A taste for wine

The only real indulgence I allow myself to have as far as substances are concerned is the occasional glass of wine. I don't smoke, drink liquor or beer, and I don't touch drugs. Red wines are my favorite, maybe because they are so similarly colored to blood! I especially like dessert wines like port but I also enjoy Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Wine is very good to get your creative energies flowing. While your drinking it, it enhances the atmosphere. Therefore, wine can be a very enjoyable experience. I have created several stories while under the influence of wine, and they always turn out rather brilliant. The taste of wine is definitely something to be savored, if you don't enjoy the taste of wine, any wine, you shouldn't drink it.
What I like most about wine is the fact that you can drink it for other reasons than to just get inebriated, which is different than liquor or beer. I feel that every writer should try wine if they ever come across a severe writer's block, you'd be surprised at the results!

Apathy ruling the world

I think the one thing universal about humanity is that nobody truly cares about anybody else, aside from themselves and even then It's rare to see someone that genuinely cares at all. Apathy truly rules the world. So, it amazes me to see some of the things that penetrate the minds and general consciousness of the masses. To say that such things are a general insult to any person that would declare themselves to be intelligent is beyond an understatement. I understand that things of a base nature appeal to most people because they have not taken any time to develop their minds to the point where such things could best be regarded as folly. So, when it all comes down to it, It does not surprise me at all that some of the best work, be it literature or otherwise, is overlooked. What I have been trying to figure out for many years is exactly what people regard as important enough to pay attention to. I, myself, believe that you are what you surround yourself with. And, with that in mind, it should come as no surprise to me when I see that people in general surround themselves with material that poses no benefit to them what so ever. It's like they prefer to be close minded and all-in-all incompetent. Perhaps this can explain why the literature community has so few successful writers. It can also explain why so many in the entertainment industry gain vast fortune. Yes, it's true. The fickleness of people is truly amazing! And also nauseating!
"Apathy it rules the world, And Hypocrisy it follows
Whose to say it goes away, Who cares about tomorrow?"

Obscurity is worse than Death

If you look at the vast of majority of people, what counts as their biggest fear is ironically something that is bound to happen to all of them one day: Death. Whether soon or late, it finds us all, there is no escape. To say such a thing does not bother me would be interpreted as rather boastful, but the truth is there are other things that bother me far more. To leave nothing in your life's wake and be totally forgotten without so much as a common mention would be a fate worse than anything death could give me. I feel that eternal obscurity is far worse than death. It is the same as never existing. To might as well never had taken one breath. I think if people truly look at the principle of obscurity, they will see it the same way I do. It is because of this fact that I look at the majority of the lives people live with disdain. A monotonous plunge into the depths of obscurity is all that I see. I don't care how anyone justifies such a existence. There is nothing worth living such a lie! I really don't know yet what the cure for the affliction of obscurity is, but I have promised myself that one day I shall. For right now, the only thing I could come close to saying is passion. Passion pushes you to follow your inner-most self. Even if that self is supposedly Evil, I would rather follow that than be part of what I call the 'Living Dead'!

A few dark poems

Aside from being a writer of short stories (I have written 24 of them so far and I am currently working on my 25th) I also write the occasional dark poem. I don't know how many I have written, But I do enjoy writing them. Here are a few of them:

"I'm the reason why you lock your doors at night, Sadistic in my mind,
Unequaled in my might. And I love to hear, How mankind thinks it knows,
The reasons why I kill, and the fondness that it sows.
Although a normal look I offer, wholly hides my true intent
Deep inside my heart is twisted, wanting, craving your torment.
Because I have no fear of man, Because I know the lies
There's always chance to spill his blood, Because it satisfies!"

"Tonight my feet will race to the gates, Where hallowed earth and Evil awaits
The place where the dead will surely find sleep, Amidst cold and fog, Melancholy
Tis there that my tongue shall utter the phrase,
My fingers and palms caressing the graves
For the moonlight it grips me, alongside with fear
The Dark one is coming and temptation draws near!"

"True magic I have, The kind you can't see
Can read all your thoughts and knows all your dreams
It can see all the pain that you've had in your life
Perceives all your struggles and knows all your strife
You think your alone when you turn out the light?
I'm the part of your mind that gives you the fright!"

Eerie experiences

I remember when I was very young I had some rather odd occurrences on more than one occasion. One of the earliest was when I was confronted by a strange man while I was on a school field trip. I was in elementary school at the time and my school had just been to the library and was going to the park for lunch. When we arrived there, there was a solitary man standing by the trees and watching all of the children. He looked normal, and while I didn't find it out of the ordinary at the time, as I look back I can now tell it was rather strange. As all of the children, myself included, were sitting and eating their lunch, he decided to approach me and talk. His manner of voice was fear provoking, as with what he wanted to talk about. First he asked me if I believed in God and then he started talking about the Bible. When I looked up at his eyes, I swear they had a sort of red tint to them. As he finished what he was saying, he wanted me to go with him. Saying that he wanted to show me something. My teacher then noticed us talking and told me to come and sit by her. He then gave her a look that was most displeased. To this day I have trouble believing he was actually a man. Possibly something in human form, but not human.
Many odd happenings have I experienced, and although they are frightening I would never change them for they give to me a lot of potential material for my stories.

