Crossroads Press releases the Catherine Cavendish Collection!

Crossroads Press releases the
Catherine Cavendish Collection!

The Ghosts of Ruthin Gaol

A few years ago, an article appeared in local Welsh newspaper, The Denbighshire Free Press, which included an appeal from a former Ruthin man curious to discover the identity of the ghost of a young girl he had encountered in the town 63 years earlier.

The girl was blonde, her hair in ringlets, and she wore a blue dress. When David Thorp saw her, she was walking slowly up Upper Clwyd Street. It was night time and she was illuminated by the light from a window, but she cast no shadow and appeared to be floating slightly above the ground.

When the paranormal events assistant at the gaol (Karen Messham), read of his experience, she contacted him. His description matched that of the daughter of a former governor. Her name was Josie Walmsley and she was born in 1862. Ms Messham says she has spoken to Josie many times as the young girl plays in the gaol, slams doors and has allegedly been recorded, singing the alphabet.

She is, however, not the only ghost to haunt the cells and walkways of the prison.

John Jones escaped twice – once in 1879 and then in 1913 when he was shot and died soon afterwards. Now he doesn’t seem able to leave.

William Kerr, Ruthin’s cruel and infamous Gaoler from 1871-1892, used to beat and starve prisoners as well as infuriate them by jangling his keys outside their cells. One day he simply disappeared, having left the Gaol on a perfectly normal day. No one knows what happened to him but his jangling keys and incessant banging on cell doors can still be heard today.

Then there’s William Hughes who was the last man to be hanged in the Gaol. He murdered his wife and on the 17th February 1903, six people watched him die for it. But he has never left…

Ruthin Gaol is open to the public and is a creepy enough place in the day time, but a number of paranormal groups have staged night time vigils and reported many strange phenomena. Mists have appeared in cells (see photo), people have been touched, one investigator was sworn at as she explored a lower cell, one person felt as if they were in cold water up to their chest and experienced a sense of panic and voices were picked up on a camcorder that hadn’t been heard on the night, including an entity that called himself ‘Jake’.

Do you dare to visit the ghosts at Ruthin Gaol? Here’s the info you need: Ruthin Gaoland here’s a Film Clipyou may find interesting. As I always say – don’t have nightmares…

There are ghosts and devils and paranormal activity in my novella The Demons of Cambian Street. Here’s what to expect:

Sometimes evil wears a beautiful face…

After her illness, the quiet backwater of Priory St Michael seemed the ideal place for Stella to recuperate. But in the peaceful little town, something evil is slumbering, waiting for its chance to possess what it desires. When Stella and her husband move into the long-empty apartment, they’re unaware of what exists in the cupboard upstairs, the entrance to an evil that will threaten both their lives…

You can buy The Demons of Cambian Street here;

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the author

Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. Cat’s novels include the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy– Wrath of the Ancients, Waking the Ancients and Damned by the Ancients, plusThe Devil’s Serenade,The Pendle Curseand Saving Grace Devine.

Her novellas, Cold Revenge, Miss Abigail’s Room,, The Demons of Cambian Street, The Devil Inside Her, andThe Second Wifehave now been released in new editions by Crossroad Press.

She lives with her long-suffering husband, and a black cat who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue. Cat and her family divide their time between Liverpool and a 260-year-old haunted apartment in North Wales.

You can connect with Cat here:

 Catherine Cavendish

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

 

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Night of 1,000 Beasts now available

It’s been a very long time since I’ve had anything to post, but here today we have big news. My next novel, Night of 1,000 Beasts, is now available. This is a very different book for me in that it is super-violent, and also very much with tongue planted in cheek. That’s the hope, at least.

Inspired by extreme, unflinching works by the likes of Jack Ketchum, Sarah Langan, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, Brian Keene, J.F. Gonzalez, Wrath James White, Edward Lee, Deborah LeBlanc, and others, Night of 1,000 Beasts tells the story of a group of vacationers who find themselves trapped on the bad side of an avalanche. Deer Springs, Colorado has not had an event similar in almost a century, so help is not easy. Even worse? The gang find they are being hunted, picked off one by one, and are being killed in the same ways people kill animals.

