Horrific Scribes Presents: Rulemakers and Rulebreakers: 26 Works of Order and Chaos (Horrific Scribes Anthologies)

Horrific Scribes Presents: Rulemakers and Rulebreakers: 26 Works of Order and Chaos 

by L. Andrew Cooper, H.J. Dutton, Sarina Dorie, et al

Format: Kindle 

Which is more terrifying, the imposition of order that might involve stifling limitations and repugnant values, or spiraling into chaos as order splinters or disappears? The 26 authors in Horrific Scribes Presents: Rulemakers and Rulebreakers have 26 answers, each with the potential to shatter you. Prepare for works by Sam Arlington, Raymond Brunell, Harley Carnell, Emmie Christie, Nicholas De Marino, Sarina Dorie, Eric Fomley, Douglas Ford, Matt Hollingsworth, Douglas Kolacki, Christine Lajewski, Devin James Leonard, E.J. LeRoy, Susan L. Lin, Mavrik McMeekan, Jason Frederick Myers, Lena Ng, Dimitry Partsi, Nick Porisch, Nilay Kumar Sarker, C.M. Saunders, Briar Shannon, Steve Toase, Mark Towse, Fendy S. Tulodo, and Andrew Welsh-Huggins.

"A terrific mix of 26 short stories, all on the theme of rule use and abuse. They're all engrossing, though some in that peering-between-your-fingers way, and a few are downright disturbing. I particularly liked the banality of "The Basement" and the bizarre "The Reflection's Strike, " but my favourite was the possession story "No Vacancy." A great anthology, just right if you want to have disturbed sleep!"

          --L.N. Hunter, author of The Feather and the Lamp

Available on Amazon

HORRIFIC SCRIBES PRESENTS: INVASIONS OF WORLD, HOME, BODY, AND MIND

BOOK LAUNCH! The first e-book anthology from the HORRIFIC SCRIBES archive is now available through Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords and many other fine retailers! Coming soon to even more!

Invaders threaten us from above, below, within, and beyond. Not scared enough yet? This anthology will help! From the Horrific Scribes web archive of original short fiction (and some poetry) come 24 selections that involve horrific invasions. Only 23 are short stories--one is a group of poems--and that's not the only way the book cover deceives you. None of the stories involves UFOs attacking Earth. 

Horrific Scribes seeks "the provocative, scary, and strange," and these works offer a wide array of perspectives on invasion, many of them unfamiliar. They stretch and cross the boundaries of horror, sci-fi, and other speculative fiction with dark edges. 

Settle in and let your imagination be overrun by the invasions conjured by Phoebe Barr, Jim Best, Amanda M. Blake, Jon Clendaniel, David Corse, Richard Dansky, John Davis, Laura DeHaan, T. Fox Dunham, H.J. Dutton, Joseph Hirsch, Tom Johnstone, Kasimma, Emmanuel Komen, Leonardo J. Lamanna, Steven Mathes, Thomas C. Mavroudis, Trisha Ridinger McKee, Eric Nash, M. Brandon Robbins, Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar, Sydney Sackett, K. Thompson, and Fendy S. Tulodo.

https://www.amazon.com/Horrific-Scribes-Presents-Invasions-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B0G2FM82LC

https://horrificscribblings.com/shop-page/

Smuttin' It, Smuttin' It, Genre Style

Hey, all you writer types. Let's look at spicing up your genre (or even literary) stories with a little (ahem) action. How do you incorporate sexy time into your stories?

Let's say for you a publisher is open to spicy but not all-out erotica, how do you determine where to draw the line yet still keep the sexy actually, you know, sexy?

Elizabeth Donald: Sex is part of the human experience, to a greater or lesser degree according to a person’s personal drives. We don’t have to literally shine a spotlight on the penetrating moment in order for sexuality to be at the forefront of the story. A character may be consumed with deep need and powerful attraction - indeed, it might be the driving force of their actions and even the plot, without us actually following them under the sheets. It’s not censorship to construct a story about sex and sexual attraction without actually depicting the act; if you’re doing your job right with evocative language, the reader will feel all the things you want them to feel, regardless of the explicitness of your story.

L. Andrew Cooper: In the fiction I've published, at least, the sex I've described has always been horrific in some way, from attempts to conceive a child for sacrifice in Descending Lines to the relentless taboo-breaking of Alex's Escape. I guess some scenes in The Middle Reaches are steamy, but they're still weird. So mostly I don't have to worry about sexy... I have to worry about explicit description ("showing") parts and acts. I guess if I have to satisfy a prudish publisher, I describe less or cut more.

Chris Riker: Sex is a great time for internal dialogue. A writer doesn't have to re-invent the old Penthouse Forum; he just has to tell us what the sex means to the characters. 

"Then, while I was still trying to plot her trajectory, she said, “I won’t do anything on a futon, Zebulon.” The futon was in good shape, only a few beer stains on its lime green canvas, but it was a futon, so, as the French would say, ‘non humpez vous.’

I said, “There’s a big bed. The sheets are clean. And call me Zee, please.” I was hoping. Really hard. She kept me waiting a solid minute, standing there, considering her options. Then…

“Zee,” she said my name that way for the first time and put her arms around my neck. “Take me to the big bed with the clean sheets.”

Yes, I remember how her pencil skirt slid off her hips by lava lamp and the way her voice rose in primal song as she taught me to please her and the smoothness of her skin and the way my lungs drank in the scent of her hair. I remember giggling together afterwards and not being able to stop or wanting to. And when at last Jing fell asleep in my arms, I remember lying awake and feeling… real." - Zebulon Angell and the Shadow Army

Sean Taylor: I love to focus on the after or the before. I think there's a lot of magic to be covered there in the buildup or the afterglow. People get real then. Case in point, in this scene, Rick Ruby is visiting one of his, ahem, informants, a nightclub singer named Donna:

Announcing the launch of Horrific Scribblings, LLC!

PUBLISHING ANNOUNCEMENT!

What does the world need right now? More people who publish dark fiction, of course!

L. Andrew Cooper is pleased to announce the launch of Horrific Scribblings, LLC, a new indie imprint/press.

You can read a more detailed account of the mission and plans on the About page of the new website, and see the nifty logo (by the fabulous Ruth Anna Evans).

We plan to publish some multi-author anthologies, , then look for like-minded authors to sign. We’ve got the long game in mind.

You’ll be hearing more often in the coming days. We hope you’ll support Horrific Scribblings as we struggle to grow, and I fantasize that I’ll be publishing some of you in the not _terribly_ distant future.

Meanwhile, have a look at our beginnings!

HORRIFIC SCRIBBLINGS is a publishing imprint, basically an indie press, dedicated to the provocative, scary, and strange–dark fiction that challenges boundaries, assaulting readers’ expectations and violating their comfort zones. We do all types of horror, from the quiet to the extreme, and love horror-adjacent areas like the surreal, the weird, and dark fantasy. We believe horror is important, even when, or perhaps especially when, it revels in the unthinkably bizarre and disgusting limits of the imagination.

OPENING FOR SUBMISSIONS SOON.