Death Head Grin

"Springtime and Jesus" has another publication in Death Head Grin online magazine. View it here: http://www.deathheadgrin.com/

As an update, I am working on several projects now including the first play I've written in years, called "The Appointment". It is about a strange and unsettling meeting between a therapist and patient. Getting stuff published has been slower than usual, as I work a lot these days and haven't been able to write anything nearly as good as "Heteronormative", but hope is not lost.

An excerpt from "A Normal Son"

The extent of Jake’s ability to imitate was fully disclosed to me when my parents bought him drum lessons for his seventh birthday. Jake tended to mimic beats with his hands when I played music and we figured he would enjoy learning an instrument. But to his instructor’s surprise, Jake needed only one lesson to figure out how to play. He calmly watched his instructor teach the basics, and then observed as the instructor combined the techniques to show off an elaborate array of complex rhythms and crashing sounds. In a matter of seconds, Jake was able to copy the instructor’s every move and follow along seamlessly and without mistake. This also occurred when I brought home a how-to-draw book. Jake spent hours at the dinner table drawing each example from the book, with such perfect detail and flawless color and line, that one would think a machine had made the copy.

Jake’s skills were limiting, however. Once he knew how to draw the Eiffel Tower, he could do it again, but if I asked him to free draw something like flowers or a smiley face, he would not know how to do it unless I drew the image first. And even then, his artistic skills would only be as good as mine, with shaky lines and a simple cartoonish quality. Jake’s talent was not in music or in art, but in mimicking with literal precision. He was a mirror, a shadow, but his talents didn’t stop there. As my son got older, he exhibited other strange behaviors that would puzzle even the most trained professional in the field of autism.

HAPPY ALL HALLOW'S EVE TO MY HORROR WHORES!!!

Big Book of New Short Horror is now in hardcover!

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-New-Short-Horror/dp/1617060925/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Thank you Jesse Dedman!

Deadman's Tome has a birthday edition, in which the publisher had some very nice things to say about me. "Springtime and Jesus" is my piece and I chose two other pieces for the magazine by other authors. 


I love when writers support writers, instead of competing!


https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment?ui=2&ik=b37d2c6163&view=att&th=1329b9b024747dc1&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&sadssc=1&sadnir=1&saduie=AG9B_P8yE8IJm7_l1QthB9Pd9hq-&sadet=1316876036859&sads=B8SDrLZWI6U7kJy6psA-XY-DLLU

Big Book of New Short Horror

The kindle version of my latest is available on amazon. I am very proud of this story, "Heteronormative", which has now been published twice. http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Short-Horror-ebook/dp/B005NS596Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1316866295&sr=1-1


I think I will probably be experiencing a writing dry spell. I have been working on my first non-fiction about love addiction, and it is an emotional toll. I also work two jobs, so I don't get a lot of time to create these days. But I feel very accomplished with the amount of stories I have gotten published in the past year. Hopefully, there will be more.

"Waiting for Him"

This was a story I wrote based on a dream I had. What makes this story particularly interesting is that I wrote it without a clear feminist concept in mine. I just wrote it, kind of thoughtlessly. But when I read, and re-read it, the message was strikingly clear. This is a story about marriage, about being prepped for wedding bliss from the earliest age, even if marriage isn't anything you care for. Guess my utter disdain for the idea of marriage, or rather, the expectation of marriage revealed itself to me through my subconscious. Read it here:


 http://69fop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=275&Itemid=7

Post-Mortem Press

I am pleased to announce another publication! Post-Morem Press has published my story "Heteronormative" in their horror-romance novel "Mon Coeur Mort". Buy it here: http://www.postmortem-press.co​m/moncoeurmort.php

"Pretty Girl"

You can read my short story, "Pretty Girl", online here: http://www.pillhillpress.com/current-issue-of-erotica-quarterly.html

Excerpt from "The Colony"

When I was fourteen years old I was escorted to a queen’s cell for the very first time. To enable population diversity, a typical colony of over 1900, had about fifty different queens, whom not only bared children, but held office as head of government. She laid in her bed of satin, surrounded by deep, red walls that displayed an artful arrangement of vines, roses, and honey suckles. The queen was much older than myself and she looked much older than she probably was. Most queens, if lucky, gave birth to a child a year. If she had been birthing babies since twelve years of age, I suspected by now she had birthed over thirty babies in her lifetime. She was large and barely moved from her lazed position on the bed. I wondered if she was my mother, but there would be no way of knowing. 