Night of 1,000 Beasts has been long coming. It was originally written a few years back for what I’d hoped would be a third novel with the same publisher that put out Dust of the Dead and Ghost Heart. Today, it’s being brought to you uncensored and for the first time as an exclusive from Amazon and Kindle, in eBook and paperback. Hope it’s enjoyed!

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Pre-orders are off and running. Folks from the US, UK and Australia have already got their copies on the way.

For the ones who lurk in shadow, anxious to even the score.

Tonight’s the longest night of the century.
The night of 1,000 Beasts.

The night when they rise up and they get to do to us

What we’ve done to them . . .

 

LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CGS4YG1

KINDLE Link: http://a.co/6CwSUyk

PAPERBACK Link: http://a.co/5BO3GmA

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Guest post by Catherine Cavendish: The White Lady of Porcia Castle

Last year, the terrific Catherine Cavendish visited my blog with a very fascinating read. She returns here with her latest book, and more wonderful reading. Thanks, Catherine!

The White Lady of Porcia Castle
My latest book – Waking the Ancients – centres largely on sinister and ghostly activities within a magnificent haunted house in Vienna, Austria’s elegant and fascinating capital.

Vienna is the sort of city where ghosts walk by your side at night through quaint, winding streets in the old part of the city. Music forms the breath of the city and you can almost hear the haunting strains of The Blue Danubeas you wonder at the grandeur of its many palaces.

But Vienna isn’t Austria and all over this picturesque country, you can find echoes of its imperial past when the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled over so much of the European continent.

Today, I want to take you to a haunted castle. Situated in the centre of the town of Spittal an der Drau in the Austrian state of Carinthia, stands the magnificent Renaissance edifice of Schloss Porcia.

Built at the instigation of Count Gabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg, in 1533, the castle’s splendour was designed to reflect the achievements of its owner who was treasurer and confidant to Archduke Ferdinand I of Austria. Sad to say, the Count never lived here as construction continued on until 1598 – some 59 years after his death.

Ghost stories abound today, as they have for most of the castle’s life. In a forgotten banana box in the town’s archive, employees found the bones of fifteen members of the Salamanca family dating from the 17^thand 18^thcenturies. In 2010, these bones were ceremonially reburied and everyone hoped that would put an end to the ghostly sightings. It didn’t. Both the bead of the castle’s museum and the town’s mayor engaged in ghost hunts, inviting several teams of ghosthunters to mount investigations and get to the bottom or precisely who was haunting the castle.

Almost certainly, one major contender is Katharina von Salamanca. She was the last descendant of the Count and was infamous for her miserliness. She walled all her treasures up in the castle and so that no one would ever discover their hiding place, she had the bricklayer murdered. Not only that, an unfortunate maid felt the full force of her wrath when Katharina discovered her discussing the whereabouts of the fortune. Her mistress killed her with a clog.

Many visitors claim to have heard strange noises in a number of rooms. She appears and disappears apparently at will in one courtyard and floats through the arcaded courtyard.On occasions, her shape has been seen manifesting in the window glass. She has also appeared in photographs as a ghostly figure. She is known as the White Lady and no prizes for guessing why.

The reason she haunts is disputed but she may have been cursed to eternally wander the castle in penance for her remorseless behaviour toward her employees.

Since 1951, the castle has been owned by the municipality of Spittal an der Drau and is open to the public. Maybe, if you visit, the White Lady will accompany you on your tour…

Waking the Ancients

Legacy In Death

Egypt, 1908
University student Lizzie Charters accompanies her mentor, Dr. Emeryk Quintillus, on the archeological dig to uncover Cleopatra’s tomb. Her presence is required for a ceremony conducted by the renowned professor to resurrect Cleopatra’s spirit—inside Lizzie’s body. Quintillus’s success is short-lived, as the Queen of the Nile dies soon after inhabiting her host, leaving Lizzie’s soul adrift . . .

Vienna, 2018
Paula Bancroft’s husband just leased Villa Dürnstein, an estate once owned by Dr. Quintillus. Within the mansion are several paintings and numerous volumes dedicated to Cleopatra. But the archeologist’s interest in the Egyptian empress deviated from scholarly into supernatural, infusing the very foundations of his home with his dark fanaticism. And as inexplicable manifestations rattle Paula’s senses, threatening her very sanity, she uncovers the link between the villa, Quintillus, and a woman named Lizzie Charters.

