Issue 188: Post-Its On a Window
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If you’ve been following this newsletter, you know I’ve been watching BETTER CALL SAUL with my wife and son. We haven’t finished the series yet. We are just now starting the final season, and I’m already sad that we’ll soon be done with the show. It’s so good.
No big spoilers, but…
Early in the show, attorney Kim Wexler falls on some difficult times. Life isn’t going the way she wants. Her career is collapsing into chaos all around her. There’s a moment when she stands in a hallway, putting Post-It Notes on a window. On each note is a possible avenue to follow, a possible path to success, a possible way out of dire straits. As she follows up on one of those notes, she pulls it off the window. Most of them are dead ends, but eventually, something pays off.
It’s a scene that really speaks to me, because that’s almost exactly where I am right now. The number of publishers where work is available is drying up. Has been for a while now. There aren’t as many editors out there who are open to new work as there used to be. There are plenty of editors who don’t bother to respond to emails or phone calls these days.
And, so, I throw Post-Its on the window. When I have a free moment, I think about someone I can reach out to, an idea I should pursue, a possible pitch to make—I put it on the wall and see if I can make something happen.
The landscape continues to change. It always has. And I truly believe the changes are going to start coming faster in the coming weeks, months, and years. Adaptability, agility, the consideration of new adventures—that’s survival.
The Post-it technique, for me, a tool to keep the lights on, yes, but it also brings be great comfort. When I’m “sticking Post-its to a window” and chasing the possibilities presented with such an act, I’M in control of my destiny. No editor who won’t return e-mails… no EiC who says “I want to work with you” while secretly telling their team to turn down anything I pitch… no slashed budgets or shifting goalposts… are in command of my destiny.
I control of my fate.
From an empire of crumpled up Post-its.
And, these days, that’s the best you can do.
After all, I’ve got one speed. When I slow down, when I stop, it means I’m dead.
Fall is upon us.
The weather is getting cooler.
Halloween is coming up fast.
It’s my favorite time of the year. I’ve been obsessing in the last few weeks, though, about how I make this year the best Halloween season ever. That’s a tall order. I had some amazing Halloweens as a kid.
Horror trivia nights loom large… and my team—SHAKMA 2000–is ready to rumble!
I know of a few haunted houses I want to attend.
We’ll be turning our garage into a haunted garage.
I’m planning on drinking a few Angry Balls (Angry Orchard and Fireball).
“Chili?” you ask. At least a couple of times.
Pumpkin carving—of course!
But… what else?
How do I turn this into the best Halloween of all time?
I’m not sure AT ALL… nor am I sure why it is so important to me THIS YEAR… but I’m gonna do my absolute best to make it happen.
One speed… when it comes to Halloween, too.
I’ve already started my annual Halloween horror movie “marathon” and I’ve been documenting the movies I’m watching over on my website. So far, I’ve watched RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, HOUSE, and HOUSE 2.
If you want to follow along, I think the next several movies on the list will be:
COBWEBS
MALUM
FRIGHT NIGHT
YOU’RE NEXT
DAY OF THE DEAD
THE BLOB (80s remake)
X
Over the last few days, I signed a TON of SWORDS IN THE SHADOWS and RAZE for Kickstarter fulfillment. I also wrote, by hand, 40 (40!!!!) one-of-a-kind short stories, by hand, for Kickstarter backers. They will be getting something really unusual, because I don’t see a world—EVER—where I will do that again! It was fun, but it was also crazy stressful. I’ve been working on the next big anthology—I’LL KILL YOU LAST—and I have several stories already in place!
Over on Patreon, the COLLECTIONS feature has launched.
It’s pretty awesome, because it makes it very easy to find related content. I need to work on it a bit, more, but I’ve set up a bunch of collections that I think will be of interest to my readers. Just take a look!
I post something new—serialized fiction, comics, behind-the-scenes intel, scripts, and more—to Patreon almost every day. The support on the platform these days means more than ever. I have no plans to charge for this newsletter, but if you like the content I provide, your support over on Patreon would mean the world.
DISPLACEMENT
Dr. Rachel Anderson treats those who suffer from the most extreme phobias. Fear of crowds. The fear of the outdoors. The fear of death. But after a session with a violent patient goes awry and her daughter goes missing, the only way Rachel will survive the night and save her daughter is to face her own fears.
Technically, this one came out last week, but I somehow missed it! Anyhow, this is a PROSE novella from TKO. It’s a horror/thriller set in a creepy old apartment building. There are gorgeous illustrations throughout by Alison Sampson. It’s dark and disturbing, and I think horror fans will get a real kick out of it.
You can order it from wherever you buy your books!
I‘M still reading the Drizzt books, and I’m enjoying the Hell out of them. It’s fun. Some of the material I don’t remember at all. Other parts, though, I remember vividly.
As mentioned above, I’m watching BETTER CALL SAUL with the family.
I’m also watching (and documenting) a horror movie every day until Halloween.
I also watched the first season of YELLOWJACKETS and enjoyed the Hell out of it! Gonna dive into season two starting tonight.
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.
SEPTEMBER 2023
BLOODBORNE: THE BLEAK DOMINION #1
REANIMATOR: THE ETERNAL LIE, Part 2
OCTOBER 2023
REGRESSION: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
BLOODBORNE: THE BLEAK DOMINION #2
THE MIDNITE SHOW #1
CULLEN BUNN’S BODY BAG #1
NOVEMBER 2023
LAMENTATION TPB
THE MIDNITE SHOW #2
BLOODBORNE: THE BLEAK DOMINION #3
DECEMBER 2023
INVASIVE #1
THE MIDNITE SHOW #3
BLOODBORNE: THE BLEAK DOMINION #4
JANUARY 2024
BEYOND MORTAL Trade Paperback
THE MIDNITE SHOW #4
INVASIVE #2
THE UNKNOWN FUTURE…
PROJECT: JUMP, a new comic book series in the Beyond Mortal Universe.
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.
GALLER OF WHISPERS - An RPG project I’ve been quietly developing.
PROJECT: PREHISTORY - More kaiju craziness
PROJECT: MEGA-BATTLE - Even More kaiju craziness
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
BLOODBLADE - An action/horror story of destiny and demonic blood
PROJECT: CONVOY - A horror/thriller I’m co-writing
PROJECT: ARCANA - a dark fantasy series
PROJECT: MONSTER - a new horror/action/comedy series
PROJECT: HOAX - a horror limited series
PROJECT: DEAD - a short comic story
PROJECT: VARIANT - a really cool one-shot project
PROJECT: G - a new ongoing series
SEPTEMBER 9, 2023 - Signing at B&B Collections, Jonesboro AR
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.
Can you list what streaming services these are on?
I'm incredibly in awe of how prolific you are! I love that you've taken control of your publishing career. Kudos to you!!