2024 Year In Review
It seems I've been busy.
A lot has happened since the last time we spoke. I guess that's why I haven't written.
Every so often I feel very creatively tuned up. It's like a buzz. Ideas flow freely and it’s easy to make progress. That's where I am right now. I started writing this post as an update on my current projects but it morphed into a reflection on the last year. Why? Because, as someone who is haunted by the feeling that I’m never producing enough, this helps give me perspective.
Writing
Hibernator: Stories for the Long Sleep
This anthology dropped on 12/5 in e-book and paperback formats1. Each story has a one-word title, and features themes of sleep and winter. My story is called Recovery. It's about a tow truck driver trying to make it home through a blizzard. He stops along a desolate stretch of country road to help a woman whose car ran into a ditch. While connecting the tow cable, he hears an ominous noise in the trunk. From there the story spirals into shifting planes of reality, strange creatures, and cosmic horror madness. Who doesn't love that?
Seriously, it’s a great book. All the contributing authors are super talented. You should check it out. Hibernator is the first anthology from Braced Books and I can tell you the future is very bright for that company. I should receive my contributor copy in a few days. You know I’ll do an unboxing video.
Book of the Cold Sun
This is an anthology of short stories that lay the groundwork for my Cold Sun mythos. I get it. That doesn’t mean anything to you yet, but the stories are set in the same universe as That Damned Yellow Raincoat. In 2024 I finished three more stories that will go in this book, so I’m at a total of four. The new additions are Recovery, The Tower of Missing Years, and The Overture. I want to work up to ten stories and release the book sometime in 2025.
Crabs Please
This is a flash fiction piece about the day the crabs took over. It is published (and free to read here) in the Halloween edition of Moonday Mag.
Arachne
This is a short story about a warrior in the far future who encounters a spider demon in the ruins of a modern city. It was published in Black Sheep: Unique Tales of Terror and Wonder No. 7. Someday I’d love to do an entire anthology of stories set in a quiet, far-future world.
Filmmaking
That Damned Yellow Raincoat
The name keeps popping up but hey, it’s a published story and film. I feel like I have wrung about as much blood from this stone as possible, given the short format.
The most current news is that the film was picked up for season 12 of Bloody Bites! It's a short film program presented by Bloody Disgusting and Screambox. Horror fans can watch through Screambox TV on Roku Channel, Plex TV, Vizio, Amazon FreeVee, or on the Screambox SVOD app/screambox.com under “Live TV.”
Earlier in the year, That Damned Yellow Raincoat won Best Horror Film at Popcon Indy and Best Visual Effects at HorrorHound.
Days of the Dead also extended a generous invitation to screen the film again at the convention last November. DotD is seriously my favorite con. They treat the filmmakers so well. George and Audery provide a great screening environment, Q&A opportunities, a green room to network, and panels for the indie filmmakers. They also provide tables in the vendor room. I’ve never seen anyone else go that far. The convention was sold out Friday and Saturday, so it was packed from the jump.
I was on the Indie Creator panel with a great group of Illinois filmmakers. There was a lot of solid insight provided by all. I managed to squeeze three reels out of my answers. Here’s the first talking about the many hats indie filmmakers wear.
Beyond the Nameless Shore
For the longest time I’ve wanted to make a film extending the world we created in Beyond the Basement Door. Next year looks promising. I finished the script for Beyond the Nameless Shore and things look solid for Spring. I had to keep the “Beyond the” theme, ya know. It's about a weather-worn nomad who is on a quest for closure and revenge over the death of his daughter at the hands of an entity known as The Lady in Blue. There will be motorcycles and creatures. The script is 18 pages, about 4 days of shooting, and we'll need to wait until it gets warm. Not trying to crawl through the woods in January. In the meantime, if you haven't seen Beyond the Basement Door, here it is.
The Fawn
This is a folk horror / experimental short film. The holidays have slowed me down a bit but I’m crafting some props to be used in the second session of filming. I made some rotten apples. I made some pendants. Now I need a voodoo doll and I'm all set. Hopefully we’ll get shooting wrapped up in January.
Going to the Dentist & Going to the Eye Doctor
This was a series of videos I produced for my day job. The goal was to make kids feel more comfortable going to the doctor. I wanted to include them here because they were big projects, and I got to work with my boys. Going to the Dentist won a Telly Award, and that meant a lot to me. I’m going to submit Going to the Eye Doctor for consideration in 2025.
Book Trailers - The Ghosts of Gravsmith and Hibernator
I worked with author and editor Zack Graham to assemble a book trailer for his debut novel, The Ghosts of Gravsmith, as well as Braced Books’ Hibernator anthology. Hoping to make a few more book trailers in 2025.
Tatton Brown Rahman Syndrome video series
I did some freelance work for the TBRS Community. Tatton Brown Rahman Syndrome is a rare, “complex multisystem disorder involving many different tissues including the nervous system, muscle and blood.” Fewer than 1,000 people in the United States have it, and there is a lot of work to be done to raise awareness and get patients the help they need. The videos I put together for the TBRS Community are used to help fundraise and increase knowledge of the condition.
Podcasting
The Mythos Minute Podcast is back up and running on a new site. I have episodes 50-75 edited and ready to go. I used to release one episode a week but I’m going to attempt two. I have received submissions from new contributors, and I don’t want them to wait six months. I plan to keep expanding and promoting the show. It’s satisfying to release bite sized projects that don’t take months or years to finish.
I was interviewed for the Eerie Travels podcast and that episode is here. My interview for Cat Scratch Radio is still being edited and will be released sometime early next year.
Entertainment
Watching: I am obsessed with From. I binged all three seasons and am currently doing a re-watch with my wife. Give me six seasons of this, please. I finished What We Do in the Shadows. The sustained, consistent comedy over six seasons has been impressive, and I’m ready to put Colin Robinson on my Mount Rushmore of favorite TV characters. What can I say? Daddy likey what daddy likey. I’m getting ready to start Silo season 2. Glad to hear that was renewed for two more seasons and will get to end the right way. I’m also going to start Dune: Prophecy after I watch the second movie.
Reading: Behind by Bentley Little. Cosmic horror in the COVID era. I have The Nameless Dark by T.E. Grau and Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell on deck.
Listening: How’s It Gonna End by Tom Waits. That’s it. Just that song over and over.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and happy holidays!
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