And a ritual of dark magic that will consume her soul . . .

You can find Waking the Ancients here:

Kensington Press

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Google

Kobo

About the Author:
Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. Cat’s novels include the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy– Wrath of the Ancients, Waking the Ancients and Damned by the Ancients, plusThe Devil’s Serenade,The Pendle Curseand Saving Grace Devine. She lives with her long-suffering husband, and a black cat who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshipped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue. Cat and her family divide their time between Liverpool and a 260-year-old haunted apartment in North Wales.

You can connect with Cat here:

 Catherine Cavendish

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Guest Post: Catherine Cavendish’s Witches’ Castle

Witches’ Castle
By Catherine Cavendish

courtesy of Renedrivers, Wikimedia Commons

 For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by haunted houses, castles, forests, cemeteries, hotels…the list is endless. Another great love of mine is Austria. This picturesque country in central Europe has an incredible history and its fair share of haunted buildings and ghost stories. One of these concerns a castle with some of the most grisly history you could ever wish to encounter, and a number of former residents and captives who appear unable, or unwilling to leave.

In the breathtaking countryside near Salzburg, stands Moosham Castle. Built in the 13^th century, it played host to some of the bloodiest witch trials ever seen in Europe. Literally thousands of young boys, men and women were tortured and maimed. Some had hands cut off or were branded. Hundreds were hanged or beheaded. For others, the punishment was even worse than that. The hapless prisoner would be strapped between two horses and literally torn apart. And Moosham Castle witnessed all of this. Small wonder that, to this day, visitors report sightings of the ghosts of the prisoners, still roaming the corridors of the castle searching for justice. Unusually, the majority of the victims were male. It seems that, certainly in the late 17^th century, the homeless were targeted and almost routinely rounded up and accused of witchcraft. Some of them were only children. Between 1675 and 1690, over 100 were killed. Their ages ranged from 10 to over 80. 92 were below the age of 21.

An official at the time of the worst of these atrocities was a notoriously cruel man called Anton – also known as Henchman Toni –  and he also roams the castle. Women and children have reported seeing him sitting down.  He is said to have been responsible for the tortures and in his former quarters, visitors have experienced being breathed on, touched, and objects move all by themselves. Legend has it that he entered into a pact with the devil. One night the devil himself appeared at the gates of the castle to take him to hell, but it would appear that something of him stayed behind.

In the torture chamber itself, people have reported feeling hands touching their hair or legs

Another legend is of two warring brothers who slayed each other at the castle. They rise from their graves each night and continue their battle.

In the 1800s, strange stories began to circulate of werewolves in the area. Deer and cattle were found mutilated close to the castle and some of its residents were accused of being werewolves. It is certainly a place with a varied and gruesome past.

The apparitions are certainly not shy at Moosham. Many people have reported multiple sightings – figures appearing before their eyes, only to disappear again. In the castle there is a heavy atmosphere and there have been many reports of people being touched, doors opening and closing of their own accord and members of staff have reported entering the hunting room first thing in the morning only to find all the guns hanging upside down on the wall – despite the castle having been securely locked up at night.

Current owner – Theresita Wilczek – appears on this video and you can get a real feel of the atmosphere of this spooky castle and its terrible past:https://youtu.be/DbEA_LWl0yE

Destiny In Death

Egypt, 1908

Eminent archaeologist Dr. Emeryk Quintillus has unearthed the burial chamber of Cleopatra. But this tomb raider’s obsession with the Queen of the Nile has nothing to do with preserving history. Stealing sacred and priceless relics, he murders his expedition crew, and flees—escaping the quake that swallows the site beneath the desert sands . . .

Vienna, 1913

Young widow Adeline Ogilvy has accepted employment at the mansion of Dr. Quintillus, transcribing the late professor’s memoirs. Within the pages of his journals, she discovers the ravings of a madman convinced he possessed the ability to reincarnate Cleopatra. Within the walls of his home, she is assailed by unexplained phenomena: strange sounds, shadowy figures, and apparitions of hieroglyphics.

