3 Picks with Kenneth W. Cain

 

It's time for 3 Picks! The feature where a spotlight author shares their three book recommendations within a given category that they should know a thing or two about.


This week's 3 Picks features author and editor, Kenneth W. Cain. Kenneth is known books such as the dark fiction collection, Embers, best seller A Season in Hell as well as his forthcoming title, From Death Reborn.


Kenneth Cain also does tons of editing work for noted horror publishers Crystal Lake Publishing and Silver Shamrock Publishing among others as well. Kenneth knows a thing or two about story collections and anthologies. So, it is with that in mind that we turn to Kenneth Cain for his 3 Picks for Horror Anthologies worth their weight in gold.

Here's his 3 Picks:




Pick 1: After by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling - This anthology has a wide range of stories, many of which really hit the right tone and feel for what I like in horror, including some fun takes on well-used themes. “After the Cure” by Carrie Ryan was most excellent.


Pick 2: Chiral Mad 2 by Michael Bailey - If you know me, I’m quite fond of charity, and Bailey has worked hard to put out some incredible anthologies for a great cause. This one is chock-full of great stories by some of the best in the business, as are all of his anthologies. “The Great Pity” by Gary Braunbeck blew me away.


Pick 3: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill - I’m a huge Joe Hill fan, and not because of who is father is. This collection contains one of my favorite stories, “Pop Art.” There’s a lot of subtext in that story, and some great lessons in how to write a good story. So many excellent stories.


Honorable mention (and only because I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet, despite having read many of the individual stories): The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu. I stumbled upon one of Ken’s stories on a podcast I listen to, and it blew me away. So naturally I sought out his work, and I found a literal treasure trove of amazing stories. So, while I wouldn’t classify his work as being full-on horror, it has a quiet dark side to much of it I feel would qualify it as dark fantasy, which is good enough for me. “Paper Menagerie,” which has a paranormal aspect to it, is a favorite that I’ve read over and over.

There you have it, a treasure trove of horror anthologies that pack a lot of punch. Kenneth W. Cain has poured over many horror anthologies so he know's a good one when he reads one. Be sure to check these titles out when you need a fix of horror shorts.

What are your 3 Picks for must read horror anthologies? Let us know in the comments below!

To find out more about writer and editor Kenneth W. Cain visit kennethwcain.com

3 Picks with Somer Canon

 

Its time for 3 Picks! This week with author and podcaster Somer Canon. Somer is the author of uniquely twisted books like Vicki Beautiful and The Hag Witch of Tripp Creek. Her most recent release from Silver Shamrock Press, Slaves to Gravity, co-written with Wesley Southard has been getting a lot of great buzz.

In addition to writing, Somer also enjoys podcasting. She is part of the round-table writing discussion podcast, The Ghost Writers Podcast (also featuring Mary SanGiovani, Matt Wildasen and Dave Thomas.) And Somer also hosts her own podcast called A Case for Classics in which she spotlights classic literature and tries to convince the listeners that the books aren't boring drivel to waste time in lit class but bona fide, accessible stories worth reading.

It is with that in mind that Somer shares her 3 Picks for must read Classic Fiction. They are all worth checking out. Somer should know, here's her case for the classics.

My picks for must-read Classics:  Since "classics" can be a very broad term including works published in the last decade, I'm going to make my list consist of "antique" classics, a.k.a. old books written by people who are now dead!

Pick 1: Dante's Inferno.  The Inferno is part one of a three part piece called The Divine Comedy and while I certainly wouldn't chase someone away from reading the entire work, The Inferno is my personal favorite part.  This story contains absolutely breathtaking imagery of Hell as well as a healthy dose of fourteenth century Italian pettiness.  Also be on the lookout for one of classical literature's best fart jokes.

Pick 2.   Beowulf--particularly the Seamus Heaney translation.  This is an important work in  Western Literature but it is important to know that it is a foundational work in modern Fantasy.  J.R.R. Tolkien was OBSESSED with Beowulf.  It has all the hallmarks of a great Adventure/Fantasy book including monsters and excessive bragging.  If you don't personally think Beowulf is great, don't worry.  His high opinion of himself surpasses any criticism from us low-lives.  

Pick 3. The Odyssey.  I had a Latin teacher in college who said that if she were stranded on a deserted island, as long as she had a copy of The Odyssey and a fresh water source, she'd be perfectly happy.  I might need a McDonald's on top of that, but I sort of agree.  This is a book that blesses its audience with new details and surprises on subsequent reads.  It has a relatable, but flawed hero as the main character and I've always loved the underlying plot of the Greek gods being passive aggressive with each other by both helping and sabotaging Odysseus on his journey home.  

Great picks from Somer Canon! I'm sure many of us were subjected to several, if not all, of these titles in our school years. They are all classics for a reason and that reason is they are great stories that appeal to humans of any age and any time. Check them out if you haven't already.

What 3 picks do you have for The Classics? Let us know in the comments!

You can check out all things Somer Canon by visiting https://www.somercanon.com/

Avocado And Eggs (Part 1)

Once again, Central New Jersey has become the cradle of horror fiction. I find myself back at a Central Jersey Panera writing the morning away. It's a different Panera this time. It's a different view and the company has changed a tad as well. At the behest of my writing guru, Chuck Buda we have assembled once again to write in the company of one another. This time the uber-pretty Tim Meyer was able to get out to join us.

I like my coffee like I like my fiction, in a cup.

I was able to jump right into the writing the morning. Im taking a moment to write up this blog post during one of my little breaks. The other two gents are busy tapping away at their work so I won't interrupt them for now. 

