April

With an hour and half left in the month, I think it's safe to assume I won't be receiving any rejections or acceptances before midnight rolls around. This month was both good and bad, but mostly just slow. I had two acceptances and four rejections...and two of the latter were for the same story. I sent out several pieces at the end of March, so May and June ought to be loaded with rejections.

The mother-in-law is doing better and I can actually spend some waking hours at home rather than the hospital. Still, I am taking tomorrow off from work. I need another day to rest.

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to think of an idea for a series of flash stories. I'd like to come up with a character or two that I could feature in several short tales, just for an exercise in writing if nothing else. I also wanted these stories to be slightly humorous, or at the very least, retain a light feel to them. My problem is, no ideas sounded good. The adventures of a traveling swordsman? Can you get any more cliche than that? How about a pair of paranormal investigators who have comical encounters of the spectral kind? Snooze. So far the best I can come up with is a pair of con men - one with academic training, the other more skilled at physical things - who find themselves in goofy situations as they try to locate, loot or outright steal priceless artifacts around the world. I'm still mulling it all over. Maybe I'll just a few more stories about Mendrik the dirt goblin.

The Devil's Food TOC

So the full TOC has been out for about two weeks now, I'm just slow in getting around the vast interweb thingie. Anyway, here it is:

The Mattawan Meat Wagon-- Tim Curran
They Drink Us In Our Sleep-- Elizabeth Twist
Monsters In the Basement-- John A. Miller
Grimm and Grimmer-- Mark Onspaugh
The Children-- Dave Dunwoody
Dear Mrs. Andrews: We Regret to Inform You-- JH Hobson
C-C-Cold-- Ken Goldman
Gretel-- Camille Alexa
Micheal Ballantine Remembers His Name-- EL Pallai
The Faceless Ones-- Jameson T. Caine
Starvelings-- S.D. Hintz
Harvest Time-- Lyn McConchie
Blood Dryad-- Bret Jordan
Spider and I-- Aaron Polson
Hunger Pains-- Myrrym Davies
The Golden Boy-- Michelle Howarth
It Had Teeth-- Gregory L. Hall
Hunger in Tsuen Wan-- Natalie L. Sin

Woot!

One Week Later

It's been a whole week since my last blog post in these parts, though I have chimed in on other blogs when time permits. My writing has come to a stand still. I think I've written two or three sentences in the last seven days. The reason? The Other Half's mother had to be rushed to the hospital last week and remains in the ICU after emergency surgery for a perforated colon. She has other problems as well, though the colon was the worst. The end result has been chaos in these parts. Running back and forth to the hospital, struggling to meet work requirements and still get off early and catching quick meals here and there. I am exhausted. Hopefully, things will start to get better now that the worst seems to be behind us.

After the Dead Bait rejection, I fired off Deadliest Cachalot to another market. It took them all of three days to turn it down. They enjoyed it and said it was well written, but it wasn't what they were looking for. sigh. I sent the story off to a third market, but if this one rejects it, I may sit on the story for a while before trying again. Still trying to get this story for the Vermin antho hammered out, but as mentioned, my mind hasn't been able to focus too well.

Bloody Tuesday

Not much new around here. I took the day off from the day job to work on a few things and help The Other Half take her mother to the hospital. I woke to find a rejection from the Dead Bait antho in my inbox. Since at least three other people who were also shortlisted for the book received similar emails, I am now referring to this day as Bloody Tuesday. After feeling bummed for about five minutes, I promptly got on Duotrope and found a new place to submit Deadliest Cachalot.

Returning home from the hospital, I found another rejection in my inbox, this time from Everyday Weirdness for Racing Midnight. The funny thing was, I had just located a market that sounded like a good fit for that particular story, so I sent it off since it was now free again.

