On-Line Reading and Interview

Evening kiddies, I just wanted to give a quick little bit of info.  Last night I recorded a reading and discussion about my views on the horror genre with Austin Moss at whattheglasscontains.com.  It went very well and had an unexpected twist.  I began by reading my flash fiction piece “The Conversation” (from Pill Hill Press’s Daily Flash 2012).  I didn’t plan on reading anything else, but the topic of today’s society and how the horror genre fits in started up.  I spoke a bit about In Memoriam and how it came from social issues facing the country today.  In the end, I read the prologue to the novella and it was well received.  I will post the links to the interview when it goes live around August 27th.    Hope everyone goes and checks it out.

Now Armand and I will begin the final edits and get it out for the masses.

Goodnight…

In the Beginning…

Hello all you ghouls out there!  Tonight we open the casket on the subject of being the new guy in the room, the one just now striking out on their own, and the one who will make mistakes.  Nobody who starts writing  is a pro from the start.  It takes time and it takes some luck, but if you lack skill the luck can’t help you get very far.   In the long run, your mask gets thrown off and the real you steps forward.  Am I a pro?  Hell no, but I can see the writing get better with each tale I write and that’s how it should be.  When I go back and look at some of the old stuff sitting on the hard drive, I cringe.  That is my focus for tonight, it is a learning experience when you start out.

I have been pretty lucky in my dealings with publishers so far (except for one and I pulled an awful story I submitted  just to prove he was accepting anything).  I’ve worked with Armand Rosamillia, Eric Beebe, Jessica A. Weiss, Adam Millard, the crew at Pill Hill Press, and the guys at Knightwatch Press.  All of them have been very supportive and its been super to be a part of their press.  I owe each of them for giving my work a place to scream bloody murder at the world.  They are all professionals and I hope we can continue to work together in the future.

It hasn’t all been smooth though.  I started out with rejections and my first acceptance into an anthology was cancelled.  It did sell later so everything is cool there.  Have I always sent stuff to upstanding publishers?  We want to get stuff out anyway possible at first and the answer is no, we don’t always send to the right places at first.  The above comment about the pulled story is why.  I sent something in I knew was crappy (it was the second story I’d ever written) and as I expected, he took it.  Then there was a large e-mail shouting match about the contract and I pulled the story.  I did it partly because I wanted the story buried again and also because the guy was an ass.  This same person just rewrote a friend’s first story without telling her and then said some very unsavory things.  It will be ok though, what comes around goes around and his day is coming.

Those are the issues we deal with starting out.  Some of us don’t have fairy god-parents who we rely on to make our career happen.  Most of us have to put the fingers to the keys and put the boots to the floor trying to make it all happen.  Do we make some rookie errors?  Yes.  Do we learn from them?  Yes. 

In the end, I’ll know I have my career because I fought and bled for it.  I pushed and scratched for it, avoiding all coat-tails in front of me.  You know what?  I’ll sleep better and my work will be better for it.  I’m not going to do it half-ass and expect others to push me through.  I’m an adult and I can take care of myself.  Things have happened quick and it only goes up from here.

Well, I’ll stop there for this evening so I can write some more and drink some more too.

Goodnight…

Voice in the Wilderness

Busy, busy, busy…

I have signed and sent in the contracts for the Chained In The Attic and Undead Tales 2 anthologies, the novella is out there being looked at, and I really want to throw someone under a bus still.  That last comment is because I had another story accepted, but the way you communicate with an author over your uptight idea of a signature is not to insult a signature made by a mouse in Adobe.  Seriously, how many signatures are legible any way?  Not that damn many judging by the ones I’ve seen so I pulled the story.  Anyway, the story was the first non-flash fiction piece I ever wrote and I thought it wasn’t great, but I was trying to prove a point to myself.  It did however connect to the novella and introduced the best watering-hole in White Creek.  Will the tale ever come out?  I’m not betting on it, but I might put it up sometime so that you can see how far my work has progressed.

