Far From Streets Sold Out in Pre-Order

On May 30, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

Far From Streets, my upcoming novella from Dunhams Manor Press, has sold out in the pre-order stage. My sincere thanks to everybody who ordered a copy!

"Far From Streets," a standalone novella from Dunhams Manor Press — “Far From Streets,” a standalone novella from Dunhams Manor Press

Once the book is published, I look forward to having a few copies of my own to give away, and maybe even sell one or two to people who ignored my too-frequent reminders about the book until it was sold out.

In other writer-ish news, I’m currently working on finishing up the last two pieces that will go into the collection I’m assembling. When the collection is finished and has found a home, naturally I’ll trumpet this information widely and often.

WHC 2014 Day One Summary

On May 9, 2014May 9, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Thursday, the first day of World Horror Convention 2014, was an enjoyable start. As I expected, a lot of people haven’t arrived yet, others have arrived but are so exhausted from travel and jet-lagged that they’re either heading straight up to bed, or wandering around dazed and confused. But there were plenty of us having fun, exploring and making new friends.

Lena and I arrived early, checked in, bought a parking pass, checked out our “swag bag” contents, and grabbed something to eat and drink at the hotel’s bar/restaurant, which was packed.

Just as we were almost done eating, I started receiving frantic texts and emails from my workplace – an extended power outage, and the technology problems that follow downstream from that. I spent the next 60-90 minutes emailing, texting and calling work, trying to do what I could to get things back online once power was restored. It didn’t exactly ruin the evening, but it did take my attention away from the art opening, and completely wiped-out my cell phone battery, hence the limited number of pictures I posted from day 1.

We met up with Scott Nicolay and Anya Martin, and though my phone was dead, Scott informed me of the news that The Grimscribe’s Puppets, the Thomas Ligotti tribute anthology edited by Joseph S. Pulver Sr. to which both Scott and I contributed stories, had been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for best anthology. On top of the nomination of the same book for the Bram Stoker Award in the same category, this has been a great year for that anthology and for editor Joe Pulver.

If you haven’t purchased this book yet, well, maybe you should!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Grimscribes-Puppets-Joseph-Pulver/dp/1937408019

The last event of the evening was a reading block by Anya and Yvonne Navarro. Both readings were emotionally powerful and went over very well. After, a few of us posed for photos with the creepy stuffed monsters in the corner, and Yvonne’s husband Weston Ochse (sure-thing winner of the Best Shoes award for the 2014 con) was good enough to snap photos of our group. Left to right, that’s me, Lena, Dominique Lamssies, Anya Martin and Scott Nicolay.

Ready For World Horror Convention 2014

On May 8, 2014May 8, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words In, Words OutLeave a comment

It seems like H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthulhuCon was just a few days ago, but it’s already time for the next thing. World Horror Convention 2014, also here in Portland, gets underway starting today.

It’s a Thursday-Sunday convention, four days, though the schedule is only really lengthy on Friday and Saturday. Thursday, it’s just evening programming, and Sunday it’s just late-morning to 2PM. The event takes place at the Double Tree hotel in NE Portland, adjacent to the Lloyd Center mall. It’s the same hotel where my company Christmas party happens. I expect the crowd and atmosphere to look a lot different this time!

Many of the same friends from the HPL Fest are back in Portland, while others are absent. Others are here in Portland for the first time, or at least the first time since I’ve known them. I look forward to a chance to meet up with new friends, associates and colleagues.

I’ll post lots of pictures – keep an eye on my Facebook or Twitter to see the pictures as I upload them.

Far From Streets Selling Out Fast

On May 6, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

Sunday I mentioned that my standalone novella Far From Streets was available for preorder from Dunhams Manor Press.

I also mentioned this will be a small limited edition, and is expected to sell out fast. As of this morning, the edition is mostly gone. It’s hard to gauge from the little “availability” meter on the web store, but I’d say we’re about 2/3 sold out. If you want a copy, now’s the time. In a few days, they’ll all be gone.

Here’s that link to buy again. It’s only $7 for over 100 pages in a nice tidy little paperback, with a cover I designed myself using artwork I tweaked from a Gustav Klimt painting of fir trees.

Since it will sell out soon, if you buy it, read it and end up hating it, you’ll probably be able to sell it later for more than you paid! That’s better than a guarantee, isn’t it? MORE THAN your money back if not satisfied… sort of. Remember, though, this is a pre-order, so copies will not be mailed out immediately.

