Coming Up For Air

I’m still around, just covered up with work related to my day job. All the writing I’ve done over the last few weeks has been for radio. So if I owe you a story, please know I’m sorry. If it doesn’t have a punch line, then I haven’t had a chance to work on it.

***

I did get my contributor copy of The Book of Lists: Horror today, edited by Amy Wallace, Del Howison and my pal Scott Bradley. It’s gorgeous book, and I vastly underestimated how cool it would be to share a book with Stephen King and Ray Bradbury.

By the way, Scott will return to Pod of Horror this weekend with an interview about the book.

***

I’m only a couple of chapters into The Given Day by Dennis LeHane, a sprawling novel revolving around the 1919 Boston police strike.

I know that LeHane has pissed off a lot of mystery writers and readers with his recent comments dismissive of his earlier work. But, damn, can he write. The opening of The Given Day stars Babe Ruth, and it’s friggin’ magic.

Obama Meets THE WEST WING

The West Wing was one of my favorites shows, especially the first four seasons, as produced and mostly written by Aaron Sorkin. (in fact, we watched the series finale again last night). It was an inspiring fantasy -- the characters chose public service to actually make thing better, not for personal power or glory. Can you imagine that?

In this morning's New York Times, Maureen Dowd presents a meeting between Barack Obama and the fictional ex-President Josiah Bartlett, actually written by Sorkin (who once dated Dowd).

As usual, Bartlett hands out a few sharp words of wisdom.

Check it out.

Evil Woman

Bizzy

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend--literally, as I spent yesterday watching the suckage that is The Cincinnati Bengals first hand in 60 MPH winds.

I have a ton a email to sort through. If you are waiting on a response from me, expect it later today or tomorrow.

Legends of the Mountain State 2 is Here

I got my contributor's copies today, so I guess this one is ready to go.

Here's part of the publisher's press release:

This book portrays more of the mysterious, bizarre and
spine-tingling Mountain State tales and legends that
have been passed down over the centuries. The title is
Legends Of The Mountain State 2: More Ghostly Tales
From The State Of West Virginia, with a foreword
written by Gov. Joe Manchin, III.

But don’t be misled by the title of this anthology . .
. although all stories are based on known ghosts and
legends of West Virginia, every fan of horror, ghost
stories, and dark fiction will love this project.

In fact, legendary horror writer Joe R. Lansdale had
this to say:

“Hardboiled, Southern Gothic. I loved it. It’s lean
and mean and it doesn’t care if you like it, which is
what makes me like it all the better. Written with a
razor on the back of a dead bloated redneck cracker
down by the river side, the mountains in view, this is
one excellent read.”

Like its predecessor—Legends of the Mountain State
[which was released on Halloween 2007]—this unique
anthology offers thirteen additional accounts of
ghostly manifestations, mythology and mayhem, based on
legends from West Virginia. Rural ghost sightings and
stories of the macabre take center stage with this
release by Woodland Press, LLC, an independent
book-publishing firm located in Chapmanville, WV.

Noted horror writer/editor Michael Knost, a native of
Logan, WV, returns as the anthology’s editor, and
writers for this volume are an amalgamation of
nationally respected authors in the horror, science
fiction and fantasy fields, including Gary A.
Braunbeck, Mark Justice, Bob Freeman, Lucy A. Snyder,
Nate Kenyon, Steven L. Shrewsbury, Michael Laimo,
Maurice Broaddus, Brian J. Hatcher, Mary SanGiovanni,
Jonathan Maberry, Rob Darnell and Nate Southard.

“This is a book that uniquely promotes the rich
folklore and storytelling tradition of our Mountain
State,” says Keith Davis, CEO of Woodland Press.
“Readers went crazy over the first installment.
Actually, Legends of the Mountain State remains the
number one ghost tale book in the Mountain State. This
fresh, new release builds upon its predecessor’s
monumental success. We believe Legends of the Mountain
State 2 will also appeal to readers outside the
state’s borders. West Virginia has more than its share
of ghost stories, legends and peculiar oddities.”


You can order it here.

There's also going to be a launch party at Borders in the Huntington Mall (Barboursville, WV) on October 10th from 7-9 p.m. I should be there for the last hour.

Double Outhouse

Sucktacular Sunday Sports

The NFL season begun in its usual tradition: The Bengals lost.

Thankfully, though, they only suck on offense, defense and special teams.

Jeez.

Fortunately, my wonderful wife didn’t want me to watch the game alone (my brother was working), so she invited some friends over and made her world-famous tacos and Better Than Sex Cake.

Believe me, tacos, beer and cake make everything better.

***

Let’s talk reading’ and writin’.

I’m in full pulp mode. I read a Doc Savage this weekend (The Thousand-Headed Man). It’s been over 35 years since I read it and it was, in essence, a new novel. It’s one of the best of the Docs, with all the ingredients: a far-flung locale, a weird mystery and much fighting.

Now I’m reading one of the new Shadow reprints. When I was a kid, I found the Shadow novels too slow, especially compared to the Doc Savages, but I’ve been enjoying a lot of the new reprints.

Anyway, this is all to pump me up for the long pulp story I’m writing for Ron Fortier. I’ve owed it too him for a while, so I’ve put the novel aside for a few days to work on this pulptacular yarn.

I also received another invitation to an anthology. I’ve got a pretty good idea for this one, so I’m going to go for it as soon as the pulp thing is done.

***

Callie update:

We adopted a new cat a week or so ago. We already have two cats. Here’s how it’s going:

Hiiiiiiiiiiiissssssss!

Welcome to the new soundtrack of my life.

Stephen King Sums It Up

When people ask why I'm leaning toward one particular candidate in the upcoming presidential election, I try to explain.

But leave it to Stephen King to say it more simply and clearly in an interview he conducted with himself on his new website:

Steve: So you do want to talk about politics?

SK: Really, I don’t. I’ve got an Obama sticker on my car, and I guess that says what needs saying. Call me a tiresome liberal if you want, but I just think it would be nice to have a smart guy running things for a change. We tried dumb and it hasn’t worked out too well.

A Plethora of Pulpishness

The mailman was good to me.

Twitter Litter

No, I don't Twitter. I tried it back in the spring and quickly realized that it was in direct opposition to my goal of spending less time on line, not more. Even my ego is not large enough to want people to know if there was corn in my latest poo. Deleted account. Thanks for asking.

Dastardly Dave's New Blog

David T. Wilbanks, the man who has started more message boards than anyone else on the World Wide Interwebs, has a new blog. Let him point you to something of interest to fans of horror fiction.

