On February 27, we read our poetry at the Grey Wolfe Scriptorium in Clawson, MI. The bookstore had chosen “‘Til Death: Marriage Poems” (Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2017) as its February Book Club selection and invited us to read selections of our poetry and discuss the book. We fielded questions about our writing process, our biggest challenges, and our most satisfying moments. We also shared Tripleberry Pie and Michigan Apple Pie from Why Not Pie?
The Doktor captured the reading on video, so we are pleased to share the reading here.
Thanks again to the Grey Wolfe Scriptorium for hosting the event!
James Frederick Leach and Janice Leach, AKA Doktor Leech and Elsa L., unbox a very special delivery of their own co-authored collection of poetry titled “‘Til Death: Marriage Poems.” Observe their delight as they get their first glimpse of the physical copies of a volume which reflects the “horrors and happy afters of a long relationship.”
“‘Til Death: Marriage Poems” is available at Amazon.
Thank you to Jennifer Barnes and John Edward Lawson at Raw Dog Screaming Press for their support and encouragement on this project.
Thanks to the wonderful editorial work from Raw Dog Screaming Press Poetry Editor, Stephanie Wytovich.
Doktor Leech supports several creators through Patreon, and one of them is occult researcher and novelist Michelle Belanger. Watch as the Doktor opens the book bonus she sent.
As he mentions in this video, his recent favorite title by Michelle Belanger is Harsh Gods.
If you are wondering “How do I support the arts and artists in this crazy, mixed-up world?”, wonder no further! Listen as Doktor Leech explains why Patreon is his favorite method of doing good in the world through enabling him easily to support the work of Michelle Belanger and other creators. Check out Patreon, and support your favorite artists.
In this vlog, Doktor Leech opens the Traveling Moleskine, a nifty project for writers spawned by horror writer MontiLee Stormer. MontiLee assembled a list of creative types who each get an opportunity to contribute to the Traveling Moleskine. It’s sort of like a chain letter, but with more creativity and potential mayhem.
The Doktor freaks out a bit because in opening the package and reading the instructions, he discovers that each contributor only gets ONE WEEK to make their mark before sending the book along to the next artiste… and he’s postponed opening this package WAY TOO LONG.
Doktor Leech plays Bible salesman for “The Sadist’s Bible” by Nicole Cushing, specifically for the Kickstarter campaign to produce a printed version of this weird and deliciously transgressive novella.
Consider contributing to help make this strange thing real. More information here.
The Doktor DIGS Cushing. Check out this other video about her postcard club.
The Doktor chatted with Nicole at the World Horror Convention in Atlanta, 2015 and a podcast of that interview can be found here.
I’ll likely DIE before I finish reading books like THESE!
I already own more books than I could possibly read in my lifetime–not that this fact slows the rate at which I buy more books, mind you. Perhaps part of my mind is blissfully unaware of my eventual mortality. Perhaps some scrap of my psyche buried since adolescence thinks I *will* be able to read everything. Thanks a LOT, Tempest Bradford, for reminding me that I’m going to die with most of my books unread.
Seriously, that’s the most controversial, click-bait-y spin I can put on the challenge made last February by K. Tempest Bradford. Read it, why don’t you? Some of the dust has settled… or maybe it’s just been eclipsed by other, more pointless controversies. I blog about as slowly as I read, so I’m only getting around to boosting this idea now.
Don’t be DECEIVED by that smile! Tempest Bradford makes White Men CRY! (pictured here with Chesya Burke, Mary SanGiovanni and Lucy Snyder at MoCon X)
TL:DR? To paraphrase, Tempest proposes that readers might construct a self-directed reading list that looks beyond white, straight, cis-gendered male writers. Try it for a year, even if you happen to be non-white, non-straight, non-cis-gendered, non-male yourself. You might learn something.
