Horror? Not so much

I can't even begin to apologize for neglecting the blog for so long. What can I say? I've been busily working on some stories I've mentioned before, so that, hopefully, I can release them soon for your (again, hopeful) reading pleasure.

Which leads me to the point of this post. I've recently read two popular or well-known horror stories that I wanted to discuss. The first is probably not so well celebrated as it is known, among literary types anyway. It's Henry James's Turn of the Screw. This is a novella published in 1898. My wife (an English professor whose focus is on Victorian literature) recommended I read it. She said it was a good ghost story. I value my wife's opinion because I seldom disagree with her. However, I must disagree this time.

This story centers around a governess who is charged with overseeing the care of two young children, a brother named Miles and his sister, Flora. During the months spent together, the governess begins seeing a male and female apparition. She suspects these are former employees of her employer who were suspected of disreputable actions and that they have shown up to negatively influence the children. In addition, the governess must deal with Miles's expulsion from school for an action she does not know. This leads to the tension between her and the children as she tries to keep away the nefarious spirits.

To me, it sounded okay, like it might be a good creepy read. Boy, was I wrong! First, I learned that James's writing style was not to my liking. Evidently, he enjoys long, complex sentences, full of commas to break up whatever he is attempting to convey, and cram in as much information as possible, leaving me forgetting the concept the sentence was trying to deliver by the time I reached the end. (See what I did there? Did you follow what I was saying?) Imagine that same type of sentence repeated again and again with more difficult vocabulary interspersed and you'll get a sense for how Henry James writes. When I turned to my wife and remarked about the cumbersome sentences, she mentioned that later in his career, this trait worsened! Really? Worse?

Writing style aside, the story itself fell horribly short of being scary. Instead, nothing scary happened. I think this was more a psychological study of the governess's mental state than it was a horror tale. I won't go into much detail about what I think the author was trying to convey because I don't want to ruin it for anyone who still wants to read it. I will say, however, that you shouldn't go into this story expecting legitimate scares or creepiness. I found it rather boring and tedious to wade through the prose.

The second book I read is well known and quite popular among fans of horror. It is Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. If you visit any popular forum where people routinely discuss books and ask for a recommendation for the scariest book to read, you will be hard-pressed NOT to see this book mentioned; this was my experience anyway. I'd seen it mentioned so many times on various book forums. Eventually, I thought, Why haven't I read this yet? So, I pulled it off the shelf at Barnes & Noble and read the blurb from The New York Times Book Review, which stated, "Makes your blood chill and your scalp prickle...Shirley Jackson is the master of the haunted tale". How could I turn down such a recommendation?

First, I'd like to recommend to the NYT Book Review to drug test their employees more frequently. Whoever wrote that blurb doesn't know their ass from their elbow because this book is not scary in the least. It had two ho-hum moments, but nothing we haven't seen done bigger and better since this book was written (which was 1959). While Jackson's writing was easy to digest the story was devoid of anything horrific (unless you consider Dr. Montague's wife scary, which would be rightfully so). The characters seemed unrealistic and were very narcissistic and/or juvenile; I couldn't care less for any of them. I think this story deals with social interaction more than it does supernatural. Again, a big let down!

If I were to recommend two books from similar time periods that I think are superior to these, I would encourage you to read Robert Chambers The King in Yellow from 1895, which is a collection of short stories; the first few center around a forbidden two-act play that is supposed to drive its readers insane.

The second book I'd recommend is A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson, written in 1958. This is a much better rendition of the creepy psychological/supernatural thriller, in my opinion.

If you're into creepy, psychological horror, then may I humbly recommend my own books too? Soon, I will be releasing a couple of books heavy on these themes. Stay tuned to this blog or my Facebook page for details. If you'd like to recommend a book you feel is worthy of attention, please leave it in the comment section as I'm always eager to hear from readers. As always, thanks for dropping by!

What's new, pussycat?

