14 amazingly awesome stories I read in November
Posted on December 3, 2017 Leave a Comment
Glad to see “Baby Teeth” getting some love. Great story.
November seemed to disappear in a flash. I wrote a lot, and I didn’t read as much as I wanted to read. But then, that pretty much describes any and every month of the year… Here are 14 stories I read and loved.
An Unexpected Boon, by S. B. Divya in Apex Magazine. “Kalyani kept Mithraba close over the next few days and nights, watching the lightning beetle’s glow. She decoded his yes and no patterns on the first night: Two light flashes meant yes; one was no.” S.B. Divya tells a gripping story about magic and family and hard choices in a hard world. The perspective switches between Kalyani, a child who sees and experiences the world differently than the other people in her village; and her brother who is trying (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to understand her, and allow her to be as she is…
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On Writing: Know Your Value
Posted on November 16, 2017 Leave a Comment
Yep. All of this. Listen to Laird. (He also wrote a BRILLIANT introduction to my first anthology, The New Black.)
In the interest of making a public service announcement:
Best practices are common enough. While not everyone agrees regarding particulars, there is a general consensus among working writers–money flows to the writer; be mindful of boilerplate and your rights as a creator, and so forth.
It’s more difficult to receive guidance in the gray areas of this business. My experience is that at some point, especially after you’ve amassed a portfolio, it’s time to decide, in broad terms, what you’re worth. It’s a perilous assessment–err too far in either direction, you’ll wind up in the rough. Nonetheless, we writers already find ourselves in the tall grass all too often. Mentors can help; agents are useful; but ultimately, it’s on us to make the call, draw the line, and sign it, or not.
Case in point: A while back, I sold a novella to a terrific publisher for a deluxe anthology…
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Two Honorable Mentions for Best Horror of the Year
Posted on October 13, 2017 1 Comment
Thrilled that my stories, “Repent” (in Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories) and “The Offering on the Hill” (in Chiral Mad 3) were both honorable mentions / long-listed for Best Horror of the Year. Both anthologies were also nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Wow, what an honor, thrilled. Thank you Michael Bailey, Doug Murano, and D Alexander Ward for the continued support, faith, and guidance. Onward and upward!
20 splendiferous short stories I read in August
Posted on September 5, 2017 Leave a Comment
Great list, including some love for LL Madrid’s “On Light and Shadow” at Gamut.
Honestly, August passed in a bit of a blur. I was writing a story that had to be finished by August 31, and the kids were still out of school, so there was a lot of stuff going on. But, yes, there were still so, so many good stories to read.
Right before I put together this month’s roundup, Augur Magazine published their preview issue. This is a brand new Canadian magazine of intersectional, speculative fiction, and it is definitely worth checking out. The preview issue contains wonderful reprints by a range of fantastic authors that gives you a taste of what this magazine is all about. Augur is also running a Kickstarter campaign – so if you feel like supporting a new, pro-paying, Canadian-based venue… head on over and invest a few bucks.
The Lamentation of Their Women, by Kai Ashante Wilson at TOR.com. “They loped…
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BEHOLD! Releases, #1 in Horror Anthologies, My Story “Hiraeth” Included
Posted on July 30, 2017 Leave a Comment
I’m very excited to announce that BEHOLD! Oddities, Curiosities, and Undefinable Wonders (edited by Doug Murano, at Crystal Lake Publishing) is now out! My story, “Hiraeth” is in here, and I think this is really going to be one of the best anthologies put out this year. Doug has been doing excellent work. I turned in TWO versions of my story, and asked Doug which one he wanted (if he wanted EITHER one, LOL) stating that one was riskier, might be more divisive. That’s the version he took.
Who all is in here? Let me list these amazing authors: Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, John Langan, Brian Kirk, Hal Bodner, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Erinn L. Kemper, John F.D. Taff, Patrick Freivald, Lucy A. Snyder, Brian Hodge, Kristi DeMeester, Christopher Coake, Sarah Read and Richard Thomas (me!). With a foreword by Josh Malerman.