But I take a different approach to what is, basically, the same point. I know my own experience… and it bores me. I read to extend that experience, to visit the universe next door, to sample what it might be like to be someone else. Reading allows me to bolt on enhancements to my factory-standard life without sutures, scar tissue or electrodes on my neck. I suspect most folks who are drawn to speculative fiction are particularly familiar with this interest in literary transcendence, so to speak. The mainstream world confuses it with “escape.” I prefer to view it as a choice to live more fully and deeply.
And I am particularly susceptible to challenges. (Perhaps the less said about that character trait the better… unless proof surfaces on Youtube.)
After I read her article, I scanned my disheveled shelves and scooped up a tall pile of books that I already own which would satisfy the challenge. Some of these works I had wanted to read for years. Worse, some of these works I had *pretended* to have read. Egad, in at least one case, these authors are my friends. Clearly, following the challenge would allow me to stop this madness, assuage some guilt, in addition to gratifying that weird predilection I have to peer pressure.
This mound of books (only a small portion of which is depicted in the photo above) was far taller than I could realistically read in a year at my current rate of consumption so I made further subdivisions. One stack of “non-male,” another stack of “non-white.” I only balked at the non-cis-gendered category for some really egg-headed theory-licious reasons that I won’t delve into here. The piles were still too high, especially when I factored in the new books that I know are coming out this year that would qualify. So I made another set of subdivisions that are relevant to this blog: I focused on works that were any combination of Midwest + Snob + Horror. Such sub-divisions, I believe, would be cool with Tempest.
Note: these are mostly books I’ve already decided I want to read. I’m just going to, y’know, actually READ them. Note further: I still plan to BUY books by straight white dudes this year. Woe be to one who tries to stand between me and my occasional retail therapy.
I met Tempest Bradford this weekend at MoCon X and we chatted a bit, once I steeled my courage with alcohol. She’s rather charming in person, despite her big bad reputation for making white men cry.
And even if her post, y’know, reared the dark foreboding of the Grim Reaper over my library, one bony finger pointing to my waiting grave.
Wanna know the specific titles I’ve been reading or the ones that are on my shelf? Stay tuned.
Elsa and I make similar points, though with far fewer words and in a largely caffeine-deprived state in this Podcast.
We were delighted to meet the Little Red Reviewer at Context this past fall and excited to be interviewed recently by her. You can read all the details on her blog here. We both had a great time answering her questions.
For an impressive 10 years, the Little Red Reviewer has blogged about books, authors, and reading. Her record as reviewer shows serious commitment. If you are looking for reading recommendations, check out her site!
Subterranean Press publishes gorgeous editions of speculative fiction, and they’re based right here in the Midwest which makes them a special delight to the Midwest Horror Snobs here at the DailyNightmare. To celebrate 20 years of publishing, Subterranean Press is teaming up with the Humble Bundle and WorldBuilders with a great promotion. Hurry over to Humble Books to pickup some choice ebooks at very reasonable prices. BUT HURRY because the offer is only good until March 3rd.
Humble Bundle is a nifty operation which offers bundles of books, games and comics, and splits the proceeds with a charity. For the Subterranean Press promotion, pay WHATEVER you want and you get seven ebooks, DRM-free — (including The Ape’s Wife and other Stories, a collection of dark weird fiction by Caitlin Kiernan who is one the Doktor’s favorite authors.) Pay more than the average price (currently about $13 bucks) to unlock a FULL DOZEN more titles (including Clive Barker‘s Tortured Souls and The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein by Thomas Ligotti) or pay more than $15 to unlock the whole kit and kaboodle.
One slick feature of the Humble Bundle is a set of sliders that allow you the purchaser to decide how much of your contribution goes to Subterranean Press or a charity, in this case WorldBuilders. All, none, little, some, you get to decide. Worldbuilders deserves a plug all on its own. Formed as a registered charity by fantasy writer Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear) Worldbuilders rewards folks who donate to Heifer International. Heifer International is non-profit charity that seems to me is based on the traditional wisdom, “Give someone a fish, feed for a day; teach someone to fish, feed for a lifetime.” Heifer International gives folks the means to change the conditions of poverty and hunger. But if it’s not your jam, you can choose to divert your payments to Subterranean Press or Humble Bundle itself.
