“I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take away from a man his madness without also taking away his identity?”
– William Saroyan (died 1981)

“Creative Oppositions”

+ Imagine an awful way to die. Now physically turn the victim upside-down. Write.
+ Choose a common horror icon or trope. Put the word “Anti-” in front of it. Consider that your title. See what turns up.
+ Describe a notorious painful experience (root canal, etc.) from the viewpoint of a character who finds it pleasurable.

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If you publish or post something instigated by this department, let me know and I’ll mention it here!

Last weekend, I attended World Horror Convention 2005 in NYC, where I sat on a panel, performed readings, did a few interviews, and generally had a lot of fun. I can’t possibly write a “con report” because it would go on forever, but I met a lot of friends old and new, talked to numerous readers and editors, and enjoyed every waking moment.

One highlight for me, though, was getting the chance to see the “model” for the sculpture-bound, special edition (a.k.a. “Grim Grimoire“) edition of my novel, Play Dead, pictured above. The resemblance is uncanny…hah! The book, if you can’t see it well, is shaped like an evil Ace of Spades, with ruby red eyes that follow you everywhere, and a realistic maw with real teeth in its little snapping mouth. 54 copies of this book will be manufactured for the collector’s market by my publisher, Raw Dog Screaming Press this Fall.

RDSP also sponsored the very fun “Play Dead Texas Hold ‘Em Charity Event” which pitted author against author in a showdown of cards, moderated by Matt Schwartz at shocklines.com, complete with professional dealers, tables, and chips. I played in the game for the literacy charity, in2books, and though I didn’t win, I held my own, and over $1575 was raised for various charitable organizations. F. Paul Olsen, Valerie Thorpe, Jeremy Robert Johnson and Tom Monteleone were top four players in the game. Afterwards, every author signed dozens of decks of playing cards to create a unique collectable artifact which will be given to sponsors and players.

Play Dead is now available for preorder in hardback; the “Grim Grimoire” has yet to be priced, but is expected to sell out upon announcement. An excerpt from Play Dead was recently posted at the Horror Fiction News Network. Review copies are circulating, and I’ll link to reviews here as they appear.

I’m excited to announce that my book 100 Jolts: Shockingly Short Stories is a finalist for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. Also worth celebrating: the very document you’re reading now — The Goreletter — is a finalist for the Stoker in the Alternative Forms category.

I’m also very happy to see the weekly e-journal, Hellnotes, on the shortlist for the award in Non-Fiction — my column in that newsletter, “Instigation,” is a spin-off of the same Instigation prompts I publish here.

Needless to say, I’m extremely honored — and humbled — by this wonderful event. The Stokers are arguably the highest accolade in the horror writing community, awarded annually by my colleagues in the Horror Writers Association. Other writers up for this year’s awards include Stephen King, Peter Straub, Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Clegg, Christopher Fowler, Tom Monteleone, Gary Braunbeck, Mark McLaughlin, Andy Duncan, Tim Lebbon and…well, far too many other great writers to type, but let me just say I admire them all and the competition is so fierce that I’ll be very LUCKY if I happen to win anything. But it isn’t really a competition. Being shortlisted for the award is an award in itself, and I’m very proud. Thanks, HWA!