Hello world...
HA! I haven’t used this site since 2017, but since I posted the link to Twitter, I just now received a PM asking for 0.00whatever of Bitcoin. LOL! The more things change...
noise dept.
No title available
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

No title available
hello vonnie

oozey mess
TVSTRANGERTHINGS

izzy's playlists!
Misplaced Lens Cap
NASA
One Nice Bug Per Day

blake kathryn
🪼

Discoholic 🪩
AnasAbdin

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
$LAYYYTER
taylor price

pixel skylines

seen from Chile
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia

seen from Italy
seen from Germany

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Sri Lanka
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Germany

seen from Malaysia

seen from Israel
seen from United States

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
@brackenmacleod
Hello world...
HA! I haven’t used this site since 2017, but since I posted the link to Twitter, I just now received a PM asking for 0.00whatever of Bitcoin. LOL! The more things change...
MERRIMACK VALLEY HALLOWEEN BOOK FESTIVAL 2017
MERRIMACK VALLEY HALLOWEEN BOOK FESTIVAL 2017
Author Christopher Golden says,
I founded this event in 2015. Last year, the turnout was huge and I promised that this year would be even bigger and better. I intend to deliver on that promise. Last year, a number of authors debuted new books and chapbooks at the event, and I know the same will be true this year. I anticipate a great many debuts and exclusives—including something of mine, but…
View On WordPress
I Know What You’ll Read This Summer - The New York Times
I Know What You’ll Read This Summer – The New York Times
Oh, Dark Lord! I can’t even begin to tell how you cosmically happy I feel at this exact moment. I feel like I could eat black holes and shit stars!
^_^
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/books/review/summer-reading-horror-books.html?_r=1
View On WordPress
COVER REVEAL: Hank Early's HEAVEN'S CROOKED FINGER
COVER REVEAL: Hank Early’s HEAVEN’S CROOKED FINGER
Look at this beautiful cover for my friend, Hank Early’s debut novel, HEAVEN’S CROOKED FINGER.
I am more excited about this book release than I am about anything else I can think of this year! (Well, anything else that I didn’t write, natch.) Hank Earlyis the pseudonym of one of my favorite writers, John Mantooth. This guy’s work is astounding, and not only should you pre-order this book NOW,…
View On WordPress
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 9 — Sympathy for the Devil
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 9 — Sympathy for the Devil
I’m sorry. It seems we got going and I skipped a few of the exits. But here we are, and I’d like to talk a little about religion. I know. They say you shouldn’t ever talk about religion, politics, or child rearing among polite company. But this far down the road, we’re starting to get pretty friendly. Aren’t we? So, let me tell you about the Devil.
I’ve always been a little in love with stories…
View On WordPress
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 3 — The Texas Chainsaw Breakfast Club or I Hate Mondays
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 3 — The Texas Chainsaw Breakfast Club or I Hate Mondays
Several years ago, a friend asked if I’d be interested in writing a story for the new issue of the genre lit magazine he was editing.1 The issue was meant to be ’80s horror themed, and while I’m not a big fan of ’80s nostalgia, I said yes because it sounded like fun. I was stumped though. When I was a teenager, I enjoyed the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises along with all…
View On WordPress
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 2 — Endings and Beginnings
Thirteen Days to the Suicide Woods: Day 2 — Endings and Beginnings
I listen to music when I write. I try to match the tempo and rhythm of an album to what’s taking place on the page. Every once in a while, a single song hits just right and it becomes the soundtrack for an entire story. That’s not too annoying for my spouse when the song is an epic half hour track like Swallow the Sun’s, Plague of Butterflies(which was much of the driving force behind my first…
View On WordPress
STRANDED: Bram Stoker Award Nominee It was such a lovely surprise yesterday to find out that STRANDED has been officially nominated in the…
13 DAYS TO THE SUICIDE WOODS – Getting Ready My ChiZine Publications story collection, 13 Views of the Suicide Woods is coming on March 14th…
13 Days to the Suicide Woods – Getting Ready My ChiZine Publications story collection, 13 Views of the Suicide Woods is coming on March 14th…
MAELSTROM SHIPPING NOW – Brian Keene
MAELSTROM SHIPPING NOW – Brian Keene
Brian Keene writes:
The 2016 Maelstrom set is on sale and shipping now. The three-book set is limited to 225 copies and costs $150. It is (as of this writing) 90% sold out. If you want one, don’t delay.
This year’s set includes:
THRONE OF THE BASTARDS by Brian Keene and Steven L. Shrewsbury
Rogan is back in this sequel to Brian Keene and Steven L. Shrewsbury’s award-winning KING OF THE BASTARDS,…
View On WordPress
Golden lads and girls all must...
Golden lads and girls all must…
…as chimney sweepers, come to dust.
Few things have stuck with me as long as the funeral song in Act IV of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. While the play is not a favorite of mine, this verse is a thing of perfect beauty that I love as much as any sonnet or soliloquy he wrote elsewhere. In the scene where it appears, two boys sing the song over the corpse of another boy. Except, the dead boy isn’t a…
View On WordPress
Horror Writer Profile: BRACKEN MACLEOD
Horror Writer Profile: BRACKEN MACLEOD
I talk about my new novel from TOR Books, STRANDED, my first novel, MOUNTAIN HOME, the process of creating, and the value of readers to me as an author and as a fan of horror and suspense. I hope you enjoy it!
Horror Writer Profile: Bracken MacLeod from XFINITY Get Local On Demand on Vimeo.
View On WordPress
VOYANTS: The Promise of Violence in Seeing and Being Seen
VOYANTS: The Promise of Violence in Seeing and Being Seen
Back on this day in 2012, I wrote an article about horror storytelling for a blog that has since changed ownership, and while I don’t really want to promote that blog, I do like the piece I wrote. So, I’m reprinting it here in its entirety. I hope you dig it.
B.
VOYANTS: The Promise of Violence in Seeing and Being Seen by Bracken MacLeod
What I apprehend immediately when I hear the branches…
View On WordPress
I was sure that I was going to write stories myself when I grew up. It’s important to put it like that: not “I am a writer,” but rather “I write stories.” If you put the emphasis on yourself rather than your work, you’re in danger of thinking that you’re the most important thing. But you’re not. The story is what matters, and you’re only the servant. Your job is to get it out on time and in good order.
Philip Pullman, from the afterword to "The Collectors: A His Dark Materials Story
The Sausage Fest
Women in Horror Month was quiet this year. It took until March for social media to explode with controversy involving women and POC in horror, this time about a popular anthology and the distinct lack of diversity in the table of contents. Adding fuel to the fire was the anthology editor’s Facebook comments that ranged from unprofessional to downright rude.
I know some of the people in the table of contents of this antho, and I’ve met said editor at Necon and AnthoCon. I don’t know him well. I never formally introduced myself and made a point to network with him and he gave me the same treatment. I would not consider him a “friend” in the traditional sense, but I nevertheless hesitate to raise my voice with the crowd in calling him out for a perceived bias that may or may not exist. Something I absolutely despise about social media and blogs is how people assume, with absolute authority, the intentions and feelings of someone they know nothing about.
What I can add without assumption are my own reactions to this editor’s comments. I found his response to questions about his anthology belittling and unprofessional, indicative of a superiority complex that screams of elitism that I wish would die in genre fiction. If I’d been on the receiving end of his tirade, I would be completely crushed to powder. Chuck Wendig added on Facebook that he received a rejection from this editor once that was “so savage, I actually thought about quitting writing” and after reading the comment threads, I don’t doubt it. Thank God you didn’t quit, Chuck, but I’m wondering if there are any authors out there who did. That thought makes me sad.
What deserves more discussion, however, is this question: How long is horror going to accept the “words on a page are all I look at” excuse from editors as a blanket defense for remaining in their comfort zone? Does anyone actually believe that “the best stories” are mostly from white men? The clichéd answer of “I don’t care if you’re black or white or green or purple,” only holds weight if there is action behind that claim and the final TOC is reflective the slush pile of most anthologies and magazines. As a former slush reader for Shock Totem, I can only speak to my own experience. There’s a lot of good stuff out there from women. Not a few stories, but I’d say more than half the stories I read and truly enjoyed were from women authors.
