I’m pleased to announce that my whacked-out short story “Slarky” has been accepted for the upcoming The Evil Inside Anthology. The release date is October 2012.

I wrote the piece after a particularly vicious nightmare. The strength of the nightmare was bolstered by a fever, and fortified by an iTunes playlist as I wrote.

I should write more about music on this site. Why? It’s with me wherever I go. Each book or story I write has its own specific soundtrack, influenced by the melody and moods of these songs.

When working on first drafts I wear a pair of headphones (AKG K240 Studios, which are lovely), blaring with music. For some reason this helps me slip into the fictional world. Other writers also go this route. Stephen King has talked about his penchant for loud music during first drafts.

I’m a certifiable music nut, seeking forty to fifty albums of new material a year. To some of you out there, that’s nothing, and I applaud your musical passion. But for most people, that’s quite a bit.

Favorite artists…there are many, and a list would hog the front page of this blog. I enjoy Townes Van Zandt, The Flaming Lips, M83, Pink Floyd, Grandaddy, Mono, The Drive By Truckers, to name a few.

Here’s a track that’s been on heavy rotation during my current draft of LAMENT. It’s Christina Vantzou with “Homemade Mountains”. The album is titled No. 1 and was released in 2011.

Christina Vantzou – Homeade Mountains

The April 2012 issue of Bards and Sages Quarterly has been released, and with it my story “Street Lamps and Carbaryl”. You can check out a sample below:

Megan’s athletic physique cut through the night, exposed under the street lamps and concealed again. She checked her iPod which indicated a low battery. She meant to order a new one, but she needed Rob to install it. She also needed Rob to return her calls. Megan thought he might be blowing her off for other girls. College life was beyond promiscuous. Trying to keep a legit relationship in that atmosphere was like putting your recycling out on a windy day. If Rob didn’t call, there were backups—of that she was certain. Megan kept these boys at her periphery. After all, a good spider doesn’t disturb its web by grasping for things beyond reach. Let the trap be a trap, she thought, grinning.

Whew. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on my own author’s page. I guess I’m one of those writers who tends to not be as active in social media. I can’t help it. I’d rather spend that time on my craft.

I’ve been working my tail off, non-stop. I’m 50,000 words into The Prairie’s Lament and hope to have the first draft complete by late April. I also just started editing the novel I finished six weeks ago. So I’m doing around 1800 words a day on Prairie’s Lament, and editing another novel afterwards. I’m not sure how I feel about this to be honest. A novel is not something you can go half-in on, whether editing or conjuring up a first draft. I’ve found that editing the previous novel in bite-sized portions works better. We’ll see if it holds up, but it the editing interferes with the creative process of Lament, I’ll set it aside.

So how do I feel about the two new novels? Great. My best work yet, although they are entirely different. I’d like to get the unnamed novel to my agent as soon as possible, but not at the expense of the first draft of Lament.

I also happen to write short stories from time to time, and one of those is appearing in the April 2012 issue of Bards and Sages Quarterly. “Street Lamps and Carbaryl” is a literary sort of thing that plays on suburban sprawl. I’ll post a link and an excerpt as soon as it’s available.

I’d like to say once I finish the first draft of Lament that I’m taking a break. But other ideas are brewing, like roiling storm clouds over a distant mountain range. Stories often choose you.

Alright, I’ll say it. Something Wicked is my favorite magazine. And I’m not just saying that because they published one of my stories. There’s a sense of adventure and looseness to the pieces which I find refreshing. And of course many of the stories contain science fiction and horror elements.

They’ve also just produced a list of stories eligible for the Hugo awards. “The Watcher in the Corner” is among them:

Something Wicked Hugos

Pretty cool. If you haven’t done so, be sure to give those stores a read. They’re excellent.

I’ve also just started a new novel. 10k in. Didn’t I just finish a first draft, you’re asking? Why yes, I did. But the ideas are rolling, and when they roll, you better sit your ass down and write them (or in this case type, I guess). The novel is called “The Prairie’s Lament” and takes place in Montana in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains.