This is just a quick post to report that my second collection of poetry will be releasing on June 19th on Kindle and in Trade Paperback. The Pre-order for the eBook is now live and can be found here for $.99. The print edition will be $5.99. I will be making the kindle edition of my other chapbook, Come Fly with Death free for a few days starting around the release date. Here is the cover and book description:
Let us savor the final three seconds before Doomsday. Let us step through the shattered glass door leading beyond The End, and walk through the veil of an apocalyptic dreamscape. Let us witness the horrors that await these “lucky” ones called survivors. What will become of our Children of Fallout? Will they survive Death’s second coming, or are they simply doomed to fade away, like Tears on the Glass Desert…
A conceptual chapbook of 24 poems that speculate on both the inevitabilities and the impossibilities of Nuclear Holocaust, the Fallout it brings, and the aftermath of its Decay. Contains poems both new and collected, including reprinted works from Grievous Angel, Polu Texni, Liquid Imagination, Devolution Z: The Horror Magazine, The Literary Hatchet, and The Horror Zine.
It’s been a while. A lot has changed in the world. I won’t beleaguer you with my thoughts on it all here. Perhaps another time. This post is of a more personal nature. Call me selfish. So then, I’ve been quiet. These last three years I have been in a creative black hole so to speak. I don’t know how else to describe it. I don’t like to use the term writer’s block (for one, I don’t believe it is inherent to writers) but maybe that’s what it is. I’ve been through this before, in various degrees and lengths of time. I’m not going to try to analyze the exact cause or causes. Perhaps it’s an issue of self-esteem, discouragement, depression, the state of the world, or a mix of many things. I don’t know. Perhaps it’s just life moving forward and me forgetting to stay focused on my creativity. I have a family to provide for, and another career that pays the bills. Whatever the reason, it happened. And when it happens, there is always the gnawing voice telling me I should be writing. I should be creating. That never goes away. But the ability to actually do so, to let my mind think about my work in a manner beyond that, to actually produce new content and generate new ideas, that ability has eluded me yet again. It’s like owning a dormant factory. I know I should get the line moving again, but how do I flip the switch?
So why now? Why talk about this after such a long period of inactivity? Well first of all, I’ve been in such a daze about all this, that I hadn’t realized it’s been three years. In early 2018 I was all fired up and planning to release a few poetry collections. I have one chapbook manuscript nearly complete, gathering dust, and other collections taking shape. But the main reason I’m here writing about this is that just recently, the switch has been flipped. The factory is running again. And it truly was just like a switch. Just like the reasons it got switched off, I can’t explain how it got switched back on. I can pinpoint the moment it happed though. It was on a recent commute home from work. I was listening to music, thinking about some heavy personal issues, and my thoughts drifted to my writing, and then boom! Switch on, and I was generating new ideas about my Lazarus series. And then it was like a flood, the desire to look at my poetry again. Ideas to do something fresh and creative with my writings and animations. Plans to return to my novel, Feeding Lazarus. Plans to self-publish a new second edition, focus on writing the sequels, finish the series.
So, there it is. Switch on, factory running, out of the black hole. I will post again with more details on future publication plans. But for now, know this, I do plan on releasing my second chapbook of poetry soon, as it is basically finished. We will see Lazarus and Daniel again and finish their story. And from there? Who knows? Let’s just try to steer clear of any black holes.
So, what about you? Have you ever suffered from creative black holes, writer’s block, or lapses in periods of creativity? If so, what do you think caused them? How did you get out?
Three years ago today, I published my first book, Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski. In that time I have been blown away by the reception it has received, selling ~150 print copies and 100+ digital copies, has been read 143 times from Kindle Unlimited, and has thus far received very favorable reviews. That may not sound like much as far as sales compared to the national bestsellers, but for a little chapbook like this, I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I am so thankful that people are enjoying this little book of ekphrastic poetry inspired by my favorite painter, the late Zdzislaw Beksinski. In recognition of the book’s three year anniversary, the kindle edition will be free for three days starting tomorrow, Friday the 13th.
I can hardly believe it’s been three years and I’d say I’m overdue for a followup. To that end, I currently have three more chapbooks well in the works, the first of which (and possibly second) should be out in the coming year. I will post more info on these in the coming months. In the meantime, if you haven’t already done so, you can check out my horror novel, Feeding Lazarus (written as Rafe Grayson from Azoth Khem Publishing), a dark tale of morbid wish fulfillment about a bullied young boy named Daniel, the monsters in his life, and his interactions with a dead man.
If you happen to live in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area of Florida, I will be at my favorite local bookstore, Books at Park Place tonight from 6-8pm signing copies of both books, along with other horror authors for the store’s Thursday the 12th Horror Authors event. Come by for some books, scary tales, and an overall spooky good time to get into the spirit of the season.
That’s all for now. Thanks again to all who have supported me! Cheers!
31 Tales from Hellview Cemetery is a fantastic collection of creepy stories, most of which are based on urban legends and ghost lore from around the Bay Area of Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. One might assume that a book of scary stories such as this would be specific for Halloween. While I can easily say that this book is in fact essential for one’s Halloween goodie bag, this is simply a great read for any time of the year. There is a vast assortment of unique and interesting characters, ghouls and ghosts, from the thing hiding under your bed, to the creepy old neighbor.
Meet Emily, the little girl with the red buckled shoes you keep seeing everywhere; doesn’t she seem familiar? Take a doomed walk through Boyd Hill at night; will you dare to face what lies beneath its dark and churning waters? Say ‘Hi’ to The Fangrrl, who takes her Fandoms deadly serious; will she become your new obsession, or will you become hers? Step under the Big Top of a Terror-filled circus; can you survive even a mere glimpse of its final performance? Go camping with Jack; can you begin to imagine the surprise he has for you? These are just a few of the folks you’ll meet throughout this horrifying journey in Hellview.
