On my First Author Event at OTHER SKIES, A Weird Fiction Bookstore.

            It is snowing.

            It is supposed to snow for the next three days, ushering in Wisconsin’s winter season. Although Christmas displays have already been set up in retail stores, and families are eagerly making Thanksgiving plans, my mind is elsewhere.

            Away from strings of multicolored lights and grinning snowmen.

            Away from plastic trees stuffed into living rooms, gleaming gleeful and garish with bulbs and angels and candy canes.

            I am thinking of November 6^th, when I had my very first author event at Other Skies, a new weird fiction bookstore located on Dodd Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

            On that day, the wind howled.

            On that day, dead leaves blew upward into crazy cyclones.

            It was not yet snowing. The dry carapace-leaves still crunched wonderfully beneath one’s shoes. Faces of leering jack o’ lanterns peered out from porches, driveways, and stoops—now beginning to rot and puddle into a soft, orange rind.

            I got dressed.

            I drove for an hour and crossed the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, navigated the wild freeway traffic, and, at long last, arrived at Other Skies.

            A change in atmosphere.

The street is a long black ribbon. The buildings are old-fashioned; brown brick facades built in the early twentieth century. Their large front windows serve as mirrors, reflecting yourself as you walk past and wonder briefly at the mystery of who you are.

Harkening back to an earlier era, Other Skies is a building one enters with a peculiar sense of wonder and unease.

One feels as if they’re entering a book shop from long, long ago. As if the years have obscured this place from the world, and yet now, here you are, looking up at the ancient brick frontage, wondering at the strange decals upon the window (is that a tentacle?) and now, you open the black screen door, your hand is on the doorknob, and its cold brass feels strangely good beneath your palm, and then you step inside.

From here on, it’s all over.

No turning back.

How can you? Look at all these rare, wonderful books lining the walls! And the tall, stately clock standing sentinel in the corner, with skeletal black hands whirling about the clockface! And the cozy couch beneath the window! And the . . . casket?

Yes. A casket.

And it’s open.

Thankfully (or not thankfully, depending on the sort of person you are), a dead body isn’t lying in wait. No pale moon flesh, closed eyes, purple lips. Rather, the cushiony interior of the long grey casket serves as a display for especially rare books and items—including what appears to be a First Edition of The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson.  

Right about this time, the proprietors of this fine establishment, Josh Hames and Becca Olene, will warmly welcome you. They are here if you’ve any questions, or if you need help finding anything. For their knowledge regarding books verges on encyclopedic, and their manners are polite and genial.  

Other Skies, you see, deals in used and rare books—especially those relating to horror, fantasy, science-fiction, and the occult.

            Because I am a writer of strange tales, of macabre fantasies, of horror tales—whatever you wish to call them—it seems there is no better place than Other Skies to host my first author event.

            I was given a nice tall chair, and a podium, and something to drink.

            I set out my books for display. Mr. Hames decided the prices for them (I’m grateful he did, as I have a habit of underpricing my years’ worth of hard work). About ten minutes before the event was supposed to start, people began wandering in.

            I had expected a total of, perhaps, two or three folks to show up. I have heard and seen nightmares of scarcely attended author events before. I’d fully intended to remain stoic about the evening.

            Instead, we got a full room.

            After Josh’s formal introduction, I delivered a small speech about being a writer, the sort of stories I tell, and why I tell them. After this, I gave a short reading of Night of the Child, a Halloween tale from my latest book, Beneath the Jack O’ Lantern Sky.

            Next came an in-depth discussion regarding all things weird fiction, creativity, and storytelling. Josh, quite thankfully, had a great deal of thoughtful questions to ask me, and thus the evening was saved from languishing into awkward silence. We found, in the course of this discussion, the surprising fact that nobody seemed to have an exact, or perfectly adequate definition of ‘weird fiction’—which is probably all the better.

            It took some time, but eventually audience members began to engage, and soon a dialogue between author, bookstore owner, and audience was underway.

