BACK AGAIN AND GONE

ME & THE DREHMERS

2011-04-28T04:07:00.000-07:00

I have a piece called "Ray" in the one-year anniversary issue of Aleathia Drehmer's IN BETWEEN ALTERED STATES. Ray first appeared in a story I wrote for Opi8. He has since shown up in a screenplay and a group of tales centered around a diner. In my opinion, Ray is the most terrifying character I've ever created (by the time you notice him, it's already too late and you'd better hope you're not the person he's looking for)....

RAY

I also have a little poem called "Stardust" in Blossoms, a mini-zine edited by Aleathia's daughter. Can't wait to receive it.

I've cut back on writing and submitting work to focus upon music, but will have more new poetry up soon at Sex and Murder Magazine, Gloom Cupboard and Phantom Kangaroo.

KICK AND FREE CHINESE FLOETICS

2011-04-05T04:08:00.001-07:00

I have a short story called "Kick Head Kimberly" at Pulp Metal Magazine. Part of the Candy Sangria Experience.

KICK HEAD KIMBERLY

My poetry collection, OUR SECRET END, is in the works. It'll be published overseas, but available online and in the US, as well.

After it comes out and I post FLASHDRIVE 2, I may teach myself Mandarin Chinese and write music for a while. Or just speak Mandarin, since it's as beautiful as any music I've ever heard.

Mmmm...DROP!

2011-03-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

My poem "descent" is up at The Camel Saloon:

descent

My own favorite of the desert poems I've written. The road described is one I took almost daily when I was out in CA. They have some wonderful poetry at The Camel Saloon. Glad I happened upon it.

FLASHDRIVE 2, the next disenthralled e-book, is coming along. Two stories to go and I've been in touch with the photographer. Still on track for a May 1 posting.

I picked up some audio mixing/recording software and may put together a radio drama. I haven't written or recorded any complete songs in a while, so that's also a possibility.

BACK IN BLACK AND HERE

2011-03-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

I have a poem called "re-animate-her" at Mad Swirl:

re-animate-her

My first piece for them. I had no idea that you become a regular once you have three poems there. Hmmm. Would they take a poem about unseen electronic bird-gods? Would anyone?

I also posted a story of mine called "Last Stop, Dullsville" at issuu, along with some of the Paul Dutra photography that inspired it. Forget to mention it here. You have to be a member or issuu--free and easy--since it's correctly tagged unsuitable for children:

TICKET TO DULLSVILLE

I'm about to post a new disenthralled issuu e-book. Two stories by a writer who appeared in one of the regular issues and a cover by a photographer new to us. By us, once again, I mean me. Possibly today.

PETROL COLADA

2011-03-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

I have a new story up, "Evan," at Nefarious Muse. It's all true but the detail I added to frame it into a story:

EVAN

Finished a crime story today.

May draw some.

Yesterday I did a pen-and-ink portrait of Henry Cooper, based on a photo of him taken after he'd gone five rounds with Muhammad Ali. It's my new profile pic at faceplant. I really like working with pigment pens and india ink--a mixture of drawing and painting. The results are gritty and suit my colorblindess and predilection for B&W.

PHANTOM KANGAROO

2011-03-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have a new poem, "underspace," in issue #5 of Phantom Kangaroo. My first time appearing there. Nice site, good company to be in....

underspace

I should have a story or two up soon, maybe a comic.

Wrote half a story this morning. I usually bang them out in a sitting, but I want to let this one stew, under the lid, for another day before I wrap it up.

DARK DAYS AHEAD AND BEHIND

2011-03-07T01:40:00.000-08:00

The spring 2011 issue of DARK VALENTINE MAGAZINE is up, containing an illustration of mine and stories by Paul Brazill and others. My first time being published with them:

DARK VALENTINE SPRING 2011

I was asked to do this, after I had a piece go up at A TWIST OF NOIR. Aspects of the drawing surprised me upon seeing it again--surprised, as in, I don't remember doing that--although I just drew it a month or two ago.

_____

I now have the photographer, guest introducer and full line-up of writers in place for FLASHDRIVE 2. Three stories already. On track for the May 1 publication date.

I have a list of writers I want for FLASHDRIVE 3, which I'm hoping will be kind of a Scary Twilight Zone Edition.

_____

Sent off a few things the other day. I'm going to have another story at IN BETWEEN ALTERED STATES and a poem up next week. I should have a comic up soon. I'm also waiting to hear back on whether a new Candy Sangria tale will be posted.

This weekend, I wrote a poem about a night I spent at a Long Beach oil refinery and the bulk of a short crime story inspired by a trip I'll take to Wyoming next month. By the prospect of it. Not the trip itself, since I haven't taken it yet. I'm driving someone out, then flying back solo. I don't mind the traveling--looking forward to the drive and I'm fine with flying--but there are lots of loose ends and details to be worked out and a certain amount of dread involved. I would like to get some road trip pics, jot down a couple story ideas. And I've never been to Wyoming before.

This morning. I may work on the crime story and type up a few poems. I want to do a pen-and-ink portrait today, but am undecided on the subject.

Coffee pot, come to me....

I REMEMBER FALLING....

2011-02-28T06:45:00.000-08:00

I have a new poem entitled "the fall" at The Camel Saloon. My first appearance there. It's also archived at their annex site, The Second Hump, which you can link to from the homepage....

THE FALL

I just began to submit written work again, after quite a layoff. I'll have another poem in a small press mag soon. About to email a short story.

The list of contributors for FLASHDRIVE 2 (being released internationally as SON OF FLASHDRIVE) is coming together. Very excited about this. People I haven't published or worked with before. Plus, I'm asking about half of them to do what they ordinarily would not, which almost always leads to innovation.

FLASHDRIVE

2011-02-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

FLASHDRIVE, the first disenthralled E-book, is up at issuu. Photos by Sarah Bloom. Flash Fiction by Peggy McFarland, Robert Crisman, Laurita Miller, Carrie Clevenger, Quin Browne and Me (I included the story that gave me the idea, which was inspired by the work of Nicole Hirschi).

FLASHDRIVE: Flash Fiction and Images from the Road

My first time dealing with issuu. I found out the hard way you can't edit what is posted there. There are a few typos/brainslips/format glitches, but the material is strong. Read the Foreword, if you must, at a skim.

I found it much easier to layout the file prior to uploading it than dick around with it for hours on end, like I've been doing at the main Wordpress site (http://disenthralled.net). The e-zine/website version consumed far too much of my life. Issuu offers a way for me to continue disenthralled without it becoming a full-time job again.

_____

Sarah Bloom, who provided all of the photographs, has a Kickstarter campaign, "Totally Exposed," that you should check out. If you like the work she has contributed to disenthralled and my other projects, please consider supporting her:

TOTALLY EXPOSED

_____

Opened the windows in the office today. It's beautiful out. The wind is gusting, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. Belle, one of our Siamese kittens, hopped right up to watch the birdies.

"Look at the little birdie...."

Pop!

WINTERKILL

2011-02-15T03:56:00.000-08:00

Did a new piece for A TWIST OF NOIR yesterday:

SNOW'S NOT COLD TO A DEAD MAN

That was the working title. I don't really give my drawings titles. Call it whatever you want. "Nice Job Backing Out of the Driveway in Fresh Snow" would do.

I sketched the clouds and lower half in pencil, then started inking from the top with micron pens. The skylines were done freehand. My favorite part, I think, is the mailbox.

Yesterday, I picked up some ink and an India ink brush-pen to try on large blacked-out spaces. I've been eating up the micron pens; I love them for inking these small pieces, but they don't give the kind of flat, opaque coverage I want.

Next, I'm going to work on a new comic for PULP METAL. I have a few things ready, but need something different before I post the Quin Browne short story I adapted.

I'm also finishing up a little e-book called "Flashdrive" (Sarah Bloom photography and various writers). Should be up soon. Today, if I can place the photos and upload it to the site correctly.

And with my free time, unless something comes up, I'll be either be watching bad Horror or 70's Crime movies.

BAD BLACK HEART

2011-02-14T04:53:00.000-08:00

New Valentine's Day story, "Mine," by Rizzy Rodham at YOU WOULD SAY THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?

