I woke up to a particularly loud telephone yesterday morning, alerting me to some sort of twitter goings-on. As it happens, an artist and writer I greatly admire, Kris Straub, had posted a new installment of his “Scared Yet” web-series, and this episode was focused on my stories. I’m flattered by what Kris had to say, and if you’ve found your way here through him, I’m grateful for the exposure. “Candle Cove” is one of the handful of stories in this new-internet-horror-genre that was instrumental in getting me to write creepypastas in the first place, so I’m giddy that the mutual admiration goes both ways.

Kris is currently in the second book of Broodhollow, his blend of classic cartooning and magnificently realized horror. Broodhollow has been hitting on all cylinders since the first strip, and has only grown more tangled, dense, and horrific. The plotting, the use of the format and art styles, the delicate blend of gallows humor and grim dread, and interior and exterior threats, all work hand in hand. The seemingly disparate elements support and enhance one another like complimentary flavors. It’s one of only two webcomics on my RSS feed, and without a doubt the best horror comic I’ve yet read. If you haven’t read it, start at the beginning…

If you’ve come here thanks to Kris, the stories he suggested, North, East, Sick (or, the Algorithm), Thaw, and Barricade can be found at the right, or clicking here. Please poke around, and if you have any feedback, criticism or questions, I am always grateful. The fantastic film version he mentioned of “Sick, or The Algorithm”, by Tom Festo can be found here. As for the pen name, Kris was correct, that came from my old 4chan days. I picked that pen name as a bit of a joke, acknowledging the pastiche and outright theft I was engaged in at the time. I’m more confident in my voice now, so I’ve dropped the pseudonym, but it continues to be the name I’m most known by.

For new and old visitors, if you’re looking for news or more conent, click through for a couple of updates for what I’ve been engaged in or otherwise up to.

• Jeff Clement’s reading of my story Dust on the No Sleep Podcast in June. I’m a fan of David Cummings’ excellent show, so it was a real honor to have Jeff’s stellar recording featured there.
• “Digger’s Lament”, my first fantasy novella was released in Tales from the Black Arts, by Hazardous Press, alongside many other magnificent tales. This is a story I’m really very proud off, and very different from my usual output, and I hope, very different from what you expect. It’s pulpy adventure fare in the model of the old Weird Tales contributors, and features a couple of my favorite characters to date. Expect to see more of them.

• My most personal story, “Shiva“, was featured in the first issue of Jamais Vu, a new magazine from Post Mortem Press, and edited by Paul Anderson. The magazine features some stellar stories and poems by many well known and talented contributors. Also me, for some reason.
• And finally, on Pseudopod,  the podcast that ignited my interest in horror, my story “The Blues” was featured last year, read by Gabriel Diani (of “The Selling“). I’ve talked at length about the warm fuzzies this still gives me, but it remains a story and production I am fiercely proud of.

That’s it for now. I have a twitter, and a facebook page where I give smaller but more regular updates, should that sort of thing interest you. My work at the moment demands much of me, but I am about the start a very short riff on the Cuban Missile Crisis, and then continue work on the three sisters of unfinished drafts, The Beast, Runner B, and Green Tunnel. I hope you enjoy what you’ve read, and if you have feedback, criticism, or an amusing internet video to share, I am always interested in hearing it.

Thank you, as always, for reading.