Hello, my darklings!
I’m not sure if I’ve said it before here on The Writerly Raven, but I love flash fiction. Of course, that wasn’t always the case.
When I was working on my MFA, one of my classes focused on writing it. It was a struggle to tell a complete story in 1,000 words or less. Since then, I’ve gained a bit of skill but, in general, I still prefer to leave it up to those better versed in such things than I. Me, I have a tendency to be far too long-winded.
Hello, my darklings!
There’s some exciting news floating about on the web. Any guesses?
If you guessed that Fantasy Magazine, a long-running monthly genre publication, has finally come back from hiatus, you’d be right. And it was quite a break! The editors published issue #60 all the way back in December 2016. Fortunately for us, November 2020 marked the return of the publication to digital bookshelves everywhere with issue #61.
When I got the assignment from the editor at Tangent Online, I was excited to review December’s issue #62 (original review here). For the most part, the stories were good. I actually quite enjoyed them, and I think you will, too.
Hello, my darklings!
Take a moment to center yourself and take a deep breath. Can you feel it? 2020 is drawing to a close, and 2021 holds a spark of promise for better things to come.
I think it’d be an understatement to say that it’s been a tough year. I don’t know that words can quite convey the insanity that the last twelve months have brought with them. So much has happened, yet it seems like time virtually froze in place for a while, as if even Old Father Time just decided to nope out of the world for a bit.
Hello, my darklings!
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to actually encounter an Old One? You know, those tentacled, madness-inducing horrors that writhe between the pages of nearly everything Lovecraft wrote?
Hello, my darklings!
I hope this latest post finds you all well. Things are ramping up in the world with this new virus and I sincerely wish you all the best health.
This week, I’ve just finished reading a new collection soon to be published by Grimdark Magazine and written by T.R. Napper called Neon Leviathan. If you’ve ready my reviews here on this site before, you’ll notice that the review below is a bit different than my usual format. As with some of my other reviews, I originally wrote this review for Tangent Online (you can see the original here).
Hello, my darklings!
Well, it’s officially a new year. It’s hard to believe we’re already in 2020 and January is mostly gone but I’m back with my latest review of Grimdark Magazine #21.
Where in the name of all the gods does time actually go? I swear it was just Halloween last week…
The last time I posted an actual review was a little over two months ago on November 5, 2019. That’s wholly unacceptable, I know, but I have been writing, I promise. In fact, there are several that need to be uploaded here to the site and I will get to that this weekend. I’ll be back-dating them so that they reflect the dates they were actually published on Tangent Online, so here on my site, they’re going to appear before this Grimdark #21 review.
As originally published on WattpadHey!
It’s me! Jimmy!
How’s it going, pal? Let me ask you something. You ever wonder how long it takes for someone to die? Three and a half minutes. That’s how long it took for me, anyway. When you say it out loud, it really doesn’t seem like very long, does it?
Well, trust me.
It is.
Illustration by Fran Eisemann as it was created for CRES for Stemple’s “Still Life” using public domain and creative commons images.
Happy belated Halloween, my darklings!
Hands down and without any doubt whatsoever, this is my absolute favorite time of year. The cooling weather, the scent of fall hanging in the air, the rustling of dried leaves in the breeze, and the marathon of both good and terrible horror films on every platform are just some of the small signs that several days of awesomeness are on their way. Both the Celtic Samhain, Norse Álfablót, and the Día de los Muertos celebrations start on October 31 and run through November 2, leaving me in shadowy bliss for three whole days.
Hello, my darklings!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…the best-laid plans, eh?
Forgive me if I heave a massive sigh but, with all that’s been going on in my personal life lately, it’s becoming clear that I need to do a few things on easy mode for a bit instead of giving myself more work than I have hours in the day to complete. It’s terrible to have all these great ideas and intentions (at least, they’re great to me) and not enough time to get them done! During the week, I work at my usual day job and, on weekends, I work a second job as a painting instructor. I also review regularly for Tangent Online (TO) and I have my own trilogy that I’m trying to finish, as you can see on the upcoming works page.
Although, I must admit that things have changed since I first announced the release of Beneath a Red Hunter’s Moon. At that point, I was still on track for telling this story in a single novel but as I continue to write, the story continues to grow. It’s becoming clear that one book isn’t going to be enough. Not unless you’re into books that are 1,500 pages long, that is, which I’m guessing most of you aren’t, since it’s not a popular option in the publishing world. I’ll update that page here in a bit.
Hello, my darklings!
Sigh…
The best-laid plans, eh? I had wanted to have this particular review finished and posted by September 7 but that (obviously) did not happen. Suffice it to say that I’m a bit late getting this up and, for that, I sincerely apologize.
Still, it’s a good day here in Texas. I’m sitting here in the living room with my laptop, cup of coffee in hand (yes, I know it’s the middle of the afternoon…don’t judge me), while a beautiful storm rages outside. There’s just something incredibly satisfying about reading (or, in this case, writing about) fantasy and science fiction while lightning arcs across the sky just beyond the window glass.
On the downside, the dogs don’t share my enthusiasm for the storm. The thunder has all four of them packed around me and my lap desk like sardines right now. Then again, it’s three Chihuahuas and a Miniature Pinscher and they don’t take up much room.
The agent. The contract. The feeling of holding your book for the first time. The readers. The reviews. The signings. The award nominations. Whatever you dream about is possible, and it all starts with you getting the story out of your head and onto the page. Go write.
Wishing everyone doing #PitMad the best of luck!
