Issue 161: Daydreams
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Wanna hear about some of the ridiculous ideas that pop into my mind?
There’s a bunch of them, actually, but this week there have been a handful that have taken root. They aren’t ideas for new stories, though there are plenty of those, too. These are more like mental exercises—daydreaming—I use to entertain myself.
DAYDREAM 1 - First up, I’ve been thinking a lot about starting a writer’s group here in my town. A bunch of years back, I was one of the founding members of the Midwest Writers of Horror. The group was part of the Horror Writers Association, and we had members from all over Missouri and Illinois. We would get together once a month, read and critique stories, talking about writing, talk about goals. It was never as focused as it maybe should have been. We would always derail and just talk about anything and everything. But I always felt energized and excited about writing after those meetings. I’d love to capture a little of that again. I’d love to see other writers (aspiring or otherwise) feel that same excitement.
DAYDREAM 2 - This one spins out of the first daydream. A while back, I was part of Cave Con, a comic book and sci-fi convention in Springfield MO. I don’t think this is a secret. While the con was great fun… while attendees and guests had terrific times… I lost my shirt on the event. Still, sometimes I think about doing something that is convention adjacent. My pal Maurice Broaddus puts together a writing-focused mini convention every year that has steadily grown. They do a lot of workshops and panels and the guests all hang out and talk about their work and their dreams and pretty much whatever else you can imagine. Wouldn’t it be cool, I thought, if I did something similar? One part mini-con, one part networking event, one part party. Just focused on horror and comics and writing.
DAYDREAM 3 - I think every comic book fan imagines the possibility of opening their own comic shop. My dream would be to open a comic shop/game emporium/coffee shop/bar/tiki speakeasy. A mecha of comics and games and good food and drink. A place that could attract diehard comic fans and gamers as well as casual readers. A place that is curated and welcoming and always a good time. Would I manage it? No. There are better people for that kind of job. But I think about the idea all the time. I scout locations when I’m just driving around town.
Now, daydreams can be just that—daydreams. And some of these are much easier than others. All of them would take resources in time and money and favors and faith. For now, they’ll stay in the realm of mental distraction and entertainment. Will any of them ever be anything more? Who knows? I recently started working on my “100 Things To Do Before I Die” list, and all three of these notions are there.
Daydream big, right?
My studio is still covered in boxes and boxes of comics… comics I’ve written… trades and single issues alike. Josh is making a lot of headway, but the collection is a huge mess.
We’ve been discovering lots of treasures, though. Rare variants. Complete runs of rare books. We posted a couple of those sets of comics on my webstore, and they sold out almost instantly.
I’ll be posting more and more of these books on the store in the days to come. There are many of these books that I’d imagine readers haven’t even heard of, so I want to do what I can to make them available.
Also… I wouldn’t mind getting the space back.
The Great Reorganization is all one piece of a greater puzzle. I’m currently doing a lot of marketing planning and website recreation planning and career planning and even retirement planning. Maybe some of it should go in the daydream list… especially the possibility of ever retiring… because I’m trying to dream big on this one.
I 100% believe that in the next 24 months, if I’m not betting on myself, I’m out of the game. That’s not doom and gloom. It’s just realism. Reinvention is evolution and evolution is survival.
I started out as a short story writer, primarily horror.
I started my own small press publishing house and edited a horror magazine.
I became a part-time indie comic book writer.
I shifted to writing a ton of books for Marvel.
I expanded to writing books for Marvel and DC (with an eye on my creator-owned work, too).
I shifted again to focus primarily on creator-owned work.
In some cases, the reinvention and refocus has been prompted by outside forces. In others, I’ve kickstarted it myself.
The next phase?
It hasn’t been fully formed just yet, but I’ve already started making some moves and positioning myself to make it work. You’ve seen some of these initial steps, though you may not realize that you have. I’m trying to keep it subtle!
Daydreams notwithstanding, backbone beats wishbone every time.
RED ZONE #1
Randall Crane, an unassuming American professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at NYU, is called in by the US government for a secret international mission back to Russia, where his long-buried secrets come to light. When his support team of commandos is ambushed and killed, it's up to Randall to fight his way out of Russia using his "particular set of skills."
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #4
From trailer parks and honkytonks to golf courses and country clubs! The monster-hunting sales crew finds themselves in unfamiliar territory at the center of a ghostly mystery. Skinless Tom haunts the lonely roads, and he has set his deathless gaze on our heroes! But there's more to the ghostly happenings than the team might expect.
Here is a quick and dirty list of upcoming projects. In most cases, I’m only listing projects that are definitely on the schedule with a published. Oftentimes, I will not be able to share much information, but I can at least tease the future! Everything here is, of course, subject to change.
GHOSTLORE - A horror maxi-series exploring a side of horror you might not expect
LAMENTATION - A horror limited series where reality and surreality clash in a murderous way
RED ZONE - An action/comedy thrill-ride. unlike anything else I’ve ever written
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
BEYOND MORTAL - Finishing up the horror/superhero epic
THE CULT OF THAT WILKIN BOY - An Archie horror one-shot
SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS - A swords and sorcery and horror fiction anthology I’m editing
I’LL KILL YOU LAST - An 80s action/horror fiction anthology I’m editing
RAZE - A dark fantasy/horror novella
PROJECT: BOT - A sequel to a story of robotic mischief
PROJECT: WATER HEATER - An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series
PROJECT: DUNGEON - A new licensed horror comic series
PROJECT: CONVOY - A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
PROJECT: MATINEE - A horror limited series I’m working on with one of my best friends and long-standing collaborator
PROJECT: V - A return to a fan-favorite character I haven't written in quite a while
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: RUSH - A horror prose anthology I’m editing
PROJECT: GALLERY - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing
PROJECT: CARD - A magical one-shot
PROJECT: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series
PROJECT: BUSINESS - a new horror/action/comedy series
PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series
385 pages of comic book scripts (1710 in 2022)
0 feature length screenplay (0 in 2022)
0 half-hour comedy pilot (1 in 2022)
0 short film script (1 in 2022)
0 short stories (9 in 2022)
0 novellas (0 in 2022)
4 two-sentence horror stories (10 in 2022)
0 new comic book series proposals (29 in 2022)
0 podcast proposals (0 in 2022)
0 essay (0 in 2022)
1 foreword for upcoming graphic novels (0 in 2022)
0 television series proposal (0 in 2022)
Keep in mind, these days, "finalized" doesn't mean as much as it once did. All events are subject to change. I hope to be adding more conventions in the near future! Stay tuned!
MARCH 17 - 19, 2023 - Planet Comicon, Kansas City MO
APRIL 28 - 30 - Oz Con, West Plains MO
JUNE 16 - 18, 2023 - Heroes Convention, Charlotte NC
JUNE 24, 2023 - Route 66 Toy and Comic Convention, Lebanon MO
JULY 7 - 9, 2023 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO
AUGUST 5 - 6, 2023 - Fountain City Con, New Century KS
SEPTEMBER 16 - 17, 2023 - Extremicon, St. Roberts MO
SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 1 - Cowtown Comic Convention, Fort Worth TX
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