Brain Matter

Deadlines vs. Desires

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:58:00 GMT

Deadlines have always fascinated me as a writer. Not the concept of them, but the idea that someone can write, and write well, with one of them hanging over their head like a guillotine.

I know me. I would succumb to the pressure. Not that I would miss my deadline, but I’d be a nervous wreck and undoubtably suffer from a loss of appetite and lack of sleep.

That’s not how I ever wanted my writing career to be.

I enjoy writing, and I’ve always wanted to keep it that way.

Back before I was a professional writer, I still did lots of writing. Technical stuff, mostly. Procedure manuals, reports, term papers, that sort of thing. I did it for school, I did it for the various jobs I had in medical technology, laboratory management, and biomedical research. There were usually deadlines associated with them, but it was okay, because the papers/documents/etc. weren’t long. We’re talking no more than 10 pages. Easy stuff; back in college I learned I could wait until something was almost due and then still produce a pretty good paper. When I got out into the working world, I found out I couldn’t wait until the last moment of the deadline because there were always multiple deadlines to handle, but having honed the ability to write fast helped me meet all of them.

The thing is, technical documents don’t require a lot of imagination. You have your data and you just have to phrase it in ways that users or readers will understand.

Fiction, for me at least, was different.

Having a deadline looming over me seemed to set up all sorts of roadblocks for creativity. I would keep second-guessing what I’d written. Or worse, not come up with anything at all.

I learned this about myself during a job I had before I started writing horror. I’d just left a laboratory management job and decided to try and make a go of being self-employed. Picked up a gig with The Princeton Review, writing test prep guides for 3 ^rd , 4 ^th , and 5 ^th -grade language arts. Part of that required writing 1-page reading passages and the associated questions.

And I had deadlines / milestones for each week.

I was also just starting my resume business at the time, and those first few days I put off doing the reading passages to focus on writing the resumes, which I believed would be harder and take longer.

Next thing I know, it’s the night before due date and I’m staying up late working, because I’m hitting a creative roadblock.

After that, I always made sure to get the fiction writing done before anything.

Now, as the years have gone by, I’ve gotten a lot better. I’ve written dozens of short stories to deadline (submit between this date and that date!), I’ve never been late with edits (can you get them back in 2 weeks? Guess what, I’ll do it in a week!), and I’ve even delivered a few novels against deadlines. Those deadlines might be 8 months or 12 months, but just hearing those words gives me agita .

Which is why early in my career I developed my own rule of writing: Never pitch a book unless it’s finished.

I know there are writers who can pitch based on a synopsis or idea, but not me. I can’t imagine having 4-5 contracts signed, with specific delivery dates that seem too close together, and still being able to think of a good story and put it on paper. I’d have ulcers on top of ulcers. So I don’t do it.

Write, then pitch. I’ve done that with 22 of my 24 books. (For the other two, one I pitched when it was half-written, and the other was a sequel and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.)

All of which brings me to the topic of this post.

Currently, I’m working on a novel. I pitched it to my agent back in June, and at the time it was about 1/3 finished. Agent loves it, wants to see it ASAP. Great. I start working furiously on it.

Except… things come up. I see an anthology I want to submit to. Then I see another one, this one asking for novellas, and I have this great idea. Fantastic idea. But no way can I finish the book and then write the novella before the novella’s due date. This causes a dilemma. Do I not write the stuff I really want to write, and focus on the novel? Or do I put the novel aside and do the two things that I’m really interested in?

Suddenly, it’s a real deadline vs. a self-imposed deadline (I had really wanted to finish my novel by the end of the year, just to be done with it!). Deadlines vs. desires, because I want to write them all but time is limited.

In the end, I’ve decided to do the novella, skip the short story, and get back to the novel faster. I know that next year, when I read the anthology I’m skipping, I’ll be super pissed at myself and think ‘I could’ve been in this one!’ even though there’s no guarantee of acceptance. The brain doesn’t work that way.

Anyhow, the one good thing is that if I’d signed a contract for the novel, I’d be in a situation where I’d have to skip the short story AND the novella, simply because of a deadline.

