Today I was engaged in a discussion over on Facebook about self-pubbed authors.  I got the feeling most of the authors involved in the debate were either traditionally published or with small presses.  While I'm with a small press now, I used to self-pub so I kind of felt sorry for the object of their scorn.  None-the-less, I understood completely the issue at hand.  It all came down to the utter lack of editing that a majority of self-pubbed authors have with their work.

Cthulhu knows I didn't have a whole lot back in the day.

Now, I do think self-pubbed authors would greatly benefit from having a professional editor.  Wait... let me clarify something - let's make a crowbar division between "Editing" and "Proofing."  We'll say Editing is when someone looks over your manuscript for issues with character development, plot flow, theme, and all that other literary stuff.  Proofing is when someone looks over your maniscript for SPaG issues, or problems with Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.  All self-pubbed authors should have someone else (preferably semi-trained) dispassionately Proof their manuscript.  The Editing I'll leave to your discretion.

However, I think it's more than that.  Too often I find that both Would-Be Authors, early Self-Pubbed Authors and (sadly) a lot of D-List Authors (like myself) only read the works that are similar to the genre they write in.  Just because you've read every gigantic tome written by Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind, you are not necessarily in a position yourself to write the next great fantasy epic.  Consuming every YA Vampire novel you can get your hands on does not make you an author of one.  Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't read the stuff you like, nor am I saying that you need an advanced degree in English to pen a book, but c'mon... diversify.

I read just about everything except Harlequin Romance.  Well, and Sports Biographies.  (Lame.)  An author should always be up for absorbing new things, gathering more information.  Read Westerns, SciFi, Horror, Romance, Fantasy, whatever.  Read non-fiction books on History, Cooking, Physics, Crime, Technology, Philosophy, whatever.  Read the local newspaper, read the label on your frozen pizza, read your junk mail, whatever.

After running a used bookstore for a year, I found that most readers have one or two genres they like, with only about a half-dozen authors they regularly read.  While that might be fine for the general public, you're an Author... you don't get that luxury. You just need to read.

And who knows - maybe there won't be as much Proofing that needs done later...

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http://fecklessgoblin.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-blog-10-characteristics-of.html

I get the honors of writing the Guest Blog over at THE FECKLESS GOBLIN today.  A spot of Horror, Dark Fiction & Writing Tips from Ziggy Kinsella, I composed a objective look at the Ten Characteristics that the Perfect Horror Monster must have.  With a deconstructed theme, working more on archetypes and theories, I tried to throw in a bit of laughs along with the all the screaming.

Check it out over at THE FECKLESS GOBLIN.

http://fecklessgoblin.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-blog-10-characteristics-of.html

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I had this dream for the second time last night.  It was a bit more vague than the first, but the general imagery and sensations were there.  I believe it’s quite telling…

It is a charnel swamp, a bog built out of death.  The blood and bile run in thick currents knee deep, the “vegetation” nothing more than meat.  Bushes of gristle, vines of intestines, trees of bone – these things and more obstructed my passage through this slaughterland.  It was an absurdist blend of overgrown greenhouse and over-enthusiastic butcher shop.  Nothing appeared too far decayed yet, as if the entire environment had been mutilated into existence only hours ago and then held in stasis.

Above me, the sky was burning.  There was no moon or sun present, only rolling fields of liquid fire as far as my eyes could see.  The stratosphere aflame, it provided a dull orange glow to the ground below, everything shimmering and wet.  Here and there, thin clouds of soot raced past, low and insubstantial.

I continued to wade through the gore, this red reality.  I can recall feeling somewhat placid, neither disturbed nor comforted by these sights.  I don’t remember what I wore or for how long I traveled, and perhaps these things were irrelevant.  However, I eventually saw something akin to an island of viscera in the distance.

Drawing closer, I saw this mound was built with the corpses of babies, their flesh sewn and nailed together.  I don’t believe they were human infants, though… their dead eyes still squirmed with a living darkness.  This animated tar-like substance undulated and swayed in a subtle pattern deep in those tiny sockets.