Chuck has the earbuds in and he's playing air guitar furiously and flashing the devil's horns at his computer screen where he's supposedly writing erotica scene's inspired by my libido. Nice!

Chuck is gettin' all sassy up in this Panera.

Tim has been in the zone, writing non-stop since he polished off his breakfast sandwich.

Speaking of breakfast sandwich, that's what this post is ultimately about. See, I got the same exact sandwich that Tim and and it's also the same exact sandwich that I got at the previous Panera writing retreat. An avocado, egg white and spinach sandwich on sprouted grain bread. Fuckin' fancy right? It tastes pretty damn good and I'm fairly certain that it has more nutritional value than Mr. Buda's enormous (and I'm positive, decadently delicious) cinnamon roll.

Tim is a little too excited about writing the evisceration scene.

I've heard like a bazillion writing blogs, podcasts and shit talkers say that a good piece of writing advice is to do things to make it a habit. Well, not this hyper nutritious, super duper yummy and highly snooty sounding avocado, egg white and spinach on sprouted grain bread has become my writing habit. 

All hail the writing fuel!

What do you fuel up on to write? I HAVE to know. Let me know in the comments!

Kickstart My Fart [Part 2]

How'd it go? Depends on who you ask I suppose.

In case you're not up to speed. This morning Chuck Buda and I sat down at a Panera Bread in Central Jersey to conduct a writers retreat of sorts. We were originally supposed to have author Tim Meyer join as as well, but as you'll find out if you haven't read Part 1, things changed just a tad.

The long and short of the plan is that we would spend the morning writing in a sociable setting utilizing good company and motivational chatting to kick our writing output into high gear. If all went well, we would treat ourselves to a pint or two at one of New Jersey's many local breweries. Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday, don't you think?

The music ambiance is terrible here.

So, how'd it go? I enjoyed the hell out of the experience. It was the first time I wrote in a social situation. I was surprised to find it wasn't very distracting. Chuck and I chit chatted a bit while we ate some breakfast. Once I put away my breakfast sandwich, I popped open the laptop and got to work.

I started out by writing the blog post from this morning. I like to use the blog format to get my mind wound up into writing gear. It worked like a charm. After snapping a few shots for the blog and posting it up, Chuck and I engaged in some more writerly banter. Then it was time to get into the main project.

Normally I try to use a kitchen timer and write in 15 minute bursts but since we were trying this casual writing situation, I skipped on the timer and figured I would write in a burst that lasted as long as it would last.  I spit out a good chuck of words and I really have no clue how long the burst was.

Chuck struggled to find the words today.

I refreshed my cup of coffee and got into some more writerly conversation with Chuck. Between writing sessions we talked about what we were working on, our approaches to self-publishing and even some podcast chatter as well. It was nice, I felt productive even when I wasn't tapping away at the keys.

It went back and forth between writing and talking for about three hours. By noon I'd written better then 1500 words (never even kept accurate count from where I started to where I ended.) I could see Chuck was tapped out as well. I suggested either changing locations or grabbing lunch elsewhere or even getting to a brewery a bit early.

Chuck said he just wasn't feeling up to much else on the day. I was cool with that. We'd spent three hours together. We'd done what we set out to do even if there were some bumps in the plan. We both agreed it is something we should do again sometime soon.

Lots of writing: Happy. No beer: Sad.

So when our schedules clear and the Meyer household is back in good health, we'll once again assemble and write the next Great American Novel around a table at a cafe somewhere in New Jersey.

And I'll be sure to bore you with all the details as a selfish writing exercise. Until then keep reading and keep writing.

Kickstart My Fart [Part 1]

Okay, so it's not quite what we planned but we're still dedicated to the cause. I'm sitting in a Panera Bread looking across the booth at the half-sexy horror writer, Chuck Buda. We were supposed to be in Ocean, NJ in a similar setting but our writing compatriot, Tim Meyer but he had to bow out at the last minute as the plague of pandemic that has America in its grips may have struck they Meyer household. 

Order of sexiness from L to R: Chuck Buda, Frank J Edler, Tim Meyer

Chuck was already en route so he peeled off the asphalt monster known as The Garden State Parkway and rerouted to a location a little closer to where he was on his journey to south Jersey. As you already know, we're in Sayreville, the cradle of independent horror writing in New Jersey, at least for today.

It's all Chuck's idea. He wanted to get together with Tim and I and do a sort of writer's retreat. Chuck has been struggling to find his groove like Stella. To be honest, I'm in a similar boat. Life is just consuming far too much valuable writing time. When you get out of your writing rhythm it's easy to start procrastinating and putting it aside and tell yourself you'll get to it later. And later never comes. 

So the great Buda is thinking if we break the cycle and get together, roundtable style it will invigorate and inspire the writer within us to double down and get back into action. I like this. I've never written in the company of others before. Writing is typically a solitary effort. This makes it social. And if feels good, like acrylic nails tracing the contours of your back. 

I housed that hipster breakfast

Well, this blog is the first thing I'm doing now that I've put a hipster worthy avocado, egg white and artisan cheese sandwich on sprouted grain bread into my tummy. The coffee is hot but getting steadily colder as I ignore it and focus on the words. That's good. Cold coffee is a great indication that I'm in the zone.

So this little exercise is over. It's time to peck away at the more important words. Please excuse my selfish little indulgence on the blog this morning. I hope you get some measure of entertainment out of it and please, share your little tips, tricks or hacks for getting yourself into the zone of whatever it is that you keep holding yourself back from.

I'll check in a little later and let you know how it goes. If we do well we've promised ourselves a trip to the local brewery!

Chuck is in the zone!

P.S.: Miss ya Timmy!