Dave also reports we're getting good feedback to our Dead Earth sequel from his hand-picked squadron of ninja readers.

Adopting Callie

Adopting another cat was the last thing we had planned. We got Lois and Clark when they were 16 weeks old in November of 1995. We have a pretty good thing going. and they don't care for other four-legged critters.

A lot of stray cats have staked out our house in the last 13 years, and while we've tried to care for them, we had never been inclined to bring one into the house.

Then this little cat came along. We'd spotted her in the neighborhood a few months ago, a quick moving orange-brown-black shadow, darting in and out of the bushes. A couple of weeks ago she showed up on our back deck, demanding affection. She loved to be petted. She loved to be held. She had obviously been someone's pet at one time. So we fed her and gave her some attention. Then every night we'd watch her curl up on the car or on a piece of deck furniture. Alone.

Norma and I both arrived at what now seems an inevitable decision. Last week we took her to the vet, had all the necessary stuff done, and now Callie lives here (yeah, not the most original name, but when she was living on the deck, "Calie" seemed better than "that cat out back").

She's spent most of her time in the den. The picture above was taken this morning on her excursion to the living room.

The one below was in the den this morning when Clark came in to find out why the door had been closed.
The meeting went like this:

Clark: Hiss.
Callie: Hiss.
Clark: (turns around and quickly exits the room).

I have a feeling that we have a lot of hissing in our future.

But I know we did the right thing.

Lois and Clark may not agree.

Pod of Horror #47: Leblanc, Everson and Youers

On Pod of Horror #47, we dish with Deborah LeBlanc about writing, cajun healing, literacy and the HWA. John Everson talks about his Stoker award-winning novel COVENANT. And newcomer Rio Youers introduces himself and his novel EVERDEAD. Plus Nanci noshes about the news, Norm Rubenstein brings on the reviews, and we give stuff away. Pod of Horror is produced and hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

Get Pod of Horror merchandise.

Visit our MySpace page

Be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

and Mark’s MySpace page

Reading

So when the hospital gift shop closed at an unreasonable hour, I trucked over to Empire Books and picked up some magazines. Got Doorways #6 with fiction from Clive Barker and the Little boys, Bentley and John R., the latest Rue Morgue and the Oct/Nov F&SF with a new Stephen King story.

New book arrivals this week:

The Minotauress by Edward Lee
Skull Cathedral by Tim Waggoner
Shattered by Jay Bonansinga

Meet Scarlet Justice

There hasn't been much writing the last few days. But I have spent a lot of time at the hospital waiting on my niece to arrive.

Ain't she a cutie?

Kudos to Cabell-Huntington Hospital in Huntington, WV, simply one of the best care facilities I've every been in (except the gift shop closes too damn early, just as I was in dire need of reading material).

Say Uncle

My niece was born in the wee hours of this morning. My brother and his wife and doing fine, if exhausted, and Baby Scarlet is perfect.

I think I'm going to enjoy this uncle gig.

When Civilization Ends...

...I'll be screwed. The water was off for about seven hours yesterday (due to a water line break about a half-mile from the house where, I swear, the water department has "fixed" four times in the last six weeks) and you'd think we were both in "the box" right out of some prison camp movie. I've never been so thirsty, even though we had plenty of refrigerated soft drinks and juices. I wanted water, dammit. Thankfully, just as I was crawling across the living room floor, a mirage of an oasis swimming before my eyes, the water came back on. Sweet, sweet water. Of course it looked like Lipton's Tea, but it was wet.

Add this experience to the (I'm not making this up) 8 times our electricity has gone off this year.

Bring on Mad Max/I Am Legend/The Stand. I'm ready. As long as there's air conditioning.

***
Dave likes the Dead Earth sequel. Now we're waiting on comments from our first readers.

Then we'll see what happens. Regardless, I feel good about it. We're ready to map out the next entry in the series.

When H. P. Lovecraft Wrote Copy For Whitman's Sampler

Chocolaty Cthulhu Goodness.

(Tip of the skullcap to Scott Bradley.)

So How Was Your Weekend?

Other than a small automobile woe early Saturday and a touch of upset stomach tonight, it’s been pretty good.

It was a rare weekend off for me, and I only had two goals (always set the bar low, says I): to send out the synopsis for the anthology (it’s a licensed character and it has to be approved in advance) and finish the edits on the Dead Earth sequel.

I managed to do both.

I also took a long walk this morning with my wife, chopped about 8000 tomatoes for her lasagna sauce, and watched some movies. Here’s a quick recap:

Shutter: Okay, a bit predictable. C
The Bucket List: Much better than I expected. B+
Definitely, Maybe: Exactly what I expected. B-
Dead and Gone: I think I’ll save this for a later post, along with my review of the novel.

***

I really missed Horrorfind this year, though the negative reviews make me glad I didn’t waste the money.

I’m thinking of checking out Context at the end of September. It’s pretty close (less than three hours) and has a lineup of guests that sounds interesting.

***

So far, Brides of the Impaler by Edward Lee is very good.

Steve King and Me--The Book of Lists: Horror

The Book of List: Horror goes on sale September 16th. It has lists from an eclectic lineup that includes Stephen King, Johnny Ramone, Ray Bradbury, Edward Lee, Eli Roth...and Mark Justice???

How the hell did he get in there?

Anyway, it's a huge collection of horror-related lists from writers, film makers, musicians and such.

My list involves my favorite horror stories from the bloody pulps.

You can pre-order this bad boy here.

Lee Rocks

I've been waiting to read Edward Lee's Brides of the Impaler since I first heard about it. I mean, the only thing that would make me want to read a vampire novel these days is if you told me Lee or Gary Braunbeck had written it.

Imagine my surprise when my copy of Brides came in the mail today, I flipped to the Acknowledgments page and found my name listed there.

A cool moment for a die hard Lee fan.

Old Brain, New Books

I think I’m reading slower than I used to.

I don’t mean move-my-lips, put-my-finger-on-each-word slow. It’s just that my reading speed seems to have decreased over the last few years. Twenty years ago I could read a book a day. Now, not so much.

Of course, twenty years ago I didn’t have a cell phone, email, DVR, a DVD player and The World Wide Computer Interweb. I wasn’t working as hard as I do now and I wasn’t trying to write for a couple of hours a day (though I wish I had).

Twenty years ago I could drop everything to devour the new King or Straub novel. Now, if I’m lucky, I get to read for 10 minutes in bed before I zonk out.

I have to do something about that. I’ve added a lot to my TBR pile this week alone.

At least the writing has been going well lately. In fact this may be the most productive week I’ve had in a while.

