WCMarchese

To me horror is that feeling within. The one you won't admit to. It's when you know the deepest feelings will be shed without descrimination. Yet you keep on reading, or watching that horror story, because you "can't stop looking."  It bares pent up emotions, that of which you once had no means to voice.  Now there is an explanation. Now you can rest easy knowing it’s NOT only you with “those thoughts.”  Those demented thoughts that you ponder moments before sleep, when you think about the evil in the world. When your outlook sours and warps at the edges. A lens is placed over your mind, for you to use when nothing else makes sense. It allows humor when perhaps you shouldn’t be laughing.  A respite from the true horror that is life.  And horrific it is. I remember as a child drawn time and time again to horror. Whether a cheesy B rated movie, or a high budget fear fest. Because it is the most real.  Just think: A comedy usually always ends happy, or

WCM: Almost Halloween. Another Friday show has come and gone and it had been as entertaining as any, if not more. JD: Last Friday we had an interesting show. We offered an insider's perspective by discussing submissions for the Cthulhu Christmas Special while maintaining confidentiality. We also talked about the JFK files and had two live callers that warned of going any further into the subject! WCM: We discussed the Christmas Cthulu anthology and some of the submissions thus far. What we are looking for and how to format. We had come to the table ready to disagree with each other, but left agreeing yet again upon the minute details. JD: yeah, we had disagreements over including certain rules and the certain details of a few submissions. Don't worry, names were not mentioned. WCM: We even recorded a few episodes so those of you who actually listen and genuinely love the show can get more of us during the week. After Halloween, there may not be another blitz fo

Another week begins and whether you want to hear it or not, you will make it through this Monday. But why make it something you have to trudge through? Why not turn it into an opportunity to get things started, or finish projects.  Think about this:  I sometimes say things to workers at my day job, things like, "I can't wait for seven o'clock." And: "This day can't end fast enough." But then I realized something.  Every time you say these things, or think about rushing through the day, you are wishing your life away. And time. Precious life that contains precious time. That's precious moments you can do something toward your dreams. Yes you're at work, but there are moments, breaks at lunch--for instance--where you can jot down ideas and write scenes on your smartphone. These are opportunities to think, to ponder what you are going to be doing later. Update a blog, figure out who you're sending a short story to next, find an agent

It's the Friday before Halloween. Cold weather struggles to push past warmer, humid temperature. Colds and sick folks are on the rise. Beautiful leaves are falling from branches in a rain of brown and yellow. An ozone smell mixed with musty leaves permeates the air.  Fall is here.  Some TV channels are playing non-stop horror flicks, if not some of their own concoction of the holiday that correlate with the spooky spectacular.  I am happy to be in a Halloween anthology titled Trickster's Treats, where each story has to be exactly 666 words. Coolness is having a story out during the horror writer's holiday. And it's a pretty good bunch of stories, as well.  See, I took a chance and it worked out. That's what life is about. Taking chances. Some are big and some are small. Some are calculated and some one jumps into blind abyss.  I've been pondering a thought for quite a while now. When do you know you can quit the day job? When is the point where you feel yo

WCM: This week on the Friday show, we had on Ken Stark, who has three books out with a great career he's tending to. But another occurrence happened during the broadcast. A sound came through every time our guest talked. It sounded like a motorcycle revving, riding, and then going down through the gears to idle and then start the cycle again.  JD: Ken Stark writes horror because horror is cool, and that's enough for me. It was cool hanging with him. Had some beers, some motorhead playing, and Marchese was distracted by a motorcycle that did not exist. WCM: But back to the noise. I mean, this thing was crazy. And I even posted a video on Twitter where you can clearly see Ken Stark's picture on Twitter is clean, where as his Skype picture had some sort of smoke-like overlay. I went to take a picture, and the Twitter app crashed on my phone. And further, when I tried again to take the video, the camera wouldn't come up--all I'd get is a black screen. Then my phone

Monday. One week and a day until Halloween. The fall hasn't exactly reached NY yet, just brushed it's fingers across our cheek. Some places have had snow, some are hot. I think the weather officials have said Tuesday is the turning point. Let's see.  But it's a new week and a new beginning. A new chance to make good on writing tasks, or start new ones. Or simply just continue on a big project that will see the world one day.  Whatever you do, you must keep positive thoughts prominent throughout. Or else its like trying to make your car run fast in a lower gear, and you burn the engine out. Once that happens, you can't do anything. You have to fix the engine and that could take a while. Some think creativity just happens, that one sits down and gets to it. And there are times when just the happens--or techniques to use to get out of that, but after a day of busting your hump at the day job, thinking of creating another world (or just editing one) is the last thin

In this business are we alone? Is Twitter and social media a classroom of sorts for the artistically inclined?  Play along, make nice, be sure to retweet and like, and write, of course. (Or whatever you are pursuing.) There really aren't any rules to this, and that's why there are so many how-tos about it.  In this business you come across a lot of flaky notions and ideas pressed upon you from the "powers that be." So much so it starts to feel as though you're in a cut-throat corporate environment. And yes, while it may be cut-throat in competing to get published, or your movie shot, or that scene over the hundreds of other auditioners, you would think people might be there to help, people you look up to.  I've been blessed to become aware of certain truths in the industry. Sometimes people come out and blatantly blurt what they feel, or explode at you with something so flagrant that even if you don't know what is happening,  you still take pause a

