The Dark Womb of Creativity
Facing the rejection gauntlet, thoughts on The Trip, my Cowboy Carter experience, exclusive fiction, and writing updates.
I like a good challenge, especially when it comes to writing. Seeking nuggets of beauty and inspiration inside a dark womb.
In my notes, you’ll find something called short story targets. These are short story publications I’m targeting. One of these is a cool online mag called Have Has Had. Last month, they opened up submissions and closed maybe one minute and 30 seconds later. I have never had something like this happen to me before. Usually I’m pretty good about getting submissions in on time, but this was wild.
A couple weeks later, they announced that a late night sub call would happen and they would be open for a couple hours. So I whipped up a fresh body horror piece of flash fiction and stayed up until 1 am to submit it. It made it in this time, but I woke to a fresh rejection the next morning, basically saying it wasn’t the right fit. Sometimes is a polite way of saying no while sometimes it’s the literal truth. Not the right fit for their aesthetic and particular literary flavor palette.
David Simmons, and my favorite person read it and said it was good so I felt relieved. Might not be the right fit since Have Had Has has a certain vibe to it. I’d probably be better off sending in some off-kilter prose poems. I’ll hit them with something different next submission window.
Perseverance is key in this game.
A few days later, I made some minor adjustments and sent it back out to another publication Maudlin House (this was is more horror oriented) only to receive another rejection. This is part of the game. Currently, it’s sitting in the digital reserves for now, until a new horror call opens. It’ll find its proper home in due time.
Cowboy Carter
I went to see Beyonce with my favorite person recently (you’ll see my fit at towards the end of this newsletter). Crazy thing is I don’t think I’ve been to a single concert in my 30s. This was part of Bey’s Cowboy Carter tour and my first time seeing her live. She performed around 3 and half hours, the bulk of it being her Cowboy Carter album, which I only know a few songs from. She did sprinkle in some older cuts though, which was dope. Impressive set design, choreography, fashion pieces, cool references to black musical pioneers, some creepy visuals a la American Horror Story, and her singing was on point. Plus, she brought out Blue Ivy who was tap dancing like crazy. Highly recommended.
The Trip
I’ve been eyeing this movie for a while on Netflix, and I’m happy I took a chance on the Norwegian horror comedy flick. A couple goes out to a cabin in the woods to kill each other, only to be interrupted by a trio who broke out of jail. The Trip is a delightfully bloody good time with a funny charm that’s sure to win you over.
The Primal Kind
A drone flew overhead the house and hunger gnawed at my thin frame. It was a matter of instinct— the primal kind. So I whipped out some bacon from the fridge and a pan from the cabinet. I wondered where the organic eggs were, but I supposed they were stolen by the goose people. I should really buy a gun to prevent these burglaries from happening.
If you missed it, I posted an old bizarro short story involving goose people, bacon, and agape love. I’ll leave this up for a week before throwing it behind a paywall. So be on the lookout for more short stories in the future.
If you want to read more fiction or get exclusive updates, cover reveals, WIP previews, etc., consider becoming a paying subscriber for just $6 a month. I have some cool stuff in the wings…
Here’s a list of a few paywalled pieces I published in the past.
Ring Rust - the first two chapters of an unpublished MMA crime novel.
The LV Diaries — a fashion horror serial opening chapter. (Series currently unfinished)
Bamboo Beard —an old unpublished bizarro novella
Writing Updates
Inspiration has been flowing and I made good progress on Project Scarecrow Gaze and somehow whipped up the first chapter for The Frolicking II. Short story ideas keep coming in at a crazy pace, and I can barely keep up with my own imagination. I’m aiming to get a solid draft of Project Scarecrow Gaze done soon. I need to get this in the hands of alpha readers, and find an editor to help get this into proper shape.
Currently Reading: The Best Horror of the Year Volume One edited by Ellen Datlow & Only the Living Are Lost by Simon Strantzas & Cosmic Horror Monthly #3 & Demons in My Bloodstream: Stories by Candace Nola & Salem’s Lot by Stephen King & Corpse Mountain by Andersen Prunty The Holy Bible
Currently Watching: The sky
Listening: Back from the Borderline, The Higherside Chats, Agitator, Victory Light
The Stepbrothers are back with a new album and a 6 minute track chock full of wrestling references and bars laced over classic wrestling theme song production. If you’ve followed Lito and Trip’s mixtape career, this almost seems like a destined song. Visually fun and dope.
I feel like Maxo Kream can do no wrong when it comes to collabs. Curry and Kream have a chemistry that complements one another. Straight menacing rapping rapping.
Until next time…
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