The new projects pile is four strong right now.  There are still shorts, but the four things are going to take a lot of time away from the shorts.  First, I’m researching  for a novella sequel to the story “Stonewall”.  The tale is still one of my favorites and there is more story to finish what I started with that one.  The second two are a series of shorts.  One focuses on the town of White Creek and introduces you to the wicked that reside there.  The other is the continuation of the Dark Frontier concept I’m playing around with.  A short intro to it was published in Pill Hill Press’s Daily Flash 2012, but things have changed a tad.  The center piece story is almost complete and then I’ll start fleshing out the rest of the humanity’s downfall.  Lastly, the outline for the novel I want to write first is complete and right after you meet White Creek, I’m going to kick it in the ass.  The town is a place of myth and legends and of hurt and pain.  Ground paid for in blood and protected by betrayal can’t be safe forever as they find out on March night.

Overall, I know everything sounds ambitious, but I think the walls I set up around me in the past few months have finally tumbled down.  My head is clear and my motives are clean so I’m ready to lace ‘em up and kick ass.

Goodnight…

The Year That Was 2011

Well, this is it.  Here we are at the end of 2011 and it was one hell of a year.  When the year first started, I had just  finished out 2010 with a fun reading at Mo*Con IV and a few rejection slips from editors.  That was pretty much my writing career till 2011.  Considering I didn’t start writing until mid 2010, I didn’t expect much.  I heard all the stories and such about, ‘doing your time’.  Well, I guess I did enough time, because 2011 was a very good year.  The first half was slow, but once April hit, all bets were off.

It started in February when I was given the chance to read at Horrorfind 13 in September.  It meant I had to skip Mo*Con, but I was ok with that for this chance (and to the guy who does the selecting - thank you, I still say I owe you more and you know who you are).  I now had a conundrum…what should I read since I didn’t have anything published yet?  April brought what I thought was the answer when my first acceptance came for “Stonewall” (that anthology has been cancelled and brought back from the dead to be published at some point in 2012 I hope).  It was followed closely in May when “A Winter’s Feast” was accepted.  Stories went out and rejections came back for a few months.  Late summer and early fall would prove to be a storm.

I tried to spend most of the summer working on my novella, “In Memoriam” (I am preparing to get the first three chapters out based on the synopsis I sent out).  The short stories were on the back burner, but some didn’t want to be buried.  Through the next three months I had eight more stories accepted.  I only set myself a goal of five.  Come on, let’s be realistic, it was only my first full year.  So, if you want to see what’s coming or what is out to buy, check out the Biblio page.  There is even a nonfiction piece that will be out in January and I will give you more info when I get it.

That brought me to Horrorfind 13.  It was the most fun I could have had.  I drove with my partner in crime Wesley Southard to the great state of Pennsylvania for a weekend of books, booze, and good friends.  I learned tons from people I hadn’t seen in a year and from some new friends as well.  Then I had the reading.  I wish I would have done better, but I was nervous and it showed.  I decided to read “A Winter’s Feast” for my time in the ring.  I picked it because it was my first story to see print and because it was the only thing I had the book for.  It was sweet to be up there and read from the book.  I highly recommend it!

The year ends and I’m gearing up for 2012 with the work on the novel and another novella or two.  The short stories will keep coming and ten is the goal for 2012.  I will take some of the stories plus some new ones for a collection or two in the fall (I hope if things go well).  I have not forgotten the blog followers, you guys have a story coming just for you.

The thank you’s for 2011- My wife (my pre-pre-reader who busts me up before Troy gets me), kids, and pug: you guys are the greatest family a man can have.  To the following for their advise: Wesley Southard, Brian Keene, James A. Moore (who told me to stop screwing with “In Memoriam” and get it out there), Tim Lebbon, Bob Ford, Kelli Owen, Christopher Golden, and to John Everson and Jeff Strand for the interviews.  Troy Green for being my pre-reader from hell (and kicking my stuff in the teeth – you make it better) and to Armand Rosamilia (Rymfire Books), Jessica A. Weiss (Wicked East Press), Eric Beebe (Post Mortem Press), and Jessy Roberts  (Pill Hill Press) for trusting my work and putting it in print.  Lastly, I want to thank all who have read and followed the blog this year, 2012 will be even better! 

The top ten books of 2011 will be up on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day for you to take a look at.  If you haven’t read some the books on the list, go get them and enjoy the rides they will take you on.

Goodnight…

Daily Frights Now Avalible and a Rant

Welcome!  I am pleased to announce that Pill Hill Press’s Daily Frights 2012: Leap Year Edition is now for sale.  I have two tales haunting its pages, “Monster” and “Dr. Forsythe’s Cure”.  Once again, both are 500 word flash fiction stories.

