"Dread" the Future

My initial reaction is "lol Whut"? But it's true. In the near future, (depending on the shipping time from wherever to Montana) I am going to dread my hair. I've been doing a lot of research, getting super pumped up and biting my nails over the drastic change about to happen. I think it will help add to my perspective (because you've got to try everything at least once...right?)

I'm incredibly thankful to have a family who supports my decision. My dad's had dreads twice now and my tight knit circle here at home is excited to help me out.

(k)Not that anyone's really paying attention to my silly little self-diluted blog anyways, but I will try to post pictures as soon as the transformation happens. I know there are plenty of ways to go about this, but after tons of research I prefer the Dread Head HQ way.

I also realize that this has nothing really to do with writing, or anything really, but I figured that it was worth posting about. :)

End Transmission.

Star Date: December 11

Who's that girl? Writer? Model? Black? White? Mere cashier?

I wish I could answer the question for myself. I wish that the summer/fall sun still adorned my black clad shoulders and pouted lips. Yet I can't. (However "model" is never how I would describe myself.)

I find myself in the middle of an identity crises. I'm happy... content... If I never published anything ever again I would be satisfied being classified as a one-hit-wonder. I wish I could say that I've been productive since my last post, yet I find myself in the midst of "end-of-the-year-writer's-block" that will hopefully make my next piece a great work of art.

Currently, my life is changing. I had always thought that when I graduated from high school, recognition would be easily found, my life would be simple and I wouldn't be working a less than adequate (yet decent paying) job at a gas station. I write brilliant epics inside of my head while I'm taking out the trash and cleaning piss off of the toilet seats in the men's restroom, yet none of my ideas seem to take to paper very well...yet.

If asked 6 months ago where I'd be now, I would have never answered that I'd be stuck with my writing, yet happy in life, trying to find a better occupation and getting ready to dread my hair.

I have so much to say, but so little need nor want to speak up. I'm not trying to sound deep nor meaningful nor "angsty", it's just true. ...I think the Captain may be a little lost.

End Transmission.

Star Date: November 28th

So...I lied. I highly doubt that I'll have anything new out before the alleged upcoming apocalypse. I'm going to spend some time perfecting my art so that way my next piece of prose will really blow the haters away. I need to pump up my qualities if I'm going to be percieved as a kick a** artist (yes, I consider writing to be art).

In the mean time I'm going to enjoy this barren winter and fantasize about the autumn to come.

End Transmission.

A Thorough Review

Ah Nepotism, it's a beautiful thing.

My father wrote the following review for A Weekend with Friends. It is thorough and honest, and although he is my dad, he wouldn't lie about how he feels. We share a common belief that if you think something is written poorly you shouldn't lie and say that it's just fine because then the writer can't improve.

First of all I noticed the Author’s “Warning”:

• This short story contains material that is not suitable for all ages.
• Reader discretion is advised.
• When a quiet night in with friends results in a group of twenty-something’s playing hide-and-go-seek no one is safe.” 

 

This disclaimer piqued my interest!  After reading the sample page I decided I needed more. Besides, for a dollar, this purchase was bound to be just as entertaining as a RedBox selection, or Netflix pick.  I knew that once I spent my precious coin, there would be no refund. 

I am glad I spent the change.  This short story almost gave me a heart attack! I have paid more to ride roller coasters, and didn’t get as much bang for my buck!  This story scared me… I thought of real life monsters like: Alfred Packer, Jeffrey Dahmer and the “Trenchcoat Mafia” getting together on a Saturday night in the backwoods.  Mix in a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Behind the Mask and you have a perfect recipe for 16 pages of action packed, gore-house and pulp fiction!!!  The spooky thing is this story could really happen!  I hope no youngster’s get crazy revenge ideas that they can unleash on their classmates.

I loved the twists and turns…initially wondering who is in peril, and how soon?  I was fascinated by the story craft and the lure to keep pace with what was happening. 

The story seems pretty benign until page 6 and then, wow!

I will bet my dollar that most of the harsh critics enjoyed the book until the inexplicable horror and violence began to erupt in the text (page 6).

I was pleasantly surprised by the pace…I can see a movie in my mind.  I liked the details, like the focus on the car, with a nod to Stephen King’s “Christine” (page 2).  This author knows her pop culture!  What about the characters playing the video game “Dance Dance Revolution” as they prepare for violence? I would hate to meet these kids.

This story reads like a screenplay.  I love the power of the female (anti-) heroine! “Madeline felt a little bit of hate well up inside of her. It always pissed her off when girls assumed that she knew nothing about cars (pg 5).”