There, sitting on the apex, was some type of throne.  I still can’t properly describe the material or style, nor can I attempt to describe the entity that sat upon it.  Occasionally, I found it humanoid, most often I did not.  I think it may have been composed of that same living darkness, that “deeper black” that I speak of in my fiction, but sharper and more defined.  I have the precise recollection that this abomination was the current king of this realm.

I remember… this monstrosity and I, we gazed at each other for a moment before speaking.  When we spoke, we spoke as equals.  I somehow understood that it acknowledged me as a peer.  I can recall that placid sensation remained, a casual feeling, perhaps closer to boredom or even slight irritation.  I can’t determine what we talked about, but I know the thing gestured off into the distance, and I had a bizarre but distinct feeling wash over me.  It was reminiscent of those time when you can’t find your car keys after having just sat them down, or when a needed word is right on the tip of your tongue.

And that was it.

I believe the first time I had the dream, I may have actually started walking off in the direction indicated by my abhorrent host.  I’m not sure.  I know I awoke before leaving its presence the second time.

I can easily explain away certain elements of the dream.  I had already written a scene with a similar brutal landscape for the novella I’m working on, and I’ve already incorporated portions of this dream into a new part of the fiction.  This “Deeper Black” is a concept I’ve played with in almost all of my horror and paranormal fantasy work.  The entity is undoubtedly from reading far too much Lovecraft.

No, the visuals are meaningless to me, simply window-dressings.  The sensations are what fascinate me, this nonchalant acceptance combined with faint annoyance.  While this is my general state in everyday life, I’m terribly interested on the how’s and why’s this would translate so clearly into such a atrocious dreamscape.  And, of course, I would very much like to discover where I was supposedly journeying off next to.

Once, I used to dream on par with Lovecraft’s great reoccurring character, Randolph Carter.  Various medications stole much of that from me, most of my dreams now either utterly mundane (going to the store to get lunchmeat) or a jumbled sensory-salad of images, sounds and concepts that would make Salvador Dali weep.  The majority of people would find such a dream like I’ve described above horrific, a nightmare to be banished.  I find it hopeful, something to return to.

And if I’m lucky, perhaps, I’ll be able to get my bearings back in the slaughterlands and travel even farther…

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I have almost 10k words done for the anthology piece due to Dark Red Press on the 20th of January.  I'm pretty sure it's only half done.  15,000 words was my minimum, but I know I'll go over that and hit closer to 20k.  It's a post-apocalyptic tale, just as the other 3 will be from the other DRP authors, for a book entitled 4POCALYPSE.  An interesting premise, each of us taking a spin on that speculative fiction sub-genre.  Like an idiot, I decided to set mine in the ruins of 2270 and fill it with advanced tech and my twist on zombies.  (I didn't foresee the amount of research that would have to go into this one.)

As with all of my longer works, it took me a while to find the "voice."  Mostly, this was because I hadn't found the soundtrack yet.  Each of my novels or e-novellas have had their own selection of music.  THE STITCHING was done entirely to Murder By Death, while IN BLEED COUNTRY had a lot of Puscifer and Tool.  A COMPLICATED DIVINE was set to Alkaline Trio and other modern punk bands, while my out-of-print novel BETWEEN US AND OBLIVION was penned exclusively to the post-rock band 65DaysOfStatic.  It took me a while, but this current novella is getting hammered out to a mix of DeadMau5, Skrillex and The Glitch Mob.  The music created by those groups fit the vibe of the tale.

I know some authors who must write in near silence - that would drive me insane.  At the same time, once I've found my tale's soundtrack, I won't listen to it during the writing process except when I'm actually writing the story.  It forces me to keep going and doesn't dilute the feeling.  When I'm writing random articles, blogs (or just pissing about on Facebook), I find any instrumental post-rock works well for me.  While emotive and creative, it almost acts as a default sound to be, those guitars from This Will Destroy You and Explosion in The Sky and the vocals from Sigur Ros.

After this novella is done, the sequel to IN BLEED COUNTRY is supposed to be next on my plate.  Perhaps I'll find the soundtrack in one of Maynard Keenan's acts again, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was set in stone.  Certain aspects of a story writes itself, and a tale demands its own tune.

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Yep, Hemmingway can go fuck himself.  Same with all the other proponents of "Literary Fiction."  I'm quite proud to write "Low-Brow Escapist Fiction."  'Cause, ya know... people sometimes actually wanna read stuff that's fun and interesting.

Please see the full article here... http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/15/books/in-defense-of-purple-prose.html?pagewanted=all

Excerpts from "In Defense Of Purple Prose," by Paul West

"Certain producers of plain prose have conned the reading public into believing that only in prose plain, humdrum or flat can you articulate the mind of inarticulate ordinary Joe. Even to begin to do that you need to be more articulate than Joe, or you might as well tape-record him and leave it at that. This minimalist vogue depends on the premise that only an almost invisible style can be sincere, honest, moving, sensitive and so forth, whereas prose that draws attention to itself by being revved up, ample, intense, incandescent or flamboyant turns its back on something almost holy - the human bond with ordinariness. I doubt if much unmitigated ordinariness can exist."

"So long as originality and lexical precision prevail, the sentient writer has a right to immerse himself or herself in phenomena and come up with as personal a version as can be. A writer who can't do purple is missing a trick. A writer who does purple all the time ought to have more tricks."

"There is language that plunges in, not too proud to steal a noise from Mother Nature, and there is language that prides itself on the distance it keeps from nature. Then there is purple, which, from quite a distance, plunges back into phenomena all over again, only to emerge with a bigger verbal ostentation."

"And it is not a matter of inventing something out of nothing, for that cannot be done; everything is derivative, so there is no getting away from what might be thought the bases of life, of art. The farfetched always takes you home again, never mind how strained its combinations, how almost unthinkable its novelties. The color we have never seen, the smell we have never smelled, the mind we have never known, can only be made from the colors, the smells, the minds, we already know."

"All this may sound like the latest variant of the old Classical-versus-Romantic quarrel, and maybe it is; but, even more, it is the quarrel between those who know what literature is allowed to be and those who want to let it evolve... life is infinitely more complex and magical than we will ever know unless we stop trying to pin down feeling in pat little formulas or sentences so understated as to be vacant, their only defense the lamebrain cop-out that, because they say so little, they imply volumes."

I have no patience or sympathy for these arm-chair critics and ivory-tower academics who cast judgment on genre fiction writers.  They have grown too concerned with the "science" of writing, as opposed to the artform it is supposed to be.  And what is art, but a stylized form of communication between the creator and those who experience it? 

There's a reason so many genre writers are famous and beloved in modern times opposed to those who would pen a novel in the same manner a physicist would plot out an equation.  With rocketing sales in e-books (http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2012-01-09/ebooks-sales-surge/52458672/1), supporters of this hollow writing style are going to have to accept the fact that the majority of people read for entertainment.  Give me aliens and explosions, hidden teasures and giant monsters, cyborg detectives and martian princesses.  And give them all to me with feeling!

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I feel a certain kinship with darker things.  I don't know, I suppose I feel as if there is more validity in it than in any pretty social niceties.  Darkness is the natural state of things, much like chaos, a default that can only be partially limited by the occurances of light and order.  The latter two are imposed, the former simply our primordial origins.  But we so do like to delude ourselves that we have some iota of control.  The beautiful absurdity of the universe can come visiting whenever it chooses.

Tonight, I opened my front door at 6:15pm, preparing to walk a few blocks to a planned destination.  As I put on my coat, I heard what I thought was rainfall, perhaps even hail.  It wasn't.  Although I had grabbed my umbrella there by the door, I walked out onto my porch to discover the sound I had heard was the beating of wings - hundreds of them.  Across the street, in the two mammoth trees, swarms of darkness fluttered, then black waves rolling up through the sky.  It was a "Murder" of Crows, the term given to a flock of this type, but more gathered than I had ever seen in one place.  Ink spills shifting before the stars, so many of them that I had honestly mistaken their sound for that of a storm.  A murder of crows?  I looked above and saw a killing spree's worth.

Perhaps others would have felt dread, or at least anxiety.  While I was initially astonished, the sensations were more likened to... awe.  Inspiration and even joy.

The crows, they did not follow me.  I think I would have liked that.  I reached my destination and frantically asked others assembled if they had seen such feathered hordes.  No one had, and most looked at me a bit incredulously (as per usual). However, when I returned no more than a hour later with my father, he too saw the Xenocide Of Black Aves, heard their mockery of rain.  And even a man as well-educated and traveled as my father was struck by experience.  At least someone besides myself witnessed this brutal mass-Murder.

Minutes ago, I stepped outside once more... just to see, just to know.  Less, but still easily one hundred crows sat silently in the treetops.  I clapped only a single time, loud and echoing at 2:30am early on a Monday morning.  It sounded like a bag of nails being scattered across a tiled floor, I could almost feel the wind from their wings and weight of them released.  Midnight ribbons slashing through the air, only for a moment, then settling back to their perches.  Just birds, nature in motion, but we all know how particular events can cause more wild reactions in the prinitive portions of our gestalt consciousness.  Reason can be shredded against the might of the deeper human psyche, and many would have found this incident disturbing in some manner.

But I didn't.

I smiled.  I smiled and I hope they will remain my neighbors for a while...

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See the full gallery on Posterous

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A lot going on right now.  The DRP interview for "In Bleed Country" is up, and I'm hoping it generates more interest in the book.  I've contacted three different review site with the request to submit the book - no word back from any of them.  That said, if any is willing to give an HONEST review on places like Goodreads, Amazon, etc. I'll see able getting a DRP e-Review Packet out to you. 

So, the 4POCALYPSE project at Dark Red Press has been pushed back a month.  This works out for me greatly.  I spent so much time researching aspects of the novella I was contributing, the start of the actual writing seemed daunting.  Of course, once I finally got into the tale, I only had a little over a week left before the deadline.  This extension should ensure the piece comes out as quality.

Speaking of, one of the main reasons I found my groove with the post-apocalyptic tale was because I discovered its soundtrack.  This is always an issue with me, the right "feeling" music to inspire a certain story.  C.L. Stegall talks about it in his video blog here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwQCXv6F78E and it's something that definitely resonates with me.  My tastes are eclectic, and I found a few dub-steb groubs (Deadmau5, Skrillex, Glitch Mob) are helping me to write this.  At the same time, I've been trying my hand at illustration again.  It was a small tragedy that my CTS didn't allow me to do much tradional artwork, but I've switched up some techniques and the project currently has three fully rendered pieces of promo art.

Oh, and the evil wizards at Smashwords have arbitrarily decided my short story, "Wetter," has passed all their insane e-tests to get on the premium catalog.  Have I mentioned this week how much I hate Smashwords?  I wouldn't mess with them anymore if I could get free e-books up on Kindle and Nook any other way, but it's SUCH a great marketing tool.  I'm fully aware I'm a D-List Author, but I also fully believe in a certain price tier - full eBooks at $2.99, eNovellas at $0.99, and eShort Stories for free. 

Now if I can just get those bastards to accept the Halloween eAnthology I edited, "Past The Patch," into their damn premium catalog.

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They say Santa keeps a list.  Well, here's mine.  Below are a bunch of cheap e-books to keep an eye out for this upcoming holiday season.  Getting someone a Kindle?  Why not upload a few titles into it before you throw it at their head come Christmas morning?  These e-books won't break your bank account, but they will keep you quite entertained.

The Weight Of Night by C.L. Stegall - Ancient Greek mythology comes to life in this unique coming-of-age tale that spans the globe and the heart of a girl who only wants to be normal. $2.99 http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Night-Progeny-ebook/dp/B004LB5BNA/

The Sorrow King by Andersen Prunty - Can love exact vengeance on a monster made from madness, depression, and misery? Or will the Sorrow King bleed the town dry before satiating himself and moving on? $0.99 http://www.amazon.com/The-Sorrow-King-ebook/dp/B004U2A32O/

The Dark Is Light Enough For Me by John Claude Smith - Twelve intricate, dark tales of bittersweet madness, twisted desire, and souls in crisis explore the deepest realms of the human, and not so human, condition. $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Light-Enough-Me-ebook/dp/B0065M28L6/

Made In The USA by Jack X. McCallum - A covert government agency & Third Reich science, cloning & cryogenics, the Second Coming & the Millennium, all coming together in a collision of passions and perversions, past and present. $2.99 http://www.amazon.com/Made-in-the-U-S-A-ebook/dp/B005QPL09E/

The Real Housewives Of Olympus by Saranna DeWylde - Come along for the ride as these goddesses take control of their Fate (or so they think) and find their Happily Ever Afters. $0.99 http://www.amazon.com/Real-Housewives-Olympus-ebook/dp/B005EBZSU2/

Finding Katie by John J. Smith - The very wealthy and very sheltered Preston Meadows lives his life protected from even the hint of harm. His world is safe and secure until someone kidnaps his sister, Katie. $2.99 http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Katie-ebook/dp/B004ZZSUYO/

Mists Of Blackfen Bog by Court Ellyn - Imaen, a disillusioned, bitter priestess, is forced to accompany her mentor into the icy swamps to learn why the spirits walk and to help put them to rest again. $1.99 http://www.amazon.com/Mists-of-Blackfen-Bog-ebook/dp/B005CJ8OG6/

Shinning In Crimson by Robert S. Wilson - Set in a dystopian, religiously-demented American Empire, the city of Las Vegas is no longer a city of sin. Now called Necropolis, it is a city that eats sin. $3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Shining-Crimson-Empire-Blood-ebook/dp/B005LD2TKK/

Hudson House by J.T. Warren - They are not the first to suffer in the house at the corner of Mangle Lane and Jackson Drive. Not the first to discover its unholy promise or the first to know its evil. $0.99 http://www.amazon.com/Hudson-House-ebook/dp/B004089GYY/

Amongst The Ruins by Saewod Tice - In the year 2220, only about 15% of Earth's population have survived and thrived after the Nuclear Disaster of 2020. $4.00 http://www.amazon.com/Amongst-Ruins-Chronicles-2020-ebook/dp/B005OZIIVE/

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Psychic Cannibals and Dimensional Portals, Malevolent Infants and Hidden Cities, Magical Agents and Annoying Scarecrows.  The only constant in this reality is change.  Welcome to Bleed Country...

What is The Bleed Country? The space between words in a prayer and the last number in Pi. It is where faith & dreams are held safe, where unborn terrors lurk and all the answers are painted in colors that don’t exist. There have always been Agents who protect Bleed Country, individuals granted powers who walk the under-roads known as The Scar and seek to keep the balance. But now cards have been thrown, and while the only true constant in this reality is change, it is coming faster and more surely than anyone could have predicted. Sides will be drawn for the battle of Bleed Country, and not everyone will survive…

The DarkRedPress Special Edition of In Bleed Country contains the original novel, plus character illustrations done by the author along with three new Bleed Country short stories. “Bound In Blood” speaks of an enigmatic origin, “The Brutality Coda” details a mysterious death, and “If I Only Had Some Couth” spills the secrets concerning everyone’s least favorite scarecrow.

http://www.amazon.com/In-Bleed-Country-ebook/dp/B0068FV4FQ/

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/In-Bleed-Country/Brian-Fatah-Steele/e/2940013447080

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13070713-in-bleed-country

“This bizarre, action-packed tale freaked me out and grossed me out, which is precisely what Steele is aiming for.” - Court Ellyn, author of Mists Of Blackfen Bog

”This book is a genre bending experience. It’s got romance, adventure and yes, horror.” - Saranna DeWylde, author of The Real Housewives Of Olympus

”Bleed Country is that part of existence where the mystical and the horrific coexist in a tightrope dance of sight and touch, horror and beauty, love and madness.” - C.L. Stegall, author of The Weight Of Night and CEO of DarkRedPress

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Almost every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the month of October, I would say the following to those about to enter EL Jaycees Haunted House...

"Welcome to Jaycees Haunted House.  No running, no punching, stay on the route.  If you get off the route, you're liable to end up somewhere you don't want to be... like the basement... with the meathooks.

"We have four floors, twenty-eight rooms.  It takes 20 minutes to a half-hour to complete, depending if you're willing to... sacrifice... someone in the group.  (point to most scared member of the group.)

"Now, they ARE allowed to touch you, but... this means they can run their fingers down your arm, grab at your ankles, play with your pretty long hair.  They won't, for instance... snatch you up, drag you off and chew on your face.  Probably.  I can't control them.

"We have such things as the happy dolls, the creepy carnival, the spider room, and tonight... three chainsaws.  Once you go in, I do LOCK the door behind you.  The only way out is to finish the route.  We know where the emergency exits are, and only we determine what an emergency is.  Oh, and if you don't make it... we'll simply staplegun your remains to the wall as a prop.

"Any questions?  Excellent!  Time to go!

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

We raised over $10,000 for local community charity projects with the Haunted House.  Thanks to everyone who attended and an even BIGGER thanks to all those who participated!  I had a blast, and I'll be ready to smile to those screams next year.

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I saw a lot of people who had Spotify listening updates roll through their Facebook pages recently.  I didn't really know what it was, but just assumed it was another type of Pandora radio.  I never cared for Pandora - a few too many comercials and their recommendations were atrocious.  Regardless, I listen to a lot of music while at my computer and when writing, so I strolled over.

That was two days ago.  I don't think I've turned it off yet.

Unlike Pandora that attempts to build a radio station around your listening preferences, Spotify actually lets you browse for certain bands, listen to individual tracks, pause and skip, find similar bands, and even build playlists.  It's basically an online version of iTunes.  I have no idea how they're getting away with this.  Sure, there are audio adds, but no where as many as Pandora and the visual ads (really clever, to keep you accidently clicking on them when you try to scroll) just keep taking me back to their homepage. 

Download a program and a massive music library is instantly accessable.  I mean, I already had near 60gigs of music, but this is insane.  My best friend had come into town, and we tried to think up the most obscure bands we could think of - indie punk, unsigned electronica, failed metal acts, and DYI Post-rock - and we found all of them on Spotify.  Hell, we found more albums by these bands and links to groups we had never heard of. Impressive!

Supposedly this is all legal.  There's even a comercial that says "Pirating is so last year" or something, and says the bands get paid.  I can't fathom how.  The service is free, the program unlimited, the commercials few.  And honestly, I can't see those RIAA lawyer bastards going along with this.  None-the-less, with the new Puscifer album already on here (it just dropped Tuesday), I suppose I won't have to... acquire it... by any other means. 

And I find I'm quite okay with all of this...

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I don't think it's possible to calculate how many times I've screamed at the computer screen while working at the site Smashwords.  An independent e-publishing site that allows authors to sell their books in all available formats, the concept seems wonderful.  Unfortunately, it appears, someone has somewhere dropped the ball.

I have tons of e-books.  I have the Kindle App that runs .mobi files as well as the wonderful program called Calibre.  Calibre works with any e-book formats (mobi, epub, lit, pdf, etc) along with allowing you to alter the metadata, change cover art, switch formats, and manipulate the way you store your library.  So yes, I know I how e-books look in various formats and bring that eye to my own.  And trust me, not everyone has great looking products.  Strangely enough, I've found it has nothing to do with money - big house publishers are just as likely to screw it up as amateurs.

Amazon Kindle will let anyone upload anything to their severs.  I can see why some crotchety old traditionalists get riled up over this.  It wasn't until recently that Amazon thought to offer formatting tips, and I'll admit that my first two books had a number of errors when I uploaded them.  The thing is, unless you're a superstar, an "A-list Author," you shouldn't be charging a whole hell of a lot for an e-book and guess what - nobody really cares how the chapters headings are formated on their screen.  They bought your $1.99 e-book for cheap entertainment, and while I'll be the first to demand a certain amount of quality control (and pride in your work), there's no need to agonize over font choice display.

