January is Full of Entertaining Madness...

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.  I’m working hard to stay sane, but there’s an odd joy to overworked madness.  Reality seems right when it’s a little bit wrong; that slant that only comes from feeling a little loony.  Lately, that stems from hammering the keys every day, although there’s other factors as well.  Trying to meet deadlines, hustle stories in magazines, pitch articles, research rabbit holes, etc.—I could go on for hours.  Suffice it to say, this month a lot has happened, and below is a rundown of all the places you can find my latest work.  Reviews, reflections, short stories, and memoirs—January is chalk full of chances to be entertained.

First off, I spent several weeks polishing a piece for RISK!  A while back I appeared on an online version of their live show.  The audio of that can be heard here.  It went well enough they decided to let me share another true story.  This one is straight madness about dealing with my family.  I don’t want to spoil anything, but it involves guns, human shields, and Christmas Eve.  The folks at RISK! did a fabulous job helping me perfect the performance of this particular story, so I want to say thanks and cheers to them for the assistance. 

You can find this piece of creative nonfiction on their website in the episode entitled Family Values.  The story itself is called “Off Topic”. 

​Family Values | RISK! podcast (risk-show.com)

Not too long ago I got the go ahead to do a piece reflecting on the Deftones’ second album Around the Fur.  Released twenty-five years ago, this record produced the sound that would define the band’s career and legacy.  I hadn’t listened to Around the Fur much in the last few years, so writing this article really gave me a chance to rediscover it.  Find out what makes it a fascinating heavy metal record by reading the article below.

​Coming Back Around the Fur: A Look at the Deftones’ Second Album 25 Years Later | 25YL (25yearslatersite.com)

Crime fiction is a fresh passion for me.  For a while now, I’ve been writing more and more.  Trying not to fall into the formulaic pitfalls is always a challenge, but a rewarding one whenever I succeed.  That’s why I’m thrilled to have the story “Damned if You Do” included in issue 7 of Rock and a Hard Place magazine.  Available now, this installment is jam packed with marvelous tales that take the reader on a rollercoaster. 

My own piece is about a young fellow who thinks he’s about to get his shot at the big time.  However, he’s about to learn what being a pawn really means.  I’ll say no more for fear of spoilers, but there are twists that’ll take you around dark humor, the death of innocence, and plunge down into the depths of damnation. 

​Rock and a Hard Place, Issue 7: Winter 2022 - Kindle edition by Press, Rock and a Hard Place, Allison, Jason, Barnes, Rusty, Guigli, Jim, Phillips, Estelle, McCrone, James, Gilbertson, Nils, Mathews, Bobby, Seay, Ali, Vlasaty, Daniel. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Next, I had the pleasure of doing another review for Horror Obsessive.  This month I took a look at Netflix latest series Archive 81.  If you’re looking for something to watch, find out if this horror show has what you’re looking for.

​Cosmic Horror Lurks in Archive 81 - Horror Obsessive

I was thrilled to sell a diesel-punk story to HyphenPunk.  As a magazine, they were founded in February of 2021 with the goal of focusing "on the human condition through the lens of the postmodern. Cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, solarpunk, and other methods... that allow an aspect of what it means to be alive to be examined in a microcosm."  For those unfamiliar, the -punk subgenres are mainly scifi stories wherein radically advanced machines exist in the past powered by things such as steam, diesel, solar, etc.  That's a simple definition, but more importantly. each unique, alluring aesthetics which can make for captivating stories.

My piece, entitled "Neo-Kshatriya", takes diesel-punk out of its more predictable environment in Europe.  Although still occurring during World War II, it explores events in India.  One of the things I enjoyed about writing this story is that it involved a lot of historical research.  It's based on real events involving the Japanese invasion of India and the attempt to keep them from advancing.  Full of humanity, action, and heartbreak, this is a story well worth your time.

Neo-Kshatriya – hyphen punk

Finally, a quick reminder that Into the Crypt of Rays: a black metal horror anthology vol. II will be shipping out in early February.  I’ve mentioned this before, but preorders are still going on.  This is a soul scarring assortment of unsettling stories inspired by black metal music.  It includes my nightmarish tale entitled “What is Sown” which has to be read to be believed.  Let’s just say saving your mother’s life isn’t always the best move. 
 
INTO THE CRYPTS OF RAYS: A BLACK METAL HORROR ANTHOLOGY, VOL II | Gravely Unusual Magazine (bigcartel.com)
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