 I enjoyed the film Halloween (2018) far more than I expected to, but one aspect of it continued to bother me after I left the theater: the film’s focus on guns. Many films and TV shows use guns, but they're usually either just props/tools, or they're presented as glorified extensions of the action hero. Something about this presentation felt different than either of those. “It’s kind of NRA propaganda,” I joked to my husband on the drive home, and we talked about how Laurie was a model conservative, using guns to protect her family and fighting back against the faceless government man—referring to the fact that the doctor calls Michael Myers “property of the state.” I’ve read a couple of articles that claim this film as an affirmation of right-wing, pro-gun values. And honestly, sure, the film can be interpreted that way. There are even a few ancillary details that support that reading. But I think the film’s focus on guns is actually doing something much more subtle and interesting. The reason that both the original 1978 Halloween and the 2018 Halloween films are so successful is because they both acutely synthesize the horrors of their historical moment. And the contextual horror relevant to the 2018 Halloween is actually not the political divide. Not directly, anyway. Let’s go back to the 1978 Halloween for a moment, and consider what was happening in America in the 1970s that made films like Halloween and Friday the 13th resonate so strongly with viewers: serial killers. Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy each killed more than 30 victims between approximately 1972 and 1978. They weren't the first serial killers in America, but they were some of the worst, and they killed mostly teens and young adults. Michael Myers is not a direct analog to either one of these real life killers, but “The Shape” represents not a single real-life serial killer, but the idea of serial killers in general, and the fear that was gripping the country in the 1970s that this type of evil could strike anywhere, at any time.  [TW: rape] But we know that serial killers like Bundy and Gacy did not only kill their victims, they also sexually assaulted them. Bundy, in fact, reportedly claimed that rape was his initial goal, and murder was a convenient way to keep from getting caught; it was only after several victims that murder became the goal. But Halloween’s Michael Myers is not a sexual predator. In fact, he appears to be punishing the promiscuity of teenagers. The fact that the sex in Halloween is consensual has the side effect of shifting blame onto the victim in conventional rape-culture style. And because we need stories to make more sense than real life, it also creates a rationalization for these characters’ death, becoming a warning in the way that fairy tales are warnings: Don’t go into the woods alone, or Baba Yaga will eat you. Don’t walk down by the river, or La Llorona will get you. Don’t screw around with your boyfriend while you’re supposed to be babysitting, or Michael Myers will get you. He’s the Boogeyman, right? It’s certainly an imperfect system, though, since the virginal Laurie Strode still gets attacked. I argue that the common horror film trope of “death by sex,” in which fornicating teenagers are then subsequently killed, is a way for filmmakers to associate sex with murder, thereby depicting a metaphorical rape, rather than a literal one. Let’s shift back to the 2018 Halloween now. Note that there is actually no sex in this film. We still have a couple of teenagers messing around while they’re supposed to be babysitting, but they never get naked. And while Michael Myers has a higher body count in this film, the victims are far more random, varying in gender and age. Is this just an arbitrary narrative choice, or an attempt to avoid a trope that has become a cliché? Or is it an intentional choice that creates a very different sort of metaphor than the original? (And, yes, I’m aware that several of his victims mirror victims from the other now non-canonical Halloween films. That doesn’t affect my theory.) Serial killers still exist, for sure, but there hasn’t been one that has really gripped the American public imagination for a couple of decades now. But what type of senseless violence do we deal with in the 2010s? What creates that fear of “it could happen anywhere at any time” now? What’s in the news every couple of days?  Mass shootings. The guns in Halloween 2018 aren’t just in Laurie Strode’s prepper-style compound. They’re everywhere in the film, in the hands of many different characters. During their walk to school, the kids talk about how “by today’s standards” the fact that Michael Myers killed five people doesn’t really sound that awful. One of our first bodies in this film is a kid who would rather be at dance class than out hunting, who accidentally shoots the doctor who has survived the bus crash. Even Allyson and her boyfriend choosing to dress as (gender-swapped) Bonnie and Clyde evokes the idea of gun violence, as does the bizarre prediction by Allyson’s father that she’ll grow up to “get fat and clean guns.” In the same way that the 1978 film portrays consensual sex as a way to depict a metaphorical rape, I argue that the 2018 Halloween’s focus on guns creates a similar subconscious association as a way to invoke metaphorical gun violence. By depicting consensual sex in the original, the association between death and sex becomes more palatable. The oblique angle allows viewers to grapple with the real life horrors of what happens to serial killers’ victims without facing it directly. By putting the guns in the hands of heroes and victims, rather than in the hands of the killer, it complicates the issue and prevents the knee-jerk reaction many viewers would certainly have if mass shootings were being portrayed directly. In the same way that “The Shape” represented the threat posed by serial killers in the 1970s, “The Shape” represents the threat posed by mass shooters in the 2010s.  