Hey everybody, M. here,

So we’re now just about a month into 2025 and I’m finally getting around to posting this update (though I did put some of the images that you will find below up on Facebook earlier in the month). Truth is I’ve been a little distracted, but I’m happy to report that not all of it has been the type of unproductive distraction I’m always complaining about. I’ve made a concerted effort to get back to reading as much as I used to and have been doing alright in that respect. I’ve also been making my way through the movies I picked up during the Vinegar Syndrome Black Friday sale, thus far having watched the excellent philosophical sci-fi flick Phase IV, an early-’70s curio which was the only film shot by film title designer Saul Bass, and the less essential but nevertheless interesting (and sort of Larry Cohen-adjacent) late-’80s building horror flick Dark Tower, both about which I might write more later (really, I might. I know I always mention this but I keep feeling like I’m on the verge of doing some writing about movies again, I just haven’t quite made the commitment yet).

Anyway now on to the important stuff.

Pictures of Chthonic Matter Quarterly, Winter 2024 issue
I received my contributor copies of Chthonic Matter Quarterly #8, the Winter 2024 issue, in the mail a few weeks ago. This has to be one of the most excellent looking publications I have appeared in thus far, and you can see the beautiful book right there pictured among some of my most paranoid favorites.

Right there on page one begins my story Sticky, a tale that adheres itself to your fingers/eyeballs/cortex and won’t let go. So pick one of them up in print or for your Kindle and get yourself thoroughly sticky with my tale of anxiety, isolation, and love or something like it. And it contains seven other strange and horrific new tales from some great authors to enjoy as well.

Stories that came out in 2024
Another year-end/year-beginning recap post means, of course, another one of those pictures of all the anthologies I appeared in over the course of the year. So you can see the three anthologies I was in last year all lined up. I think they look pretty excellent next to each other, and I think each of them has some of the best anthology cover art/design of anything I’ve been in so far.

First pictured is Necronomi-RomCom (Dark Edition), the edition of the two-book duology from Transformations By Obsidian Butterfly which contains my body-horror rom-com Hearts Synchronize, in which our hero’s search for love and metaphysical truth brings him into contact with horror and hilarity from beyond space-time. If anything, I am almost certain this story is the only piece of Cthulhu Mythos fiction wherein experimental composer Iannis Xenakis is mentioned, or if not that, then the only romantic comedy in which he is mentioned. (My story also appears in the hardcover omnibus edition of Necronomi-RomCom, which contains stories from both the Dark and Light editions and has a cover that does a super creative visual mashup of the covers of the two books.)

In the middle is Die By The Sword Vol. II which contains my story The Eye Within The Eye, a direct followup to The Tears of Blood which appeared in the first DBTS anthology from DMR Books. The story continues the adventures of Ulxedomus, the Crown Prince of K’Zal, as he seeks revenge against his brother the usurper. This one’s filled with even more weird phenomena, bloody battles, mad monarchs, clashing steel, and brooding romanticism than the first one!

And then last and certainly not least is the latest issue of CMQ, containing my story Sticky which I discussed at greater length up above, but I’ll repeat it–check this one out!

2024 may not have been a high-volume year for me in terms of having stories come out, but I think each of these stories, in their own way, represent some of my best work that has appeared in print to date. So don’t hesitate to grab one and give it a read! (Buy Necronomi-RomCom here, buy Die By The Sword Vol. II here, buy Chthonic Matter Quarterly Winter 2024 here.)

On the way in 2025 so far…
So what’s on the way in 2025? My new story #FireOfLove is slated to appear in an upcoming horror anthology from Burial Books sometime later this year. They’re an up-and-coming indie publisher who are behind the successful Inanimate Things anthology series, and I’m really excited to be appearing in one of their books.

What’s the story about? It’s maybe a supernatural horror story, maybe a twisty noir thriller, maybe a meditation on the meaning of meme-ified mayhem, and maybe all three of those things and more.

So keep an eye out for more word on that one later in the year, and hopefully there will be much more news to come as the year gets moving. Take care everybody!