At least check out the deal before it closes on March 3rd. And if ebooks aren’t your thing, check out Subterranean Press for gorgeous hardbound editions of speculative fictions.
Doll Arm and Trilobite Beads Necklace by the Dreaming Squid https://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamingSquidHere are a few more suggestions from the denizens of Dailynightmare.com to make your holidays a little brighter. As with our earlier Weird and Wonderful Gift suggestions, the ideas below are fantastic opportunities to show off-the-beaten-path affection for the macabre-lover, horror fan, or creatively dark individual on your shopping list. If you don’t have enough time to bring your gift-giving fantasies to life before your self-imposed or calendar-based deadline next week, keep this list handy for the other gift-giving occasions that arise throughout the year.
Check out the Dreaming Squid Dollworks & Sundries on etsy. You’ll find lovely and original handmade art dolls for display as well as jewelry pieces that combine skeleton keys, doll parts and trilobite beads.
We are big fans of MakerWorks, the local maker-space which sports a host of resources, from woodshop and metal works to fabric design and laser cutters. Regularly scheduled classes and workshops teach new skills to users of all levels. A membership could be the perfect gift for someone on your list. Personally, we are very excited about the new Punch Card program which gives flexibly of use for a busy person.
You never know what you’ll find at Painted Lady Trashions at the fabulous local art resource, the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. Are you looking for Ouija board necklaces, vintage gas masks, or a frog skeleton? Their curated curiosity cabinets display a fascinating collection of arty oddities. The Rust Belt is offering extended hours for the next few days; see their website for the details. Not within driving distance? Check out the Etsy Shop.
We’ve written previously about discovering 3DKitbash at the Detroit MakerFaire, and we highly recommend their Boneheads skull kits as well as their printable fashion doll Quin. They’ve added additional 3D printer plans for both lines since we met them, so check out their site. This is a forward-thinking business to keep an eye on.
Screamshaw.com is local business with a webstore that creates jewelry with laser etchings on bone. We liked what we have seen and brought home our own souvenir.
Studio FX 101 in Troy, Michigan is a metro-Detroit maker space that emphasizes design, art, and architecture. The Doktor and I enjoyed one of our weirdest date nights ever making face casts under the skillful tutelage of the workshop leaders. Their offerings also include classes in sculpture and candle making and they sell craft supplies as well. Follow them on Facebook or their website for details on upcoming classes and events.
Gift giving is a common transaction that can be imbued with extra meaning when the gift shows the thoughtfulness of the giver in knowing and honoring the recipient. Although the largest gift-giving season of the year is upon us, showing affection or appreciation to a friend or loved one is not tied to the calendar. Keep these extraordinary Weird and Wonderful Gifts in mind for year-round occasions to come.
If books and ebooks are on your gift lists, hurry over to ChiZine Publications where a Black Friday Sale continues until Monday. With an 80% discount off of ebooks, this is a great opportunity to snap up some gifts for the horror fans in your life– or for yourself. You’ll also find substantial savings on print publications as well.
ChiZine has a wide selection of titles in their catalog including novels, collections and their ChiTeen lines. The Doktor and I were both highly impressed with David Nickle’s The Geisters (2013), which is one of those books we still talking about. We also enjoyed Joey Comeau’s The Summer is Ended and We are not Yet Saved (2013). We picked up several other titles from ChiZine during a summer visit to Bakka Books in Toronto. On our bedside reading tables include other ChiZine books from Gemma Files, Laird Barron and David Nickle.
Now is the time to stuff someone’s stocking, real or digital, while this Chizine sale lasts.