            I gave one last reading. The lights were turned low and dim. A soft yellow light provided just enough illumination for me to see my papers.

Using a voice that may well belong to the nineteenth century, I performed a reading of The Tower: A Tale in Ten Sonnets. This piece is a hybrid of tale and poem, telling the tale of a reclusive man who resides in a great tower in the country. Soon, he is besieged by strange, fish-like creatures with sharp teeth, thick lips, barbel-like whiskers, and fierce claws which infect one with a mysterious, green-glowing plague, should they find purchase in one’s flesh.

The performance went over very well.

Books were purchased.

Books were signed.

And the evening, for myself, as well as for Josh and Becca, proved a resounding success.

I’ve been invited back for another author event come October 2023.

If you missed this one, you’ll won’t want to miss the next.

Things are only bound to get more, shall we say . . . weird.

Best,

Tylor James.

One may purchase a signed & limited edition of Beneath the Jack O’ Lantern Sky: Tales of Sweet Hollow here: https://www.weirdhousepress.com/product/beneath-the-jack-o-lantern-sky/

2021: A MACABRE YEAR IN REVIEW, IN LOVE AND IN WRITING.

It’s difficult for me to recall what I’ve done in the previous week, not to mention an entire year. Thankfully, I’ve got many documents and journal entries to remind me just what the hell happened in 2021. One is tempted to speak only on one’s victories, to cherry-pick only the bright spots in one’s life. But of course, isn’t it better to include the panoply of human experience? With every joy and victory there is despair and failure!

I’ll start with the failures, but shall end on only positive notes:

I received around 40 rejections from publishers regarding short stories, poems, and essays. I wrote a 114,000 word-length novel, and in the end, didn’t much like it. I began writing another novel, got 20,000 words in, then didn’t have enough inspiration to complete it. I struggled for months over short stories. What was once a joy and release had become a chore. I was writing every day, yes, but the stories were no good. I became frustrated and slightly depressed. I got restless. Drank a bit too much.

Now, onto the positives, which I believe will vastly outweigh what I’ve shared thus far:

All in all, I wrote 29 short stories, 1 short screenplay, 1 giant novel, 3 personal essays, 83 poems, and 3 journal books. I pat myself on the back and say, “Not bad, kid.” All the while, I’m hoping to do even better in the upcoming year.

When I fell into that uninspired slump with my stories, I counteracted by drastically changing my routine. Instead of writing a short story every week, as I’d been doing the past two years, I decided to write one poem a day for an entire month! This resulted in a full-length poetry book, titled, “I Grew Up in a Haunted House”, which I aim to edit and publish. After that, I wrote a personal essay every week, and came up with some decent pieces that way.

Along with 40 story rejections, and many “non-responses” (or, at the very least, eternally pending responses . . . ) from publishers, I was able to sell three stories I’d written. Here they are:

“If Fish Could Scream” was sold to Forlorn-The Periodical.

“Out Beneath the Jack O’ Lantern Sky” was sold to Hellbound Books for their Madame Gray’s Vault of Gore anthology.

“Billy’s First Haircut” was sold and will appear in an upcoming issue of Cosmic Horrror Monthly — which I’m incredibly excited about.

I’ve also compiled a NEW short story collection (I’ll be editing this and sending it off to publishers soon, hoping to publish traditionally as opposed to self-publishing, as I’ve done with all of my books thus far).

TWO of my stories were also featured in WEIRDSMITH: Number One, from Too Much Weird press. I also independently published MATTERS MOST MACABRE, my proudest work to date (which has also collected many excellent reviews), as well as published GATOR HOUSE, a novelette, which has received mostly good, yet mixed reviews.

Today is January 1st of 2022, and I’ve began it by pounding out 4000+ words and finishing a new short story, “An Obsolete Art”, which I believe readers are truly going to enjoy. It’s a slow build of a story, yet with an utterly macabre pay-off!