This interpretation also helps to make sense of the useless “podcasters” who show up at the very beginning. These characters serve very little purpose to the actual plot—sure, we get some exposition from them, but it’s nothing that the filmmakers couldn’t have revealed through interactions between other characters. But every time a mass shooting happens, it’s the media that holds up the killers’ faces to us and demands we say something about it. That scene at the very beginning, when the journalist holds up Michael’s mask to him and yells at him to say something is utter abelist nonsense if I try to think about it literally, but as part of this metaphorical interpretation, it fits perfectly. Consider also the kid who gets “friend-zoned” by Allyson (Laurie’s granddaughter). There were a lot of different ways the filmmakers could have gotten Allyson separated from the pack, so to speak, but they chose to do it by having her walk away from a boy who tried to kiss her against her will. This kid then proceeds to have a several minute long (one-sided) conversation with a lurking Michael Myers, asking if he’s ever wanted a girl he couldn’t have. The lamentations of this character echo the motivations of several recent shooters, who had been rejected by a girl and retaliated by going after her with a gun, also shooting anyone who got in his way. Really, although Michael seems not to care who he kills, ultimately he is going after Laurie, “the one who got away,” and many of his other victims are incidental on his quest to get her.  So what, then, does Halloween 2018 say about gun violence? Is it, as some of the right-wing bloggers have claimed, supporting that belief that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? I’m not sure it’s that simple. Horror may provide warnings, but it doesn’t necessarily offer solutions. The central theme of the film is that one monster has created another monster. It’s also very much about the power the victimizer continues to hold over the victim even many years after the trauma, and the way cycles of trauma repeat themselves over generations. Laurie’s obsession with Michael, the numerous role reversals and homages to the original, and the fact that she’s hunting him as much as he’s hunting her remind me of what sometimes happens with people who start to carry guns: they start looking for, hoping for, the chance to use them. (And studies have shown that violent crime actually increases in states with conceal carry laws, by the way.) Laurie even says at one point that she’s been praying for Michael to escape so that she has the chance to kill him. Though Myers gets shot multiple times, it’s not actually the guns that finish him off. And he can’t truly be killed anyway. “The Shape” may change, but the evil he represents will likely always be with us.
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My story, "Cocktails at the Mad Scientist's House" is in the Spring 2018 issue of Mad Scientist Journal, out now! Makes sense that this is where this story would end up, doesn't it? I didn't initially write the story with Mad Scientist Journal in mind, but it turned out to be a perfect fit.
My story is classified as an "essay," but it's still definitely fiction (I should hope that would be fairly obvious). One of the quirky, fun things about Mad Scientist Journal is that they publish these first person "essays" as though the character were a real person who just dictated their experience to the author. That's why below, you'll see the byline says "An essay by Tina Eikenboom, as provided by Sarena Ulibarri." I even had to come up with a brief bio for my character. Here's what I said about her: Tina Eikenboom is a real nobody. You've never heard of her, or met her. Unless maybe you went to high school with her. Or community college. If you ever lived next door, you might know her as that girl who plays music too loud. Tina's not her real name, but it does start with a T, and if she has too much to drink, she might accidentally tell you what it is. 
I'm grateful to Dawn Vogel and Jeremy Zimmerman for giving Tina's frantic story of murder and mad science a home in this issue. I was also thrilled to recognize a couple of other names in the table of contents, including Holly Schofield, who has a story forthcoming in my Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers anthology. This story of hers is a lot darker than the solarpunk one, of course. Those feral clowns mentioned on the cover? Yeah, that's Holly's story. (And it's awesome.)
I hope you'll check out a copy, and let me know what you think of the stories!