Censorship

I'm encountering a lot of markets that specify no abuse, no sex, no violence, no swears. Soooo... you mean no horror? Seriously, how does one write horror without those elements? Sure, I like a good spooky ghost story just as much as the next reader, but I'm an adult now. I'm a little bit beyond "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark", granted that's a damn good book. But I don't write children's books, I write shit that is gonna twist your soul and then take a shit on it! I'm having trouble finding markets that don't mind a little exploitation. Not everything needs to be subtle and tasteful. I write what hurts to hear and look at, but it doesn't make my work any less intelligent and well thought out. There is a difference between masturbatory, hard-up, gore and porn, and what I do. I write sex and violence as it pertains to humanity. Humans fuck, fight, and swear. Art reflects life.

Latest Deadman

I have a poem in July's edition of Deadman's Tome. http://deadmanstome.com/

"Erotica Quarterly" and "There Was a Crooked House"

Two anthologies I'm featured in are now available for purchase. Please feel free to check em out!


http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-anthologies.html
http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-erotica-quarterly.html

An excerpt from "Heteronormative"

Jay scoffed at her little performance and swigged down his glass of whiskey. If she had to go to such great lengths to prove how accomplished she was, then she really wasn’t so confidant after all. As far as he was concerned, she was still the naïve wannabe who worshipped him from the front row of class. If it was his approval she wanted she would never have it. He’d read her book out of morbid curiosity and concluded that it hadn’t any more depth than a sappy paperback erotica. He recognized the character that was him in the story. The brooding struggling writer who rapes a twelve year old girl that’s in love with him. This was Claudia’s way of villainizing him. 

Excerpt from "22 Beckett St.", due out this summer

Everyone always wondered what really was behind the door of 22 Beckett St. The reclusive family did not come out much. They did not attend town meetings or make friends with any of their neighbors. The two young girls who lived there didn’t go to school and their father was a factory worker, but kept mostly to himself. They didn’t have much money. This was known because 22 Beckett had been on the market for years before the strange family moved in. Due to its poor construction and slight slant, the property sold for a reasonably low price, and many townspeople were curious about who would reside in such a wretched, unwelcoming home. “Imagine raising two young children in a gloomy, old house like that!” Mrs. Omar would say every time she and her son passed its black, twisted gates on their way to church. Kenny would look up at the very top window and see the oldest girl staring out at him. 

Sexuality and Horror... my two favorite things wrapped up in a neat bow.

I am just so proud that Pill Hill accepted "Heteronormative". I truly did not expect this story to get accepted by any publisher, due to its graphic depiction of violence within sexuality. But this is an important story that should be told, and one of my favorites. I have recently returned to BDSM culture after years of steering clear, but my over-thinking brain still cannot disconnect the social, political, and moral dilemmas in this type of sexual expression. What causes us to want to hurt? What causes us to want to be hurt? And at the end of the day, can it ever be healthy? I don't have the answer to this. I do know that I demand respect inside and outside of the bedroom and even if I have a preference for being a bit roughed up, this does not mean I wish to feel degraded or less of a human being. The trick is finding a partner who is capable of balancing the two needs.


Back to the story, an undertone revolves around rape culture and man's impulse and nature. No, I don't believe that all men are natural rapists. If I did, then I would not dare to have anything to do with men on the whole. However, I do believe the fantasy of rape is ingrained in many of us, due to the romanticizing of rape culture within the media. But of course there is what we fantasize and what we do that makes all the difference. One of my all time favorite poems highlights this idea and was certainly an influence in writing "Heteronormative". Tony Hoagland, so beautifully describes what it's like to want someone you can't have, and what beasts reside within nature: http://buoy.antville.org/stories/355622/

Springtime and Jesus

I wrote this one in college years ago. Probably one of my favorites. It's not horror, or even feminist, but like I've mentioned, I can do more than just one genre. It's a dark comedy about a Christian good ol' boy and his infatuation with a murderous Lolita. The story wrote itself and was easy and enjoyable to conclude. (I state that because stories are usually damn hard to conclude).


