Category Archives: Uncategorized

Necon—which we regulars call “Camp Necon”—is coming up. It’s my writer’s vacation retreat each most years, and I’m very much looking forward to it. I won’t be on any panels (I was scheduled for one, but it conflicted with my … Continue reading →

We watched the second season of Derek this weekend. Only six episodes, which we divided over two nights. Sad to see Dougie go in the first episode, but apparently the actor was terribly uncomfortable acting with other people, which explains … Continue reading →

There’s a particular pleasure in revisiting a story that you haven’t read in a while. A couple of weekends ago, I read “Sturm und Drang” from A Dark and Deadly Valley to my wife. I’m not sure that I’ve read the story … Continue reading →

For the past few years, we’ve been flirting with drought. Sometimes we’ve been in full-on, high-risk drought conditions, with the local lakes (aka holding ditches) at levels so low that the boats are stuck in mud. Other times we get … Continue reading →

I posted a review The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Six, edited by Ellen Datlow, over the weekend. An excellent anthology, and I was especially fond of the final story, a “sequel” to The Shadow Over Innsmouth. One of my … Continue reading →

I wonder how many LiveJournal posts will contain this XKCD cartoon today? I received confirmation today from editor Danel Olson that my essay “The Genius Fallacy: The Shining’s ‘Hidden’ Meanings” will appear in The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film, which … Continue reading →

I see a lot of anthology calls lately where the promise of payment is deferred. Instead of getting an advance or a flat payment up front, contributors are promised an even share of the royalties. You’ll do yourself a huge … Continue reading →

Matthew Craig has devoted most of his blog in April to celebrating the 40th anniversary of the publication of Carrie. He invited me to write one of the entries, along with others like Sarah Langan, John Connolly, Simon Clark and Mark … Continue reading →

I finished reading Ice Cold this weekend. I even re-read my own story. It’s an impressively solid anthology that tackles the Cold War from so many different angles. There’s even a Hemingway “Crook Factory” inspired story and one that was inspired by … Continue reading →

This is about Homeland, season 3. If you haven’t seen it, then you should probably quickly avert your eyes. The theme of the season was redemption: Carrie’s for being right about Brody all along and Brody’s attempt to atone for … Continue reading →