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!

What happened to quality?

I apologize for not posting in a while. Truthfully, I got caught up in some other hobbies and neglected the blog. Also, I will warn you know, this blog post has nothing to do with my writing, but instead, something I've had happen recently that left me sour.

I typically try not to use my blog as a soapbox for anything negative. However, recently, I have had to buy many new pairs of blue jeans. In the past, I was a fan of Levi's brand jeans. In the past six months, I've had about five to six pairs malfunction--I know that doesn't sound appropriate for describing a garment, but believe me, it is in these cases.

The defects seem to be typical, from what I can tell by conducting an Internet search. Either the zippers split and become useless, the belt loops break loose, or the crotch rips out. There also seems to be a problem with holes forming from the upper corners of the pockets, but I personally have not experienced this. All of the aforementioned problem did happen to me!

At first, two belt loops broke free on a pair of my jeans. The second incident occurred at work when I went to the restroom and the zipper split open. I replaced those jeans with new Levi's, this time, opting for button-fly. When the crotch ripped out and more belt loops tore off, I sat down and wrote a letter to the company. After all, this tactic seemed to work when we exercised it in grammar school. I received a reply back from their Quality Control department asking me to return the jeans (I think it was a maximum of three pairs) so they could determine whether the defect was due to faulty construction or natural wear and tear. Apparently, I was supposed to send my jeans on my own dime. Instead of that route, I threw them away and bought two more pair. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I actually convinced myself that I just got a defective batch or something.

When the crotch of one of these next pair ripped at work as I was getting into my Jeep for lunch, I knew something was drastically wrong with the quality of Levi's jeans. In the past, Levi's were billed as strong and durable. It was a reputation cemented in years of proof. However, when a pair less than six months old rips as I am getting into my vehicle, then something is WRONG! Maybe one could argue that there was significant wear and tear from my job. But, that doesn't hold water when you consider that I sit at a desk all day long. Not to mention, I come home and sit on the sofa. The most strenuous activity my jeans see is me putting them or taking them off.

So, last weekend, while visiting my friend, I went shopping for new jeans. This time, I bought two pairs of Lee jeans ($30 a pair) and one pair of Sears's brand, Roebuck and Co. ($15 a pair--there was a sale). Compared to the Levi's, which were $45-50 a pair, the Lee and Roebucks are a hell of a deal. While it's too early to tell how durable my new jeans are, I can assure you that they are quite comfortable.

The reputation Levi's once had is quickly deteriorating, much like the jeans themselves as these links will indicate. It's sad that a company with a once great product would sacrifice their reputation to save a little bit of money by moving production to other countries just to save a few bucks in production. In the end, I think it will be a costly mistake for them and I predict that if they don't do something to save their image, they too, may go the way of the Twinkie!

Just in time for Halloween!

Halloween is nearly hear, so I decided to publish some of the short stories from my anthology. I didn't want to publish all of them in the collection. If I did that, what would be the point of buying the anthology? Since there are eight shorts in the collection, I said I would publish four of them...well, kind of.

One of those short stories has been available for some time, long before the anthology. Anyone who has been following my track record knows that tale is Hush, Hush, My Love, which is one of my favorites for several reasons. The other three that I've selected are: Footprints in the Snow, Jason's Last Wish, and Sweet Charlotte.

The reason for this is simple. I wanted to offer readers, who hadn't heard of me, a chance to sample some of my work. What better than to offer up some of my strange and disturbing short stories in time for Halloween? Of course, chances are, if you're reading this blog, you've already heard of me and probably read some of my work. If that's the case, perhaps you'll do me a solid and introduce someone new to my work. Start with baby steps. Tell them they can purchase the short stories as a trial to see if they like my writing. I'd appreciate it. Below are links to the various distributors where my stories are for sale. Thanks for stopping by!

Footprints in the Snow at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Jason's Last Wish at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Sweet Charlotte at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Finally, falling into place

I know it's been a while since my last post and I apologize. As you may know, I wasn't up to blogging, much less, writing. I reported that I was floundering on my writing projects, unable to settle on a specific story and stick with it. Luckily, that's over. Not only have I settled into one story, but I am currently working on two! Yes, you read that correctly.

