting game to see which fish will bite and those who just nibble, I have decided to launch my own webzine. I know it seems everyone has them but I would like it to be a place to showcase new art, stories and talent. I can't pay as of yet but I may have cash prizes in the futures and even writing contests or at least book awards. It will be a monthly to bi-monthly endeavor. I will pick the top three stories or artists of the month and showcase their work. It can be used as a publishing credit and eventually, if the Psychosis anthology is successful, I might title my next antho, the Surreal Grotesque and focus mainly on horror. 

The requirements and more of an idea of what type of stories I am looking for are on the link below but to give you a brief idea:  500-1500 word stories. Show me something surreal, unique, grotesque and bizarre. A glimpse of someone's madness or a world that we have never seen before. Picture a portal and you poke your head through the wall and briefly enter inside someone else's mind, what would you see? What would you experience? The stories should have a sort of stream of consciousness quality that makes the reader feel like they are in a dream-like state. Stories focused on sensation and detailed imagery would be best.

http://vertigoschism77.wordpress.com/

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 23, 2012 - 9:58am

Heh heh I read your headline as Grotesque Magazine Looking for Sluts.

I was like wtf?! Had to click to see what that was about. Plus I accidentally zipped my clitoropenis into my jeans this morning so I knew it was going to be a weird day.

PandaMask's picture
PandaMask from Los Angeles is reading More Than Human March 23, 2012 - 11:58am

It's a sign.

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 23, 2012 - 12:41pm

Totally a sign Panda.

PandaMask's picture
PandaMask from Los Angeles is reading More Than Human March 23, 2012 - 12:43pm

For what, I have no idea. Money perhaps.

Jason Van Horn's picture
Jason Van Horn from North Carolina is reading A Feast For Crows March 23, 2012 - 12:49pm

Yes topic would've been much better if 'subs' were 'sluts' :)

bjlangley's picture
bjlangley from Cambridgeshire, UK is reading C by Tom McCarthy March 23, 2012 - 2:18pm

I like the sound of this.

 

The webzine, not the sluts.

 

Not that I have anything against the sluts.

Jason Van Horn's picture
Jason Van Horn from North Carolina is reading A Feast For Crows March 23, 2012 - 5:00pm

Ok am I going crazy now? Because I swear it does say sluts now. First spiders under the skin and now seeing words where they shouldn't be? Too bad my therapist moved to Australia.

Boone Spaulding's picture
Boone Spaulding from Coldwater, Michigan, U.S.A. is reading Solarcide Presents: Nova Parade March 23, 2012 - 5:28pm

I thought I had a comment but upon reflection - no, no comment...

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 23, 2012 - 5:42pm

i love it. are you a writer? do people call you chester the molester? or pehaps just chestie? then come wrap your metaphorical mouths around our fat, dirty literary pole...

bryanhowie's picture
bryanhowie from FW, ID is reading East of Eden. Steinbeck is FUCKING AMAZING. March 23, 2012 - 5:51pm

I'm a grotesque, surreal slut.  

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 23, 2012 - 5:53pm

You sure are howie! Glad to have your equine centric butt here.

I think it works better as slut. For sure. It's like a screening process.

Boone Spaulding's picture
Boone Spaulding from Coldwater, Michigan, U.S.A. is reading Solarcide Presents: Nova Parade March 23, 2012 - 8:41pm

Yes - sluts do it for the love of the act. I am proud to be a slut in a sea of whores....

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 23, 2012 - 8:49pm

i hear ya boone, i hear ya.

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 24, 2012 - 1:29am

are any of you assholes going to submit something or just spam my thread? lol

Cassandra L.'s picture
Cassandra L. from Melbourne is reading A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole March 24, 2012 - 1:38am

You got a deadline on that bad boy or you just keeping it open 'til you've had your fill? I'm not saying the lady's a slut, but she might be tempted . . . 

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 24, 2012 - 1:44am

For first issue, I am hoping to get enough subs by april 15th for a May 1st launch.

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff March 24, 2012 - 4:51am

Nice one Danny! I don't usually write horror, but I could pull some grues. I'll keep it in mind.

Jason Van Horn's picture
Jason Van Horn from North Carolina is reading A Feast For Crows March 24, 2012 - 5:14am

No I had two short story ideas I was going to do this weekend and throw you're way. Nothing is going on here so it's the perfect time to be dark and depressing and write some fucked up shit.

.'s picture
. March 24, 2012 - 7:22am

Where is the response time here Danny? I sent something. 

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 24, 2012 - 9:29am

I will see if I can send something your way ... But I tend to be graphic so I dont really want to waste my time if that's not your cup of tea.

EdVaughn's picture
EdVaughn from Louisville, Ky is reading a whole bunch of different stuff March 24, 2012 - 9:42pm

Sounds pretty interesting. I like the title Surreal Grotesque.

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 25, 2012 - 2:04am

No, Nikki, this will be a no holds barred graphic bizarre sort of zine.  Splatterpunk meets cyberpunk meets Alice in Wonderland.  So feel free.

 

Also, does anyone know how else to make your website more accessible in search enginges besides the basic tags they give you?

@Jacks---I will read through it tomorrow all the way.  I just had a busy weekend.

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 25, 2012 - 2:07am

@Jason---if you could write something along the lines of your amputee porn story, I would be a very happy boy.  

 

I wanted to do this zine because I need something to take my mind off trying to sell the anthology because I suck at waiting for agents and publishers to get back to me.  Response times up to 6 months!  Ugh.  Although the rejections have been very polite and encouraging.

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 25, 2012 - 9:27am

Thx alien.

Jason Van Horn's picture
Jason Van Horn from North Carolina is reading A Feast For Crows March 26, 2012 - 4:28am

I'm writing something - should have it done today possibly and sent your way.

I've got another idea too should that one not fly.

SConley's picture
SConley from Texas is reading Coin Locker Babies March 26, 2012 - 5:12am

Also, does anyone know how else to make your website more accessible in search enginges besides the basic tags they give you?

 

Honestly, i get several hits on my blog from random Google searches and all i do is tag the posts. It's not tons of traffic but it's there.

David Shepherd's picture
David Shepherd from shepherdsville, KY is reading Idoru by William Gibbson March 26, 2012 - 8:20am

I've got a rough draft almost done for ya danny.

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff March 26, 2012 - 10:19am

Danny, just make sure you use the words Twilight, Boobs and Cholesterol a lot, it's the basic of SEO writing.

Actually the top 2011 trends were Rebecca Black and Google+

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin March 26, 2012 - 10:42am

Those are understandable. I can't even remember how many times I typed "Who the fuck is Rebecca Black" or "What the fuck is Google+" last year.
 

I've got something up my sleeve... and I'm not just talking about the wart on my elbow.

ReneeAPickup's picture
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig March 26, 2012 - 1:03pm

I don't know if I have the chops in regards to this particular genre, but I'll try to whip something together and see if you like it, Danny. Sounds like a cool zine.

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 27, 2012 - 9:50pm

Since I'm trying to make this a legit mag and Jason has agreed to help me figure out the pdf stuff.  It will most likely be a pdf magazine that you can actually download and flip through on your computer or Ipad or whatever.  I would love contributions from any and all litreactors.  I have put an ad on duotrope so I should be getting flooded with subs and I'm contacting as many artists as I know.  I think this thing could be something special.  I would also like to do things like interviews, columns and things like that.

Panda is going to be my movie person.

Anyone well-read enough here to cover books?  Horror or otherwise surreal and strange, little known novels....

Also, anyone interested in covering music or recommending bands that might be strange and surreal as well.  Let me know. 

Also any comic book or graphic novel artists.

.'s picture
. March 27, 2012 - 10:22pm

I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for covering books. I have a lot of free time to read and hunt for little known horror books.

Matt Attack's picture
Matt Attack from Richmond, Va. is reading As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner March 29, 2012 - 2:21am

Alright, after much convincing over chat, I am in. 

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 29, 2012 - 2:53am

Well, Kelly aka meat seeker aka Profundia Saint's band, Fist Kitten is going to be our music interview for the first issue and the pdf format is looking good!

 

May 1st people, make those writing subs by April 15th.

Profunda Saint-Sylvain's picture
Profunda Saint-... from Calgary, AB is reading Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series March 29, 2012 - 9:04am

I'm so stoked to do this. The other girls are peeing their pants in delight, too. Once I tune up my writing I will start harassing you with stories, too. :)

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 29, 2012 - 10:25pm

We got an amazing new artist for the mag too and a photographer!  This thing is heating up.  Richard Thomas is also letting us print a story of his.

Get in on this people before it's too late.  April 15th.....

Nikki Guerlain's picture
Nikki Guerlain from Portlandia March 30, 2012 - 5:02am

awesome artwork alien! congratz meat!

