Greetings, Lost and Lonely Blog Readers. It has, as they say, been a while. It’s the curse of having a lingering affection for an older, largely superceded form of online communication, plus the sheer pant-shitting terror of trying to launch a successful publishing company in the midst of global chaos. A good deal of the stuff that I used to blog about now finds its way into the weekly newsletter, which is itself supported by the Eclectic Projects Patreon where a lot of the conversations about what I’m posting tend to take place.
I’m also trying some new forms of online presence at the moment, which is a little terrifying in and of itself. I’ve fired up the ringlight and the webcam to start doing a little more video over on Facebook (itself a response to going offline for a week, and realising that a phone would still allow me to talk books and writing if people were used to seeing me on-screen as a face and voice instead of a stream of words).
Here’s the first attempt, talking about the recently launched chapbook edition of Angela Slatter’s No Good Deed.
There’s some slightly meatier vids coming about writing and publishing, which wil likely get crossposted here for folks who miss hearing me bang on about such things. Stay tuned, etcetera and so forth. More good things are coming.
In other Brain Jar news, we recently opened pre-orders on Kaaron Warren’s entry in the writer chaps series.
“Don’t write merely to shock. People are used to shock-horror. You need to get beneath the skin. Use a flensing knife and keep it sharp. It’s good to shock, but only as part of the story you tell.”
In these essays, Kaaron Warren—the Shirley Jackson Award-winning writer behind Slights, The Greif Hole, and Into Bones Like Oil—explores the craft and philosophy of trapping dark and disturbing fiction on the page.
Drawn from essays, workshops, and articles about the craft and business of writing, Capturing Ghosts On The Page feature’s Warren’s tips on writing ghost stories, overcoming professional jealousy, working to an anthology brief, tapping your dreams for inspiration, and more.
Whether you want an insight into the creative process that drives Warren’s dark and enchanting fiction, or you are an aspiring writer seeking tips from one of the most talented authors of horror fiction writing today, this chapbook is a peek into the mindset and practice of a celebrated Australian author.
It’s an outstanding book of writing advice, showing the kind of wit and insight that Kaaron Warren fans have long come to expect from her fiction. It comes out on June 15, and details are over on the Brain Jar Press website