Anyway, read it here: http://deadmanstome.com/DT062011.pdf

My next book...

"Heteronormative" will be published in a book called The Big Book of Horror. Thank you Pill Hill!

Deadman's Tome, June edition

Here is the kindle version. http://www.amazon.com/Deadmans-Tome-June-2011-ebook/dp/B00538M1LK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1306711217&sr=1-2


The story is not exactly horror, because I do have the ability to write outside my comfort zone. However, it's one of my favorites about a devoted Christian who sacrifices his faith for crime and sex. Enjoy!

SciFi

So I'm trying my hand at science-fiction more. I have written one other scifi story called "America the Beautiful" about what a society will look like if we continue to advocate and support ridiculously high beauty standards. The story was difficult to write. There are some points I feel I hit well, and some kinks in the plot I still need to iron out. Science fiction doesn't come as naturally to me as horror does, but I find the ones that don't focus on space, aliens, and technology to be far more original and imaginitive. Don't get me wrong, I like space, aliens, and technology, but that vision of the future has been done. What if we never reach space? What if aliens never make contact? Then what will our future look lik?


Currently I am working on "The Colony" about a world without bees, where humans have taken on bee behavior and women are the workers, while male drones exist only for procreation. I think I am proud of how it's turning out, but unlike horror, I am much more insecure about my ability to write a good, gripping scifi. We shall see if I can sell it. So far "America the Beautiful" has not been successful with the magazines. Perhaps it is not cliche enough?

Look, I'm all official and shyte!

http://www.amazon.com/Deb-Eskie/e/B004XSYKCY/ref=sr_tc_tag_2?qid=1306273387&sr=1-2-ent

First Publication

I am holding my book for the first time ever. About as close to holding my first child as I'll probably ever get. I am proud.

Big love to Pill Hill!

My short stories "22 Beckett St." and "Pretty Girl" will be published in upcoming anthologies.

69 Flavors of Paranoia

My short story "Mother's Sin" can be found in yet another online mag!http://69flavorsofparanoia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=24%3Adinner-is-served-menu-11&catid=26%3Adinner-is-served&Itemid=2

Pretty Girl

Today is my last day of vacation and I'm happy to be spending it writing. My most recent story came to me last night at 4 AM when I was up analyzing the difference in how men treat me since I lost weight, compared to how they treat me when I'm heavier. And not one is better than the other. Basically it's a choice between too much attention or not enough, sexual disrespect due to attractiveness, or sexual disrespect due to unattractiveness. Gee, sign me right the fuck up!


This is a story about a pretty girl, about what it's like to be a teenage beauty queen who is completely aware that everyone, including her teachers, wants to fuck her. But although she's perfect on the outside, what onlookers don't realize is that Margery Malone is a strange mutated creature that's appetite is not unlike that of a praying mantis. She is, therefore, man's worst nightmare.

Buy Sinisterotica today!

http://www.amazon.com/Sinisterotica-Collection-Erotic-Horror-ebook/dp/B004XNNFMK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1303586199&sr=1-1

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sinisterotica/Stella-Berkley/e/2940012452610?r=1&if=N&cm_mmc=Skimlinks-_-k186085-_-j12871747k186085-_-Primary

22 Beckett St.

So Pill Hill Press is offering publication to a story inspired by the cover art. It is an illustration of a girl peering out the door of a crooked house. I just submitted my interpretive piece, which I busted out in record time last night. Not only am I becoming more prolific, but it's taking me less time to write a well sculpted story with a decent conclusion. (As I always say, the ending is the most important part of a story!) I think it's because I'm writing the genre I want to write now. I have always written horror, but for a long time I focused on more psychological, dramatic stuff, and while that can be cathartic, it is less fun to write. I get a kick out of writing horror, no matter how gruesome or disturbing it might be. I often find myself laughing while thinking up ways to horrify my readers. In order to be a successful horror writer, I have to tap into some pretty dark places and go to places even I find appalling and hard to handle. However, it's just plain fun when I can spook myself while typing during late hours.


