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Showing posts from June, 2017

Friday Musings 6/30/2017

Another Friday. This one is a holiday weekend. Time to relax a bit. But like that saying, when you love what you do... I think that applies here. Can't get ideas out of my head, they call to me.  This Monday I'll have free time, because while most of Manhattan is out of town, I'll be at work. It's OK, though. I will be writing. Probably some reading. There might even be a latte leaf somewhere in the equation.  I just had two stories drop at the same time, one in Monsters Exist  anthology and the other in Unnerving Magazine. Double the promotion--but I still love it. Well, Monsters doesn't come out until Saturday. It has been nice to have two come out. If someone doesn't like one... You know. And while there is that energy of knowing two of my stories are out there, there is always that nervous energy, as well. But I'd rather use any energy I build on the next story. More productive.  You can get Monsters Exist here  https://deadmanstome.net And Unn

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Christopher Powers - Bitten

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The next story in the Monsters Exist expose is by Christopher Powers. In Bitten,  A man goes on a safari and brings back more than expected. Let's get to the story behind this gruesome tale.  Bitten backstory By: Christopher Powers   I’ve always been fascinated by the study of cryptozoology. People using their scientific knowledge to prove the existence of creatures which are roundly disputed by their peers must be a trying job, and yet they go about their work with pride and confidence. It shares some similarities to the writing process. We don’t know if our stories will prove successful, or even see the light of day, but we persevere because it’s our passion; we believe in what we’re doing. At least that’s how I like to think of it. And let’s be honest, it’s a cool job. Who wouldn’t want to travel the world, visiting beautiful forests, lakes and jungles, in the hopes of discovering a new species of animal? I know I would. Wanting to highlight a cryptid that never rece

Deadman's Tome Podcast Recap 6/23/2017

WCM: We had a very pleasant night on the show. Our guest was great, although he did get a little aggressive with the Catman, and I didn't agree with it.  JD: Austin Wood of Horror Night Podcast put Catman in his place! He also tried to contest Marchese for co-host. WCM: We talked about panty man and had a horror game show set up between me and our first sponsor.  JD: ah, yes. Hentai Kamen (AKA Pervert Mask) a Japanese superhero whose power comes from how perverted he can be. He gets strength from wearing used panties on his head! This strange superhero was featured in a weekly magazine called Shonen Jump, same magazine where a number of popular anime and manga got their start.  I though Austin was going to just play a simple trivia game, but he made it very clear that he wanted to push Marchese out from the co-host slot. As Austin put it, he is the Dynamite! WCM: Austin was a great guest, but he almost took my job and I can't let that happen. I mean, my horror knowled

Friday Musings 6/23/2017

I sit here in the Cafe for my Friday writing session and wonder: is retweeting a menace? Do you get more followers from original content? I say yes to original content, but there still is a need for the retweeting. Maybe a certain time of day for it.  But then you get into the debate about retweeting the content of the original tweet, or making the retweet your own. I suppose there is no harm in owning the retweet, it's like merging original with plugging someone else, but then there are those who say you're doing the writer/publishing house/sex bot a favor by retweeting their original post.  In conclusion, for now, I'm going to try and post more original posts, so people know I'm a human, and have a certain percentage of retweets. At least until I can look a bit further into this.  Until tonight on the Deadman's Tome podcast, keep doing what you do. Unless, of course you're a killer (or any number of terrible things), then please, stop...  WCM 

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Calvin Demmer - Never Sleep Again

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Next in the expose we have Calvin Demmer, who's story of a washed up detective called upon to assist with a possible cereal killer is our next jaunt into the Monsters Exist anthology. The only question I have is, why don't "they" ever believe? Enjoy.  Story Behind “Never Sleep Again” By Calvin Demmer Who doesn’t remember being scared at night as a kid? The main idea for “Never Sleep Again” came from that childhood fear some people have of an arm or leg dangling off the bed in the dark. I looked into different interpretations of possible monsters under the bed, but none really fit with the vibe I wanted to go with. So, I kind created my own monster based on elements I thought would terrify and linger in the mind. Having a reason for the monsters to come and actually take hands or feet was important to me, and I’m pleased with how that turned out. I also wanted to show the story through the eyes of the main character. Once I had his basic characteristics a

