Less Than Pulp, Issue 26

Have I Seriously Kept This Going for Half a Year? OMG!

Those of you who once subscribed to one of my defunct blogs, Patreon pages, or podcasts know that I sometimes have trouble sticking with things. It’s hard when you sometimes feel like you’re doing nothing more than shouting into the void. While creative work in and of itself is rewarding, putting yourself out there is a whole other animal. It can be intimidating and soul-crushing. It’s important to temper your expectations and be willing to play the long game. It also requires a level of maturity that it takes some people longer to develop than others.

Not only have I kept this newsletter going for half a year, but I’ve also kept Make Your Own Damn Podcast alive for 81 episodes (85, if you count the Patreon-exclusive content). The podcast has continued because I’m pretty sure Jeff would fly down to Austin and kill me in my sleep if I ended things. This newsletter, though, has stayed alive for different reasons. Am I more mature? Have I tempered my expectations? Gotten better at playing the long game? Is it because there are way more of you readers than I expected? I don’t know, but I’m glad I’ve managed to keep it up.

---

This week was spent on Thanksgiving-related festivities. With family scattered across the country, holidays are difficult for me. I tried to be as available as possible, coming down for dinner and such, but I spent much of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday under an emotional dark cloud. I’m not proud of this, but there it is. I’ll try to do better for Christmas and New Year’s.

On Saturday, I caught WWE Survivor Series: WarGames. While not every match was a banger, I really dug the storytelling in the main event.

Sami Zayn made his choice, backing the Bloodline and betraying his best friend, Kevin Owens. It had been boiling for a while, so it was cool to see the payoff. And it’s the sort of payoff that opens possibilities for other storylines.

I know almost none of my subscribers are wrestling fans, but I do enjoy the sport quite a bit. I also think that paying attention to the storytelling on display can do wonders for aspiring writers because the components are presented in a frank, digestible fashion.

It’s also gorgeous, half-naked people mashing their bodies together, so that’s fun.

---

My newest release, Earth vs the Star Mummy, launched on Thursday in paperback and e-book. I think it went well, but I’d like to keep the momentum going. So, if you haven’t grabbed it yet, do that thing! It’s a one-sitting read, modeled after classic science fiction horror, and it’s very self-aware. It’s probably the closest thing to bizarro fiction I’ve done. I even included 1950s-style “commercials.” You can pick it up here, or you can read a free excerpt here.

This week will be spent working on the ghostwriting project and freelance editing. If I get time to work on my own stuff, I’ll brainstorm another short release for next month. Maybe it will be something Christmas-themed. I’ve been reading some Henry James for inspiration.

His most famous story is “The Turn of the Screw,” but I just recently read and LOVED “The Ghostly Rental.” It’s creepy and has a lot of cool twists in a short amount of space. Definitely check it out if you haven’t. You can probably read it in one sitting.

I’ve found myself more and more interested in the genre’s history as of late. In addition to the Henry James collection I’m reading, I’ve also been pretty religiously listening to the audio fiction available on the HorrorBabble and Classic Ghost Stories podcasts. While there are lots of great creators working in the horror genre today, and I do my best to highlight them, I’ve lately been overcome by this desire to learn more about the creators who came before us and what they contributed.

There’s a lot of great stuff out there—past, present, and future—and I hate the idea of any of it being lost to time. While this is inevitable, of course, I feel a compulsion to keep work I care about alive in whatever way I can.

Maybe that’s a reason to keep this newsletter going.

---

On this week’s episode of Make Your Own Damn Podcast, we were joined by bizarro OG Kevin L. Donihe to discuss The Toxic Avenger Part III. You can listen to the episode here or by clicking the video below.

In our bonus episode, we discuss war movies and A24. You can check that out for just a buck on our Patreon.