I’m much happier this way.

AI And The Writer: Can This Technology Be Used for Good?

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 20:41:00 GMT

Let’s face it. Generative AI (GenAI) is probably the most talked about subject for fiction and non-fiction writers (and editors, publishers, cover creators, etc.) today. The topic is pretty much everywhere you look, and with good reason.

People are pissed about GenAI. Those companies have stolen our (yes, I’m one of them) works to train their AI babies. And that is wrong. If nothing else, we deserve our royalties for what would’ve been sales of books. And the AI companies should have to pay fines on top of that for blatantly disregarding the law.

There’s also the whole concern over plagiarism, but I’m in the camp that feels there can be no action taken regarding that because there’ve been no examples of it happening (except when told to). The AI doesn’t regurgitate chunks of prose from this book and that book to create a new story; it calculates patterns, ‘learns’ when and where to put words. So let’s put that aside for this discussion. And let’s also put aside some other concerns: the ecological disaster that is the AI business model and the fact that AI writing has no feeling, no soul. It’s cold and kinda dull.

For writers like me (and hopefully you), the core of our conviction is never use AI for creative generation. That means no plot designs, no rewriting of scenes, no style emulation (rewrite this story so it sounds like King, or Straub, or Pelayo!). No generative prose.

But does that mean we can’t use it for other purposes? There is non-generative AI, and maybe you’re not aware of it, but you use it every day (you probably use GenAI, too, and aren’t aware, but again, let’s ignore that for now).

And there’s no reason not to use it. It’s here. It’s being integrated into every aspect of your life, so unless you intend to go full Luddite, the ecological concerns are going to have to be solved in another manner besides ‘Do Not Use.’

Using AI for business purposes, to free up more of your time for writing and editing, is no different than using things like spreadsheets, calculators, web development templates, etc. It doesn’t shape your art, or change it. It just lets you do more of it.

How can you use AI responsibly, safely, and ethically, as a writer? Here are some examples:

1. Administrative Support. Things like Calendly or Google Calendar can streamline and automate scheduling, calendar management, and more. This will help you coordinate things like book tours, signings, virtual appearances, and meetings.

2. Research. Yes, we’re all aware that Google is the go-to for looking up information. But soon-probably within a year-all Google searches will be conducted through AI on the backend, so it behooves us all to learn how to phrase prompts and search queries to obtain the best possible information. For example, in AI, you have to tell the tool to provide citations and to eliminate any sources that aren’t verified. And the upside will be that as fast as Google is now, using AI for obtaining factual data, creating historical timelines, even providing trivia about time periods, will be nearly instantaneous. And it can be done without creating narrative text, so no GenAI issues.

3. Business Analytics. Dashboards, sales data analysis, reader demographics. It can all be charted, graphed, and summaries in seconds, which is a great help for writers who are actively involved in their own sales and marketing efforts.

4. Website Updates & Changes. Not all authors are also web designers, or even competent at updating the information on their websites. Or creating storefronts. AI can take your existing code, and with a simple command (modernize the format of this page; change the font and graphics colors on this page), your site can have an updated look. Or you can tell it to create an entire store front. You can even use it to evaluate your online presence and recommend improvements relating to SEO, click-throughs, readability, mobile features readiness, etc. And contrary to popular believe, this isn’t going to put web designers out of business. After all, that website has to be up and running before you can use AI to modify or update it. And who’s doing that? Web designers – many of whom are already using AI to either code or QC check the code that’s being used.

5. Ad Optimization. If you’re advertising on Amazon or Facebook, AI can automate and optimize your spend model to maximize sales and profitability.

6. Transcription. AI speech-to-text tools can record and transcribe recordings, including interviews or even notes you speak into your phone.

7. Formatting a document for publication. AI can do ebook formatting and create print-ready PDFs if you don’t have those tools on your computer (and if you do, like in Word or Acrobat or Calibre, you’re using AI already).

