Inner Peace Is For Losers

Today is the big day, though Space Grunts has has been available at Amazon for a little while now.



Ain't that sweet? There's my name right there on the cover. There's a story by me and good buddy Jason McDowell inside. I'm very proud of the whole thing.

Here's how it went. Invited by daytonward (thanks, Dayton!) Contacted Jason and asked him to work with me. Tossed ideas back and forth until we had a plot and a main character. This was one of those stories where the names suggested themselves, which I appreciate very much, by the way. Other characters grew in the actual writing. Jas invented Mac and Doc, and I came up with Twitch and King, as I recall. We shot emails back and forth, as Jas lives one state over, writing and editing. And then we shipped it off to Dayton.

He said yes.

This is a big one for me. I have had stories in print, but not in a book, so it's quite a thrill.

I also have a new story up at Variant Frequencies. The title is Penny Ante. and it's about a poker game in a very unusual place: a hospital morgue.

The inspiration for this was the real men I knew when I worked at my first job as a nurse: the Veteran's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I knew these guys and others like them. I just hope I did them some justice.

Weight Watchers™ update: another pound gone, total now 44. I'm getting close to the goal, and looking forward to switching to maintenance mode.

Pleased to note that Adam Lambert is in the finals of American Idol. (Yes, I watch AI. Don't judge me.) I really love the guy's voice, his range is just sick, and the passion with which he sings. And he is so damn easy on the eyes. Adam FTW!

New story live on Variant Frequencies: Under the Bed by Michael Natale. We've featured Natale's work before: The Rut in October of 2007 and Firstborn in May, 2007. Welcome back, Michael! This is a very cool, very creepy piece about the monster under the bed, told by the monster.

Guest reader for this story is Michael A. Stackpole. If you've never heard him, you're in for a treat. His voice is deep and mesmerizing, and it works perfectly for this story.

There's some really cool stuff happening over at Variant Frequencies. Our new story this month is called Creature of God, written by Jack Mangan and featuring a cast of many. Rick, our talented producer, assembled the considerable voice talents of Heather Welliver, Kreg Steppe, John Cmar, Matt Wallace, J.C. Hutchins, Chris Lester, Seth Harwood, Neil Stringer, Scott Sigler, and Rick Stringer for this piece. We're very excited about it because it's a terrific story, produced on a grand scale, and it marks out third anniversary as a podcast. It just gets better and better.



We're also very excited that a work of art by Vincent Chong, featured on the cover of Murky Depths #4, has been shortlisted for a BSFA award for best art. The artwork was inspired by an excellent story by DK Thompson called Saint Darwin's Spirituals, which we also produced as a podcast. So congrats to Vincent, we at VF and MD are proud and excited.

700 horsepower. Leather. Fusion-based drive system. And good intentions.

I wish I could come up with stuff like that. (Or that artwork, by Paul Drummond")

That's Jonathan C. Gillespie's intro to his new story, Best In Class, now live on the Variant Frequencies podcast.

Best In Class is so good, it's also in the new issue of Murky Depths. Another simultaneous release by VF and MD, in an inspiring act of brotherhood reaching across the Atlantic.

Rick and I were fortunate enough to meet Jonathan and his lovely wife, Michelle, this year at Dragon*con. It was one of the highlights of the trip to sit and chat with them. They are among the nicest people I know, and I'm happy to count them as friends.

Which is why it's so surprising (and a little alarming) to read some of his stuff, like Best In Class. Somewhere beneath that charming exterior, he's hiding a twisted streak.

So give it a listen, as Chuck Tomasi hits it out of the ballpark, and check out the print version in the latest issue of Murky Depths. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Newly released on Variant Frequencies for October is a Under the Bridge Downtown by Gary Braunbeck and Matthew Warner. Matthew introduces the story, and describes it as an unflinching look at survivor's guilt. Gary does the reading, and it's a stellar performance. It's mesmerizing. Production by our wizard, Rick. He waves a wand, mutters an incantation, and the work is edited and a perfect music soundtrack applied. It's amazing to see.

Give it a listen, it'll draw you in. We're proud to welcome these guys to Variant Frequencies.

That striking image, created by Variant Frequencies producer Rick Stringer, represents the newest addition to the podcast and to the Amarant series. Titled All The Time, it's the story of a watchmaker who believes his immortality comes from a pocketwatch he carries, because of an offhand comment his father made. This belief leads him to extraordinary means to keep the watch with him and in working order at all times.

We decided that Marck Pearlstone has the perfect voice for this character, and he consented to read for us. Marck has appeared on Variant Frequencies before, in our July entry The Destruction of Sennacherib written by Bryn Sparks.

Music and sound effects produced by Rick Stringer set the mood for this story beautifully. Give it a listen.

New story posted at Variant Frequencies. I'm really happy with this one. It's not often that a piece is as easy to write as this one was, from idea to completion. It was much fun.

Rick gives it a terrific reading, doing all the character voices himself. Music is minimal this time, just some tension-building stuff at appropriate spots, and some background sounds at the end. All of this is perfectly suited to the story.

Have a listen and leave a comment. I'd love to know what you think of it.

Here at the home of Variant Frequencies, we are delighted to present The Destruction of Sennacherib by Bryn Sparks. It's got an old-time feel that it owes to H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine," but Bryn puts his own unique spin on it. Marck Pearlstone and Ali Groves give it an outstanding reading. I'm a huge fan of these two and could listen to those smooth voices all day.

As usual, Rick pulled it all together. He makes it sound easy, which it isn't. He's a wizard with editing and mixing, putting in enough sound effects and music to help transport the listener into the story. Once again, we're thrilled to be able to use music by Abney Park as part of this podcast. The music suits the story perfectly.

So, if you haven't, give us a listen. We do this stuff every month.

Check these out.



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That stunning bit of artwork is by Vincent Chong to illustrate the story St. Darwin's Spirituals, which is simultaneously being presented in print and audio by Murky Depths and Variant Frequencies.

Congrats and nice work to everyone involved. The rest of you, go have a look and a listen.

There's a new issue of Murky Depths about to be released. Terry Martin plans to show it off at the Bristol International Comic Expo, May 9-11. As a co-editor, I'm excited about this one. The stuff I've seen so far is awesome, in the real sense of the word. And Vincent Chong did the cover, inspired by a story by DK Thompson, which appears in the issue.



At Variant Frequencies we were impressed with the story, too. As a real first, "St. Darwin's Spirituals" will be podcast at the same time as the Murky Depths release. Rick gave it the full VF treatment, including some top-notch voice talent, and Abney Park(!!!) has kindly given us permission to use some of their music, so you'll hear that in the podcast.

Finally, if you go here and look for "Shush! Don't tell anyone..." it will lead to savings on a subscription to Murky Depths. That's the forum over at Whitechapel, Warren Ellis' place.

The Amarant collection on Variant Frequencies is a series of stories about people who learn that they are immortal, how this affects them, and how they deal with it.

It isn't always good.

So far we've looked at a wealthy heir, a serial killer, a warrior, and a prostitute. The newest addition is Birth and Death, the tale of a midwife who has been around long enough to remember witch trials. The story was written and narrated by me. I'm a lot more comfortable with the writing than the reading!

Production, as always, is by Rick Stringer. The gorgeous cello you hear through some of the story was played by Chris Williams, a local musician and teacher we've known for years. Thanks Chris!

Rick also came up with this sweet bit of art for the story:


That little tyke in the picture is now 18 years old and 6'3".

We just made it through some nastiness on the winter weather front. A blizzard tore through, leaving much cold and many snowdrifts in its wake. I've had to drive to and/or from work in weather like this, and it's scary. Particularly the ice and the lack of visibility. It was bad enough that the police were asking people to stay off the roads unless it was an emergency and if it was an emergency, to call 911.

Fortunately, I don't have to drive in that kind of thing anymore. It's one of the blessings of unemployment. Hundreds of schools were closed for the day, including ours, so we all stayed here and stayed warm. I even made some progress on a new short story. This one will break some new ground for me, so I hope it turns out well. I like it so far.

