It’s getting late in December for me to be looking back at November’s dreams, but hey, life sometimes works that way. Regardless of the delay, I still enjoy (and some of you seem to as well) seeing whether my surreal dreams as posted on Twitter make any more sense when gathered together on a monthly basis. So …

Last month, I dreamt of Will Smith, Peter Falk, Ron (not Ronald) Reagan, George Bush, Harlan Ellison … and perhaps some of you as well!

November 2015


Found a note I scribbled in the middle of the night describing a dream: CHINATOWN GANDALF. But too much time has passed. I remember nothing! Nov 30


I dreamt I was at a BBQ shack eating a rack of ribs which had been rolled in kernels of corn. And as I dug in, I thought: What a great idea! Nov 29


I dreamt @CraigEngler was in charge of making the next Muppets movie, and I was helping out by scripting the section that spoofed Star Wars. Nov 29


I dreamt my (late) father and I were in a hotel, and they sent a complimentary bottle of tequila to our room because it was his birthday.


I dreamt I forged documents for @EllenDatlow and @Cadigan — but now that I’m awake, I can’t remember what they were. Letters of transit? Nov 27


I dreamt I helped my (fictional) niece elope with her boyfriend, and when the rest of the family caught up with us, they were NOT happy. Nov 26


I dreamt I ran into my parents, young, in a Starbucks, and when I asked what they were doing there, Dad tried to answer, but instead cried. Nov 25


I dreamt I was Will Smith in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air universe, and Uncle Phil was trying to convince me to go out for Little League. Nov 25

I dreamt I was on a gameshow with Jaye P. Morgan and Peter Falk. She spotted a phone number on his collar, so we called it. It was a lawyer. Nov 25


I dreamt I spotted a small plane drifting along on a parachute and chased it through a city. Turned out it was a TV station’s weather drone. Nov 24 (more…)

A few days ago, I teased a new sale, but was unable tell you to which anthology I’d sold that short story until the editor went public with the news. Well, Michael Bailey’s done that now over on Facebook, so I’m free to share that next year, I’ll be in the anthology You, Human from Dark Regions Press, along with a few other writers whose names you might find familiar—

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—such as Stephen King, Mort Castle, and Darren Speegle.

Ours are the only four names announced and visible on the cover so far, because for his anthologies, Michael likes to spill a new name every few days so as to bring as much drama as possible to his table of contents reveal. He promises to reveal the names of two more writers over on his Facebook page Thursday.

As for the title of the 5,850-word tale—which happens to be my fourth short fiction sale of 2015 (yay, me!)—Michael is holding off on posting all of those until his full roster is complete, so I’ll keep it to myself, too. But I will say one thing about it—I like this title so much I’m considering it as the title story for a future collection.

I was interviewed last night by someone writing a book about the early days of comics fandom and how it led to the rise of the dedicated comic book shop. As part of that, one of the things I was asked to recount was how and where I used to buy my comics when I was growing up in Brooklyn.

I remembered Joe and Morty’s candy store on Aveue P, in which I was unable to decide whether to buy X-Men #1 or Avengers #1, as I only had 12 cents in my pocket and they’d both come out the same day. But I also remembered an article I wrote years later for my high school newspaper about My Friends bookstore, where I’d been induced by my parents to sell all my comics because they felt I owned too many of them.

In any case, because my interviewer wanted to see the piece, and I went to the trouble of scanning it for him, I figured I’d share it here as well. Basically, this is me looking back on around 1968 from the perspective of 1972.

I certainly hope I’ve become a better writer since then!

I don’t know whether you noticed what I just noticed. But I was wrong when I claimed there that selling 300 comic books for $5.00 netted me “exactly three-fifths of a cent per comic.” It was actually 1.667 cents per comic. And it took me more than forty years to notice. (more…)

If you attended Sasquan—the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention—in Spokane earlier this year, deciding how to best spend your time was probably tough, for inside the 148-page program book each attendee received were listed 241 panels alone, plus multiple readings, presentations, kaffeeklatsches, and more.