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I've been busily working on some new projects. My son and I began a new silicone Halloween mask. He had never created one, so I wanted to walk him through the process with me. I figured it would be a fun learning experience, which it was. The sculpture turned out really well, as you can see from the picture(s) below. Unfortunately, when we began separating the plaster mold, it broke, so that was the end of that project. All that work down the drain. Eventually, I'll start over as Halloween draws closer.


In other news, I am wrapping up my novella, Rabbit on the Run, which will soon be available via all of my typical distributors. I will provide links for anyone interested in obtaining copies once it is officially released. In addition, I am dividing my time to edit Carniville, a murder mystery involving human oddities; rewriting The Consuming Darkness, formerly known as The Shadow People, the first novel I'd ever written and has undergone many rewrites. (Most of these books I've mentioned in a previous post, which you can read here).

I've stalled on Youthanasia, a science fiction novel about the pros and cons of immortality, due to a lack of enthusiasm. That's not going to stop me from finishing the story and publishing it, though. When I say "lack of enthusiasm", I don't mean it's a substandard or mediocre story. It just means that some other ideas have stolen the spotlight in my imagination and I'm choosing to focus on them right now, which I will talk about in a minute. Also, I've kind of run up against a wall as far as the plot is concerned. I'm not sure where to go with the story while keeping the reader engaged in finding out what happens next. After I let it ferment and mellow for a while on the back burner, I'm sure I'll find a way around that obstacle.

The story who holds my heart at the moment is a new work of horror that I'm currently writing called What Goes Around. I've only spent two days working with it and, already, I've managed to put down a little over twenty pages worth of story. If you don't know what to make of that, let me just clarify by saying that the words are flowing like Niagara Falls; coming extremely easy, which isn't always the case. Since it is still in its infancy, I won't divulge too much, but I will give you the synopsis to whet your appetite. It goes something like this:

In the fall of 1958, in front of onlooking parents, nine children riding a carousel suddenly vanish. Despite efforts to explain the phenomenon, the children were never found, questions went unanswered, and the amusement park was closed.

Until Now...

Nearly sixty years later, three teenagers sneak into the newly-opened park on a dare and spin up the old carousel. They face a startling discovery when the nine children unexpectedly reappear. The boys and girls look the same as the day they vanished, but something is fundamentally different, because...

What Goes Around, Comes Around

I'm excited by this story's potential and hope readers are, too. I've already developed a cover for it and plan to hone this story into a reasonable facsimile of the product I see in my imagination. If I'm successful, then this will be a creepy romp through a sinister landscape that keeps readers captivated, turning pages to find out where these children have been and what mysteries the merry-go-round holds. Already, while writing it, I've given myself plenty of goose bumps. I hope I can pass them on to anyone who chooses to indulge in the story. As I get nearer to finishing it, I'll release a sneak peek of the cover.

Finally, I have some exciting news about an available title. My novel, The Old Royal, has been optioned to be made into an audio book. The narrator is a talented individual named Stephen Self. I've already listened to his audition for the book and his performance of the first chapter. I'm excited by what I've heard and anxiously await the finished product, which will be available on iTunes, Audible.com, and Amazon. Once I know the details for where you can get a copy, I'll post the links.

Stay tuned for further details. And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Defining a genre: Horror

When I began writing, I wrote what I loved to read: horror stories. My biggest inspiration, which probably sounds cliche, was Stephen King's work. I, like many people, read his books and came away from them feeling that "I can do that, too!" So, I began my writing career by spinning tales of horror. Needless to say, my writing is by no means on par with Stephen King's! He makes writing look easy, but it's not. And, I see I've already digressed.

I say that I wrote horror, but, in retrospect, I wouldn't really categorize many of those first stories as horror. Not in the truest since of the meaning, anyway. Now, I like to think of them as psychological thrillers or noir. You might be wondering why I would make that claim. That's what I want to discuss in this blog post and, hopefully, illustrate.