While reading this “short story,” I am reminded of the heart palpitations I felt when reading Poe: The Tell Tale Heart, or Cask of Amontillado! (I’ll bet Poe was called “sick” in his day, too!)

 

Before you agree with the critics, ask yourself: “Have you seen the movies kids are watching these days: REST STOP, The Strangers, Devils Rejects, or classics like (the original) Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Trip with Teacher?”  

This is a short gore house story (not a novel or book, but a “short story”) that only Quentin Tarantino has the right to defame, due to its use of non linear story arcs, honest, gritty brutality and happy endings.

Are these werewolves?  “We’re a wolf pack, taking out weaker species.”(pg 15)

When considering this purchase, realize that young people have moved beyond Laura Ingalls Wilder and on to Freddy Kruger.  Realize “Horror” as a situation that never ends, or having no definite ending.  Recognize “Terror”.  Terror ends, eventually.

I want a sequel!  To dismiss this short story as trash is not to understand literature.  Beyond the gore there exists a rich sentence structure, effective scene elaboration and style of narrative so clear and direct that a reader cannot help but visualize every scene in vivid detail.  Perhaps that is why this young author offends some readers, because the vision is so clear, undaunted and specific that the mind cannot help but feel guilty for enjoying the content!  Which, if you are like most humans you feel guilty and ashamed for enjoying the dark side of life? 

But, the dark side is there. Our youth have seen a greater glorification of violence in the recent few years than ever before.  Thank you to this young author for framing it in a fast paced piece of fiction that I can identify with…no matter how gory.   This is fiction.  If you want to defame violence for violence sake read the news.  If you want a quick trip into the dark, where you can turn the lights on again, read this story!

Within 16 pages, this author has crafted a fast paced, awful situation that seems ripped from the headlines, rather than crafted from innocent ignorance. Indeed there may be a lack of concise skill in narrative, but for a first offering, a short story, this piece of literature shocks like a shot of adrenaline to the heart!

Read it if you dare. But don’t be a fool. This is a GOREHOUSE story, a late night TV screenplay, and a neatly disguised commentary on our current culture from a young point of view.

If you care about one dollar more than you do about a cheap thrill, stay away from this book.

If you are above the age of 50, stick to 50 shades. 

This is a fast paced thrill ride through adolescent angst.  Read it if you dare!

So you decide if you want to read it or not.

Star Date: November 22

Hello to those in the Cyberverse, I realize that I haven't posted for quite some time, but I have been enjoying a long sabatical from being in the "public eye".

One might inquire, "What's new with you, crazy writer girl?" to which I would reply: Not a whole lot. I've been trying to work on my writing, however writer's block is a pain in the neck. I've been dealing with High School-esque drama at work that can only be likened to the mean-ness that occurs in the 1980's classic Heathers. Other than that, I've just been surviving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

End Transmission.

My First Bad Review

When I saw that there was a new review on Amazon for my story, I leapt at the chance to read it. Now I can't tell if I wished I hadn't or if I'm thankful for the opportunity to have someone review me so honestly.

I'm going to post it here, and I would like to thank the person who reviewed me. I wish I could tell you that I will take your (brutally) honest advice to heart and change a few things about my writing before I publish anything else.

"Could I rate this no stars please? So maybe I shouldn't be reviewing this since I couldn't even bring myself to finish it. I deleted it about half way, unread. I got it for free and was glad I didn't pay out any money for this.

Now I see the author is really a kid who just graduated from high school and it makes more sense to me.

It's pretty brutal, or at least the parts I read were. If that's your thing, you'll probably love it. For me, I tend to like stories with a bit more depth to them. I don't like brutality and violence just for the sake of a story being brutal and violent. That doesn't seem like horror to me, but just something that is horrible. There's a fundamental difference there that I think a lot of new writers seem to have forgotten.

If you're looking for a good scare give someone like Brandon Hale, Bentley Little and Jack Drew a try. I'd skip this one, even for free. My time is more valuable than to spend wasted on this kind of silly tripe."

I liked her use of the word "tripe".
I guess it just makes me happy that there are still people out there who can think for themselves and make up their minds on what is good writing and what is bad writing.

At the same time, it really hurts. Like....really hurts. Someone probably won't read any more of my work because this one piece was too gory (and boy..it is gory). But -shrugs- life goes on.

