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Blog postRemember in the early 2000s when everyone hated Lars Ulrich for coming out against Napster? Were you one of them? Or did you side with the 300,000 users Metallica outed in their case against the company?
Here's why I ask: file sharing has existed for over two decades now. It's been around almost as long as the lifespan of the cassette tape.
An entire generation has grown up with free access to movies, television and books. They were born into piracy. What I'm saying is that tr -
Blog postThe other day, the horror website Bloody Disgusting posted an article written by one of my favorite horror directors, Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House), titled ",,Facing Fear in Times of Uncertainty." In it he speaks about how he acclimatized himself to horror movies as a child, the importance of the genre during times of crisis, and how it can help us get through our own legitimate fears.
Reading this brought to mind something I'd been thinking about -
Blog postBefore I get started with all these free and cheap horror links, I have a quick story about an epidemic we went through in Toronto and elsewhere nearly 20 years ago. Feel free to skip it, if you like.
I graduated college for Television Broadcasting the year SARS happened. It was the same year Arnold Schwarzenegger, as governor of CaleeFORnya, tried to terminate the Canadian film and TV industry. With this one-two punch, I ended up working as a baker at Tim Hortons for a year while pla -
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Blog postMy parents live in a small island community out on the Georgia Strait. There's a path from their house down to a beach littered with oyster shells from the leases that run just offshore on their side of the island. The steps going down the hill are old and rotten but serviceable.
During one visit I stepped on a stair which was apparently home to a nest of angry wasps. I got stung on my head, my back, my arms and legs before I was able to make it to safety. I guess I had an allergic re -
Blog postIf you're just starting out in the indie/small press world, there are lots of things you'll discover by trial and error. Even if you've been at it for a few years or more, it's a constantly shifting landscape that's often difficult to navigate, particularly without the proper tools at your disposal. Trends and platforms change so quickly it's entirely possible this post may be out of date in a few months.
This is going to be a long and in-depth post because I want to cover as much of -
Blog postOkay, I apologize for that clickbaity title. Of course 3 stars hasn't transposed 5. But I do want to talk about the 3-Star Review and why I generally like them.
This started last week when I received a couple of 3-star reviews for my new novel, Ghostland. Both were great reviews. (Just so I'm not mistaken, I appreciate all of my reviews and the readers who provide them, whether they liked the book or didn't think much of it.) The first of these reviews was critical and made several ex -
Blog postWhile plotting the next installments in the Ghostland trilogy, I've been finishing off a complete rewrite of a novel I first wrote back in 2012. This was technically my first completed novel. What writers often call a "trunk novel." The original manuscript is collecting dust in a box in my closet and will hopefully never see the light of day. (Unless someone Go Set a Watchmans me after I'm dead, which is frankly unlikely given that I am no Harper Lee.)
The Midwives was an id -
Blog postIf this is the first you've heard of cult horror author Rex Garrote from me, read this post first, then this one. None of this will make any sense unless you've read the previous posts.
For those of you who've been following along with me as I dig into this bizarre mystery, something extremely interesting happened today on Twitter - where nothing interesting ever happens. *wink wink* I was going about my day when I got tagged in this tweet.
For clarification, @userbits is me. -
Blog postThis is the fourth and final (?) installment of the Rex Garrote Mystery posts. If this is the first you've heard of Rex Garrote, for context read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
"People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden." - Narrator/Jack, Chuck Palahnuik's Fight Club So... who is Rex Garrote?
By now you've heard more than enough about him from me - and if you've been paying attention, you've likely figured out that he's a figment of my imagination. You may also -
Blog postHave you ever experienced the so-called "Mandela Effect"? Wikipedia describes it as the phenomenon of remembering something that didn't exist or happen. It's also called "false memory." But for anyone who's experienced it themselves, it's hard to imagine your own brain could make up something that never existed and then wholeheartedly believe it did.