Deadman's Tome Podcast Recap (6/15/2017)

First off, sorry this post is coming out late. We had an early show last week on Thursday and add to that another busy week at work, a perfect storm was created. Here is the notes for the vampire couple interview.  WCM: Hello, and welcome to another action-packed episode of the show. We had real-deal vampires, we had Gary Buller calling in, we even had fart and sex soundboard noises to go along with it all.  JD:  Countess Lea and Count Tim Van Doorn were very cool to talk to. They shared so much about the vampire way of life that they might be in trouble with their coven! WCM: We learned so many things from the vampire couple. We even asked them tons of questions. I feel we did a well rounded interview.  JD: of course we did. Though I went for the very personal questions very early, we managed to pace it. Besides, the vampire couple were so open to just about any question. They even told us about blood types. Apparently, type o negative tastes like chocolate! WCM: Vampires a

Monsters Exist Author Expose - S.E. Casey - Playing Dead

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Our next writer in this awesome anthology is Steve Casey. His story is about a man who is haunted by a past plagued with sorrow at the hands of a giant cryptid. Enjoy.  Backstory for Playing Dead  By: S.E. Casey As a writer who leans toward the weird, two of my favorite "go-to" horror spaces are Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and Francisco Goya's 'black period' paintings. As the submission call for Monsters Exist asked for some presence of a monster, of course, Goya's Saturn Devouring His Children (1823) sprung to mind. It's not too difficult to note its direct influence in my story, Playing Dead. Where a Wonka-esque twilight carnival serves as the physical setting, the Goya painting contributes to its plot and theme. As some background, Goya's Saturn is based on a Peter Paul Ruben's painting Saturn Devouring His Son (1636). Ruben's Saturn (the Greek Titan Cronus, god of time) is represented as a robust, muscular old man who

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Manuel R Tapia - Bloodstream Revolution

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In walks Manuel R Tapia with a story about the Chupacabra, or as his character call them, Chupas. Through the eyes of a boy in the middle of two revolutionary fronts against the Mexican government, the legend of this cryptid is displayed through carnage and gore, and an ending you may not expect. Here is the story behind Bloodstream Revolution.  Bloodstream Revolution By: M. R. Tapia My father would sit near the elders in the Mexican village where he grew up. He would explain these things to me as a child. He'd say he learned a lot about life from listening to them. He learned a lot about superstitions, as well. In every superstition lies a hint of truth, he'd say. Needless to say, I took his advice about keeping my ears open when elders spoke.  My entire family tree is from Mexico. My siblings and I are the first generation Americans. I remember both my grandmothers speaking of old Mexico, including their troubles and superstitions. As always, one of the popul

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Theresa Braun - Legend Trippers

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Our next author in the Monsters Exist anthology is from Theresa Braun. In  Legend Trippers,  we follow Jaxson,  a train conductor with a haunted past trying to make sense out of what hed seen from the corner of his eye after an accident. Here is the story behind the story.  Legend Trippers By: Theresa Braun  When thinking about a monster story to write, I did some internet searching. The urban legend of the Pope Lick monster caught my attention. What was interesting to me was the fact that a few people have lost their lives in trying to see whether or not there actually is a Goatman who lives near the trestle in Kentucky. Apparently, the creature has the power to use mind control and shape shifting to lure victims to their demise. Some rumors say that the monster might be trying to warn people of the oncoming train, but they are so scared when they see the thing and its red eyes that they are unable to escape. Aside from the horrific stories and loss of life, the imag

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Philip W. Kleaver -- The Voice from the Bottom of the Well

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Our next author in the expose is Philip Kleaver--nice last name for a horror writer, no? His story is about a girl who hears voices from a well. How many horrific things can you think of happening from that premise? Without further adu, here's Philip with how his tale came to be.  The Voice from the Bottom of the Well By: Philip Kleaver  For me, a story always comes together piece by piece. On the first of January, I was with some friends in Baltimore's Leakin Park. (Fans of  Serial  or  The Wire  might know it as the place where many of the city's homicides are dumped, but it's actually a charming little place.) Alongside one of the trails, we saw this dark hole in the earth, leading to an underground drainage pipe. The smell coming from it was stale and sickening. It stuck with me. A few weeks later, I was waiting for a plane and letting my mind wander. I started to think about what would happen if I had approached the hole alone... and heard something ins

