Thank you to Peter Markus for his editing wizardry. Without his guidance, this piece would not have been possible. Also, thank you to the fine folks at The Used Furniture Review for reading and for giving this guy the best Thursday morning he’s had in a long time. To my readers: my gratitude. Stick with me. It gets better.

Special thanks to Peter Markus for pointing me in a mighty fine direction. This one, “unfisting,” is live now at elimae alongside great pieces that you should be reading. I’ve been respecting elimae since I started sending out stories and have been flipping out over that old “Goat’s Eye” piece by Eugene Marten and some Brian Oliu—returning to them weekly for inspiration or just to get my mind tweaked, my hopes crushed by so many skillful others. Can’t shake off the goodness I feel now. I hope you enjoy the story.

For this piece, attention to the power of certain words, has been intentionally repeated to a hopefully hypnotizing effect. There is a story here, but it is drenched in blood. Also, it was quite inspired by an afternoon drive down the gravel roads of northern Michigan, away from my wife, while surrounded by old memories and future hopes. Thank you to Spittoon Magazine for picking this up and for seeing a beauty in it. The issue it appears in (2.1) features many wonderful writers and artists. Please have a look.

This one is part of a large untitled project I am working on and took root in the late summer of 2011 after a workshop with Peter Markus. As far as influences go, I have to acknowledge Nick Cave and The Shining (the film) soundtrack, which I listened to on repeat through the duration of the creation and editing of this piece. Nefarious Muse picked it up and that just seems right to me. 

A pulp-horror story accepted by a wonderful science-fiction/fantasy journal. Thank you to Peter Markus for his keen sense and for helping open me up to new creative possibilities. If it wasn’t for him, this wouldn’t exist. While he didn’t edit it, his teachings are here, maybe even a bit too much, but I consider it emulation. I’m sure there is some H.P. Lovecraft floating in the muck, although I haven’t read much of his work (yet). Thank you, reader, wherever you are.