The two rejections, coupled with heat in the mid 90's, made it hard to concentrate on writing. I worked a wee bit on my Vermin antho story, Ground Zero as well as a former Micro piece called The Anubis Appropriation that I am enlarging into a flash piece. Didn't get much done on either one, so I retired to the couch and munched Funyuns while finishing up Felicty Dowker's Phantasy Moste Grotesk. A chilling and creepy read, be sure to nab yourself a copy.

Bad Guys

I'm going to put a spin on the latest meme thing going around. First Aaron got us started with the list of our favorite stories. Then Danielle spun it into a list of her favorite characters. I'm gonna put my own stamp on it and make a list of my favorite bad guys/monsters/villains I've created.

1. Yidnicatoth - The god worshipped by the titular characters in The Faceless Ones. I had fun when dinner time rolled around. My characters did not.

2. Jackson and Jefferson Sawyer - Twin brothers that share everything, including an unhealthy lust for their next door neighbor. Not much redeeming about the two, I named them after two discarded pseudonym candidates. They appear in Planting Season.

3. Mr. Taunton - The one who maintains The Gallery of Final Repose. He likes to paint people. Dead people, that is. The more ghastly the demise, the better he likes it.

4. The Gimplings - Small, goblin-like things that are horribly mutated from inbreeding. They leave their hidden lair twice a year and invade the nearby town en masse in search of food and are The Horror of Pine Hollow.

5. Blondie - A cold blooded killer that ruthlessly eliminates those in his way. His true name is never revealed. The main character just refers to him as Blondie because of his hair color. From The Transcendental Man.

After thinking all day about the idea provided to me by The Other Half, I got started tonight on my story for the Vermin anthology. I'm trying to not rush things and am taking it slow. At this point I only have 216 words. I hope to work steadily on it this week. We'll see how that goes.

Stopped by my favorite Mexican food place today for lunch and gorged on two of their famous (in these parts) burritos. Tonight I paid the price for all that spicy food. At least all that time in the bathroom gave me a chance to start reading Phantasy Moste Grotesk by Felicity Dowker, which arrived in the mail today. I'm tellin' ya, kids are creepy and she hit all the right buttons on the first two pages.

Let There be Heat

Today it hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit in these parts. After being relatively cool, the temperature was a rather jarring change. The Other Half and I suddenly found ourselves throwing all the windows open in order to cool the house somewhat. Since my office is on the west side of the house, it gets a lot of the afternoon heat and gets warmer than the rest of our place. I might have to actually turn a fan on if this continues. Needless to say, I'm not thrilled at the prospect of the 110 degree weather I know is coming our way.

As for writing, today was one of those days where I couldn't focus on much of anything, so I worked a little on several different projects. I worked on a rewrite of a micro piece, turning it into a flash piece. Then I jotted down ideas for writing exercises. After that I started a new story that will be very short as well, though right now I think it sucks more than a malfunctioning sex doll. I may not even bother subbing it. I've also been trying to come up with a decent idea for the Vermin anthology and had decided to incorporate the existing bits of an unfinished story called Wrong Turn in Dutch Hollow into a new piece. I actually started that before breaking for a shower, at which time The Other Half not only came up with a great idea for a Vermin-themed story, she provided plot points and a great ending. Now maybe I can get her to write it!

Despite being early (not even ten PM yet), I think I will call it a day and go watch some TV.

Shamelessly Stolen

Well, let's try this one more time, since %$#@!*& Blogger erased all my text and auto saved before I could undo it the first time I tried to post this.

Shamelessly stolen from Aaron, who seems to have jump started a meme without realizing it, here is the list of my favorite stories that I have written.

1. Deadliest Cachalot - Currently shortlisted at the Dead Bait antho. This one was written twice because the first draft was lost in the hard drive crash. I like to think I made it better the second time around. I'm rather proud of the fact that I wrote it twice, seeing it as my way of not giving in to the despair of the crash.

2. The Transcendental Man - Currently subbed. Another story rewritten from scratch due to the hard drive crash. This is one of only two stories I have written in first person, but the opening line wouldn't work as well any other way.