Query letters

To those of you who are trying to get in contact with a major publishing body, you are going to have to familiarize yourself with the concept of the query letter. Basically, the query letter is a short letter that you send to promising publishers that gives them a overview of you as a writer. It should include highlights of your work, your preferred genre, how long you have been writing , any awards you have received and so on. They should be written in the most professionally manner, as the way you write the letter is going to be a reflection of your overall writing ability.
One bit of advice I may give is to not try to sound desperate when writing one. Most publishers are indeed condescending to say the least(especially to up and coming authors who have no real-world connections). Just as you would in any regular job interview, the point is to give the impression that you are confident in your work but, when it all comes down to it, completely indifferent to their possible rejections.
I, myself, don't really put that great of an emphasis on them to be honest. In my younger years I spent countless hours preparing them and sending them out to several promising agencies. In the long run, I learned that it was me, and me alone, that determined my success or failure. Not some overly exaggerated publishing company. Still, the need to know about them remains.

A sad and unfortunate fact

You start to understand your true level of persistence pertaining to your goals when life throws a curve ball at you. For me, it has been a series of curve balls, but I refuse to allow myself even the thought of relenting my dreams. Getting published was, by itself, a total hardship. Now that I have accomplished that, I find myself faced with an even more daunting task of marketing my books. With all of the readily available technology suited for mass apparel, you would think that reaching a large number of people would not be that difficult. In truth, It's not so much the reaching them but the acquiring of their attention and interest that proves itself troublesome. I have to remind myself everyday that the number of people that don't read is growing everyday. It is a sad unfortunate fact. And the number of people that read Horror literature is even fewer. I plan on changing that fact, but first I must look at the root cause. After all, Illiteracy, in my personal opinion, is almost a disease. But perhaps it is not illiteracy at all. Some people maybe jaded from all the regurgitated material produced by so many authors. Some may or may not enjoy horror. And then the fact that just makes me sick, some people are apparently too lazy to read. Everyone who enjoys sitting on their laurels and watching television must remember that every movie or T.V show started as a book or screenplay. Without the imagination of writers, from any genre, their precious shows would not exist.
I have seen my vision. I have continued to live it. And I will no matter if a generally simple minded public accepts it or not. After all, It's their loss.

Writers block, again!

While I am brainstorming for my new story I have, once again, fallen prey to writers block. I always hate when that happens and it happens every single time I start a new story. No exaggerations. It may be because of the fact that I am a self-confessed perfectionist when it comes to my stories. Everything has to be perfect. The intro, the wording, the title, everything. I feel that my literature represents me as a person and I want my material to be seen as nothing less than perfect. I feel too many writers compromise a certain standard, if you will, a standard that should be shared by all those who consider writing their passion. I am a big believer in writing rough drafts on scratch paper before even considering having the final product typed out and put into a hardcover. Every meticulous detail should be considered while writing the rough draft. And once the final touches have been made and the story is complete, I feel no need for editing or critics!
As with every story I write, I am trying to put together a piece of work never before seen by the general public. Once I pull myself out of this temporary rut, and it is temporary, the creative forces within me will take over and the end result will hopefully mystify others the same way that creating such work does for me!

The Love of the Ghost Story

I wonder if there is anyone alive that doesn't love a good old fashioned ghost story. One that is especially terrifying and may even give people nightmares. It is those which are my utter favorites. The ghost story theme is one I try to emulate with my writing style. My trip to Edinburgh, Scotland made me realize just how much I loved the ghost story. While there I purchased a book on Gothic classics made by obscure authors. I was surprised how similar my style of writing was to these same writers who lived over a century before I was born!
While it is indeed unfortunate that this particular theme, along with every other I might say, is over used or used in a sometimes nonsensical fashion (IE. Casper) I hope to bring back the roots of what made this genre and tradition great. With that said, I very much believe in ghosts.

Playing with a Ouija

For the last couple of days I have been experimenting with a Ouija board. I really like the Occult feel one gets from 'playing' with it if you will, whether it is 100% accurate or not. I find it amusing how so many people will forewarn of the dangers of using one, when they themselves have probably never even tried it. I've heard stories of people 'opening a doorway to Hell', getting possessed, being misled, and so on.
When using it, I go to an abandoned building and bring with me candles, which definitely adds to the 'witchy' feel, if you will. Being alone, I can ask it anything I want to, usually with mixed results. For instance, it told me that a former friend was now dead. It was pretty graphic in the description of how she was killed, so I took it upon myself to investigate whether or not such an event took place. Unfortunately, all of my research was nil. I couldn't find anything. So it could have happened, or maybe not.
The main thing for me, is the feel of it. I tend to relish such things and the atmosphere they bring and I look forward to using it often in the future.