As 2017 winds down, I realize I’ve been a terrible blogger. One of the “resolutions” (although I don’t really do those) I have for 2018 is to update this blog regularly. At least monthly. We’ll see how that goes, right? Do I say this every year? I feel like I say it every year.

Anyway, for my last post of 2017, I want to talk about my time as the Publisher Killer.

Just kidding. Sort of. Anyway, I also want to tell you about some things I know now that I didn’t know at the end of 2016.

Biggest lesson of all: I’m not actually bad luck. (shut up, I’m not) I had some great luck this year and made pretty significant strides in this publishing thing. I learned that, hey, I’m pretty good at this, and I’m not the only one that thinks so. That’s a nice lesson to learn.

Second: Never count on anything. The second you start believing something is totally, undoubtedly going to “be,” it will stop being. I don’t know why this is, but there you go. Always have a backup plan. No, I didn’t have a backup plan this year and that’s unfortunate. Also, frustrating.

Which reminds me, never count on anyone, either. Not entirely. Something I learned as a part of my marketing efforts. No one wants you to succeed as much as yourself. Sometimes, they don’t even care if they succeed, so you’re better off not counting on them, even if they say they’re up for the challenge of doing something as a team. If you’re working harder than they are most or all of the time, then it’s not much of a team, is it? No. It is not.

Also, I’m so lost when it comes to book promotion. I get the concept. I understand the basic idea of it, but when it comes to actual marketing, I’m not making much headway. I keep trying. Still learn new things all the time, and I try to apply them, but man, it’s hard. What sells books for one guy does nothing for someone else. You have to find “your” thing and use it, but I’m not sure what my thing is yet.

Enough looking back. Let’s keep going forward, right? Right.

So far, 2018 looks pretty good for me in terms of projects “in the works.” First, I teamed up with Unnerving’s Eddie Generous and bloody genius horror author, Mark Allan Gunnells for SPLISH, SPLASH, TAKIN A BLOODBATH; a collection of slasher horror you won’t want to miss. (Tentative release date is early 2018) Just look at this cover.

I also signed with Hindered Souls Press to publish EAT THE RICH, a weird horror novel with aliens, hobos and cannibals in July. (I do love my cannibals, as many of you know) And, although I don’t have a publication date yet, I signed with DIGITAL HORROR FICTION a while ago to reprint my horror short, WHERE THERE IS LIFE (Previously published in the now closed Deadlights Magazine).

In the summer of 2018, my dark comedy story, CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS will be part of A SHARP STICK IN THE EYE, a dark comedy anthology by Books and Boos Press.

Now, my sci-fi/military horror story, THE CARTEL, was scheduled to be published in 2018 as well, but then Cohesion Press closed, so that story’s fate is up in the air now. I will find a new home for it, though. Maybe. (UPDATE: Now Cohesion Press is NOT closed. Not sure what that means.)

Yes. Much confusion on my end. I’ll keep you posted.

Finally, I have a handful of novellas/novels I’m currently editing and/or submitting, including CATS LIKE CREAM, originally signed by DarkFuse, which closed, so there may be one of those wedged in there somewhere.

Funny, I felt like I wasn’t very productive over the past few months, but I guess I was wrong. I had some setbacks in 2017 (Re: THREE publishers I had contracts with closing and then a couple of publishers who’d published my work closing, and a handful more I’d subbed work to closing), so I’m excited to see the end of it and welcome 2018. To all of you who’ve hung in there with me, small presses, big publishers, indie authors; all of them need readers to survive. Support your favorites by subscribing/buying their books to ensure they keep producing awesome shit for you to read. Like this beauty:

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out my latest novella, CHURCH, released by Unnerving in October. And for the love of Christ, don’t forget to leave a review.

And, last thing, I promise, check out the December of Darkness promotion we’ve got going on over at Deviant Dolls. Lots of freebies, giveaways, and awesome deals for horror/dark fiction lovers.