Who? What? Where?

Earlier today I found myself suddenly (and really inexplicably) nostalgic for the old Doctor Who Magazine. I subscribed for several years back when I was in high school, the same years when I would spend every Saturday night watching the show on New Jersey Network (I didn't date much). I remember how each issue would come in a brown air mail envelope from the UK. I'd tear open each envelope and tear through each issue, sucking down every bit of information that I read.

Of course, I barely remember any of it now. Strange bits and pieces flash into my memory now and then, especially when watching the new episodes, but most of what I read is gone to the sands of time. I do remember a few covers, and I think the one shown here was from the first issue that I read back in the day. This cover gallery has inspired a few more memory flashes. I wish that I remembered more.

I also used to subscribe to some sort of Doctor Who fan club newsletter. I can't find anything that looks familiar online, so I'm pretty confused as to what that might have been. Oh, time, you're a harsh mistress.

Magazines like this didn't last through the 57 moves I have made over the years. That's probably a good thing, or I'd be re-reading them all right now, along with issues of Dynamite, Bananas, Dragon, and whatever other geeky stuff I used to have piled around my teenaged self's room. But all the same, it's nice looking back and remembering what was, and who I used to be.

Lore Four

Hey, it's here! The fourth edition of LORE -- the anthology series for which I serve is contributing editor -- is now available. There are some great stories in this volume. I hope you'll check it out. (It should also be available through Amazon soon.)

Dreams of Loss and the Nightmares of Discovery

We never forget our first loves. Sometimes they haunt our dreams. Sometimes those dreams become nightmares.

That's "Dream Girl" in a nutshell. This short story -- originally published in the anthology Dark Territories -- is now available again for Kindle. As with all of these resurrected short stories, I have added a new essay about the tale.

"Dream Girl" is kind of a hard story to nail down. It's definitely not horror, although it harkens back to the best of my horror stories. It qualifies as crime or mystery, although it isn't really all that mysterious. It's about love, but it's certainly not a romance. Whatever it is, I think it's one of my better tales. I hope you'll check it out.

New e-books galore

My previously published short stories continue to reappear as new e-books for Kindle. I'm having a lot of fun revisiting these old tales -- which I still think are pretty darned good. I'm also have a good time adding new essays to each story and designing the covers. My earliest book cover designs were, I'll admit, fairly weak, but the latest few are actually pretty good. 

Anyway, these stories are all just 99 cents each. Check 'em out through my Amazon Author page here. I hope you enjoy them!

"Before the Beginning" was actually the beginning

Another short story from my archive has been resurrected. This time around I went all the way back to the beginning and resurrected my very first published short story, "Before the Beginning." This caveman horror/fantasy story first saw print way back in 1994. It hasn't been seen since.

But now it's back in an affordable Kindle edition, complete with a new afterword talking about the story's history and putting it into context with my own history. Yes, I wrote a history for a story set during pre-history. How meta of me.

This story doesn't display any of the humor that I started bringing to my work just a few years later, but it does showcase some of the themes that have been present in my writing from day one. I think it's a pretty solid tale and I hope you'll give it a look.

Is this the bleakest story I ever wrote?

Another of my old short stories is now available again. This time around it's "Learning to Fly," a bleak crime story about a man who has hit rock bottom. I think this happens to be one of the best stories I have ever written. In a lot of ways, it's even more relevant today than when I wrote it 15 years ago. I hope you'll check it out.

PS -- I also think this is the best cover I have designed to date. It's fun learning new things!

Oldest Living American Serial Killer Tells All

The resurrection of my older horror and crime short stories continues. This week it's "Oldest Living American Serial Killer Tells All," which is now available for Kindle for just 99 cents.

I always liked this story, and it stayed in print for a lot of years in the Barnes & Noble anthology 100 Menacing Little Murder Stories. That book finally went where all such books go -- into the ether -- so now it's time to bring the tale back into print. In addition to the story itself, this e-edition includes an exclusive new afterword about the titular serial killer -- Rockwell, who's just as American as apple pie and the painter that shared his name.

By the way, I think the cover for this one came out pretty well. I wanted something striking, with bold but simple typography since the title is so long. I thought about playing around with splashes of blood or something more violent, but this is actually a fairly sedate crime story, so I think I struck the right balance.

I hope you'll give "Oldest Living American Serial Killer Tells All" a read. Who knows, I may even revisit Rockwell one of these days. I'm sure he's still got some mischief up his aged sleeves.