Hellnotes Gives "Bedtime Stories..." A Positive Review

K. H. Vaughan has read and reviewed my collection "Bedtime Stories for Carrion Beetles" on Hellnotes.

"The author experiments with a variety of narrative and voice styles, giving the stories some variety, but they hold in common relatively tight, controlled prose punctuated by the occasional striking image or unexpected twist...Ludens appears to have a strong interest in tapping folklore and history for his work.  There is also a theme of body horror present, with several effective stories about parasites, invading insects, and taxidermy.  Overall, I would describe the tone of the volume as understated, wistful, and somewhat sad.  Bedtime Stories for Carrion Beetles was a creepy pleasant surprise, and I am looking forward to seeing more of his work."

Read the full review HERE.

Upcoming Published Stories and Some Story Notes

Recently published stories:

"Life and Limb" in Blood Rites: An Invitation to Horror (Blood Bound Books)

"Granted Wishes" in Dark Light 2 (CHBB Publishing) 

Coming soon:

"Monday Mourning at the Curl Up & Dye" in Over My Dead Body! (online, May issue)

Forthcoming:

"Sweet Tea and MamaLady" in Dark Eclipse (online, not yet scheduled)

"Coke Mule Deer" in Diabolic Tales III (October 31st, 2013, Diabolic Publications)

"Reynolds' Tale" in Darker Edge of Desire (Spring 2014, Cleis Press)

Notes about the stories:

I had to change a small part of Life and Limb to differentiate it (thematically) from Joe McKinney's story. I was happy to do it. The fact that we came up with stories the editor felt were too similar seems like a step in the right direction for an up-and-comer like me!

As of this writing, Dark Light 2 is only available in ebook format, but will be in quality paperback soon.

Cherie Jung, the editor of Over My Dead Body, said "Your title is the best title I've read in years!" (And she liked the story, too! haha)

Coke Mule Deer is a story that had been accepted twice before, but once the publisher folded and the second time the anthology got dropped. Here's hoping the third time is the charm! Coke Mule Deer actually contains a scene that inspired the title of my first collection!

Did you know that when Edgar Allan Poe was found wandering, delirious on the streets of Baltimore, he was wearing clothing that did not fit and did not belong to him? Nurses said he remained incoherent until he died, but several noted that he kept yelling the name "Reynolds". I wanted to write about the events that led to Poe's unfortunate end, and came up with "Reynolds' Tale."