Unfurling into August's Embrace
Art by Darius Puia
It’s a strange time. I feel like I’ve been burrowed deep inside this shell of sorts, healing and being anti-social and somewhat skittish when it comes to the external world, but with a million planets in retrograde, I can feel myself stretching my limbs, inhaling the LA smog, and beginning to feel an innate desire to live again.
Haven’t you been living? Technically…but you know what I mean. The last couple of years has been an upward climb, a Capricorn stereotype of hanging off crags and forcing myself up onto the next hill.
Back in the day, you’d see my smiling face with a fresh pair kicks and book conventions, readings, rap shows, etc. You can probably point to a few newsletter where you say hey you’ve been doing these things. Yes, slowly, but surely, I’ve been getting my feet wet, but I’m ready to in deeper.
I mean I LOVE the beach, but I went to the beach for the first time this year and I live in LA. That’s far too long of a gap, but once again I had to ease myself into these waters.
This is the same way I’m easing myself into the waters of my Easter-themed WIP Project Bunny Bloodbath. I’m throwing paint onto the page and seeing what sticks. I’m writing random scenes with various characters, trying to get their voice right. Does this feel right? Does this ring true? These are the questions I ask myself as I feel my way through a work in progress. My intuition is my compass, my gut lets me know if I’m walking down the right path even though I’m surrounding my darkness and this candle is the only light I have.
A lot of friends have been encouraging me to put myself out there more and I feel like I might be ready. I had an ASMR friend tell me to start ASMR since I have the voice, I had an actress friend tell me I need to start a podcast, I had the Broken River group chat encourage me to start a podcast and get my ass on TikTok.
My last living situation was far from ideal and I didn’t necessarily have the space to figure out what the hell I’m going to do. I finally have my own place and I can think, I can experiment, and I can grow without a million restrictions.
What are you cooking up?
Who knows, but we’ll see what happens.
Over at Twitter (I refuse to call it X just like the Sears Towers in Chicago will remain the Sears tower forever), I’ve been doing voidprompts every now and then. It’s a cool writing exercise where a different person drops a word and you have to write it within the limits of one tweet. This is to help put eyes on Voidcon in October. One of my favorite series is the Young Beezly chronicles by David Simmons. I decided it was time to throw a character from God’s Leftovers in the mix preceding the events of the my horror novella.
Consider this a deep cut for all of my God’s Leftovers fans.
Everyone here knows I support my people. I almost forgot
new book Shadows Slow Dancing in Derelict Rooms is out in the streets.
I had the honor of blurbing the book and said the following. I stand on every word.
"Stephen J. Golds hits all the right steps and delivers a devastatingly beautiful love story. Raw, intimate, poetic, and haunting, Shadows will show you the darkest parts of the heart and bring light to every surface. This is one dance you don't want to miss."- Grant Wamack, author of Black Gypsies
Cop it here.
Currently Watching: Love, Death & Robots Season 3 & Lost Season 1
I’m not watching either at the moment. More so a lot of youtube, Meat Canyon, and
Currently Reading: Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei & Full Throttle by Joe Hill & Cosmic Horror Monthly #2 & An Altar of Stories to Liminal Saints by Rios de la Luz & Alive Undead by Brian Bowyer
I recently finished reading Alive Undead by Brian Bowyer and it’s fire. It’s dark, pulls no punches, and the vampires don’t sparkle. Written in a sparse, bare bones style reminiscent of Richard Christian Matheson and a combination of hardboiled crime fiction writers, I could barely put it down. Probably one of my favorite vampire books of all time.
Currently Smoking: Packwoods
Listening: Black Tapes Podcast, The Danny Brown Podcast, The Higherside Chats
Rella Gz is Ice Spice’s only real competition when it comes to female rappers. I mean she has audacity, the confidence, the charisma, the ass and the flow that makes me feel like she’s on the brink of something great. Only time will tell, but enjoy this bop in the meantime.
Hiphop head are probably familiar with Statik Seletah who has laced beats for some of the best artists of our time. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Bing Bong aka Nems collaborating with producer in his song “The New Joe.” Nems has been heralded as the successor to Fat Joe and runs with the torch adeptly above.
I applaud Lil Yachty so much. He’s one of the young rappers that got a lot of shit from the oldheads for his sound and his rapping abilities. He’s been growing in real time and seems to have found his pocket. They’re not deep lyrics, but the vibes are pristine and the visuals are dope. Slide Yatchy, slide.
I usually can’t stand Joyner Lucas. He has fallen prey to the same fate many lyricists fall to—their ego. However, I was bored one and clicked on this video and realized he’s getting back to what made him stand out in the first place—his storytelling skills. “Broski” is a tale as old as time, a longtime friend who congratulates you but finds a way to throw some jabs into the mix.
Until next time…
Cop my books here or cop signed copies here.
For business inquiries email grantwamack@gmail.com
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Dark Was The Night (June 15 - August 15)
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