2004 was a killer year for me. I won my second Stoker Award, saw the 10th Anniversary re-publication of Grave Markings, published 100 Jolts, and generally got my groove on. And since this is the end of Volume #2 of The Goreletter, I thought I’d write a little summary of where we’re headed in the year to come. I don’t like to talk about projects in the works very often because I don’t want to let any cats out the bag (or to make any promises I can’t keep), but I’m revving up my novel writing engine this year. (I’d say it’s packin’ a “Hemi”…but it’s really more like a “phlegmy”). After I get a few writing commitments out of the way, I’ll be focusing exclusively on my next book, a twisted kidnapping thriller roughly in the vein of John Fowles’ The Collector or Stephen King’s Misery. It’s tentatively titled “The Hoarder.” I’ve been working on this book for awhile already — but recently decided start all over from scratch because I discovered that my main character had somehow become a bubble-headed bore. I’m also working up a potential suspense book that you might call an “suburban survival narrative” but it’s too early to tell whether or not it’s sustainable. In the mean time, I’ll keep cranking out The Goreletters and juicing up gorelets.com, of course. But you might not see as much short fiction or poetry announced in this newsletter as usual for a while.
Having said that, there are plenty of good things coming down the pike in 2005. Two major books, Freakcidents and Play Dead, should be out in the first half of the year and I think that if you like The Goreletter, you’ll really love these titles. Look for my short story, “Mr. Mouth,” in the upcoming anthology, In Delirium — a collection of former Delirium authors edited by Brian Keene and put out by, you guessed it, Delirium Books, sometime in 2005. This is sure to be a collectable, since every Delirium title is a gift to the genre! I also think it’s okay to announce that I’ll also have a tale in an upcoming hardcover Cemetery Dance anthology, Poe’s Lighthouse, edited by Chris Conlon. The premise of this one is fantastic: every story is a “collaboration” with Edgar Allan Poe, which responds to or completes Poe’s unfinished story fragment, “The Lighthouse.” The editor informs me that my contribution, “The Dead Lantern,” is among the darkest in the book (go figure), which will feature many other sci-fi and horror writers you’ll recognize. I’ve got some other non-fiction articles in progress and a few more promised anthology/magazine pieces in the works, but I’ll save news for later.
By the end of 2004, The Goreletter was reaching over 900 subscribers. Call me greedy, but I want to at least double that number by this time next year. Anything you can do to help spread the word is appreciated. If there’s anything special you’d really like to see in The Goreletter, now would be a good time to let me know about it, since I’m reflecting and considering new fun things for the Volume #3. Indeed, send me your feedback whenever you like — I love to get messages from all of you. Last year I was very proud to win the Bram Stoker Award for Alternative Forms with this missive, and it looks like The Goreletter very well might be considered for the award again at this year’s awards (it’s currently receiving lots of recommendations, but the final ballot has yet to be determined). I want to try to live up to this acclaim by retaining the zest for the strange that this thing has, while maybe adding a few new features to the mix to keep things, um, interesting.
And, as promised last time, I’ll be adding an audio download or two to gorelets.com shortly, as a sort of “virtual reading.” If you want to hear me spout my twisted ideas live, you can either enroll in my college, or — far cheaper — attend a good convention or two in the year to come. I’ll be at World Horror Convention 2005 in NYC for certain. I may also attend the HWA Weekend/Stoker Banquet, as well as Horrorfind Baltimore, the Ligonier Valley Writer’s Workshop in October, and — if time and money permit — World Fantasy Convention on Halloween. I’m sure there will be plenty of other surprises, so keep reading your e-mail or the weblog for breaking news.