I still have to get some pages done tonight before bed. Tomorrow is a work day from hell, so little, if any, writing will get done.

This weekend I have to finish the edits on the Dead Earth sequel and produce a synopsis for an anthology invite.

New Book Arrivals at Casa de Justice:

The Academy by Bentley Little
Secret Histories (Young Repairman Jack) by F. Paul Wilson
Just Like Hell by Nate Southard.

Making It Count

Suicide wasn’t painless.

Scott Queen realized this when he surfaced from the foul-smelling river approximately eight hours after he jumped in. The sunlight hurt his eyes, but that was the only thing he felt. The hunger would come later.

When some tree-hugger protested that Scott’s chemical plant was harming the river with runoff, Scott scoffed, then quietly paid off the state and local officials to make sure nobody looked too closely at what was being dumped in the water. Things had gone well for a long time, until a stupid state senator was caught with a hooker, and confessed every bad thing he’d ever done, including taking money from Scott Queen.

Scott could have survived an EPA probe. The weak-ass agency would have handed out a fine, and that would have been the end of it.

But the IRS got involved. Their investigation uncovered most of Scott’s secrets, including large amounts of unclaimed income scattered across the globe. His lawyer told him that he had to surrender in the morning. The shyster also informed Scott to prepare himself for prison, perhaps a very long stretch.

He couldn’t survive incarceration. His life was over. So he drove to the bridge and made it official.

Or so he thought.

It turned out the tree-huggers were right. All those chemicals his plant poured into the river did have a bad effect.

Scott dog-paddled to the bank and trudged up to the road. Just before he reached the top of the hill he saw a homeless man, sleeping beneath a tattered army jacket.

When he was alive Scott would have crossed the street to avoid anyone who looked and smelled like this guy. But things had changed.

The need instantly turned Scott into a ravenous beast. He pounced on the homeless man, ripping open his throat. The man struggled weakly for just a moment. Scott grabbed a rock and bashed open the skull. He scooped out the spongy brain and gobbled it down. After that, his mind went away for a while.

When he awoke, Scott was still in the tall grass next to the highway. The corpse of the homeless man lay a few feet away like a discarded beer can.

It hurt to think. The hunger was coming back. Scott sensed that it would soon consume his thoughts. Whatever he had been would certainly be replaced by a shambling, starving monster.

That’s when he knew what he had to do, with whatever time he had left.

When the car stopped for him, he ate the driver. Later, he drove to the state capitol with the dead man in the back seat.

Over those last few miles it was hard to remember where he was going. Then he saw the sign: INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. The workday had just started, so Scott parked in the lot. He could wait. Soon it would be noon, and the busy workers would take a break from ruining lives.

Scott would be ready for lunch.

© 2008 Mark Justice

Weeds

I love Weeds, my current favorite show. The writing is crisp and funny, and they pack a lot into 30 minutes.

Mary-Louise Parker is nominated for an Emmy again this year, and holy crap, does she deserve it. Especially after the scene this week where she talks to Shane about masturbating to her pictures and to Silas about banging the older neighbor woman (played by the talented Julie Bowen).

And all this raving is not because last week’s show gave us the most Mary-Louise nudity we’ve ever had.*

So, come Emmy time, I’ll cast my vote for M-LP.

You know, if, uh, I could vote.

*Disclaimer added in case my wife reads this.

Steve Earle and Early Autumn

When I interview writers for Pod of Horror, I usually ask about their writing routines. Many writers have to write to music. Some need total silence. I don’t prefer either way. It just depends on my mood. However, the last few days I’ve written up a storm to Outlaw Country on Sirius Satellite Radio. It must be something about the combination of rockabilly and the Loon in the Afternoon, Mojo Nixon, that gets these fingers dancing on the keys. But, hey, as long as it works...

***

We’re having Fall weather in August. This morning it was 52 degrees as I drove to work. I know it will all too soon become hotter than the hinges of Hell. Until then, I’ll be loving this Autumn preview. And thinking of pumpkin pie and candy corn and Jamie Lee Curtis running from Michael Myers and Linus in the pumpkin patch and Ray Bradbury.

Why Mondays Suck

1) Very little sleep, which leaves me feeling like my head is full of angry bees.

2) The Internet was down at work. A twice-a-week occurrence.

3) Car troubles.

4) An hour on the phone with our evil insurance company (all traced back to the fact that our insurance company is staffed by inbred monkeys with substance abuse problems).

In the plus column, I got a free book in the mail, my beautiful wife made a fantastic dinner, I got to spend time with my cool cats and I made progress on the novel.

Okay. I win.

New Review

Legends of the Mountain State 2: More Ghostly Tales from the State of West Virginia is reviewed at Dark Scribes. This new volume includes my story -- well, let reviewer Vince Liaguno give you the title:

"Its lengthy, schmaltzy title aside, Mark Justice’s “Dancing in Time to the Beating Heart of the World” is a surprisingly poignant story in which a heartbroken pharmacist’s faith is restored with the help of a haunted hospital’s ghost nurse and a curmudgeonly janitor. Justice imbues a genuine sense of emotion into this simple, classic-style ghost story that ably sets the tone of the anthology."

The rest of the review can be read here. I'm happy to be in the volume with a bunch of great writers (who use shorter, non-schmaltzy titles). I can't wait to read it in when it arrives in a few weeks.

The State of the Mark

Sorry I haven’t been around much. First, there was vacation, followed by a foot injury that kept me away from the computer. Now that I’m on the mend, regular postings should resume.

***

Norma usually packs a healthy lunch for me. But occasionally I have the urge to eat junk. That happened Friday. I’d been craving a Burger King Whopper for a couple of days. At lunch, I walked to the local BK and placed my order.

“We can’t make no Whopper,” the woman told me. “Our broiler is down.”

“So what can I get?” I asked.

“Fish or chicken.”

I ordered a chicken sandwich, then noticed that a very fat man was waving excitedly at the other end of the counter where orders are picked up.

“Well, can’t I get a double Angus burger?” he said. “I’ll take a double anything!!!!”

I don’t know when or how, but one day I’m going to write a story titled “I’ll Take a Double Anything”.

***

Since last we talked, Bridges Magazine, a local publication, has purchased another humor column from me. It’s in their Summer/Fall ‘08 issue. This is my fourth appearance in Bridges. You can subscribe or buy single issues here.

***

On the writing front, I finished and submitted a short story today. This one should make readers of one of my earlier books happy. I’ll let you know if it sells. If not, I have a feeling the story will make its debut on Pod of Horror.