As part of the Apex Revive the Drive subscription drive campaign, I have the privilege of interviewing Apex Magazine managing editor Lesley Connor. I'll admit I haven't read every issue of Apex, but every time I dip into it, I find a new favorite, and some of my all-time favorite short stories have been published there, stories such as "Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon, "Frozen Planet" by Marian Womack, "Paskutinis Iliuzija (The Last Illusion)" by Damien Angelica Walters, and of course "If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love" by Rachel Swirsky. Apex stories are always dark and gorgeous, and stay with you long after you hit the end. The Apex Subscription Drive runs until April 17, 2017, and features some very cool perks. See the full details here.  Sarena Ulibarri: The aesthetic of Apex Magazine has surely changed and evolved over the years and under different editors. What are some of the stories you feel best define the current Apex aesthetic? Lesley Conner: This is a fantastic question! And also a really hard one to answer because it isn’t as simple listing personal favorites. Apex Magazine is striving to publish stories that are dark and surreal, stories that push boundaries, that blend genres—or throw genre out the window entirely. We want real human emotions in fantastical worlds. Give us outrage, desperation, sorrow, and then twist it into something new and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. We want stories that introduce us to new worlds, that stretch our imaginations. None of these are things that are easily defined. But I will give it a shot! Stories I feel best define the current Apex aesthetic:
This is a pretty fair mix of stories. Different genres, different subject matter. Authors from different backgrounds. But all of these stories have something that says “Apex!” to me when I read them and I think they’d be a good place for new readers who wanted to sample what Apex is about. SU: What's the process a story goes through between the time it is accepted and the time it is published in the magazine? LC: We are looking for stories that are pretty close to being ready to publish when we buy them. We do a light copy editing and then a second pass proofreading, but that is basically it. Saying it that way, it sounds like we should be publishing a story the issue after it’s accepted, but that isn’t the case. We typically have several issues worth of content scheduled at one time. This means when we accept a story, it can be a while before we have the chance to publish it. Which is a good thing for us as a publication, because it allows us to select stories for an issue that fit together. Rather than simply publishing all the stories that we really liked—with no thought or consideration to theme, or pacing, or all the other things that make stories work together—having a cushion of already scheduled content gives us time to make sure we’re publishing a story in the correct issue with other pieces that will compliment it. SU: Jason is editor-in-chief and Lesley is managing editor—what's the difference in your roles? LC: Jason would tell you that I’m the one in charge and he just writes the checks. This isn’t true. I manage things. I know, I know, a really imaginative way to explain what a managing editor does—way to not really say anything, Lesley!—but it’s true. I make sure we have all the pieces we need for each issue: Have the stories been copy edited? Do we have author bios? Have I gotten the interviews back? What is the nonfiction for this month? Did we sell ads for the issue? I make sure that authors have been paid, our slush readers are getting through all the submissions in a timely manner, and handle queries from writers, artists, and readers. Jason does in fact send all the checks and payments, but he does much more than that. As editor-in-chief, he has the final say on what is going to be included in each issue of the magazine. He selects all the fiction, finds nonfiction, decides which authors we should interview and which story to podcast. He also builds the eBook editions of every issue. While I’m handling all the details, he has to deal with more big picture, long term issues that come with running a digital zine. Basically, Jason makes all the decisions and I organize the shit out of everything! SU: Apex Magazine always has fantastic cover art. How do you decide what image will grace each new issue? LC: Thank you! I love hearing that people enjoy our covers! Finding cover art is one of my favorite Apex tasks. We don’t try to fit specific artwork with certain issues/stories; I’m more thinking in terms of the other artwork we already have scheduled. I want to make that I’m not focusing too much on a particular color palette or a similar focal point in the image. The last thing that I want is for our covers to become predictable. So it’s a balance of finding artwork that fits the aesthetic Apex desires, while at the same time making sure that view doesn’t become stale. Lesley Conner is a writer/editor, managing editor of Apex Publications and Apex Magazine, and a Girl Scout leader. When she isn’t handling her editorial or Girl Scout leader responsibilities, she’s researching fascinating historical figures, rare demons, and new ways to dispose of bodies, interweaving the three into strange and horrifying tales. Her short fiction can be found in Mountain Dead, Dark Tales of Terror, A Hacked-Up Holiday Massacre, as well as other places. Her first novel The Weight of Chains was published by Sinister Grin Press in September, 2015. Best of Apex Magazine: Volume 1 marks her debut experience in anthology editing. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and is currently working on a new novel. To find out all her secrets, you can follow her on Twitter at @LesleyConner. Support Apex Magazine's Revive the Drive 2017! Get awesome rewards and support great short fiction.