8. Proofing. Using AI to proofread and grammar check is not the same as using GenAI to edit something. A tool like Grammarly or even ChatGPT can not only spot spelling mistakes and misused words, but also punctuation issues and even repetitive words. These tools can be used with the GenAI/content analysis functions turned off and they are more accurate than Word’s spell/grammar check.

9. Backup and Security. Tools like Carbonite, Acronis, Rubrik, and Veeam can provide automated backup services and also provide added security beyond what your computer presently has.

Now, not all of these will be applicable for all writers. Maybe only one or two will be helpful for you. Maybe none at all. And like I said earlier, this is separate from the concept of not using it on principle because of environmental concerns or moral concerns.

From what I see, and the experts I talk to, AI is here to stay. We’re living through one of the most dynamic periods in technological history. Change is happening, whether we want it to or not.

The key to success isn’t to resist change — it’s to find ways to use it responsibly and to our benefit, without compromising our principles. Otherwise, we will be left behind.

👻 A New Chapter Begins

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 18:18:00 GMT

Hey, Halloween people—it’s been a hot minute (maybe a little longer!) since my last check‑in here, but I’m turning over (hoping to!) a new leaf and aiming to keep this blog more up to date. Life got crazy - including a move to a new state - but the one constant has been my writing. Since the last post, I’ve had multiple novels and collections published, plus a bundle of short stories , and I’m excited to share the full scoop!

Hey, Halloween people—it’s been a hot minute (maybe a little longer!) since my last check‑in here, but I’m turning over (hoping to!) a new leaf and aiming to keep this blog more up to date. Life got crazy - including a move to a new state - but the one constant has been my writing. Since the last post, I’ve had multiple novels and collections published, plus a bundle of short stories , and I’m excited to share the full scoop!

�� Novels, Novellas, & Collections

Here's what I've been up to since last I blogged:

The Wakening

Fifty years ago, Father Leo Bonaventura cast a demon from a young boy in Guatemala. Asmodeus vowed revenge—and now that ancient evil has returned to a small New York town. A young girl’s possession reels in an unlikely group: a team of paranormal investigators, twin psychics, a defrocked priest with a dark secret, and a grieving father whose wife once played with spirit boards. Together, they must help Bonaventura banish Asmodeus and the poltergeist plague he brought with him .

Ragman

In 1882, British soldiers desecrate an Egyptian temple and slay its high priest… who curses them all. Resurrected in modern-day Manhattan, the priest seeks revenge—and demands help from one of the descendants involved. Two police officers, former partners now estranged, must unite to stop a supernatural mummy and retrieve the stolen artifacts before the Underworld claims more lives .

The Nightmare Man

A chilling game of Japanese Hitori Kakurenbo turns deadly when a demon is unleashed and follows a Japanese boy to America.

When September Ends

Debbie Holten and her friends hide her little sister's fatal fall down a cliff, worried they'll take the blame for her death. But when the first "death‑versary" comes, someone dies and more tragedies follow. Debbie knows it was an accident—but Mallory’s vengeful spirit doesn’t agree.

The Malthusian Correction

A stark blend of apocalyptic and ecological horror, asking just how much more nature can take of humanity's ecological follies.

The Nightmare People

A sequel to The Nightmare Man and the 2nd book of the trilogy: the Boogeyman returns to exact revenge on Ken and his family, and a North Carolina police officer has to relive his own encounter from 40 years ago as children in his town start to vanish again.

Songs in the Key of Death

A collection of dark, clever, emotionally sharp poems described by Bram Stoker‑winner Lisa Morton as “frightening, melancholy, disturbing, smart, and darkly witty.”

✒️ Short Stories & Reprints

I’ve also had the pleasure of publishing a double-handful of short works over the last couple of years:

"Feral" (2025) in Cemetery Dance
"Mezzamort" (2025) in Gaba Ghoul (October Nights Press anthology)
"A Reversal of Fortunes" (2024) in Nature Triumphs (Dark Moon Rising)
"Earworms" (2024) in Book Worms, Rock & Roll Issue
"Devils in the Dark" (2024, reprint) in The HorrorZine
"Planet of the Dead" (2024) in Songs from the Void (Max Blood's Mausoleum)
"AWOL" (2023) in Book Worms
"A Muse, Shrouded" (2023) in Dracula Beyond Stoker, Issue 3
"A Timeless Tragedy" (2023) in Shakespeare Unleashed (Monstrous Books)
"Beautiful Monsters" (2022) in Classic Monsters Unleashed (Crystal Lake Publishing)

�� What’s Next?

