Birthday Steez
Los Angeles is burning and black smoke is in the air.
Luckily, I’m alive and safe though. My power went out a couple of times. I took the bus to work the other day and was sent home due to the wildfires. And that’s the full extent of my experience. It is messing with my ability to work security at certain stores, which is the most stressful aspect.
I recently turned 36 and I’m thankful I made it this far. My favorite person watched Nosferatu with me and she surprised me with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory afterward, knowing my tradition of eating cheesecake every bday. Shoutout to her for making it special because I haven’t had a good birthday in years.
put together almost 10 hours worth of clips featuring my appearances on the Agitator podcast. You can listen to that here.This b-day broke the cycle of bad birthdays so that’s good, but it has me reflecting on the last few years, which have been topsy-turvy on the career front.
I’ve been working security for the last couple years at luxury stores, rebuilding my life brick by brick. Before that I was at a Christmas tree lot & a pumpkin patch and before that, I had a variety of remote writing/editing jobs. I told myself it would be temporary, intending to work for maybe six months at most, but here we are. The last few years have been rough and many times, I wasn’t sure if I would make it. You have no idea how many times making rent felt like a brush with death.
I have my own place, but the day job has been miserable. I feel like a body with all of these skills and talent going to waste. I apply to job after job after job after job and it seems like no one barely bites. I can’t tell if it’s my resume, the job market or if I just lack the juice. But we push on…
I had some dark moments this month, but I pushed through it…we’ll continue pushing forward. Trying my best to channel this into my writing and get it outta my system.
I saw this review yesterday and it gave me a nice boost and a reminder to keep writing and keep creating no matter how dark things may get.
Some other good news to mention…at the tail-end of 2024, I realized I made two year of end lists. God’s Leftovers made Benjamin Niespodziany’s favorite reads and turned him onto splatterpunk. Check out what he had to say below and read the full list here. He’s a dope poet in his own right.
I’m honored to be included. You know everything she writes is fire. Read the full list here.
Writing Updates
I’m doing a new experiment this year when it comes to whipping up short stories. I want to submit more shorts, and I have my eye on a few markets. To help this endeavor, I’m going to write a short story inspired by different authors. For example, I’m reading The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett and put together a short using some of his motifs. And another short inspired by his work is in progress.
Project The Darkest Book I Ever Wrote is slowly moving and is the only book I’ve been able to make progress on. A super limited amount of people know about Project Straw Gaze. I can’t remember if I started it at the end of last year or the beginning of 2025. Either way, I’m giving the people what they want, another extreme horror book. If everything goes as planned, you’ll get it later this year from Broken River Books.
Currently Reading: Only the Living Are Lost by Simon Strantzas & Cosmic Horror Monthly #3 & Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis & Clown in the Cornfield 2 by Adam Cesare & The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett & Crushing Snails by Emma E. Murray & The Holy Bible
Anyone familiar with Jon Padgett knows how huge of an influence Ligotti is on his work, which was a major selling point for me when I started reading The Secret of Ventriloquism. The progeny of Ligotti all write their asses off, but nothing in the book really hits until the dream-like “Origami Dreams.” In a strange instance, the entire collection activates in this one story, giving the prior pieces a jolt of newfound potency. The pieces are all sort of connected in subtle and overt ways. But every story I’ve read after are fire so far.
Listening: Back from the Borderline, The Higherside Chats, Agitator, Victory Light
The opening shot where Quentin rolls his pants leg down his metal prosthetic and moves into a series of mournful ohhhs sets the scene. Authenticty drips through every auto-tuned bar and it’s good to see Miller actually drop a visual. Maybe we’ll get an album this year.
The aggressive delivery and brash lyricism of Mick Jenkins always gets me hype. When I heard these bars, it activated that competitive part of me and got back to work on a book.
Until next time…
Cop my books here or cop signed copies here.
Sign up for a tarot reading with me here.
For business inquiries & blurb requests email grantwamack@gmail.com
Hbd, Grant! And I would love to hear your thoughts on less than zero when you are ready, it’s my favorite book
Keep The Steez Burning and Branging dat Smoke, YG.