End Transmission

Mason Jar Wine Glasses (...anger infused post)

Only in Montana would you find such campy favorites as the faux-buffalo hide Koozie, bottle openers cast to look like a bear will bite open your beer for you, and shirts bearing the black silhouette of a moose-head cleverly disguised as the Batman logo. My favorite, however, which I discovered today at work, are the wine glasses that look like mason jars-- complete with metal screw on lids.

I could go on about how you could just drink out of a mason jar and not spend the extra money to have one with a stem, but I won't. Nor will I mention how buying one of these relics is a helluva lot trashier than actually re-using a mason jar (not knocking the habit, a lot of the glasses in my home are either old mason jars or washed out glass jelly jars. ......and I mean a lot). I will, however, note that I find it moronic that this is what appeals to tourists. This is what appeals to people who come to Montana to ride horses for a couple of days and look at cows as they drive along the (le gasp) paved streets that connect the farm land to the "city".

It makes me sad that I've grown up in a town where you're more likely to get kicked in the face by a cow than see a person of color. (Once you're past a certain level of "watered down" in terms of your heritage, you have regained "white person" status). It makes me sad that in order to appeal to tourists, we have hotels with decorum such as someone would expect in a log cabin-- logs, and mounted animal heads. It makes me sad that Canadians think that Montanans ride horses to school (true story).

I guess that we must maintain this "hick", "rides horses to school" image in order to stand out amongst the states. How can we do this? By taking the beautiful land around us and the hunter/farmer way of life that breeds in "the last best place" and exploiting it. Because hell, who wants dignity when you can make a fortune selling wine glasses that look like mason jars.

Star Date: October 23

My Adventure in Writer's Block made me wonder how many people who read my blog (if any) are writers themselves...writers who also struggle with writer's block and worry about whether or not they'll ever have more than one publication and patiently wait for their sales to go up from 8 sold copies to 9 or (GASP) even 10.

I'd like to hear from my readers. I want to know if I should start posting writing help. If the answer is yes, I'll start posting tips that have gotten me through some rough times and even hand out first sentences to go off of. (If it comes to this, I'd really love seeing what people come up with.)

Anyways....

End Transmission.

What If? An Adventure in Writer's Block

What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter was first introduced to me first semester of my senior year of highschool in creative writing class. I fell so in love with it that I begged my parents to buy me a copy for Christmas.

So now here I am, trapped by the shackles of writer's block once again. Yet, having this resource around lessens the pain of not knowing how to write. This being said, I have decided that whilst I have no clue what "writing" is nor how to do it, I am going to go through this book page by page, exercise by exercise and do the best I can to defeat the many headed hydra that is writer's block. (There are a few exercises that involve elaborating on pre-existing novels that I'm going to omit.)

Exercise One is about beginning in the middle, (now...since I don't have permission to blah blah blah about what goes on in this book, I can't give too much away. I'm just going to briefly state what it's about and then delve into how my brain responded. I highly reccomend that all authors have a copy of this book. They give you an exercise, state the objective, and most of the exercises are accompanied by student examples.) I've had to omit and change some of my examples because I curse....a lot.

Writhing in pain, I knew that I was going to die.

Stabbing at the mashed potatoes, I wondered why I had to eat; the food tasted like dirt anyways, and I had better things to do than pretend to stuff my face to appease my mother.

Hitting the wall, and falling to the cold cement floor I could smell the blood before it ever began to drip from my nose, that was when I knew that the b****** had to die.

Staring at my toes and the cool, green grass, I began to wonder when I'd learn what love is.

Exercise Two is one of the ones that I'm omitting. Exercise Three is about pairing beginning sentences...birth and death, falling in love and filling for a divorce, and a pairing about seasons that I didn't do because I was stuck on it.

Birth and Death

Pain blossomed through my body and I knew it was time, I wasn't ready for the new arrival, but it was time.

I imagined that there had been a lightness, that after going through so much pain in life, death brought relief like asprin to a long lasting migraine.

Love and Divorce

My head was swimming, and I couldn't concentrate on a damn thing; when I realized that his smile was the cause of these dangerous symptoms I realized that this must be love.

The clicking of my heels on the courthouse tile was as cold as my heavy heart, I wasn't sure what had happened, just that I needed to sever the ties after ten long years.

Exercise Four gives you a first line to use and expects you to keep going with it. I'm torn on whether or not I should share this one because I think it is going to turn into something great.
...here, I'll share a preview of what is to come.

