The March round now begins: today it's The Gate: 13 Dark and Odd Tales that gets the no-cost treatment.  It will be free today, March 7th, until tomorrow, March 8th.  Head on over to the 'Zon and pick yourselves up a copy!

Yes, here we are folks.  The new anthology is now here...at least the ebook is.  The proofs for the paperback should be coming today, so if it looks good, it should go live in the next few days.  For now, take a look at the fabulous new cover, description, and table of contents, which includes 12 fantastic authors.  To say we're excited about this product is a bit of an understatement!

…a young man tries to build a better life while trapped in a mall after a plague has killed off most of humanity…

…zombies overrun a world gone mad, leaving a boy with no choice but to rely on possibly mystical means of escape…

…Halloween night brings out a darkness so threatening that a young couple’s only hope of survival may be a procession of strange, ghostly children…

…when the world is given a brief glimpse of divinity, a formerly disabled man must come to grips with the fact that not everything is as good as it seems…

These tales and many more await in The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair, the new collection edited by Robert J. Duperre. Thirteen talented authors have been assembled, bringing with them the best they have to offer in a wide range of horror, be it slice-of-life or paranormal in nature. Also included are two bonus stories by the editor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Plastic by J.L. Bryan
The Indian Rope Trick by D.P. Prior
Night Night by Daniel Pyle
Dead Things by Michael Crane
Does Laura Like Elephants? by Steven Pirie
39 Days by Robert J. Duperre
The Candle Eaters by K. Allen Wood
Black Mary by Mercedes M. Yardley
Exhibit C by David McAfee
The Canoe by Joel Arnold
Destination by Benjamin X. Wretlind
The Ghastly Bath by Dawn McCullough-White
Worldwide Event by David Dalglish
2 Bonus stories by Robert J. Duperre
Traipsing Through the Dark: The Stories Behind the Stories

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON.COM!

That's right, folks!  A new collection of horror shorts is almost upon us!  The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair should be ready to publish come the middle of February.  All the stories are in, and all that's left is editing and the illustrations and cover from TRO's better half.  I'm really, really excited about this anthology.  All the stories are fantastic, and there are a few that rank right up there with the best fiction I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  There are a ton of great new writers featured, as well as a few carryovers from the first compilation.  Oh, and check this out:

 

That right there is Chorus, an illustration by the fabulous Jesse Young that both inspired one of the stories within and will appear on the back cover.  Just looking at it, I'm sure you can see the direction in tone this collection is going to take.

And now, here is the current table of contents, in the order I have them set to appear.  As always, with two months left before release, both titles and order may change:

INTRODUCTION
Plastic by J. L. Bryan
Chorus by Robert J. Duperre
The Indian Rope Trick by D.P. Prior
Destination by Benjamin X. Wretlind
39 Days by Robert J. Duperre
Worldwide Event by David Dalglish
The Canoe by Joel Arnold
Night Night by Daniel Pyle
The Candle Eaters by K. Allen Wood
Does Laura Like Elephants? by Steven Pirie
Black Mary by Mercedes M. Yardley
Dead Things by Michael Crane
The Ghastly Bath by Dawn McCullough-White
Traipsing Through the Dark: The Stories Behind the Stories
BONUS 14th STORY

So that's it!  Peace to all you gentle readers, and we'll see you soon.

RJD

So who's in the mood for some music?

It's now April second, and I'm sure there are a few intrigued souls out there who are now wondering, "Where the hell is the singing?  The bongos?  The unabashed, falling-on-your-knees worship of the winner?

Honestly, it's going to take a little while for this to happen...or for a winner to be chosen.

The last 40 days have been quite interesting - which, if you ascribe the the old Chinese parable, isn't necessarily a good thing.  Mercedes and I have had massive sickness and personal trauma, suffered from exhaustion and walleye from staring at a glowing monitor for much too long.  Writing 2500 words a day for 40 days definitely seems doable when you start out, but when life intercedes, things can get dicey.  And not all of us are as prolific as Amanda Hocking.  Woe is us.

