Bricks Without Straw

I'm really happy to report that my short story, The Opium Eater , has been accepted by Grim Corps Magazine , and should appear in Issue 2 later this year. I wrote The Opium Eater  in 2008, shortly after completing Trajectory . I picked up a small volume of De Quincy's essays from my bookshelf that I had purchased from a used bookstore in Toronto sometime around 1970. I read a good portion of his essay The Spanish Military Nun and then wrote the story. I wanted to work in some historical family details as well. As an example, my great-grandmother, Agnes Blizard, founder of the YWCA in Canada, makes a brief appearance. It's a dark, twisted tale with elements of horror and ghost stories in it.

I'm a bit late posting this, because I've been tremendously busy, working 50-60 hour weeks. A bit worn out now, with still a couple of weeks remaining in the contract. No rest for the wicked, as they say. Having said that, my short story, WHEN MAMMA COMES TO VISIT is in Grim Corps Magazine 's debut issue. It's available in both print and e-formats. This was a lot of fun to write - a fairly traditional "return of a dead family member" story, but focusing on the strange relationship of a brother and sister long-grappling with what to about Mamma, who must be very wicked indeed. You can buy a copy here , or on Amazon. Shortly after it came out, I became an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association , that fine organization of horror authors from around the world. Once the big work-push is over, I'll be taking off on a two-week spring break, where I plan to do not much other than read and eat.

Happy New Year! I'm pleased to announce that Morpheus Tales #19 is now available. This issue contains my story Killing Wallace Crawton . You can buy it in a variety of formats. Check out the free preview on Issuu.com. The ebook in various formats is available on Smashwords , or at Amazon for the Kindle. The printed digest size edition is available here , and the printed Large Format Collector's Edition is available here  (both 10% off until 1st of February).

I have two questions only, today. One: Why do people give credence to future predictions from ancient civilizations (if, in fact, those civilizations can be said to predict anything at all), but not science? Two: Why do people not understand that the end of one Mayan long count cycle is immediately followed by the start of another, much as December 31 is followed by January 1?

My short story, When Mamma Comes to Visit , was just picked up by Grim Corps Magazine , a new speculative/dark/horror fiction magazine (print and epub). Mamma is one of those classic tales of a very bad relationship with a very dead relative. I wrote it in January of this year, and went through a touch-up re-write after each rejection (seven altogether), taking the many editorial remarks to heart. It's also a story that continues the Mill Town world which is the focus of Killing Wallace Crawton (coming January 2013 from Morpheus Tales) and The Downstairs Man . Mill Town is a blend of the many places I've lived, but I don't think I've ever come across anyone like Allison and Stanley, the odd brother-sister pair who deal with their mother in very different ways.

One of the premises of TRAJECTORY is that the CIA creates organizations within itself for special purposes. This is a common trope in espionage tales - because it is true. Doing research for TRAJECTORY, way back in 1979, I learned about Operation CHAOS: Americans spying on Americans. Launched by Richard Helms, the goal of the operation was to ascertain foreign influences active in the United States. But because of the fall-out from Watergate, CHAOS was shut down in 1973. Of course, in TRAJECTORY, CHAOS didn't really shut down. It simply transmuted into the Department of Foreign Influence Studies (DFIS). It is not a far reach, even for non-conspiracy-theorists, to imagine that the official position and the actual position of intelligence organizations are quite divergent. It requires only a very small lacuna to imagine that even something as repulsive as CHAOS was reformulated and allowed to continue. You can find a pretty descent overview of CHAOS on Wikipedia. And, of cour...

Anarchy Books is running a promo for TRAJECTORY, and fellow Anarchy author Theresa Derwin 's book MONSTERS ANONYMOUS, starting September 1. ANARCHY BOOKS SIZZLING SEPTEMBER SUMMER PROMOTION In association with GEEK SYNDICATE www.anarchy-books.com www.geeksyndicate.wordpress.com In celebration of our two September releases, TRAJECTORY by John. S. Barker on 1 st September, and MONSTERS ANONYMOUS by Theresa Derwin on 30 th September, Anarchy Books is offering a FREE EBOOK every single day of September. We’re also running a competition with our very good friends, GEEK SYNDICATE, to win Anarchy Books’ entire digital catalogue of ebooks and their associated specially composed soundtracks, and our Geek Ninja Buddies will also give you exclusive info on where to find some of the hidden links and free books available from Anarchy this September. For more information during every Sizzling September Promo Day, visit Anarchy Books and Geek Sy...