Hazard Yet Forward — New Genre Fiction Charity Anthology

I'm proud of the alumni, students, and faculty in Seton Hill U's Writing Popular Fiction graduate program for putting this new book together, with profits going to assist Donna Munro, a great writer and fellow member of our community who shocked us all by being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. The kindle edition of the book was just released today on amazon for just $9.99. Totally worth it, given that it's got over 700 pages of genre stories in it. I wrote one them (first appearance of my story "The Scraper") as well as the introduction. There are…

Pluck Your Last Drink Bird Head

Awhile ago I got the strangest e-mail message from World Fantasy Award-winning author (and old friend) Jeff Vandermeer. It read: Who is Last Drink Bird Head? Story, anecdote, 500 words. Don't Think: just write. And I did. My story was but one of a long list of short-shorts that now appear in Last Drink Bird Head: Flash Fiction for Charity -- with all proceeds going to proliteracy.org. The results are pretty astounding, ranging from hilariously surreal to pensively chilling to deeply touching. The publisher writes: "Last Drink Bird Head is a blues musician, a performance artist, a type of alcohol,…

Poker Faced at World Horror Con 2005

Last weekend, I attended World Horror Convention 2005 in NYC, where I sat on a panel, performed readings, did a few interviews, and generally had a lot of fun. I can't possibly write a "con report" because it would go on forever, but I met a lot of friends old and new, talked to numerous readers and editors, and enjoyed every waking moment. One highlight for me, though, was getting the chance to see the "model" for the sculpture-bound, special edition (a.k.a. "Grim Grimoire") edition of my novel, Play Dead, pictured above. The resemblance is uncanny...hah! The book, if you…