Now I just have to write two other stories and a novelette I’ve promised, finish the edits on the sequel to Dead Earth: The Green Dawn before Dave Wilbanks drives from Minnesota to Kentucky to do me bodily harm, then complete novel #1 and start novel #2.

I need another pot of coffee.

***

I’m going to miss Horrorfind for the first time in years.

A number of factors played a part in this, including work and the impending birth of my niece, which could happen at any second.

I’ll miss hanging out with the friends I’ve made at Horrorfind, the best part of the convention, in my opinion.

If you’re going, please chide Nanci Kalanta about her potty mouth. Her profanity is a menace to all right-thinking people everywhere.

The Tragic Tale of Too Much Testosterone

(originally published in Bridges magazine, Summer 2007)

When the editor of this fine publication asked me to contribute something to this issue I asked, “Is there a theme?”

“This is sort of our ‘manly-man’ issue,” she said.

Ah! It was obvious why she had approached me, the guy known in some circles as Manly Mark, Fearless Lighter of Charcoal Grills and Killer of Spiders in the Bathroom. The Master of Masculinity and the Titan of Testosterone are two more monikers I have given myself – er, others have given me over the years.

Well, this was an interesting challenge. At first I thought I should use the opportunity to recount my many manly exploits, like the time I rescued the Swedish Bikini Team after their plane went down in the Himalayas (and my lips were chapped for a week after all that mouth-to mouth) or when the CIA sent Sandra Bullock and me to Iraq, playing newlyweds, to assassinate Saddam Hussein, only to fail when Sandy – as she liked me to call her – wouldn’t let me leave our honeymoon suite at the Baghdad Hilton.

But then I realized all manly men had similar exploits (which, by the way we share with each other over monthly dinners of boar and white buffalo at the He-Man Adventurer’s Club).

So I decided to use this space to perform a public service for the new members of the manly-man community. I am going to reveal, for the very first time anywhere, how to keep your manliness hidden.

I know what you’re thinking: Mark, if you’re gifted with an overabundance of testosterone, why would you wish to hide it?

Simple. Pure unadulterated manliness drives women crazy and causes less manly men to be jealous, making it difficult to lead a normal life. Hey, why do you think Superman dresses up in a business suit and glasses?

Because – as only the manliest of us know – merely walking down the street can cause even the most proper of ladies to disrobe and the unmanly men to slink away in fear.

Therefore I will now describe, for the very first time outside of the circle of manliness, the secret of camouflaging your turbo-powered testosterone. These are time-tested, rock-solid methods employed by me, so you know they work.

1) Sit on the same side of the restaurant booth as your date. This is guaranteed manliness camouflage. Note: it doesn’t count if someone else is on the other side of the table. You and your date must be the only people at the table. Manly-men never sit on the same side of the table as their dates, as it interferes with manly-man seductive eye contact.

2) Watch musicals. A lively musical is toxic to testosterone. No one will ever suspect you’re a manly man if you’re tapping your foot while singing along with the happy songs.

“I like to be in America!
Okay by me in America!
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America…”

3) Mention to friends or co-workers that you enjoy any of the following television shows: Gilmore Girls, Oprah, Dancing with the Stars, Dr. Phil, Grey’s Anatomy or any program on Bravo or Oxygen. Get bonus points if you’ve seen a Hugh Grant movie.

4) Go shopping. If you manly-men think you already do this, please be aware that buying tools or car parts doesn’t count. You must shop for clothing and groceries. Nothing says “I’m not manly” like a friend seeing you carrying a carton of yogurt and a package of tampons. Be sure to roll your eyes and say, “My wife is making me do her shopping.” Your buddy will offer an understanding comment, but as he walks away he will think, “Nope. Not a manly strand of DNA in that guy.”

And finally, the crème de le crème, the ultimate subterfuge, the perfect disguise for manly-men:

5) Collect comic books. If you’re worried your neighbor suspects that you possess an overabundance of virile genes, try this: the next time the neighbor says hi to you as you stand on your deck grilling fresh salmon and sipping a Zima, wave and proclaim, “So who do you think would win in a fight – Wonder Woman or The Hulk?”

There you have it. Never worry again that others will see through your disguise.

Please keep this confidential, brother manly-men. I have to go now. My wife says if I don’t pick up my comic books I can’t watch Pretty Woman tonight.

Pod of Horror # 46: The 3 Steves

Pod of Horror #46 is the Three Steves Special Edition. Authors Steve Vernon, Steven Shrewsbury and Steve Alten speak with us. Nanci talks news and booze on The Call of Kalanta. Norm Rubenstein is back with more book reviews. And we finally have a winner in The Tomb of Trivia. Pod of Horror is produced and hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop

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If I Lived Closer to North Carolina...

...I'd go to this, 'cuz I like Scott Nicholson.

THE TALISMAN Demo

For years, various filmmakers/producers have tried to film The Talisman, based on the novel by Stephen King and Peter Straub. So far the book has defied adaptation. Now a fan of the novel has produced his own demo scene from The Talisman. The odds are hugely against this guy getting a shot at actually making the film (or mini-series) but it's always good to see what one person with a true passion for a project can accomplish.

Far From Shore

Yesterday we spent several hours on a very large boat on a medium-sized lake.

The weather was storybook perfect, the food was mouth watering, and the sheer notion that we were separated from the rest of the world lent the afternoon a magical quality, as though we had somehow passed through a portal to a past where life’s pace was slower and, most importantly, cell phones didn’t exist.

The best part of the day was the companionship of friends, one of whom we hadn’t had a chance to spend time with in years. I laughed so hard my stomach feels like I did 500 sit-ups. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like I did 500 sit-ups. But, as Peter David says, I digress.

It was nice to live in the moment, even for just a few hours. That’s something I need to do more often.

Along with sit-ups.

Men, Do You Feel Fresh As A Summer's Eve Down There?

Then you may need this.

Tip the Blogger

Entries here are sparse, even when I'm not on vacation.

Perhaps I'd be more motivated if I demanded payment for blogging, like Tony Isabella.

On the other hand, I'd hate to financially inconvenience the two readers of this space. Besides, Mom needs that Social Security money for groceries.

Happy Anniversary, Babeeee!

Norma and I were married 26 years ago. And they said it wouldn't last.

No, really, several pinheads I hung out with at the time said, "Man, it'll never last."

It's been a low-key day. We went out for breakfast, did some shopping, then came home to hang out with the cats and watch a movie.



I'm on vacation, and so far I've slept and tried to catch up on the movies I've missed. At the moment Gone Baby Gone leads the pack (so much so that after renting it, I bought a copy), with Juno a close second and No Country For Old Men solidly in third place (and for those who are bound to ask, Walk Hard and 10,000 B.C. round out the top 5).