“Monster” was an idea that had been floating around in my head for a month or so about a boy trying to cope with the monster that lives under his bed.  His family doesn’t believe him, so one night he takes matters into his own hands.  The end was not how I envisioned it, but when I typed it, I loved it. 

“Dr. Forsythe’s Cure” I sat down and whipped up quickly for the hell of it.  The idea of how a doctor would attempt to treat a phobia and its unintended consequences intrigued me. 

So, go forth and read in 2012!  Pick up Daily Flash or Daily Frights and enjoy my four yarns and the other 364 in each book.  At 500 words or less you can relax, kick your feet up, and enjoy a bunch of cool stories from a bunch of talented people. 

Disclaimer…next is my opinion on the current political landscape.

Ok, rant time.  Facebook and the government are the devil.  Both are filled with a bunch of B.S. from the extreme right and the extreme left.  Facebook has become a place for the ends of the spectrum to tee off on each other and flood the site with a ton of crap.  In Washington, both parties find themselves trapped by their power. 

Trapped how?  Well, they like their positions and would really like to keep them.  Where the Dems and the Repubs have problems is the primary voters.  Primaries don’t bring out your average everyday voter, they bring out the venom spewing demon spawn from each side that would rather burn the country down before they would work with the other party.  These are the people our “representatives” bow to.  Without the primary, they can’t run in the general election. 

Take the Repub presidential fiasco going on right now.  There is no way in Hell Newt can win against Obama in 2012, but because the fringe right loves him (and their other favorites have epic failed), he is leading the polls right now.  Mitt is a more center-right person who is more likely to work with the left to get something done and polls better in head-to-head match ups against Obama.  Guess what?  He is second or third in some polls because of this.  We end up with politicians who owe their power to the extremes on both sides and gridlock everything because they can’t get along. 

How dare they work together!  While these far end voters take control of the politicians, where does that leave the other 80% or so of the rest of us?  Where is my voice in all the yelling and screaming and name calling and finger-pointing?  I know where my voice is…ignored.  The system is failing the majority to appease a small minority voting block.  Does the middle have a voice anymore?  No and I don’t get it.  Once the pinheads win the primary, they need the middle to vote for them to win the general election.  Mitt has some issues now because as he tries to make the extreme right happy to win the primary, he has gone back on many middle-of-the-road stances he once held and he is going slaughtered for this flip-flopping.

If you are in the middle, stand and be proud!  Go to the polls and vote this primary season so the fringe’s voice gets muted a little bit.  We need to start taking the country back for all of us, not just a privileged few on the right and the left.  We are a united country that needs to find its identity again and not from the SEIU, NRA, Sierra Club, or the Heritage Foundation.  I am an a American and I am in the silent 80% no longer.

Goodnight…

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Whatever (Buy A Book)!

Like I said in the title, what ever it is you celebrate… have a happy one!  To make all your family’s dreams come true this holiday season, give the gift of books.  What?  Do I know of any good ones?  Why yes I do!  As you can see to the left…Daily Flash 2012 from Pill Hill Press is now out (and please the bottom of this post).  I have two tales in it and there is a ton of great stuff in it from many great authors like my friend Wesley Southard.  The book is 366 stories, one for each day of the year, and each is 500 words or shorter so that you can read each day’s story in a few minutes.  Taking the train, taking the bus, stuck in traffic?  Pack this tome with you and never be without entertainment.  Now about my stories…

“The Conversation” is the November 23rd story and is a very personal one.  This was the one where I bleed on the page.  Every time Brantly speaks, the words coming out of his mouth are my words and my feelings.  It needed to be told.  I originally had a longer story planned, but I could never make it work the way I wanted it, so I tossed it out.  Problem with this story is that due to the subject matter, it hung around in my head.  When I saw the submission call for Daily Flash, I sat down and tried again.  The result is something I hope you enjoy, I bled it out for you.

“On the Wings of Darkness: A View From the Dark Frontier” will find you when the calendar flips to August 26th (I might have the dates flipped- if I do forgive me).  While trying to form an idea for a series or a collection of interwoven short stories, this was the first part of the concept I came up with.  Now that I’ve had time to work it the overall arc more, some stuff has been altered slightly from how it is described in this story and you’ll have to read about it later.  This one was hard to write due to trying to pack it full of background, but still try to tell a story about how one man views the new world he finds himself in.  I had fun with it, so you are allowed to have fun too!