The slush pile does not exist in a vacuum. Lazy editors would like their critics to swallow an unlikely explanation that pure skill, the genderless, racially void, purity of ink on a page, is the only thing that matters. If talent alone was enough for recognition and publication, I know half a dozen authors who would be far better known and frequently paid. Networking matters, and when certain editors aren’t trying to make excuses for their bias, subconscious or no, they would in the same breath gladly dole out career advice that sounds a lot like this: It’s all about who you know.
When a new author limits themselves socially, they are being foolish and missing out on opportunity. An experienced editor with a large following and the respect of the community has far more power. When someone with a big name and influence closes their networking circle and doesn’t make themselves accessible or approachable to new talent, exclusion is the inevitable outcome. Exclusion is more subtle than outright discrimination, which makes it so much harder to discuss without vitriol and accusations of sensitivity or division. “Everyone is the same! You’re the one dividing us!” seems to be the common cry of those who are the most blind to their own privilege.
This past month I listened to Brian Keene’s radio show. He had John Goodrich on with him, and the question was asked (forgive me, I don’t remember the exact wording and I’m too lazy to search through the entire broadcast for it) how the horror community could be more inclusive toward women, and John sighed heavily and said “I really don’t know.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. I see similar reactions from men in the horror community who are true allies and just don’t know how to help women and POC in the most effective way.
There is no simple answer. The most hurtful actions to my career have been very subtle, noticeable perhaps only to me. I’ve been mansplained by editors behind closed doors. I’ve had my accomplishments minimalized. I’ve had people show me their back instead of welcoming me in to conversations. At Boskone, I had an author close me out of a conversation circle by crowding me out and then literally standing in front of me when I turned away to say hello to someone else. He didn’t bother to introduce himself to me, but later he had a lengthy conversation with my husband.
As an author with a husband who is also an author, I notice how we are treated differently. I notice how we are spoken to and in what context, how people listen to him with more attentiveness, how his ideas are given more weight. Nobody stands up in the middle of a crowded room and announces they are a misogynist. Exclusion is built not on large acts of violence but on small gestures that culminate over time into women being marginalized while men are celebrated as “the best.” Certain authors and editors shrug in response and say “What do you want me to do?” like they’re powerless to stop it.
Be better. That’s what.
My suggestion for how horror can become more inclusive is this: Be as professional and friendly as possible to everyone, not just those who are in your comfort zone. Go to a convention and seek out new faces, not just your old friends. Treat me like a person, not your dating pool. That means we can be friends and professionals, even if you don’t find me attractive or are disappointed that I’m married and there’s no chance you’ll get me into bed. That sounds so defensive, like my next suggestion would be for everyone to go bra-burning, but honestly, you’d be shocked how much easier it is to network with men when you’re single or devastatingly hot. Since I am neither of those things, I would love to be judged on my personality and talent and treated like a friend. You know—just like how most men judge each other.
If you are established, extend opportunity to others who might not be getting their fair shake. Even out the playing field. There are already amazing leaders in the horror community doing this. They are reaching out to the next generation of authors and opening up doors for women and POC. It made me smile to see editors commenting on social media to discussions regarding diversity, asking “How can we be more inclusive?” with genuine eagerness to create a better community where everyone has equal opportunity for success.
I would also like to see more women authors putting themselves on the front lines, pushing for change and equal treatment, demanding to be validated and recognized for their talents and accomplishments. We can’t marginalize ourselves by waiting for February to have a voice. Be the loudest voice in the room every month of the year.
Coming from Tor Books this fall! STRANDED is the story of an arctic supply vessel that gets trapped in the ice and the horrifying series of events that transpires when the crew realizes that there is a second ship trapped in the distance, pitched as John Carpenter's The Thing meets Jacob's Ladder. TV rights already sold to a major studio with MacMillan Entertainment producing!