Stephen King is revered as the King of Horror [nice pun, too], but I wouldn't even classify much of his writing as truly horrific. Sure, his stories elicit an emotional response--typically a strong negative emotion--as all writing is wont to do, but I wouldn't say that they are mainly horror by nature. At least, not according to the definition of the genre. As Wikipedia describes it:

"Horror fiction, Horror Literature and also Horror fantasy is a genre of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, scare or startle viewers/readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror."

That last part, about feelings of horror and terror, to me at least, is a strong statement. Of course, others may disagree because we all have varying thresholds for fear. For instance, in my short story, Hush, Hush, My Love, the main character is talking to a woman he has just finished copulating with. Throughout the monologue, she never says a word. Later, I reveal that she is dead and the man has been engaging in necrophilia. While this is certainly a taboo, it (again, to me) is not horrific. Repulsive maybe, sure. I classified this story under horror, not because of the necrophilia, but because her lifeless corpse reanimates and kills him in the final chapter.

I have other stories that I assembled into an anthology that many readers may label as horror. While I agree that some of them border on horror (When the Dead Whisper and Jason's Last Wish, for example) because they center around ghosts and/or supernatural phenomena, I also claim that many of them are not. I don't feel that they "cause the reader to react with fear" as the definition states. As examples, I would refer you to The Show Must Go On, about a death row inmate's exercise in introspection before his impending execution; Footprints in the Snow, is about a young man who undergoes a strange and life-changing experience on a snowy rural road; and Sweet Charlotte, which is about a special little girl who is caught in a predator's web. I would argue that these are simply dark stories meant to stimulate the reader's mind as well as entertain.

Also, it seems to me that the horror genre has gone through quite a change in recent decades. Perhaps this is due to the influx of so many sub-genres. I will admit, I am not a fan of zombie books (although, I do love to watch The Walking Dead). I think vampire stories have appeared ad nauseum. And, the worst, are graphic stories (labeled horror) that do nothing more than gross out the reader.

Again, all of this may just be my opinion. However, I enjoy a horror tale with a slow build of events that ratchet up the creepy tension. I also enjoy hints as to what is lurking in the shadows or under the bed, instead of fully seeing the creature at the beginning. The lack of description up front allows the reader to conjure his/her own fearful being. To me, the scariest stories are those that can actually happen. I don't believe in ghosts, but a mentally unstable person with a sling blade sneaking into my house would scare the hell out of me!

If, on the other hand, a story is about a bunch of mutated hillbillies who eat unsuspecting campers, or sparkly vampires (*facepalm*), or just a lot of blood splatter to elicit shock, then I don't consider them horror. But, again, that's just me. I've worked as a firefighter and EMT, so gore-porn isn't for me. I've seen real life atrocities up close and personal. As a coping mechanism, I learned to desensitize myself to it like many others in that profession. I think Stephen King summed up the gross-out best:

"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud."

The most enticing horror stories are those that successfully break new ground in an already well-mined field, with new creatures and situations. Not rehashing the same old tropes we've read time and again.

So, what do you consider horror? I'd like to hear your opinion about what makes a story horrific. You can sound of in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!

My anthology: now available in paperback

For anyone interested in getting a paperback edition of my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, you are in luck! I recently published it through CreateSpace as a paperback. It's available right here.

Below are some of the details to whet your appetite:

Page Count: 152
Category: Fiction / Short Stories
Trim Size: 5" x 8"
Synopsis:

From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?

Majoring in Murder will be available in paperback soon. Watch for it!

Halloween isn't far off and I'm starting something new

If you didn't already know, Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. Yes, it even trumps Christmas. For me, at least. I know a lot of people would probably be surprised by that statement, but it's true. I still can't put my finger on exactly why Halloween is my favorite holiday. I mean, there's obviously the trick-or-treating, which I am much too old for now so I just sit at home. The days get shorter, which is kind of depressing to me. I enjoy long sunny days because I feel like I can accomplish more. There are the Halloween episodes of sitcoms I enjoy. Although we're reduced to only seventeen channels on TV because I refuse to pay the cable company's exorbitant rates for hundreds of channels of shit. (BTW, what has happened to TV? Even with only seventeen channels, most of the programming is garbage: hour-long infomercials, dancing shows, talent-less talent shows, et al. Okay, I've digressed. I'll leave that for another post later where I can be a curmudgeon and rant) Schools' Halloween Carnivals featuring games and kids running around in costume having a grand time. I'm not in school any longer and we rarely go to my daughter's school unless we're there to watch her band performance or some other activity she is involved with. Besides, I don't think her high school even has any Halloween event. These are things that come to mind when I think of Halloween. You might be asking yourself, why do I love Halloween if none of those things seem enjoyable to me?