Something pursued Dr. Quintillus from Egypt. Something dark, something hungry. Something tied to the fate and future of Adeline Ogilvy . . .

Wrath Of The Ancients

Available from:

Amazon

Nook

iApple

Google

Kobo

About the Author:

Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. She was the joint winner of the Samhain Gothic Horror Anthology Competition, with Linden Manor. Cat’s novels include the Nemesis of the Gods trilogy – Wrath of the Ancients, Waking the Ancients and Damned by the Ancients, plus The Devil’s Serenade, The Pendle Curse, Saving Grace Devine and many more. She lives with her long-suffering husband, and a black cat who has never forgotten that her species used to be worshiped in ancient Egypt. She sees no reason why that practice should not continue. Cat and her family divide their time between Liverpool and a 260-year-old haunted apartment in North Wales.

You can connect with Cat here:

 Catherine Cavendish

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Things You Didn’t Know About J.H. Moncrieff

We were both sworn to secrecy, but J.H. Moncrieff and I first met while we both had books at the same publisher. We belonged to a top secret support group. Yes. We all suffered from PTSD (Publishing Traumatic Stress Disorder) and needed the support of one another. Deep friendships were made, and we all looked out for each other. Except for one person. She vanished, although one of her woolen gloves was found just outside a Books A Million in Detroit with a half-chewed bit of hamburger and a few pennies.

From there, we hooked up this past year’s StokerCon on the Queen Mary,  partnering up for a well-attended joint reading. Of course, reading her work was most impressive. This is someone who won Harlequin’s Gillian Flynn award this past year, and her expertise in suspense is terrific. She’s launching a new batch of books The Ghostwriter Series, with the first two having just been released. Please do check them out.

It’s always fun to break out of the usual interview format, and I always love doing these ’13 things…’ posts. Here, J.H. does not disappoint, and there are some truly fun and interesting facts. So here’s . . .

1. I think The Sound of Silence is the most beautiful song ever written. It’s the song I want played at my funeral.
2. Even though I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I was five years old, I also desperately wanted to be a forensic psychologist. Sadly, I let a high school teacher talk me out of it. It’s still the road not taken.
3. If you see me shaking, it’s not because I’m nervous. I have an inherited condition called essential tremors. It usually doesn’t bother me, but in times of heightened emotion or fatigue, it can be really noticeable. It’s a pain whenever I have to do a reading, because people assume it’s nerves when I’m actually just pumped and excited.
4. The accomplishments I’m proudest of happened not through fiction but through journalism. Articles I wrote connected a blind man to a surgeon who restored his vision, and resulted in a grandmother keeping custody of her ailing granddaughter.
5. During childhood, I had a lot of accurate premonitions, to the point kids teased me about it. But I wasn’t above bullshitting—I once claimed X-ray eyes were how I knew what was in a teacher’s locked cabinet. (I didn’t have a clue what was in it, but since the cupboard was locked, my “knowledge” was never put to the test.)
6. After I started blogging about unsolved mysteries, the families of missing people began contacting me for help. This has made me feel both honored and sad, because I wish I could do more.
7. I have several bizarre phobias, including worms and going down escalators. I’ve mostly overcome the worm one in order to garden. I can go down an escalator, but it feels like I’m having a heart attack every time. It’s a great incentive to take the stairs.
8. My best friend came to visit me after she died.
9. Even though I’ve been to Shanghai twice, my general rule is I can’t visit a place more than once until I’ve seen every country on my bucket list. Five more trips to go!
10. In spite of my love of dark fiction, I’ve read way more literary novels than horror, and I’ve read much more non-fiction than fiction. I read about 80 full-length books a year.
11. I once inadvertently pissed off Kiefer Sutherland. I hated interviewing celebrities because it was difficult to get them off script. I always challenged myself to ask a question that would make them pause and think. With Sutherland, I asked him why he was often cast as the villain (this was before 24). For some reason, this got under his skin. He was quite snarky with me.
12. My first published fiction story ran in my hometown newspaper when I was in grade four. It featured a bunch of vampires devouring everyone.
13. I used to work in a haunted museum. I was showing some reporters around late at night when we heard (and felt) someone coming up behind us. No one was there. That’s about as frightened as I’ve ever been in my life.