I appreciate the support of everyone who has ordered a copy so far.

Year’s Best Weird Fiction V.1 Short List

On May 5, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words In, Words OutLeave a comment

Michael Kelly just announced the “almost made the cut” list for Year’s Best Weird Fiction, volume 1, Edited by Laird Barron. I’m very proud and pleased to find my story “Diamond Dust on the list, among some great company.

Michael said: “These are the “Other Notable Works of Weird Fiction” that will be mentioned in the Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 1. In essence, these are the stories that made the very short list, and were in serious final consideration to make the book.”

“Vivian Guppy and the Brighton Belle” Nina Allan, Rustblind and Silverbright

“Americca” Aimee Bender, Slate

“The Sweet Virgin Meat” Kola Boof, Exotic Gothic 5

“The Vast Impatience Of The Night” Mark Fuller Dillon, In a Season of Dead Weather

“Oubliette” Gemma Files, The Grimscribe’s Puppets

“Rocket to Hell” Jeffrey Ford, Tor.com

“The Man Who Escaped His Story” Cody Goodfellow, The Grimscribe’s Puppets

“Diamond Dust” Mike Griffin, The Grimscribe’s Puppets

“Baba Makosh” MK Hobson, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“Mother of Stone,” John Langan, The Wide Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies

“Interstate Love Affair” Stephen Graham Jones, Three Miles Past

“The Cave” Sean F. Lynch, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

“Hideous Interview with Brief Man” Nick Mamatas, Fiddleback

“In the Darkest Room in the Darkest House on the Darkest Part of the Street” Gary McMahon, For the Night is Dark

“The Design” China Mieville, McSweeney’s 45

“All Your Faces Drown in My Syringe” Ralph Robert Moore, Black Static 37

“Black Hen a La Ford” David Nickle, Chilling Tales: In Words, Alas, Drown I

“The Last Hour of the Bengal Tiger” Yoko Ogawa, Revenge

“The House on Cobb Street” Lynda E. Rucker, Nightmare Magazine

“How I Met the Ghoul” Sofia Samatar, Eleven Eleven

“The Painted Bones” Kelly Simmons, Unlikely Story Issue 6

“Touch Me With Your Cold, Hard Fingers” Elizabeth Stott, Nightjar Press

“Abyssus Abyssum Invocat” Genevieve Valentine, Lightspeed Magazine

“The Fox” Conrad Williams, This is Horror

“On Murder Island” Matt Williamson, Nightmare Magazine

—

Me again. Congratulations to all the others on this list, to those who actually made it into the book (which is going to be a wonderful anthology — Table of Contents here), and thanks to Laird Barron and Michael Kelly of Undertow Publications for all the hard work. The book will be out this summer.

Far From Streets Available for Pre-Order

On May 3, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words Out1 Comment

The prior announcement was not a hoax. FAR FROM STREETS is now ready to pre-order! It’s only $7, though I think that’s is an introductory deal, and the price will increase soon. I’ve referred to this as a chapbook, but it’s actually a full novella, over 100 pages, not some little pamphlet.

http://dynatox.storenvy.com/collections/240632-all-products/products/7045832-far-from-streets-by-michael-griffin

I’ve described FAR FROM STREETS as “Antichrist meets The Willows.” It’s a weird tale of relationship disintegration, and the beguiling and terrifying aspects of wilderness.

This book is a limited edition, and we expect (hope) it will go out of print fairly quickly. If you’re interested in getting one, be ready to order in a super-duper hurry.

Far From Streets Preview

On April 25, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

Here’s a glimpse of “Far From Streets,” my upcoming novella from Dunhams Manor Press.

Bit by bit, closer and closer… This should be available to pre-order from Dynatox Ministries soon.

The Children of Old Leech – Table of Contents

On April 23, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

Justin Steele (co-editor along with Ross E. Lockhart) recently posted the full and official table of contents of Children of Old Leech, the Laird Barron tribute anthology.

