A Place Not So Unkind

Sometimes it scares me how much emotion I have tied up in Bosley and Ocean. Here are these two people who have never existed outside of my own head and yet I feel so connected to them. It’s like this strange friendship where my loyalties are so strongly aligned with them that I hate putting them through the shit I do. I want them to be happy. I want them to have their day in the sun without fear of sudden death. But that’s not really the way their world works. And I can see that world so clearly: the crumbling towers against the horizon, cracked pavement, and the skeletons of burnt out cars left to rust. The piles of rubble and dusty, broken glass. Their world was not designed for the weak or feeble. To survive, you have to be as hard as the chunks of granite lining the sidewalks of dilapidated banks. So I have to basically have to torture these people that I love so fucking dearly.

At the same time, I know where all of this is going, can see their paths and into the future. I know it’s a good place. Or maybe I should say it’s as good as you can get in their world. Yet even so, my heart grows sad when I think of reaching that point. I realize well in advance that the final scene is not going to be easy to write. In all honesty, it will probably be one of the hardest things I’ve ever written. I will be, in essence, saying goodbye.

They’re not bad people. Bosley is this guy faced with choices that no man or woman should ever have to make. Ocean is just this little girl obeying the oldest law on the books: survival of the fittest. And there’s some fucked up shit out there in the Wastelands that they have to survive. Sometimes the staggering rotters are the least of your worries. Driven mad by starvation and fear, these human animals can be just as brutal, viscous, and cold-hearted as the corpses that stalk them. So basically, no matter where you turn, you’re prey. It’s a callused world that doesn’t give a shit about its inhabitants’ safety or well-being. Kind of a primordial, concrete jungle. While working on these books, I strive for a very dark atmosphere. I want the reader to feel the weight of existence on their shoulders, just as Bosley and Ocean do.

Dark thought it may be, in the end it’s actually a story about hope. Even if that hope is just a single ray of sunlight shining through the storm clouds and onto a patch of pristine sand. Sometimes, you just couldn’t ask for anything more….

LONG overdue updates

I'm a horrible blogger. It's so much easier to write about the characters and places in my head than it is about the minutia of day to day life. So what's been going on since the last time I updated this here thing? Well, let's see:

* My work has been accepted, and appeared in, many more anthologies

* My debut novella, Shadow of the Woodpile, was published in July 2009

* I underwent a grueling (yet rewarding) experiment to see if I could complete the first draft of an entire novel in a 24 hour marathon of writing. The resulting apocalyptic thriller Cry Havoc was then published in March 2010

* My third book, the zombie themed The Dead & Dying, has been accepted for publication with Library of the Living Dead Press and should be available within the coming months

* Williamtoddrose.com underwent a major design overhaul and I am SO much happier with the new layout

* My free e-book, Sex in the Time of Zombies, was released and had been doing pretty decent if I do say so myself (check out www.williamtoddrose.com/sexzombies to download your copy if you already haven't)

* And I was selected to be on the author panel for this year's Horror Realm convention to be held in Pittsburgh, PA this Septemeber (www.horrorrealmcon.com)

New Publication and Talk Radio

Interesting things are afoot today. To begin with, I came home to find that my short story "The Winter Experiment" has been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of Macabre Cadaver. This will be my second time appearing in the pages of this magazine and I am thrilled to be included yet again. I'm not sure which issue it will be in, as they are a bit backlogged at the moment, but will keep you posted when I get more information.

In other news, I also found out this evening that there is a good chance that I will be appearing as a guest on an Internet Talk Radio show sometime next month. Basically, the format will be an author's rountable discussion with questions phoned in from callers to promote the Zombology series of anthologies from Library of the Living Dead Press (readers of this blog will know that I have stories appearing in two of these books). Right now schedules are being coordinated and details worked out so, again, I will have to keep you posted as I learn more.

Letters from The Dead

A few days ago, I saw a call for submissions on one of the writer's message boards I frequent. It was for a new anthology that will be released by Library of The Living Dead Press (who, as regular readers of this blog will know, will also be featuring two of my stories in two editions of the upcoming Zombology series). I was very intrigued by the idea behind this book, as I thought it sounded like a pretty novel idea, and knew immediately that I wanted to be part of it.
The basic idea behind the book is this (taken from the publisher's website):

"You’re trapped and there’s no way out. There is a ravenous hoard of undead cannibals outside your door and their going to get in, sooner than later. You have to face the unavoidable truth that you’re not going to survive the zombie apocalypse, there is no escaping this time and no one is coming to rescue you. This is your last chance to tell your story, say your good byes, or confess your sins. Time is running out, so grab that pen and a piece of paper or scratch it into the wall with your useless car keys. How ever you’re going to do it, you need to do it fast. Start now before it’s to late, write your-- Letters From the Dead. "

How could I not want to be part of a collection like that??? So I sat down and pounded out a little 817 word flash entitled "Letter to My Unborn Daughter" and sent that puppy out. I really didn't do any editing or second drafts on this one. Quoting again from the publisher: "The true Letters From The Dead have more impact than a short story because they're written to simulate the real gut wrenching experience of the writer contemplating his or her own unavoidable death by being eaten alive." So I wanted my story to be as much stream-of-consciousness as possible.

I came home today to find an acceptance letter waiting in my inbox for me. Woohoo!!! I can't wait until I actually start receiving my contributor's copies of these books. There's something about holding an actual book in my hands that has my work in it that I can't explain . . . .

New Publication

Last Saturday, I received notification that my notoriously hard to place short story, "Day of The Sentient" has been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of OG Speculative Fiction Magazine. I sent the contract in on Monday and am not awaiting payment and notification of exactly which edition the story will appear in. Around the same time period, I received notification that the Zombology series of anthologies have now become a paying market . . . as is OG Speculative Fiction. These three stories will mark the first time I have actually been paid (in something other than a free copy) for my work.

Very satisfying indeed

An Evening of Submissions

I have spent the evening trying to find homes for some of my shorter works. I've sent off "The Winter Experiment" to Macabre Cadaver in the hopes that they will be willing to take a chance on its slightly unconventional style. Basically, when writing this piece I was trying to go for the style of the Beat writers in a horror genre with just a dash of Japanese folklore thrown in for good measure.

Another piece that has been tricky to find a home for is "Day of the Sentient"; this is a sci-fi tale on the surface, but I have been repeatidly told by various editors that it is too introspective to be included in their sci-fi magazines. So now it's been submitted to "OG's Speculative Fiction" magazine.

Wish me luck!

First Post

Recently, I received notification that my short story, "Gospel of the Dead", will be featured in an upcoming anthology published by Library of the Living Dead Press. Zombology II: Return of the Reanimates will showcase 16 short stories all with the centralized theme of Zombies. As an avid aficionado of the walking dead, my inclusion in this book thrills me to no end. Not only am I looking forward to seeing my first publication in an honest-to-god book, but I also can't wait to read the offerings of the other contributors.

In other news, work on my novel has come to a crashing halt lately. I just need to sit down, dig my heels in, and apply myself for at least an hour or so a day.

But this is enough for now. I basically just wanted to enter something so that my page isn't blank :)