This week also saw another anthology with a story from me go on sale.  Wicked East Press’s Under the Stairs came out with my story “Calvary Hill”.  I guess I’ll give you a quick story note on this one too.  I never really set out to write a Western and strangely enough, I find myself doing it again right now as we sit here talking books.  This one started out being focused on something and then I found myself more intrigued by the other main character more.  In fact, two characters from the story appear in the new story and the town is penciled in to pop-up again when I get the chance.  Calvary Hill still has more story left in it, blowing through the empty streets like tumble weed in the desert wind.  Overall, I enjoy the story a lot. 

I have updated the Biblio page with links to the four books with my stories at this point.  The links can take you to multiple places to shop, so have at it.  If you like something you buy, please go back and leave a review or press the like button on the book’s page.  As long as I know you want to read them, I’ll keep writing them.  This page should be changing soon as it will morph over to brentabell.com or something close to that and I am going to set up a fan page on Facebook so I can separate things over there (you are ordered to ‘like’ it when I’m done).  My Amazon Author’s Page is up and looks nice now that there is more than one book listed for me.

So, have a happy whatever and support your local and other small press authors this Holiday Season.  Goodnight…

Time…and some news.

I can feel it breathe its hot breath on the nape of my neck.  I know it lurks behind me like my shadow and walks lock-step with me.  I feel it start to close its grip around me while I stand in the palm of its hand.  Every time I awake the days gone by leave aching remnants in my muscles.  Time is closing in and I think I am at  peace with that at last.

A few years ago if you were to tell me that I would finally be trying to live my dream of writing, I would have laughed at you.  Now, here I sit typing this with some stories in print, some at the press, and more upcoming.  I also have a novella being finished up, a novel started (two more plotted out), and the ground work finished for two short story collections.  I sit here at 36 and reflect on what brought me here. 

What really started this time stuff was an examination of the few white strands that are peppering my beard more and more each day.  Each one to me is a mark earned through my life.  A mark earned through love, loss, joy, hate, and everything life throws at you.  Time could have devoured me a few times already here on Earth, but time left me for later.  I am here for now, so I must make the most of it and push myself to make this thing happen.

I’ve cut back on the Backwoods cigars, the alcohol, and I tend to shed some pounds this next year because I plan on beating time for just a little longer.  I have many a story to tell and I want to be around to tell them…and now the news.

In the past week two books have gone to press, Under the Stairs from Wicked East Press with my story “Calvary Hill” and the Pill Hill Press’s Daily Flash 2012 also went to press with my tales “The Conversation” and “On the Wings of Darkness: A View From the Dark Frontier”.  I got the galley for Daily Frights 2012 (which should go to press Dec. 5th) with my stories “Dr. Forsythe’s Cure” and “Monster”.  The galley for Father Grim’s Storybook from WEP with “As I Crossed Lincoln Bridge” arrived also.  I will have more info as I get it and ordering links will be put in the Biblio page.

The chimes are tolling again and a story is screaming to be worked on so goodnight…

Finishing Strong- November News

The past few days have been very busy here.  I have received the galley for Pill Hill Press’s Daily Flash 2012: 366 Days of Flash Fiction which includes my stories “The Conversation” and “On the Wings of Darkness: A View From the Dark Frontier”.  The book should be going to the printer next week and I will get the links out there as soon as it becomes available.  I am proud that my friend Wesley Southard also shares space in the book with me.  So click on his name and go check him out…now!

I received word today that I had a second story accepted to Pill Hill Press’s Daily Frights 2012 flash fiction anthology also.  “Dr. Forsythe’s Cure” will join “Monster” in that collection soon.  I cooked up the four flash tales for fun.  I’d been focused on longer works, so I felt I needed to go back and tighten up my prose by writing tales with only 500 words.  I enjoyed myself, but the longer works call and the flash muse is silent for now.

Lastly, Post Mortem Press’s New Dawn Fades zombie anthology has just gone live at Amazon.  Head over to Amazon and pick up a copy here.  My story “Spot Shoot” is included in the book.

Good night…