Well, the answer is: that is not everything I think of when Halloween rolls around. In addition, I must say that the aforementioned are things I enjoyed as a kid, things that can't quite be recaptured but they stick with me to this day. Of course, there are also haunted house attractions to visit and I thoroughly love that! Mainly, I think there is something in the air this time of year that gets my mojo flowing. Maybe it's just the ushering in of fall. Fall is also my favorite time of year, when the trees begin changing and the Georgia heat begins to subside. I also find that when Halloween approaches, I become more active with my writing and creative endeavors. For instance, this year I've started to make silicone Halloween masks. Growing up, I was always captivated by the latex monster masks stores would put on display this time of year. They were always too expensive for me to purchase though. As a kid, no matter how cool the masks were, I couldn't convince myself to save that much money, let alone part with it for a single mask. There was always something better looming around the corner that I spent my money on. So, I never ended up purchasing one of those ghoulish masks that can easily be found at Party Cities, Halloween Expresses, and Spencers.

Recently, I visited a few websites that sell silicone masks. The masks are top-notch quality and fit so well that the mask moves with your facial expressions. Instead of spending hours trying to get a latex special effects appliance to fit on your face, transforming you into some ghoulish creature, you can simply slip the mask on and become what you want. Of course, these masks aren't cheap. The prices range anywhere from one hundred dollar to five or even eight hundred dollars. You definitely get what you pay for, so you can imagine how silly the cheaper masks look compared to the more expensive masks. Last year, I managed to purchase two pairs of prescription theatrical contact lenses that I wanted to use this year. I picked a silicone mask that was an evil clown and waited before making the purchase. In that time, I managed to talk myself out of parting with five hundred dollars for the mask. What if I wanted to be something different the next year? Hell, I'd be stuck with the clown mask and out half a grand. It just didn't seem practical even though the mask does look super awesome.

I did some research and found some people making their own silicone masks. There were even tutorial videos that some teens had posted on YouTube. I looked into the supplies needed to create the masks, etc. It was cheaper than the single mask I was prepared to buy. Not to mention, I could create whatever I could dream up. I could be an evil clown this year, next year, I could be a rotting corpse, or whatever. So, I took the leap and bought a gallon of Dragon Skin FX Pro silicone, eight pounds of modeling clay, an armature, buckets of plaster, and various solvents needed. I commandeered my wife's dance studio and shut myself away to create a half-face mask.

I learned a lot from the process of creating that mask. The first lesson, don't use silicone for a half-mask; it's much too flimsy. Next time, when creating a half-mask, I'll use either latex or a urethane rubber. Even though that first mask was unusable, I still have it as a keepsake. It feels and looks just like human skin and is very pliable. I was lucky enough to have mixed the coloring pigments just right. I felt it was time to try my hand at a full-head mask, just like the one I was thinking of buying. I molded the clay on my armature, built retaining walls, poured the plaster, and demolded it. Unfortunately, the plaster molds cracked during the demolding process. I had purchased the wrong type of plaster, a plaster that was not hard enough for creating mask molds. Fortunately, my sculpture came out with very minimal damage and I was able to repair it. I've since ordered some Ultracal 30 gypsum cement to create my mold.

Until then, I am trying to edit my hit man novel that is nearing the editorial phase. I hope to have it out soon. While my favorite holiday is fast approaching and I'm getting excited about making scary masks, I don't want to take my eye off the prize and let my novel languish. So, if you're interested in mask making or scary monster masks in general, check back often to see my progress. I promise to post pictures of my creations. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm going to be published. It's been an arduous journey.