-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

The first day of winter is here, and with it comes the Winter 2024 issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly, which contains eight new tales of horror including my story Sticky. The story is a paranoid tale of apartment dwelling, grody coatings, cosmic despair, and love or something like it, and as is always the case when I have a story published, I’m tempted to reveal too much, so I’m going to stop myself before I get into spoiler territory.

Suffice it to say that I’m thrilled to see this one in print and honored to have it appear in a beautiful publication like CMQ, which is home to some of the most interesting and innovative weird horror coming out today. The magazine, if you’re not familiar with it already, is the brainchild of author, editor, and publisher CM Muller who previously published the popular Nightscript anthology series.

So pick up a copy in print or for Kindle and buckle in! And if you dig my story or any of the others, don’t hesitate to put a review up wherever you do your reviewing. If you’re on Facebook, give me a “like” or a “follow” over there as well. That platform seems intent on making itself less useful each passing second for indie authors (or anyone really) to reach people, but it still represents the totality of my social media footprint at the moment, so another few likes, follows, or shares is always appreciated.

Time to go take care of some stuff, I’ll probably be back here with a year-end wrap-up pretty soon, take care everyone!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

Happy to report that I sold a new story the other day. The story is called #FireOfLove and will be appearing in an upcoming un-themed horror anthology from Burial Books in 2025. I’d write more about it but I don’t want to give out any details about the story at this point, plus I’ve been really sick over the past week or so and everything is still a little foggy. Stay tuned here and on Facebook for more news as things develop in the coming weeks and months!

-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

Wow! I totally meant to post about this early last month and stuff has just gotten away from me. I’ve been pretty busy and getting used to doing things a bit differently, as at the end of July I relocated and it was my first major move in more than a decade. Since then I have been able to get some pictures posted over on Facebook of my contributor copy of Necronomi-RomCom (Dark Edition) but have been too distracted with settling in and other assorted excitement of a mentally taxing variety to post images of the book on this here blog until now. So without further ado, here are some pictures of it!

For those who ended up here through an errant, perhaps drunken Google search and have no idea what they’re looking at, this one half of the latest horror duology published by new indie press Transformations by Obsidian Butterfly which contains 19-some “Lovecraftian horror rom-coms.” That is to say, romantic comedy/horror mashups that employ elements of the Cthulhu Mythos.

If you’ve read some of my stuff before you might already know that this is not my first shoggoth-wrangling rodeo when it comes to mashing up cosmic horror with romantic comedy (as you’ll find most recently in my story in the From Beyond The Threshold anthology which came out last year and has at least a little bit of that vibe, I think).

My story in Necronomi-RomCom, Hearts Synchronize, follows our perennially underemployed hero Greg Beaman, whose messy and madcap search for love brings him into contact with truths metaphysical, beings extra-spatial, and horrors sometimes horrific and sometimes hilarious. I’ve included a picture of that bit from the story intro right there so you can get a feel for what you’re getting yourself into. If it seems like you’re kind of thing, you can order a copy right here or if you want even MORE stories in a Necronomi-romcomantic vein, grab a copy of the hardcover omnibus edition, which contains all the stories from both the Dark and Light versions of the book (and which has a cover that takes the already incredible covers of both books and does something even more incredible and totally high-concept with them).

And if you dig the story, please do give the book a review on Amazon, Goodreads, your blog, or wherever else reviews are found!

Anyway, things have been a little slow going over here with all the distraction, but I’ve been working on some stuff in fits and starts that will hopefully start coming together over the next few months. I’ve once again been going back and forth about if I should try to get into a schedule of writing and posting movie reviews here, or maybe some other sort of content that people can get into between when I’ve got new stories coming out in anthologies to talk about, but I’ve as yet bonked on that. I have at least been watching more movies again recently, though–I picked up a latter-day Claude Chabrol collection that I have been working my way through as well as a couple Bela Tarr movies.