Expect more blog updates—deep dives, behind-the-scenes, maybe even some snippets of works in progress. I’ve missed connecting with you all here, and I promise to do better.

Thanks for sticking around, reading, and sharing; being part of the horror community means the world to me.

I look forward to keeping in better touch with my Halloween people!

— JG ��

WHEN DEMONS ARE REAL

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 11:00:00 GMT

When Demons Are Real

Guest blog by Russell James

Russell James isn’t just a great writer, he’s a good friend. So whenever he wants to guest blog about something, he’s welcome here. This time around he’s promoting his new novel, Demon Dagger , a chilling tale about a demon out for revenge and the man who has to protect his family from it. It's a great book and you should by it. But this guest blog has even more nightmare fuel - it's about a true case of demonic possession. The perfect kind of stuff for the spookiest month of the year. So strap yourself in!

Demonic possession always makes for a good horror story. JG Faherty’s The Wakening is a good example, or try my new one Demon Dagger . But when it comes to possession, truth can be far scarier than fiction.

Documented tales of possession occur as far back as Biblical times. Many of these are easy to dismiss as non-supernatural phenomena misinterpreted by primitive people. But how about a case from 2011, witnessed by credible government, medical, and law enforcement members?

Latoya Ammons

In November of 2011, Latoya Ammons, her mother, and her three children ages 12, 9, and 7 moved into a small house in Gary, Indiana. No one had ever mentioned any previous supernatural occurrences in the house. But as soon as the family moved in, strange events manifested.

The Gary, Indiana Home

Flies swarmed on the porch from no discernible source, and new swarms replaced the ones killed with insecticide. Shadow figures walked the house at night leaving wet footprints. Footsteps sounded on the basement steps and doors creaked open.

These events could be rationalized. An old house makes noise. Insects are common. An old tenant may have had a key or a burglar might have been startled away. Ghost Hunters wouldn’t be investigating this one.

Then things got serious.

One morning at 2 AM, multiple witnesses saw the sleeping 12-year-old daughter levitating over her bed. This was followed by episodes of possession among the mother and all three children where their eyes would bulge and they would speak in deep, evil, guttural voices. Children were thrown around rooms so violently they required medical treatment. A clairvoyant was summoned and she said two hundred demons were active in the home.

After some failed pseudo-exorcisms, a medical doctor got involved, as did the Department of Child Services. During an exam, the sons cursed the doctor in demonic voices. Then the youngest boy was "lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him," according to the DCS report. Both boys passed out and were taken to a hospital. When the youngest woke up in the hospital, he thrashed and cursed and it took five men to restrain this seven-year-old boy before he returned to normal.

Later in a hospital exam room, in the presence of a DCS representative, medical personnel, and the grandmother. Both boys manifested possession. Then one of them glided backwards across the floor, up the wall to the ceiling, and flipped over his grandmother’s head, all while holding her hand. The DCS rep and the nurse fled the room. They returned with a doctor but the manifestations had ceased.

DCS separated the children and mother after this event.

Catholic priest Rev. Michael Maginot received a call from a hospital chaplain the morning of April 20, 2012 and a request to investigate. When he was with Ammons at the home, lights inexplicably flickered, blinds swayed in a perfectly still room, and footprints appeared on the floor. Two weeks later, the DCS rep and three police officers inspected the house. While there, audio recorders malfunctioned, batteries drained instantly, and pictures they took contained ghostly images.

During a subsequent visit that included a DCS worker, multiple police officers, and Rev.Maginot, Ammons fell so ill she had to leave the house. Strange oily substances were found in the basement and on a set of blinds, both with no apparent source. When the officers cleaned the blinds, closed the door, and returned 25 minutes later, more oil had appeared from nowhere.