I mentioned in my news feed earlier in the month that I was going to be published in Shroud Magazine. My story, Hush, Hush My Love, will be in the 9th issue. That means it will probably be out this summer. If you haven't heard of Shroud, and you're a fan of horror and dark fiction, I urge you to get a subscription to this magazine. The editor, Tim Deal, is a really nice guy and puts together a top-quality magazine. It's definitely worth getting a subscription. Also, I want to share my story with you, so even if I can't persuade you to buy a subscription, at least buy the 9th issue. I'm sure you'll find that your money was well spent.

I just want to say that this news has put me over the moon. I've received a substantial number of rejections. I've entered stories into contests, sent them to all the magazines that I think would enjoy them and received only rejection. In retrospect, I think some of the stories I submitted deserved rejection. I was more naive early on, and now that I've learned a lot and my writing's matured more (although, it still has more maturing to do), I can look at those earlier stories with a more critical eye. I see why they didn't work at the time. For some of them, the story was weak or cliche. My dialogue was not up to par. Even though some (only a few, mind you) of those stories received a warm welcome from my first readers, the editors at the various magazines where I sent them thought otherwise. So, for Tim to send me an acceptance letter was a welcome relief.

I'm very happy with the story, too. It's called Hush, Hush My Love. Like most of my stories, this one came out of nowhere. But, unlike the rest of my stories, this one had some hypnotising quality to it. Thinking back to the writing process, it almost seems mystical, like I can't quite identify why this story, among all of the ones before it, should stand out in my mind so. If I could put my finger on the aspect that makes it stand out from the rest, I'd try to harness that ability so I could write nothing but publishable stories. But, unfortunately, that's not the way the writing process is. Even the big names write stinkers from time to time.

I guess it's just a sign that says my writing is getting better. It doesn't mean I won't write stories that are bad. I think it just means that I'll write fewer stinkers; the ratio of good to bad is finally beginning to shift. I hope you'll pick up a copy of Shroud Magazine's 9th issue and read my story. If you like it (or even if you don't), I'd appreciate you leaving me some feedback on my website.

Stranger in a strange land: Crossing over the genre line

When I first started writing, I wrote only horror stories. Horror is my passion. I'm a horror junkie. Whether it be movies, television, or books, I prefer horror. I love all the old slasher films. I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now I am a huge fan of the show Supernatural. I read mainly Stephen King for scares. Yes, I pigeon-holed myself as a horror writer because it's what I love to read, so naturally it's what I chose to write.

My best friend and writer, Mark, is quite the opposite. He is a sci-fi author. Which stands to reason since he is as passionate about science fiction and space as I am with the dark and my monsters. I do not want to be labeled as only a horror writer, however. When you stand back and look, you'll see that Stephen King, although called the King of Horror, does not write only horror stories. He has written science fiction (the first one to come to mind is a short story called The Jaunt), fantasy (the whole Dark Tower series) and other works of fiction, although I'm not sure quite how I would label them (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile).

Although I love horror and want to dethrone my idol, Stephen King, I don't want to simply be complacent in the horror genre. I want to spread my wings, flex my creative mind and reach out to other realms of writing. It's definitely a great way to excercise your creativity. I decided to try my hand at science fiction because fantasy and other genres, mystery, romance, etc. do not appeal to me. I will say, however, that they may appeal to me one day, just not right now. Science fiction never appealed to me before, with a couple of exceptions: Stephen King's The Jaunt and Ray Bradbury's awesome story, Mars Is Heaven. I have always loved that story because it broke the stereotypical mold I had of the genre being dominated by pasty nerds in glasses swooning over space stories such as Star Trek and Star Wars. (Note: I enjoy watching Star Trek and loved Star Wars as a child, but Star Wars has somehow lost its luster to me as an adult.) What appealed to me about Bradbury's story was how it did not take place in a space craft among the stars (granted, there is a space ship, but the setting is more like that of Earth). The twist ending was the thing I loved most. I am a huge fan of Twilight Zone-Rod Serling-ish endings. That's what turns my dials up to ten. Another thing that turned me off from the science fiction genre was the notion that the field has been too heavily mined, much like Vampire stories in the horror genre, there just wasn't much unexplored territory.

