I’ve been intrigued by Judith Sonnet’s ten-day novellas she’s been doing these last few months. She began with No One Rides for Free, which is a classic rape/revenge story, and most recently published Blood Suck, a gory tale about snuff films made by vampires. Over the ten-day process, these books go from first draft to published, and it seems like hers are generating a lot of buzz for Judith (who all of you should be reading, by the way).

With it being National Novel Writing Month and having the self-awareness to know it’s unlikely I can work on the same project for thirty days without taking a break, I figured I’d join Judith on one of these shorter challenges. Because three’s a crowd, Splatterpunk Award-winning editor and author Candace Nola hopped aboard as well.

As I type this, I have finished the first draft of my story, a piece titled Earth vs the Star Mummy, and edits are underway.

Here are some guidelines to follow should you want to try such a project yourself.

1. Cheat! Earth vs the Star Mummy isn’t a novel. While it’s possible to write a full-length, 300-page novel in that period, I strongly suspect authors who can don’t have other work, and I doubt they have small children. So, instead of setting out to write something that size, I set my sights on a more manageable page count. The outline I initially conceived would’ve allowed for a book about half that length, but I pared the final product down even further during the writing process and wound up with a longish short story (what's sometimes called a novelette in industry vernacular).

2. Have a clear vision! Judith, Candace, and I chose a unifying theme. Even though these books are separate from one another, we thought it would be fun to work with a similar set of toys. We chose 1950s science fiction/horror films and plotted our individual stories from there. Knowing exactly what I was going for in terms of tone, theme, and aesthetic helped me stay on task and write this story as quickly as I did.

3. Communication! I told Jean what I was planning on doing, so she could help me find the best times to do it. I steered clear of social media. I kept in touch with Judith and Candace to see where we were at in our respective projects. All these ways I communicated with others helped foster conditions for success with this story.

4. Have fun! Had I chosen to work on something like Saint Sadist, I’m fairly confident ten days would not have been enough. That book was all about exploring the deepest parts of my subconscious and exorcising some very real demons (I wrote it shortly after a stint in a psych ward). Doing a project in a similar vein would have required mental breaks and the occasional banishing ritual. In other words, ten days wouldn't be enough time. A story reminiscent of the movies I loved as a child, on the other hand, was exactly what I needed.

And now it’s done! Unless my editor catches something big and glaring, you can expect the book to drop later this week. I’ll likely post a sample chapter in this newsletter as well to entice you further.

I’m currently listening to the Classic Ghost Stories podcast. It's less a podcast and more a series of audio fiction! The host does dramatic readings of Gothic fiction, weird tales, and (you guessed it) ghost stories. My favorites so far were “The Hounds of Tindalos” by Frank Belknap Long and “Sardonicus” by Ray Russell.

I also just watched X. The output of Ti West is so hit-and-miss with me, but X is great! It's probably my favorite of his. The man understands aesthetics and knows his way around a camera. As someone who has an inexplicable nostalgia for the 1970s (I was born in ‘84), I practically drooled over every frame. People tell me Pearl is completely different, but that it significantly deepens the backstory of the film’s villain. I look forward to checking it out soon.

On this week’s Make Your Own Damn Podcast Jeff and I look at Thankskilling 3. Right in time for the holiday! Check it out here or by playing the video below:

I’m sorry the newsletter was late this week. Finishing Star Mummy so quickly was fun, but it also turned my brain to mush.

As always…

Books

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