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Apocalyptic Montessa

2014’s First Two Months in Words

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Whew! Now that that’s over, I can begin to pick up the pieces and function like a human being again. I’m actually writing again, and it feels good. And I even managed to sneak some reading in during the move.

January
Moan for Bigfoot by Virginia Wade
“Needs More Salt” by Liz Schriftsteller
“The Next Generation” by Michael Adam Robson
“After the Trains Stopped” by J Kyle Turner
“Not an Ordinary Dog” by Sara Puls
“The Final Seam” by T. Callihan
“The Keepsake Box” by Alex Shvartsman
“The Dragon and the Bond” by Mari Ness
“21st Century Dragonslayer’s Lament” by Susan E. Connolly
“And Silver Fountains, Mud” by Lisa Nohealani Morton
“Have You Seen My Girl?” by Brent C. Smith

February
Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu by Mercedes M. Yardley
“Servant Leader and Rat” by Steven Mathes
“Cigarette Lighter Love Song” by Josh Rountree
“Spellsketching” by Vylar Kaftan
“Dear John” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
“St. Valentine’s Day Mashup” by G. O. Clark
“Why Women Turn To Stone” by Heather Morris
“Toads” by Mari Ness
“Miss Violet May from the Twelve Thousand Lakes” by Tina Connolly
“What Is Expected of a Wedding Host” by Ken Liu
“On Disposing of a Corpse” by Tom Jolly
Gnomes by Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet (helloooo, favorite childhood program)

What I read in December, and the best of 2013

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First, what I finished last month:

“The Decent Thing” by Dex Fernandez
“Totality” by Tony Pisculli
“Goldfish” by Elizabeth Archer
“We Are All But Embers” by Gemma Noon
“Silence” by Lydia Waldman
“Followers” by S. R. Algernon
“The Clasp” by Jarod K. Anderson
“Asleep” by Jeremy Minton
“Patchwork Blouse” by James E Guin
“The Christmas Zombie” by Marissa James
Dominoes by John Boden

I didn’t read half of my 50-book goal, but I read a hell of a lot more short stories than in years past. We’ll see if I can keep that going. Below, my favorites.

“Unwanted” by Holly Jennings
“Little Red Robin Hood” by Melissa Mead
“Three Kisses” by Henry Szabranski
“Hungry” by Robert E. Stutts
“They’re Made Out of Meat” by Terry Bisson
“I Heard You Got a Cat, I Heard You Named Him Charles” by M. Bennardo
Are You Listening? (The Fathomless Abyss) by J.M. McDermott
“The Sandman’s Dreams” by Jess Hyslop
“Legerdemain” by Gabriel Murray
“Puppet Man” by Cate Gardner
“Jumbo Gumdrop Serenade” by E. Catherine Tobler
“Pictures in Crayon” by Elizabeth Shack
“Airship Hope” by Laurel Amberdine
“Chasing Unicorns” by Terra LeMay
“City of Chrysanthemum” by Ken Liu
“Holy Diver” by Grá Linnaea
“Pinned and Wriggling on the Wall” by Usman T Malik
“Such Days Deserved” by Lee Hallison
“Squeak” by Emma Osborne
“Theories of Pain” by Rose Lemberg
“The Witch’s Cat” by Kalisa Ann Lessnau
“The Velveteen Rabbit Says Goodbye” by Melissa Mead
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
“Scraps” by Michael Haynes
“The World Will End in Fire” by K. C. Norton
“Wolf, or Faith in the Future” by Michelle Ann King
“The Dollmaker’s Grief” by Michelle M. Denham
“The Princess and Her Tale” by Mari Ness
Dominoes by John Boden

Doctor Sleep

November: A Month in Words

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“The Bestowal of the Magician” by Tianyue Zhang
“The God of Rugs” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
“Cuddles” by A.L. Lowe
“Lost in Transit” by K.B. Sluss
“Just the Facts: A Zombie Story” by Cat Rambo
“The World Will End in Fire” by K. C. Norton
“Three is a Sacred Number” by Carrie L. Cadwallader
“Screwtape” by Helen E. Davis
“When The World Was Full of People” by Patricia Russo
“Book of Love” by Michael Haynes
“The Girl with Flowers for Hair” by Elizabeth Shack
“Remembrance In Stone” by Amanda C. Davis
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
“Wolf, or Faith in the Future” by Michelle Ann King
“Flying Matilda” by Gio Clairval & Cat Rambo
“Negative Space” by Antonia Harvey
“The Dollmaker’s Grief” by Michelle M. Denham
“The Frenchman’s Jihad” by JT Howard
“The Princess and Her Tale” by Mari Ness

3 of Swords

Nerves = Shot

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From yesterday’s journal entry: I feel anxious and don’t know why. I just want to run until my legs give out. But I have nowhere to go.

Jobs to do. Stories to write (and rewrite). Sick cats, a sick dog. Trying to move. A month became six months became a year.

Money going out. Nothing coming in.

To say I’m overwhelmed would be an understatement.

To anyone waiting to hear from me, please accept my apologies. I haven’t forgotten you.

I just have to hold my breath long enough to find the surface.

Flowers for Algernon

October: A Month in Words

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“The Frog Prince” by Jonathan Vos Post
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
“Chronology Of Heartbreak” by Rich Larson
“Gather Your Bones” by Jenn Reese
“Willy” by Deanna Kay Morris
“How Hagatha One-Eye Fell Off the Wagon” by Matthew Cote
“Echo” by Alexandra Grunberg
“Those Little Slices of Death” by Susan Lanigan
“Apology Accepted” by Kathryn Felice Board
“Ghosts in the Walls” by Shannon Peavey
“Scraps” by Michael Haynes
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

September: A Month in Words

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Also known as “I’m 23 books behind my goal, but something’s better than nothing,” or, “The year of DSF.”

“The Vanishing Girl” by Michael T. Banker
“Ebb and Flow” by LaShawn M. Wanak
“When the Selkie Comes” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
“Artist’s Retrospective” by David D. Levine
“Tunnel Vision” by Zach Shephard
“The Witch’s Cat” by Kalisa Ann Lessnau
“The Velveteen Rabbit Says Goodbye” by Melissa Mead
“Worldbuilding” by Alex Shvartsman
“Finally Free” by Frances Silversmith
“The Gifts: Part One” by Mari Ness
“The Gifts: Part Two” by Mari Ness
“The Gifts: Part Three” by Mari Ness

“Duval Street” Now Available on Smashwords and Amazon

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A widower goes for a stroll through Old Town and stumbles across something more bizarre than himself.

This story first appeared in Shock Totem, issue #3 (January 2011) and was on the long list of honorable mentions for editor Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year.

My short story, “Duval Street,” is now available for free at Smashwords in a variety of formats. If you’re feeling generous, you can also get a copy from Amazon for 99 cents. (Is that too high for something less than a couple thousand words? Will anyone bother when it’s free elsewhere? Will Amazon eventually match the price? Let’s find out!) If you do splurge on it, consider leaving a review — be honest! — and I’ll send you cookies and happy cat pictures.

Don’t forget, you can always find it in the third issue of Shock Totem alongside stories by Amanda C. Davis, Aaron Polson, John Skipp, and more. Support them. They’re good people.

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