MINE

_____

Working on some new crimescene artwork and a stippled portrait of Charlie Patton today.

Wrote a poem last night, for the first time in months.

I'm sliding back towards music and martial arts training and have no idea how this year is going to play out.

BACK IN BLACK (LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS RE-MIX)

2011-02-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

BLACK BETWEEN THE FRAMES #2 is up at Pulp Metal Magazine. Lots to read. So go read it....

BBTF #2

_____

Submitted a poem last week that will be appearing in a print microzine this spring. I have a slew of poems from last year that I never sent out. May get on it this week.

Finished the pencils on a new version of the Quin Browne story I adapted for BBTF.

There are a few things I could work on, but I think I'd rather draw a picture of Lightnin' Hopkins today.

NOT THE COFFEE, DAMMIT

2011-01-31T03:07:00.000-08:00

New drawing, "Why you should always sit at a table, rather than a booth, with a clear view of the door," at Twist:

A TWIST OF NOIR

Sakura micron pens on a sketchpad. I almost painted it, but decided to go with lines and heavy blacks. Still undecided whether I should do greyscale or straight B&W on this kind of image. Black and white, I think, if I can pull it off. There are an infinite variety of effects you can achieve with straight B&W. Not always logical or accurate--often stylized, suggestive, even surreal--but my primary concern is eliciting a reaction, not winning a prize for photo-realism.

I'm reminded of Cornell Woolrich, one of the progenitors of Noir. His stories were often contrived, overwrought, at times nonsensical, but he dragged you into the heart of his existential nightmare and didn't let up until you almost couldn't stand it.

Finishing up a new BBTF today. Have another ready. Keeping an eye out, while I wait for details on an upcoming illustration.

METALHEADS

2011-01-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

BLACK BETWEEN THE FRAMES, the monthly crime comic for Pulp Metal Magazine, now has a homepage:

BBTF

I plan to do a few single-panels, then a longer story or two this spring. I'm already at work adapting the short story of a friend.

* * *

Just finished an illustration for a periodical that I have never appeared in, as a writer/editor/anything else. Excited to be part of it.

Next are an illustration for a comic-themed book, new artwork for A Twist of Noir and a wicked little story for Valentine's Day. And I may get disenthralled up and running again soon--I discussed it with a guest editor and contacted a new photographer this morning.

What's on Chiller tonight....

PULPSTER

2011-01-10T03:46:00.000-08:00

My monthly crime comic for Pulp Metal Magazine, BLACK BETWEEN THE FRAMES, is up and running. Here's the proposed intro (should be added soon) and a link:

You took a wrong turn and nothing makes sense. Left or right, the streets get darker. You double-back, retrace your steps, only to find the last intersection gone.

Don’t stop.

Don’t even slow down.

Because that noise you heard was something, all right. That blur in the alley more than a shadow.

This is the City of Wellesport. It plans to do more than welcome you. And the slip that brought you in may be the last mistake of your sorry life....

BLACK BETWEEN THE FRAMES

YOU LITTLE PUNK

2011-01-03T04:14:00.000-08:00

Only too happy to do something for Paul Brazill's blog. That guy hauling ass across YOU WOULD SAY THAT, WOULDN'T YOU? was inked with Sakura Micron pens, painted in watercolor, scanned, then drained of color and tweaked to make it appear greyscale....

"Hightailer"

Working on some new stuff for A Twist of Noir and considering a few other projects.

Back in Black (and White)

2010-12-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

I have a new drawing up at A TWIST OF NOIR today:

Matchstick Man

Tried a method I saw Andrew Loomis use, black pen with inkwash around the figure. The ink, a Speedball acrylic/pigment, was very thin and grey. I had to paint several layers to get it dark enough (also tossed in acrylic paint and Sharpies to see what would happen), then went high-contrast after I scanned it. Lost a touch of the subtlety and detail of the original. I'm trying to figure out the best way to do greyscale crime comics and illustrations. By hand. Colored pencils look good on paper, but don't scan well.

I've transitioned from writing prose to using art as a storytelling medium or combining scripts with illustrations. Although I have been writing straight fiction and poetry all my life, I also used to draw cartoons and have been yearning to get back into comics lately. It's more satifying for me to have more than one thing going at once--I'd rather sing and play music at the same time than just play, etc. You can achieve a more sophisticated effect when combining disciplines (imagine what the right score does for a piece of otherwise silent cinematography). The creative process is different for me, as well, broadier and dreamier than when I exclusively use words. It's a looser focus. Meditative. Time flies by at a startling rate.

If anybody wants an illustration, let me know. I'm open to whatever you have in mind. * pitchbrite@gmail.com *

ALTERED STATES, PART TWO: THE BEGINNING

2010-11-30T07:10:00.000-08:00

Have a new piece of flash, "Over the Hill," in Episode #7 of IN BETWEEN ALTERED STATES. I'm pretty sure this is the only brand new short story I've written to completion since July (about 2/3 of the way through another novel at the moment, adapting a short story as a web comic and fooling around with Manga-style portraits). Interesting project. Nice work all around....

Read "Over the Hill"

RIZZ IS....

2010-11-03T04:13:00.000-07:00

New story, "Amanda," by Rizzy Rodham, at Paul Brazill's YOU WOULD SAY THAT, WOULDN'T YOU. Went up Halloween night. Based on some poetry I had published in print and online over the past year or so (through Oustider Writers, Shoots and Vines, Full of Crow)....

Read AMANDA

I may just have to hand my keyboard over to her at some point.

DID YOU FEEL THAT?

2010-10-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Up today, a little horror story of mine called "Touch" at FLASHES IN THE DARK: Horror Flash Fiction in Daily Doses:

FLASHES IN THE DARK

There's a permanent link to the story in the sidebar.

On Halloween, Rizzy Rodham's short story "Amanda," based on some poetry and prose-poetry I published over the last year, is scheduled to go up at Paul D. Brazill's YOU WOULD SAY THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?

TWITCHING THUMBS

2010-10-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

The following poem, "the witch," appeared in a print anthology of New England poetry last year. I think. I got an acceptance letter, but no contributor's copy. The life of a writer. Anyway, Happy Halloween....

the witch

our neighbor
the widow mcdowell

--whose husband
worked hard for
sixty-odd years
was kind and quiet and
steady as they come
then spent his
retirement
running naked from the
groton town police—

used to set
baskets full of apples
from her own backyard
over the wall
and
into ours

my brother and i
would both yell
“witch!”
and run
into the house

looking back
i felt terrible
until i remembered
how she’d smile
when we ran
light right up
maybe even laugh

i realized
she wasn’t just
trying to be nice
but also
trying to
scare us to death

she did a
pretty good job
that witch
which
in a way
makes me
feel good too

________

Otherwise...

I'll have a short story published online tomorrow, another in December.

This morning, I hit page 87 on the adult Horror novel, NOW AND THEN. Itching to finish so I can revise the YA Horror novel I just wrote.

As for drawing, I'm about to do some serious work on negative space. I started an album called ART? at my facebook account to track my progress.

CONTOURS

2010-10-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

Just posted an interview with Katashi Katsu, by Juliette "Rizzy" Rodham, at disenthralled:

STALL
_____

I'm on page 68 of the new book, NOW AND THEN. I've only been shooting for 5-10 pages a day on this, because (1) it's a more sophisticated novel than the last one I wrote and (2) I want to devote as much time as possible to learning how to draw. I turn out a decent sketch from time to time, but have never gotten serious about art. It's time I did. My goal is to be able to illustrate my own comics or cartoons. (I have always wanted to do a daily, horror comic strip. I did have one running online, about six or seven years ago, with an artist who manipulated photos of live models. It's where I first used the title BACK AGAIN AND GONE. Ramsey Campbell gave me permission to use the name of one of his early characters--Render of the Veils, from a Lovecraftian short story--as the name of my own sinister antagonist. It's tough coordinating with an artist for an ongoing project, especially when it's published strictly for fun. Perhaps being able to illustrate one myself will open some doors for me.)

I don't have much coming out this fall, since I haven't been submitting, but I may send out a horror story or two this week.