Things were quite different in 1974, however, the year 19-year-old me attended his first Worldcon—Discon II, the 32nd World Science Fiction Convention. (more…)

I’ve been lucky enough to get to Next—the Chicago restaurant which reinvents itself three times per year—for six of their menus—Sicily, Kyoto, The Hunt, Vegan (twice!), Bocuse d’Or and, most recently, Tapas.

With SFWA’s Nebula Awards weekend once more returning to Chicago, I’ve been looking forward to Next’s announcement of its 2016 plans. And now that, minutes ago, they’ve gone public with their three latest offerings, I know what I’ll be having for dinner with several of you.

So here’s what’s in store— (more…)

On February 10, 1974, I was wandering midtown Manhattan when I was approached by a guy who asked me if I’d like to take a free personality test.

I was 17. I hadn’t yet started working for Marvel Comics, hadn’t yet met my wife, hadn’t sold any fiction, or done any of the others things that make me me. And in that moment, I had no idea that this was a opening gambit to get me to agree to learn more about Scientology.

But I was intrigued, and had a few hours to spare, so I figured … what could it hurt?

So I followed the clipboard-carrying street hawker to an office, where I rated 200 statements, indicating whether I agreed, disagreed, or was neutral about them. If you want to know my answers, here they are. Check them out!

Doesn’t tell you much, does it? (more…)

While reading Salon’s recent post about the controversy over H. P. Lovecraft and the use of his face on the World Fantasy Award trophy, I was surprised to find that halfway down the piece was … me!

I’d tweeted last week about how once the board announced it was changing to a more inclusive symbol for the trophy, news broke that a different organization was embracing Lovecraft, one which didn’t find his racist views at all problematic …

… and my “Whoa!” was somehow deemed newsworthy.

I have no problem with that.

In fact, it isn’t even the first time a journalist picked up on one my tweets. Back in 2014, Good Morning America showed one of my tweets on screen during a story about Alinea chef Grant Achatz having to deal with a crying baby.

Which makes this a good time, I suppose, for me to publicly state my position on the matter of the news media sharing my tweets. To repeat:

I have no problem with that.

I consider whatever I say over on Twitter to have been said in a public forum, and that my words there are as ripe for quotation as any statement I might make from a stage in a public venue, as long as no editing’s done to change my meaning and there is proper attribution and linkage.

I know there are others who feel more protective of their tweets, which is their prerogative and something I hope journalists respect. But as for me, if I should accidentally happen to tweet anything which makes enough sense you feel it worth quoting—quote away!

What Will Come After, my Stoker Award-nominated collection of zombie short stories which PS Publishing put out in 2010, is currently available only as an ebook, so if you’re the kind of reader who prefers dead trees to pixels, you’re out of luck. Sadly, the hardcover’s been out of print for a few years.

But that’s about to change.

The latest PS Publishing email newsletter, which mentioned my recent zombification on an episode of Z Nation, took me by surprise with an announcement my collection will soon be out in paperback.

I knew such an edition might be in the offing, but until now, I wasn’t sure.

So for those with an aversion to ebooks … watch out! What Will Come After will be shambling your way soon …

Oliver Willis and Kurt Busiek have been posting some wonderful PSAs which DC Comics ran back in the ’60s and into the ’70s, and I couldn’t resist sharing a few of them here. Based on the current state of our country, they seem to have as much relevance today as they did then.

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Since all the cool kids seem to be doing this, I figured—why not me? So here are details on the two stories of mine published in 2015, so you can, if you’re a voting member of certain organizations, nominate them if so moved … but only after you’ve read them and judged them worthy, of course.

First up—

Back in March, my 13,000-word zombie story “Becoming Invisible, Becoming Seen” was published in Dark Discoveries #31.

It’s a dark but (hopefully) uplifting horror story of love and obsession, and if you’re a voting member of a group for which that sort of thing seems a good fit, drop me a line, and I’ll be glad to send along a PDF. (more…)