Someone Wants MY Autograph?!

I totally died of happiness when someone asked if they could get my autograph for the awesomely epic Weird Fiction Review #5 by Centipede Press when I go to the Vintage Paperback Collectors Show and Sale in Glendale in March.  This is the first time I've ever been asked for one and I may be overly excited about that.... :D

Poem Accepted for Spectral Realms #3!

I pulled out a poem I wrote for a King in Yellow anthology, mentioned in another post, because it turns out the editor has given trouble to a few of it's contributors and might not be who he seems to be.  He actually sounds pretty sketchy and I decided I want nothing to do with that project.  So, instead, I sent my awesome King in Yellow poem to S.T. Joshi for consideration for Spectral Realms #3 and he called it fantastic and accepted it.  Now I am stoked!  

Excited for the 36th annual Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show

Kyle and I are excited to be attending the upcoming L.A. Vintage Paperback Collectors Show.  We've never been to one and this should be really exciting.  It will be good to see Cody Goodfellow again and I look forward to meeting Jason and Sunni Brock.

Inanna Rising: Women Forged in Fire by J. Ellington Ashton Press

I just got 4 poems accepted for the anthology Inanna Rising: Women Forged in Fire by J. Ellington Ashton Press!

"The tale of Inanna is one that originates in ancient times. The Sumerians spoke of how she descended into the underworld with her many raiments to protect her and one by one gave each of them up to face her fate. There, she is judged by the Anunna, the lords of the underworld, looked upon with the eye of death, spoken against with the word of wrath, and the cry of guilt uttered against her. She is struck dead and hung from a hook on the wall only to rise 3 days later.

Inanna Rising is an anthology about strong women in dark scenarios, some of them by chance and some by their own design. Each of them rising from their own personal hell, stronger for her journey. Coming February 2015 from J. Ellington Ashton Press."

Devil's Armory Anthology

Exciting news, I just got my epic Viking ballad, the Mighty Gram, accepted by Horrified Press's anthology (Barbwire Butterfly Books) the Devil's Armory!  If you know the legend of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer from Norse mythology, this will be a poem to look forward to reading.  Here is the cover art by the talented Joas Dale Miller!  And the ToC so far.

All We Can See Is Nothing by E.s. Wynn

Blood on the Sword by Karlton B. Douglas

The Witch Arrow (poetry) by Mathias Jansson

Charred Walls of the Damned by Kevin Henry

The Death of Mohenjo Daro by Alice Macklin

Against the Overlords by David-John Tyrer

The Huntress and the Arrow by Ashley Hunt

Armory of Flesh by Frederick J. Mayer

Casket of Fear by Teel James Glenn

Space Sniper (poetry) by David S. Pointer

Same Old Saturday Night by Brian Barnett

Blood on the Spear by Scott Rinehart

Shadow Bomb (poetry) by Michael Lindquist

Devotion to Blades by Carl Fox

Play you to Death by Jori Mierek

Deadly Sin by Travis J. Gates

Katta by Frank Searight

Fire Dragon (poetry) by Joas Dale Miller Beowulf Bloodaxe

    

Dark Delicacies and the Trophy People

I offered to help Cody Goodfellow with a project he was working on by providing him with trophy people in exchange for some books; trophy people being the little figurines usually on top of a trophy.  Having a family that has played various sports throughout the years helped a lot in this.  So I found a few different trophy people, unscrewed them, and took a picture for Cody, he loved them.  We arranged to meet today at Dark Delicacies but at the last minute he couldn't make it so he suggested that if we come to the store anyway, he'd leave the books there and have the owner give them to me in exchange for the trophy people.

(The trophy people and eagles)

Kyle and I have been wanting to visit Dark Delicacies ever since we've heard about it, so we decided to go anyway.  We got there and I spoke with the owner and he provided me with 3 books instead of the promised 2.  He initially told me he'd give me In the Court of the Yellow King and All-Monster Action!.  I still received All-Monster Action but now included was Radiant Dawn and The Electric Eye.  I was very excited and surprised to get these.  And he signed them for me.  :)

 

 

While there, we scoped the place out and we came out with a few gems out of the treasure trove of books they had.

 

 















So many awesome books!  We shall definitely return one day.

 

Oh!  And Kyle gave me my little Opal Whitely chapbook that David Barker had sent us.  He wrote these free verse poems about Opal Whitely and did the drawing on the cover.  He even wrote a lovely note inside the cover for me, how sweet!

Book Review- Weird Fiction Review #5 edited by S.T. Joshi

I have waited to receive my contributor's copy of this issue since November, when it was first supposed to come out.  I got just got it last week.  And the wait was worth it!  This is my first taste of the Weird Fiction Review series and I absolutely loved it!