ED & THE DEAD

2010-10-06T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have a little rhyme called "ED" in issue #40 of Danse Macabre, one of the ezines I appear in somewhat regularly:

ED

_____

This morning, I tried to choose what type of book I'd write next. It's a toss-up between a crime novel (for which I have @ 70 pages of raw material) and an adult Horror novel with the working title NOW AND THEN. I'm leaning towards NOW AND THEN. Wrote a couple pages. The idea feels like it's ready to go. NOW AND THEN is a ghost story, told in the past and present simultaneously, with a vicious little twist at the end.

Britt and I may go out to a local diner for breakfast to celebrate the completion of my YA novel, THE CALL.

_____

Yesterday, I submitted a new short story, "Over the Hill," to a site I haven't published at yet. Should know before too long if it's what they're after....

CALLED OUT

2010-10-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

This morning, I completed the Young Adult Horror novel I’ve been working on. It’s the first in a series I had in mind based on the Cthulhu Mythos tales of H.P. Lovecraft.

I started it 8/20/10. The major difference between writing this and the other novels I’ve written this year was the pace. I recently changed schedules at work. Instead of banging out 3-5 pages a day, every day, like usual, I wrote 20 pages a day, Mon-Thu. Weekends off. It took about a month and a half to write.

I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable this set-up was. The book came in at 348 double-spaced pages—59,717 words. At this rate, writing a novel is far less daunting for me. I can keep the momentum up. The ending is always in sight—meaning that I don’t have that feeling of not knowing how long the project will go on. Plus, committing myself to write 20 pages a day FORCES invention, which is one of the key ingredients to making a long work interesting.

I kicked it off like this:

“You believe in that stuff?” Michael asked.

And then ran with it. I had the main character and basic framework of the novel in mind, but none of the other details. I just let it come. It’s great to be surprised yourself as you’re writing and some of the plot turns and revelations really caught me off-guard. As a rule, I don’t plot out much. Almost all of my poems and short stories begin with a simple line that pops into my head; I plunge in with no idea how things will turn out. If you trust yourself this way, I find, say what you mean and stay true to the rhythm and mood of the piece, the rest will take care of itself.

The first thing I noticed, upon completing it, was that I didn’t have the bittersweet, manic postpartum let-down that tends to accompany writing a book. I was happy to type THE END, extremely satisfied with how it went.

So what’s next?

I’m going to write one more book right away. I’ll figure out over the next couple days what kind of novel it will be. I have two or three ideas stirring. Then I’ll clean up the first three chapters of this one and pitch it, along with an outline of the series and the next installment.

This has been a good time for me. I’m in a creative free-flow like I haven’t experienced in quite a while. The painting. Photography. Music. Writing. Fashion madness. Everything is working and working together, with no one activity cutting into the others. 2010 has been the worst year of my life in many ways, but the love of those around me and the almighty power of Creative Expression have pulled me through. Here’s to even more of it as I head into 2011.

Walter Conley
Louisa, VA
10/5/10

BACK FROM THE BACK OF BEYOND

2010-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Some new work out...

THE STRAY BRANCH, Vol. 3 Issue #6: Fall/Winter 2010, contains my poem "this house is haunted," along with plenty of other poetry, art, fiction and photography. $9.00 via Createspace:

THE STRAY BRANCH

Quite a delay between acceptance and publication, but worth the wait. There's a recording of Quin Browne reading this poem that I would like to hear before I die.
_____

COME AND BECOME, the novel based on my recent trip to New Orleans, had to be put on hold.

After setting it aside, however, I began the first in a series of Young Adult novels based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. It's tentatively entitled THE CALL. Unlike my previous attempts at YA, this one hasn't turned so dark that I've had to abandon it (my son has been begging me to complete a vampire novel, written primarily for my children, that got out of hand by the end of the second chapter). I'm only writing four days a week now, due to a change in schedule. I wrote ten pages a day for the first week or two, then decided to push myself a little; I am now averaging twenty pages a day. This morning I hit page 224. Once it's finished, I'll write three chapters and an outline for the second novel, WITCHHOUSE, along with a series overview, tidy up the opening of THE CALL and see if I can get anyone to bite.

I still have this spring's crime novel, SUMMERLAND, to revise, but don't feel the urge just yet.

Not sure what I'll write while I'm waiting to hear on the Lovecraft project. Maybe a dark contemporary fantasy, as Rizzy Rodham. If someone's interested in the YA series, though, I'll probably just focus on that for now.

I've been dabbling with a paintbrush lately; there a few pics on my facebook page. My first poem in over a month is up there, too. Banging on my new drum set every day. I also have a phonebook-thick stack of poetry I need to submit, if I can make time....

COME AND BECOMER

2010-08-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

More about the new book.

I started it on July 28. It's a horror novel entitled COME AND BECOME, based on my recent roadtrip to New Orleans. The first thirty pages read more like a mainstream novel, but I have planted several things that will come into play later on.

As of this morning, I am @7400 words in.

_____

Major differences between C&B and the novel I wrote before my trip to New Orleans, SOMEWHERE ELSE (aka SUMMERLAND):

I had a feature-length screenplay and several short pieces to work with for SE, so the framework was already there. For the new book, I am just running with it. Deliberately. No notes. An idea but no set structure.

SE was stripped to the bone.

C&B is much more descriptive. Atmospheric. Broad. I'm allowing myself to write, rather than report. Reeling in invention. And one of the two main characters has become the most fully-realized I have ever created.

For SE, I wrote three pages a day.

C&B has no daily goal, but I am averaging more. More densely-written pages. SE was probably 3/4 dialogue.

I had a completion date in mind for SE and hit it on the head. I have no idea when I'll be done with C&B and don't care, but it probably won't go more than three months, at this rate.

_____

Once I complete the first draft of COME AND BECOME:

I will rewrite and shop SE, then come back and revise C&B--possibly sending it out as soon as the rewrites begin. And once C&B had been revised, I will begin another.

Questions? Want to talk shop? That's why I'm writing this post, so comment if you have something on your mind.

HOME?

2010-07-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't take a single photo on the trip. I was too busy looking at things.

On July 28 I started the new book, tentatively entitled COME AND BECOME. 2800 words in. It's surprising how easily I've slipped back into longform writing.

I'm contemplating a short story collection for electronic publication, something like Kindle. No idea how that works. Need to check into it soon.

COUNTING AND GEARING DOWN

2010-07-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

Two days until Lynn and I depart.

Ahead of schedule on the book. Halfway through the final scene. I should finish it tomorrow and have my desk cleared for the trip (not counting obligations awaiting my return).

I'll be taking B&W photos for one of the editing projects I have lined up. Print. Poetry/Flash on New Orleans. More on that later.

Disenthralled will resume in August.

I will most likely be out of touch from Wednesday until the end of the month. I now have a cellphone but couldn't tell you the number offhand. I may be able to check Faceplant from time to time, so you can reach me there if necessary.

FIVE AGAINST ONE

2010-07-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Five days until we leave for New Orleans.

I submitted two poems this week. Couldn't help myself. One of them went to the best litmag online--I suppose I shouldn't name them, since I work with so many people. But they are. The other went to an anthology, for a group I admire and would like to begin publishing with.

Hit page 199 on the book this morning. Two key scenes and one transitional scene remaining. I'm halfway through the first of the two major scenes. It'll be close. I will probably have only the final chapter to complete when I head out Wednesday night. I plan to finish it on the road, either longhand or on Quin's laptop, if I can sneak it away from her.

I have a thing for black pencils with #3 lead. Keep that in mind when Christmas rolls around.

SOMEWHERE ELSE

2010-07-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been doing for the past two months.

When I was out in CA, a while back, I wrote a feature-length screenplay. A director expressed an interest in it, but couldn't get the project organized. I shelved it. The story has been nagging at me, though, with re-vamped scenes appearing in short stories over the past year or so.

In mid-May, I decided to adapt it as a novel. The title may no longer be available (a TV series with the same name appeared shortly after I passed the screenplay around), so I've been using the working title SOMEWHERE ELSE. It's a crime story. Noir as noir gets. "Everybody smokes, everybody dies," as I explained to my daughter.

The writing itself has been a lot of fun. The novel quickly took on a life of its own. It's not just a matter of filling in the blanks: although the basic plot remains, the pacing is different and so many new scenes have been added that the middle section bears little resemblance to the original work.

