HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. XIII

I just received my contributor's copy of the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. XIII, which features my poem, Eternity Comes Soon.  Eternity Comes Soon is based on the Snow Queen fairy tale, which is one of my childhood favorites.  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESSING by Lee Murray

SERIAL-KILL ME by Kathryn E. McGee

THE SWIMMER by James Aitchison

BE NOT AFRAID by Mike Allen

GRINDING by Kathryn Ptacek

THE GALLOWS BALLET by Devin M. Anderson

PLAY AND REWIND by Geneve Flynn

GEOCIDE by John Yu Branscum

A SPIRIT OF INQUIRY by Chris Turner-Neal

PUNCTUATION AS A BLOOD SPORT (OR MAYBE I’VE ATTENDED TOO MANY WRITING WORKSHOPS) by David Sandner

PAPIER-MÂCHÉ IN REVERSE by Katherine Quevedo

CREATURE FEATURE by Xavier Searle

HORROR MOVIE SOUNDTRACK by G.O. Clark

FINAL (GIRL) EXAM by Patrick Barb

THE HASTE OF HALLOWEEN by Michael A. Arnzen

A NOTE FROM THE WATCHER ON THE LAWN by Adele Gardner

O BODY, AUBADE by Daniel Roop

A SORT OF HOMECOMING by JG Faherty

ETERNITY COMES SOON by Ashley Dioses

THIS LIFE IN DARK INTERLUDES by Denise Dumars

THE SKIN RITE (RUN-TA-TUN-TUN-TUN!) by Nate Atkins

BY SKULL, BONE, & SPELL by Allie Marini

TROISIÈME CAVERNE, GOYET CAVES by Ann K. Schwader

OLD-TIMER’S STORY by Maria Picone

GHAZAL by Joshua Gage

DINNER AFTER THE DEVIL’S BARGAIN by Cassondra Windwalker

HORROR MAKES A SPLASH IN HER HAGFISH DEBUT by Kate Boyes

CHARTING DISTANCE FROM THE HEART by Michael Bailey

A SUBTLE GHOST by Brenda S. Tolian

EX NIHILO NIHIL by Eugen Bacon and Dominique Hecq

PANDORA LOOKS INTO THE MIRROR by Jacquelinen West

GENERATIONAL TRAUMA by Vince A. Liaguno

EXCULPABLE: A TEMPTATION by J.M. Wannan

TERATOMA by Glen Creed

SLIP SLIDE by Donna J.W. Munro

GROUNDING by Holly Lynn Walrath

RANPO NOIR  (MIRROR HELL) by Evan J. Peterson

LESSONS OF THE VOLKHV by Grace R. Reynolds

LADY MACBETH by Brooke MacKenzie

TRESPASS UPON AN UNDEAD WEDDING: MIDNIGHT PROCESSION OF THE CHURAIL by Saba Syed Razvi

LOVE SPELL by I.R. Sullen

WHAT LIES BENEATH THE STILL WATERS OF THE FJORD by Christina Sng

STAIN by Cindy O’Quinn

THE DEATHWATCH DANCE by Sara Tantlinger

PANTOUM FOR A TOTAL ECLIPSE by Shannon Kearns

ALPINE DIVORCE by Lauren Elise Daniels

SKY BURIAL by K.S. Kasati

RE-BIRTH/RE-DEATH by Lisa Morton

TO FILL THE SEA by Megan Jauregui Eccles

THE OCEAN WHICH DROWNS by Yi IzzyYu

Autumn Vacation

Kyle and I spent a much-needed week on vacation, enjoying one of our favorite seasons.  We tried to do at least one spooky activity a day.

Day 1: After chores, we watched the latest Resident Evil, which we found enjoyable and hilarious.  The comedy aspect of it was worth the discounted tickets.

Day 2: After more chores, we stayed indoors and watched Child's Play 3, as Kyle had not seen all of the Chucky movies.

Day 3: As is our tradition, we went to Irvine Park Railroad’s Pumpkin Patch to decorate cookies and choose our gourd selections.  This is a very family-friendly location with carnival booths and a little haunted house attraction.  This is also the same location where Kyle proposed to me, so it holds a special place.

Day 4:  We ventured to downtown Fullerton to go on the Haunted Fullerton Walking Tour that we've only been on a couple of times.  The ghost tour was hosted by the Fullerton Museum, and we were able to check out the Final Rites exhibit while partaking in a free spirit of our own.  We toured several locations, but the most prominent location was the Fox Theater featured below, after the exhibit photos.  I captured what appears to be a blue orb, emanating its own light above the stage.  I show a before photo with it not being there and included a picture Kyle took of the stage, also showing nothing being there.

(Gift Shop)

(My poem, They Dance in Arsenic, was inspired by the dresses colored green by arsenic.)

(Fox Theater)

(Ghost light and no blue orb.)

(Ghost light and still no blue orb...)

(Ghost light and blue orb!)

Day 5: The fifth day was going to be a Disneyland day, but due to the weather (104F!) we decided against the heat stroke and stayed indoors.  I spent most of the day doing homework, and then we partook in some cheese, meat, crackers, and wine.

Day 6:  We invited my mom to go to Oak Glen, where we ate, wandered through some gardens, tasted wine, and drove through the autumn scenery.  Later, we continued our Chucky marathon with Bride of Chucky.  

(Don't Drown)

Day 7:  We had another indoor day where we played video games and recorded spooky poems to promote Kyle's Halloween poetry trilogy and my upcoming collection, Diary of a Vampyress.  I also made an autumnal-scented Halloween candle out of a mug.

Spinal Dread: Horror Literature and Culture Festival

I had great fun attending the Spinal Dread: Horror Literature and Culture Festival at the Anaheim Library.  I signed and sold books at the HWA table and enjoyed chatting with Adam Cagley, Janet Joyce Holden, Kevin Wetmore, and Eric Guignard.  This was my first time attending this event, and I hope to continue coming back in the future.  There were panels, readers, booksellers, and various horror and Gothic themed vendors that made it worthwhile.  There was also an interesting after-party that I unfortunately couldn't attend.

(Starting inventory)

(Ending inventory)

Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show

Kyle and I attended our 12pm author signing slot at the Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Collectors Show this year.  It was great to see old friends, browse the various vendors, and get some books signed.  

(John Shirley)

(Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, and Larry Niven)

In an attempt to scale down the book load in our home, I only picked up a couple of books that caught my eye.  I was able to get Hal Bodner to sign the Gothic collection and Shadows and Verse was already signed by a number of contributing authors.

I helped spiffy up our table by bringing Halloween decor to highlight the Halloween poetry books.  I thought it was a nice, fun touch.

(The Withering and Darkest Days and Haunted Ways)

I had hoped Diary of a Vampyress would have been ready to debut here, but alas, it will have to wait until next year.  

(KA's Halloween Poetry Trilogy)

(Past the Glad and Sunlit Season)

 

(Jackanapes Press)