Dead Letter Press has posted some information about their forthcoming anthology about evil books, Bound for Evil, including an alphabetized list of stories/contributors:

T.A.C. Amaral – “Damek”
Barry Baldwin – “If I Had a Hundred Tongues”
Glynn Barrass – “Fahrenheit Clark Ashton”
Skadi Meic Beorh – “The Devil & Nathaniel Hawthorne”
R. Michael Burns – “The Door, The Lock, The Key”
Ramsey Campbell – “Worse Than Bones”
Ramsey Campbell – “One Copy Only”
Robert Chambers – “The Yellow Sign”
Fred Chappell – “The Adder”
Rui Cruz – “Weird Chronicle”
Lorne Dixon – “Boek Van Namen”
Tom English – “The Strange Bequest of Simon Bray”
JG Faherty – “Windows to the Soul”
Eugene Field – “The Bibliomaniac’s Prayer”
David M. Fitzpatrick – “The Narconomicon”
Gary Fry – “The Guest Book”
Christopher Fulbright – “Mechanix”
Orrin Grey – “The Reading Room”
Angeline Hawkes – “A Lesson in Therapy”
Nathaniel Hawthorne – “The Devil in Manuscript”
Rhys Hughes – “Lem’s Last Book”
Rhys Hughes – “Finding the Book of Sand”
Margaret Irwin – “The Book”
M. R. James – “Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook”
Mark Leslie – “Browsers”
Patrick LoBrutto – “Genesis for Dummies”
H. P. Lovecraft – “The Book”
H. P. Lovecraft – “The Dunwich Horror”
Michael Lovell – “The Story of Edward Hardiman”
Erin MacKay – “Letters Home”
Michael McGrorty – “Literature Abuse”
Mark McLaughlin – “Fine Print”
Gary McMahon – “Guidance”
Rick Moore – “The Incomplete Works of William Shakespeare”
Barry Napier – “A Collection of True Evils”
Kurt Newton – “Trunk Story”
Terri Nixon – “The Truth Inside the Lie”
Louise Norlie – “The Reference Book”
John R. Platt – “Flames in the Night”
John Llewellyn Probert – “Recipe for Disaster”
Jeffrey Rice – “The New Words”
Barbara Roden – “Association Copy”
Ian Rogers – “The Dark and the Young”
Jeff Ryan – “Readers Digested”
Jeff Ryan – “Prosecuted, Banished, and Shot”
Saki – “The Almanack”
Vincent L. Scarsella – “Practical Time travel”
J. Michael Shell – “A Fatal Distraction”
John Shire – “An Antique Land”
Ian Shoebridge – “Happiness”
Simon Strantzas – “Leather, Cold and Dark”
Montague Summers – “The Grimoire”
John Teehan – “Pact Anthology”
Ben Thomas – “Cormac’s Mirror”
Jeffrey Thomas – “Book Worm”
Lavie Tidhar – “The Book in the Earth”
Mark Tullius – “The Book of Revelation”
Jason Vogt – “Don’t Read Them After Midnight”
Chris Willrich – “The Thief with Two Deaths”
Andrew J. Wilson – “Limited Edition”
Michael D. Winkle – “The Book of Cain”
S. Levett Yeats – “The Devil’s Manuscript”
Jill Zeller – “The Alzheimer’s Book Club”

Some great classic authors are reprinted here, as well as some of my current favourites, including Angeline Hawkes, Lavie Tidhar, Gary Fry, Gary McMahon, and Barbara Roden (a fellow Canuck who also edits All Hallows).

I’m really looking forward to this one, not just because it features my first published novella, “The Dark and the Young,” but because it’s also my first appearance in a hardcover collection, and I get to appear alongside so many great authors.

The book has a hefty price tag ($80), but you’re really getting your money’s worth. Here’s some deets from the publisher’s website:

Deluxe smythe-sewn hardcover, bound in black imitation leather, and stamped in gold leaf with an original cover design by World Fantasy Award-winning illustrator Allen Koszowski.

64 ingenious tales of lost knowledge and restless ghosts, secret libraries and forbidden texts, alternate worlds and ancient gods—written by 59 internationally-acclaimed writers, including Ramsey Campbell, Rhys Hughes, H. P. Lovecraft, Fred Chappell and Jeffrey Thomas!

The book is a limited edition of 500 copies, with only 375 being made available for sale, so check it out soon because I think this one will sell out very fast.

• Currently reading: "A Mean Utility," by Craig Davidson

The Canadian publishing news magazine Quill & Quire published the list of their most popular blog entries for the year, including one about how The Golden Compass was banned by the Catholic school board.

More interesting than the article itself are the responses from other readers, some of them non-religions, some of them fairly hard-core believers.

