Instigating with Brain Squalls Podcast
Posted inArnzen News

Instigating with Brain Squalls Podcast

Over the holidays, I appeared on the Brain Squalls podcast as their first guest. Every episode of the podcast -- run by horror author EV Knight and her partner Matt Daigh -- is a creativity experiment, in which the two of them come up with prompts for story or art ideas and then create story lines and structures "live" as they pursue the possibilities. It's a lot of fun. And when I was in the mix, bringing a little Instigation to the table, it was a lot of weird. I had a great time daydreaming on the dark side with…
January 13, 2020Posted inArnzen News
Posted inArnzen News

Discounted Arnzen Ebooks for Halloween & NaNoWriMo 2019

Seasons greetings! During the week leading up to Halloween 2019 (10/27-10/31) only you can get the kindle version of my tale of Van Helsing (i.e. unauthorized Dracula sequel), Murrmann, for FREE! Just download it directly from Amazon.com from Sunday 10/27/19 through Thursday 10/31/19 and you'll have the ebook forever. Enjoy! (I'd love to see some new reader reviews, especially if you liked it.) Free from 10/27-10/31/19 PST! I've also reduced my other ebooks available on the kindle from Mastication Publications by a buck or two each for a limited time, so browse around while you're there! Also, since November is…
October 25, 2019Posted inArnzen News
Posted inArnzen News

Exploring Dark Short Fiction Series 2019

Smartly edited by Eric J. Guignard and gorgeously illustrated by Michelle Prebich, these books are an excellent way to get to know (or if you already know them, then to better understand) the pre-eminent writers of SHORT STORIES in the horror genre. They feature five-to-six selected stories that represent their strengths, each including an academic commentary that I provide (along with a longer essay I contribute on why that author matters in the grander scheme of things). It's a fantastic series of "primers" and serves an important function to the genre, as so many of the authors are celebrated for…
August 25, 2019Posted inArnzen News
Posted inAmbulations

StokerCon 2019 Recap

The Horror Writers Association now runs the dominant convention for writers on the dark side, StokerCon -- named after Bram Stoker (author of Dracula) and the trophy of the award the association gives to the top books in the horror genre each year. StokerCon convenes annually for serious horror professionals who want to learn and reconnect with the horror genre through topical panel discussions, excellent author readings, significant writing workshops, a mass booksigning and varied presentations… climaxing in a formal Bram Stoker Awards banquet, which celebrates the genre’s top practitioners with what I think remains the coolest trophy in the…
May 16, 2019Posted inAmbulations
Posted inGorelets: Unpleasant Poems

Filing Jointly — a tax crime poem for 30 Days of The 5-2

Filing Jointly No matter what the Fed says, we always put the tax deadline in the calendar on the 14th so it sounds like a Valentine's Day date to review our year in April. This year is special because I am doing it alone, remembering him, accounting for his actions, and mine, itemizing all the entries. It's an emotional audit. I tear up as I write off the axe I'd hit him with, along with all the other tools I used afterward as "business expenses"; and I smile when I enter the checks I received from his life insurance --…
April 14, 2019Posted inGorelets: Unpleasant Poems