"Where were you last night?"
I choked on a response. I had figured that my return home the night previous had been a stealthy one and wasn't prepared for a confrontation. I stared into my Cheerios, trying to think of a response that didn't begin with, "but mom."

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next Adventure in Writer's Block.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 7 of 10)

Red Pickup

Here's another perfect example of Malmborg weaving a story that leaves you understanding and nearly accepting of the things people do in desperate times. The title "Red Pickup" doesn't really give anything away, which I approve of because there are a lot of titles out there that don't leave much to the imagination. I will admit that "Red Pickup" felt a little rushed in places, but it was worth it to get to the ending, which is another one of "those" endings that kind of sneak up behind you and punch you in the face when you're not looking...(in a good way. If that is even possible)

I give "Red Pickup" 4 out of 5 stars.

Seriously, download and read Scraping the Bone so that you know what I'm babbling about.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 6 of 10)

Sunburn

Here is another Malmborg work that leaves me at a loss of what to say. Should I mention how the story toyed with my emotions and made me try to empathize with a desperate man? Or should I note that the graphic descriptions made me want to turn away, and even pause from reading? No matter what I say, or how I say it, one thing is for sure: "Sunburn" is not like the previously reviewed stories. This one is incredibly graphic and I do not reccomend reading it if you have a weak stomach.

Yet despite it's vivid descriptions, "Sunburn" also makes you feel for the characters....makes you almost understand the desperation and the thought processes.

It definitely deserves a 5 out of 5.

With "Sunburn" I was able to find a small line to share with you, it's a tad graphic, but I love the picture it leaves in the mind. This quote makes it all too apparent how word choice is everything, "her head screaming in agony and throat raw from the eruptions of vomit, [...]"

In order to read "Sunburn" as well as all the other amazing tales crafted by Malmborg, you're going to have to download Scraping the Bone. (Do it! You know you want to!)

Malmborg, William (2011-12-20). Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales (Kindle Location 677).  . Kindle Edition.  

Coming Soon

Pretty soon here (hopefully by the end of November/ beginning of December) I am going to release my first collection of short stories entitled Down the Rabbit Hole. The collection is going only contain short stories of mine that have been darkly inspired by Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. These novels have always been favorites of mine and, as a horror writer, it is very easy for me to take certain themes in Carol's art and turn them into dark and terrifying ones.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 5 of 10)

The Other Side.

Writing this review is hard for me because the ending of "The Other Side" hit me in the face like a rogue volleyball in gym class. At this ver moment I have so many questions I'd like to ask the author like his inspiration and blah blah blah... but what am I doing? You came to read a review.

"The Other Side" is the fifth story in William Malmborg's Scraping the Bone. The title made me think of something paranormal...aliens, ghosts, hell....something. As I read the story I was searching intently for that scary something. My heart raced as I neared the end (Come on Bill, where's the something. What am I looking for?) and because of this, the ending was such a twist that I feel like I've gone into shock or something. My brain shut down and I needed to take a few moments to read the last line over and over again just to make sure that I read it right the first time.
This rating is a hell of a lot easier than "The Phone Call". I give "The Other Side" a 5 out of 5 (I'd like to give it so much more than that but I'm trying not to demean the story by sounding silly).

Normally I look for something in the story that stands out, some line to quote to make you, dear reader, want to read the story. However, I felt like if I took a line from the story you'd assume that you knew what "The Other Side" is about, and I simply can't do that. Please download Scraping the Bone if only to read "The Other Side".

Scraping the Bone Review (part 4 of 10)

The Phone Call

"The Phone Call" is not a story to read when you're tired and your brain is muddled with the thoughts of sleep. Because I made the mistake of reading it right before bed time, I needed to read it a second time for clarification. "The Phone Call" makes you think, and you might not understand what is happening if you are not paying attention.
Because of this, I am torn on how to rate it. It's another incredibly well crafted piece from Malmborg, yet because I had to read it twice I'm tempted to give it a 4 out of 5........I think I'll give it a 4.5. Yes. I give "The Phone Call" 4.5 out of 5 stars, and that is the hardest rating I've had to give so far.
As per usual with Malmborg's work, many of the lines stand out on their own, however, this one takes the cake: "Hearing the ring was like listening to the lottery numbers being drawn and having all of them correct but the last."
I highly suggest you check out Scraping the Bone while it is still free on Amazon. I haven't been disappointed with a story in this collection thus far and I highly doubt that Malmborg would include a disappointment-worthy story with the rest of these gems.

Malmborg, William (2011-12-20). Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales (Kindle Location 428).  . Kindle Edition.

