Happy Halloween! (And a triple shot of horror.)

Ah, Halloween -- that glorious time of year when we abandon all pretense of cultural sophistication, carving totems and donning masks in the hopes that the oogly-booglies will pass us by in favor of some tastier-looking morsel (like that non-waving jackass down the street that's always blasting Foreigner and cleaning his Winnebago; but I digress).

Awesome, says I. And since this here chunk of Interweb is my little dog-and-pony show, I've decided to celebrate by linking to my three entrants into the horror genre -- three shorts that represent the nastiest I have to offer. Here they are, in order of length (cause hey, you're busy today, bloodying rags and severing limbs and whatnot; you need to know which scares might fit your hectic zombie/ax-murderer/please-don't-say-princess-what-kind-of-costume-is-that schedule):

The Well (short, and not-so-sweet)

A Better Life (what's worse than mice in your eaves?)

The Toll Collectors (an undead revenge tale or one whacked-out protagonist? You decide...)

Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy 'em. And have a safe and happy Halloween!

Some Love for The Feral Pages!

Just in time for Halloween, Keith Rawson's got some kind things to say about the first issue of The Feral Pages over at BSC Review, and by extension yours truly. You can read the article here.

"Exceptional chiller"? I'll take it. Heck, I'da taken anything north of "meh", so this may well elicit chair-dancing...

"Eight Pounds" to appear in Thuglit!

After a crap-ass day in which neither I nor the universe seemed to do anything right, I'm happy to report things seem to be turning around. I've now got a working furnace, some tasty Chinese food, and word from Thuglit that they've accepted my short story Eight Pounds for their November/December issue!

Thuglit has published some kick-ass stories in their time, and played a major role in the discovery of a certain Mr. Neville. I'm glad to be part of the team.

And on a related note, I'd like to send a shout-out to David Cranmer and Elaine Ash, for general menschiness in the face of writerly stupidity. 'Tis much appreciated...

"A Better Life" Now Available!

The premiere issue of The Feral Pages, featuring my short horror piece A Better Life, goes live today. Also featured are fantastic outings by the likes of Patrick Shawn Bagley, David Dvorkin, and Maren Foley, as well as a boatload of worthwhile nonfiction content by editor Lyman Feero (who, by the way, is also responsible for the site looking so darn snazzy). So pop by and take a gander; you'll be glad you did.

Oh, and reading it back, this may be my best blog post title ever.

Twitter?

Twitter.

Sigh.

More Details on The Feral Pages

The Feral Pages, the new cross-genre webzine from award-winning editor (and tremendous author in his own right) Lyman Feero, is set to go live October 15, so mark your calendars. The premiere issue features one hell of a crime/horror crossover by Patrick Shawn Bagley, as well as a quiet little horror piece with a gut-punch of an ending by yours truly. The zine will also feature articles and editorials on genre and genre theory, which I, for one, am psyched about, because Lyman spends more time thinking about this stuff than most people spend awake.

If you'd like to read Lyman's musings on his intentions for the direction of The Feral Pages, you can check them out here. If you're a writer who'd like to submit, the guidelines can be found here. So get to work, and be sure to check back in October 15, when the whole shebang goes live.

The Ghosts of Belfast Available Today!

Stuart Neville's brilliant (stupendous, phenomenal, insert-superlative-of-your-choice) debut novel, The Ghosts of Belfast (known in the UK as The Twelve), goes on sale on the Budweiser and barbecue side of the pond today, and I'm here to tell you, this ain't your mama's thriller. Unless your mama's some kind of crazy crime-fic savant, that is. I mean, Patricia Highsmith was someone's mom, right? (What's that? She was an angry, alcoholic, misanthropic lesbian with no children? Oh. Still, though.)

Want prose that sparkles? This has got it. Rich characters? Check. Massive stakes? Neville's got you covered. So what the hell are you waiting for? Buy it buy it buy it.