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin March 30, 2012 - 12:56pm

.'s picture
. March 30, 2012 - 1:14pm

This magazine is going to be freakin epic!

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 30, 2012 - 3:40pm

Bradley Sands has also contributed a story for issue one.

Bill Tucker's picture
Bill Tucker from Austin, Texas is reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (1st Edition) March 30, 2012 - 9:32pm

I think I may take a shot at this, but I'm so no good at grotesque. Surreal, is a different story so if you don't mind a story that bends the perceltions of universally agreed upon reality, I'd love to give this a go. Just not sure if I understand exactly what grotesque entails.

Nick Wilczynski's picture
Nick Wilczynski from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin March 30, 2012 - 11:37pm

Danny and I were talking on fb about what "grotesque" means. He seemed to be trying to take it in an "ugly" direction rather than a "gross out" direction. Like, a mean spirited self centered character who wreaks havoc around themselves without any concern for the consequences unless they interfere with their agenda, that would be an "ugly" person. Or a person with a lot of derogatory prejudices. Not that "gross out" stuff wouldn't work, just that the core idea is going in a different direction than pure "freak show."

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. March 31, 2012 - 12:17am

Exactly, grotesque can be a mutated twin crawling out of a womb but it can also be the willful prejudice and hatred of people in the modern day.  Grotesque to me is people who protest abortion clinics with huge pictures of dead fetuses.  Grotesque is a family who won't see their grandchild because he is biracial. Grotesque is a man who rapes and beats a woman to death.  Grotesque can wear a human face.

Surreal can be Twilight Zone shit like...they were all toys in a donation bin or the giant alien baby hand grabs the action figure.  The stories can be a blend or either or.  I like subtle as well.  If your story is just Twilight Zone weird, that's totally cool.

 

I also like sci-fi.   Cube is one of my favorite movies. 

Americantypo's picture
Americantypo from Philadelphia is reading The Bone Clocks March 31, 2012 - 7:42am

Danny, I started something last night after our private skype session, so it'll be in your email box within a few days. It's just a first draft, so I'd like your thoughts on how to improve it and make it the best peice it can be for your first issue. It'll be short, completely fucked up, and probably unpublishable in any other market. So I figure its right for your zine.

 

Also, have you considered the amazon.com route? One Buck Horror charges one dollar per issue and from what I've seen they're popular as hell due to their price, and the ease of downloading via kindle. Amazon would take their cut, but I think you'll reach a ton of people if you make this super cheap, or just have the first couple of issues free via amazon. If you charged a dollar you could even pay writers based on sales/royalties, so that would also make it a paying market depending on how well an issue does.

Just food for thought. Will have my awful story to you soon.

Americantypo's picture
Americantypo from Philadelphia is reading The Bone Clocks March 31, 2012 - 7:45am

Whoops- just reread the site- so you ARE considering amazon in the future- good call. Also noticed you were thinking of featuring a longer peice each issue. How can I convince you?

-spits in hand-

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. April 6, 2012 - 3:37am

Typo, I never got a story from you.  When did you send it??

Issue one is full but Issue two is going to be badass as well.  I'll post a pic below of the artist we got for issue 2.  Everyone feel free to send stories still.

In the future we will be doing themed issues so to plan accordingly....

Issue Three:  A Day in the Life of a Serial Killer

Issue Four:  Sex and Death (bizarre erotica)

Issue Five:  Medical Deformities

That is the art of the amazing Joe Whiteford which will be in Issue 2!

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. April 6, 2012 - 3:41am

A rough sketch of the Issue One cover by the talented Peter Tucker!!!

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. April 6, 2012 - 3:46am

Also:  Looking for a regular music columnist.  Someone who is music savvy and always looking for new and strange artists, bands that definitely fall outside the mainstream.  Music reviews, band interviews type of stuff.

WANTED:  Graphic novel artist who wants to do a regular backup story for the mag 3-5 pages.

Also:  photographers of surreal/bizarre imagery welcome.

Mark Grover's picture
Mark Grover April 6, 2012 - 8:06am

Love the artwork...looks like it's going to be a great magazine!!

 

Americantypo's picture
Americantypo from Philadelphia is reading The Bone Clocks April 6, 2012 - 8:19am

It's not finished yet! Still in first draft mode. But I think I might get a draft done today/tomorrow and could at least show you what I have to see if its something that would fit.