Star Date: October 20th

Today is the final day that my short story, A Weekend with Friends, will be free on amazon.com. I will admit, I am a little sad that people will now have to pay 99 cents to read this snippet of pulp fiction, but hey, over 200 and a half people (in the US) got to read it for free.
I'm beginning to wonder what those 260+ people thought about A Weekend with Friends and if they'll tell their friends about it. I wonder where in the US people are reading my work. I wonder how many times it will be read by the people who downloaded it. I wonder what age group I managed to target...
My own personal aspiration as a writer is to have someone...just one person (who isn't related to me) enjoy my prose, and even maybe hold it in high regards. When I've done that, I will have done my job.

End Transmission.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 3 of 10)

Jacob's Gift

"Jacob's Gift" was a maze of incredible twists that led up to an eerie ending. I'd give this a 4 out of 5 stars because I wanted to know why certain characters were so loathsome (I won't say whom because I don't want to ruin it for you. Seriously, you need to go on to Amazon and download Scraping the Bone).

Malmborg's writing style and ability to create loathsome characters is amazing. "[...] tears that smeared her black mascara.  She had only worn it so it would smear and that way make her sadness even more pronounced."

Go forth now...I know I know, I've only read three of these stories and I'm already shamelessly plugging the product and drooling over the writing style...one might even think that I'll just praise anything that's been typed. But seriously, read it. If you like horror (unlike my own previously published prose, Malmborg isn't too terribly gory) you'll enjoy his work.

Malmborg, William (2011-12-20). Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales (Kindle Locations 296-297).  . Kindle Edition.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 2 of 10)

Rest Stop

"Rest Stop" is the second short story in William Malmborg's collection of chilling tales entitled Scraping the Bone. "Rest Stop" is quick and gritty. The opening was magnetic and the ending was significant. Normally I don't like short stories that are under ten pages long, yet Malmborg's execution was so exciting I only noticed the length in retrospect.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

"The boots were still there, laces open and dangling onto the stained tile floor."

I absolutely love Malmborg's writing style. My heart was racing as I read "Rest Stop".

Malmborg, William (2011-12-20). Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales (Kindle Locations 254-255).  . Kindle Edition.

Scraping the Bone Review (part 1 of 10)

Redstone Lake

Scraping the Bone is a collection of short stories written by William Malmborg. I decided to review each story one by one on my blog because I'd love it if someone did the same for me.

I would give "Redstone Lake" 5 out of 5 stars because it was engaging and left off on a strong note. It wasn't technically a cliffhanger but it doesn't close out too abruptly. Technically there is more left to the story, however there is a definite end that doesn't leave you thinking "what the hell just happened?"

There is one particular line that stood out for me. (If you decide to download Scraping the Bone it's a few pages into "Redstone Lake") and I have to give Malmborg kudos for this brilliant yet brief description, "The place reeked of smoke and noise, [...]" ....Yeah. I definitely recommend you download this collection of short stories....and I'm only one story in.

Malmborg, William (2011-12-20). Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales (Kindle Location 124).  . Kindle Edition.

The Yo-yo Affect

My time spent on the list of top 20-something short stories was as long lived as the time it takes to read five pages of prose, (I made it all the way up to 15 at one point)but boy was it exhilarating. Now I'm down to #40 (or at least I was when I last checked), yet there's still a great sense of pride welling in my chest when I think about how I'm on a list of 100 best selling short stories. This time last year if you had told me "Hey kid, over 200 people will download a story that will start out as an English assignment" I probably would have responded with, "In what world?"
Again, I want to thank all the people who have read my story, without people taking a chance on me I wouldn't have such a big ego (:D)

Star Date: October 17th

My friends and I were talking and I have decided to share these words with whomever is reading my blog at this time.
Sylph
Gamine
Androgyny
We were trying to figure out the proper word for what we were collectively thinking. It started out with "androgyny", and then my friend came up with "gamine" (which isn't described on dictionary.com the way that we were thinking), and then I was looking up synonyms for "gamine" and found the word "sylph".

I hope this random look into randomly related words was as entertaining to you as it was to me.

End Transmission.

The Second Most Amazing

Wow. I've been monitoring the "sales" of my story and I've had over 200 downloads in the US, 25 in the UK and 4 in Germany. This is so exciting. I want to thank all the people (past and future) who downloaded my story. Technically I've gone international >:D

The Most Amazing (update)

I've been trying to be eloquent in the composition of this blog, however I must take this moment to be my childish 18 year old self.