As for my next creative project, I’ll be directing a debut film, a fifteen minute black-and-white supernatural feature called, “A Bell-Tierney Christmas Mystery”, which is currently in pre-production and will be shot in early February. I’ve got some great actor-friends tagged to this film. I’m incredibly nervous and excited to make it.

Best of all, above even writing and art, 2021 is the year I married the love of my life, Tessandra. We are closer, and happier, than we’ve ever been in our six years together. I’m grateful for what will be, if I’m fortunate, many more years with this excellent (and patient) human being. She doesn’t merely put up with my idiosyncrasies and my ego, but rather accepts me as I am — and that is love.

In addition, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of being interviewed by the talented Candace Nola, for her website, Uncomfortably Dark. (See here, though you’ll have to scroll a bit: https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/blank-page-5). I also did an interview with Curtis Lawson, for his WYRD TRANSMISSIONS podcast. Admittedly, I was quite nervous for this interview, and could hardly be myself. Still, it was an honor.

I also lost a job this year (at the ‘haunted factory’, where I was a security guard working the graveyard shift — the best writing job one could imagine), as well as quit one of the worst factory jobs I’ve ever had, and am now quite content and grateful to work as a full-time bookseller at a Half-Price Books store in Minnesota.

A week ago, I (stupidly) crashed my car and wound up having to take out a loan to buy a another vehicle, but at least I have reliable transportation once again.

I am wishing friends, family, and fellow readers and writers much fulfillment in the New Year. I’ve included, in addition, my favorite books and films I’ve come across in 2021.

Best,

Tylor James.

Top 10 books I’ve Read in 2021:

The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch, Vol. 1

Age of American Unreason – Susan Jacoby

Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque – Joyce Carol Oates

How to Read and Why – Harold Bloom

STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – Mary Roach

Shatterday – Harlan Ellison

Dandelion Wine – Ray Bradbury

The House on the Borderland – William Hope Hodgson

Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween – Lisa Morton

Top 10 Films Seen in 2021:

The Lighthouse (this has become one of my very favorite films!)

A Streetcar Named Desire

Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive (2017 documentary)

Strangers on a Train

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?

American Movie

Waking Life

Get Out

Vertigo

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

MATTERS MOST MACABRE, available in kindle, paperback, hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Matters-Most-Macabre-Tylor-James-ebook/dp/B08Z7LM8TZ#:~:text=Matters%20Most%20Macabre%20is%20a,just%20plain%20weird%20you%20out!

2020: Reading, Writing, Publishing & Covid-19 — A Tally of Achievements & Failures.

Well, folks. It’s that time of year again! Grab yourself a cup of coffee, OK? Perhaps some tea, a glass of Merlot, or a can of beer — whatever is your preferred comfort, and let’s have us a visit. 
Late December is a fine time for self-reflection, and to tally what has gone on these previous twelve months. A tally of achievements, as well as failures — we can learn from both.

By my side, a cup of steaming black coffee. In the background, John Coltrane wails on his saxophone, heading somewhere for Heaven on that Immortal Blue Train. Outside, snow flurries in the wind and I am reminded we are all snowflakes, each and every one of us, blown by the wild, random gusts of the universe and one day to fall, one day to melt, then become new again.

That’s the Order Of Things, and I’m perfectly cool with it. 

QUICK NOTE ON CURRENT EVENTS OF 2020

2020, in particular, has been a challenging year for the individual, the nation, the world. Every person who lived through this year (and lived to tell the tale) knows exactly what I’m talking about. I will only say that I have experienced first-hand — the panicky ransacking of grocery store shelves during the first months of the pandemic, a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, legendary incompetence in leadership within the U.S. government, and I’ve even managed to contract Covid-19, a virus which has killed nearly 300,000 Americans, and well over a million people worldwide. 

