In olden days, far to the east, lived an emperor. He was fair, and just, and his people loved him. Yet something weighed upon him. He felt plagued by worry, every day. It ruined his sleep and clouded his thoughts. His advisors spoke of this among themselves. They wanted to…
Hello there, all you naughty children. This is Krampus, the Dark Spirit of Winter, St. Nicholas’ vengeful counterpart. So, you want to ask me a few questions, is that it? Be prepared, for the truth…is cold. “Are you the devil?” What, like Satan? No way. He can’t take the cold.…
Sannz stared down at the limb on the cutting board. The limb whose wrist he grasped in his own hand, with the other holding the chopping knife. It did look mostly human. Fingers, pinkish skin, a forearm leading down to an elbow. If you didn’t see the stump, of course.…
What is the horror genre known for? Tropes like: Good guys don’t always win. In fact they rarely do more than survive. Survival/Escape is enough. Someone dies, or goes mad. The monster is still out there. A truth discovered is too dark/horrible to accept. In fictional terms, what are all…
I felt the need to talk about something uplifting. Fortunately for all of us, I don’t have to pick up a heavy object and then make an ‘uplifting’ joke. Some months back, I took part in “The Menagerie” in Alameda. It’s what’s called an “Oddities Market” – an event where…
I think a lot about words. What word fits here? Is this word better than that one? Hmm, what’s a new way to describe bodily dismemberment… We have so many wonderful words in English. Many other languages do too (Latin, French, German, Japanese, and so on). Tolkien believed language itself…
While reviewing my current work – “The Renaissance Compact,” Book 2 in the Stymph Sequence – I came to one of those famous “Author’s Dilemmas.” See, I had a character in the story. Let’s call him Frank. Frank’s a tertiary character. He has lines and does things that help the…
You’re here because you’re a reader. Yet it’s often hard to find time for reading, isn’t it? Worse, even if we have time, we might find ourselves too tired/distracted/morose to pick up a book. Let me help with that! I’ve come across several ways to ‘trigger the reading mood.’ Some…
It’s time for a few thoughts on Krampus. You probably heard the name in December, if not before. Krampus is what I’d call an ‘evolved deity’ – a combination of several folk legends, melded into one stronger, more cohesive whole. An amalgam of ideas given immortal flesh. In case you…
Something I’m certain you didn’t know…characters take work to develop. Obviously you want to develop the MAIN character, and the villain/villains. Readers want depth, lifelike depiction, conflict you can sink your teeth into! (Sorry, Stymph joke. Wait, not sorry.) When you’re dealing with dozens of characters per book though? All…