J.H. Moncrieff’s work has been described by reviewers as early Gillian Flynn with a little Ray Bradbury and Stephen King thrown in for good measure.

She won Harlequin’s search for the next Gillian Flynn in 2016. Her first published novella, The Bear Who Wouldn’t Leave, was featured in Samhain’s Childhood Fears collection and stayed on its horror bestsellers list for over a year. Monsters in Our Wake, a sea monster tale with a twist, was an Amazon horror bestseller.

The first two books in her new GhostWriters series, City of Ghosts and The Girl Who Talks to Ghosts, were released in May 2017.

When not writing, J.H. loves visiting the world’s most haunted places, advocating for animal rights, and summoning her inner ninja in muay thai class.

To get free ebooks and a new spooky story each week, check out her Hidden Library.

Connect with J.H.: Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

 

Book Review: All that Withers by John Palisano

A.E. Siraki brings a comprehensive and very positive review of ALL THAT WITHERS this morning. I’m so grateful!

A.E. Siraki, Writer

All That Withers
by John Palisano
Cycatrix Press
December 2016 (paperback)
292 pages
View the Book Trailer
*** Review disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. *** 

The first John Palisano novel I read was one released a few years ago, Nerves, which I reviewed for Hellnotes. Since then, he has had numerous subsequent releases and his latest is a short story collection called All That Withers.

We start things off with a story called Happy Joe’s Rest Stop. As the title suggests, the main character, Greg, is at a place called Happy Joe’s, which is indeed a rest stop where people that are in transit from place to place drop in to get some food and freshen up before the next leg of their journey. It seems to have more of a buffet atmosphere and…

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APEX magazine Revive the Drive!

I hear you love science fiction. Well, me, too. Have you read Apex? I know, right? The covers are absolutely stunning. Agreed. The stories are always top notch. Have you heard about the promotion? It’s super cheap to subscribe and there’s some great stuff to be had now and in the future . . . so check out their Revive the Drive campaign.

I had an opportunity to speak with Managing Editor Lesley Conner about some interesting stories from the past, what they’re up to in the present and some exciting news about the near future.

 

What is the most memorable submission you’ve received, good or bad?

I don’t actually remember the story, but one time an author was incredibly insulting in their cover letter. The gist of it was that if we didn’t accept their story it was because we were discriminating against them and were too stupid to understand the genius of the story. According to them they had experienced everything in the story and had written it based off those experiences so clearly it was the best story ever. Somehow I feel this logic is flawed. We did not accept the story—1. Because it in fact was NOT the best story ever, and 2. Insulting the editors before they even have the chance to read your story doesn’t exactly make them clamor to work with you.

I’ve received lots of insulting letters after rejecting stories (even had someone threaten to sue me once), but this was the first time it happened prior to rejection.

What kinds of stories are you looking for that you don’t see enough of?

I’d love to see more dark SF. We get a lot of fantasy, magical realism, and straight up horror submissions, but the slush pile can be a little light on dark science fiction.

Do you think reader taste changes? Or are there certain stories they never seem to tire of?

I think it goes in cycles. For a while one type or style of story will be really, really popular and then at some point you hit a market saturation—readers can’t absorb one more zombie story or fairy tale retelling or whatever—so those types of stories fall away and something else moves up to take its place. Eventually those stories will come back around and readers will be ready for them again.

What was the day like when you first knew APEX was going to be your full time gig?

There wasn’t one day in particular where suddenly Apex was my full time gig. It was a gradual thing. I started by volunteering 5-10 hours a week, working on marketing and social media. As I learned more about editing and publishing, and as Jason Sizemore and I built a working relationship, I began taking on more and more responsibilities. Then in October of 2014 the opportunity came up for me to step into the managing editor role. Jason Sizemore had moved back into the editor-in-chief position and we already knew that we worked really well together, so it seemed like the next natural step. Best decision I’ve ever made.

What’s upcoming with APEX that you can’t wait to share with readers? Any teasers?

The slush pile has been especially amazing lately and we’ve snatched up some gems for futures issues. Stories by E. Catherine Tobler, Lavie Tidhar, and Rich Larson to name a few.

In addition to the fiction Jason Sizemore and I are lining up, Dr. Amy H. Sturgis is guest editing the August issue, focusing on Native American and First Nation authors. I’m really excited to see what she brings to Apex Magazine.

