Last Day for Autumn Cthulhu Kickstarter

On January 12, 2016January 12, 2016 By griffinwordsIn Internet Destinations, Words In, Words OutLeave a comment

The Kickstarter for the upcoming Autumn Cthulhu anthology from Lovecraft eZine Press has been a success, having reached the initial goal of $8,000 within four days.

(promotional art above by Dave Felton)

The Kickstarter has gone on to reach the $13,000 stretch goal to include a story by S.P. Miskowski, and most recently the $16,000 stretch goal to include a Robert Levy story. The third and final stretch goal of $19,000, if met, will result in the inclusion of a story by Orrin Grey.

I respect and enjoy the work of all three writers, and really hope the book may be expanded to include all of them.

The official Table of Contents was announced before the Kickstarter, so it does not include names or titles for any of the writers related to the stretch goals, but here’s what’s already included for sure:

Andy Kaufman Creeping Through the Trees – Laird Barron
There is a Bear in the Woods – Nadia Bulkin
Anchor – John Langan
The Stiles of Palemarsh – Richard Gavin
The Night is a Sea – Scott Thomas
In the Spaces Where You Once Lived – Damien Angelica Walters
Trick or the Other Thing – Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
Grave Goods – Gemma Files
After the Fall – Jeffrey Thomas
A Shadow Passing – Daniel Mills
Lavinia in Autumn – Ann K. Schwader
Memories of the Fall – Pete Rawlik
The Smoke Lodge – Michael Griffin
The End of the Season – Trent Kollodge
The Black Azalea – Wendy Wagner
Cul-De-Sac Virus – Evan Dicken

Of course with two or three new writers/stories included, this sequence will likely change, unless the new additions are just stuck at the end (or beginning), which seems unlikely.

(promotional art above by Raven Daemorgan)

The Kickstarter ends tonight, so time is running out to pledge. Here’s the link:

Autumn Cthulhu Kickstarter

2015 Year End

On December 30, 2015December 30, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

I didn’t publish much more in 2015 than in 2014 or 2013, but I wrote a lot more. A couple of stories that were supposed to appear in 2015 were pushed back by the publishers to 2016 (see next year’s activity, below).

Items published in 2015 included:

“The Tidal Pull of Salt and Sand” in Xnoybis #1, edited by Jordan Krall, published by Dunhams Manor Press (limited edition, out of print)

“Jewels and False Memories: The Origins of a Lunatic” in Surreal Worlds, edited by Vincenzo Bilof

“Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window” in Cthulhu Fhtagn!, edited by Ross E. Lockhart

“I’m Looking for Nick Cowan or Cody Steele” in The Doom That Came to Providence, edited by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.

“Apprentice, Muse and Mancer” in A Mythos Grimmly, edited by Jeremy Hochhalter

“The Slipping of Stones” in Strange Aeons issue #17, edited by Kelly Young

2016 should be a time when a lot of my work should appear, including:

“Firedancing” from Autumn Cthulhu, edited by Mike Davis

“Miles and Cathrine at the Crimson” from Leaves of a Necronomicon, edited by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.

“Endure Within a Dying Frame” was accepted by the new editors of Lovecraft eZine and should appear there this year.

My story collection, THE LURE OF DEVOURING LIGHT, will appear in 2016. I hope to have more specific information to announce soon. My guess is that by the end of 2016, the biggest event in my writing/publishing year will be the this book.

I also finished a short novel this year, and it’s on submission, so it’s my hope that this may become a publishing news item in 2016.

As I write this, I’m in the middle of writing stories for four anthology invitations (two finished and submitted, the third just underway, and the fourth to write in Jan-Feb), then I intend to get started on some other projects.

I have an unpublished short story I’d like to revise and extend into a novelette for an interesting small press that publishes some great limited editions.

The bulk of the year will be taken up with two planned novels. I’d like to write both in 2016 if I can manage it. At the very least, I’ll finish my first full-length novel and start another.

Kickstarter for Autumn Cthulhu

On December 21, 2015December 21, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Internet Destinations, Words OutLeave a comment

The upcoming anthology Autumn Cthulhu, edited by Mike Davis and published by Lovecraft eZine Press, is already set to include a great Table of Contents, as follows:

The Kickstarter for this book has already been fully funded, so the book is going to happen no matter what, but a couple things are worth pointing out. First, there are some special items available as pledge rewards, some of which may only be available through the Kickstarter. Second, a couple of “stretch goals” have been created. If the Kickstarter reaches $13,000 a story by S.P. Miskowski will be included, and at $16,000 a story by Robert Levy will be in the book as well. These are two great writers and their work couldn’t help but make the book even more special.

If you’d like to contribute to the Kickstarter, or just check out whether it might be of interest, here’s a LINK.

And here’s the cover art:

Reading “Delirium Sings…” at Powell’s, Nov. 2015

On November 24, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

I recently posted video of my reading from “Firedancing” in The Children of Old Leech at BizarroCon. Link HERE.

A few days after that reading, several Portland writers who all happened to appear in Word Horde’s anthology CTHULHU FHTAGN! had a group reading at Powell’s Books, the SE Hawthorne location.

My wife took video of my portion of the reading, in which I read the middle of my story “Delirium Sings at the Maelstrom Window.”

My thanks to Nathan Carson (who also read) for setting up the reading event, and also to Ross E. Lockhart for publishing Cthulhu Fhtagn! and selecting my story for inclusion. You can order a copy of the book at Word Horde.