I also picked up Robert B. Parker's new western, Resolution. It's a quick, satisfying read. Think Spenser in the old west, with no shrinks.

I've also got the new Robert Crais and new James Lee Burke on order. When you can read new releases from three of your favorite writers, that's a good vacation.

Tomorrow, back to the writing.

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner, Benny Lava!

Pod of Horror #45: Laymon, Swierczynski, D'Auria

Is the horror bubble about to collapse? Find out on PoH #45 from the man in the know, Lesiure’s Don D’Auria (hint: we won’t be changing our name to Pod of Horticulture). Also, Richard Laymon’s early novel, THE WOODS ARE DARK, has been restored by his daughter Kelly, and she tells us about it. We talk to crime writer Duane Swierczynski about SEVERANCE PACKAGE and Marvel Comics. Nanci has the news in The Call of Kalanta. The Tomb of Trivia is loaded with free books. And we introduce the new PoH book reviewer. Pod of Horror is hosted and produced by Mark Justice.

Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

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The Ears Have It

You want to know which post on this blog gets the most hits? My witty radio anecdotes? Writing updates? Photos of my beautiful hairless scalp?

Nope. It's this one.

It's An Honor To Just be Nominated. Really.

Dead Earth: The Green Dawn has been nominated for a British Fantasy Society Award in the novella category. Here are all the novella nominees:

• Deadbeat: The Dogs of Waugh, Guy Adams, Humdrumming
• Starship Summer, Eric Brown, PS Publishing
• The Mermaids, Robert Edric, PS Publishing
• The Lees of Laughter’s End, Steven Erickson, PS Publishing
• The City Beyond Play, Philip Jose Farmer and Danny Adams, PS Publishing
• The Helper and his Hero, Matthew Hughes, F&SF, Feb-March 2007
• The Crystal Cosmos, Rhys Hughes, PS Publishing
• Dead Earth: The Green Dawn, Mark Justice and David T Wilbanks, PS Publishing
• The Lazarus Condition, Paul Kane, The Lazarus Condition, Tasmaniac Publications
• Dalton Quayle Rides Out, Paul Kane, Dalton Quayle Rides Out, Pendragon Press
• After The War (Double Novella), Tim Lebbon, Subterranean Press
• The Master Miller’s Tale, Ian MacLeod, F&SF, May 2007
• Under My Roof, Nick Mamatas, Soft Skull Press
• Time Hunter 11: Child Of Time, George Mann and David J Howe, Telos Publishing
• All Your Gods Are Dead, Gary McMahon, Humdrumming
• Hereafter and After, Richard Parks, PS Publishing
• The Palace, Barbara Roden, At Ease with the Dead, Ash-Tress Press
• Strawberry Man, Eric Shapiro, Insidious Publications
• Stars Seen Through Stone, Lucius Shepard, F&SF, July 2007 & Dagger Key & Other Stories
• Dead Money, Lucius Shepard, Asimov’s, April 2007 & Dagger Key & Other Stories
• Black Tide, Del Stone Jr, Telos Publishing
• Rain, Conrad Williams, Gray Friar Press
• The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams, PS Publishing
• Twelve Collections and the Teashop, Zoran Zivkovic, PS Publishing

The awards will be handed out in September at Fantasycon in Nottingham.

Here's a link to all the nominees in every category.

UPDATE:
New Writings in the Fantastic, the anthology I didn't know I was in (see post below), has been nominated in the Anthology category.

The Forgotten Story

In 2003 I wrote a quiet horror story called “Martin’s Walk” about an old man who loses his wife, then tries to hold on to part of her by continuing the long hikes they used to take in the woods behind their home.

It was rejected a few times for being too sentimental or for an ending that was hopeful. I couldn’t argue with either of those assessments. Despite my best efforts, a certain percentage of my horror output seems to offer up the possibility that there may be something in life worth celebrating or that the universe occasionally doesn’t loathe us.. That’s probably a big reason I haven’t been more successful.

Finally in late 2004/early 2005, the story sold to a magazine called Strange Pleasures. After a year or so it had not appeared in print, and I contacted the editor, who told me – well, honestly, I can’t remember what he told me. The publisher was having money problems or the magazine was switching publishers. But he assured me the story would appear.

I moved on, and ultimately forgot about “Martin’s Walk”.

Until a few days ago.

I received in the mail a book called New Writings in the Fantastic, edited by John Grant. I assumed this was a book someone wanted me to review for Pod of Horror. But, folded up inside, was a letter from the editor who had accepted “Martin’s Walk” for Strange Pleasures, the real guy behind the John Grant pseudonym (or, as an old friend on mine calls it, “pseudo-name”, which I kind of like).

The letter apologized for the delay in getting the book from The United Kingdom to Kentucky. Apparently it was published in 2007. Sure enough, “Martin’s Walk” was included in the book. How it went from a magazine to anthology I can’t really say. I’m also not very happy with the lack of communication regarding the story’s eventual publication. But I read “Martin’s Walk” again and I liked it.

It has its rough patches. I would loved to have had the opportunity to polish it up and cut about 700 words from it. Still, it came from the heart, and the characters still feel as alive to me as they did when I wrote it. It remains one of my wife’s favorites among my stories.

If I ever have another collection of my short fiction I’ll probably give the story a wash and wax before including it. For now, I’m fairly happy with it, even if I didn’t know it had been published.

Bill and Me, Part Two

Seeing Hillary suspend her campaign today and eloquently endorse Obama reminded me that I never got around to telling you about talking to Bill Clinton.

Clinton’s people set up a telephone interview for the day of the Kentucky Primary, less than a week after I almost-but-not-really met the former president.

The staffer told me I had five minutes on the air with Bill, and she would call my cell to let me know when time was up. But as soon as Clinton began to speak the schedule went out the window.

Clinton was charming, funny, persuasive. Everything you would expect. And did I mention long-winded?

His answer to my first question took six minutes. Right after the second question, my cell phone rang. Time was up.

Before he paused long enough for me to cut in another six minutes passed.

When he took a breath, I said, “Mr. President, I know your time with us is over. I want to thank you for coming on the show.”

“Wait!” he said. “I haven’t told you why Hillary is the candidate for Kentucky.”

And he told me for four more minutes. My five minute interview went almost fifteen.

It was probably the biggest “get” of my career, and I would have been excited had it been Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush or the current occupant of the White House.

Which brings me back to this afternoon, and Hillary’s speech. While watching it I was struck with a feeling – and I think I can be objective enough to say that this feeling was non-partisan and non-political, for that matter.