As of this morning, I'm 173 pages in. Writing a novel is largely a matter of commitment and endurance. I average 3 pages a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the momentum and how much time I have available. At 3 pages a day, however, the book should be finished by or around the end of this month, when I depart for New Orleans.

As soon as it's done, I'm going to write another--a horror novel that is taking shape--then come back for a revision.

Meanwhile, I've stopped writing poetry and short fiction. Sporadic pieces happen and I try to meet reasonable submission requests, but I haven't set out to deliberately write any short-form work since May 15. Too often things get put aside because I attempt too much at once. I'm determined to finish this book without interruption.

_____________

Over at disenthralled:

I have a new issue of Paul D. Brazill's WARSAW MOON ready to go up today and several others awaiting photography. Hopefully I'll be caught up by August or September and can decide what's next for the site.

Walter

DAMN THAT HOWLING!

2010-07-03T05:55:00.000-07:00

145 pages into the crime novel. While I finish this, I am going to immerse myself in classic horror, then use my road trip to New Orleans as the basis for a horror novel. Currently reading THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU by H.G. Wells (a nice Berkley paperback edition from 1968 with a hellish cover).

I have no desire to write short stories or poetry at the moment, but do have a strange long-form momentum going.

I won't be driving down to N.O. alone, after all. I'll be taking a friend, which will make the journey every bit as special as the vacation itself. Roughly three weeks until we set out.

A MONTH OR TWO OF MOONGLOW

2010-06-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

Waiting on material to finalize issues of disenthralled.

103 pages into the novelistic adaptation of an original screenplay. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have characters grow in a work of this length, catch you off-guard, do things you hadn't expected that spin the plot in new directions. Begun in mid-May. At this pace, it might be finished by the time I head to New Orleans, the morning of July 22.

I have a stack of unsubmitted poetry to get out, but am not sure this will be next on the agenda. I may write a horror novel, as soon as I end the present one, to give myself a little distance before I undertake the rewrite. Set on the road. Inspired by the work of the Lovecraft Circle, Arthur Machen. E.T.A. Hoffman also seems like he'll figure in, although I can't imagine know how just yet. I will not push the idea. Not even a single note. When it comes, I'll start banging the keys. I want this book to really move in the writing as well as the reading.

As for the trip, I will be driving to Slidell, Louisiana on my own, possibly stopping a few hours out the night before I'm to meet the friend who is graciously putting me up (having family put me up, that is). Three days in and around New Orleans. I've done my share of rambling, but have never visited the southeastern corner of the U.S. No fixed schedule, as usual. Lots of hanging out. Having coffee. Wandering through the city. Perhaps a stop at the legendary Myrtles Plantation or a similar location for some impromptu ghost hunting. I should have a cellphone by that time--my first ever, I'm finally caving in--to provide updates on the trip at facebook or twitter.

BLISTERS ON A PHOTOGRAPH

2010-05-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who have been stopping by and leaving comments.

There is a new special up at disenthralled, featuring the artwork of IRA JOEL HABER and writing of PETRA WHITELEY:

HABER/WHITELEY

Subs will CLOSE May 31, 2010 at dis, so I can catch up on posting what I've received.

* * *

I have a poem called "leach" in the March edition and another called "the back again" in the April edition of Graffiti Kolkata Broadside. They are currently going over the manuscript for my chapbook, OUR SECRET END, which should be out soon.

I'm taking a break from submitting new work to focus on a longer project and clear my desk for the summer.

This July, I have a road trip to New Orleans planned with a friend. While there, we intend to stare at greasy birds, smoke like smokers, drink coffee with chicory and hang with writers, artists, photographers and musicians we know online.

If you live nearby or will be in the area, let me know: pitchbrite@gmail.com.

GOING WRONG

2010-05-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Up now at disenthralled....

Part Three of Paul D. Brazill's WARSAW MOON; photo by Daniel Bell:

WARSAW MOON: PART THREE

Issue #7. Poetry and prose by Karen Baker, J.S MacLean, Carrie Clevenger, Kilian Conor, Paula Ray, William Doreski, Roberta Lawson, Tyson Bley, Jelena Vencl Ohlrogge. Photography by Jill Auville:

ISSUE #7

* * *

I have a poem called "sunset city" in issue #4 of 1000th Monkey available in print or download through the Outsider Writers Collective.

And to follow what's been going on at The House Where Nothing Happens, read the latest chapter at 6s/Ning.

DISEN-STALLED

2010-05-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

WordPress is experiencing problems this weekend. The last network they were fixing controlled image data. I'm unable to finish the issues which are otherwise ready to post until they get this squared away. WP Support is apparently unavailable until May 3. Apologies to contributors who were looking forward to having photos and stories published.

--Walter

YOU MAKE IT HARD

2010-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have a new poem up at Gloom Cupboard, for my LAdyfriend...

our little easy

Thanks to Doorla Moorehouse for the opportunity. I don't know what she sees in me. Maybe she's had too much pie.

* * *

This weekend, I'll be going through the current subs for disenthralled. This is how I do it. I print them out. Spread them all over the floor of the office. Stand over them and rearrange them and walk among them. Once I have a workable issue, I'll sit down and read through it as a whole, fine-tuning the order. Then I post it in a draft and find photos to tie it all together. I look through art and photo galleries every day; by the time I have the written material organized, I usually have a pretty good idea of what images to use. If not, I'll hunt them like a madman--which is something I enjoy doing quite a bit.

Now you know. Didn't want to know? Easy to fix. Look down the staircase in the photo, upper-right. Start counting. Out loud. By the time you hit four, you'll forget what you're doing here.

One.....

WARSAW AND A POETESS

2010-04-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

Part Two of Paul D. Brazill's badass serial WARSAW MOON is now up at disenthralled. Photography by Michal Giedrojc:

WARSAW MOON: PART TWO

* * *

I'm currently reading Julie Buffaloe-Yoder's chapbook, PRICE REDUCED AGAIN, from Backpack Press. Astonishing, like everything Julie does. Highly recommended.

THE MOON AND SICKSENSE

2010-04-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Part Two of Paul D Brazill's WARSAW MOON is coming this weekend at:

disenthralled

I'm quickly losing track of my own publications. Just sent off the manuscript for OUR SECRET END, a collection of original poetry, due out in early summer.

WHERE WE ARE NOT, another chapbook of original poetry, should be published soon by Crystal Folz's Backpack Press.

Tons of things in the works at disenthralled.

MiCrow #3 approaches.

I'm collaborating on a live-photography webcomic. Horror. Or something like it. I'll leave it up to you to decide, once it's posted....

SUCH SURREAL SPLENDOR

2010-04-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

The MARY MILLS/JENNY MAY PETERSON Special is up at disenthralled:

Mary Mills & Jenny May Peterson

We now have a real url:

disenthralled.net

We are OPEN again for submissions. The site has been updated. We also have a new submission email address:

disenthrallers@gmail.com

YOU CAME TO BANG AND BLAME

2010-03-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

disenthralled #6 is now up. This one starts the whoosh of gasoline being ignited and ends with the roar of a chainsaw:

DISENTHRALLED #6

Several new photographers, the first installment of Paul D. Brazill's WARSAW MOON and the debut of Punk Rock Mama Janeen Chabot.

Updated everything Sunday morning.

Next are the MARY MILLS and THEATER issues, followed by a surprise or two....

SHAKE AND ACHE

2010-02-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

"Novocalien," my first piece for Dogzplot, is up. I wrote it in the car, waiting for my daughter to get out of school.

Read NOVOCALIEN

Submitted a new poem today, although my fingers were so cold I had to re-type half the words. I'm six feet away from an electric radiator, in the warmest room of the house. Above average temps outside. I don't get it.

I have all the poems ready for my chapbook, but am out of paper. Naturally. Middle of the night Wal-Mart run after work.

Quin Browne will be taking over disenthralled when she returns from the UK this weekend. More on that later.

CROW AND DIS AND ICE-CREAM ADDICTION

2010-02-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

MiCrow Winter 2010 is now up at Full of Crow! 22 writers. 5 artists/photographers. Lynn Alexander and I compiled the material; she did a terrific job on the layout. I am very happy and excited (yes, this is really me) to be working with Lynn and the staff at FOC now....