 My company, World Weaver Press, is participating in Small Press Week, an initiative helmed by Upper Rubber Boot Books to promote small press publishing. However, it's release day for HE SEES YOU WHEN HE'S CREEPIN': TALES OF KRAMPUS, so I'm bringing today's Small Press Week post over to my personal blog because I want to stay on Krampus's good side and let him have the spotlight. The topic for today says this: "Every Tuesday is #newreleasetuesday, but this Tuesday is for featuring all of your 2016 releases, no matter when their release date." One mistake small presses sometimes make is they forget to be small. When you have an operation run by only a few people, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. Originally, World Weaver Press was planning to release 16 titles in 2016. What we managed was 9 titles (plus one upcoming relaunch), and to be honest, I'm exhausted. It may not seem like a lot, but there are so many details that go into publication that it really adds up. (See our Small Press Week: Secrets post and my post on editing anthologies for more insight into what goes on behind the scenes in a small press.) I haven't always been able to give these books the attention and publicity I wish they could have, but I've always given them the best I could, and I'm so proud of what we've brought into the world this year. Beside each book, you'll find an excerpt. These excerpts are different from the ones available on the World Weaver Press website, so please give them a read. Maybe you'll even find a new favorite or a good holiday gift. Campaign 2100: Game of Scorpions by Larry Hodges A third party, and an alien, take on a corrupt world government.
Char by Kristina Wojtaszek An isolated fae must travel a century into the past to rewrite the book that will save her people.
Omega Rising by Anna Kyle Cass Nolan has been forced to avoid the burn of human touch for her whole life, until a sexy ranch hand changes everything.
Bite Somebody by Sara Dobie Bauer Celia thought becoming a vampire would make her perfect, but she's just as awkward as before, only now she has a craving for blood and a crush on her tasty neighbor.
Sirens, edited by Rhonda Parrish An anthology of fantasy and science fiction: 16 siren songs that will exemplify and defy your expectations.
Speculative Story Bites, edited by Sarena Ulibarri Fifteen bite-sized stories, offering a sampler platter of fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal horror.
Murder in the Generative Kitchen by Meg Pontecorvo Does your high-tech kitchen know you better than you know yourself?
The Meddlers of Moonshine by A.E. Decker Something is rotten in the town of Widget, and Rags-n-Bones knows it's all his fault. (Moonfall Mayhem #2)
He Sees You When He's Creepin': Tales of Krampus, edited by Kate Wolford Whether you want a dash of horror or a hint of joy and redemption, these 12 new tales of Krampus will help you gear up for the most “wonderful” time of the year.
Thank you for checking out all the books World Weaver Press published in 2016! Check the WWP blog for more of our Small Press Week posts, and follow the hashtag #SPWeek16 on Twitter to find more great small presses.
In case you missed my post last week, Adventures in Zookeeping is the newest MileHiCon fundraiser anthology, edited by Sam Knight and published by Villainous Press. They were nice enough to include my story "The Fourth Lemur." I asked some of the other authors about their stories, their writing, and their favorite memory of the zoo. My answers are at the bottom!
C S Peterson, "The Jeweled Black Quaver"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "The Jeweled Black Quaver" Ranger Callie Orpheo walks a thin line between paradise and hellfire to preserve a creature that prefers a post apocalyptic habitat. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? When my daughter, Keziah, was six years old she climbed into a 'bubble' window in the beluga whales exhibit at Mystic Aquarium in CT and put her forehead against the glass. Aurora, one of the whales, swam over and pressed her head against the other side of the glass. They stayed like that for several minutes, then Keziah said good-bye, crawled out of the bubble and Aurora swam away. Sadly, Aurora the whale passed away quite suddenly a few months later from a ruptured aorta. We will never forget that moment they shared. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? Readers can find me at cspetersonauthor.com and as a contributor at fictionunbound.com, a speculative fiction blog. Right now I am working on a YA historical fantasy about a girl named Scralig who has one golden eye and one blue eye: Once, by her blue eye, she swore she saw the ravens laughing before they flew off to whisper into Odin's ear. Once, through her golden eye, she saw a thunder creature land in the upper pasture. Black smoke rolled off its wings and nets of lightning flickered along its arms. That was when she was small. Perhaps it was just her grandmother’s stories that put the visions in her head. Now Scralig is older and she knows better than to trust visions. Besides, in a Viking village, a dark-skinned girl with an evil eye has other things to worry about. Alicia Cay, "Monsters of Yesterday"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