One of the stories I am currently working on is a young adult Halloween tale in the spirit of Ray Bradbury and Clive Barker. The other is a psychological horror story in the same vein as Hush, Hush, My Love. I'm very excited about both of these stories and work at them fervently.

In addition to this news, I have some more good news. Friday, I ordered a Schecter Hellraiser Special electric guitar, which should arrive on Tuesday. I have two bass guitars and have been tinkering with playing bass for several years. Honestly, I'd say I'm fair at playing the bass. I've owned two electric six-string guitars in the past, but never for very long before I got rid of them. The first (a cheap little Squire), was sold not long after I got it (thanks to my now-ex-wife), and the second (a pretty blue Ibanez) ended up going to my son after he expressed an interest in wanting to learn to play. Now that I can afford to, I've decided to buy myself a nice guitar so I can learn to play. Whenever I think about it, I get super excited about the prospect.

That about covers what's been going on with me since my last post; well, the interesting stuff anyway. I hope to deliver more good news later regarding my newest writing. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple of videos that demonstrate the sound of this sweet guitar I bought. Thanks for stopping by; I hope you enjoyed your visit.

A Reader's Paradise

Fall is finally in the air. We slept with the windows open last night and the ceiling fan going. It got cold and the blankets were warm. It was awesome! But, the more important thing is that I am no longer flailing with my stories. I've finally settled on an idea and started working on it. I've decided to just power through any obstacles that crop up. I don't know why I couldn't do that earlier. Maybe it was just some deep-seated mindset or something. That's not really what I wanted to talk about in this post, however.

Lately, as I was struggling with indecisiveness, I pondered the new publishing paradigm and my place in it. In the beginning, when eBooks began to change the publishing landscape, I was ecstatic. Finally, the gates and gatekeepers were becoming a thing of the past. Any author could publish their book themselves and reach readers directly, without the elite publishers standing in their way. I'm still excited about that. If not for this revolution, so many great authors would go unnoticed and that's a shame, especially for the readers (myself included).

Now that I have a few books out there, I've begun analyzing my place in the publishing world. I've had some success, but nothing like I was expecting. I follow several authors' blogs, tweets, etc. to know how they are doing. I lurk on eBook boards and keep up with some of the latest success stories of breakout indie authors (those who find themselves in the top 100 Kindle Books and sell hundreds, if not thousands, of books a month). To tell the truth, I'm baffled.

I can't help but wonder how these authors (many, still, with day jobs) manage to stumble into such luck. Of course, many of them deserve their success because of their writing. In the end, it always boils down to the writing that separates the good from the bad and good from the great. In trying to better my own marketing efforts, I usually obtain a copy of some of these authors' books to see how well they write. A lot of them are good. Sadly, some of them are not very good (although, I will admit that reading is very subjective, as is any art-form). The part that baffles me is how these mediocre writers manage to be so successful? The only thing I can come up with is that they either know some highly successful writers and ride on their coattails, or they are geniuses at marketing. But, I didn't really want this post to be about me commiserating about other writers' success and my lack of it (Well, I kind of did).

There is a former mid-list author (mid-list is pretty much gone since the eBook revolution) I used to follow because I was in awe of his success despite his horrible writing. I'm not about to mention who he is, but he writes primarily zombie books. I bought several of his books and discovered the writing to be sub-par. Yet, he was vetted by the publishing industry and had built a career on that writing. Obviously, he was doing something right because he was successful. I knew there were enough readers out there who enjoyed his books enough to keep coming back for more.

That's what I wanted to emphasize with this blog post. No matter the level of writing, there seems to be an audience out there for the story. Since the gate keepers have been circumvented, so many more authors can publish their material. A reader can find just about anything that appeals to them. Just look at the Fifty Shades of Grey series. It's spawned a whole cult following and enough writers coming out of the woodwork hoping to jump on the erotica bandwagon so they can earn a slice of the success pie. No matter your reading tastes, chances are, you can find plenty of stories out there that will interest you for quite some time. Sure, there might be a lot of garbage out there you have to weed through to find that diamond. Just remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

With that, I'd like to leave you with a shameless plug. If you're looking for something scary or weird to read this Halloween, may I suggest my Adverse Anthology? I think you'll enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!