MICROW WINTER 2010

* * *

disenthralled #5 came out a few days ago. Top-notch Horror across the spectrum. Roberta Lawson's "His Real Doll" is the scariest thing I've read in years. Brilliant photography, as well, with work by some people new to us....

disenthralled #5

_____

I'm also putting together a chapbook of original poetry, working on a YA book, and will have a short story called "Novocalien" up soon at Dogzplot.

This is how I slow down.

EATING IT

2010-02-07T04:19:00.000-08:00

It began with a short story, a group of poems. A passing glance. Gentle brush of fabric in the stairwell. Over the holidays, then, an impromptu celebration, out-of-the-way cloakroom, awkward but well-intentioned fumbling in the dark. I awoke a Contributing Editor at Full of Crow:

FULL OF CROW

MY SUPER-SEXY PAGE @ FULL OF CROW

First up will be Winter 2010 MiCrow Flash. I worked with Lynn Alexander, compiling and organizing material, seeking permission to use photographs. It should be out within the next week or so. For this one, I hopped on the merry-go-round as it was already spinning.

I will most likely be handling the Summer 2010 edition. I've also been kicking suspicious packages into the other departments and have initiated one new project, with ideas for several more.

I have asked a dear, dear woman to helm disenthralled for me, beginning in late spring. I will still be involved. Details are to be worked out as we come to them. Those of you who know me also know that I don't plan out much of anything; a deadline appears and I meet it, as best I can.

This move will free me up as both a writer and editor.

That's why.

-----

Next up for me, a short at Dogzplot and poem at the Bloody Bridge Review. I've also been talking to Crystal Folz about doing a full poetry chapbook for Backpack Press--which will be my first sizeable collection ever.

GAZING AND GLAZED

2010-02-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

I have a new poem called "miss vengen at the social" up today at DANSE MACABRE:

MEET MISS VENGEN

_____

I'm putting together the next issue of disenthralled this weekend.

_____

And I'm taking applications for someone who can talk me out of what I really want.

WHAT IS GOING ON, HERE?

2010-02-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

I have a little bit of roadside flash called "Miss October" in the February issue of Negative Suck and highly recommend that you read the piece which follows mine, by Lynn Kinsey:

MISS OCTOBER @ Jeffrey S. Callico's Negative Suck.

I also recommend the following story by Richard Godwin:

LUNCH WITH BELLA @ Word Catalyst Magazine.

_____

There is no Special this week at disenthralled, although there are two (or more) presently in the works. The next regular issue is scheduled for February 15. The tentative rundown: Issue #5, Collaborative Fiction Special, Theater Special, Noir Special. The last mentioned will also introduce a monthly serial by Paul D. Brazill. I may sneak another poetry issue in there if I can, as well. The regular issues will most likely resume after the Noir Special in April.

MiCrow Winter 2010: All of the pieces are in the box and await careful assembly. Won't be long. Something a little different for me. I'm already eager to begin work on the summer edition.

I have a few more pieces to get for my Full of Crow/disenthralled e-book. Flash, nano and photography.

I think that's it for now. Probably not, but it makes me feel good to say it....

WATCH YOUR MOUTH

2010-01-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

PRINCES, my first piece for A Twist of Noir since last June, went up today:

Read PRINCES

For the badass Miss Alister, whose writing knocks me out.

THIS ISN'T ABOUT "SEVEN OF NINE"

2010-01-18T06:04:00.001-08:00

My first piece for Blink-Ink, "The End of Seven," is up:

THE END OF SEVEN

___________

Sarah Bloom, of disenthralled/Special #3, needs your votes. Click on the fifth star:

SARAH BLOOM RULES

ROCK-A-BYE, MY BABY

2010-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

disenthralled #4 is up. Makes me want to get arrested in a border town, maybe whacked in the head with a metal flashlight.

This one features Michael J. Solender, Mark Joseph Kiewlak, Townsend Walker, Nora Ibsen, offbeatjim, Brittany Wallace, Robert Crisman, Michael D. Brown, AJ Dresser, Mary Mills, Richard Godwin.

And photography by Kristin Fouquet.

Read it HERE.

_________

I have a story called "On the Way to Merry Mills" in the new Clarity of Night contest....

MERRY MILLS

And a muted little horror story at 6S called "Walkawhile." Miles Davis on "Blackbird" muted....

WALKAWHILE

DRIVE

2010-01-07T06:02:00.002-08:00

I have a little poem called MOUNTAIN in Gloom Cupboard #114

Read it HERE.

Kimo Temperance and I have stories up in the new Pulp Metal Magazine. Mine's the highway sketch I was playing with a month or two ago. It's the first time we've appeared together since the early comic book days (and always an honor for me)...

ROADIES

_____

Starting to put together disenthralled/Issue #4, collecting material for Issue #5 and the Noir special. Maybe more, in between, if I can work it out.

SALVATION

2010-01-04T01:00:00.001-08:00

disenthralled/Special #3: "The Salvation Skits" is up. Story by Miss Alister. Photography by Sarah R. Bloom.

Read it HERE.

_____

I have my first piece for the Noir issue. Goosebumps already....

_____

"Miss Morningside," by Rizzy Rodham is up @ Gloom Cupboard #113.

Read it HERE.

A GARDEN OF BLACKRED ROSES

2009-12-31T05:38:00.000-08:00

Bruce Brown (disenthralled #2) and Richard Godwin (disenthralled #3) have stories up at A Twist of Noir.

* * *

disenthralled/Special #3: "The Salvation Skits" will be up tomorrow. Fiction by Miss Alister. Photography by Sarah R. Bloom.

I have a lot to think about with dis. I'd like to have the ability to write proper notes/announcements for both the Specials and regular issues, as well as a separater* identity for each. I may set up a sister blog for one to remedy this.

The noir special continues to grow in my head. A dis Special? E-book? Joint with other mags? I'd like to get it sorted out in time for March.

_____

Now that I've begun to submit again, let's see if I can't keep better track this time (I won't)....

In the immediate future:

I'm going to have an untitled poem in Corporeal Flux (print), a vignette entitled "Roadies" at Metal Pulp Magazine, a poem entitled "Mountain" at Gloom Cupboard and a story entitled "Miss Morningside," also at Gloom Cupboard, under the name Rizzy Rodham.

_____

*Separater is not, in fact, a word, but should be.

DISENTHRALLED #3

2009-12-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Holidays got you down?

Boot up for the blood puddle!

Read Issue #3 HERE.

And no splashing till everybody's in.

A LITTLE MORE LOVE

2009-12-14T06:11:00.000-08:00

disenthralled/Issue #3 goes up tomorrow.

Alisa Rynay Haller, Robert Crisman, Lynn Kinsey, Miss Alister,Howie Good, Paul D. Brazill, Tom Leins, C.K. Black, Richard Godwin, Lena Vanelslander. Photography by Katie Stokes, XactoInTheBox and WonderfulUgly.

Your literary antidote to Christmas cheer.

[I've been obsessed with the song "A Little More Love," by Olivia Newton-John and looped it while preparing Issue #3.]

_____

I forgot to link the fall issue of GLOSSOLALIA FLASH, which contains three of my shorts, in the sidebar.

"The situation needed correcting, so I corrected it, sir."

Thank you, Mr Grady.

_____

Shoots and Vines is going to publish a mini-zine of my original poetry this month. Next week, I think. THE S.J. VALLEY AUTHORITY. S.J. is for San Jacinto, CA, which I destroy with a controlled flood in the title poem.

I'm also going to have an untitled poem in the next print issue of Lynn Alexander's CORPOREAL FLUX.

And some other stuff. Somewhere....

IT'S UP

2009-12-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

disenthralled/Special #2: Poetry is at....

Have a lucid dream, on me.

