On Blogging...

Meanwhile, all those “writers” who spend countless hours and thousands of empty words talking about themselves and their “careers” on their blogs and websites might do themselves a favor and learn from H.P. Lovecraft’s mistakes. He spent so much time corresponding with friends and acquaintances that his own fiction suffered as a consequence. Rather than talking about themselves or pushing their half-formed “opinions” out to a disinterested world, they would do better to spend that otherwise wasted time working on their writing and honing their skills as an author. That way, they may actually accomplish something eventually and, more to the point, have something of interest to say. But, of course, it’s much easier to type a stream-of-consciousness rant than it is to craft a clever or empowering sentence.

— Stephen Jones, from an interview with Matt Cardin in Cemetery Dance #59

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CTTT: Reviewed in "Supernatural Tales 16"

Though I have yet to see my copy of the latest issue of David Longhorn's wonderful journal, SUPERNATURAL TALES, I've been forwarded a copy of his review of my latest collection, which concludes with the following:

"Overall, the thirteen stories in this collection offer the reader strange rewards. There are no easy explanations, which is realism of a sort. There are no simple payoffs or cheap twists. There are shadows everywhere, and few signposts that can be trusted. But there are moments of humour and humanity amid the darkness and decay."

Mr Longhorn was one of the first editors to champion my work, and for that I'm grateful. He has a keen eye for great stories, and anyone who doesn't already subscribe to ST really ought to think about doing so.

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CTTT: Reviewed at "Grim Reviews"

The mysterious "Grim Blogger" has struck again, this time with a well thought-out review of my collection, COLD TO THE TOUCH. Among other very nice things he (or is it she?) has to say, this particularly caught my eye:

Cold to the Touch is a formidable gift to the field of weird literature.

Anyone who isn't familiar with Grim Reviews in general ought to take some time to read through its archives. It's often a source of fascinating information about weird fiction and thematically related items from the news. I devotedly read the blog every day.

Simon Strantzas' Cold to the Touch Reviewed

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Honourable Mentions, 2008

Every year Ellen Datlow was editing the Horror section for THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR she would include her list of stories that, though not strong enough to be reprinted in the book, nevertheless should have attention called out to them. It's become a yearly tradition for writers, big and small, to scour the list to see if anything they did might have made her cut.

Alas, with the absence of YBF&H for this year and next, the new book Ellen has created for Nightshade, BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR, cannot contain more than the top fifty of her HM list. Instead of printing the full list, she has instead posted it to the Nightshade forums for all to see.

For those too lazy to follow the link, here's my standing for last year:

A Shadow in God's Eye, Beneath the Surface
Leather, Dark and Cold, Bound for Evil
Pinholes in Black Muslin, The Second Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories
Poor Stephanie, Supernatural Tales 14

and, as part of the "top fifty" printed in the book itself:

Under the Overpass, Shades of Darkness

I'm thrilled Ellen Datlow liked the above stories enough to single them out. Three of them can be found in my new collection, COLD TO THE TOUCH, which I hope is further incentive for anyone still on the fence about buying a copy.

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