But before anyone goes and thinks I'm starting a pity party, I'm not.  All I'm trying to say is that because of these outside (and inside) stresses, the fine Mercedes and I have decided to push our Gauntlet deadline back to May 1st.  But that, my friends, is final.  There will be no more extensions after that.

Now, there will be one (self-imposed) revision to the rules, however.  Due to the extension, the fact that I've made some FANTASTIC progress, and the reality that I don't have to deal with the added stress of a child growing inside me and the complications that can arise from that, I now have to not only complete the full manuscript, but also a pair of edits.  In other words, if Silas isn't in the hands of my betas come May 1st, I lose.

As for Mercedes...I'm not holding her to anything but getting her novel and essays finished.  If she wants to add more stress to the mix, it's all up to her.  Personally, I think she has enough to deal with.  But in all honesty, she probably thinks the same thing about me.  Check up on her blog, A Broken Laptop, if you want to hear what she has to say about it.

So there you go, folks.  I know it's disappointing that you have to wait another 30 days for the satisfaction of observing out utter embarrassment, but hey, we gots to do what we gots to do.

Okay, here's the latest update.  I spent a good time of this week horribly sick, so it took some major cramming over the last two days to try and catch up at least a little bit.  So here's the progress:

Start: 1996 words.

2/27 - 22,137 words.

3/6 - 42,186 words.

Words written this week - 20,049

Words still to be written - 57,814

Still quite a haul, but the story's really rounding into shape now, and as long as I don't get sick again (fingers crossed), I should be able to make major headway this coming week.

Boo-ya, Mercedes!  I'm an unstoppable machine!  You should be vrey, vrey scared right now!

See you next week.

RJD

So here we are, everyone.  This is the official one-week mark since the start of the contest between Mercedes and myself.  Here are the numbers as they stand this moment:

Start: 1996 words.

2/27 - 22,137 words.

Words this week - 20,141

Words to go - 77,863

Well, that was a good start.  My initial goal was 25k last week, so I fell a bit short.  That just means I'm going to have to kick it into overdrive this week.

Time will tell.   Off to write now.

RJD

So here it is.  My official first day of the competition between Mercedes Yardley and myself.  Every Sunday I will be posting an update as to my progress with Silas, the book I must complete by April 1st.  So here it is...

Words written - 1996

@ Words needed for completion - 100,000

Words to go - 98,004

What a haul!  See you next week with more updates.

I've been slagging a bit lately.  I know I have a personal deadline set for myself, but sometimes I need to give myself an extra shove to get going.

Enter my good friend and uber talented writer, Mercedes Yardley.

This is a woman known for taking on challenges.  She's done it quite a bit over the years, and with very few exceptions, she always comes out on top.  So yesterday I called her and, laughing maniacally, stated, "I CHALLENGE YOU!"

So here's how this will work.  I have 75,000 words to rewrite and another 25,000 new words yet created, to finish Silas.  Mercedes has 45k and 35k, respectively.  That makes us just about even.  We have until April 1st to finish everything.  That's right...EVERYTHING.   And what are the consequences?  Ah, this is a thing of beauty.

Whoever loses this challenge will have to record themselves singing 2 minutes of "Womanizer" by Britney Spears, accompanied by our significant other on bongos, and allow the other to post it to their blog!  And no matter WHAT happens, someone will be doing this.  If both of us finish?  Whoever finished first, down to the minute, will be saved.  If April first comes and neither of us is done?  We BOTH have to do it.

To read about this challenge in Mercedes' own words, visit her blog post about it.

I can't think of a more horrifying price to pay.  This is gonna be good.

Let the games begin...

RJD

The review blog, SyriaSays.com, was nice enough to give our little short story collection a rather glowing sendup.

SYRIA SAYS REVIEW

That's right, everyone.  The Gate is now available in ebook format for the Barnes and Noble Nook!  Click the link below to see the new product page:

The Gate: 13 Dark & Odd Tales for the Nook