WCM: Last Friday the 13th, (yeah, we know) we had on scream queen Genoveva Rossi. We talked about her career and if she ever knew Weinstein personally. She said no. Had to be asked.  JD: Rossi is legit. She's not playing some casting couch game for fame. She's the real deal, and a real gypsy, too. I wouldn't dare cross her. Never ever. WCM: Kentucky Bob got a little out of hand and pushed things to the next level with his question. It just went too far. Dedman showed signs of breaking.  JD: Breaking? The only thing breaking is Kentucky Bob when I bend him over and let him feel the full might of my whiskey dick.  WCM: I guess. It could have been due to Dedman putting on his devinaire Tony Robbins voice, but who knows. JD: did I hack my mic or finally grow some balls? WCM: Conspiracy Corner was bonkers this week, where we talked about the history of the McDonald's chicken nuggets, Deadman's favorite.  JD: I would rather live a short fun life than a long

This is a new post I'm testing where I give a reason, just one--who knows, maybe more--to look forward to the week ahead.  Monday's are hard for a lot of people. Especially those with day jobs eating up a huge portion of the day when you could be working on a story, or movie, or whatever it is your dream may be.  I'll talk about what I plan for the week, or what I've got going from the prior week, maybe techniques I'm messing with, and maybe you (whoever you are) will drop a comment below and let me know what you're up to, or have planned to rev up motivation on the worst day of the week.  But we're gonna try and make it the best.  Well maybe...  WCM

Friday the 13th. Some speculate this to be a cursed day, unlucky. I think it's just the same as any other. Though there are hilarious instances that come about from awareness of the dreaded day.  After dropping my daughter off at school with my wife, (late mind you, so I'm rushing through this Musings), I drive on a road where I see a black cat running from the sidewalk, heading for the street. Something inside said it was going to happen.  Many things raced through my mind as it darted out in front of the car, as I repeated, "Don't do it, don't do it... You did it..." and jetted perfectly past the car (textbook black cat crossing if I ever did see one). I thought just great, and look at the day. Though I had injected a bit of humor into it, my wife thought it was hilarious.  And while I ended up late to my Friday writing session, I still found time to peck this post out on my cell. And while traffic still reared its ugly, stupid face, it ultimately t

WCM: So another Friday, another show. This week we had on Lisa Dabrowski, aka Mistress Rosie. The episode was pushed as a rematch with her, after I left the show half through while she talked about a brutal past. It had been partly due to hate over my fart board, partly a ploy to leave because I needed to wake early the next morning. I ended up turning the situation into a WWE sort of event. Boothill had been in the middle of the whole thing.  JD: Round Two and it was actually civil. Well, as civil with a side of giant black dildos. Marchese and Mistress Rosie may not be friends yet, but they stayed on long enough to share thoughts on things. WCM: We discussed many things, one of them being coffee processed from the intestines of an animal called an Asian Palm Civet. This creature ingests coffee berries and passes them out to be cleaned and roasted for your expensive brewing pleasure.  JD: Kopi Luwak sounds disgusting just by the sound of the word alone. I'm not drinking coff

Coffee runs in the writers veins-- hasn't that always been the way? The sacred bean keeping the semi-pro writer awake to finish 1000 words before or after a long day at 'the real job.' Following a recommendation from William Marchese (well, more of a euphoric demand, actually) I decided to take the plunge into the dark world of cold brew.  I think the idea of us English being devout drinkers of tea is a bit of a lazy stereotype these days. Sure, I recall the ritual of 'making a brew' when my grandparents came to visit, but I'm far more likely to dig out the Tassimo machine these days than the kettle, and I know plenty of English friends who do the same. Cold coffee however sounds bloody awful if I'm honest-- even when Will sent me pictures of the milkshake looking substance filled with ice-cubes I wasn't convinced. I'm more of a hot, sweet-coffee drinker. I like my specialty coffee's with lots of unusual syrups. I look forward to a Chai Te

The changing seasons can replicate a lot of things. Out with the old, in with the new. Fresh beginnings and bitter endings.  The changing times create a lot if feeling. Good, bad. Always, though, it comes right back in the next rotation.  It may not be the same exact leaf that changed color  beautifully in the fall and then died in the crystal winter, but with the next cycle grow new ones.  I write horror and receive strange looks at times (though lately I've been getting the occasional "Oh really?") Horror has been doing pretty good as of late. There are statistics I can go into as to why, but that's for another time.  You see, horror can be beautiful like snow as far as the eye can see, trees tipped with sparkling spectical. The horror is the point where you look down and realize this treterous terrain must be traversed with no coat--oh and it's beginning to snow. Turn back, you say? Well. Behind you smokes a broken down vehicle which blew its radiator

WCM: Last Friday's show played out to be another great night with just us. Though, we had a special guest during the last half hour. JD: It gave a chance to discuss things between us, which is great. M. R. Tapia came just in time for the Hugh Hefner 21 moan salute! WCM: We discussed the new Chucky flick, which went straight to DVD. Also up for discussion, we explored Friday the 13th, which will be out sometime next year. JD: Cult of Chucky is in the hands of the creator and it's direct to DVD trash! I know the theater game is cut throat, but horror films are generally doing quite well as of late. Halloween is getting another reunion reboot that mirrors H20. We've done that already! WCM: After our hijinx and other various tomfoolery lead to frequent bathroom visits and the clanking of beer bottles, we had a special guest on from the writer pack of ours. None other than the great Manuel Tapia. JD: Tapia shared his love of authentic Mexican food and many s