Our podcast, Variant Frequencies, has just posted a flash piece by Christa Faust. We're still a little stunned at getting a name like hers! It's read by Leann Mabry, whose voice I adore. Check it out.

A LJ friend recently posted on depression, for which I thank her. It's an ongoing battle for me, too, but I'm reluctant to say anything because part of mine is that I'm sure people don't want to hear about it. I found her post interesting because some of it rang very true for me but other parts didn't, which tells me it really is experienced individually. Also because she writes so damn well. I've been writing privately about mine, which is helpful because I don't have to censor any of it.

It's still there, though. Those emo commercials make it seem like all I have to do is take Cymbalta or Effexor and I'll be happy again. I am on meds, and some days I wonder if they do anything at all. Maybe it'd be that much worse if I didn't take them, though. The worst of it is isolation (not the same as being alone, which I like), worthlessness, guilt that I spend so much time on myself, and anger directed inward and outward. There's physical stuff, too.

The people who love me, save me. I enjoy their company and they lift my spirits and take me out of myself for a while. Leaving the hospital job gives me more energy for them.

But it seems that depression is always lurking.

A new Variant Frequencies story is now live, titled "Spired" by Jonathan C. Gillespie and narrated by John Cmar (aka Cmaaaaarrrrr). As usual, produced by the wizard of GarageBand, Rick Stringer, whose sound effects and music add to the tension and danger.

What it's about:

Obsession is close kin to determination. For one man, an alien peak seems just another obstacle capable of being conquered with the right set of tools. But any climber will tell you — you don’t want to look back the way you came.

Also, go have a look at Apex Online, January issue. That's matt_wallace, who I may have mentioned a time or two, as the featured writer for January. There's a highly entertaining interview and a story by Matt. Go have a look, then say something nice to him about it, because he's very needy.

That tasty litle piece of artwork goes with my new story, Paid In Full which just went live on the Variant Frequencies podcast. It's the latest addition to the Amarant series, a collection of tales that explore the notion of immortality. This one was a lot of fun to write. It's got sex and violence galore, and Lorrie Mennenga's reading captures the character perfectly. Follow the link and have a listen, or better yet, subscribe at iTunes and hear all of our podcasts as they come out. We think they're pretty good.

The song featured with this episode is called Division Road by Mue Sephei. My son knows some of the group's members from his college courses. It's good to have connections! Check out their unique brand of alternative rock at their MySpace page.

Also brand new is issue #2 of Murky Depths. Just look at that lucious cover art by Geff Taylor and tell me you don't want to get your hands on it! Mine arrived today and I've just started digging in to the stories. Also check out the MD team page at the Murky Depths website. Yep, that's me. Only I'm much younger and cuter in real life. I'm now a co-editor. (They like me, they really like me!)

Is this cool, or what?

Hit the link and scroll down a bit. Right there, in the guest list for Hypericon 4, Nashville's Speculative Fiction Convention, Celebrating Science Fiction, Horror, & Fantasy Literature, Arts, & Media, that's my name. I am going to be a guest at Hypericon!

I don't know what the program will be like as it's all still in planning stages, but I think they're having more panels on podcasting. So I'll talk up Variant Frequencies. And, y'know, maybe hit the room parties.

It's all about networking.

I received word from Rick that our podcast, Variant Frequencies, has won another Parsec award at this year's Dragon*con. Once again, we won in the short story category. The story is called No World for Warriors. It's part of the Amarant series, which will continue soon. I promise.

So congrats to Matt for writing a fantastic story, and Rick for an excellent production. Proud of you guys.

Making good progress on the previously mentioned short story. It'll be coming soon on Variant Frequencies.

Speaking of the podcast there's a review up at Listening News. Check it out, listen to the stories they mention, and see if you agree.

Finally, I've seen the front and back cover for the first issue of Murky Depths. The cover art is absolutely stunning. It's beautiful and shocking. I love the two levels, the vast difference between what you see above water and below.

The editors have scored some amazing talent for issue 1. It looks like a collector's item to me. It's a geniune thrill for me to see my name in the list on the back.