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Newsletter Archives

7/4/2007. Final draft completed!
Raptures final draft is now ready to be marketed. I'll
keep readers posted on my marketing process as
things develop. Needless to say, it really does feel like Independence Day to me!

6/24/2007. Raptures update.
After considerable delays brought about by my moving
into another home, I have completed a final draft through chapter eight. It took another healing stay at Harbin Hot Springs to re-establish my writing focus. Four chapters to go. Stay tuned.

5/24/2007. A winning website!
This site just won a website contest on Horrorfind. I have been awarded a premium listing for one month. Check out the listing here.

4/03/2007. Post-Convention Update.
Another horror con has come and gone. It was an interesting convention, not least because it was held in Toronto, where I'd never been. While there I saw a special screening of the "rough cut" of MindFlesh, the movie from Zen Films based on my novel White Light. I was delighted by the film and feel it captures the spirit of the novel extremely well, albeit doing so in a London — rather than a San Francisco — setting. You can see Director Robert Pratten's interview of me here. In the interview, Robert and I discuss various aspects of the film adaption process. I look a little bloated, probably due to the time change — or, uh, maybe because of imbibing the wrong sorts of liquids the previous evening. . . .

2/11/2007. Raptures Update.
Initial reader feedback on the book has been terrific. "A page turner" seems to be the general consensus. My readers are in the process of preparing feedback for my revision, which I plan on starting within two weeks. A final draft should be ready by the end of March.

1/2/2007. Happy New Year — Raptures First Draft Is Completed!
I am extremely excited about the quality of this first draft. Unlike previous first drafts of my novels, the tale is quite coherent, concentrated, and fleshed out. Revisions will be intense but hopefully not too massive. I'll perform a "second pass" during this month and should have a draft for my readers by the end of the month.

A prosperous and joyful 2007 to all.

12/17/2006. Raptures Update
First draft of chapter 11 is now completed. Re-writing of this chapter will occupy the next several days, then it's on to chapter 12 and the completion of the first full draft.

I've posted a long excerpt which will be my final sample posting until the book is completed. This excerpt previously lived as chapter 4, but now I've turned it into a prologue, which, as I considered it, seemed to make far more sense. The chapter is Joel Sherman's journal of a Buddhist retreat — unfortunately for Joel, his meditation practice gets a little deeper than he expected.

11/19/2006. Raptures Update.
A working draft of chapter ten is nearing completion. With just two chapters to go before completion of a full draft, I'll be contacting my readers shortly. I'm hoping to get between 6-10 people who want to read the book, raw as it is, and give intelligent feedback for my revisions. This process proved invaluable in the re-writing of my last book, White Light. Chapters eleven and twelve are still on track for completion by the end of December. I'll request reader comments by the end of January or middle of February. Word count is currently around 80,000. Final count will probably come in between 90,000-95,000.

11/4/2006. Update.
Despite a bout of the flu, an itchy throat and a cracking voice, the Halloween reading at the Marsh Cafe went over extremely well. A lot of very nice people at the Elyseum writer's community (who hosted the event) gave me extremely positive feedback on my excerpt. It's the first time I've read anything from Raptures in public, and I'm gratified by the response.

Chapter ten of Raptures is now under way, after a slight delay due to my lingering illness. More soon.

10/18/2006. Halloween Reading.
I'm pleased to announce that I'll be giving a reading on Halloween night, Tuesday, Oct. 31st, at the Marsh Cafe, 1070 Valencia Street, in San Francisco. The reading will be in a round robin style, with different writers rotating. Award-winning author Rain Graves will be one of my co-readers.

I'm off on a meditation retreat tomorrow and won't be back until the end of the month. I've been so busy the last few days that the start of chapter ten of Raptures will have to await my return. Speak to you later. . . .

10/09/2006. Raptures Update.
A draft of chapter nine is now completed, and I'll be starting chapter ten within a week. After completing chapter ten I'll send out requests for readers, probably some time in November. A reader's draft is still on target for the end of December. More later.

10/2/2006. MindFlesh begins shooting!
Principal photography on MindFlesh begins today, and will continue through the month of October. Director Robert Pratten has assembled a talented cast and crew, and the great city of London will provide the atmosphere. Good luck to Robert and crew!

Check out the director's video blog at http://www.mind-flesh.com.

10/1/2006. New Newsletter!
For those interested in more detailed coverage of some of the items mentioned on this page, check out my new newsletter. Just add your e-mail address in the form field and click "Subscribe". It's that simple, and the newsletter is free of charge. The inaugural issue features updates on MindFlesh and Raptures, and an essay on Buddhism and Horror. I plan on 3 or 4 issues per year.

