Our Little Book

I don’t think I’ve mentioned the novella I’ve written with David T. Wilbanks, my partner on Pod of Horror.

Back on April 1 (yeah, the irony hasn’t escaped me, either), Dave asked if I wanted to write a novel with him. I jumped in as I usually do, with all limbs flailing, crapping out ideas and characters like a salad shooter. The initial concept was Dave’s and we massaged that sucker for a bit, then started writing.

We quickly realized that the story was bigger than we had first thought. So Dave suggested a prequel. The novel went on hold and the novella was begun. We stuck to a tight schedule and finished fairly quickly, with few disagreements ( though I still think I could have made a case for grass in a New Mexico backyard, dammit!).

We sent the manuscript out to a few writers whose work we respect and the response – so far – has been favorable.

And right now an introduction is being written by an author who I consider to be one of the finest creators of horror and dark fantasy to ever put words on paper. This guy makes ninety percent of the other writers out there look like freshmen creative writing students. He sneezes out stuff that is better than anything I will ever write.

My palms are sweating.

I keep expecting an email that says he’s come to his senses and deleted our file. Or that the very act of reading the novella has put him into an irreversible coma, and Dave and I will be forever remembered for bringing a brilliant career to an early, tragic end.

And if he does survive the reading of our story, then all we have to do is find a publisher.

Wish us luck.