Here was a woman who had garnered roughly half the votes and delegates in her party, and she was endorsing a black man who stands a very good chance of being elected to the highest office in the land.

That feeling I had was pride in our people and our country.

Yeah, it will pass and I will soon be back to my good ol’ cynical self.

But for now it’s nice.

Spirituality

Ran across a quote today that I liked:

"Religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there."

Sounds about right.

Secret Agent X Returns

Pulpmaster General Ron Fortier’s Airship 27 Productions has reprinted the first volume of Secret Agent X, which includes a long story from me. Folks, this is pure pulp fun at it’s finest. Good guys, bad guys and non-stop action. Here’s the official press release. There’s a link for ordering at the end.

Airship 27 Productions and Cornerstone Book Publishers are happy to announce the reprinting of SECRET AGENT X – Volume One. The greatest pulp spy of them all, the Man of a Thousand Faces, is featured in this thrilling collection by four modern day masters of action adventure writing. “We’re very excited about having the book available again,” said Airship 27 Prod. Editor, Ron Fortier, who was responsible for creating this series of all “new” pulp stories featuring classic heroes from the 1930s.

This new, re-edited edition contains three of the original tales; The Skeleton Men of Calcuatta by Kevin Noel Olson, Cult of the Walking Dead by Mark Justice and The Cold Touch of Death by Brian Meredith.

This new edition also features a brand new Agent X thriller, The Icarus Terror by Andrew Salmon. “Our plan for these reprint editions was to enhance them with new features,” Fortier explained. Artist Rob Davis’ cover has also been beautifully modified with digital colors by Shane Evans.

A popular pulp hero, Secret Agent X, remains one of the most remembered features from the golden age of the pulps. A reprint edition of Volume Two is in the works and later this year Airship 27 Prod. will begin production on an all new Volume Three.

SECRET AGENT X: VOLUME ONE

Edited by Ron Fortier

“Secret Agent “X” and the Skeleton-Men of Calcutta” by Kevin Noel Olson

“Secret Agent “X” and The Cult of the Walking Dead” by Mark Justice

“Secret Agent “X” and The Cold Touch of Death” by Brian Meredith

“Secret Agent “X” and The Icarus Terror” by Andrew Salmon

Cover and original artwork by Rob Davis

Cover computer colors by Shane Evans

Production and design by Anthony Schiavino, update by Rob Davis

ISBN: 1-934935-16-6

Produced by Airship 27

Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers

Release date: 6/05/2008

Retail Price: $24.95

Available the Airship 27 On-Line store.

Rachael Ray, Talk Dirty To Me

Hand me the Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Top 10 Funniest Moments in Fox News History

Nothing fair and balanced here.

Bill and Me, Part One

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a friend of mine who has deep ties to the Kentucky Democratic party.

“Do you want to meet Bill Clinton?” she said.

“When?”

“Now. At Hillary’s campaign headquarters.”

Two days earlier Chelsea Clinton came to town to open a campaign HQ for her mother in a, ah, less than ritzy part of town.

As part of my job I have to be reasonably well informed about events in and around this area, so I expressed surprise that Bill would be able – or even want – to slip into town unheralded.

“It’s very low-key,” my friend said.

“So where did you hear about it?”

She named her source, a well-known political wife in Kentucky who also happens to be a former Miss America.

Since Hillary’s HQ was about six minutes away I told her I’d be there. After all, it was a chance, albeit slim, to meet a former president.

(Digression: my point in telling you this story is not to influence your vote, but to simply entertain. I would be happy for the chance to meet any president, past or present. And so would you. So shut up.

Having said that, before you vote in November look around at the state of the nation. If you’re happy with the way things are going, you know who to vote for.

By the way, if you honestly think things are going well you probably need a check-up from the neck up...in my opinion, of course.)

My coworker Jim was in the office, so I asked him if he wanted to go meet Bill Clinton. He did, and we headed for the big event.

As we pulled onto the parking lot of the Hillary Headquarters – strategically located next to a Dollar General store for your shopping convenience – Jim noted the lack of any security or police presence.

There were maybe a dozen people standing in front of the building, including my friend and three really, really old guys.

As soon as we got out of the car we were approached by a young man in a suit who acted like he had just power-chugged a dozen Red Bulls.

He shook my hand and said, “If the media talks to you, stick to the talking points.”

Wow, I thought, the media might be talking to me. Excited beyond words, I decided not to tell him that Jim and I were the media.

“Okay, I said.

“Do you have the talking points?” he said.

“Nope.”

He sighed. “Hang on.”

He ducked into headquarters, returning in a minute with a couple of Hillary For President posters and some stapled papers. He passed the campaign materials to us, then disappeared in a blur, like The Flash.

So we stood there for a few minutes, Hillary posters at our sides, while we waited for Bill. Eventually I glanced at the talking points and discovered that today’s event was the kickoff to a statewide salute to veterans.

About that time Speedy returned.

“We’re gonna take a picture,” he said, “so I need you and the other veterans to come over here and wave your Hillary signs.”

Other veterans?

Jim and I looked at each other, then at the three really, really old men who were looking back at us.

I have nothing but the highest respect for our nation's veterans. I didn't want to impersonate one.

“Excuse me,” I said. “Is Bill coming?”

“Bill?” Speedy scrunched up his face in a way that made it clear that I was interfering with his carefully prepared plans. “Bill’s not going to be here. Where did you hear that?”

“Oh, it was just a rumor.” I turned to Jim. “Bill’s not coming.”

Jim pondered this nugget of information for maybe 1/50th of a second. “I’m ready to go. You ready?”

“I’m ready.”

We beat feet to the car. As I climbed in, Speedy shot me a nasty glance. Understandable, since two-fifths of his complement of veterans just walked away.

As we pulled out of the lot, I waved my Hillary sign in solidarity.

That poster is now hanging in my mother’s window.

Next time: How I finally talked to Bill.

Bone Songs Downsized

Because of the tough economy, Delirium Books is dramatically downsizing their publishing schedule. One of the casualties of the cuts is the trade paperback edition of my collection Bone Songs. Delirium will still publish the limited edition hardcover of the book, which has been pushed back to April 2009.

I’m free to shop the trade paperback to other publishers, but I imagine it will be a tough sell because 1) I’m not a big name and 2) collections generally, I’m told, don’t sell as well as novels.

However, if I do find a publisher for the Bone Songs paperback it will be a different book than the hardcover.

I plan to use the two stories that made up the sold-out Deadneck Hootenanny to bookend the collection. I’ll also add a few other pieces that weren’t written when Bone Songs sold to Delirium.

