DucKon 21: Finally Legal

I WAS AN AUTHOR GUEST this past weekend at DucKon, a local SF/F convention that’s expending its reach a bit into horror these days as well. I was there briefly last year, but this time around (as the con celebrated its 21st year in existence), I was around for the…

Continue reading

Peteyboo and the Worm

MY SON AND I sometimes tell silly stories to each other, and when he was five, I came up with one that he really liked called Peteyboo and the Worm. He kept asking me to re-tell it to him, and I kept forgetting things each time I did (which he…

Continue reading

DanCon and Tuesday Funk

THIS IS A FICTION-FILLED WEEK! Tomorrow, on Sunday, March 4, I’ll be hanging out at a table in the “Creator Room” at DanCon at the Orland Park Civic Center in  Orland Park, IL. I’ve been looking forward to this one for months — if you’re in Chicagoland, I hope you’ll…

Continue reading

Unveiling NightWhere!

THE IDEA FOR THIS ONE goes back a long time. Back in 2002, during the World Horror Convention in Chicago, I remember telling Charlee Jacob that I had this idea for a pretty racy horror novel, but wasn’t sure I could write it. At that point, I’d been trying to…

Continue reading

Survivor: Marriage

IT STRUCK ME the other day that Marriage is really a lot like the most popular reality show, Survivor. It’s all about Outwitting and Outlasting! So, I give you my proposed new logo for Wedding Chapels and bedrooms…

Continue reading

My 2011… A Travelogue

THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS is always a week of cleanup for me. Putting away the remnants of one year to prepare for another. I spend hours organizing and backing up computer files, updating my iPod, cleaning off my desk from weeks of detritus… and I also think back a lot…

Continue reading

CHRISTMAS TALES are here!

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN a sucker for Christmas. A lot of people don’t expect a “horror” writer to get all warm and mushy for the holidays, but I am a big fan of colored lights, Christmas trees, homemade frosted cookies, warm holiday fireplaces, eggnogg (the real homemade stuff, not that bubblegum…

Continue reading

NightWhere before Christmas!

I HAVE TO SAY, this has been a pretty good week! On Monday night (actually, 1 a.m. Tuesday morning) I finished my final edits on my 6th novel, NightWhere! So finally, after a couple weeks of editing and rewriting (and a series of very late nights there at the end!),…

Continue reading

R.I.P. Anne McCaffrey

I WAS SADDENED last week to learn that science fiction/fantasy icon Anne McCaffrey died of a massive stroke at 85. Anne McCaffrey — or more specifically, her fiction — was a key part of my childhood. I’ll admit, I haven’t read her work for many years now… in my 20s…

Continue reading