I have no real qualms with religion as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone or keep others down, but as a very, VERY lapsed Catholic, I have to say I got a giggle out of the religiosi comparing The Golden Compass to the collected works of David Duke or a handbook on how to be a serial rapist. Likening these particular subjects to a young adult fantasy novel tells you just how deluded some people can be, and how desperately they will fight to enforce their beliefs. (Of even more interest is how the comments on the board progress from the author Philip Pullman being a simple atheist to quoting him on how his books are about killing God.)

Having said that, if it’s a Catholic school with a Catholic library, I can respect that they don’t want certain books in their collection that might undermine their teachings. I don’t agree with it, because I do believe it promotes a general intolerance of all things that aren’t Catholic (or whatever religion is being taught), but then it is their library, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t expect them to stock those kind of titles anyway, because I know they feel threatened by them.

Funnily enough, it was this article that has actually set my mind on reading these books. I’m sure I’m not the only one who came to a banned book this way, and yet those that have such narrow views seem oblivious to the fact that they are only giving such books more publicity.

• Currently reading: "Rust and Bone," by Craig Davidson

Fellow Canadian writer Joel A. Sutherland was interviewed on Heidi Ruby Miller’s blog and mentioned “Charlotte’s Frequency” as one of the standout pieces of Horror Library, Volume 2, which he is currently reading. Thanks, dude!

Joel has a new children’s book out called The Teddy Bears of Tomorrow that’s getting all kinds of good reviews. It would make a nice Xmas gift for the kiddies, or for anyone who likes bears. Check it out.

• Currently reading: "ICU," by Dennis Lehane

I used my last vacation day to take yesterday off. To finish my Xmas shopping? Posh, I’m finished already. No, I took the day off to set up my spankin’ new computer. I don’t like buying something for myself this close to Xmas, but the deal was too good to ignore, and I’ve had my current computer for over four years and I’ve done everything I can to upgrade it. It was getting slow and cranky and generally irritating to work with.

The new computer has a fancy shmancy Intel duo core processor, 3 GB of ram, 500 GB hard drive, and a super sweet 22-inch widescreen monitor. Thor can still get behind it to sleep, but it’s a tight fit. Here’s a pic.

In other news, I just finished reading Move Under Ground, the first novel by Nick Mamatas, and all I can say is wow. I’ve written a few pieces of Lovecraft lit in my time, but for the most part I don’t care for it. I see little difference between Lovecraft lit and fan fiction. You can only read so many stories about some doomsday cult getting a hold of some evil book to raise some evil god with an unpronounceable name.

Although Move Under Ground certainly qualifies as Lovecraft lit, it’s really much more than that. In fact, it’s almost insulting to describe it as Lovecraft lit because that particular well has been poisoned by so many lackluster and derivative entries. I’d be much more inclined to call it a horror Beat novel with references to the Cthulhu Mythos, and leave it at that.

The premise alone — Jack Kerouac vs. Cthulhu — is worth the price of admission. Check it out. (I also found this old interview with Mamatas that you might enjoy. I know I did.)

I also read what has to be one of the best Richard Matheson short stories of all time. It’s an epistolary story called “SRL Ad,” about a young man corresponding with a woman named Loolie, who happens to be from the planet Venus. The man thinks it’s all a big joke… at first.

And finally, I received a very nice rejection from Shimmer last night for my sf/horror story “Pink Fields.” The editor liked the story very much, but felt it wasn’t right for the magazine. She suggested I send it to Apex Digest, which I plan to do on January 1st when they open again to submissions.

• Currently reading: "To Fit the Crime," by Richard Matheson

Last week we held a United Way auction at work, featuring items donated by various staff members. Some departments put together themed baskets, while others donated items they had made, like blankets and mittens, or cooked, like chicken lasagna and apple crisp. I donated two of the anthologies featuring my stories, Fall and Rise and Touched by Wonder. Both books ended up going for $20 each, which isn’t too shabby, and it’s nice that it all goes toward charity.

The winner also wanted them signed, which only added to the ego stroke.

It’s a Christmas miracle!

• Currently reading: The Keeper, by Sarah Langan

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE – DAY

Your typical small town convenience store. A YOUNG FEMALE CLERK is just concluding a transaction with an OLD MAN who is making small talk despite the girl’s bored expression.

THE WRITER enters and goes directly to the magazine rack. He spots the December issue of “Playboy” and takes it over to the counter. The old man moves his carton of milk aside and continues talking to the clerk. The Writer, looking a bit chagrined, puts down the magazine, which features a scantly-clad Kim Kardashian on the cover.

The clerk rings it up, then stares at the cover for a moment.

The clerk isn’t looking. She’s still staring at the magazine cover.

