I attended my third "Love Is Murder" conference in a Chicago suburb this past weekend, and served on 2 panels.
During the short story panel I was part of, I was able to share the exciting news that my short story collection, Hellfire & Damnation, has made it onto the preliminary ballot for a Bram Stoker Award given by the HWA (Horror Writers' Association), to be awarded on Long Island in June. In fact, my stories organized around the concept of the various sins punished at the different levels in Dante's Inferno, finished in 7th place out of 45 entries and Stephen King's new short story collection, "Full Dark, No Stars," finished in 10th place.
This may be the only time in my life that I can honestly say I have a short story collection that is "ahead" of Stephen King's short story collection in any way, shape, or form, and my glorying in the moment will be shortlived, as a second balloting will now take place, to be concluded on or about February 21, 2011.
Still, what a thrill for me.
The short story collection has just gone over to a new publisher, http://www.merryblacksmith.com/, who has improved it in so many ways (most notably, the cover). It's only $2.99 on Amazon's Kindle, and worth every penny. If you prefer a paperback, go to http://www.hellfireanddamnationthebook.com/ to receive a $10,95 copy that comes autographed (postage and handling will add $3 to the order). You can also order it from http://www.merryblacksmith.com/ and Amazon or Barnes & Noble, in either format.
I posted one of the stories that the Berkeley Fiction Review really liked for free on my blog, http://www.weeklywilson.com/, entitled "Confessions of an Apotemnophile" and, earlier, I posted "David and Lisa," a true ghost story from Webster Groves, Missouri, on my blog some time ago. (You might have to scroll back a ways to find it.)
If the collection does not make it to the final ballot, it is still up for a Silver Feather (Illinois Women's Press Association) award, to be given May 21, and an IPPY, to be awarded at the BEA in NYC May 24-26.
I'll be at the BEA (Book Expo America) signing copies of my newest book, It Came from the 70s: From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now, a collection of 50 reviews written and published in the Quad City Times between 1970-1979 when I was their film and book critic. It has 76 photos, major cast and interactive trivia, with the answers upside-down. (Check it out on Amazon's "peek inside" or visit the website http://www.itcamefromtheseventies.com/.
And wish me luck!