Reading “Firedancing” at BizarroCon Nov. 2015

On November 23, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words Out1 Comment

I’ve had two opportunities to read my work this month. First was the Word Horde group reading at BizarroCon. I read the middle of my story “Firedancing” from the Laird Barron tribute anthology, The Children of Old Leech published by Word Horde last year.

My wife Lena was good enough to record video of my reading.

Video also exists of the second reading at Powell’s Books in support of Cthulhu Fhtagn!, and I’ll post that soon.

Varieties of Weirdness Panel at BizarroCon 2015

On November 13, 2015November 13, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Uncategorized, Words OutLeave a comment

Still in the middle of a busy couple of weeks here, between BizarroCon last weekend, the Cthulhu Fhtagn! reading at Powell’s last night, and Living Dead Horror Con this weekend.

I’ll have more to say on some of these matters too, but for now I’ll just link to Scott Nicolay’s The Outer Dark podcast, a recent episode of which featured a recording of the Varieties of Weirdness Panel at BizarroCon 2015. I was on that panel along with moderator Ross E. Lockhart, Rios de la Luz, G. Arthur Brown and Garrett Cook.

The link is HERE.

Varieties of Weirdness panel photo by Helen Hopley

The panel discussion began just minutes after those of us in the room heard the news that Scott Nicolay had won the World Fantasy Award. Congrats to Scott for the huge honor, and thanks for featuring “Varieties of Weirdness” on The Outer Dark.

Reading at Powell’s Books Tonight

On November 12, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words In, Words OutLeave a comment

Several Portland locals with stories in CTHULHU FHTAGN! will be reading at Powell’s Books (note: SE Hawthorne location) tonight.

Information:

The Ross E. Lockhart-edited, H. P. Lovecraft inspired Word Horde press anthology CTHULHU FHTAGN! features 19 macabre tales. Five of these are from authors who call Oregon home.

Wendy Wagner
Edward Morris
Mike Griffin
Christine Morgan
Nathan Carson

Thursday, Nov 12
Powell’s Books on Hawthorne
7:30pm
free

The event page on Facebook is HERE.

Check out this lovely book!

BizarroCon 2015

On November 5, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words In, Words OutLeave a comment

It’s been a year of many conventions, and I’m not done yet. Today is the beginning of BizarroCon 2015 at the McMenamins Edgefield. The Edgefield is a cool historic place that was the county “poor farm” in the days of my grandparents.

The McMenamins company has turned it into a whimsical, sprawling entertainment complex with hotel rooms, restaurants and bars, a golf course and assorted other fun stuff.

As a genre, Bizarro is slightly different from what I normally write, though I believe there’s a lot of crossover between Bizarro and the weirder end of the Weird. Some of my favorite publishers like Word Horde and Lazy Fascist Press have one foot in each territory, as I see it.

Though the con will be underway Thursday afternoon, I won’t be showing up until later Thursday night. I’ll be delivering Michael Cisco from the airport.

Friday will be a long day of workshops and other entertainments. Early in the morning I’ll be participating in a “Perfecting Your Pitch” workshop led by Ross E. Lockhart, and after lunch I’ll be in the “Chunk-Style Plotting” workshop led by John Skipp.

Saturday I’m taking part in the Word Horde Reading Block (2:30-4PM) along with Ross Lockhart, Nathan Carson, Nikki Guerlain, Edward Morris and M.P. Johnson.

Sunday I’m on the “Varieties of Weirdness” panel (in which I hope to touch on the crossover I perceive between Bizarro and Weird fiction) along with Ross again, G. Arthur Brown, Garrett Cook, Cameron Pierce and Rios De La Luz. This panel will be recorded, with the approval of all participants, for inclusion in a future edition of Scott Nicolay’s excellent podcast series The Outer Dark.

Last year I only attended BizarroCon for a single day, but I had such fun I wanted to be part of all three days this year. If you’ll be there, I look forward to seeing you. Lots of fun to be had!

Late 2015 Writing

On November 3, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

Many of my posts lately have been about conventions and publishing, but most of my time is spent writing, so what about that?

I spent much of the last half of 2015 writing and revising a short novel, about 51,000 words. Non-writers will wonder, “How long is that in pages?” Well, it’s longer than The Great Gatsby or Slaughterhouse Five, but by the standards of today’s publishing environment, 51k words is an odd length. It’s too long to be a novella (17,500 words up to 40k), so while it’s technically a novel, most agents and publishers want to see something like 80-100k word novels.

This project is on submission to a publisher that seems not to mind the in-between length, so we’ll see what happens with that.

I’ve really enjoyed working longer, and intend to start a full-length novel early in 2016, after I finish writing four stories for anthology projects to which I’ve been invited to submit.

I haven’t had quite as many stories lined up for publication in 2015, due to spending much of 2014 wrapping up my first collection, which should appear in 2016. I hope to be able to say more about that before too much longer.

“The Slipping of Stones” in Strange Aeons 17

On October 19, 2015 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

I forgot to mention this in the lead-up to the HPL Film Fest, but one of my stories has just appeared in a very cool place.

Issue 17 of Strange Aeons magazine is now available, and includes my story “The Slipping of Stones.” There are also stories by outgoing fiction editor Ted E. Grau and incoming fiction editor Justin Steele, along with an interview with Mike Davis of Lovecraft eZine and reviews and comics. Check out this great cover art by Lee Moyer.