It's...ALIVE!

Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy! The newest issue of Arkham Tales, Issue #3, is up and live and...glory be, I'm in it! No bumping for ads this time, no siree.

Which means you all need to go read it, right now, cover to cover, starting, of course, with "Road Rage" (it's on Page 13) and, perhaps, reading that more than once (it's short). And then, if you're able, donate a little something to keep fine markets such as this one (Arkham Tales) in business.

Trot over right now. You can link via the, um, link on my blog here, or you can just click on this lovely url they provided: http://www.arkhamtales.com. Go on now. Hurry, hurry. The dead bodies aren't gettin' any deader, you know.

Watching you from behind the pages of my lovely, shiny, new copy of Arkham Tales,
J.C. Koch

Have a Happy

Here's hoping all the mothers and other strangers out there have a wonderfully scary Mother's Day filled with burned toast and runny eggs made by a very junior chef, a wobbly, blobbly cup that no one could ever drink out of safely, an ill-wrapped trinket, some personally made jewelry with the letter 'M' on it no matter what your name really starts with, and/or a breathtaking hug.

I believe I committed those crimes on my mother over the years and she swore they were the best presents ever. I'm a bit too old to get away with those any more. These days, it's a store-bought card with someone else's sentiment written on it, which she says makes her tear up, and the call where I spend more time telling her about what I've done than listening to what she's done, which she insists is what she wants to talk about.

Mothers. You have to love them, because they love you.

Watching you from behind my misty mother-memories,
J.C. Koch

Title, Title, Burning Bright

I'm so pleased with myself.

I know, that's probably not the most exciting information for someone else. But I've come up with an amazingly good title (if I do say so myself...which I do) for my novel. My first novel!

I've done more than just come up with a title in the almost two months since I last blogged. (Yes, yes, I'm sorry. And for those who sent me private little messages kindly reminding me that I'd been remiss, I have only this to say -- who are you and why won't you leave me alone?) I've solidified my general outline (so to speak) and story flow. I'm not much of an outliner by nature, but I wanted to be sure I had a clear idea of what's going on, who my main character really is as a person, and what the general outcome is going to be.

I've also been doing some research, including reacquainting myself with certain horror classics, including but not limited to Dracula by the great Bram Stoker. I don't actually plan to write in the Victorian mode, but my novel is starting in that era and has strong Victorian influence throughout, so I want to be sure I capture the details correctly.

I haven't actually started the novel itself. Yet. I'm about ready to. But since this is virgin territory for me, I want to ensure that I'm all mapped out, in that sense, so my novel idea doesn't turn into merely a longer short story. The more I do, the more confident I get, which is a good thing, no matter what.

Now, back to it. There's more research to finish and the decision of whether or not to do a prologue (which is dependent upon how long it would be so I must actually write it first and then decide) and generally keep things rolling. (And I have to figure out how to block those kindly messages reminding me that I'm supposed to be blogging. The ones arriving via bat-express in the middle of the night are, I have to admit, the most annoying.)

Watching you from behind a dusty tome,
J.C. Koch