That last notion is somewhat of a misconception, in my opinion. Sure, the genre has been heavily mined but so has the horror genre, that's why a creative mind is so vitalas well as reading broadly. Stephen King once said that writing is like being ushered into a vast building with more doors than one can open in a lifetime, and as a writer, you're given leave to open as many as you like. It's definitely true with all writing, no matter the genre. I recently read a sci-fi story called Blood Child, which blew me away. Again, it did not take place aboard a space craft, which intrigued me because of my stereotypical view of the genre. It now ranks top in my mind, next Bradbury's story, sitting aloft that pedestal with Mars Is Heaven. I decided to try my hand at writing some sci-fi. I explored the farthest recesses of my mind for a good story angle. I came up with a black hole scenario (again, mined to death). I kicked it around, looking for some new spin on it, but no matter what I dreamed up, it seemed too cliche. After letting the idea ferment for about a week, something came to me. I had the perfect twist ending. I sat down and pounded the story out and began editing it. I had written my first science fiction piece! One that I am quite proud of.

Bitten with the bug, I decided to see if lightning would strike twice. I racked my brain for different scenarios, but my lack of science fiction exposure hindered me. After all, I do not read much science fiction, so I was niave about what had been overdone and what was on the fringes of the genre. For me, it was unmapped territory. I began reading science fiction stories to test the boundaries and get a feel for the style of some notable authors. Finally, another idea came to me. I wrote it down in my Ideas file for later. While I thought I was stuck for ideas days ago, another story emerged from the abyss, bubbling up like Texas-T for old Jedd Clampett. I watched a television show that mentioned The Lost Colony of Roanoke, a subject that has always intrigued me. I turned the mystery around in my mind and got a great idea for a science fiction yarn. A story that I'm currently editing. Since then, I've had some other ideas for sci-fi stories. I've even written my first poem!

My point is this: don't try to pigeon-hole yourself because other genres don't appeal to you. If you give them a try, reading several different stories by several different authors, you may find that you like some of the works in a particular genre and that can open up a new area for you to excercise your writing abilities. This is why I said earlier that while I don't like romance and mystery, it's not to say that I never will. To subscribe to that theory would make me closed minded, and close mindedness (to me, at least) is an author's poison. So spread your creative wings and fly!

A life of rejection...

Okay, well, that was a bit strong, but I received two rejections this week. One for a flash story I wrote called Intruder and another I submitted to an anthology for nautical horror called Mark Avery's Final Voyage.

I've got several stories out there, waiting for some kind of response from editors. It's a painful thing for a writer to create something he/she really believes in and then send it out into the world seeking validation from others as to whether it is any good. On top of that, the waiting is nearly unbearable. I realize editors are inundated with large piles of manuscripts, so I understand this. I am not a very patient person, however, but I am learning to be more patient.

Intruder was a story that came to me one night as I was lying bed. I hurried to my computer and wrote down the idea so I could flesh it out the following day, which I did and then revised several times. I had no market in mind when I wrote the story, just a feeling that it needed to be written, to receive life, so to speak. Finally, I found a publisher of flash fiction tales and thought my story was a worthy candidate. It took about a month and a half before I received the rejection email from them. I was disappointed, but at least it's closure and I can still send it out to other editors.

On the very next day, I received word from the editor of the nuatical horror anthology that my story just wasn't right for them at this time. Again, I was disappointed, but I have set it aside until I can find another market for it.

I have three more stories waiting for some response from editors and the wait is killing me. In the meantime, I've decided to just knuckle down and complete the 3rd revision of my novel, The Shadow People, and create more short stories. This time when I write a short story, however, I am going to try to create something more cerebral than the last couple of yarns I've spun.