ZOMBIFURCATION

A zombie crawled right,
a zombie crawled left –
both shared the singular
body I'd cleft.

I'd chopped down his chest,
and cut off his scream –
but still he came at me,
splitting his seam.

He pulled himself toward me
in reanimation:
One arm for each half
toward opposing locations.

A zombie crawled left,
a zombie crawled right –
both sides of my brain
they would eat to unite.

I dropped my machete
and pulled out my gun –
I had to be ready
to shoot either one.

And he got awfully near me
on the floor of the crypt,
but then lost all his traction
when his torso was ripped.

A zombie crawled here,
a zombie crawled there –
without one another
they just clutched at the air.

I could have just left then –
let yang to chase yin –
but I wasted two bullets
on the Siamese twins.

In case you missed the news elsewhere, Cutting Block Press has released The Best of Horror Library, Vols 1-5 … and it really is the best! The anthology gathers the top 30 stories out of over 150 tales they’ve published over the past decade in their thrice-Stoker nominated series of chilling horror and dread.

Proud to be a part of it with my short story about a nightmare at the airport security gates, “Guarded.” Other authors include Kealan Patrick Burke, Colleen Anderson, Eric J. Guignard, Cameron Pierce, Shane McKenzie, Jeff Strand, Ray Garton, John F.D. Taff, Bentley Little, and Benjamin Kane Ethridge. Read this book and you will get a great snapshot of the diversity of weirdness at large in new millennial horror. Read my mini-review for more:

http://gorelets.com/blog/arnzen-news/it-really-is-the-best-of-horror-library/

Tip: see my somewhat buried Anthologies page to discover more books like this, featuring short horror stories by a gathering of writers usually riffing darkly on a common theme.

http://gorelets.com/books/anthology-appearances/

'In Your Write Mind' 2015 Book Fair
June 26th, 2015, 7-10p | Greensburg, PA
Massive author booksigning featuring alumni from SHU Writing Popular Fiction program plus many Raw Dog Screaming Press writers gathered in the Seton Hill University gymnasium.
http://inyourwritemind.setonhill.edu/

Nightsun Writer's Workshops
July 23-26th, 2015 | Frostburg, MD
Workshop your writing with Arnzen. Must register by July 1st to participate!
http://www.frostburg.edu/cwcenter/workshops/nightsun-writers-conference/

Horror Poets at Rickert & Beagle Books
Aug 8th, 2015, 2p | Pittsburgh, PA
Reading & Signing with Stephanie Wytovich
http://gorelets.com/events/rickert-and-beagle-books-pittsburgh-pa-3/

DogCon 4
Oct 23-25th, 2015 | Philadelphia, PA
Save the date! Raw Dog Screaming Press authors and fans take over Philly. The Popular Uncanny (http://gorelets.com/uncanny/) book launch expected.
http://rawdogscreaming.com/events/

World Horror Convention 2016
April 28-May 1st, 2016 | Provo, UT
Mark your calendars in blood… Arnzen will be a Special Guest!
http://whc2016.org/home.html

StokerCon 2016
May 12th-15th, 2016 | Las Vegas
Arnzen workshop on “Making the Reader Squirm.”
http://stokercon2016.org/

Watch my events page for more:
http://www.gorelets.com/upcoming-arnzen-appearances/

Fridge of the Damned: Poems from World Horror Convention

At World Horror Convention in Atlanta last month (see my con report), my friends at Raw Dog Screaming Press held a room party to celebrate their authors on the Bram Stoker Ballot (congrats to both Lucy Snyder & Maria Alexander, who subsequently won!). Throughout the party, I passed around a sheet of metal littered with random tiles from the Fridge of the Damned horror poetry magnet sets and people read and recited their work. Photos of the event – with most of their wacky poems – appear on the FOTD flickr gallery.

Fridge of the Damned party photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gorelets/sets/72157632386748387

WHC Con Report & Other Photos: http://gorelets.com/blog/ambulations/photos-from-world-horror-con-2015/

On Quiet Nights
new poetry book by Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann

Till Lindemann – frontman from the German metal band Rammstein – also releasing a promisingly twisted new solo album, Skills in Pills, this month – has just published the English translation of his poetry collection, On Quiet Nights (aka In Stillen Nachten), through Raw Dog Screaming Press.

I wrote the forward for this edition of the book, which I had the chance to read in original German as well as English. The poems make for a very unique read. As a critic for the Examiner perfectly puts it, “Till’s verbiage entertains a neat dichotomy between being revolted by the human anatomy and completely awestruck by it.” Recommended!

Order On Quiet Nights: http://rawdogscreaming.com/books/quiet-nights/

Excerpt from Introduction: http://gorelets.com/blog/arnzen-news/lindemanns-on-quiet-nights-released/

twisted prompts for sicko writers

Miscellaneous Madness

+ Reveal the catalog of a mad librarian.
+ Journal Entry: “Horror is My Prism, and is My Light”
+ Title: “Hostility Hotel”
+ Build a world where fire engines are sent out on “emergency rage” calls to burn buildings rather than save them.
+ Literally create a “creature of the night” – composed of darkness and other components of the after hours.
+ Stage a scene where “the clown erupts.”

Instigation: http://gorelets.com/blog/dept/instigation/
Diabolique Strategies: http://diaboliquestrategies.com/
RDSP Newsletter “Bizarro Instigation”: http://eepurl.com/yhfCX

Nightsun recently asked me some questions about writing and my affinity for horror….

Q: What is it about the horror genre that you find so fascinating?

A: I think horror is such a part of my worldview that I don't really think other genres can satisfy me anymore. I'll read a story or watch a movie and no matter how compelling the conflict might be, I find myself imagining how much worse things could be – how creepier it could be, how gorier, or how much more psychologically devastating. Horror is the genre of the “worst case scenario” and that's what I like to read and think about. As a writer, it pushes me to go “over the top” with my imagination…

Read the whole interview: http://michaelarnzen.blogspot.com/

Got a question of your own? Want to prod me just to see how I'll respond? Head over to my profile on goodreads.com and ask away: http: https://www.goodreads.com/MichaelAArnzen

Have you discovered what lurks in THE DARK (http://thedarkmagazine.com/) yet?

If you love encountering new dark fantasy and horror short fiction by both established and new authors, sign up for a *free* subscription to THE DARK MAGAZINE at http://eepurl.com/brlPyT. (And get all the back issues too, if you like!) With recent stories reprinted in year's best anthologies, listed on Locus Recommended Reading List, and a subscriber base growing every month, “this new dark fantasy zine is settling well into its niche, which is picking up weirdness as it grows“ —Locus.

Website: http://thedarkmagazine.com/ Special Offer: http://eepurl.com/brlPyT

*** I have two copies left for sale of the lettered edition double-live CD set Arnzensongs and Poedown, signed by both me and Stephanie Wytovich. If you're interested in buying one of these ultra-rare collectables, paypal me $20.00 to arnzen@gorelets.com or email me at that address for a place to send a check.

Arnzensongs: https://flic.kr/p/dXWKDK
Poedown: https://flic.kr/p/dY3qZ9

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” – Carl Jung (died June 1961)

Read the back issues (http://gorelets.com/repository/doku.php/goreletter/start) !

Copyright 2015, Michael A. Arnzen - All rights reserved

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