Highly unpleasant lower-back aches, chills accompanied by goosebumps covering every inch of one’s flesh, typical congestion, and absolute weariness are among the charming symptoms I experienced. Thankfully, I pulled through just fine, as did my fiancé and daughter. As for those who are immuno-compromised, for those who are not as well equipped to handle this virus, they have my sincere empathy. Take care of yourselves out there, friends. Be kind, and be courteous.

WRITING

With those unpleasantries out of the way, let us get to my favorite part of this whole thing —- the joy of writing, reading, and publishing. 

I wrote a lot this year, and this is about what it adds up to:

Forty-nine stories (including three 20,000 word novellas).

Fifty poems. 

Half a dozen essays (not sure if they’re any good at all).

LOTS of vignettes (or, my term for them — musings).

Two journal books featuring personal reflections, 4AM rantings, and a writing progress log. 

In total, an approximate word count of well over 300,000 words.

Now, for some writers that’s not so much. But for me, that’s quite a damn lot. I’m rather proud of the work I’ve done this year. I’ve grown significantly as a writer, and continue to grow every day, word by word and page by page.

Yet remember what I said about tallies at the beginning of this essay? We must tally our achievements as much as our failures. Not so that we may shame ourselves — oh, no. Only so that we may be honest with ourselves and see things clearly.

For example, the majority of the stories I wrote this year are downright awful. They are stories which, for one reason or other, just do not work. They are incomplete worlds, shallow characterizations, badly phrased, naively stylized pieces of junk-prose which will never see the light of day. 

However! My personal view is, our failed stories pave the way for the really good ones. Therefore, thousands of wasted words, are not necessarily wasted. Just so long as we are learning — grueling page after grueling page. 

Now, some exciting news: I have written a book this year!

MATTERS MOST MACABRE is my latest collection of short stories. It’ll be released in June of 2021. How’s that for exciting?! I’m quite proud of these tales, and I am absolutely thrilled to share them with you. The thirteen macabre tales herein will hopefully entertain you, have you turning the pages with that pleasurable and intense need to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS, and of course, the book may just weird you the hell out. That is my goal. That is my pleasure. 

Now, before Matters Most Macabre comes out, I have a charming little book of just seventy-six pages available on New Year’s Day —- WEIRDSMITH: ISSUE ONE, courtesy of Too Much Weird press, contains two of my short stories. My talented friend, Terry M. West, aside from being a hell of a great horror writer, is the Editor-in-Chief over at TMW Press, and he’s set up a brand new series for readers who enjoy everything weird and horrific in literature. Weirdsmith will be a multi-volume series, each issue featuring one talented author doing great work in horror fiction. If interested, Issue One is available for pre-order now at only $.99, or you can even pick up a lovely paperback: (https://www.amazon.com/Weirdsmith-Magazine-Number-Tylor-James-ebook/dp/B08Q1WHZRQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1609162936&sr=1-1)

PUBLISHING

Let’s talk publishing. Hold on a sec, lemme check my tally . . . all right, here we are! Ahh, yes. Allow me to start with one of my total failures.

My story, Box of Chocolates, was all set up to be published. The story was to be published on the press-in-question’s website. I would received my measly $10 and that would be that. Then, after my story was accepted, I decided investigate some of the Editor-in-Chief’s work. I had a passing curiosity about the guy and, well, why not? 

My simple Google search revealed racist and homophobic statements on behalf of the editor. Therefore, it became my moral obligation to retract the story.

So, that’s what I did. I politely apologized, explained my reasons for retracting the story, and that was that. 

Now, here’s the good news:

“Box of Chocolates”, a strange tale about a man’s fiancé and mother-in-law turning into chocolate statues, was published just a few months later in issue #27 of THE LITERARY HATCHET.

I got my ten bucks, folks! And the story was published by a decent and reputable publisher. I’ve learned my lesson — always perform a cursory background Google-check on the people you plan on working and associating with. It’s a sad task, but one which we must commit ourselves to just the same — for the sake of our personal reputation, and for the moral quality of our friendships, business partners, ETC.

