The Memory Eater has Arrived!

Okay folks, my apologies for being so late to the party. The Memory Eater was officially released already and somehow I missed it. Oh well, better late than never, eh?

I must say that this book has been an amazing project to work on and I am very fortunate to be included with such an outstanding group of writers and artists. It is quite an honor to be lumped together with all this amazing talent. Kudos to Matthew Hance for putting all this together. It just goes to show how a spark of an idea can spread like wildfire if only given the chance. Pick up your copy on Amazon in Print or ebook format.

Here’s the blurb for the book followed by a quick video trailer for my own included story, Vanishing Cycle:

The Memory Eater is an anthology consisting of 27 uniquely illustrated stories based on a device with the ability to locate and destroy any memory in the human mind. Follow the story of a conflicted man who tries to become the fantasy inside his head by deleting reality. Or the story of a devastated couple who lost their child and turn to a shady Memory Eater doctor to erase their problems. Discover the truth behind the urban legend regarding where the Memory Eater really came from, and how it was used during World War II in the fight against Hitler and Nazi Germany. Drop in for a tale of love, and how one man never gives up hope to find his childhood sweetheart after the Memory Eater tore them apart. Witness how a teenage prank involving the machine and a chore goes hilariously wrong. Or how, with the introduction of this new technology, mass paranoia begins to spread, prompting people to tirelessly investigate their own pasts. See how the Memory Eater will shape the future into the perfect utopia. How it evolves into much more than deleting memories. Memories will become transferable and sold in back alleys. They’ll become viral. But ultimately, nothing will be safe, not even the sacred depths of the mind.

The Memory Eater on Kickstarter–Call for Support

Hi folks. I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, but i assure you, I’m still alive and kickin’. Despite what the rumors may have you to believe, I haven’t been abducted by aliens, nor have i become a rogue zombie and ventured into the wilds in pursuit of sweet, sweet brain meat. I have, however, returned from the netherworld in order to share a creative project that I’m involved with. Oh, and I’m also here to shamelessly enter a plea for your support. Don’t worry though, because if you do lend a gracious hand (and dough, I’m talkin’ serious amounts of hard currency!), you get stuff in return, so it’s cool. I mean let’s face it, we alI like to get stuff.

I’m very excited to share with you the news of this creative project—a fiction anthology called The Memory Eater: Stories that Erase the Past to Save the Future, created and edited by Matthew Hance. The science fiction-inspired anthology consists of 27 uniquely written and illustrated stories based on a futuristic device with the ability to locate and destroy any memory in the human mind. The concept—that everybody wants to forget something, don’t they?—is intriguing, as is the format. Each of 27 authors wrote an original story around the concept, and 27 artists contributed a companion original piece of art for the stories. My story, Vanishing Cycle, was accepted for inclusion in the anthology.

 

Here’s the promotional video for my story:

 

 

 

The anthology was pitched to select publishers with positive feedback, but ultimately, Matt decided to take advantage of the evolving book publishing landscape and retain control over the book publication and distribution by raising the funds to self-publish. April 2 marked the launch of the Kickstarter.com fundraising campaign to raise funds to publish The Memory Eater, which is ready to print right now!

 

 

 

Kickstarter is a unique Internet funding platform for creative projects by writers, musicians, artists, designers, filmmakers and visionaries of all kinds. Artists post an in-depth profile of their creative work and ask interested people to pledge a donation over a short period to reach a funding goal. If the goal is reached, the pledges are funded, and the artist can help bring their creative project to life.

 

 

Please visit The Memory Eater fundraising campaign at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/875080901/the-memory-eater-anthology and support my story. The page includes a project introduction video, story and art samples and links to several contributor web sites. The platform offers several pledge levels ranging from $1-$300 with rewards attached to each donation. Rewards run the gamut from written acknowledgement in the anthology, to free books, to bookmarks and T-shirts, to custom created, artist-signed The Memory Eater artwork on canvas. Pledges are not collected (via PayPal or credit card) unless and until the project goal of $4,250 is reached in the 40-day campaign period.

 

 

The Memory Eater’s Kickstarter campaign runs through May 12, 2012. For further information about The Memory Eater anthology, visit Hance’s blog at www.anthologies2011.blogspot.com; http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Memory-Eater-Anthology; and Twitter at @TheMemoryEater.

 

 

 

Thank you for checking out the campaign and for your support of my work!

The Swarm

Things here have slowed a bit over the last couple weeks as I work toward putting together a more regular posting schedule. I should have all that figured out soon. In the meantime, I’d like to leave you with a short short story in the spirit of the harvest season.

(Originally published in Daily Bites of Flesh 2011: 365 Days of Horrifying Flash Fiction by Pill Hill Press, and also appears on MicroHorror.com.)

Enjoy!

The Swarm

By Wesley Dylan Gray

The swarm came with cruel ferocity. Countless bands of nymphs had merged to create the mighty force of locusts. This vicious militia from the wilds held an insatiable hunger. They tore into my crop like a buzz saw, reaping, stripping it clean as they moved throughout the field. The haunting chatter of their monotonous chewing resonated through the air, a constant reminder of my inability to end their wake of devastation.

But my crops are my livelihood. So I found a way: an experimental brew of pesticide which I ordered from overseas. The purpose of the concoction was not to kill directly, but to alter their desires. It soaks deep into their core to change their appetites. Once the bug juice took effect, the object of their cravings was no longer my vegetations.

Soon after I dusted the crop, the swarm departed the field, rising up like a wisp of fog. It hovered in the sky momentarily, seemingly confused. The black haze swirled for hours and I watched it dance, listened to it sing. It twisted about as if to leave, then swayed listlessly, letting the autumn breeze churn it left and right across the gray skyline.

At last the mass of insects tightened up and I knew it had forged a purpose. It formed into a point, like a grim arrow plunging toward the horizon, forking the air, cutting it to form a ragged scar. It bypassed the field of corn, overshooting the crops to settle with complete violence upon my pasture of cattle. The sorrowing sounds of agony rose into the air, joined by the red mist as black and white flesh was flayed from bone. The swarm cut deep into the bovine herd, devouring every organ, bringing every last ounce of tissue to harvest. It left nothing but the bones, perfectly clean bones, gleaming, and polished to absolute whiteness.

Again the swarm ascended the ashen sky, a black shroud that blotted the sun like a thick stain of ink.

I stand now within its shadow. The wind has shifted to my direction. The ravenous army looks hungry, and I know it aims to feed.