800 YEARS

2009-11-28T05:29:00.000-08:00

disenthralled

SPECIAL ISSUE #2: Poetry is all but finished. Stunning. This came about because I was receiving some great poems, but either didn't have room in the current/upcoming regular issues or they didn't quite fit what I had assembled. The line-up includes Kristen Michelle Håvet (Special Issue #1), Salvatore Buttaci, Lynn Alexander, Howie Good, Carla Criscuolo and Robert Crisman. Photography by Anna Szczekutowicz. Here's a snippet from "To Kim," by Robert Crisman:

I hit those indifferent rocks down below
left shards of bone that the rats wouldn’t touch
I relearned to walk
through the Bonneville Salt Flats
It took me 800 years…

I know, man. I know. Robert's poem is the first I chose for the Special. He will also have a short story in Issue #3/December 15, 2009.

_______________________

I wrote and submitted a poem the other day to a fledgling magazine. The first thing I'd submitted in two months. Publishing disenthralled has been more satisfying than I imagined. I'm still writing every day (see "i carry your heart" at right), but have no interest in seeing my own work published at the moment.

_______________________

If you haven't been following Jodi MacArthur lately, you're missing out. Jodi is my favorite practicing horror writer. I really can't say enough....

Fiction Writer--Jodi MacArthur

DISENTHRALLED #2

2009-11-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

It's up now. Go check it out....

Issue #2

Comments appreciated, as always.

Walter

I CARRY YOUR HEART

2009-11-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

I've started collecting my new, daily twitter serial at the url below....

i carry your heart

_____

disenthralled issue #2 goes up tomorrow. If you missed the debut, this is a literary journal I'm doing with photographer Paul Dutra. There's a link on the sidebar. Be sure to check out Special #1, as well.

SHOOT, IF YOU MUST

2009-11-07T03:55:00.000-08:00

I have a poem called "Walking the Halls" in Shoots and Vines #4, recalling one of the most important and unforgettable nights of my life:

SHOOTS & VINES #4

I also have a 100-word abomination, "John Denver's Head Ate My Grandmother," in MUST #7. You can read the collected material from MUST's #1-#7 here:

Collected MUST

_________

This weekend, I'm putting together disenthralled issue #2 and a rough draft of a straight-poetry special that may go up Dec 1, 2009.

ARKANSAS/GLOSSOLALIA

2009-11-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

disenthralled SPECIAL #1, now up, features the story "Arkansas" by Kristen Michelle Håvet, with photography by Paul Dutra. As always, comments appreciated....

Read SPECIAL ISSUE #1: Kristen Michelle Håvet

I finally started using my twitter account. Look for the blockbuster premiere-sized crowds, then head the opposite direction and ask the first person you'd rather not talk to how to find pitchbrite.

I also have some flash fiction in the new issue of Glossolalia. Check it out here:

GLOSSOLALIA FLASH

DISENFACED

2009-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

I started a disenthralled group at FB. News/updates. Q&A. Interaction with contributors. Open to everyone....

disenthralled wall

IT'S EARLY AND I'M LATE AGAIN

2009-10-25T01:48:00.000-07:00

Witching-hour dark. The first strong cup of coffee. Some kind of cheese from the back of the drawer. A hard green apple....

Issue #1 of disenthralled is now history. I was blown away by the material I received and more than a little overwhelmed by the public's reaction to the journal as a whole. This was not as controlled a venture as people might think. There was quite a bit of trust involved, last-minute scrambling. Pressure. God, I love pressure. When it finally did come, I wondered how it had even happened. A friend responded, "Hard work and electricity."

Shazam.

The submission window closed three days ago. I already have enough strong material for the next two issues. The number of subs was manageable, however; I only seemed to get things from people who were genuinely interested.

I'm putting the finishing touches on the first Special, which should go up November 1, 2009. Because the current format of disenthralled lends itself better to flash-length work, I've decided to present longer pieces, artistic and photographic albums in stand-alone editions. No firm schedule, but I could probably do it on the first of each month. Something to enjoy midway between the publication of regular issues.

This has been fun. Rewarding in so many ways. I really can't wait to see it where it leads.

Walter

_________

Special #1....Nov 1, 2009
Issue #2.....Nov 15, 2009

DISENTHRALLED

2009-10-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I launched my online journal disenthralled. Photography by Paul Dutra. Serial fiction by Quin Browne. Poetry by offbeatjim and Allie Dresser. Flash by Roberta Lawson. And a night out with Janelle Rene.

The journal came together quickly. Not too long ago, it was just a word that caught my attention in a nineteenth-century short story; then a blog address; then an idea about a near-dark magazine kicked around with friends.

Although the site is far from polished, the reception has been wonderful. It's nice to have so many visitors take the time to comment.

I may get a proper URL and change the format a little.

I have most of the written material for Issue #2. Issue #3, like the others, has already taken on a life/theme/atmosphere of its own.

I'll post updates here and at the main page of the site, which you can check out by clicking the link below:

disenthralled

DROOLISH SHOULD BE A WORD

2009-10-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

The achingly delicious DANSE MACABRE has a new direct mailing address:

dansemacabreonline@gmail.com

Apparently, they've been having trouble with Yahoo. I have, too--especially with attachments--which is why I've been nudging people over to my own gmail account. For now, you can still get me at the Y address listed on the sidebar. If I have to switch over for good, though, I'll post something here. And speaking of the luxuriantly creamy Danse Macabre....

You can read their delectably scrumptious new issue here:

THE SEAMLESSLY FROSTED DANSE MACABRE XXVIII

__________

I'm going to have three pieces in the Fall 09 Issue of Glossolalia Flash. OPEN. RAY. MY SISTER IS A MOTHER. Due out this month. Honored to be a part of Glossolalia.

X's (for eyes) and O's,

Walter

ALLIE, AMANDA AND CANDY

2009-10-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

CANDY SANGRIA'S DIARY PAGE, by Allie Dresser, is up at Candy Sangria. The first CS story written by an outsider. Honored to have Allie contribute to the mythos....

CANDY SANGRIA's DIARY PAGE

___________

AMANDA 1-3 are up in Full of Crow's Fall Fiction Quarterly. Two poems and a brief narrative. The first written and last to appear of the "Amanda" series. A gorgeous site, definitely worth exploring....

FULL OF CROW

FULL OF CROW'S FALL FICTION QUARTERLY

AMANDA 1-3

FOUND IN THE STREET

2009-09-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

I have some new poems up in Outsider Writer's collection, POETRY FOR THE LOST SOULS #2:

neo-crone
amanda nine-ten-one
jar-head
how to pose for a wreck

This is my first publication with OW, which I joined about a month ago (I kept running into Outsiders everywhere I turned, so I decided to check it out). Also my first time working with Lena Vanelslander. There's a lot to read here....

POETRY FOR THE LOST SOULS #2

_______

I've been writing realistic free verse over the past couple weeks, but not doing anything with it. Saturday, my first open day in a while, might have to be a long one of revision and submission (and taking breaks, of course, to watch hideous movies on the SyFy Channel). I think I may have finally written myself out of Mad Gothic Love Mode.

________

My own online journal of art and literature, disenthralled, is taking shape. Here's a peek. There's no content posted yet. That'll probably start going up October 15. This is not a Horror site, although much of what is posted will certainly be unsettling....

disenthralled

[The title of this blog post comes from a Patricia Highsmith novel.]

Actual "Blog" Content Follows:

2009-09-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been putting together a modest online journal. It will feature writing in various formats, art, photography. Whatever catches my attention. If you've read my work, you know what I like; if not, congratulations on doing something more productive with your time. The submission window will be a single week from the posting of each issue. I've been getting help and material from some great people. Check back on October 15th....

______

As far as my own submissions go, this has been a cold two weeks in hell. Just kidding. I really don't get upset about it. I've tried to be a little more playful this month (still dark, of course, but joyful, too). The result? Last month, prior to doing this, I had ten out of seventeen pieces accepted. So far, this month? Zero. Zero out of....well, just Zero. Does this make me want to change my approach? No, because this is the mood I'm in. This is how I feel like writing at the moment. A lot of it has been SO strange, though, I haven't bothered to send it out.

I posted one piece of a series at 6S/Ning. A dark fantasy about a place where nothing lives and nothing much happens. The subjects aren't ghosts, but a brother and sister who are neither dead nor alive. Someone commented that it was sad, chilling, moody. Another, that I seemed to have had a lot fun writing it. Correct on both counts. I revelled in putting it together; but, when I wrote the final version of the main character's wish, I had tears in my eyes and had to get up from my chair. The problem--if it could even be considered a problem--appears to be that I'm writing for disparate readers at the same time, rather than focusing to achieve a single, desired effect. Cool. In a mass-schizophrenia kind of way.