Okay. Here’s some successful publications from this year:

1. Box of Chocolates — published in The Literary Hatchet.

2. Independence Day in Holebrim, Texas — published in SCARE ME, a wonderfully creepy anthology from UK-based, Esskaye Books.

3. Behind the Door (Originally titled, “The Drip”) — published in HYPNOS MAGAZINE.

4. Old Dance Hall and Mosquito Summer — sold and soon-to-be-published in “WEIRDSMITH: ISSUE ONE” from Too Much Weird press.

5. Godly Business — sold and soon-to-be-published (in Jan 2021) by Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine. 

6. A Skeleton Reads Shakespeare — published as a podcast by THE OTHER STORIES PODCAST (which you may listen to here, if you’d like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fja9JZklAZI

All tallied up, that’s seven tales published (or soon-to-be). Hey, that ain’t bad, Charlie!

Okay, enough gloating! — back to my failures tally.

In This Year of Our Lord, 2020, I have received . . . drumroll please? thank you . . . !

Over ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SHORT STORY REJECTIONS.

Rejections aren’t fun. They never are. But they are part of the process of being a writer. In 2021, I hope to secure a hundred and fifty more . . . And maybe a few more story acceptances too, while I’m at it.

Another failure: I tried to write a novel. Tried is the operative word.
The novel was to be titled, Come Back, Grandma Jean. I got a third of the way through, and then I burned out. I found no inspiration in the characters, hadn’t a clue where the plot was going, and had written in way too many sex scenes. The book was turning into sheer smut — which is fine and dandy, just not the book I wanted to write. Hence: 20,000 words chucked down the garbage chute! Ahh, well. Maybe 2021 will see the creation of my first full-length novel. Maybe!

READING

As anyone who’s even relatively acquainted with me knows, I love to read. It is among my very favorite things to do. I read fiction and non-fiction books alike, always doing my best to balance the two. As you can see by my reading list from this year, I ended up reading a bit more fiction than non-fiction.

The Books I Read in 2020:

1. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan

2. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence by Michael Pollan

3. The Institute by Stephen King

4. Abarat by Clive Barker

5. Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury

6. Sunburst Woman & Poems by Jack Ontair

7. Braincheese Buffet by Edward Lee

8. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

9. On the Night Border by James Chambers

10. Borderland (story anthology, edited by Tom Montelleone).

11. Cry Down Dark by T.J. Tranchell

12. Strange Wine by Harlan Ellison 

13. Where Nightmares Come From: The Art of Storytelling in the Horror Genre

14. Asleep in the Nightmare Room by T.J. Tranchell

15. The Resurrectionist by James Wrath White

16. I Sing the Body Electric! By Ray Bradbury

17. Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke

18. Transfer by Terry M. West

19. The Devil’s List by Terry M. West

20. The Midwives by Duncan Ralston

21. When You Find Out What You’re Made of by Michelle Kilmer

22. Stuck on You & Other Prime Cuts by Jasper Bark

23. Ceremony of Ashes by Robert Ducharme

24. The Cellar by Richard Laymon

25. God Bless You, Doctor Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut

26. Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson

27. The Collection by Bentley Little

28. Beyond Where the Sky Ends by DS Ullery

29. Full Throttle: Stories by Joe Hill

30. The History of Philosophy by A.C. Grayling

31. If It Bleeds by Stephen King

32. An Edge in My Voice (columns) by Harlan Ellison

33. Alessa’s Melody (A Novella) by R. Ducharme

34. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

35. Ethics in the Real World by Peter Singer

36. Voltaire’s Revolution: Writings From His Campaign to Free Laws From Religion by GK Noyer

37. The Private Lives of Nightmares by T.J. Tranchell

38. Highway 181 by DS Ullery

39. Scare Me (anthology, edited by M. Leon Smith)

40. Quiet Places by Jasper Bark

41. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

42. The Believing Brain: From Ghosts to Gods to Politcs and Conspiracies — How We Construct Beliefs & Reinforce Them As Truths by Michael Shermer

