Four open calls, which I thought were all due on the 31st or the 1st, until my friend pointed out that the splatterpunk call for Grey Matter Press was due on the 21st. The good news is that I have a story that I think will fit. This was one of the origin stories that I wrote during NaNo this year. A rather dark tale that ventured into uncomfortable and unexplored territory in terms of subject matter. Bad news is that I need to rewrite parts of the story and see about adding another 1-2k words. It's 7k already [which I didn't expect], but pushing it to 9k couldn't hurt. So far, only the sheriff has managed not to get eaten.
For those not familiar with the genre, splatterpunk is bloody, messy, and disgusting type of horror. The likes of Clive Barker, Poppy Z Brite, and Robert McCammon are commonly cited authors in the genre. I have a few books by Deadite Press that I've been reading as a reference to do the rewrite. "All You Can Eat" by Shane McKenzie was a particularly good read and very messed up. His descriptions and ability to keep my engrossed were top notch stuff, even if it means I'm not going near certain types of restaurants in the near future. Not for the faint of heart.
On a different topic, been working on world building for my urban fantasy novella. Keep finding little inconsistencies and need to stamp them out hard. At the moment, I've got how magic works, what sort of supernatural things go bump in the night, how much the public knows, and a solidified character backgrounds. The broad magic categories comes out as Lovecraftian [hyper-science, also related to mentalism], Invocation or Necromantic [one coin, two sides], and Fae-related [gifted by heritage]. Werewolves, vampires, and zombies are not common in the setting. Great Old Ones [GOO], their minions, and The Fae are the common magical threats/obstacles. Humans can wield the power of the GOO's but it ends up driving them insane or changing them physically. The exception is mentalism, which is unreliable and weak, but safe to use. Invocation/Necromancy tap into the power of life and death as represented by spirits and non-Mythos entities. Either can be used for good or evil, it's a matter of application. Belief and conviction govern how much power can be harnessed by the wielder. Fae blood powers are nebulous right now and I'll cover them later.
John Q Public is just beginning to notice that things go bump in the night. There's a sense of unease, rising to panic in some places. Some religious organizations are finding that the faithful can perform miracles and not all of them are controlled, as the most dogmatic are the least likely to develop the right frame of mind. The Fae are coming across the Wall, taking people, and causing chaos. Not all of them are evil, most are amoral and have little concept of human ethics. A side effect is that people with "fae blood" are finding themselves able to perform magic, both large and small effects. Governments are trying to keep a lid on the events with the usual mixed results. It's only a matter of time before an event happens in front of a large enough audience to blow the lid off everything.
Go to put that bit aside for the moment and finish up my current calls. And I promised my writing buddy that I would answer the ten questions about me and my current projects.
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