Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween "Tweet Shorts" - Round 2

Here's a second installment of "Tweet Shorts" that I did last week on Twitter. Had a lot of fun doing them again this year, and I hope to do some more next year. Think a few of these have given me ideas for a future drabble collection. If you missed them the first time around, here they are again. Hope you enjoy them!


A gift from her ex? Odd. And why a sock monkey? Before she could answer, Mr. Giggles jumped up and tore out her throat.


Okay, so I shouldn't call Suzie's Teddy Bear "ugly." Fine, lesson learned. Can you give me back my eye now?


Phil thought his son's new toys were harmless. With a couple of knives and wrenches, they were about to prove him wrong.


This punch is killer!" he said to his guests with a grin. He was correct. One by one, they all began to drop dead.


"The world didn't end," the crazy preacher sighed. Lil' Gabby stepped forward, holding a butchers knife. "For YOU it will."


"We were going to help you get rid of that monster," his mom said, "but since you failed the math test, it's your problem now."

Monday, October 24, 2011

Halloween "Tweet Shorts" - Round 1

Last year after releasing LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES, I did some tweet shorts on Twitter that were of the same style. I had a lot of fun with them, and they would end up giving me ideas for some drabbles (100-word shorts) that would later on appear in LESSONS II.

A year later, I'm doing them again. I will try to do them as we get closer and closer to Halloween. For those who missed the first installment, I'm posting them here so they'll be easy to find.

Follow me on Twitter for the latest batch!

And if you enjoy what you've read, check out my LESSONS books. Great for Halloween, or any other time when you feel like reading something sick, twisted and quick!
Here is the first round of my Tweet Shorts:


Another letter was on Joel's bed. "I bet a knife in your back would drive the point home. - Clown"


"Throwing your kid's favorite toy into the garbage is a no-no," Mr. Giggles spat as he jammed the screwdriver into Mark's eye.


She chopped off her husband's hand. If he was complaining about hand cramps, then she'd give him something real to cry about.


"Monsters aren't real. Daddy says so," Harry said. A paw grabbed his face. "Daddy doesn't know shit," the voice growled.


As the blood spilled from his neck, Ralph realized that calling his wife the c-word wasn't one of his brightest ideas.


"If I'm going to be called a 'backstabber,' I might as well earn it," Harvey mused, pulling the knife out of his former buddy.


It wasn't for money. It wasn't because he cheated. Shelly shot him because she couldn't take his knock-knock jokes anymore.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

"Only demons should fear me. You're not a demon, are you?"




Today's post is about the movie, FRAILTY. Talk about a downright creepy film with an unsettling premise. A father believes that God has told him that the world is populated with demons, and that he and his sons must "destroy" them to save mankind. Only problem... these demons seem like they're real people. Are they? Is the father insane? A masterful thriller that focuses more on story rather than carnage and gore.

This is a dark and disturbing movie, but I love everything about it. The story, the direction, the acting... it's just an excellent movie. Bill Paxton not only is a great actor in it, but it turns out the man knows how to direct.

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

Friday, October 14, 2011

"Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don't give it any help, it knows too much already."



Well, we can't talk horror movies without mentioning this classic, POLTERGEIST. There may not be a lot of blood and gore, but it is still scary as hell. That horrible clown doll lives in my nightmares.

Lots of "gotcha" moments to be found in this gem. I remember when I would watch this as a kid, I would keep the volume kinda low so it wouldn't scare me as much. Yes, I was such a wimp back then--but I was a kid for crying outloud!

Highly recommended. It's not everyday where you see a movie that can make a tree scare the living crap out of you!

Check out the trailer here

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Inside "Tough Love"

If you haven’t read my short story, Tough Love, then you may want to read it on Amanda Hocking’s blog before you go any further.

You can read it here.

I was beyond psyched when Amanda asked me to do a guest post on her blog. At first, I didn’t know what to write about. I knew I wanted to write a horror story of some sort, but didn’t know exactly what. I thought about it for a few days and then an idea hit, so I just went with it.

I wanted to write a different type of a zombie story. I thought it’d be fun to write about a despicable character, somebody whom the readers would really hate, and have him get his just deserts at the very end. One of the rare times where you’re actually cheering for the zombies to dismember a person. It was also a way to kind of mix my slice-of-life writing with an element of horror. Oddly enough, for me the real horror is the first half when you meet the abusive boyfriend. (Fact: The inspiration for Earl came from the movie SLING BLADE; Doyle. That’s who I pictured as I was writing)

Even though I was creating a really horrible character, I knew I still had to make him seem realistic enough. I couldn’t make him a parody or a cartoon. The scary fact is that there are people out there with a thought process like Earl’s, and that truly is the real horror of the actual story. He might’ve felt a bit of regret for what he did, but in the end he saw himself as being in the right. I knew that’s how I had to write him, to paint him in a realistic light.

I’m not good with straight-out horror. Even my drabbles mix horror with really dark humor. Because of that, it was fun to mix in some things that I’ve learned from writing some of the short stories that I’ve done in the past. It really does begin as an ordinary story could be found in a short story collection like IN DECLINE, and then ends with a bit of a twist.

Thanks to those who read the story!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"You are not content with the stories, so I was obliged to come."



Continueing on with the Halloween theme, another horror movie that I absolutely love is CANDYMAN. I still say that it is one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. And the fact that a lot of it takes place in a really bad part of Chicago makes that even more horrifying.

They say that if you say his name five times while looking at the mirror, he'll be there. But it's just a story, right? Nothing but a stupid nighttime story to scare your friends. Right? Right? Wrong...

This is a really good horror movie with some truly terrifying moments. I made the mistake of watching this late one night right before going to bed. Be warned, there's plenty of gore and gruesome images--but then again, it is a horror movie after all.

Watch this one late at night with the lights off... if you dare.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

"Damn! Come back from the grave and ran out of ammunition!"



2 posts in one day? Am I nuts?

Somebody suggested that I should talk about some of my favorite horror movies (thanks, John!).  So, I figure that maybe I can post a few of them throughout the month of October. I certainly owe you guys some posts since I didn't post anything during September.

HOUSE was the very first horror movie that I saw when I was a little kid, and it still remains as one of my favorites. Sure, the acting isn't all that great, it's a bit cheesy and corny at times--but in a way that's what makes it awesome. If you like haunted house movies, I think you should check it out.

Again, if you're looking to be scared out of your mind--you may want to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for some goofy horror fun, then this may be for you.

Click here for the trailer

New horror story from me on Amanda Hocking's blog!

Yes, it's been far too long since I've blogged here. I blame BREAKING BAD. Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now that the season is over... I'll have to find another excuse sometime soon. I'm sure I'll find one. Don't you worry!

Well, some cool news worth reporting. Amanda Hocking asked me to come up with a special Halloween post, so I wrote a new short story, "Tough Love." You can read it here.

Also, it'll almost be a year since I released LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES. I can't thank you guys enough for your continued support of the books. I had a lot of fun writing them, and I hope to do more in the future. I love writing those drabbles, so I'm sure you'll see another LESSONS book sometime in the near future. Just needed a bit of a break to try my hand at other things. I have a few projects in mind.

Well, that about does it for now. You can always follow me on Twitter for more updates and inane ramblings!