And the reviews that are coming in are excellent, too, not just for the anthology, but also for my story, “Hiraeth” which closes out the book. Very exciting.
Want to hear more about my story? Check out this video:
Art Reveal for “Hiraeth” in Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders.
Posted on June 18, 2017 Leave a Comment
Art reveal! Luke Spooner interprets my story “Hiraeth,” a tale about the wondrous power of the stories we tell ourselves. Love this interior art, such emotion and symbolism, which, when you read the story you’ll totally understand. Always a huge fan of Luke’s work.
Fun fact: The word “hiraeth” is defined as a yearning or nostalgia for a home to which we can never return…a home that, perhaps, never was.
Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders publishes July 28 and features Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Brian Kirk, Hal Bodner, Stephanie M. Wytovich, John Langan, Erinn Kemper, John F.D. Taff, Patrick Freivald, Lucy A. Snyder, Brian Hodge, Kristi DeMeester, Christopher Coake, Sarah Read and me!. Foreword by Josh Malerman. Illustrations by Luke Spooner. Cover art by John Coulthart.
“Battle Not with Monsters” accepted by Cemetery Dance
Posted on June 7, 2017 Leave a Comment
Big news! Thrilled to announce that my short story, “Battle Not with Monsters” has been accepted by Cemetery Dance magazine, and will be out with them in 2018. This will be my second story in the magazine (I was in Issue #72 alongside Stephen King last year), my third with them in general (“Stillness” in Shivers VI my first), and fourth acceptance overall (my collection Tribulations was released in eBook with CD last year). Huge fan of the work they’re doing, and it’s an honor to publish with them again. Thank you Richard Chizmar, Blu Gilliand, Norman Prentiss, and Brian Freeman for your continued support. Means a lot.
Signature Sheets for Chiral Mad 3!
Posted on May 15, 2017 Leave a Comment
My very first signature sheet! In great company here—Chiral Mad 3. With Paul Michael Anderson, Mort Castle, Jack Ketchum, Meghan Arcuri, Emily B. Cataneo, Jessica May Lin, Hal Bodner, Richard Chizmar, Josh Malerman, Max Booth III, Scott Edelman, Gene O’Neill, Gary A. Braunbeck, Eric J. Guignard, Jason V. Brock, Erinn L. Kemper, Damien Angelica Walters, Ramsey Campbell, and Mercedes M. Yardley. Wow. One hell of a TOC.
My Story, “Hiraeth” will be in BEHOLD! Oddities, Curiosities, and Undefinable Wonders
Posted on May 6, 2017 Leave a Comment
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be a part of Behold: Oddities, Curiosities, and Undefinable Wonders. My story “Hiraeth,” will be in this exciting anthology (I’ve seen the full TOC). It’s a story about pain, hope, suffering, and the stories we tell ourselves, the layers of reality that exist around us. Hope you dig it. I’ll be joining a growing table of contents that so far includes Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Lucy A. Snyder, John F.D. Taff, Brian Kirk, Patrick Freivald, Kristi DeMeester and Erinn Kemper. Josh Malerman will write the foreword. More to come! Stoked. Thanks, Doug Murano and Joe Mynhardt for your continued support. Crystal Lake Publishing continues to do great work. (FYI: Hiraeth is defined as “a feeling of nostalgia or longing for a place you’ve never been, or which may never have existed.)
StokerCon 2017!
Posted on April 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
Here is my schedule for StokerCon:
FRIDAY—Mini Mass Signing 10-11 AM; Shades & Shadows 8-10PM (attending)
SATURDAY—Panel: Publishing, Kickstarters, Gamut and Expanding Horror (with Mercedes and Dino); Pitch Panel 2-3; Pitch Session 3-5; Stoker Awards 7-10 PM. And I’m sure a lot of other social events.
See you there!
- Richard Thomas - 