The Writer completes his purchase and leaves the store noticeably redder than when he entered.

**

That really happened, only about twenty minutes ago. Phew.

In other news, I received a very nice rejection from Albedo One (my first submission to them). The editor said: This is a well written and enjoyable piece, with a clever ending… There is nothing wrong with the story, it’s just not what we’re looking for at the moment.

Rejections don’t get any better than that.

The story is now winging its way to a new anthology called Clockwork Phoenix.

• Currently reading: "Mute," by Stephen King

There’s a lot to enjoy in John Scalzi’s book on writing, You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop. Here’s a bit that I thought perfectly summed up my own feelings.

“I read literary fiction like I read any other genre and I find it has more or less the same percentage of quality writers to hacks, good work to lame work, and memorable writing to forgettable tripe as any other genre. I don’t particularly buy into the idea of one genre of writing being better than any other any more than I buy into the idea of one type of cuisine being better than any other. Literary fiction is French cooking. Science fiction is Thai. Romance writing is all about chocolate. You can get good and crappy versions of each, and the snob who won’t try some of each is merely missing out.”

This seemed especially apt to me, seeing as how last week I read the first three James Bond novels, at the moment I’m currently reading a collection of Louis L’Amour westerns, and I’ve got Sarah Langan’s horror novel, The Keeper, lined up next. A fairly disparate group, I’d say.

• Currently reading: "Rustler Roundup," by Louis L'Amour

Well, folks, I’ve been due for a rant, so here it is. This one shouldn’t piss off any of my readers, because most of the writers I know are smart and talented folks who seem to have a good grasp of the business. That aside, it should be fairly evident by the very nature of blogs and online journals that what follows is simply my opinion.

So there was an interesting discussion going on over at John Scalzi’s excellent blog, The Whatever, about Dragon magazine and how they are currently accepting fiction submissions… for a price. No, they aren’t charging reading fees, but they do want you to give up the rights to your story. All of your rights.

Now, every (reputable) publisher purchases a certain type of rights for a set amount of time when they accept one of your stories. (I won’t go into the specifics, because it’s all very boring, but if you’re interested, check out this article.) But the idea of selling all rights to your story is… well, really stupid.

I won’t go into the reasons why it’s stupid, because it should be fairly obvious to those who have been trying to get published with any degree of seriousness. If it isn’t obvious, then I figure you have one of two problems. Either you don’t care about the rights to your stories and are willing to sell your work for cheap — and forever. Or you are ignorant of what Dragon is doing and you don’t understand what the problem is. Ignorance can be excused, to a certain degree, but I still don’t have much sympathy for it. Especially since one could find out how wrong this is simply by doing a little research. Look around at the guidelines of other magazines and publishing houses, and you’ll see that no one else (again, no one reputable) is asking for all rights to your story. I’d go so far as to say that asking for all rights is up there with agents and editors who charge a fee to read your manuscript. It’s not an out-and-out scam, but it’s pretty freakin’ close.

Seeing as how most professional writers will steer clear of Dragon, I suspect that their guidelines are directed more toward the beginners. Not all beginners, just the ones too stupid to know better, or too lazy to do any research into whether or not what Dragon is doing is on the level. If a beginner reads those guidelines and thinks, Hey, sounds good to me, well then he deserves to be fleeced.

The big “positive” that the people on the other side of this argument throw out is that Dragon is a big magazine, and although the rights thing kind of sucks, it’s all good exposure. I still don’t buy that. Sure, it’s exposure of a sort, but it’s of the wow-that-guy-really-doesn’t-give-a-damn-about-his-work variety. Because he’ll never get that story back. Never.

I’ve also heard people say that it’s okay to sell all rights to the stories they send to Dragon (or any other places that demands all rights) because they only send them their worse ones, or the ones for which they don’t care about the rights. That strikes me as one of the lamest arguments I’ve ever heard. It’s so lame it’s laaaaaaame. If you have a story that you feel isn’t that good, or one that you don’t care about the rights, then why oh why are you sending it out at all?

I hope I don’t come off sounding like a prick, but I feel pretty passionate about this, and if you’re a writer, then you should, too. I work hard and I do my homework, and it amazes me how many other beginners can’t be bothered to do the same. Okay, the truth is it doesn’t really amaze me. I’ve seen it happen a lot. But it still makes me shake my head.

Ultimately I don’t really care what other writers are doing or not doing. Each of us is the master of our own career, and we have to make the decisions that we feel are right. I like to think that most writers, even the ones just starting out, are smart enough to see that what Dragon is doing isn’t a good thing. And for those that don’t… well, the idiots only serve to make guys like me look that much better.

• Currently reading: "Home is the Hunter," by Louis L'Amour