Writing Updates

The Withering is done.  The introduction is written, the art is finished, and I am finished with it.  It releases on Walpurgisnacht (April 30th, 2020).  Hopefully, I can reveal the cover to you all soon.  I'm very excited to share that book with you but until I have to market it, I don't want to look at it anymore.

Now that the publisher is communicating with everyone and we're on track with a new release plan, I don't have to focus on those additional older 45 poems anymore, which is a relief.  It's difficult to edit such old poems.  Those can now go on the back burner for a future project.

I can now focus all my attention on Diary of a Vampyress again.  DoaV currently has 56 poems out of a tentative 80 I'm aiming at.  I also spoke with a friend who has agreed to translate a couple more poems into Hungarian for me which will boost it to 59 poems.

I'm trying to cover a lot of Gothic tropes in this collection while still keeping it unique with my own voice.  We'll see how I'll do.

Winter Solstice 2019 Issue by Eternal Haunted Summer

My review on The Jaguar that Roams the Mind by Robert Tindall is live in the Winter Solstice 2019 Issue by Eternal Haunted Summer.  I wrote it originally for a college class years ago.  I think it was supposed to be an analysis or essay on the book rather than a review, but since I don't remember the subject of the assignment, I submitted as a review.

Table of Contents

Poetry and Fiction
Assembling the Curse by Juleigh Howard-Hobson
Baron Samedi by Ngo Binh Anh Khoa
Being a Petroglyph by Amy Trussell
Columbus Day by Eric Pinder
Forebear of the Stones by Scott J.Couturier
Halloween, Emery’s Crossing by Charlotte Hussey
Haunted by Gerri Leen
Hold the Door by Nicole J. LeBeouf
Huitzilopochtli by Lorraine Schein
La Luciérnaga by D.L. Shirey
The Storm Witch by Colleen Anderson
The Water Witch by Wendy Howe

Special Feature
Salt and Glass Part Two: Frostbite and Iron by Jennifer Lawrence

Essay
Love Under Will: An Introduction to Thelema and Its Antecedents by Katie Anderson

Reviews
Dark Moon Rising: Pagan BDSM & The Ordeal Path by Raven Kaldera [reviewed by Tahni J. Nikitins]
The Duergarbok: The Dwarves of the Northern Tradition by Susannah Ravenswing [reviewed by Erin Lale]
The Fraternitas Saturni by Stephen Flowers [reviewed by Erin Lale]
The Jaguar That Roams the Mind by Robert Tindall [reviewed by Ashley Dioses]
The Last Sun: The Tarot Sequence Book One by K.D. Edwards [reviewed by Rebecca Buchanan]
Ragnarok: The End of the Gods by A.S. Byatt [reviewed by Erin Lale]

Updated ToC for The Withering

The Withering is slated for release on Walpurgisnacht (April 30th, 2020).  Here is the updated ToC with those added 5 poems.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Siren of Shadows by John Shirley

I. A Luminous Darkness (Nature)

A Luminous Darkness
Cobwebs
Light Fades in Her Dark Embrace
Plague’s Wake
Life Decayed
Obliterate
Unveiled Star

II. Pale Radiance (Supernatural)

A Lust for Blood
Quest for the Flesh
Into the Dark I Came
Dead Kings Rise
Karmic Repercussion
Like a Fixed Star
Djinn Deceiver
Hollow King
Xyre
The Sorceress’s Lament
The Prideful Scribe
Crimson Swirls
In the Name of Hell
Pale Radiance
Paper Doll Displays
A Soul of Filth
An Angel's Fall from Grace
Tears of Eternity
Behind Dead Eyes Part 1
Behind Dead Eyes Part 2
I Am the Most Beautiful Angel
The Entrance

III. Night Cries (Psychological Horror)

Twisted Saying
Whispers
Night Cries
Dreams Forever Will Remain
The Sight
The Darker Me
Believe Me
The Picture
Created
Chartreuse
The Porcelain Garden
A Haunting Sensation Part 1
A Haunting Sensation Part 2
The Creator
The Monster
The Guillotine
Splinters in My Skin
Death Upon Me

IV. A is for Axe Murderer (Body Horror)

Ashley
A is for Axe Murderer
The Surgical Suite
Body Parts
The Body Shop
Cannibal
Strung By a Noose
Skinless

Afterword
Endnotes
Chronological Order
Acknowledgments