______

RECOMMENDATION:

"Sometimes, We Choose," by Quin Browne. It doesn't need an introduction. Set aside a few minutes and then go here and start reading:

SOMETIMES, WE CHOOSE

PLASTIC and GLUE and WE and YOU

2009-09-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

ABSENT CAUSE #2: DUALITY is available at Redguard's Shop on Etsy.

Description: bisexual bipolar body-conscious dead or alive dialectical doppelganger gendered identified mirrored radical schizophrenic vampires. Interviews, Fiction, Poetry Essays, Art, Comix, Photography and more, including my poem, A NIGHT IN. Go buy it. And check out his other mags while you're there....

ABSENT CAUSE #2

_____

I also updated the link to SMASH at Gloom Cupboard. They've split up Poetry Issue #105, so you have to click "read more" at the bottom of the entry. Not a big deal, but people are busy and this is quicker:

SMASH

SMASH

2009-09-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

SMASH, a poem, is up in Gloom Cupboard #105. Social Anxiety Disorder can be fun!

Read:
SMASH

* * *

Tales of the Supernatural, a poetry anthology containing my poem, GONE, is finished. Available to those behind the scenes at the moment; public in about a week.

YOU CAN DANSE IF YOU WANT TO

2009-09-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

Danse Macabre, a terrific online literary journal, has gone monthly, with new issues scheduled to appear on first Fridays. Readership and interest in the site have been growing exponentially. To counter that, I'm going to have a short story called THE PRESSURE SEEKERS published there in October or November. The what? Just hold still. And yes, there will be bruising....

DANSE MACABRE

_____

Outside writers and photographers are working on material for the Candy Sangria blog. All together, now: "Candy, Candy, Candy, I can't let you go!"

THE SONG THEY ARE SINGING

2009-09-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

WHY NOT YOU AND I, a poem, is up at Thirteen Myna Birds. Part of a series that kept me from losing my mind this summer. Two others and a short narrative will appear in The Fall Fiction Quarterly at Full of Crow next month. One poem remains to be published or accepted (along with a traditional ghost story, which I may or may not submit anywhere). Thanks to Juliet at TMB for putting this up.

The profanity and graphic description are restrained, but the content is nonetheless disturbing.

Read:
WHY NOT YOU AND I

(The title comes from a short story collection by the late Karl Edward Wagner. Read him if you haven't.)

WE LIVE ON IN THE FLESH OF OTHERS

2009-08-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

BLOOD-BOUGHT SON has been added to the Candy Sangria website. This one originally appeared in Shoots & Vines Issue #3 (there's a link to S&V on the sidebar).

Read:
BLOOD-BOUGHT SON

GIVE (BUBBLE WRAP RE-MIX)

2009-08-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

Two poems for women who fascinate me (one I've known for over half my life; the other, only a brief time, but she's made quite an impact).

BITCHCRAFT is up at Censored Poets. Written for Janelle Rene, co-founder of real-life group Bitchcraft. This site publishes work that ranges from quiet introspection to Live Nude Grand Guignol. My poem is not X-Rated (more like a WTF/PG), but please keep in mind that freedom of speech is the rule of the day here:

BITCHCRAFT

The other, SMASH, will appear in Issue #105 of Gloom Cupboard. No set date, but it should be up in a week or so.

SUNSHINE MAKES ME CRY

2009-08-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

A couple things to add this week:

WALKING THE HALLS, a poem, will be in Shoots and Vines #4. Sometime in October, I think. This explores one of a half-dozen memories that have haunted me throughout my life. The experience was somewhat terrifying, on the surface, but also allowed me to glimpse the potential range of hope, love and tenderness in the human heart.

WHERE WE ARE NOT, a poem, will appear in the October issue of Full of Crow Poetry. A gorgeous site. Poetry that reminds you of why you wanted to write in the first place (what the hell am I doing there?). I'll have three pieces in their Fall Fiction Quarterly, out around the same time.

JOHN DENVER'S HEAD ATE MY GRANDMOTHER....It's okay, I'll give you a second to read that again....will be in a microzine called MUST #7, published by the Sphere, an online collective of writers, artists, photographers, etc. Not a poem. A short, ummm....Anyway, the editors at MUST are swamped, but it may come out in September.

BEETLE AND BARDS

2009-08-21T08:45:00.001-07:00

What does it mean when you get nicer comments on rejection slips than you do on acceptance letters? I think the market for my work--not the silly bits I write for fun, but that which springs from my heart--is a tiny thing that scuttles when uncovered and often gets away before I can sink the pin. It's my choice to write what I want, not what is expected. If someone tells me he loved a piece or that it touched him deeply in some strange way, but that it isn't quite right for him, I've already accomplished what I set out to do.

The Liar's League is a group of British actors who record themselves reading short stories at live, monthly events. I learned yesterday that my story, KICK HEAD KIMBERLY, is on a short list of works which have divided the judges. I absolutely love the idea of an actor reading something I wrote to a room full of people, with half of them clapping and the other half yelling Oh, come on....

Doesn't "Beetle and Bards" sound like a brand of wine cooler?

VOICE OF THE VOICELESS

2009-08-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

VIOLENCE UNSILENCED

Testimonies/Q&A/Resources by and for women who have survived abuse. There is a permanent link on the sidebar under Online Reading List. A necessary and invaluable website.

FIVE FOR FALL/BUFFALOE GALS

2009-08-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Crystal Folz of SHOOTS AND VINES is going to publish five new poems of mine as her November Minizine, which is mailed out and hand-distributed to bookstores, coffee shops, etc. This is an honor. I don't feel at home in too many places, but I do at S&V.

Crystal posts some great writing and photography at her online mag:

SHOOTS AND VINES

She's also working on a chapbook with Julie Buffaloe-Yoder, who will make you shout out loud. Go here and read:

SUPERMAN PART II

Then read it again.

Update on the Dark Crime Anthology: The deadline has been extended, which means not enough writers are interested or the stories they've received aren't quite doing it for them. Haven't heard anything yet....

TANGLED UP IN RED

2009-08-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have a Candy Sangria story, BLOOD-BOUGHT SON, in the new issue of Shoots and Vines. You can read it online at:

Shoots and Vines Issue #3

Or order a print copy at:

Shoots and Vines online
($2 to cover S&H--this is a labor of love for publisher Crystal Folz)

Either way, read the Editor's Note and make sure you check out the rest of the mag.

SEASON OF THE WITCHES

2009-08-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

A new poem, THE WITCH, is going to appear in a book called The Silkworm Vol.4, and another, A NIGHT IN, will be in the next issue of Absent Cause Magazine. I'll post more info when they come out.

A NIGHT IN was written after reading a blog post by a writer I really enjoy (see Quin Browne's links in the Online Reading List). She riffed on three words as an exercise in flash fiction. I decided to give it a shot and came up with this tale of obsession, lost identity and homespun Lovecraftian magic. I don't know, either. Somebody take me out for a piece of pie....

Update on Full of Crow: Amanda 1-3 are going up in the Fall Fiction Quarterly at Full of Crow, October 1, 2009. Thought it was September for some reason.

MODERN FOLK ANTI-HEROINE

2009-08-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

JANEY APPLESEED (A mostly-true story) is up at the 6S Ning network and also over at Black. The commericial was for baby food.

B E L I E V E

TWO FOR TODAY

2009-08-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

EMOTIONHAUSEN, a poem, went up today at Danse Macabre XXVI/Stonewall.

EMOTIONHAUSEN

EIGHT, a vignette, is up at Issue #102 of Gloom Cupboard.

EIGHT

_____

This morning, I submitted a long, uncharactestically gruesome crime story to a "dark crime" anthology. I'm a big proponent of suggestion--coercing the reader to supply his own detail in a way that evokes the strongest and most personal reaction--but the crime scene in this one broke the Splat-O-Meter.

I also submitted a trio of flash pieces to Glossolalia, a great online magazine. This past winter, they printed "Liar," by Crystal Folz, which is the best thing I've read online this year. Go read it. Now...