--Insert Witty Title Here--

Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I kind of feel at loose ends with my various projects; like I'm being pulled in several different directions. It may sound like I'm overwhelmed, but the truth is, I'm not. I'm more lost than anything, just drifting. Hence the title of this post. It seems to sum up my feelings pretty well.

With my writing, I am floundering. I have so many ideas and they all appeal to me. At least until I begin working on them, then the plot seems to hit a brick wall or simply fizzles out. I feel like I'm searching for the Higgs Boson and while I'm examining a theory, something shows me I'm headed in the wrong direction, so I stop or change course with uncertainty. This is the longest I've gone between stories without a definite course. There's only one thing to do, however. I need to pick a story and power through it. But, that's easier said than done. Currently, I have my sights set on a YA Halloween tale in the vein of Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree or Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, both great books.

In addition to my writing, I also have some other projects I'm working on. It's that time of year when my mind becomes distracted by the approach of fall, and with it, my favorite holiday, Halloween. This means I'm trying to create some cool silicone masks. I managed to sculpt a cool design a couple of weeks ago and then made the mold for it. When I finished the mold I went ahead and made two different casts. For those of you that don't know, a cast is when you pour in the silicone, let it dry, and then pull out the finished product. The first cast was too thin and ripped in several places. This is not uncommon. So, I poured another cast, making sure to double the amount. When I pulled it out, I had less rips, but still, that cast was unsuccessful. I haven't gone back to try again...yet.

My last distraction is my photography, which has come more to the forefront lately since I started trying to sell some of my work. I'm also pleased to announce that I am working on several new techniques. Last night, I experimented with something called light painting. When you light paint, you set up your camera in the dark, focused on a specific scene, and use a light source to highlight an area of the scene. I was pleased with my initial results and want to do more of these types of photos for my gallery. Also, there are some more techniques I want to try, but I'm waiting for the right time to try them.

Now for a confession: I made a major purchase this past week. I made the leap from my current camera (a Canon Rebel T2i) to a more professional-grade camera (a Canon 5D mark II). With the significant price difference, I did not arrive at this decision lightly, but I feel it will allow my pictures to really pop. Time will tell. In the meantime, I need to focus on something and see it through to completion. If you want to help me out, please buy one of my books or one of the photos from my gallery. It would certainly go a long way to lifting my spirits. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Once in a blue moon...

There's a blue moon tonight. There won't be another until 2015--in June, I think. Since blue moons are so infrequent, I thought it would kind of be symbolic for me to post my last post of August on the blue moon (since I can't seem to be regular with my posts).

There's not a lot exciting going on, not for the couple of blog readers I have anyway. Not only is today a blue moon and the end of August, it's also my oldest son, Robbie's, birthday. He turned 22 today. Happy Birthday, Robbie! (Of course, I highly doubt he reads my blog. He's probably never glimpsed it.)

We're on the cusp of a three-day weekend since Monday is Labor Day. In other news, I received a new lens filter today in the mail, so I'll be using it to take some more pictures that I hope will be worthy of posting in my gallery. Speaking of that, if you haven't yet checked out my online photography, I hope you will. Also, please tell your friends about it, especially if they're looking for pictures to hang on a drab wall. (BTW, my prices are highly--if not absurdly--competitive with the other photographers out there!)

At the moment, my wife and I are relaxing while we watch Ghost Adventures. The locations they visit are interesting, but really, does anyone actually believe this host? He reminds me of someone I work with (whom I find tiresome--enough said about that). Also, for anyone who doesn't yet know (where've you been?), I'm a huge skeptic of anything supernatural/paranormal. But, like I said, the locations are cool. I so want to go visit these places. :)

In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

Thanks for stopping by!