September 2023 Notes

Notes from the Fiction Factory - Month in Review

Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash

September 2023 is gone and the cozy, spooky season of Fall is here. My favorite season too. My apologies for not putting out more material, but my priorities have been dedicated to running

Pulp, Pipe, & Poetry

Magazine and hunting for a new job. There is a new season of change in my life both regarding family and career. Rest assured, these are good changes.

Anyway, here’s a quick update on September 2023.

Writing:

My fiction has moved over to

Pulp, Pipe, & Poetry

so if you have been looking for them, they are now being published over at the magazine. We are currently running a special promotion of 20% off an annual subscription for 1 year going on until the end of October. Here are some of my latest stories and see the end of this editorial, Our Plans Going Forward.

Our Plans Going Forward

Short Fiction:

• Electric Love - a story about the death of an illegal romance and the dark, cold future of Corpo Dread

Electric Love

• Quota - a brutal and dystopian contest between Head Hunters fighting to hit their monthly quota. Paid subscribers of the magazine can read below.

  Quota

• Grind - A workaholic goes to great lengths to earn his promotion. Paid subscribers of the magazine can read below.

  Grind

Publishing:

My short fiction collection, Grind: And Other Strange Stories, is available in ebook and paperback.

Dive into a collection of five strange and unsettling tales of Corpo Dread. These short stories will leave you questioning the cost of surrendering oneself to the relentless demands of the corporate world, where everyone has a price to pay.

If you enjoy speculative short fiction or stories told in the tradition of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, you’ll enjoy these. Pick up a copy here.

Currently, I’m working on a new collection of short fiction, Numbing Glass: And Other Strange Stories, that covers themes of screen addiction and nostalgia, specifically the seductive temptations of living in the past. Should be out before the holidays.

Reading:

My reading has slowed down a bit with all the new changes.

• The Big Kill - Mickey Spillane (4/5)

• Bottle Party - John Collier (4/5)

• The Crooked Man - Charles Beaumont (5/5)

• Fair Lady - Charles Beaumont (5/5)

Currently reading Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming and have quite a few short fiction collections on deck including:

• Slippage: Uncollected Stories by Harlan Ellison

• The Minority Report And Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick

• The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 Edited by Elizabeth George and Otto Penzler

• The John Collier Reader

• The Roald Dahl Omnibus

Fun Stuff

There is a special challenge for all you fiction writers called The 10M Project. Organized by my friend and fellow P3 Partner,

Brady Putzke

, he is on the long road to mastery and plans to write ten million words of fiction. He has opened the challenge to other writers and I immediately threw my hat in the ring along with several others. This is a pubic challenge too. Your word count will be reported by Brady. When I started a few weeks ago, I sat at about 42,000 words of practice. Currently, I’m sitting at 56,000. words. Every little bit counts. If you’re interested or want to read more about this cool challenge then read below.

Introducing: "The 10M Project"

That’s all I got. Till next time.