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Leo Robertson - Kelpies

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Our next author showcase in the Monsters Exist anthology is Leo Robertson. In Kelpies , we find Fraser taking a break from a jog on the beach, where he makes acquaintance with an attractive woman. But what she's got to offer is something not so easily refused.  Here is the back story of  Kelpies .   Kelpies origin story By: Leo Robertson   I try to run as often as I can, but will use bad weather/legs/attitude to get out of it whenever possible. There’s a beach near where I live in Oslo that I like to run to, though I resent the happiness of beachgoers, their enthusiasm for aerobic exercise, how they dumbly toss Frisbees to one another and laugh like “Dur dur dur!” Don’t they know we’re all going to die?! The imagery never fails to make me think the relative permanence of nature compared to humans and the brevity of life. Stones weathered by geological ages, more grains of sand than people, waves pulled by a multi-billion-year-old moon. (I don’t get invited to a lot

Monsters Exist Author Expose - Sarah Budd - The Murder of Crows

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Our next author expose in Monsters Exist is Sarah Budd whose story The Murder of Crows  puts, where a London taxi driver Barry must pay for his sins at the hands of Morrigan, but you'll never guess what will transpire. And now Sarah will explain the story behind this noir rollercoaster and Morrigan, the character that served as inspiration for her tale.  Morrigan The Murder of Crows by S.J.Budd Morrigan is an ancient Celtic goddess from the immortal Tuatha De Danann clan associated with Irish mythology. She was believed to be the goddess of war and guardian of the dead. One of her many responsibilities was to transport people on their journey from life to death into the otherworld where she dwelt. She possessed shapeshifting abilities and could appear in the form of a crow or raven, an animal she is very strongly associated with. Despite being a harbinger of death, Morrigan has never been seen as an evil figure and in mu story I have her fulfil a role of where she ta

Monster's Exist Author Expose - Sylvia Mann - Eclipse at Wolfcreek

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Next up in our horrific series of authors' stories behind their entries into Monsters Exist, we have Sylvia Mann, who's Eclipse at Wolfcreek  supplied a fast-paced, horrific style to the Mothman cannon.  Buddy and his friend Preston go venturing off against Daddy and G-ma's wishes into the wilderness of Wolfcreek Mountain. They find more than they thought lurked in the darkness just off their property line. Here is Sylvia Mann with how this creepy tale came about... Story Behind “Eclipse at Wolfcreek” By: Sylvia Mann I lived in Los Angeles for about 10 years, before I took off to live in a cabin with an outdoor shower and a composting toilet on a farm in Cocke County, Tennessee, to do some research for the novel I am still writing. After a short stint as caretaker, my mother suggested I move to West Virginia where my family is from on both sides: Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties. I had visited there nearly every summer, but I had never lived there. Afte

Monster's Exist Author Expose - Gary Buller - Wicked Congregation

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The first in a series of author backstories for their Monster's Exist entries, we have Gary Buller. His story, Wicked Congregation is a wondrous trek into the world of fairies. It shows the darker side of this tiny cryptid. So lets get right to it. Here is Gary Buller with how Wicked Congregation came about.  Wicked Congregation backstory By: Gary Buller I think I've always found fairies creepy. Little people that live out in the wood, observing us by day and then dancing about in the darkness? It makes my skin crawl.  I recall seeing an episode of one of those Ghost Hunting programmes filmed over in Ireland, and the paranormal group had set up a heat detecting camera on the side of the hill, and were filming their progress through the woods. At first you could only see them in the darkness, but soon enough three or four little heat signatures popped into view and bobbed along behind them. They were completely unaware of this at the time. I’m pretty sure

Deadman's Tome Podcast Recap (6/9/2017)

