Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the northeastern U.S., lettuce gives you explosive diarrhea, biscuits have glass fragments in them, and screwworms infest the beef supply.
How’s your summer so far?
I’m surviving this roiling hellscape by staying cool and relaxing, a rarity for me. School is out and I’m taking a much-needed summer break. I return to teaching in late August, so there’s that. Summer for me is seeing family and friends and working on writing projects.
But first, a little self promotion.
Rage Room is Out!
My story “Rage Room” is in Shadow Spark Publishing’s latest anthology V. This is an anthology about villains, and I cooked up a story with one of the most sadistic and brutal villains I’ve ever written, the nasty and manipulative Mr. Stackhouse, who owns a rage room where the protagonist, a shapeshifter named Sam works.
When I say works, I mean Sam doesn’t work there by choice.
He’s a slave, kept against his will and forced to transform into other people. Say a client hates their boss. Sam would transform into the boss and let the client use him as a human punching bag. The violence is pretty brutal and the clients sadistic in their appetites.
Despite its brutality, the story does have heart, as Sam must allow himself to undergo abuse so he can be with the woman he loves. it’s tender, sweet, and visceral.
Currently Writing
I’m working on a few things this summer. The first is a dark academia novel set in a community college. As of mid-July, I”m up’ve written 42,000 words. I hope to write every day and finish the first draft by summer’s end. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever written before: I’m experimenting with various points of view and character perspectives.
The next thing I’m working on is a secret cryptid book I finished in the spring, but am working my way through the first draft edits. I should have more news about this by the end of July, but the publisher showed me sketches of the preliminary cover art at StokerCon, so I’m really excited about this one. There’s still a long way to go, but I’ve cleared the first hurdle: I finished writing the first draft.
In addition to these two projects, I’m working on short stories. I sent three stories off for consideration and received a rejection. I also started writing another short story and should have that finished by the end of July, then a few rounds of editing before submitting that.
Beach Reads for Horror Fans
I read a few books this summer that I’d like to recommend to those literate folks who enjoy reading during these sweltering months.
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. This is one of the best books I’ve read. A horror story cloaked in literary richness, it deservedly won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Daniel Kraus is a once-in-a-generation writer who captures the grimness of World War I, and the dazzling angel found in No Man’s Land. Told as one long sentence, the novel is an ouroboros, a story with no beginning or end, a cyclical tale masterfully told.
The Wicker Man: A Novel by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer. My favorite horror movie is the 1973 cult (pun intended) classic The Wicker Man. The novelization of the film, written by Robin Hardy and based on Anthony Schaffer’s brilliant screenplay, is a delightful panacea for those fans of the original film. It includes several scenes not in the film, fleshing out Sergeant Neil Howie’s background and providing important details on Summerisle and its curious inhabitants.
Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman. This is my introduction to Clay McLeod Chapman’s work and it did not disappoint. I had the pleasure of meeting the author at StokerCon and he signed this book for me, a story about a couple whose son was murdered decades before the story begins. The boy’s father, Glenn Partridge, is still suffering after his son Billy’s murder. His wife enrolls Glenn is a writing class to snap him out of his grief. What follows is a beautiful and obsessive tale of one father’s pain. Told in first person, the writing is raw, unflinching, and haunting. I will be checking out more work from this author in the future.
And that’s it for now. Stay cool and watch out for that lettuce.
Eric Avedissian 