With the Revive the Drive campaign we are running right now, we’ve lined up amazing things for the January 2018 issue—original fiction by Tade Thompson, Delilah S. Dawson, Cherie Priest, and Jacqueline Carey, more nonfiction,  and poetry! Pretty exciting stuff! Hopefully we reach all of our goals and unlock everything. If we do, the January 2018 issue will be epic!

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Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released the first Tuesday of every month.

http://www.apex-magazine.com

Details about the Apex magazine Revive the Drive campaign

http://www.apex-magazine.com/revive-the-drive-2017/

Apex Magazine is an online prose and poetry magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mash-ups of all three. Works full of marrow and passion, stories that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. Creations where secret places and dreams are put on display.

Each month we bring you a mix of originals and reprints, interspersed with interviews and nonfiction. We have published many of the top short form writers working today: Mary Robinette Kowal, Saladin Ahmed, Genevieve Valentine, Amal El-Mohtar, Forrest Aguirre, Nick Mamatas, Theodora Goss, Nalo Hopkinson, Lucy A. Snyder, Cat Rambo, Jeff VanderMeer, Seanan McGuire, and Jennifer Pelland. And we’ve also presented the first professional work of amazing new writers such as Indrapramit Das, T.J. Weyler, Alex Livingston, Ursula Vernon, Kathryn Weaver, Kelly Barnhill, Douglas F. Warrick, and Jeremy R. Butler.

Apex Magazine received a Best Semiprozine Hugo nomination in 2012,2013, and 2014. We placed two stories in the 2010 Nebula Award category of Best Short Story, and our stories won the category in 2014 (“If You Were a Dinosaur My Love” by Rachel Swirsky) and again in 2015 (“Jackalope Wives” by Ursula Vernon).

Each new issue is posted piecemeal throughout the month and placed on sale the first Tuesday of every month. Content can be read for free via the website. Alternatively, annual subscriptions are available and all our issues can be purchased in single issue formats (ePub/mobi/PDF or from the Kindle and Nook stores–these versions contain exclusive content such as classic reprints and novel excerpts).

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We are reviving the subscription drive that was cut short in November. The new revived drive will run from March 27 to April 17th with a goal to raise $10,000!

Tier levels we will have to unlock during the drive will be:

• $500 – Polls will open for readers to vote for the cutest/best Apex animal mascot: Pumpkin versus Oz! (Expect loads of adorable pics on social media as our editors try to sway you to vote for their pet!) Also, Jason and Lesley will make personal donations to the Humane Society
• $1,000 – Apex will donate two short story critiques (one each from Jason and Lesley) to the ConOrBust auction, as well a membership to Imaginarium this October
• $1,500 – Jason and Lesley’s It Follows debate goes live! Join our editors as they watch It Follows and live tweet the entire experience. If you’ve been following their conversations about the movie on Twitter, then you do not want to miss this!
• $2,000 – an original short story by Tade Thompson in the January 2018 issue
• $2,500 – add a poem to the January 2018 issue
• $3,000 – add a reprint to the January 2018 issue
• $3,500 – Andrea Johnson will conduct a video interview with Jason Sizemore, asking him questions submitted by our readers
• $4,000 – add a a nonfiction essay to the January 2018 issue
• $4,500 – add a second poem to the January 2018 issue
• $5,000 – an original short story by Delilah S. Dawson in the January 2018 issue
• $5,500 – podcast a second original story in the January 2018 issue
• $6,000 – Apex donates a membership to ConFusion to ConOrBust
• $6,500 – raise cover artist rates to $75
• $7,000 – original artwork for all original fiction unlocked during the drive for the January 2018 issue
• $7,500 – an original short story by Cherie Priest in the January 2018 issue
• $8,000 – behind the scenes video with Jason
• $8,500 – original artwork for all six stories in the January 2018 issue
• $9,000 – a new print issue of Apex Magazine: SFFH #1
• $9,500 – raise author rates to 7 cents per word
• $10,000 – an original short story by Jacqueline Carey in the January 2018 issue
• STRETCH GOAL!!! $15,000 – raise author rates to 8 cents per word and artist rates to $100!