Also don’t forget I’ve got my story Sticky coming out in Chthonic Matter Quarterly at the end of this year. More about that one should be coming soon.

Time for me to try to get some work done. Drop me a line or write a review or follow me on Facebook if you dig what I do (I’m still there for now, even though they seem to be throttling the reach for author pages so much now that I might actually start looking for another social media platform to put my stuff on and/or scroll mindlessly.)

Take care everyone,
-M.

Hey everyone, M. here,

I’m thrilled to share that the Necronomi-RomCom anthology has been called forth from the abyss and is now available for purchase in paperback or Kindle format!

After two years of Cthulhuvian gestation in the hands of editor/publisher Gevera Bert Piedmont this two-tome duology is finally here, featuring dozens of tales that bridge the gap between the heartfelt hilarity of romantic comedies and the mind-numbing terrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m happy to be again appearing alongside some of my favorite contemporary cosmic horror authors, John DeLaughter, J.L. Royce, and Miguel Fliguer (whose story with Mike Slater appears in the Light edition) and a ton of other names both new and familiar.

My story Hearts Synchronize appears in the Dark edition and, as I put it over on Facebook, follows perennially underemployed hero Greg Beaman as he takes on two of humanity’s most enduring metaphysical questions: 1.) what is love? and 2.) why do squid-maggots the size of a 12-pound trout keep emerging from another dimension and coming after me?

I can’t tell you if this tale holds the answer to either of those questions because those would be big spoilers, but I can tell you that on the way to finding out you’ll get romantic escapades, body horror and barfing aplenty, and even a reference to experimental composition or two. Everything you’ve ever wanted in a romantic comedy, right?  So check it out, and while you’re waiting for the book to hit your mailbox, take another second to marvel at that incredible cover art for the Dark edition right there on the screen. I can’t wait to see what this arcane volume looks like in print!

More news to come soon, take care everyone!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

I can’t believe I am only just now getting around to posting this here (though I did share it over on Facebook) but a few weeks ago I got my contributor copy of Die By The Sword Volume II and the book looks truly incredible.

You can see it in the picture there on the left, but this is seriously one to pick up a physical copy of in order to appreciate the energy radiating from this beast, and to enjoy the contents!

This anthology contains my story The Eye Within The Eye, a direct sequel to The Tears of Blood which appears in the first Die By The Sword anthology. It follows Ulxedomus, Crown Prince of K’Zal, and the alien now trapped in his eye socket, as they traverse a bizarre and hostile world of weird cults, mad monarchs, and vicious adversaries to track down his brother–the usurper who brought the Kingdom of K’Zal to ruin.

I am happy to say that I am once again appearing alongside NWOTHM luminary Howie K. Bentley and Celtic scholar Ethan Sabetella who had stories in the first book, as well as U.K. genre fiction legend Adrian Cole, who I have appeared alongside previously in Weirdbook and Startling Stories, and a bunch of other authors writing the grittiest, wildest new dark fantasy going. So dig in for blood and thunder; heroes and horrors! And if you haven’t yet, you can still pick up the first, acclaimed Die By The Sword anthology to start with the debut adventure.

The Necronomi-RomCom is coming…
In other news the hotly-anticipated Cthulhu Mythos/rom-com mashup anthology Necronomi-RomCom is getting closer to hitting the shelves–word has it from publisher Obsidian Butterfly that the book is in the midst of the layout process at the moment. The dark book of the duology will contain my short story Hearts Synchronize, a romantic comedy that contains way more body horror, experimental musical composition, threats from extra-spatial realms, and probably also more barfing than your average Hallmark movie–so the way Hallmark movies should be in an ideal world.

As you can see in one of my previous posts, the cover art is totally on point. The lineup is solid, too — I’m stoked to be appearing once again alongside some of my favorite writers of contemporary Lovecraft fiction John A. DeLaughter, J.L. Royce, and Miguel Fliguer (Argentina’s one and only expert on Lovecraftian cooking, whose story with Mark Slater will appear in the light book), and a ton of other names both known and new to me. Can’t wait for this one to arrive!