9/26/2006. Chapter Eight is finished.
I'm quite pleased with how the chapter has turned out.
Overall, the book seems to be gathering momentum. The plot seems to be arcing effortlessly, and the clock is beginning to tick on Joel Sherman. Word count at the moment is 66,000. I'll be posting an excerpt from chapter eight shortly. Work on chapter nine begins this weekend.

More later. . . .

9/4/2006. Horror in San Francisco!
A draft of chapter seven has now been completed, and chapter eight has been started. The monsters of Joel Sherman's mind have started to do some very nasty things. An excerpt from chapter six has been posted on the Raptures excerpt page. Check it out.

Production work on MindFlesh, the film based on White Light, is progressing nicely. See here for details.

Stay tuned for more.

8/6/2006. Chapter six.
Chapter six of Raptures is finished. The book is approximately 50% completed. I plan on starting
work on chapter 7 next week. I'll post an excerpt from chapter six in coming days.

7/8/2006. New excerpt posted.
A new excerpt from chapter five is now posted on my Raptures excerpt page. Check it out!

6/28/2006. Fangoria article.
An excellent article in Fangoria's webzine just appeared featuring Robert Pratten, director of MindFlesh, the upcoming horror film based on my novel White Light. The full interview with Pratten, by UK journalist MJ Simpson, appears here. There's a nice little bit about me. Check it out.

6/27/2006. Four tales withdrawn.
I have withdrawn my four tales from inclusion in The Primordial Review, due to PR's unforseen production problems. My essay, "Toward a Philosphy of Horror," may still appear in a future issue of PR, possibly in the form
of a webzine, and I will keep readers posted when that becomes definite.

6/17/2006. Raptures revisions.
A working draft of chapter five is completed. I'm quite pleased with the result, and I'll post an excerpt on my Raptures sample page shortly. In chapter five, the monstrous fauna of Joel Sherman's mind begins to take physical form in San Francisco. During the writing process, I learned much about these mind-demons, and what they want from Joel. As a result, new ideas have flooded in, and I've also re-written chapter one, and will revise chapters two and three accordingly.

I'm off on retreat at Spirit Rock and will post more news when I return.

5/18/2006. Return from Harbin Hot Springs.
I had an excellent retreat and did a fair amount of writing. Not to mention soaking, yoga, meditation, and catching up on my sleep. Chapter five of Raptures is taking shape. More soon. . . .

5/15/2006. Fun at the Horror Con.
Another Horror Con has come and gone, and although my expectations were somewhat muted going in, this may have been my favorite convention thus far. For one thing, it was great to have it in San Francisco, not only for the appropriate uncanniness our lovely city provided, but because I, for one, didn't have to shell out moola for airfare and a hotel room!

I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing
heavweights in the field, including Kim Newman (Anno Dracula), Peter Straub (Ghost Story), and John Shirley (Wetbones). Although I didn't get a chance to meet him, Koji Suzuki, the author of Ringu [The Ring], attended the con and I think impressed everyone. The panels were informative and expertly moderated. As usual, the pitch sessions were both challenging and fun — if I had the chance to pitch a dozen editors and agents at the same convention, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

It was also great fun to hang out with filmmaker Robert Pratten, and to hear his progress report on MindFlesh, the movie based on my novel, White Light. Robert has come up with some brilliant ideas for the film, and I am really excited about the evolution of this project. I'll keep you posted as things develop, but for those who wish to learn more about MindFlesh now, check out Zen Films.

4/27/2006. Four tales to appear in Primordial Review.
I've just received confirmation that four of my stories will appear in the upcoming anthology, Primordial Review, as
a mini-collection. The four previously published tales are: "A Traveler's Diary"; "Powerful Art"; "Athyrian"; and "Shimmering Thing". These stories will be published in addition to my essay, "Toward a Philosophy of Horror." Publication date will hopefully be in May. Stay tuned for more. . . .

4/19/2006. Welcome to the new site!
I'll be posting some news soon on this page.

3/07/2006. Re-tooled, Raptures is looking good.
I revised and revisioned the novel during a recent writer's retreat, and I'm quite excited about the result. I'm looking to have the first five chapters (about half the book) available by the World Horror Con in May. I cut the "The" in the title to avoid confusing readers who might have thought the title referred to the Christian concept of "The Rapture."

1/24/2006. Essay to be published.
I've just signed a contract with The Primordial Review to publish my essay, "Toward a Philosophy of Horror" for an upcoming edition of this new anthology. I'll keep you posted when a publication date is near.

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