Like Smashwords seems to.

A handful of times now, I've almost walked away from the site.  However, I stick around primarily for two reasons.  #1 - Smashwords is truly international, unlike Amazon with their various ".dot" endings.  I've found that folks in other country ocassional can't get my work, especially those in Australia.  Why I have so many fans in Australia, I have no idea, but I want them to have access to my crap books.  #2 - I can put whatever I want on Smashwords for free.  Some magical spell allows you to do the same at Amazon, but I haven't discovered it yet.  I have a simple formula for a D-list Author such as myself - full e-books are $2.99, e-novella are $0.99, and short story are free. 

Out of the nine works I have on Smashwords, ony one has been accepted into their Premium Catalog.  I have no idea what I did differently with that one as opposed to all the others.  They like to remain somewhat vague on the reasons, but everyone who has worked with Smashwords will recognize the response of...

• This book requires modification prior to inclusion in Smashwords' premium catalog.
• This book has failed EpubCheck. 100% EpubCheck compliance is required by Apple. Click to our EpubCheck Help page to learn how to fix.

I've been an Apple guy for over a decade, but WOW, does this piss me off.  Does anyone even buy e-books from Apple?  Where?  The damn iTunes store?  Sorry, I got sick of updating it every three days.  And your "Help Page" is worthless.

People buy e-books because they don't take up any room, they're cheap (usually), and they can read them on their phones or when they're supposed to be working.  Sure, there should be guidelines for how these things are set up, but nobody is going to win awards for Digital Excellence.  Borders has shut down, Dorchester Press has gone under, the old world of publishing is slowly but surely dying.  Instead of trying to cram the old rules onto the the new world, let's make up some new ones. 

I mean, we see how well it's working out over in the music industry...

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Last Tuesday, a little over a week ago, I uploaded a FREE Halloween e-anthology to various websites.  Past The Patch was an idea that sprang up over the summer during one of the many manic e-mail trading session between the guys at Dark Red Press.  Since I was the one promoting the idea (and I had always wanted to try my hand at editing an anthology), it became my project.  It was early August when I sent out the first round of submission queries, with an early October release slated.

I wanted around a dozen authors, mostly because that number seemed managable for my first time stepping into editor shoes.  Pretty much the same reason we decided to make the thing free.  I had an idea of what I wanted with this anthology, and I went outside the normal realms of modern horror and dark urban fantasy.  As I state in the brief introduction of Past The Patch, I've always been most impressed with the anthologies by the likes of John Joseph Adams, Al Sarrantonio and Harlan Ellison.  It seemed they were less concerned about genre and more so about theme.  I liked that.  So along with the usual suspects, I attempted to snag authors who were more accustomed to writing romance, fantasy, mystery or poetry.  I wanted stories about Halloween, a holiday and all that it encompassed in our collective culture, not just a collection of spooky gore-fests.

Authors wandered in, some wandered out.  A few new ones showed up late to the party with more beer, as it were.  Multiple times I found myself screaming at the computer for whatever reason.  The release deadline of October 11th had been set, and I was still agonizing over the cover art.  I think I may have annihilated a few galaxies in my stressed-out rage.

Finally all the tales were in and it was a matter of deciding upon the "track listing" and hammering out the formats.  Looking over my submissions, it was quickly apparent that I was going to end the anthology with "The Witch Of Mistletoe Lane" by Court Ellyn.  Almost a novella in length, it's so well written, so heart-breakingly beautiful and poignant, I knew it was the perfect note on which to end.  J.T. Warren's "Halloween Candy" seemed a great choice for the opener with it's unique take on an old holiday fear.  In between, all the tales were decided by their word count and subject matter.  I didn't, for instance, want to put two shorter tales next to each other, nor did I want to place two stories that had children as the protagonists back-to-back.  Cue more screaming at the computer.

And then suddenly... it was done.  The cover embedded, legal crap page, ISBN# acquired, contents, bios, everything.  It looked good!  I sent it to the guys at Dark Red Press for a look-over, got the thumbs up, and started uploading.  I promoted it for a few hours, then I think I passed out for a day.  Past The Patch was done, and damn, it did look good!