3. The Faceless Ones - Accepted for the Devil's Food antho. This story convinced me that I could write a novel someday. I slaved on this one for the better part of a month before deciding to send it off. I plan on revisiting the bad guys in this one someday.

4. Maximus Rising - Accepted for Sand #5. A simple character driven piece about two brothers dealing with a loss. Ed at Sand asked for a rewrite and helped me make it better.

5. The Horror of Pine Hollow - Currently subbed. This one got my own heart racing while writing it, which proves how much fun I had in the creation process. I despise weak female characters and this one was my attempt at featuring a kickass female protagonist.

6. The Gallery of Final Repose - Currently subbed. A ghost story with a (hopefully) horrifying end. I based the characters on myself and three friends as teens, probably why they were so easy to write.

7. Planting Season - Currently subbed. I love monsters, but this is one of the first times I looked at the monster within a Human being. Still threw in a non-Human monster.

8. Pruritus Maximus - Currently subbed. A tale of dark humor. I really worked hard on this one, chopping, writing then chopping some more, all in an effort to get it at the right length yet retain everything I wanted to include. Men will no doubt find this story horrifying.

9. The Madness in Their Eyes - Rejected once, considering a rewrite before subbing again. About interdimensional non corporeal creatures that are serial killers. I like the idea, but the execution may need reworking.

10. A Cause for Celebration. Rejected more than any other story, it currently sits on the computer while I consider retiring it. The basic premise originated in the mid 90's, but the story has seen several revisions over the years. I like it because it is a character driven piece with a more subdued sense of horror. Too subdued for most markets, apparently. Ed at Sand offered some good things to say about it, but still passed.

Woot!

The weekend got off to a good start when the inbox produced an actual acceptance. After a quick rewrite earlier this week, my story, "Maximus Rising" was accepted for issue number 5 of Sand. After I did the happy dance, I celebrated with a coke and (you guessed it) cheese puffs. I had to limit my puff intake, as tonight is dinner out with The Other Half and her parents.

Now, energized by the acceptance, maybe I can get some writing done this weekend. An idea or two has formed in my head and they need to be put to paper...or to screen...or...whatever. Blog ya later!

In Limbo

I have not posted much on this blog since the first of the month because...well, because it's been pretty damn dull around here. I get up, I go to work, I come home and stare at the computer. I've written little, accomplished little and squandered lots of free time. I think April is a lost month. All I've managed to do is watch lots of TV (Primeval, Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Reaper, Buffy) and a few films. I haven't even kept up with my reading. The inbox has been mocking me each day, refusing to bring any word of my stories out there in submission land. I've been trying to think of an idea for a series of flash pieces, but haven't come up with anything that doesn't sound like utter shit. So I'm off to drink Coke, eat cheese puffs and watch the season premiere of Deadliest Catch. G'night all.

Oh, Scrap

The latest meme has come knocking on my blog's door thanks to a nod from Brenton Tomlinson. Apparently he finds something brilliant about this wasteland I call a blog. I guess my plan to fool everyone into thinking I'm a genius is working after all. HA! I suppose this blog is a brilliant way to waste time, if nothing else.

The Award and Rules:

This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.

The rules are as follows:

1. When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to the said person so everyone knows she/he is real.

2. Choose a minimum of 5 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have seven friends. Show the seven random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with Honest Weblog. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3. List at least ten (10) honest things about yourself. Then pass it on!

Here are my picks for further scrap-ness. Since many of my other choices have already been picked by others, I'm leaving it at two.

Mercedes M. Yardley - She of the exploding bowls and ever-ready sewing machine.

Joshua Reynolds - Writer, monster lover and overseer of Jackapo County.

