Issue 168: The Ramble
Vicious Shivers is the official newsletter for fans of my work. Thank you for subscribing. Please share it with others if you think they might be interested!
A couple of days ago, I walked into my office and saw one of the kittens… Popeye, I think… crawling in the middle of the room. Now that they’ve opened their eyes, they’re starting to find their legs, shaky though they may be. I figure that within the next week, I’ll have an office full of crawling, exploring, curious kittens. And that’s when the real trouble begins, I fear.
This is Grey-Baby… or Church… We’re not sure just yet.
This is the face of impending chaos.
Cindy has been out of town this week. She’s on a girls’ trip with a friend. I’ve missed her terribly, and I’ll be glad when she gets home in a couple of days. Yesterday, Roman went on a camping trip with some friends. I spent some time with some friends last night, which was great, but the house is definitely too quiet at the moment, and I’ve been thinking. About a lot of things. And thinking for too long always gets me into trouble.
To some degree, I’ve been dwelling on mistakes I’ve made. I’ve been worrying over the future. Finances. My career. I’ve been beating myself up over my health. I should be taking better care of myself. I’ve been haunted by the possibilities of what might happen if I don’t get my act together.
I should be getting more work done. I should be eating better and exercising more. I should be doing a better job of staying on top of chores and small jobs around the house. I should be paying closer attention to finances. I should be preparing for the future and setting up a plan to make sure I’m still able to make a living writing in the years to come. I should be making time to work on some of the “dream projects” I’ve got simmering on the back burner.I should be doing a better job of communicating with everyone around me.
And the list keeps growing.
“Shoulds” are like mogwai in a thunderstorm. They just won’t stop multiplying. I just gotta be careful not to feed them after midnight. That’s when they become something much, much worse.
What does it mean, then? What do I do about it? I guess the only thing I can do is to dust myself off and start again. I’ll be setting some big goals—personal and professional—for the next few months. Changes. Improvements. Better focus. Achievable goals. More determination.
I used to have a fire.
I just need to rekindle it.
I’m sure I’ll share more of these plans and efforts in the days to come. For now, this is just the rambling conclusion of a night full of dangerous thinking.
Dangerous in a good way.
Thanks for joining me as I try to keep from spinning out of control.
I’m starting to put a plan together to do a signing tour in the next few months. It’s something I’ve never really done before. A few days during which I stop in at numerous comic book and book stores to meet readers and peddle books. I’m in very early stages right now, really just mapping out where I might go. I’m thinking about going into North Carolina, then maybe into Texas. I want to do some appearances in places I haven’t been often.
I’m excited about the idea. I just hope I can figure out how to make it work. I need to figure out something special that is only available on the tour, but I’m not sure what that might be at the moment.
More soon!
Social media is a joke, right? I mean, we must all feel it. It’s collapsing around us. If we’re not dealing with the inherent problems of an echo chamber, we’re battling hate-filled stupidity. We’re doom-scrolling through a dystopia curated by an algorithm. And, in some cases, these platforms want to charge us to join in on the collective misery.
I’ve said it before. It’s worth saying again. I’m cutting way back on social media. I’ve made plenty of adjustments, but it’s time to make more.
I will be trying out the Notes feature here on Substack. I like the idea and functionality of it. I’ve only posted a few notes. Just getting my feet wet, really, but I’ll be doing more in the days to come.
Other than that, the best places to communicate with me will be through this newsletter, my website, my Patreon, and my Discord server.
Let’s talk!
The Kickstarter for SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS and RAZE, the first two books from the Outer Shadows imprint, was successfully funded. I’ll admit. I was a little worried there during the middle weeks, but the campaign finished strong. We reached the stretch goals that will allow us to pay the authors a little more, which is terrific! I want to thank everyone involved in making the Kickstarter a success—the writers, the editors, the folks who talked about the campaign, the folks who backed it! It really means a lot to me.
The plan is to get the books produced quickly, so stay tuned for updates! I’ve got a bunch of one-of-a-kind short sword and sorcery stories to write for many of out backers. And I’ve got to get a role-playing game scenario pulled together for some of our others!
And if you were unable to back the books during the campaign, you can still pre-order them from the Outland Entertainment website.
Here’s this issue’s two-sentence horror story.
