1. Anyway, as far as new stuff goes, 2021 brought you four more installments of my absurdist film column Danger's Failed Film Pitches, split between the latest two issues of Unnerving Magazine. If you don't know Unnerving, it's a great magazine, full of excellent fiction and non-fiction alike, from a lot of the best names working in horror today. And then my goofy-ass too:
2. I also saw the second works of mine to receive a translation, the last one being the Colombian edition of I Will Rot Without You back in 2019. This time my short story While My Guitar Gently Eats (originally appearing in Zombie Punks Fuck Off from Weirdpunk Books) was published as a standalone title in Spain as part of Orciny Press's Patreon chapbook collection. I've known Hugo and Orciny Press for years now, and it was great to finally get to be able to work with him professionally. Love the cover they gave it. So damn weird. Haha.
3. I also continued to be one of the go-to comic writers for Irish Spike's Unique Hot Sauces. I don't know if I ever mentioned this here, but I write these short one-panel Bazooka Joe-style comic strips that are included under the wrapper of every bottle of Irish Spike's. It's a surprisingly tricky gig and I like to think I've gotten better at it as we've gone along. I don't know how many of these I've done, but it's a decent amount, and he keeps hiring me so apparently they can't be that bad. Haha. If you haven't tried Irish Spike's yet, it's some of the best hot sauce I ever had. Prioritizes flavor over heat. Really delicious stuff. I have a fridge full of it.
4. Lastly, I got to act in a short film called Doppelbanger, written and directed by my friend and former publisher John Skipp, and executive produced by my Boinking Bizarro co-editor, Brian Asman. I only had one line, but goddamn, did I try to give it my all. This was my first time on a professional set, with a professional crew and professional actors, and I had a blast just watching the whole process unfold. Super happy to get to participate, and was reminded of how much I used to love acting when I was younger. I should look into doing more of it in the future. It's a totally different creative muscle than the one I use to write, but it felt really rewarding to hit my mark and nail my line and have the crew give a little round of applause because the shot came together quickly and correctly. The film is hitting the festival circuit in 2022 so it isn't available to stream anywhere just yet, but the trailer is on youtube, in which I make a brief appearance.
* * *
Now, LOOKING AHEAD to the New Year, here's what I got on the docket:
LITTLE MISS APOCALYPSE should hopefully be released at some point this year from Eraserhead Press. This was supposed to be a 2021 release, but they are running behind schedule so it's been pushed back. Currently no release date in place.
MOONFELLOWS will be coming out through Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing in July. This book has taken a long road to publication. I finished writing it back in early 2019, if you can believe it. That's how slow things move sometimes. But it's on its way. Pre-order campaign should be ready within the next few months.
IN A QUIET VILLAGE BY THE SEA is still in a bit of a gray zone currently. I've been talking to a few interested agents with this one. I'm getting notes. Making edits. Listening to these industry professionals and incorporating what I can into the text. Promising leads on multiple fronts, but nothing is signed in ink just yet. I worked SO HARD, not just on the book, but on trying to find representation for it, and however it plays out in the end, I'll at least have a better picture of how to move forward with this novel at some point during the year. I'll give updates when I get them, via Twitter where most of my updates go.
STARLET is currently in the inbox of an interested publisher. This book was one of the most fun times I've ever had writing, a balls-out, splatter-filled Hollywood satire, as weird and wild as I could get. I did it as a kind of palate cleanser after working for so long on IN A QUIET VILLAGE. Two months took STARLET from the initial idea to the final draft. That's a crazy fast turnaround, even for me, but I was really feeling it. I'll have more info when and if the paperwork gets signed, but I don't think this one is gonna end up in the pipeline for long. Updates when I got them.
STARLET is currently in the inbox of an interested publisher. This book was one of the most fun times I've ever had writing, a balls-out, splatter-filled Hollywood satire, as weird and wild as I could get. I did it as a kind of palate cleanser after working for so long on IN A QUIET VILLAGE. Two months took STARLET from the initial idea to the final draft. That's a crazy fast turnaround, even for me, but I was really feeling it. I'll have more info when and if the paperwork gets signed, but I don't think this one is gonna end up in the pipeline for long. Updates when I got them.
THE SKINNIES is my current work-in-progress. This one is along the same lines as IN A QUIET VILLAGE in that it is a more serious and lengthier novel that, once done, I also intended to work with an agent on. The plan is to have this completed around May. Not gonna spill all the beans on this story yet, but I will tell you it's based off my hometown in New Jersey (as well as the legend of The Jersey Devil) and there's a lot of personal stuff and lived experiences going into it. It's a horror book, a coming-of-age novel, and a supernatural murder mystery, all rolled into one. Like IN A QUIET VILLAGE, this will be another huge step forward for me in terms of my approach to storytelling, as well as an expansion and refinement of the kinds of tropes and ideas you've seen from me in the past. Obviously, it's still in the draft phase, but it will be dominating my creative life for the immediate future, and a good portion of the upcoming year will be dedicated to completing it.
AND THAT'S ALL I GOT FOR NOW.
Again, follow me on Twitter to read my dumb jokes and find updates on all of the aforementioned projects and other unforeseen stuff that might pop up throughout the year.
For everyone reading this, thanks for the support and I too wish you all the luck in your personal endeavors. Let's go kick 2022's ass!
- Danger
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