What I'm Writing:
I’ve been at the writing game for a few months now, and I’m so happy to report that I’ve reached a major milestone: I’ve made my first couple of sales over the past few weeks.
The first was to Wicked Library for their Gifts for The Wicked, an Audio Advent Calendar of Dark Christmas Drabbles. I want to thank the Wicked Library for giving my story “Ghosts of Christmas Presents Past” an excellent audio premiere. (Yeah, it’s Christmas-themed and it’s January, but you can never have enough Christmas, right? Here’s looking at you Mariah Carey).
My second acceptance was for my original horror drabble “Fair Trade.” This will be available in the upcoming Shacklebound Book of Drabbles from, you guessed it, Shacklebound Books.
Lastly, I sold my original drabble “Clay and Ashes” to Black Hare Press for their Love Me, Love Me Not: Dark Tales of Love & Lust, which you can preorder now.
I’m so excited to share these drabbles with you! I have a few other story submissions out and about in the world, so fingers crossed I have more good news to report in the coming weeks.
What I’m Reading:
I’m currently reading The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe. It’s a strange little tale about an amateur entomologist being held captive in a sand pit. Let me tell you, this book talks more about sand than Dune does. I’m nearing the end of it and hope to start on Stephen King’s The Dead Zone soon.
I’m also reading/working through Tim Waggoner’s Writing in the Dark: The Workbook. I’m only a few chapters in so far, but there have been some really thoughtful exercises in helping me explore my personal obsession with the horror genre.
What I’m Watching:
So, one thing to know about me is that I’m a huge movie fan. I’ve watched all of the movies on the American Film Institute’s top 100 lists from both 1997 and 2007 as well as worked through IMBD’s ever-changing top 250 a couple of times now. This year, I decided to challenge myself to watch the BFI’s Sight and Sound Top 100 Films of All Time.
I always take a scattershot approach to watching these film lists, watching whichever movies I happen to stumble across that fit into my schedule. I’ve watched a few so far, but two movies have stuck out to me. The first is the 1946 film A Matter of Life and Death (also known as Stairway to Heaven), about a British pilot who misses his date with death and battles for his life in court. The other is Ugetsu (1953), which follows two men pursuing wealth and their ambitions during a tumultuous time in Japan’s history. Really enjoyed these two, and I’m looking forward to seeing what other gems this list has in store.
On the horror front, I’ll admit that I’ve been slacking a bit. I’ve been meaning to watch The Menu and The Pale Blue Eye. Oh, and the 2005 version of House of Wax is back on HBOMax, so add that to the list. I’m hoping to get around to these films in the next couple of weeks.
You can stay up-to-date with my movie watching by following me on Letterboxd.
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