"Monsters of Yesterday" takes you to where the monsters, creatures, and myths of imagination end up when they are no longer remembered. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? When I was much younger I got to visit the zoo on a school field trip. Two things about that trip remain memorable for me. I got to ride on an elephant, which by the way, is super uncomfortable. Seriously, those pachyderms have spines like butter knives. The second was having an animal toy made for me in one of those machines where you put in a dollar or two and get to watch a plastic animal molded right before your eyes. I had seen some girls use the machine on our way into the zoo, and I had to wait the entire day when we were leaving, to pass the same machine and have one of my own made. I wanted one of those things so badly! And in fact, I ended up keeping that plastic, yellow lion for years afterwards. But do I remember seeing the actual animals? No. It's hilarious the stuff that sticks with us. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? I continue to hone my abilities by writing short stories, then for fun I enter them in contests. All of my entered stories have 'placed', but none have yet won. Our legion of adoring fans can find me on my blogsite: aliciacay.com. Links to my Facebook, Twitter, and a few other places can be found there. Carolyn Kay, "The Corpse Flower"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "The Corpse Flower", a rare African flower breaks out of its enclosure, causing mayhem at the Steam City Zoo, and it's only a matter of time before it eats someone. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? I got to see Shamu at Sea World when I was 7. It started me on the path to a science career. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? I'm currently working on a steampunk/fantasy novella that should be out in early 2017. People can find me at www.bewitchinghips.com Ashley Vasquez, "Bound by Death"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
In "Bound by Death", havoc ensues when the newest attraction in a zoo in the afterlife realizes that she's dead, and the rules of the zoo (like enclosures) don't apply. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? My favorite zoo trip was in Belize, where the zoo is made up of local animals from the country. Because it's a small country, and a lot of the animals are hunted for food, I spent part of my time horrifying tourists by talking loudly about the creatures in the zoo that I had eaten during my time there, such as deer, picary, gibnut, and iguana. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? I'm currently working on a Steampunk Noir novel set in the 1940's. People can find me at facebook.com/ashleyvasquezauthor Susan Adams, "Sanctuary"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
"Sanctuary" is a safe haven to outcasts from all walks of life, but that safety is threatened when some one starts sabotaging the sanctuary's protective spells. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? My Uncle Denny, to whom this story dedicated, was an enthusiastic conservationist and had a small, private zoo, specializing in large cats. He obtained a Siberian tiger, named Boomer, when Boomer was just a cub and trained him to accept commands. In spite of Boomer's obedience, he was not my uncle's pet. Uncle Denny kept Boomer in an enclosure surrounded by a double fence. When I was about fifteen, Uncle Denny let my younger sisters and me into the outer fence; Boomer laid down against the inner one. And that's how I got to pet a tiger. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? My current work in progress is a mainstream fiction novel, much of which takes place in a zoo. I can be found on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Scadamsauthor and on Twitter at: @adams226sc. Sarena Ulibarri, "The Fourth Lemur"
Describe your Adventures in Zookeeping story in one sentence.
A disgruntled zookeeper thinks she's turning into a were-lemur, but the truth is even weirder than that. What's your favorite zoo-related memory? During the 2014 Clarion Workshop, several of us took a break from the non-stop writing and critiquing to go explore the labyrinthine San Diego Zoo. We wandered until our feet were sore, and then it took us another hour to actually find our way out. I was sure all the workshop stories for the coming week would be about being lost in a Gothic menagerie. My friend Vida Cruz blogged about this zoo trip in much more depth here. What are you working on now? Where can readers find you? You've found me! I hope you'll poke around, read some other blog entries, and, of course, grab your copy of ADVENTURES IN ZOOKEEPING from the link below!
Recently, Black Mirror Press released the anthology Snowpocalpyse: Tales from the End of the World, including my story "Breath Over the Mouth of a Bottle." I asked some of the other writers in this anthology to answer a three question interview about their story, their writing, and the worst snowstorm they've ever experienced. Turns out they're all witty and well-published, and their snowstorm memories will give you the chills. My own answers are at the bottom.
