Hey everybody, M. here,

The other day DMR Books released the cover and table of contents for the soon-to-be released first installment in the Die By The Sword anthology series, so get ready sword & sorcery fans! DMR is one of the premier forces driving the world of contemporary sword & sorcery today and I consider it a true honor to have my story The Tears of Blood appearing among the 11 new tales in this volume. As you can see from the absolutely amazing cover art right there by John Pound, you’re in for the real deal with this one!

As a side note, Pound was the creative force and main artist behind Garbage Pail Kids back in the day. That series undoubtedly played a role in my developing sense of aesthetics and sense of humor when I was very, very young. As if this anthology wasn’t already exciting enough! I must admit I looked a bit like Adam Bomb (or perhaps his twin Blasted Billy) when I found this out.

More on my story later, and you won’t have to wait much longer–the anthology is on the way in May. That means this May will be a month for magic and mayhem like no other! Keep your weapons sharp, your eyes wide open, and prepare for adventure!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

Hot on the tail of the other day’s official announcement about my horror-comedy A Roommate Named Lazarus Black being slated to appear in the cosmic horror anthology that Eerie River Publishing is putting out later this year, I’ve got some more exciting news. Those familiar with editor/author C.M. Muller‘s acclaimed yearly anthology Nightscript may have seen that he has recently launched a new publication called Chthonic Material Quarterly. I am happy to say that my weird horror story Sticky has been accepted to appear in CMQ in one of the 2024 issues.

Since it’s still a ways out I’m not going to say too much about the story, just rest assured that you can look forward to: Exhaustive paranoia! Gloppy weirdness! Distressing imagery! Mysterious fluids! Not to mention a little love (or something like it), a few madcap laughs, and a bunch of other surprises.

So keep your pineal gland primed and pointed at this frequency for more updates on this one as it gets closer to go-time (and follow me over on Facebook while you’re at it for even more shenanigans).

And if you’re looking for some of my other recently published stuff to read while you’re waiting for the new stuff to hit the shelves, don’t forget to pick up the latest issue of Lovecraftiana: The Magazine of Eldritch Horror featuring my tale of weird science and Mythos mayhem, The Study of Worms. Have I mentioned that story contains a scene featuring a five-gallon glass carboy filled with blood? I certainly have, but I can’t repeat it often enough! Get into it!

Take care everyone!
-M.

Hey everybody, M. here,

I’m running out the door right now but I realized that I’ve got a couple of things worth mentioning real quick, first of all I’ve got a…

New Story Forthcoming in an Eerie River Anthology!
I’ve been alluding to this one being on the way for a while, so I am happy as a shoggoth splashing around in its own syrup (and I think we all know how much they love that) to announce that I signed a contract the other day and my new story, A Roommate Named Lazarus Black, will be appearing in the upcoming cosmic horror anthology from Eerie River Publishing and will mark my first appearance in one of their collections. If you have somehow missed them, Eerie River is a Canadian indie horror press and the brainchild of author/editor/publisher Michelle River. Eerie River has been putting out all sorts of excellent and acclaimed books over the past few years and I am stoked to have a story slated to appear in one of them.

I’m also as happy as Nyarlethotep noshing on a Nutty Buddy Bar (well established as that particular Elder God’s favorite snack) to say that this anthology is curated by none other than Tim Mendees one of the most prolific authors and foremost humorists in today’s weird horror world. If you’re not familiar with his work, you should most definitely check out his two short story collections, his goth/industrial radio show (on which yours truly recently appeared as a guest), the festival he just organized in the UK and any of his gazillion other projects. And then get ready for this anthology, which I anticipate being a truly madcap romp of fear and fun! Of grotesquerie and levity! Seriously I can only imagine it’s going to be a doozy.

What can you expect from my story in particular? It’s a cosmic horror-comedy that is, I guess you could say, about dealing with the trials and tribulations of urban renting and the need to find a roommate in a pinch, or at least that’s where things begin–that’s as close to a spoiler as you’re getting. The anthology is slated for a June release, so keep an eye out here and over on Facebook for more information as things develop.

A Dazzling World now available (free) in audiobook form!
Early last month I got an amazing surprise from my buddy Rob, who you may be familiar with as the bassist of prog band Hedgehog and the Fox and the host of the Apocalypse Cinema podcast, that he had done an audiobook reading of my short story A Dazzling World. The story is an odd little sci-fi/horror tale of green goo, aesthetics, and entomological obsessions that initially appeared in print in JayHenge Publishing‘s Professor Feiff’s Compleat Guide to Xenobiology… anthology (which is, by the way, quite good cover-to-cover). The audiobook rendition of it sounds absolutely amazing, so give it a listen here.

Don’t Forget to Grab the Latest Lovecraftiana!
If you’re looking for some new Cthulhu and Cthulhu-adjacent fiction to wrap your tentacles around and you have yet to pick up a copy of the Candlemas 2023 issue of Lovecraftiana: The Magazine of Eldritch Horror, you can still quite easily and economically grab that monstrous volume in print or on Kindle and commence to reading yourself screamingly, frothingly nuts! Featuring a bunch of brand new, weird fiction, a piece of non-fiction by John DeLaughter about the first run of Weird Tales a century ago, and of course my new novelette of odd gods, weird bugs, and mad science, The Study of Worms.

Anyway, I am now officially running late so if there are any typos or poorly constructed sentences/jokes, that’s my excuse. Take care everyone!
-M.