I’ll let you know when and if anything develops. Now back to the novel in progress.

Pod of Horror #44: Piccirilli, Braunbeck...and Clinton???

Pod of Horror #44 brings you two titans of terror! Tom Piccirilli takes us down the dark, mean streets of Noir as he discusses THE COLD SPOT and crime fiction. Gary A. Bruanbeck talks about COFFIN COUNTY and the future of Cedar Hill. Nanci puts on her best PJs for The Call of Kalanta, and the pile of prizes grows larger in The Tomb of Trivia (plus a special guest appearance by Bill Clinton. No, really). Pod of Horror is hosted and produced by Mark Justice.



Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop .

Get Pod of Horror merchandise .

Visit our MySpace page.

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and Mark's MySpace page.

PoH Stuff

There's a new Pod of Horror coming this weekend with a solid lineup. Meanwhile, here's a nice plug for the show. Thanks to the mysterious Mr. Allard.

Bonus points for anyone who knows where the name "Kent Allard' originated.

There's No Reason To Post This

But I'm doing it anyway.

That's right, it's the opening credits for BJ and the Bear.

Flash Fiction

You Can't Always Get What You Want
By Mark Justice

Pinwheels of light in his eyes. Snakes crawling through his head.

So it had been when he was killed, so it remained as he stumbled, shucked and hopped across America, a rotting, flaking marionette whose strings were controlled by vengeance and an indifferent universe.

Indifferent, though not without a wicked sense of humor. Resurrection, with an eternal chaser of the meth he had swallowed in the car before the show and the gun.

The gun...did that come before the jangling electric caress hit his nerves?

Didn’t matter. For nearly twenty years only one thing did.

When the good, clear thoughts hit, he remembered a leather vest and eyes deader than his own, while words pounded into his skull: asiamesecatsquirmingdogthesweetestpet

He had tried to kill the dancing devil, the slithering beast, that much he knew, then came the sharp thing over and over and the bludgeoning and he was done. They dumped him in the ground, where he stayed until that beat slammed into his brain again, and he woke up still cranked, digging out of the grave and dancing across the desert, the words scorching his torpid thoughts:

asiamesecatsquirmingdogthesweetestpet

Searching for the leather vest and dead eyes.

Legends sprang up around him. He felt the whispers and knew the names they called him: The Dust Man, Easu, Lonely Boy. They felt him in their dreams as he passed. The dark light of his craving casted shadows on their souls. Some had seen the leather vest, and those memories guided him from one side of the country and back again. He walked between thoughts, his feet never touching earth, until it ended back where it had began.

The leather vest was gone, the dead eyes replaced by first recognition, then fear. Words sputtered forth in a cacophony of desperation. They might have said I’m sorry or don’t hurt me or under my thumb. It didn’t matter. Nothing did.

Soon enough it was done. As his murderer floated away, he fell to his knees, waiting for the rhythmic babel to finally end, to free him. To end him. But as the moonlight spiraled comet trails of colors, the words

asiamesecatsquirmingdogthesweetestpet

grew louder, and he could not scream.

A tall thing detached itself from the surrounding darkness. A hidden observer.

It was Him. The Beast.

A hand was extended, and a crimson tongue caressed ruby lips.

“Please to meet you,” the Beast said to him. “Hope you guess my name.”

And he knew, The Dust Man knew, he wasn’t finished yet.


© 2008 Mark Justice

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Iron Avenger

Like the rest of America, I saw Iron Man this weekend, and I came away with increased respect for Marvel.

In case you didn’t know, Marvel has taken over the production/financing of their own films. They partner with a distributer (Paramount, in this case) but Marvel is calling all the shots. And to my total and complete surprise, they have a success on every level. Directing, acting, script, effects...it all works. Robert Downey, Junior as Tony Stark was one of those didn’t-see-it-coming bit of casting, yet, in retrospect, he was the perfect choice.

In a cool bit of inspired film crafting, they even included the now-obligatory after-the-credits scene that, in Iron Man’s case, was a nod and a wink to comic book fans everywhere.

It makes me hopeful for The Incredible Hulk in a few weeks.

***

News on The Avenger Chronicles: since my last posting about it, I have now completed a second story, this one a collaboration. And I was just told by Moonstone that both stories will be in the trade paperback and limited edition hardcover. Yay me.

The Bighead

A project I spent a fair amount of time on has finally been released. It’s the audio version of Edward Lee’s hillbilly horror novel, The Bighead. Delirium Books commissioned me to narrate it, and to say I’ve had a blast would be the understatement of the century.

If you’re a horror fan, then you know Lee’s work. If you have never read Lee, then let me offer this caveat: The Bighead, like a lot of Lee’s work, is graphic. No, let’s make that Graphic. There are tons of gore and sex and cussin’ and violence and weird sex and scatological bodily function oddness. Hey, you remember what those good ol’ boys did to Ned Beatty in the film version of Deliverance? There are things in The Bighead that are at least a thousand time worse than that. Off the top of my head, there are three or four scenes that will make you either laugh like a donkey or puke. Or do both at the same time (and that ain’t easy; believe me, I know). Just something to keep in mind.

If you decide to order it, I think the recording turned out pretty well, and so do some other people whose opinion I respect. I had a great time bringing to life Lee’s hilarious dialogue, especially the scenes with Dicky and Balls. If you’d like to snag it, here’s a link.

Pod of Horror #43: Knight, Lamberson, Bell

Like a stinky corpse that won’t stay down, Pod of Horror has crawled from the grave once again. Where did we go? Download the show to discover the horrible truth behind our heinous hiatus! PoH #43 also features interviews with Brian Knight, Greg Lamberson and David Jack Bell, along with the latest news from Nanci in The Call of Kalanta and free stuff in The Tomb of Trivia. Pod of Horror is hosted and produced by Mark Justice.

Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

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And be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

and Mark’s MySpace page.