S.B. McCauley, "The Snow Woman"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
Trapped in a mummified body for decades, the spirit of Yuki-onna is set free and unleashes her winter wrath upon the world. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? I live in Houston, Texas now — so snow storms don’t really happen here. However, I spent some time living in England and Virginia where I experienced some true snow. The worst snow and ice storm I can remember was when I lived in Virginia. Everything was shut down for a few days and the branches on the trees were so heavy with snow that huge branches broke and fell across our sidewalks. And the ice, which collected behind my car, was a few feet thick and couldn’t even be removed with an axe. We had to wait until it thawed to get my car out. I don’t miss the ice! 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? In addition to writing short stories, which are mostly supernatural and psychological horror, I’m working on longer works of middle grade fantasy. My current novel, entitled The Breaking, which was recently nominated for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Joan Lowry Nixon Award, is about a 12-year-old boy who has the power to break his entire world apart, but he wants nothing more than to save his non-magical family from slavery. Find S. B. McCauley Online: Website * Twitter * Facebook *Amazon * Wattpad Jennifer Loring, "The Wind Whispers, 'Witiko'"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
The disappearance of a man's unstable wife into the wilderness leads him to a legendary monster and the reason why the snow won't stop falling. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? We've had some bad ones in the nine years I've lived in Philadelphia, but one of the worst happened just after my husband returned home from a trip with his friends. He had an allergic reaction that required a hospital trip — we lived close enough to walk, but all non-essential vehicles had been banned from the streets. It was eerie to walk through the city in the middle of the day in complete silence, with everything covered in white. We had to make our own paths through knee-deep snow that seemed like it was never going to end. 3. Where can readers find you? Find Jennifer Loring Online: Website * Twitter * Facebook * Amazon Walt Socha, "Let There Be Light"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
After a technical fix to global warming fails and plunges the world into a snow-covered apocalypse, a small band of ex-NASA survivors frantically search for a solution while under the scrutiny of their dystopian overlords. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? I can’t remember any particular snowstorm, but I grew up in eastern Ohio (properly pronounced by us former natives as “Ah-hi-oh”) where several feet of snow is normal during the winter. But now-a-days, I live in the Pacific Northwest (Portland, OR) where a half-inch of snow brings civilization (and traffic) to a complete stop! 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? I’m a bit of a history buff, especially with regard to the factors that enable one civilization/culture to dominate others. In my first novel (Conflict coming out November 1st), I explore what happens when the knowledge of “guns, germs, and steel” (Yes, that is a spoiler reference to Jared Diamond’s famous non-fiction book) is introduced into 11th century North America. My elevator blurb for Conflict: While working on a dude ranch in present day Montana, Joe Kuruk saves a young girl from a club-wielding warrior. His confusion is intensified when he realizes that the girl, Alta, has crossed over from another time and place. And the only way to reunite her with her family is to cross back with her. Accompanied by a few friends, Joe crosses into Alta's world only to find her home destroyed by a savage war chief. Then the gate closes behind them. Stranded in the Eleventh Century, in the lands around the present day Susquehanna River, Joe and his band fight to create a safe home for the refugees they've gathered. And to prepare for future European contact. This is the first of a five book series. The second book, Contact, is due out February 1st, 2017. Find Walt Socha Online: Website * Twitter * Facebook * Newsletter Eddie Newton, "White"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
My short story, "White”, is about driving on an endless wintry road, tense with dread, surrounded by blizzard in every direction, when one slide of tire or slip of steering wheel can be the difference between two very different futures. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? The winter of ‘96-‘97 in Fargo, ND was like one long snowstorm, a record eight feet of fluff accumulating over the season. Every time I drove down the streets of the city, I marveled at white walls cut into caverns like alabaster trenches as tall as trees. Every time I drove anywhere, I felt like an X-wing pilot on a mission to destroy the Death Star: “Stay on target. Stay on target!” 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? If you like political thrillers check out my e-novel, American Herstory, available on Amazon. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if women ran the world? (I mean officially. I know they already REALLY run the world.) It follows a D.C. cop in 2016 as she tries to prevent the assassination of the first MAN to run for President of the United States of America. John Palisano, "All These Things We Didn't Believe"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
In "All These Things We Didn't Believe," a father must beat near impossible odds, and a nearly unbeatable trio of creatures, to find his son. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? I was very small, but in the winter of '78 my hometown of Norwalk, Connecticut had so much snow my grandfather and father and uncles made us massive tunnels through the snow drifts. I still hear echoes of their voices and our laughter. 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? Working on getting the next novel, as it always seems to be. Just released a Halloween mini-collection. Lots more coming out soon. www.johnpalisano.com DJ Tyrer, "Dead England"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
The final survivor of a nation consumed by winter is left wondering if there is anywhere to run to and, if he's alone, who's out there? 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? I remember winters as a child when the drifts were deep and the insides of the windows were covered in ice. Wonderful! 3. Where can readers find you? Find DJ Tyrer Online: Website * Facebook Matthew Shoen, "The Last Winter Buck" 
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
"The Last Winter Buck" essentially asks what if winter never ended in my hometown and what would my father do in that situation? The answer is he would stay, cut wood and make a living out of the inhospitable circumstances. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? The worst snowstorm I remember was the Ice Storm of 1998 which left my house without power for two weeks and killed 35 people. 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? Readers can find some of my published works in anthologies published by ACA Books, Sixfold Magazine, and an upcoming Cryptid anthology published by Bards and Sages Publishing. Ron Wade, Cover Designer