WCM: Hello and welcome to the Deadman's Tome Podcast Recap. Last night's show went natural in that we did not have one drop of alcohol - erm, apple juice... We had some favorites on, Manuel Tapia and Tha Pessimist, and even a surprise guest with Pess, Zena. Oh and did I mention the Catman beat Pess in a rap battle?  JD: The sober life is tough. I felt the shakes during the show. I had to break out the emergency stash of Lone Star to ease the cravings. Oh, yeah, Cat Man totally out rapped Tha Pessimist. I thought Pessimist had skill, but apparently a pussy took him back to school.  Zena was a great guest. She's welcomed back anytime. I want to know more about the sex party she performed at...as a DJ. WCM: We tried to get the calling feature to work, but neither did. The Skype was a bit better, but both have to be thoroughly looked at. Freaking shame.  JD: the call in worked fine the previous show and nothing changed. I had to call the callers back in order for me to

Friday Musings (6/9/2017)

Today marks off another week down. It hasn't really been warm yet, though the transition into a supposed heat wave this weekend starts today.  Saturday will be warm, but Sunday is going into the nineties. Then it's going to last into the middle of next week. Of course, things can change, as they always do with weather predictions. So lets see what happens.  Sometimes you can try and predict what a story is going to be about, or what point you want to make in it, but it doesn't necessarily turn out the way you planned.  The key word is focus, because it's easy to fall off the point of what you are trying to say. Rushing things can be helpful at times, to put a fire under your rear, to get you moving. Though, most times it just messes you up, creating unnecessary anxiety and pressure on the creative process.  The Monsters Exist anthology is up for pre-order at  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072126ZVG See you tonight on the Deadman's Tome radio show here  http://

Writers or Readers or Bots, Oh My!

I've been thinking about this readers and writers thing. On Twitter, after you've been at it a while, you start to see many different accounts start to follow you. Some are genuine people, some writers looking to plug their stuff, and some are just fake accounts that are probably sold to people who buy that sort of thing to make themselves look more important than they really are. That last bit is ridiculous.  Anyway. How are you ever supposed to get your writing and other artistic things out to consumers if all you have are fellow writers?  And don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing to have fellow writers, but some of these people following have nothing to do with what I'm doing--like entrepreneurs and social media gurus. Then there are the sex bots and weirdos that clearly have no purpose other than to be sold to someone who buys them for what I said before--to fluff up your followers.  It's nice to have people who know you read your blog, or buy you

Deadman's Tome Radio Show 6/3/2017

On Friday's show, we had slow start, but eventually got our guest on, Michael Mayers, a cryptid hunter who doesn't drink--I can respect that. I'm thinking of giving up the beers. The show was the reason i'd started again.  JD: Hold up, read your contract. Section 3, letter b, it states that you must drink Corona. It's part of the sponsor deal. Don't worry about where the sponsor money is going, it's going towards a good cause.  WCM: Yes. Well, lets not forget that we also hung up on the FCC himself, Kris. The boss. Had to, the guest had come on and we heard the Pumpernickel s#!t was starting again...  JD: The Boss Man can suck it! We're breaking rules without a fuck, especially for our guest. What kind of boss calls in to a show so drunk he can't say a sentence. I hung up on his ass, and would do the same to anyone else.  JD: He was calling us because he did not approve of Megan Foxx, not Megan Fox, giving me a hummer under the table. Uh, I d

Friday Musings (6/2/2017)

Although a short week, it's felt like a long one. Got some writing done, not what I wanted. But anything is something.  I'm going to try and catch up with things I've been meaning to do. Monsters Exist is shaping up, there are 12 + reviewers reading to do their thing. Plus I also have a story coming out in Unnerving Magazine in the Summer. And a story in their Chapbooks project. Although I've accomplished quite a few things, and i'm far from procrastinating any longer, I still feel I'm moving at a snails pace. Sometimes I want to just walk out of work and finish my writing projects. Then there are those days when I have to be in complete silence to finish editing, otherwise the writing really suffers. Then there are those lovely times when I get a perfect idea, but some other task calls for my undivided attention--mostly at work.  Of course there are distractions I don't mind, because I don't want to be on my deathbed thinking, wow, I didn't li