That said, "22 Beckett St." is an ode to "Tales from the Crypt", which is one of my many influences growing up. (I have about 5 billion different influences. One day I shall list them all.) I love polishing this skill of mine, and wish I'd have done it more in the past, but self-esteem is an ass kicker. Now, I long for a community of horror writers. People to share with, discuss with, and play off of. I know somewhere in that community is my creative soulmate. Heh, I like how "soulmate" is not recognized as an actual word on here.

For the Love of Death

 

 

A lonely housewife with a questionable fetish. This tale of necrophilia shows that even the most perfect families have their dark secrets, and that sexual fantasy can be taken to the extreme. This is my first paid publication and will be out this month in the anthology "Sinisterotica". View the Pill Hill Press Forum for more information. http://pillhillpress.lefora.com/2010/12/01/sinisterotica-dfe-quarterly-presents-reading-perio/

 I love that out of all my stories, this is the first to get recognition. It is a personal favorite of mine, but not because it has any depth or meaning. I wanted to write a trashy "American Beauty"". I was about 21 when I wrote this and discovering the boundaries of my own sexual appetite. I wanted to show that inside even the most pristine of us is a nympho just waiting to bust. Really, "For the Love of Death" is one big sarcastic joke. I do hope this isn't the only kind of story publishers want from me.

Mother's Sin

"Mother's Sin" is both a short story and a screenplay, currently in production. (And by that, I mean, me and my buddies are doing a little project with a borrowed camera and some cheap-ass props). This story voices my strong stance on the right to choose by presenting the possibility of what can occur when a woman is forced to have a child she does not want. Inspired by such classics as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Carrie", "Mother's Sin" exemplifies that evil can exist in many forms. However, the misconception that often comes back to me when people read this story is that Cindy's baby is the manifestation of evil, and though I see the relevance in that concept, what makes this story not "Rosemary's Baby" is that Cindy's baby is in fact, just a baby, but the girl's fear, regret, shame, and delusion makes it so this innocent child is a traumatic nightmare. To me, the mere idea of forcing a woman to give birth against her will is horrific in itself, and I hope and pray that this country continues to educate about sex and birth control, while keeping the choice available to those in need.


This story can be found in the next edition of 69 Flavors of Paranoia. http://69flavorsofparanoia.com/

The Current

"The Current" is a tale of adolescent suppression on the beautiful man-made island of Cape Cod. After years of trying to forget, Alec Piper returns to his family's old vacation spot in order to make peace with the loss of his sister who drowned in the ocean before his very eyes. As Alec reconnects with year-rounders and begins to examine the culture of Cape Cod more closely, he realizes that the quaint, old fishing land has a dark, frightful underbelly. In the end, Alec has to make a choice between a life of fast-paced stress and noise, or a life of isolated serenity among the currents.


Having been raised on the Cape, myself, I wrote this story to expose what the tourists don't see. Without the summer sun, the majestic sail boats, and the warm mellow sand dunes, Cape Cod can be a prison for those under the age of 60.


This piece can be found in the March 2011 edition of Deadman's Tome. http://deadmanstome.com/DT032011special.pdf

Heteronormative

"Heteronormative" is a reflection upon the common power struggle between men and women within heterosexual relationships. It depicts sex and violence in its most vicious and primal condition. The character, Claudia, longs for revenge upon the man that she feels took advantage of her and violated her when she was a student of his in college. Obsessed with proving herself as worthy to Jay Briggs, she invites her former professor to a party that is thrown in honor of her best-selling novel. There, the two fall into a a grotesque portrayal of love and hate, and the line between rape and consensual sex is blurred. It is without question that the feminist reader will react with objection to this tale, and will consider it an appalling pornography that permits violence within sexuality. However, as a feminist, everything I write is from a feminist perspective, and though Jay's actions are a heinous display of male dominance, Claudia refuses to be a victim, and at times, is the victimizer. In "Heteronormative", both parties are to blame, both characters are consumed by their competitive desires, and both are essentially the cause of each others torment. 


This story is yet to be published.