LIAR by Crystal Folz

There's something else I'm forgetting to do. I just know it.

RECAP: JUNE - AUGUST 1, 2009

2009-08-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

[Following is a list of work published or accepted this summer, with links to online pieces and titles of upcoming print material in the sidebar at right. It's been five years since I withdrew from the entertainment world. I'm up from underground, but only nibbling at the edge of the field--because that's where the really interesting stuff grows.]

August 1, 2009

EMOTIONHAUSEN, poem, at Danse Macabre's Stonewall Issue
EIGHT, flash fiction, at Gloom Cupboard

July 2009

MY MOTHER IS NOT MY MOM, flash fiction, at The Flash Fiction Offensive
BANK, flash, at Six Sentences
AMANDA 1-3, poetry and prose, to appear in the Fall Fiction Issue of Full of Crow
BLOOD-BOUGHT SON, short story, to appear in Shoots and Vines Magazine, due early August (print)
THIS HOUSE IS HAUNTED, poem, to appear in Issue #6 of The Stray Branch Literary Magazine (print)
GONE, poem, to appear in Deborah Simpson's Anthology of Supernatural Poetry (print)

June 2009

BADDERLANDS, short story, at A Twist of Noir
CANDY SANGRIA, flash, at Powder Burn Flash
LAST STOP, DULLSVILLE, short story, at A Twist of Noir

MORE CANDY?

2009-07-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have a new Candy Sangria story, BLOOD-BOUGHT SON, in the next print issue of Shoots and Vines. Should be out in a week or two. Shoots and Vines is published by Crystal Folz, whose own writing you can read here:

GYPSY RONDO at Yellow Mama.

If you're wondering who Candy Sangria is, there's a link on the sidebar under Other Online.

(Thanks again to J.D.C. for the inspiration.)

FULL FALL FICTION/FACEPUSH

2009-07-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Three related pieces I wrote, a brief narrative and two poems, are going to appear in Full of Crow's Fall Fiction Issue. AMANDA #1-3. Scheduled for September. I'm honored to be part of it and to work with the staff there, who are small press/online champions and terrific writers, as well.

These are the first things I wrote about the recent death of a local woman--a scene I drove up on moments after it had occurred. I am trained to deal with situations like this, but it was immediately apparent that I was too late to do anything for her. I have two more pieces submitted elsewhere and, though I worried I might actually dig myself into a deeper hole by re-living the experience, feel much better about what happened since I've gotten it out this way.

-----

I also have a new blog up where I'll be posting random comments on pop culture guaranteed to upset somebody.

BLACK BETWEEN THE FRAMES

EIGHT ON THE FIRST

2009-07-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have a little something called EIGHT at Gloom Cupboard, August 1, 2009. A vignette, I suppose. A pair of knuckleheads standing in the rain would be a more accurate description.

On that day, I also will post a re-cap of what I've been up to this summer: from June, when I really got the itch to start publishing again, until the first of August, when I will have two new pieces online and information on upcoming work.

I spent the day searching out markets for a poem I wrote last night. There's a lot to consider, because I'd like to include it in a chapbook or collection later this year.

HARD-ASS HARDCOPY

2009-07-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer, I wrote a story called LAST STOP, DULLSVILLE that was based upon the photography of a friend. We've decided to publish it as a book, with the photos and story appearing together. Right now, it's little more than an idea, but I did get to check out a few mock pages today. I'm very excited about this. We aren't sure what form the actual book will take just yet. However or wherever it's released, I think we could probably get it out by the end of the year.

Yesterday, I finished a long crime story for submission to an upcoming anthology. Today, I revised and submitted a poem online--possibly the last dealing with the tragedy I witnessed in June.

Time for a very late breakfast....

GONE, GIRL

2009-07-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Another new poem of mine, GONE, will be published soon in a trade paperback collection of supernatural poetry. More details when they become available.

This poem and a short story I recently submitted to a horror anthology are some of the darkest things I've ever written. I slipped from crime (which I already write very dark) to black-hearted fantasy without meaning to. Earlier this summer, I experienced something that shook me to my core. I've been trying to work through it by writing it out a little at a time. These two pieces aren't based upon that incident, but seem to have sprung from a deep reaction to it. I do have several things which deal directly with it written or submitted right now. It's a tricky game to play, but I think I may finally be getting it out of my system.

AMERICAN GOTHIC SYNDROME

2009-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

My poem, "this house is haunted", is going to appear in Issue #6 of The Stray Branch Literary Magazine, sometime next year. No firm date as of yet.

About AMERICAN GOTHIC SYNDROME (AGS):

It seems like every time I sit down to work on a story, lately, I end up writing a mad gothic love(?) poem instead. I'm not sure why. This trips up the fiction, but it's so much fun that I can't stop.

[It dawned upon me why this was happening. I addressed it in the July 26, 2009 entry. Trauma can do a number on your mood and memory, but art can do wonders for peace-of-mind.]

TRUE-LIFE HORROR, PARTS ONE AND TWO

2009-07-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

I polished up a half-conscious FB post about my daughter and mailed it to Six Sentences. Fun site. Literary snack machine.

Read: BANK

[I lied in my last post. As soon as I'd logged off, I found a call for ghost stories. The anthology was put together to benefit the American Cancer Society. No closing date. I finished one that I'd been toying with and sent it, only to find that they had stopped taking subs already. Wish I could have been part of that. On the plus side, though, I now have a ghost story ready to submit.]

AND BREATHE...

2009-07-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have a new poem, EMOTIONHAUSEN, in the forthcoming "Stonewall" issue of Danse Macabre, scheduled to go up Aug 1. Danse Macabre is an online literary journal. I'll post a link as soon as it's published.

I took the day off from writing (except for a single paragraph I banged out to get an idea rolling). I've been so busy writing and submitting work lately that I needed to take a step back and get things in order.

I did, however, submit an unpublished short story to a small press magazine and a group of actors in the UK, who read them live at monthly events, then publish both written and audio versions online. What a terrific idea. That makes six submissions--some reprints for anthologies--in the past two days.

I have a crime story in my head that I'll probably write tomorrow.

If I can hold out that long....

MOTHER

2009-07-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

MY MOTHER IS NOT MY MOM is up at The Flash Fiction Offensive, online sister to Out of the Gutter Magazine.

We've been getting mail for the same woman since we moved into our current house--about 3 1/2 years now. Central VA has abandoned, rundown farmhouses all over the place. People build new houses and just let the old ones rot where they stand.

I love Marshmallow Fluff, by the way--especially as part of a Fluffernutter sandwich--but didn't think I could legally use that name.

Read it here:
MY MOTHER IS NOT MY MOM

CANDY GIRL

2009-07-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

CANDY SANGRIA went up at Powder Burn Flash yesterday. This started as a fake news story I wrote after skimming a friend's wall:

"Southern Belle's fall from grace through the nightmarish underworld of strip clubs, fruity drinks and rock-n-roll ends tragically with the discovery of her body in a pool of 'burnt red' liquid early this morning. Candy Sangria, as she was known to clientelle..."

Writing that made me want to flesh it out. The short story makes me want to do more. I have a poem, attributed to the late Candy Sangria, pending at another site.

THE SAD, SAD TALE OF CANDY SANGRIA

WELCOME

2009-06-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

After a few hectic years of moving around the United States and taking care of business, I am now submitting work again. This site will contain regular updates on publication, works-in-progress and anything else that may be relevant. My first two short stories to go up, BADDERLANDS and LAST STOP, DULLSVILLE are at A Twist of Noir. I have some flash (1000 words or less) waiting to appear at another site and a second flash, short story and poem submitted elsewhere.

My Page at A TWIST OF NOIR.

I've recently begun work on a novel entitled HENRY SLOAN. I have a seventy-five page interview with the main character, conducted by a policeman from the novel, as well as related short fiction and notes that will be going into it. I officially banged out Chapter One today.

I'm willing to consider any work-for-hire project that my schedule allows. In addition to the work listed at right, I have also written or co-written short and feature-length screenplays, public service announcements, picture books, newspaper inserts, editorials and animation scripts.

I love to talk shop and am always glad to help behind-the-scenes in whatever way I can.

Thanks for stopping by.

Walter