This. Is. Amazing.
I was looking on Amazon (because I've become slightly obsessed with checking and rechecking the status of my story) and discovered that in the time that A Weekend with Friends has been free it has reached 1,639 on the list of best selling free Kindle books (hmmm....how can something that's free be a best seller....oh well) and #24 on the list of best short stories (is that a link? Yes it's a link, I'm just that full of myself :D).


*Am I going to update this every time I move up on the list? Yes I am...again...sometimes I'm just that full of myself.

*By the by, I've reached over 100 downloads. Thank you so much! This is so exciting.

The One Review to Rule Them All

When it was official that I was self published, my mom took it upon herself to tell everyone we know, and everyone we're related to. My grandma was one of the first 8 people to actually buy my short story. Grandma downloaded it onto her Kindle and read it. Then, a few days later, Mom asked Grandma what she thought of the story. Grandma replied with, "It was good but..."

"But...?"
"I don't know how to say this, but....it kind of made me sick."

My story wanted to make my Grandma throw up. When my mom told me this I whooped with excitement. Something like that is huge. It sounds odd, but this was a huge compliment.

At this point I am going to ask any of you who are reading this post to please leave a review (either here or on Amazon, it doesn't matter) if you do indeed download A Weekend with Friends (free until the 20th). I love hearing honest feedback. I want to know what you think about my work even if you personally didn't like it.

Thank you in advance. :)

hurry, Hurry HUR-rry....step right up

(This picture has nothing to do with anything x3)

As I am writing this it has only been a few hours since A Weekend with Friends became free in the Kindle store and on Amazon and already 59 people have downloaded it.

This is insane! In the week that you needed to pay 99 cents for it only 8 people bought it (and I'm pretty sure that's all thanks to my mom so I wouldn't be surprised if I knew all 8 of those people personally). I am so excited. People are actually reading something that I wrote....and to think it started out as a silly little story for my senior English class.

Freebee

Starting tomorrow, A Weekend With Friends will be free on Amazon. But hurry! If you'd like to read this gory piece of short horror for free you'll have to visit Amazon between 10/16 and 10/20 because the promotion ends on Saturday. After Saturday the price will shoot back up to a whopping 99 cents.

Inspired part One: A Little Bit of Background

So, I realized that as a writer I should probably explore what I write, and why. When I was younger I was obsessed with the world of Harry Potter. J.K.'s characters are so vivid, and the plot line so engaging that it was hard for me not to look up to her as a writer. Admittedly, Rowling really solidified the definition of "good writing" for me. If asked, "Emily, what inspires you?" I would prattle off an entire list of jumbled thoughts. Let me begin by saying that a lot of my work comes out of my dreams. When I was younger I wrote a very thoughtless novel about a vampire that was all based on one dream I had. (These imaginings have gotten a bit more precise since then.) Other sources of inspiration for me come from being out in nautre. I get a lot of good ideas when I'm out walking. (If you yourself happen to be a writer I highly suggest walking somewhere beautiful, like a park, or a nature trail, when you have writer's block).
Keep your eyes open for "Inspired Part Two".

Dead Bird Discussion

Today at work I found a dead bird in the trash can by one of the pumps. My friend pointed out: what weirdo picks up a dead bird to throw it away at a gas station?
This brings me to my first blog discussion post: What kind of horror do you like? I personally can't pick between psychological thrillers and super gory horror. Tell me about what kind of horror you like- supernatural, psychological, super gory... and so on.

My First Publication

So this is what kicked off me having a blog. I finally got over myself, and self published a short story on Amazon with Kindle Direct Publish. It's called A Weekend With Friends, it's only 16 pages long, and starting next week (on Tuesday the 16th) it'll be free for five days.
A Weekend With Friends started out as a class assignment, so I have two versions: the uncensored one, and the "school appropriate" one (I'm so glad to be done with high school). I was doing my senior project (here where I live senior English class is only a semester long, and is comprised of compiling a gigantic portfolio after doing a ton of research on one subject. I chose fear :D) and decided I should write a short story. It's about this group of four friends who invite people over for a small party, but then the gathering takes an unexpected turn for the worse.
You'll have to read it to find out more ;3

Prologue

Welcome to my blog. Take a moment to step into a world that circles around the macabre. My name is Emily, I am a writer who specializes in horror. Here in my blog I will post updates about my publications and short little anecdotes that I don't think people should have to pay money to read. I hope you enjoy.

~Sincerely,
Emily Owenn McIntyre
check out my author page!