OK, 10 things about me:

1. I come from a very conservative, fundamental Christian family. In fact, in days long past, I was once an ordained minister. The family and old friends tend to frown on many things I like, and while I don't go out of my way to offend them, I long ago decided to live my life my way. Still, when it came to writing horror, I knew I'd never be able to do it under my own name. So in order to avoid their disapproving self-righteousness (and so that I could write other genres and not get associated solely with one field), I had to find a new name. Thus...

2. ...Jameson T. Caine is a pseudonym. In choosing the name, I knew I wanted a first name that could also be a surname, and I wanted the last name to be a single syllable. I went through many names, finally deciding to settle on a "J" and "C" combo. How did I arrive at this? Well, my handwriting sucks, so I chose letters that were easy for me to write. So if I ever get to sign books someday, I'll be ready. Jackson and Jefferson were discarded before I chose Jameson. It happens to be the name of one of my favorite scotch whiskys.

3. My real name is Timothy, thus the reason for including the "T." My middle name was supposed to be Andrew (it ended up being Allen), so if I ever publish any epic fantasy, I'll do it under the name Tim Andrews. My real name is being reserved for any Science Fiction I may one day manage to sell. My last name is Hispanic, though I am about as white as one can get and not blind people.

4. I love bad movies in the realms of scifi and horror. In fact, I have my own website devoted to bad cinema, where I examine films in excruciating detail. Check it out: Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard. Of course, the site is on hiatus for the time being while I pursue writing fiction.

5. I have a huge DVD collection. This is in part due to my love of bad films, but also because I love anything scifi, fantasy or horror. I have over 2500 titles, ranging from film to TV series to anime. They take up one entire end of the master bedroom, encompassing three walls (and it still isn't enough room).

6. In high school I wanted to be a musician really, really, really bad so I took up playing musical instruments. In various bands I have played guitar, bass and even drums. I sold all my stuff years back, keeping only one guitar. Heavy Metal was always my first musical love.

7. I have a fascination with Japan and Japanese culture (except for boy bands - Japanese, Korean or anything else, sorry Natalie). This came from watching Godzilla films a bout zillion times as a kid and then moving on to J-horror and anime. I've even taken lessons in Japanese in hopes of visiting someday.

8. I prefer British television to most American TV, especially when comedies are concerned. I'd love to visit the U.K. someday and visit the many friends I have there. Like Japan, I have a fondness for many things from across the pond (food, drink, culture).

9. I really do not like children. I hesitate to use words like loathe or hate, but I just don't like most kids. I can get along fine with them. Hell, they all think I'm awesome and people think I'm really good with kids, but the truth is I don't like the many rotten, spoiled little hellions out there, raised by clueless parents.

10. I can pop (or "snap" or "crack" if you prefer) almost every joint in my body. Toes, ankles, knees, pelvis, back, neck, jaw, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, thumbs - you name it. Combine the loud pops with my double-jointed elbows and you will understand how I can make people believe I just snapped the bones in my arms.

This And That

After a rather slow March, things are already picking up for April. With the closing of From the Asylum, my story Pruritus Maximus was returned to me. It had been at FTA since November and I was considering withdrawing it in order to sub elsewhere. I originally wrote it for the Dark Jesters antho, so I need to find a market that considers humorous horror.

Then last night I received a rejection from A Fly in Amber for A Cause For Celebration. That's now the third rejection this year alone for that story. I might it sub it a time or two again before considering a revision or just flat out retiring it.

Bummed about the rejection, I was totally shocked to hear from the Devil's Food anthology today, which has accepted my story, The Faceless Ones. Not only am I jazzed about the acceptance, but relieved, since that was one of the stories that was obliterated in the hard drive crash a couple months back. Now I don't have to worry about asking for it back.

I haven't written at all since Tuesday, being so pooped out from work. I plan on squeezing in some writing time tomorrow. Tonight is movie night with The Other Half. By weekend's end, I should have both Pruritus Maximus and A Cause For Celebration out again, as well as a new story, Planting Season.