I especially loved the non-fiction articles, essays, and interviews.  I had just watched the AckerMonster Chronicles!, a gift from Jason V. Brock, and was excited to learn more about Forrest J. Ackerman in the first essay Presenting!  The Amazing!  Ackermonster! by Dennis Etchison.  I also enjoyed the articles Stuart David Schiff and Whispers Press, Al Feldstein's MAD, MAD World, and The Little Publisher That Could, which focused on the history of a few different horror, fantasy, and science fiction magazines and the people that were involved with them.  My favorite poems include both Wade German poems, Prophecy of the Red Death and De Vermis Mysteriis, which both can be found in his new book of poetry Dreams from a Black Nebula from Hippocampus Press, The Transpire by Chad Hensley, and At the Horn of the Moon by Michael Fantina.  My favorite stories include A Further Experiment in the Effects of Mesmerism by Brian Stableford, The Land of Lonesomeness by Sam Gafford, Welcome Back by Jonathan Thomas, Verlassen by Jason V. Brock, and The Tugboat by Robert H. Waugh.     

The Ballad of a Barber by Decadent poet/artist Aubrey Beardsley

The Ballad of a Barber

By Aubrey Beardsley

Here is the tale of Carrousel,

The barber of Meridian Street,

He cut, and coiffed, and shaved so well,

That all the world was at his feet.

The King, the Queen, and all the Court,

To no one else would trust their hair,

And reigning belles of every sort

Owed their successes to his care.

With carriage and with cabriolet

Daily Meridian Street was blocked,

Like bees about a bright bouquet

The beaux about his doorway nocked.

Such was his art he could with ease

Curl wit into the dullest face;

Or to a goddess of old Greece

Add a new wonder and a grace.

All powders, paints, and subtle dyes,

And costliest scents that men distil,

And rare pomades, forgot their price

And marvelled at his splendid skill.

The curling irons in his hand

Almost grew quick enough to speak,

The razor was a magic wand

That understood the softest cheek.

Yet with no pride his heart was moved;

He was so modest in his ways!

His daily task was all he loved,

And now and then a little praise.

An equal care he would bestow

On problems simple or complex;

And nobody had seen him show

A preference for either sex.

How came it then one summer day,

Coimng the daughter of the King,

He lengthened out the least delay

And loitered in his hairdressing?

The Princess was a pretty child,

Thirteen years old, or thereabout.

She was as joyous and as wild

As spring flowers when the sun is out.

Her gold hair fell down to her feet

And hung about her pretty eyes;

She was as lyrical and sweet

As one of Schubert's melodies.

Three times the barber curled a lock,

And thrice he straightened it again;

And twice the irons scorched her frock,

And twice he stumbled in her train.

His fingers lost their cunning quite,

His ivory combs obeyed no more;

Something or other dimmed his sight,

And moved mysteriously the floor.

He leant upon the toilet table,

His fingers fumbled in his breast;

He felt as foolish as a fable,

And feeble as a pointless jest.

He snatched a bottle of Cologne,

And broke the neck between his hands;

He felt as if he was alone,

And mighty as a king's commands.

The Princess gave a little scream,

Carrousel's cut was sharp and deep;

He left her softly as a dream

That leaves a sleeper to his sleep.

He left the room on pointed feet;

Smiling that things had gone so well.

They hanged him in Meridian Street.

You pray in vain for Carrousel.

Book Review- Aubrey Beardsley and the Yellow Book by William Randolph Hearst

I didn't know much about the Yellow Book or the fact that it wasn't even a book, but a magazine, and decided to look into it after I was invited to write for 'an Aubrey Beardsleyesque collection of poems themed from the mythos of the King In Yellow.'  I have greatly enjoyed the King in Yellow stories and was excited to be given this opportunity.  So I ordered the most popular book that had to do with the Yellow Book and Beardsley and came across this reprinted volume.  It contains Beardsley's illustrations which are quite a treat to look at as well as a brief history of the Yellow Book and Beardsley's work before he was let go.  It also talks a little about certain issues of the magazine and lists the contributors.  It's a very fascinating little gem.

 

 
 

Book Review- This Tilting Dust by Leah Bodine Drake

I loved this small selection of poems from Leah's second collection.  This book is rare and pricey if there's one to find.  I bought this one as a Christmas gift for Kyle, knowing he'd love it, for a pretty penny.  The poems are very fantastical and nature themed.  They are very enchanting and there are hardly any I can think of that I didn't like.  A few favorites of mine include:

Fantasy in a Forest
Cat Mummy
The Lazy Prince
"What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
The Undine
The Foam-Born
Vestal
The Darkened Glass  

Book Review- How to Write What You Want and Sell What You Write By Skip Press

I was really happy, that by the end of this book, I had already done the majority of everything Skip suggests to do in order to become a successful writer.  In my area of writing that is.  He covers many different writing mediums and most of them I wasn't interested in it.  But the parts that did intrigue me such as writing and selling novels, covering research in the horror and fantasy scene, writing short stories, selling poetry, had very good tips that thrilled me to know that I have done most of them or plan to do those exact things.  This book also covers a few things I might want to consider in the future such as turning a novel into a script.  And it covers how to deal with people who will help you make these things happen such as agents, publishers, editors, etc.  This is a great book for those wanting to find the right approach to help sell their work.

  

Goodies from Jason V. Brock!

On Sunday, I received a huge box of books from Jason V. Brock to share with Kyle.  They include A Darke Phantastique, Disorders of Magnitude, The Devil's Coattails, and SimulAcrum and Other Possible Realities.  He also included an awesome and hilarious documentary of Forrest J. Ackerman. The hardest part trying to figure out which goodies would stay with who!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided I'd take these home

and Kyle would keep these.