The assessment from Rev. Maginot was that Ammons was the conduit for the possessions by multiple demons. Eventually Rev. Maginot performed three exorcism rites over Ammons, the final one in Latin. The DCS rep attended one and said, "We felt like someone was in the room with you, someone breathing down your neck."

After the third rite, the possessions stopped. DCS finally reunited the family. Despite all the evidence and eyewitness accounts, the psychologists assessing the children claimed the manifestations were caused by the mother’s religious belief and the power of suggestion over her children.

This story isn’t some internet hoax. You can read the original reporting in the Indianapolis Star right here. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/01/25/the-disposession-of-latoya-ammons/4892553/

If you think this story is chilling, go research the one that inspired the novel The Exorcist . That will really make your hair stand on end.

Those are a few of many actual demonic possession accounts. If fictional possessions are more your thing, be sure to try Demon Dagger and The Wakening .

Russell James grew up on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watching late night horror. After flying helicopters with the U.S. Army and a career as a technical writer, he now spins twisted tales best read in daylight, including horror thrillers Dark Inspiration , Q Island, and The Playing Card Killer. He authored the Grant Coleman Adventures series starting with Cavern of the Damned and the Ranger Kathy West series starting with Claws . He resides in sunny Florida. His wife reads his work, rolls her eyes, and says "There is something seriously wrong with you."

Visit his website at http://www.russellrjames.com , follow on Twitter @RRJames14, or say hello at rrj@russellrjames.com .

October Frights Blog Hop Day 6

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 11:00:00 GMT

THE SCARIEST CARNIVAL IN THE WORLD

More than 12 years ago, I wrote a novel about a demonic carnival that only appears on Halloween.

CARNIVAL OF FEAR is still one of my most popular books, and it's been described as this generation's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

I started writing in 2002; for several years I only did short stories. I never wanted to (or believed I could) write a full book. And then one night it happened:

I had a dream.

It sounds corny, but it's the truth. I dreamed about this terrifying carnival run by demons, and a group of people were stuck inside the Haunted Mansion and transported to alternate worlds where the different exhibits came alive. Only by defeating them all can they return to the real world.

In that dream, I saw the entire book laid out before me. The monsters. The main characters. Who gets killed when and how. Even the dialog. I woke up at 5 in the morning and ran downstairs to grab a notebook and pen (back then I did first drafts long hand). It took me 10 days to write the entire first draft - before breakfast, on my lunch break, and in the evenings before dinner. Then another month to type it into the computer, which took extra time because I had to put all the different scenes in the proper order, fix the mistakes, etc.

When I finished, it was 125,000 words. And I had no idea what to do with it. I knew it wasn't good enough to publish, but I also had no proofreaders, beta readers, etc. I barely knew anyone in the industry.

Luckily, I was able find some of the best writers around to help me. I got a fantastic mentor through the HWA and then signed up for the Borderlands Bootcamp for Writers. When all was said and done, I had whittled it down to 96,000 words. I started submitting, and the third publisher I sent it to bought it. My luck held out even longer when an artist friend of mine offered to do the cover (which went on to win him some awards at competitions).

When I woke up from that dream, I had no idea that concept would begin an entirely new phase of my writing career. Since then, I've done a novella, a short story, and some poetry all based on the Carnival of Fear universe, and sitting in my computer is the outline for the sequel, which I'd love to finish someday. It also taught me I could write novels, and I now have 9 other books plus 11 novellas to my credit in the 12 years since CARNIVAL OF FEAR first hit the shelves.

With that in mind, and because what could be scarier than demons, werewolves, vampires, axe-wielding psychopaths, aliens, zombies, and witches all in one book, here's a peek into the Carnival of Fear! (And if you haven't gotten your copy yet, the link is at the bottom.)

CARNIVAL OF FEAR

Every Halloween, the Carnival of Fear mysteriously appears, never in the same location twice. What follows is twenty-four hours of violence, death, and horror. This year it has come to the small town of Whitebridge.