43. The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking & L. Mlodinow

44. Island of the Flesh Eaters by Thomas S. Flowers

45. Radigan by Louis L’Amour

46. Needful Things by Stephen King

47. The Writing Life: Reflections, Recollections & A Lot of Cursing by Jeff Strand

48. Ashes and Wine, Book One: The Extraoridinary Lives of Intimacy & Love by Jack Ontair

49. Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

50. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

51. The Yellow Wallpaper & Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

It was a great year for reading, and I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of these books. I learned quite a lot, both from the educational science books, as well as from the storytelling techniques employed by the likes of fiction-writers like Bradbury, King, McCarthy, and my contemporaries in the independent horror market.

However, my favorite book that I’ve read this year is undoubtedly, THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY by A.C. Grayling (British philosopher and Master of New College of the Humanities, London). This book was eloquent, accessible, and fascinating. It’s also over 700 pages. Quite the tome, but really well-worth the time and effort. I read it on summer evenings, cup of coffee by my side and Bach’s Goldberg Variations trickling into my ears.

As for books/authors I’d like to read in 2021 . . . Here’s just a few:

Letters to A Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens.

Anything by Ursula K. Le Guin

Anything by Sylvia Plath

Enlightenment philosophers, such as: David Hume, John Lock, Diderot, Rousseau.

Asimov on the Bible, and “Extraterrestrial Civilization”.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari.

Anything by my Contemporaries-In-Horror: Duane Ullery, Terry M. West, Jasper Bark, Duncan Ralston, Michelle von Eeshen, T.J. Tranchell, ETC.

I’ll have to leave it at that . . . because there’s a million more books I’d love to read!

DAMN GOOD FILMS

I don’t watch a lot of films these days. Hence, this list will be short. However, I assure you, these films are among the very best. Some are new, some are black and white classics. Without further ado, the films I most enjoyed this year:

1. The Seventh Seal (1957, Dir. By Ingmar Bergman)

2. The Lighthouse (2019, Dir. Robert Eggers, starring incredible performances by William Dafoe & Robert Pattinson)

3. Night of the Hunter (1955, Dir. by Charles Laughton)

4. Jason & the Argonauts (1963, Dir. Don Chaffey, w/ effects by Ray Harryhausen)

5. Modern Times (1936, Charlie Chaplin)

6. The Thing From Another World (1951, Dir. Howard Hawks)

7. Paris, Texas (1984, Dir. Wim Wenders, starring Harry Dean Stanton)

8. Hereditary (2018, Dir. Ari Aster)

9. Midsommar (2019, Dir. Ari Aster)

10. Tideland (2005, Dir Terry Gilliam)

A FEW LAST WORDS

In conclusion: While I’m proud of my writing/publishing achievements, in a somewhat perverse sense, I’m even more proud of my failures. Those 150 story rejections, for example, are evidence for how much I care about this craft, and this business.

I’m also happy to have made many new writer friends. We may’ve only met each other via online interactions, but it’s been a pleasure getting to know you, chatting with you IM, working with you, and reading your works. You know who you are.

On a significant note, I would not be able to write if I didn’t have a night job which allowed me to do it on the clock. As a writer, I find myself in a nearly ideal situation. I sit up in the lonely clock tower, making sure nobody comes round to steal anything, and I chew my nails, drink gallons of black coffee, listen to scary sounds in the night, and I write books. I also have the utmost support from my lovely and wonderful fiancé, in all matters of endeavor. For her, I am absolutely grateful.

And now, for another cup of coffee, some music, a few more books, and whole lot more stories . . . 

Wishing you a most happy and fulfilling New Year, fellow readers, writers, and friends,

Tylor James.