The grizzled old fisherman offered to take me out on the open waters to hunt for sharks. When I asked how we’d find them, he looked up from sharpening his knives and said, “Don’t worry, chum.”
CHILLING ADVENTURES PRESENTS… THE CULT OF THAT WILKIN BOY #1
Bingo Wilkin is not just a world-renowned musician. He's an icon. An iconoclast. A legend. A leader. He's also a master of manipulation with fans and followers willing to do his bidding, now matter how evil it may be. Is too much ever enough when it comes to celebrity? The team behind The Chilling Adventures of Salem return with this psychological thriller about fame and fandom.
Last week, I said that this season of STAR TREK: PICARD was “just about” the best Star Trek series I had ever watched. Now, with just one episode to go, I’m willing to fully commit to this notion. PICARD is the MOST Star Trek. It’s just a terrific, terrific show. And I await the final episode of the season with excitement and sadness. I can’t wait to see where things are headed, but I don’t want it to end.
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.
APRIL 2023
NIGHT WALKERS #4
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #5
MAY 2023
LAMENTATION #1
GHOSTLORE #1
NIGHT WALKERS #5
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #6
JUNE 2023
LAMENTATION #2
GHOSTLORE #2
SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS
RAZE
REANIMATOR: THE ETERNAL LIE, Part 2
JULY 2023
LAMENTATION #3
GHOSTLORE #3
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #7
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT TPB
AUGUST 2023
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE 1 - 5 (weekly)
GHOSTLORE #4
DOOR TO DOOR, NIGHT BY NIGHT #8
DISPLACEMENT - a horror novella, previously listed as PROJECT: PHOBIA
SEPTEMBER 2023
OCTOBER 2023
REGRESSION: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
NOVEMBER 2023
LAMENTATION TPB
PROJECT: MATINEE #1
DECEMBER 2023
PROJECT: MATINEE #2
THE UNKNOWN FUTURE…
PROJECT: HEX, a supernatural/horror thriller.
PROJECT: HORROR, a licensed horror comic.
I’LL KILL YOU LAST - An 80s action/horror fiction anthology I’m editing.
PROJECT: GALLERY - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing.
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: SURGEON - a very dark horror tale
PROJECT: BOT - A sequel to a story of robotic mischief
PROJECT: WATER HEATER - An apocalyptic horror/fantasy maxi-series
PROJECT: RUSH - A horror prose anthology I’m editing
COPYCAT - A new limited series from Todd Garner, Heath Amodio, and myself.
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
BEYOND MORTAL - Finishing up the horror/superhero epic
PROJECT: DUNGEON - A new licensed horror comic series
PROJECT: CONVOY - A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
PROJECT: CARD - A magical one-shot
PROJECT: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series
PROJECT: MONSTER - a new horror/action/comedy series
PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series
534 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)
7 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!
APRIL 28 - 30 - Oz Con, West Plains MO
MAY 26 - 28 - Texas Frightmare Weekend, Irving TX (I’m not a guest at this one. This is the first convention in… decades… I’m attending purely for fun.)
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
THE SHOCK SHOP - My online store, where you can find exclusive covers you can only get directly from me!
TWITTER - This is the best place to interact with me online. My handle is @cullenbunn
TIKTOK - A fun spot for quick videos about writing, comics, and collecting
PATREON - Here, I post a serialized novel, a serialized comic book, short stories, and other cool materials.
THE CULLEN BUNN DISCORD SERVER - A place for fans to hang out and talk about comics, books, movies, games, collecting, and whatever else strikes their fancy.
THE BUNNGALOW - Cindy and I talk about life, hot button topics, pop culture, being married to a comic book writer and EVERYTHING in between.
I got in and backed "Swords in the Shadows" recently, and I really gotta get myself a copy of the "Wilkin Boy!" I keep hoping that Archie will get fully back on its feet like it was (or seemed to be) about 4-6 years ago or so. Guess buying the books is the only way to help! :)
Re: Picard... the end of the last episode was pure joy, yes, from a nostalgia POV but also for landing a moment that was so well deserved.
Even better was the cool new way the big bad do what they do so well (being careful of spoilers for folk here!) Such a clever - and heartbreaking - change to their usual MO.