The main download site, with various links, is on the DRP site.  Who knows how many PDF's we've directly downloaded, but it's all here... http://www.darkredpress.com/read-now/past-the-patch-a-free-collection/

We've had 97 downloads off Smashwords as I write this.  That site is here... https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95432

We've had 74 reads over at Scribd.  That site is here... http://www.scribd.com/doc/68259166/Past-the-Patch

Finally, it's also available as a PDF at Goodreads, along with the e-anthology's page and links to all the contributing authors.  Feel free to snag it or give us feedback here... http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12845734-past-the-patch

I'm proud of what was accomplished with Past The Patch, and I'm ever more proud of all of the authors who contributed to the anthology.  It's a fun collective of tales, and I'm thrilled these amazing authors gave me a chance to combine their works in this fashion.  Please, as October 31st lurks closer, I invite you to check out this FREE e-anthology and get ready for Halloween!

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http://www.darkredpress.com/read-now/past-the-patch-a-free-collection/

Dark Red Press presents a FREE anthology of Halloween-themed tales.  Available as an e-book in multiple formats on various sites, Past The Patch contains the work of thirteen rising authors in an assortment of genres.  Writers from the realms of fantasy, romance, adventure, poetry and (of course) horror, give use their unique takes on the infamous holiday.

http://www.darkredpress.com/read-now/past-the-patch-a-free-collection/

Halloween – a holiday that evokes so much. Some say it’s a time when the space between worlds is too thin to bear the weight, and outer things spill over for a bit of Trick Or Treating. The stories found inside this e-anthology echo that idea, reporting back from a corner where the mirror has reflected a distorted image of this season.

Inside we’ll find a young man’s madness has driven him down a bloody path and the brutal folklore of the early 19th century clawed to life. We’ll see domestic bliss marred only by suburban lycanthropy and retail employees devoured by cosmic malevolence. Witches, monsters, and maniacs as written by authors of fantasy, adventure, mystery, poetry, romance and horror. We’ll dig deeper into a celebration now known for masks, candy and pumpkins while immersing ourselves in this anthology. Here, we’ll go past the patch and discover what tales lurk on the other side.

Edited by Brian Fatah Steele

A Dark Red Press Production

Contributors… Sarah E. Adkins, Jonathan Dukestein, Court Ellyn, Matthew Leverton, Jack Lloyd, Jack X. McCallum, H.H. Shullith, John Claude Smith, John J. Smith, C.L. Stegall, J.T. Warren, Robert S. Wilson and Brian Fatah Steele

http://www.darkredpress.com/read-now/past-the-patch-a-free-collection/

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Yesterday on Saturday, September 17th, 2011, it's estimated that somewhere between 50,000 and 75,000 United States citizens marched on New York City's Wall Street in a protest loosely organized by the gloabl internet group Anonymous.  Chanting slogan like "Human Needs, Not Corporate Greed" and "People Not Profits," the protesters faced a battalion of NYPD officiers in place by the orders of Mayor Bloomberg.  While this, in itself, is not that surprising, the utter lack of media coverage was.

It has been widely speculated that a mainstream media blackout was called for, both to hinder any who might wish to join the protesters but also to give ample time for consultants to figure out how to put the most negative spin on the event.  As of this writing, (Sunday morning, 6:20am, EST) there have been no reports of violence and few, if any, arrests.  It's believed that not only are a portion of protesters staying put for the time being, but they hope more will come to their aid. 

Much of the protest organization was being directed through Twitter via #occupywallstreet, but it was reported that Twitter blocked that particular tag at some point early Saturday morning.  Not to be undone, #takewallstreet was promptly used as the official replacement, which makes us wonder if such censoring tactics were feared ahead of time.  With as essential a role that Twitter played in the so-called "Arab Spring," it's dishearting to think the same social networking sites would balk at their services being used for peaceful resistances in America.

The following are two videos taken from Saturday's protest.

Find more, live-streaming updates from the protest at...

http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

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