Dig this haul from Raw Dog Screaming Press! RDSP is a quality publisher of strange literature and they recently ran a deliciously strange promotion: buy one of their titles and get 2 additional books. Those ride-along titles could be books from other publishers or other RDSP titles. I’d been meaning to pick up more of their books ever since I saw a display at Context 27.
The Ann Arbor Book Festival resurrected its Street Fair, and Doktor Leech braved the blinding sunshine to haunt a table shared by fellow HWA members David Hayes and Ken MacGregor. Hayes, shown here arranging some of his many publications for sale, is perhaps even better known for his contributions to B-grade horror movies, as writer, producer and actor. Check out A Man called Nereus on the istore.
His “splatire” book series blends extreme horror with social commentary. Seriously, they’re smarter than they might first appear, although the covers themselves are pretty awesome. Cannibal Fat Camp, the first in the series, aptly recalls a Garbage Pail Kid and the second Die, You Zombie Crackers! echoes the prolific Goosebumps series. I opted for the deluxe hard bound edition put out by Brian Keene’s Thunderstorm Books White Lightning series. The limited edition is sold out through the publisher but David had a few copies in reserve. Check out his webpage for more details.
Ken MacGregor‘s first collection An Aberrant Mind caught the eye of many passersby at this all-ages bookshow. Kids seemed particularly attracted to the ‘smiling clown’ on the cover, so we became adept at giving the NSFYA (Not Safe for YA or younger) wave. Ken released this new volume at a book launch reading that demonstrated both his twisted sense of humor and fresh take on the horror story.
Doktor Leech sold the last few copies of last year’s anthology, 13 Quick Shivers: from Dailynightmare.com, though they’re still available through Amazon. A second printing will be available in time for the second annual anthology’s launch.
We anticipate being back for Ann Arbor Book Festival 2015 armed with more books hot off the presses– and lots of sunscreen.
It’s not every day that a local horror fiction writer and colleague launches a new short story collection– but this Saturday is such a day.
Ken MacGregor will read from this just-released book, An Aberrant Mind, and sign copies at BookBound at 1729 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor on June 7 at 3pm.
We first encountered Ken as member of the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW), a group of like-minded authors who share a love of horror, dark fiction, true crime and the like as well as a common goal of supporting local literacy efforts.
We also caught him in a short film which was part of the Three Corpse Circus Festival in 2013. He wrote, directed and starred in The Quirk and the Dead, a love story set in a post-apocalytic world that made us laugh, smile and cringe in quick succession.
From our perspective, Ken is an energetic, creative guy who brings flair, originality and style to whatever he does– so we expect his stories to delight, to surprise, to make us laugh or smile as well as scare us.
We’ll be there to mingle with the horror crowd and applaud the successful efforts of one of our own. Join us this Saturday at Bookbound; costumes optional.
We’ve had questions about what we mean that submissions should be “inspired by” an actual nightmare that we’ve posted on the site. Fair question. Lord knows, the words “Inspired by True Events” have caused us to roll our eyes so often we’ve suffered permanent brain damage. But even though nightmares are “true events,” sometimes devastatingly real for the dreamer, it can be challenging to get to the facts of the matter.
Clearly we’d like it best if you could travel to the dream-realm and uncover the events. You could merge your consciousness with the original dreamer, allowing you to re-enter the actual dream and craft a tale based on that direct experience. Perhaps via a hypnotic trance. Or hire someone to read the account of the nightmare to you, over and over, while you sleep. Alas, we know how hard it is to find professional dream-whisperers these days.
The next best solution —- and fully valid —- would be to evoke the sensation of a dream while using any element of the nightmare in question. ANY element. This kernel could be an image, a turn of phrase, the mood… We ask that your piece stand on its own because it’s highly likely readers won’t look up the original nightmare to check on how closely your account matches.
Pro Tip: Don’t go with your first thought. Or maybe your second or third. Sharpen at least one point of the literary pentagram: character, plot, mood, theme, setting. Further advice: imbue your piece with a “sense of completion” that grants the reader the same sensations experienced following a satisfying dream or nightmare.