Amazing, right!?! If we unlock everything for the double issue in January 2018, it is going to be phenomenal!!!

We are also collecting donated items from awesome people that you’ll be able to purchase during the drive to help us reach our goal.

Some of these donated items include:

• story critiques from Jason Sizemore and Lesley Conner
• flash fiction critiques from Anna Yeatts, editor at Flash Fiction Online
• a query letter critique by literary agents Laura Zats and Eric Hane of Print Run podcast
• signed prints of cover art from issues 80, 83, and 86
• signed books by John Scalzi
• signed books by Brian Keene
• signed copy of The Crow God’s Girl by Patrice Sarath
• signed copy of The Buried Life by Carrie Patel
• signed copy of Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger
• a handwritten poem by Brandy Schwan
• cool collectors pieces by Justin Stewart
• hats crocheted by Janet Harriett
• coffee from Nate’s Coffee
• Gamut/Apex Magazine subscription bundles
• Shimmer/Apex Magazine subscription bundles
• Flash Fiction Online/Apex Magazine subscription bundles
• Personalized postcards from Lesley Conner for everyone who donates at least $5

HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO WRITE?

HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO WRITE?

We all live busy lives. Every single one of us. With the amount of distraction out there, it seems there’s even less time than ever to devote to a craft you love. People have classes, families, work, and every bit of life commitment towering above their time to write.

Last night, at a Halloween party, me and a few friends were discussing this very issue. My ten-year-old son was running around jump-scaring people. My eyes and ears were tuned to him, even as our group chatted. That’s testament to how much information processes through my head at any moment. And my situation is less extreme than many other people.

“How do you find the time to write all those stories and novels?” That’s a question I get often, as I’m seen as rather prolific.

The very first thing to realize is that you have to want to tell your story or stories. If you’re not passionate about them, no one else will be, either.

Which leads into my own method. It’s been years since I’ve had the luxury of prolonged writing sessions. I’m lucky to get an hour occasionally.

But . . . don’t writers live by the ocean in a big house, overlooking the sea, and sit behind big wooden desks with their only worry being their brilliant creations?

If only. Very few authors get to that level. That’s some sort of myth that’s somehow crept into the collective consciousness. The other big myth that’s out there is that one day: “. . . I’m going to finally get time to retire and become a writer, and all the money and acclaim will come to me when the world reads my stuff.”

Well, like the man sings: “ . . . if dreams came true, wouldn’t that be nice!”

Back to reality. Or at least my reality.

I’ve figured out my best, most fruitful time is the morning, right after I wake up. Your brain may work differently. But this works for me.

Before I get out of bed, before I do a damn thing, I write. I grab my iPhone and open Google Docs, which is free. Very often I’m transcribing a dream. If it’s not a dream, then it may be a song I heard in my head, and sometimes even story fragments. If none of those have manifested, then I will continue on a writing project I’ve already started. It could be a short story, or a novel, or what have you.

The important thing is to get words down. I don’t worry much about punctuation. I can fix that when I’m exhausted. Same with formatting. Although the thing I love about Google Docs on the iPhone is the way it scales the text to the screen size. It actually looks good. There are other programs, but none of them look as elegant to me. Again, the choice is yours. I like that it syncs right then and there. I don’t have to worry about data loss. I can pick up later on my iMac or my Chromebook and it’s all there.

ASIDE: I always, always check my stuff in MS Word on a real computer before sending it out. I’ve been burned when simply exporting to a DOC from every other word processing program and not at least doing a check. The most common thing that happens to me is that when track changes gets used, all the deleted stuff ends up back in the document, making it quite a mess.

Here’s the important part. I use my built-in timer. Within about ten minutes or so nature calls. That seems kind of gross writing it out here, but it’s a signal that the day is about to begin. Everything switches. People hear you’re up. Your pets know you’re up. The business of living begins and pulls you out of that comfortable zone of creation.

And if nothing else, you’ve gotten something down that day. That’s how I always feel. If the day starts, and there’s fire after fire to put out, I’ve gotten something done that advances my writing.