– Introduction: Of Whisky and Doppelgängers by Justin Steele
– The Harrow by Gemma Files
– Pale Apostle by Jesse Bullington & J.T. Glover
– Walpurgisnacht by Orrin Grey
– Learn to Kill by Michael Cisco
– Good Lord, Show Me The Way by Molly Tanzer
– Snake Wine by Jeffrey Thomas
– Love Songs From The Hydrogen Jukebox by Ted E. Grau
– The Old Pageant by Richard Gavin
– Notes for “The Barn in the Wild” by Paul Tremblay
– Firedancing by Michael Griffin
– The Golden Stars at Night by Allyson Bird
– The Last Crossroads on a Calendar of Yesterdays by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.
– The Woman of the Wood by Daniel Mills
– Brushdogs by Stephen Graham Jones
– Ymir by John Langan
– Of a Thousand Cuts by Cody Goodfellow
– Tenebrionidae by Scott Nicolay & Jesse James Douthit-Nicolay
– Afterword by Ross E. Lockhart

I think any aficionado of weird fiction, or fan of Laird Barron, should find much to enjoy within these pages. I can’t wait to hold the book in my hands, and read the other stories.

Here’s that cover again, because it’s lovely. If you want to preorder, visit Word Horde.

“Far From Streets” Coming Soon

On April 21, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

In a recent update, I mentioned my upcoming novella “Far From Streets.” I’ve been given the go-ahead by the publisher, Dunhams Manor Press, to announce that this will be available to preorder soon.

Dunhams Manor Press has released some nice chapbooks of weird fiction by Nicole Cushing, Daniel Mills, Jordan Krall and others. In addition to my own upcoming release, the press will be doing books by Joseph S. Pulver Sr., Scott Nicolay, Wilum H. Pugmire, and T.E. Grau.

These are very limited editions (usually 25 or 33 or 50 copies) and generally sell out in pre-order, so if you have any interest in obtaining one, it’s best to order as soon as they’re announced. Soon I’ll say a bit more about the story, in case you need a bit more of a nudge in order to be interested.

For now I’m very pleased and excited to let everyone know this is coming. My thanks to Jordan Krall of Dunhams Manor Press for making this happen.

2014 Spring-Summer Publications

On April 18, 2014 By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

There’s a lot happening on the publishing front in April, May, June and July. It’s funny, the same thing happened last year after a dry spell – four publications in four months, then another dry spell.

Lovecraft eZine "King in Yellow" special issue, April 2014 — Lovecraft eZine “King in Yellow” special issue, April 2014

Last week saw the publication of the April Lovecraft eZine, a special King in Yellow issue guest edited by noted Chambers-obsessed madman, Joseph S. Pulver Sr. This issue includes my long story “No Mask to Conceal Her Voice. Not only is the eZine be free to read online, but you can also order a print copy if you prefer. The Kindle ebook version is available on Amazon. Publisher Mike Davis gave me a print copy at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and it looks fantastic.

Here’s Nick Gucker’s knockout illustration from my story:

"No Mask to Conceal Her Voice" illustration by Nick Gucker for Lovecraft eZine — “No Mask to Conceal Her Voice” illustration by Nick Gucker for Lovecraft eZine

April should also see the paperback publication of Mighty in Sorrow, the Current 93 tribute anthology edited by Jordan Krall. The Kindle ebook version of this is already available here, but of course many readers prefer a tangible paper copy. I’ve previously blogged about the Table of Contents here — there are some great writers in this book (Pulver, Mills, Cushing, Lockhart, Satyamurthy, tc.), and I’m proud to have my short piece “May Dawn Redeem What Night Destroys” included. The cover:

Mighty in Sorrow, a Current 93 tribute anthology

Soon I will have some more information, and maybe a pre-order link, for a limited edition chapbook of my novella, “Far From Streets.” This is a dark and strange story of a marriage, a cabin in the forest, the way time sometimes slips away from us. I think of it as a cross between “The Willows,” the classic story by Algernon Blackwood, and Antichrist, the recent film by director Lars von Trier.

I’ll hold off on sharing the cover for now until the publisher is ready, but here’s a little hint.

Last, but by no means least, is Children of Old Leech, a tribute anthology dedicated to the fiction of Laird Barron, and published by Word Horde. It’s a great thrill to be part of this project, rubbing shoulders with some of weird & horror fictions’s greatest names. My story is called “Firedancing.”

You can preorder Children of Old Leech and receive the hardcover along with an ebook version. Here’s that link again because you just know you wanna grab this book! Lastly, the Children of Old Leech ad card from Word Horde listing the authors included.