Wotta Week!

It started Sunday with the sale to Horror Garage, followed by Pod of Horror #15 and the book announcement.

On Tuesday I finished up another chunk of the sequel novel to Dead Earth: The Green Dawn and sent it to Dave. Then it was on to a short story.

Actually, two stories. I had an idea for a humorous story for Jeff Strand's anthology and I'd been trying to find the time to work on it. With the May 31 deadline looming, I knuckled down and finished "Agent of Death" Wednesday afternoon. I read it over. I liked it. But...was it funny enough?

I remembered another story I had started a while back about a group of pot smoking underachievers and the strange encounter they have on their way to break into the VFW. The only reason I originally didn't finish it was the uncertainty of where to submit a funny horror story. Still amped up from wrting "Agent of Death", I brought up the file and completed it.

Now I was stuck with two stories.

It was almost 9:00 p.m. (well past my weekday bed time), so I turned to my secret weapon.

"Honey," I asked my wife, "which one of these is funnier?"

While she read "Agent of Death", I paced the floor. After ten or fifteen minutes she came out and said, "That was really good."

Hey now. A really good from Norma is nearly gold medal caliber. It looked like we had a winner.

"Could you read the second one anyway?" I said.

She went back into the den. About two minutes later something happened. She laughed out loud. And then she did it again. And again.

She came out of the room and told me, "This is the one you're submitting."

So Jeff gets "The Losers vs Beelphegor". Now if he just thinks I'm as funny as my wife does...

Today the contracts came for DE:TGD from PS Publishing via Brother Wilbanks. He'd signed his copies, cashed the check and sent my half of the money. I'd asked for two forms of ID, but he apparently ignored the request.

I also got a nice gift from new POH reviewer Scott Bradley: The New Book Of Lists by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace, the same Amy Wallace who is Scott's Sweet Patootie. She even inscribed the book to me.

I remember the first BOL when it came out years ago, and this edition is just as entertaining. Norma was particularly fascinated by the list of Average Erect Penis Lengths For10 Species.

I’ll have to ask Scott about the research for that one.

Finally, I did a polish on a story that will be in Mythos Collector #8 later this year. I'll let you know when it's out. It's called "Pitter Patter" and it may be the closest I'll ever come to a Lovecraftian tale.

Now, it's my wonderful wife's birthday and there's cake to eat.