Four into the Void

I've sent four more stories out into the outer reaches of internet publications. Several of them were rejected earlier and the (hopeful) improved versions are back into the fray.

"Fox Hunt" is away to the as-yet untitled ahthology that Cat Scratch Books is putting out. This is a gothic romance(!) with fantastic elements. In my case it's the story of a young woman who goes to live as the companion of an elderly woman in a secluded estate in the interior of Alaska. There are shape-shifting animals and people as well as connections to two other stories, "The Cold Comes South" and "Kumiho." It was very different for me for a number of reasons, not the least that it's 17,ooo words long which is almost twice anything i've done before. It was a fun exercise. I hope they like it.

"Trail of the Brujo" was recently rejected by Weird Tales but is now on the way to the anthology CROSS-GENRE CTHULHU. It's a Mysterious Dave western with a villain and a supporting character I particularly like. The editor is John Sunseri, who I know likes weird westerns. (He had a story in HELL'S HANGMEN.)

"Kumiho" is a horror offering based on Korean legends about a nine-tailed fox. I usually don't write straight horror. I tend to like adventure stories with fantastic elements much better. Good horror has an air of hopelessness and meaninglessness. That's what makes it so frightening. Unfortunately, I'm not much interested in hopelessness and meaninglessness. However, I have really enjoyed Asian fox tales for much of my life and enjoyed writing one. It's gone off to an anthology called LYCANTHROPE: THE BEAST WITHIN. They said they wanted lycanthropes other than werewolves so this may suit their needs. (What would you call a were-fox anyway? A vulpanthrope?)

Finally, "Horse Latitudes" is a high seas adventure featuring the same protaganist as "Clown Fish." It's a strange story that starts out like a high adventure then takes a strange turn through an unseen world. It was inspired by some beautiful stories by Lord Dunsany I read a while back. It's going to CLOCKWORK PHOENIX which is collecting stories that, "...stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways."

"Horse Latitudes" is inspired by an old Jim Morrison poem about a part of the Atlantic where ships were often becalmed and horses were sometimes thrown overboard. That image has always stayed with me.