DailyNightmare.com is accepting submissions for its second annual anthology of 100-word prose poems based on any of the 350-plus nightmares currently posted on the site (https://dailynightmare.com/category/nightmares/). Payment will be $10.00 made via PayPal and a .pdf of the final anthology in exchange for First World Serial Rights, electronic rights, and reprint rights for posters and postcards. (After one year, rights can be reassigned to the author.) In addition to professional word-rate, this will be a cool-looking publication since we intend to exploit all the tricks of expressive digital typography.
The deadline for submissions is July 1.
A couple extremely specific criteria:
1) All submissions must be “inspired by” one of the nightmares posted on the site. (Hint: Want to submit a story based on one of YOUR nightmares? Then submit a non-fictional account of the nightmare along with the art or story that it inspired. We’ll assign it a Nightmare Number.)
2) Written submissions (stories or poems) must contain EXACTLY 100 words including title.
Email submissions to: anthology @ dailynightmare.com
and include the number of the inspirational nightmare in the SUBJECT line
Include a brief bio (~ 25 – 50 words) with the submission so we don’t have to track you with our hellhounds.
What are we looking for? We at the DailyNightmare groove on the idea of inhabiting each other’s dreams, even the nasty, ooky ones, and this anthology is one step toward that kind of communal nightmare-scape.
100 words aren’t many, so sharpen at least one point of the narrative pentacle: mood, character, plot, setting, theme, and try to imbue your piece with a “sense of completion.” Poetry or prose, matters not; word count does. DailyNightMare.com celebrates literate terror (or “snob horror” if you will), so heighten the language, make every syllable count and don’t be afraid to mean something.
Multiple submissions are AOK, though no more than 13 per author.
Why these rights? Legal rights nomenclature hasn’t caught up with digital realities yet, and we want to cover our tails since we plan to use every corner of the Web to publicize this endeavor. We are also planning to typeset each story “expressively” and hope the resulting pieces will be attractive enough to use as posters and postcards. We will keep the contributor in the loop and, where feasible, contributors will get a free copy of any of these subsidiary creations beyond the initial three publication types: a hoity-toity extremely limited hard-bound, a POD softcover edition and a .pdf and/or ebook edition. If “rights” is, like, “a thing” getting in the way of your submission, let us know which rights you’re reserving at time of submission and we’ll try to work something out.
If you’d like to receive a digital copy of the first anthology, drop us a note and will send one your way.
If you are submitting your own nightmare with your story, be advised that we publish the nightmares under a Creative Commons, attribution license. Basically, other folks can use the nightmares themselves in any way, as long as they note they got ‘em from theDailyNightmare.com. We anonymize the nightmares to binary gender and decade age (i.e. “Male, 30?s”) so please include those… and feel free to embellish or lie. On the internet, no one knows you’re not 200 years old and female.
Settle in for a creepy, literate ride through rural Michigan with “The River Through the Trees,” a novella by David Peak (Blood Bound Books, 2013) I’m a sucker for tales set in my home state and this one gets the little details right, like the chapter headings that set a time of day and the amount of snow that is falling. There are times of the year around here when that’s all that matters. The book also nails the acrid desperation of folks stuck in towns where nothing is going on, folks who lack the means or motivation to leave. In small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business while simultaneously being blind to other, darker endeavors and mysteries. Peak’s book gets that sense right too. Ardor, Mi surely feels like a real place, but one made a bit truer than real, like Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, or more to the point, Lovecraft’s Arkham–other reviewers brood on the similarity to HP’s place-bound cosmic horror. Personally, I could stand to see a mythos spawned from “The River Through the Trees.” Certainly there’s a vibrant cast of weirdness set out… and I can’t say much more than that for risking spoilers. It’s a quick read, maybe 50,000 words perfect for a winter’s night when you unplug the cable, switch off your celphone and remember what rural Michigan felt like in 1993.
