Desert Transmissions

Photo by Matthew Grant Anson

A lot of change is in the air and I’m surrendering to it all. Listening to the universe and going with the flow. Better to go with the tide than fight against it. This is something I tell a lot of my tarot clients. Venus in Capricorn has me reevaluating where I invest my time and energy. Really taking a second look at the projects I’m juggling at the moment, and my productivity levels have gone up significantly across the board. I mean I even put together my TV stand, a couch, and unclogged my bathroom sink.

Besides that, I drove out five hours to 29 Palms for the Twentynine Palms Book Festival this past Friday. Everything was going smoothly until the ETA said two hours and 26 minutes and basically hovered around the same number for more than an hour. It wasn’t a glitch and I knew I wasn’t seeing things. The actual ETA kept going up. My book signing slot was scheduled for six and for some reason I foolishly thought it would only take 3 & and a half hours to make it there in a reasonable timeframe on Friday afternoon.

I was dead wrong.

It took five hours and two minutes. I pulled up to the community center which was pitch black and only three cars were parked outside. I double checked the address and it was the right location. I was confused, wondering if this was some desert shit.

I got out the car and turned on my phone’s flashlight and moved through the darkness. A montage of horror movie opening scenes ran through my mind and I noticed a security guard sitting in the darkness of a corner room. He looked up at me with my bright ass flashlight and went back to scrolling through his phone. I turned around, confirming that no one was here, and I had to get away from this ominous darkness.

I drove to the motel, punched in the code to the room and stepped inside. After closing the weird blinds, I saged the place and went back out to grab some food. Checking my email, I saw a random lady asking if I could reschedule my book signing for the next day. A power outage happened earlier in the day and they shut things down. My reading was rescheduled for 11 am the next day and I would be sitting next to another random author. I was pretty exhausted from my drive, but I had a hard time going to sleep. There was a strange water sound in the ceiling and a lot was on my mind.

Nov. 9th

The next day I ate some breakfast and got some morning reading in before checking out of the motel. I drove over to the community center and was surprised to see the sheer amount of booths and foot traffic outside. As I walked towards the entrance, I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. I wasn’t desert folk, something about me screamed city boa. I embraced it, adjusting my Ferragamo shades. The inside of the building was full of activity, a panel in the back, books being sold and a variety of people tabling. A few people helped me get settled in and they took my copies of Black Gypsies.

Right before I sat down,

Erica Phillips

and her son walked up and asked if I could sign some books. I was pleasantly surprised to see her pull out a few of my horror books and this gesture made my day, especially since I only had Black Gypsies on hand. We chopped it up and agreed to exchange tarot card readings for one another that afternoon over Zoom. She did a great job answering my questions and I’ll let you know she is the real deal. And of course, I asked about you.

The next big thing was the Mojave Noir reading. Shoutout to Gabriel Hart for inviting me. I met Matthew Phillips, Nadia Clark, Brian O’Hare, and Duncan Birmingham. Plus, I chopped it up with Craig Clevenger outside and I was surprised he’d heard of me and my book. Good to know my name still rings bells.

The reading went well. People said it was “compelling, vivid” and one person said it made his heart race despite reading the book already. One older lady complimented me and asked what “Folks” are so I had to break down Chicago gang politics for her.

Red Flags

Charlene Elsby’s fantastic book Red Flags recently dropped via House of Vlad Press. She kindly asked me to write a blurb.

“Reading Charlene Elsby tends to give me anxiety and make my stomach clench up. There’s something dreadful in her prose and the magic she wields in her pen. Red Flags is a fun yet intense endurance test for those who like their fiction darker than dark,” Grant Wamack, author of Bullet Tooth 

Cop the book here.

Wonderland Awards

I received news that my short story collection The Hum of the World & Other Stories received an honorable mention for the Wonderland Book Awards. Pretty dope considering this is my first short story collection and my first honorable mention for any writing.

Writing Updates

I managed to finish whipping up a new fashion horror short story and made some leeway on The Darkest Book I Ever Wrote. Plus, I’ve decided to reignite Project Gothic Fashionista and this will include The LV Diaries in the book as well. The day one Literary Loud readers will remember the serial project I never finished. I always wanted to do one of those books within a book.

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Currently Watching: The Penguin

Currently Reading: Only the Living Are Lost by Simon Strantzas & God is Wearing Black by Kelby Losack & Cosmic Horror Monthly #3 & Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis & Clown in the Cornfield 2 by Adam Cesare & The Holy Bible

Listening: Back from the Borderline, The Higherside Chats, Agitator, Victory Light

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When rap needed Schoolboy Q most, he appeared. Something about living in LA makes westcoast rap hit on deeper levels. “Thank God 4 Me” manages to walk a fine line between soulful and kinetic, and Q embodies that mercurial energy so perfectly. Go stream the album if you haven’t already.

Danny Brown looks like he’s ripped straight out of a lost Matrix film and is delivering raps as the Dark Sword Angel. Making references to Soul on Ice, getting Dave Chappelle so high he thought the weed was laced, wild sex analogies, and more. Fire bars and he hasn’t even reached his final form yet.

Billy Bapper is on demon time and emptied the clip on Screwly G after hearing the younger rapper diss FGB Duck. Dutchie, Young, and Yella came out in force supporting Billy with their own disses. However, the pure aggression elevates this as the best diss that has been in steady rotation.

The Bruiser Brigade lieutenant is back at it again with “Euphorbia.” An eccentric yet soulful excursion into Zeelooperz heart. Vulnerable raps in the middle of woods type shit.

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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