One of the most famous examples of the phenomenon - aside from the namesake, where thousands of people allegedly bel -
Blog postMy first brand-new horror novel in - has it been two years already? - well, however long it's been, the book has finally arrived! GHOSTLAND is finally out today. Short synopsis, "Jurassic Park meets The Shining," or "Jurassic Park but with ghosts." But for those of you requiring more, here's the full synopsis:
1. The SynopsisPeople are dying to get in. The ghosts will kill to get out. Be first in line for the most haunted theme park in the world - GHOSTLAND! Discov -
Blog postWell, things just got a lot weirder.
This is an update to last week's post, which you should read here before you go any further. Last week I posted about my experiences with the Mandela Effect/false memory phenomenon, specifically in reference to the apparently obscure horror author Rex Garrote, who may or may not exist. I spoke with many of you about it on social media.
Some people thought I was trolling, for obvious reasons - what's another harmless lie to a guy who makes stuff -
Blog postI’ve always had a soft spot for Clive Barker's Nightbreed. I am well aware it's not the greatest film in movie history. But it's stuck with me all these years. I first watched it in 1991, after it was released to VHS. By then I'd already read the book it was based on, Cabal, which I'd picked up at my local library.
It wasn't my favorite read from Barker, I'll admit. I had already gotten used to his more detailed works like Imajica, The Damnation Game and The Great and Secret Show. Epi -
Blog postI'm not much of a conspiracy theorist. I don't think the moon landing was faked, that 9/11 was an inside job, that there are aliens at Roswell, or that Oswald had a partner in crime. But I am very skeptical of, and cynical about, Amazon's marketing services, their mysterious "algorithms," and "cost-per-click" advertising in general.
It may be a bit overly ambitious of me to tackle this topic. I've done a fair bit of research but I'm in no way an industry expert. So -
Blog postEveryone who's ever decided writing might be something they want to do for the rest of their lives - or at the very least keep as an intensive hobby - knows the feeling. What should I be writing? What's the book that will get me to the next level in my career and in my "craft"? What's the concept and who are the characters that readers will fall in love with - that I'll fall in love with long enough to let it take up so much of my time and my life?
What the f*ck do I do now? -
Blog postA Look Back at the Many Covers for My Debut Horror Collection, GRISTLE & BONE.
Man, ,Gristle & Bone has had more covers than the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"! Since I self-published it in early-2014, it's had as many covers as years it's been out! So let's go way back and take a look at the earliest cover, with original artwork by my younger brother, Morgan Ralston.
Original cover
I was pretty happy with this one at the time, and I -
Blog postI've been thinking about this a lot lately as I get asked this question a fair bit, so I thought I'd wade in on the subject. How do you know when it's finished? Be it a screenplay, a short story or a novel - how do you know when the damn thing is done? And not just done, but ready to be kicked out of the house to fend for itself? That is to say, when is your creation ready to be judged by industry professionals and/or readers?
What I like to say: "You can just feel it."
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Blog postThere's a term I like, coined by author Dean Wesley Smith over on his blog, called "writing into the dark." This means writing without an outline, without an overall plan, without a safety net, and without much by way of process aside from sitting your ass down and pecking away at the damn thing—be it a novel or a short story or a screenplay—until it feels right.
Actual video footage of me at my desk.
Some writers call it "pantsing it." As in, writing by th -
Blog postThe creative process in gif form.
Some people have asked if I have a writing regimen.
I've been writing about 10k a week since January. That's good for me. I usually get about 1000 to 1500 words a day (I write slow - editing during so I have less to edit after), except on weekends when I usually take a break to do life stuff. So this is on average 2k per day in a five day work week. It helps that I'm enjoying the stuff I'm writing. I've had a helluva time banging out my latest -
Blog postThere sure has been a lot of "advice" swirling around the blogosphere / Twitterverse / #bookstagram / every other made-up internet destination this past week. Most of it has been centered on what is and is not allowable behavior by authors*. And since I like being told what I can't do about as much as wheelchair-bound John Locke (the character, not the philosopher - but probably him too), I've decided to take on the task of breaking down these dos and don'ts.
*For the purpos
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