And it can sure add up fast. In novel writing mode, I can get out 500 words or so in ten minutes. That’s a chapter every two and a half days. An entire draft in two months. Not bad. It’s amazing how much you look forward to your time once you start. While you’re busy during the day, your thoughts are working. The story unfolds. You even sometimes write in your head before you can even get back to putting it down. Then it goes quicker, and you’re very productive.

This method can also spill into other times. Say you take 15 minutes of your hour long lunch break and do the same. Or 15 minutes at the end of the night. Whatever works out, works out.

It’s my hope this helps some folks find the inspiration to follow their hearts and find even the smallest bit of time to write their stories. Happy writing. If you use this, please comment here and let me know. I’d love to hear the story about how you wrote your story!

‘All That Withers’ short fiction collection now available

In 2016 Bram Stoker Award® winner John Palisano’s first collection, All That Withers, the stories range from Lovecraftian musings to terrifying explorations of the inhuman condition, with Palisano creating vivid images of desperate people engaged in ordeals which could happen to many of us . . . how they respond is the difference between their survival and oblivion.

Including several Bram Stoker Award®-nominated tales, as well as the 2016 Bram Stoker winner for Excellence in Short Fiction, “Happy Joe’s Rest Stop.”

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNER AND HORROR WRITER’S ASSOCIATION (HWA) PRESIDENT LISA MORTON (TRICK OR TREAT: A HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN), AND AN AFTERWORD BY MULTIPLE BRAM STOKER WINNER GENE O’NEILL (CAL WILD CHRONICLES).

‘All That Withers’ is available now for pre-order at the Jasunni Press Store!

Direct Link: http://www.jasunnistore.com/all-that-withers-fiction-collection-by-john-palisano/

Halloween Collection ‘Starlight Drive’ now available!

Four Halloween short stories from Bram Stoker winning author John Palisano, including the brand new tale, “Starlight Drive”. STARLIGHT DRIVE  ‘John Palisano is exactly the type of writer horror needs right now: bold, brave, imaginative and unflinching.” –Bentley Little STARLIGHT DRIVE Four Tales of Halloween ‘This one’s for all those creatures for whom Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year . . . .’ From Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Palisano comes a collection of four tales from Halloween and Dios De La Muertos. In “Starlight Drive” two boys find allies through unexpected friends who help them confront a neighbor from hell. In “Outlaws of Hill County” a small town finds itself terrorized by a creature that only comes out on Halloween. In “Samhainophobia” a group of college kids still find Halloween terrifying, although for a very different reason than they did while growing up. In “Fantasma” a young boy searches for his lost cousin during a chilling Dios de la Muertos celebration. View on Amazon.com
From the Author
With Starlight Drive, I wanted to collect a few of my Halloween stories that have appeared over the years, while also including a new short story exclusive to the collection. Outlaws of Hill County has been reprinted in several places and languages since its premiere many years ago in the Harvest Hill anthology. It’s still one of my favorites, and includes the debut of the Long Fellow, a creature who can fold into the branches of trees and disappear, and who comes out on Halloween in order to suck the life out from kids, fingertip to fingertip. When I first wrote the story, I thought it was a little too insane to catch on, and figured it’d vanish. I’m delighted it has connected with readers around the world. Starlight Drive is a story I’ve wanted to share for a long time and was based on a fantasy I had as a kid growing up. We had a really obnoxious neighbor. As kids, we had all sorts of myths about this guy. As an adult, I’m sure I’d have a very different perspective. But growing up, he served as the neighborhood bogeyman. It is exclusive to this mini-collection.  Samhainophobia was an experiment in trying to make Halloween scary for college age kids. As we grow up, the monsters no longer scare us, and the holiday becomes more an excuse for sexy costume balls and drinking. I wanted to visit Boston and its suburbs again, which was wonderful. For those thinking it: this is NOT based on the publisher of two of my novels. It was written and published a few years prior. The coincidence in name is pretty comical, though. Fantasma was a flash fiction piece I wrote for Terry West’s site. We are just seeing Dios de la Muertos crossing over into the mainstream. However, in Los Angeles, it’s something that plays a big part in the season and is an experience not to be missed. I hope everyone who reads this mini-collection finds something to their liking. I appreciate the reads and am always delighted to hear from my readers. Thank you. BUY STARLIGHT DRIVE HERE! Only $5.99 in print!