Recent Sales

The creepy pic is the cover of The Horror Library Volume 3, due out later this year. I'm in there, and the other writers are very impressive:

"The Station" by Bentley Little
"Guarded" by Michael A. Arnzen
"The Apocalypse Ain't So Bad" by Jeff Strand
"Under the Bridge Downtown" by Gary A. Braunbeck & Matthew Warner
"After" by Kealan Patrick Burke
"Masks and Shadows" by Cullen Bunn
"Consumed" by Michael Louis Cavillo
"Ashes of the Dead" by Kurt Dinan
"Clover" by Gina Ranalli
"Being Supreme" by Mark Justice
"The Steel Church" by Charles Colyott
"Them" by Sunil Sadanand
"The River Child" by R. Michael Burns
"Obsidian Sea" by Kurt Kirchmeier
"The Rhythm Method" by Mikal Trimm
"When The Skies Toss Down Rains Heavy" by Eric Grizzle
"The Orange Mammoth" by Matt Bain
"Short Stacked" by Rodney J. Smith
"The Review" by Richard Moore
"Extra Innings" by John Peters
"The Birdie" Stephen Couch
"Toll" by Blu Gilliand
"Blink The Blood Away" by R.M. Ridley
"Teeth" by Alison Campbell-Wise


I'm also in Moonstone's The Avenger Chronicles, an anthology of stories about Street & Smith's other pulp hero after Doc Savage and The Shadow. There will be a trade paperback and a limited edition hardcover. Here's the thing: the publisher tells me that my story will appear in one edition or the other. I'll let you know when I hear it.

Horror Tournament

Over at the message board, my pal Matt Cowan has put together a March madness-style competition between horror novels. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Head over there now to vote for King or Koontz or Laymon or Braunbeck, along with a bunch of others.

Bone Songs

For those who are wondering, Bone Songs, my short story collection, is now scheduled for publication in December, according to Delirium Books. It will be released as a limited edition hardcover and trade paperback.

I'll let you know when it's available for order.

Mailbag

In response to this post from last fall, Tommy inquires about In Laymon's Terms:

Mark,
I preordered this book 3 years ago, and am dying to get my hands on it.Just wondering when you signed the signature sheet. Who are some of the other contributers?

Thanks, Tommy

Tommy,

I scribbled my five-year-old-jacked-up-on-Mountain-Dew signature back in September. Hopefully, we'll see the book sometime this year, but I really don't know. I've heard that part of the delay is that there are a massive number of contributors, both fiction and non-fiction. I haven't seen an official line-up, though I believe Brian Keene and Tom Piccirilli are in it.

Stories, Podcasts and Easter Eggs

Here we are again.

The short story I mentioned last week was accepted. I’ve gone through two rounds of edits already, so I think that’s it. I’m holding off revealing where it will appear until the publisher lets me know which version of the book it will be in. Yep, there’s two versions of this anthology; a hardcover and a trade paperback. The publisher told me my story would be in one or the other. Or maybe both. When I know, I’ll pass it along.

Now that things are slowing down at work, I’m making plans to get Pod of Horror back on track. I’ve also just agreed to a deal to do another podcast. I’ll let the other party make the announcement, but if all goes well it should debut in May.

I went with Norma to our city’s Easter egg hunt this morning. It was generally a fun experience and, at her request, I’ll refrain from highlighting the one negative portion of the event. Let me just say this (and those of you who attend Little League games may agree with me): some parents deserved to be tasered. Okay, let’s move along.

Lost wrapped up the first half of the season with another complex, moving episode. I can’t wait to see what happens when the show resumes in late April. Tonight we watched the first episode of HBO’s excellent John Adams. Paul Giamatti is a great actor. His Adams is the most human depiction yet of one of our founding fathers. Geez, the balls those men had...

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

Does Not Compute

I haven’t been around much lately. I’ve been immersed in radio.

See, our main computer blew up at the station. It was kind of like the way those computers would self destruct in the old Star Trek series, where Kirk would ask them questions that would get the machines so angry and knotted up in logic cramps that they would explode (which always begged the question of why you would load a computer with explosives, but some things are better left unexplained. Don’t get me started on why the chairs on the Enterprise didn’t have seat belts).

Anyway, much time was spent on getting a new system built, having it installed and trying to make my old, tired and, frankly, undersized brain to understand it.

Still working on that last part.

So the last couple of weeks have involved 99 % work and 1% sleep. Hopefully that ratio is slowly swinging back to my normal 80/20 work/sleep ratio.

Hey, I did manage to write a short story this week. I received an invite to an anthology revolving around a character I dearly love. I finished it a few minutes ago and sent it off. I’ll let you know what the deal is when I hear if I made the cut. Meanwhile, I’m celebrating with a Rising Moon Spring Ale from the makers of my current favorite beer, Blue Moon Pale Ale.

The new issue of Horror Fiction Review praises Dead Earth: The Green Dawn, stating in part: “While Dead Earth isn’t the most original idea for a story, Justice and Wilbanks have a knack for doing this the right way. Sure, it’s end-of-the-world-zombie time again, but it’s done very well, and protagonist Jubal Slate is one of those characters you care for and can’t wait to see how he reacts to situations.”

That’s good, right?

(Full disclosure: Nick Cato, publisher of HFR, also published Deadneck Hootenanny. That doesn't mean he automatically likes my writing. Ask him some time about the prolonged negotiations that went on about the language in DH, especially about whether a male organ was more offensive if you called it a "dick" or a "pecker".)

I’m also catching up on TV and movies. Two brief notes: LOST is having it’s best season since the first. And Justice league: The New Frontier is an excellent adaptation of the graphic novel, and an obvious labor of love for all involved.

A Good Writing Weekend

Things have been crazy lately, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

From a writing standpoint, this has been a pretty good weekend. First, I sold a story to an anthology I really wanted to get into. I’ve been asked not to reveal any of the details until the publisher’s official announcement near the end of the month.

Later, I found out that another anthology I’m in is coming back into print. Again, this is an announcement the publisher needs to make. You can be sure I’ll yap about it when it’s time.

Finally, I finished a novelette I’ve been working on for a while. The story threatened to get out of control, but I managed to get it within the word count I was shooting for. This is going to a publisher who had asked for something for me a while back. Wish me luck.

Now it’s back to one of the novels I have underway. After a verbal ass-kicking from a major horror author, I’ve committed to finishing two novels by October. I don’t think I’ll post a word count this time around. It certainly doesn’t motivate me, and I don’t get the feeling that anyone else cares about it (oddly enough, I love to check the blogs of other writers when they’re provided a word count of their work in progress).

And for those who have asked about a sequel to Dead Earth: The Green Dawn, it’s finished and is being revised now. It’s not one of the novels I referred to above.

Now for anyone who wondered what happened to February’s episode of Pod of Horror, here’s the short answer: the studio blew up. I have technical issues out the wazoo. PoH may not be back in March, but will probably return in April. Meanwhile, find another podcast to hold you over. There are a lot of good ones out there. In fact, any podcaster who want a plug, drop me a note and I'll pimp you in a future column.

Coincidentally, I just previewed a podcast from a well-known horror author, one who is legendary for the entertainment value in his live readings. The podcast version of this guy is just as incredible. As soon as it’s available, I’ll let you know.