1. Describe the SNOWPOCALYPSE cover in one sentence.
The cover is more a question than a story, what lies down that path, past the snow, beyond the trees? (The real stories of course; literally and metaphorically). 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? The worst (and best) snowstorm was the blizzard of ’78. I lived on my parent’s farm, only went to school about 5 days the entire month of February, and spent days either digging through the huge snow piles that had accumulated from clearing the LOOOONG driveway to the house or sledding the hill that fronted the house. The nights, well reading some of the stories in the book brought back memories (at least in my 14 year old imagination) of the nights. 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? I am working on a couple projects, I have another cover for Ian page set, and waiting for release, have been talking to Clint Collins [of Black Mirror Press] about a couple of projects. Aside from covers I have a line of zombie targets that just released, each zombie with their own unique backstory, and am working on motion graphic pieces that dovetail into those products. You can see what I am up to at: ourzombieapocalypse.com Sarena Ulibarri, "Breath Over the Mouth of a Bottle"
1. Describe your SNOWPOCALYPSE story in one sentence.
Aliens from a snowy planet are trying to terraform Earth, and a girl trapped in a snow-buried house with her dysfunctional family is the last human holdout that might be able to stop them. 2. What's the worst snowstorm you can remember? I've spent a lot of my life in Colorado, and it used to be that they never cancelled school or shut anything down until the snowplow got stuck. (Now, well, every storm gets called a snowpocalypse.) The worst I remember was probably in the early 2000s during Spring Break, when my dad, my cousin, and I got snowed in with no power for several days. Though the characters and conflicts are different, I pulled quite directly from that experience for my Snowpocalypse story. 3. What else are you working on, and where can readers find you? You've found me! I hope you'll poke around and read some of my other blogs, and check out my other published stories and the small press I run. I'm always working on several short stories in various stages of disarray, and there's that science fiction novel I keep giving up on and coming back to. Thanks for reading these three question interviews!
Many thanks to Scott Woodward and Clint Collins of Black Mirror Press for including my story "Breath Across the Mouth of a Bottle" in their debut anthology, SNOWPOCALYPSE: TALES OF THE END OF THE WORLD. It's available now from Amazon in both ebook and paperback.
The full table of contents: "White" by Eddie Newton "The Last Winter Buck" by Matthew Shoen "The Wind Whispers, 'Witiko'" by Jennifer Loring "Dead England" by DJ Tyrer "The Snowman" by Llanwyre Laish "Snoe" by Mark Lynch "The Snow Woman" by Susan McCauley "All These Things We Didn’t Believe" by John Palisano "Thaw" by David Sakmyster "Locusts in the Snow" by Richard Barber "Breath Across the Mouth of a Bottle" by Sarena Ulibarri "Snow and Ashes" by Zoe McAuley "Let There Be Light" by Walt Socha "The Snow" by Cheryl Pearson "St. Michael’s Parish" by Nicole Shelton "A Chill Subterfuge" by Barry Rosenberg "Snow Day!" by Clint Mesle 
I look forward to seeing how other writers interpreted the theme of this anthology. Here's a brief excerpt of my story, "Breath Across the Mouth of a Bottle," which is part Weird Horror, part Science Fiction.
My dad and my cousin Brooke were fighting about the thermostat just before the power went out. Rather than weather the blizzard alone, I had abandoned my apartment and come to my dad’s house, and had convinced Brooke to do the same.
And look! Black Mirror Press made this awesome creepy book trailer. Check it out:
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