Hounding from the Depths of Perdition

Fingers cross, Shaun.

I'm working on a query and synopsis to send to a new place and editor referred me to. Azoth Khem.

If he trusts them, then I trust them.

Their website needs work. Lots of typos. I'm also off-put by the cost of their books. $8.99 and $9.99 for novella's? Meh... Still, let us know how it goes.

I shall. It's a newer venture, I believe.

Here's something I've kinda been waiting for. I have a paranormal detective I've used in a bunch of stories but never found a home for him. Looks like I found someplace to send a story about him.

Well, still no actual answer on my submission, but the magazine I submitted to is now following me on Twitter, so maybe a good sign?

Shaun, that is a good omen. Good luck!

I haven't gotten much done in recent days. My brain is full of f*** right now. But it'll pass.

Just hoping, hoping, hoping. Not only would this be my first actual short story sale, it would put me alongside Jack Ketchum!

That would be awesome.

2017: The Year of the Hounds.

* sigh * form rejection...

Damn. I'm sorry, Shaun. I really am.

Meh. Just...meh. Some kind of validation would be nice at some point...

Maybe I'm really just not that good. :-/

ShaunHorton said:

Meh. Just...meh. Some kind of validation would be nice at some point...

Maybe I'm really just not that good. :-/

Click to expand...

*locks thread*

*slaps Shaun*

*unlocks thread*

Stop that kind of talk. Put that puppy out there again.

We submit. We keep submitting. We submit and we don't stop.

I get rejections. I submit. You can do it, too.

Keep submitting.

I don't know where, and my shorts tend to be more vignettes than short stories anyway. So maybe that's part of the problem.

Re-write what you need to. Start fresh if you can. Find some places on Horror Tree or on Submission Grinder.

You can do it. You can. You know you can.

Haggis said:

*locks thread*

*slaps Shaun*

*unlocks thread*

Stop that kind of talk. Put that puppy out there again.

Click to expand...

THIS.

ShaunHorton said:

I don't know where, and my shorts tend to be more vignettes than short stories anyway. So maybe that's part of the problem.

Click to expand...

This used to be a problem of mine. Some editors still consider it a problem of mine. LOL

If you haven't already, do a little research on how to structure a short story. Honestly, it took me a LOT of practice to get out of the vignette habit. And actually, there are markets for it. You just have to really read the other stories of the places you're submitting to. If you spot a trend toward them accepting more "vignettish" pieces, then they might be the right place for you. There aren't many, but some places really just like to publish artful pieces, whether they have complete story arcs or not.

MOST places want complete story arcs though. So, if that's your weakness, keep studying them. It'll come. But don't give up. Not if this is really what you want to do (or HAVE to do, as it is sometimes a compulsion, this writerly stuff.)

TedTheewen said:

Re-write what you need to. Start fresh if you can. Find some places on Horror Tree or on Submission Grinder.

You can do it. You can. You know you can.

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ALSO THIS.

Shaun, we're all in agreement: you can do this.

Well, writing is on hiatus for a bit anyway. I had a "Hulk Smash!" moment on Tuesday and I need to get a new laptop. :-(

There goes the tax refund.

ShaunHorton said:

Well, writing is on hiatus for a bit anyway. I had a "Hulk Smash!" moment on Tuesday and I need to get a new laptop. :-(

There goes the tax refund.

Click to expand...

That's not good.

So, I have this problem...almost every night, right at 3:33AM, something happens. Usually it's a noise of some kind. A bump, a knock, sometimes I hear voices in the distance I can't understand. Something. Last night, it was my baseboard heater making noises. They usually do anyways, but last night, at exactly 3:33AM, they made some seriously loud noises that sounded like a ball being bounced, or rather left to bounce, as the bouncing times got shorter and shorter. And then it stopped.

I can set a watch by these noises. It happens at the same time almost every night.

Ok, I gotta tell this story and I promise to be careful how I tell it.

I've been tagged on Facebook to this story and honestly, I don't know if it's true, but it's wild, and has to be repeated. A lot.

So, this woman posts about how she hooked up with a guy at a bar. They go to her help, have sex, and he finishes his business on her belly.

A day later, she develops a rash at exactly those spots on her belly. The rash gets worse fast so she goes to see a doctor. She also calls the guy and leaves a message that he should get himself checked out.

The doctor tells her it's not an STD and sends her to a dermatologist. The rash is bad at this point.

Dermatologist says it's a parasitic infection and a very rare one, at that. He says the only way for this guy to have done this to her, in that manner, is for him to have either been having sex with animals or dead bodies. It's rare.

She does some investigating into the guy.

Where does he work?

In a morgue!


I have no idea if this is true or what. It's Facebook so there's no way of knowing. But damn, I love that story! It's cringy and wicked.

And you're welcome.

I'm pretty sure it's just a story, I've heard that one before a few times.

In other news, I almost maxed out my card on a new laptop last night. $500 but a decent machine, now I just have to somehow move all my files over from the old one. Blech.

But it's a fun one.

Have fun with the new machine!

Well, still working on getting my old files transferred over, been a busy day though. Submitted my latest book to a few review sites, and got started on a new story. Something Lovecraft based. Nice to get some actual new writing done.

I need to get some new writing done, myself. I'm behind schedule.

I've been making too many ice cream videos. Like this one, tonight.