Anyway, time for me to try to stop staring at the screen for a second and do some reading. Take care everyone!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

Big news in case you missed it! Earlier this week, Die By The Sword Volume II hit the shelves, containing 12 new stories of blood-soaked high adventure including my latest, The Eye Within The Eye. The story is a direct sequel to my story The Tears of Blood from the first volume of Die By The Sword, and follows the continuing adventures of Ulxedomus, Crown Prince of K’Zal, now augmented with an alien presence occupying his eye socket, as he tracks his brother the Usurper through a weird, violent world of mad monarchs, crazed cults, deadly landscapes, bizarre monstrosities and more on his quest for vengeance.

Don’t sleep on this one, fans of blood and thunder! Grab yourself a copy right here and dig in if you dare! If you’ve not yet read the story that kicked off the adventure, you can still pick up a copy of the acclaimed first Die By The Sword anthology as well.

And you’re curious about my inspiration, influences, and so on when it comes to writing sword & sorcery, weird horror, science fiction, and more, check out this interview I did last year with DMR Books as part of the Independent Author Spotlight. I got a chance to go deep into my background as an author, the differences between writing dark fantasy set in a secondary world and fiction in contemporary settings, and a bunch of other stuff you might find interesting.

-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

I mentioned last spring that I had a story slated to come out some time in 2024 in C.M. Muller‘s new quarterly anthology series Chthonic Matter Quarterly. I’m happy to announce that I received some more details (and signed a contract), and my story Sticky will be appearing in the Winter 2024 issue of CMQ. It’s a weird one, and not one you’ll want to miss. Keep an eye out here (and on Facebook) for more news!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

I’m happy to report that the big news that I have been alluding to since the end of last year is now public — I can officially reveal that my sword & sorcery story The Eye Within The Eye will be appearing in Die By The Sword Volume II from DMR Books in March. The story is the direct sequel to The Tears of Blood which appeared in the first volume of the anthology series. You can check out the full table of contents for the anthology over at the DMR website, and before you even get there feast your eyes on the mind-blowing cover illustration by Matthew Skillern below:

I’m rushing right now so I can’t write as much as I’d like, but there will be plenty more to say about this one here and over on Facebook in the coming days, so keep a lookout and get ready!
-M.

Hey everyone, M. here,

Stuff is starting to get cooking here in 2024 as anthology editor/curator Gevera Bert Piedmont over at Obsidian Butterfly just released the cover art and table of contents for The Necronomi-RomCom, As I shared over on Facebook the other day, my short story Hearts Synchronize will be appearing in the dark incarnation of the two-tome duology, alongside stories from some authors I have appeared alongside before, like J.L. Royce and John A. DeLaughter, and a bunch more practitioners of modern Mythos fiction.

You can see the full table of contents right here, with links to other author webpages and so on. Both books are scheduled to come out sometime during the summer.

As you can see here from the preview image, the cover is a jaw-dropper. I think it nails the perfect balance between the aesthetics of an ancient arcane tome and a Valentine, and I’m looking forward to see how all the stories therein do the same.

As I said, I’ll be appearing in the “dark” volume of this book, and there is also sure to be plenty of scorchers in the light volume of the set, the cover for which you can see to the right. Yes, the design aesthetics here are enough to drive you to frothing, babbling madness and the stories will be too!

As I mentioned in my last post, the Lovecraftian rom-com (or just the horror/rom-com mashup in general) is a genre close to my heart, and I think my story A Roommate Named Lazarus Black, which appears in the From Beyond The Threshold anthology from Eerie River Publishing probably falls under this category at least somewhat–if you’re looking for something to check out in a similar vein from me while you’re waiting to see what this one is all about.

That’s about all I’ve got for the moment — still waiting for the go-ahead on some big news which should be coming soon. In the meantime I’ll just be continuing to try to wrestle back my concentration from the doldrums of distraction, and enjoying the arctic weather. Take care everyone!
-M.