Christmas is simply a horrible time of the year for me personally, emotionally, even existentially. I survived this one by seeking solace underground to daub some paint and tinker with tools, emerging just long enough to behave monstrously. The expectations of Holiday Cheer plus the often disturbingly close proximity of loved ones rankles this mysanthropic recluse.
But the holiday was not without its joys. Like last year, a still life of the gifts I received is an apt portrait at least of whom others imagine I am. My young ones are scattered abroad so all items are imported, as fitting a horror snob. From the Great White North come a set of skull shot glasses is posed here with last year’s crystal skull of vodka and a couple creepy novels — Silver by Rhiannon Held and Something Red: A Novel by Douglas Nicholas, likely purchased at Toronto’s justly famous Bakka bookstore. My son’s family have moved temporarily to Poland so I also received a spectacular Polish language art book about Bruno Schultz and his contemporaries — the nightmarish images need little translation — and a pin-up calendar from Lindner, a Polish coffin manufacturer. Yup, sex and death, like chocolate and peanut butter, two great preoccupations that taste great together. Its imagery is NSFW so I only show the cover. I suspect it tells too much about me if I admit I am more interested in the intricate carvings on these hand-made corpse-carriers than I am in the air-brushed beauties draped across them. An unexpected bonus was the casket shaped keychain that accompanied the calendar.
All of us at the DailyNightmare hope your holidays passed with minimal bloodshed and maximal blessing.
I picked up this volume on a whim and fell in love. It’s been years, well to be honest, decades since I first read Joyce Carol Oates’ stories. They were assigned in college, as I recall, and perhaps for that reason, I didn’t click with them. I was aware that her interests had become more gothic, more horrific over the years. Similarly, I realized in my middle age that it was OK to read beyond the prim and proper confines of literary fiction, that my soul was not in danger if I strayed toward more lurid tales of genre literature, that is stories where something actually happens. So I was prepped but not prepared to encounter these “nightmares.” Her language is acute, her perspective unflinching. These are stories where bad stuff happens and the narrative does not fade to black or turn away when it does. Yet not only bad things happen. I hesitate to use the belabored term “redemption” but dammit a kind of redemption occurs, for instance, after the bleak horrors of the title novella. There are touches of grace in the other tales too, sometimes very light. And let me also praise the fact that these are stories, not the easier to sell commercial novels so prevalent. The selection let me live a half dozen lives in the course of this volume, perhaps not lives I would choose for myself but then, do we always get to choose our lives? Tonight, I stopped at the library and discovered two and a half full shelves devoted to the works of Joyce Carol Oates, many of which are story collections. My new found love affair need not end soon.
, 
) Worldbuilders rewards folks who donate to 
, 
. A membership in the group could be a great gift for an aspiring horror writer. GLAHW is a pretty wonderful organization of which we are proud to be members. In addition to supporting and promoting horror writers, GLAHW hosts an annual fundraising party to support local literacy efforts. 
and 
provide novel reading experiences for lovers of poetry, horror, and typography. 
and Jeff VanderMeer’s 
… and in addition to a Raw Dog sticker and a Raw Dog guitar pick, I got a half dozen other books. In fact, the pick of the litter, so to speak, the first volume I grabbed to read was a bonus title, namely Stephanie Wytovich’s 
. It’s a collection of a hundred bluntly brutal poems about sexuality and mental illness, wrapped in a gorgeously expressionist cover. They contributed, I’m sure, to last night’s nightmares. 
, the first in the series, aptly recalls a Garbage Pail Kid and the second 
echoes the prolific Goosebumps series. I opted for the deluxe hard bound edition put out by Brian Keene’s 
caught the eye of many passersby at this all-ages bookshow. Kids seemed particularly attracted to the ‘smiling clown’ on the cover, so we became adept at giving the NSFYA (Not Safe for YA or younger) wave. Ken released this new volume at a book launch reading that demonstrated both his twisted sense of humor and fresh take on the horror story.
by 
by 