There is so much to love in this book. The twists are surprising, if not downright shocking. It is extremely well-written, but above all it is thoroughly entertaining. The stories are further accentuated with the accompaniment of the grimly-gorgeous photography of Susan Black.
Kudos to Mark Muncy, A.K.A The Caretaker, and his co-author Elizabeth Abbott! I can’t wait to see what’s next for these denizens of Hellview Cemetery. Highly, highly recommended!
So here’s that awesome news I hinted about last week:
On September 2nd I will unleash Feeding Lazarus upon the world. The contract with Fat Lip Press is signed and the gears are in motion. I must say, for such a short book, this has been a long time in the making. What started out as two individual short story concepts that got fused together after I realized they were in fact different parts of the same story, and what then aspired to become a short novelette, but after countless rewrites and revisions over the last five years, has grown into a short novel/extended novella.
I believe one reason I’ve taken so long with this is simply due to the nature of this story. Have no doubt, this is a tale of visceral horror, and it deals with some extremely horrific real world issues, primarily that of bullying and abuse. Though Feeding Lazarus is a work of pure fiction, I have both witnessed and experienced such atrocities in my own life, and that makes this a very personal story for me.
My hope is that the themes and underlying messages in Feeding Lazarus will resonate with others who have had similar experiences, and perhaps bring to light the severe impact these real life nightmares have on their victims. Perhaps it could also become a catalyst to inspire those who witness such things happening to stand up, stand strong, be the hero and take action to stop the bullying, the abuse, and the social exclusion that torments the lives of so many each and every day.
So mark your calendars, for on September 2nd I bring you Feeding Lazarus from Fat Lip Press! And stay tuned, I’ll post updates as we get closer to the release including excerpts from the book and the all important cover reveal. Oh, and happy Father’s Day!
The writing team of Boston-Manzetti is a poetic tour de force that cannot be denied. Sacrificial Nights is a testament to this, grabbing you from page one, dragging you into its dark and seedy world woven with twisted characters, horrific happenings, and powerful, memorable imagery. When these two masters, each themselves Bram Stoker Award Winners, blend their voices together, the result is utterly fantastic!
Sacrificial Nights is a great concept that is not only a collection of poems, but creates a poetic novella when read from start to finish as it is meant to be read. I absolutely love this concept and was more than pleased when reading Sacrificial Nights to discover that Boston-Manzetti realize this concept to an astonishing effect, creating not just a superb collection of collaborative poems, but a truly exquisite work of art.
If you are a fan of Bruce Boston or Alessandro Manzetti then you have likely already bought this or are going to. But if you are new to either of these great writers, buy this, read it, but don’t stop there. Go forth and explore the individual works of both of these fantastic, award-winning authors.
Cheers for Boston-Manzetti’s Sacrificial Nights!
Sacrificial Nights is available now in ebook and Paperback editions.
As a special promotion for Halloween, the ebook edition of my dark poetry chapbook, Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski, is free for Amazon Kindle starting today, Thursday, October 29th, and lasting through Sunday, November 1st. That’s four days to grab a copy if you haven’t already done so, plus a little extra time to duct tape your friends to chairs and force them politely invite your friends to do the same.
Also, I highly encourage you to visit beksiński.pl to learn more about Zdzislaw Beksinski and immerse yourself in his fantastic, horrific, and truly beautiful works of art.
Thanks for reading, and thanks again for all your support.
Better late than never, as they say: Bete Noire Issue #18 is available now (since March 1st, actually) and includes my poem, Another Light. This is a revised version of the poem originally published in Phantom Kangaroo issue no. 9, July 2012.
And for those who aren’t familiar, Bete Noire is an engaging quarterly publication from Dark Opus Press with a tight focus on “…stories that are well written, character driven and have a dark bent to them.” So head on over to betenoiremagazine.com and grab a copy of the current issue, browse the back catalog, or even grab a subscription.
I’m a little late in posting this, but Bete Noire Issue #17 is out now and it includes the first-time publication of my poem, The Death in Me.
In case you don’t know, Bete Noire is a great little quarterly magazine full of “…stories that are well written, character driven and have a dark bent to them.”
My poem, The Clog was first published in Issue #6 back in 2012 and it’s great to see this publication not only going strong, but getting better and better with each new issue. So pick up a copy of Issue #17 in print or digital format, and if you enjoy the stories in this magazine, (which I have no doubt you will) consider supporting this small press publisher by grabbing a subscription so you will never miss an issue again!
[P.S. In January look for a slightly revised version of my poem Another Light (first published in Phantom Kangaroo issue no. 9, July 2012) to be included in Bete Noire Issue #18!]
Today I present ‘Hell Fossil’ from my chapbook Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski. In case you missed the previous posts, here are ‘One in Hell‘ and ‘Ocean Eyes.’
Enjoy!
HELL FOSSIL
Men of lost goals
and minuscule purpose
lie crunched and broken,
impacted with the weight
of hollow burden,
angered with the memories,
to bleed forever
with their brethren.
Armies pile high in cold-stone fusion.
They died amidst the pit.
They brought their war to Hell
and marched upon the Black Gates.
Their skulls still don the helmets
of their killing suits,
their death rags,
their funeral wrappings.
Their spines drip upon on the wall,
crags layered with the corpses—
a bluff of rot and suffering
erodes softly into the abyss.
Come Fly with Death: Poems Inspired by the Artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski releases on Sunday, October 12. Pre-order the ebook here on Amazon for $0.99 or the trade-paperback (List Price: $5.99) on Amazon or the Createspace Storefront. Or wait a week or two and support your local bookstore by ordering directly from them (recommended!).
Marrowroot 