When JD Cole and his girlfriend, Amy Cherry, find themselves trapped in the Castle of Horrors, they must lead a group of friends and rivals through a maze of torturous attractions, where monsters from fiction come to life and must be defeated. Vampires, crazed killers, aliens, werewolves, demons, and even Frankenstein oppose the brave humans, and more than one life is lost in the ensuing struggles. Along the way, friendships form, unlikely heroes emerge, and old heroes fall. Not everyone survives, and no one comes out unchanged.

The final showdown takes place in Hell, where the ultimate battle between good and evil will determine the fate of JD and the other students, along with the entire town.

"CARNIVAL OF FEAR is aptly named--Faherty takes us on an outrageous journey into nightmare that's equal parts Bradbury and Barker. From the opening page, this one rips into high-gear and takes you on a funhouse ride you'll never forget." --Thomas F. Monteleone, Stoker Award-winning author of more than 36 novels and several anthologies

------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt:

=============================================================

Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!

As always, be sure to check out A.F. Stewart's October Frights blog page, https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-blog-hop-participants/ , for the links to all the different bloggers and the latest about the blog hop and all things horror. While there, be sure to visit the Book Showcase Page ( https://afstewart.ca/october-frights-book-fair/ ) where all the participants have made their terrifying books available for purchase (most are on sale, including my novel CARNIVAL OF FEAR, which is only 99cents for Kindle!). And don't forget about the free book giveaway page: https://storyoriginapp.com/to/oyHMogF .

October Frights Blog Hop Day 5

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 11:00:00 GMT

WHEN AUTUMN ARRIVES

Fall is here. I can smell it.

The air of each season has a certain feel, a certain smell, that defines it. For a long time, I thought this was just a subconscious thing. We know the date and thus the moment you get a cool day at the end of August, you start thinking about fall.

But a few years ago I decided it has to be more than that. There must be some internal mechanism, an interpretation of the data the senses are gathering, that lets a person know change is in the air. Just like you can sense when a storm is coming even if the sky is clear.

It happens all the time. You go outside on a beautiful summer day, maybe to check the garden or walk the dog. Fall, Halloween, the end of summer, none of that is on your mind. Yet the moment you step outside, a cool breeze greets you and you instantly think, "Autumn is here." There’s no reason to actually feel this way. The day is warm; that slight chill in the air is just a stray current, same as when you’re in a pool or the ocean and encounter a chilly area. Everything around you screams summer. Lush, green trees, flowers visited by buzzing insects, lawns being mowed.

But in that moment it feels like fall and if you close your eyes you can imagine it’s an unusually warm day in October rather than a summer afternoon.

Then you notice it. A different kind of smell in the air, a harsher rustling to the leaves, both so different than just a week or two ago. Logically, you know nothing has changed, at least on the surface. The leaves are still green, the grass hasn’t died, the temperature hasn’t dropped. And yet, nothing is the same.

As an ex-scientist, I know the possibility exists that things ARE different and my senses are picking that up. The angle of the sun, the direction of the wind, the concentration of ozone, a single wildflower species blooming in the woods, a shift in the wind patterns that brings in air from Canada. Miniscule changes that would never register individually on the conscious brain, but when compiled they trigger something deep inside, in that part of us that works at the instinctual level. The same way you can enter a lightless room and somehow know someone else is there even though you can't see, hear, or smell them.

When this happens for me, I experience a powerful melancholy. I love summer, and I hate to see it end. At the same time, I enjoy fall almost as much. On that first day (for me) of fall, I’ll pause and breathe deep, my eyes closed, the sun warming my face. I’ll embrace the change and my sadness will disappear, replaced by anticipation. Soon the days will be cooler and we'll have the windows open and the air conditioning off. Weekends will be filled with trips to the local farm markets to pick apples and pumpkins, eat cider donuts, and maybe get some late harvest grapes for a grape pie. There will be Halloween decorations to put up, and in a few weeks the cable stations will start showing classic horror films.

Now is the time to experience it yourself. Go outside. Close your eyes. Breathe in the changing of the seasons.

Give yourself to autumn.

=============================================================

Stay tuned for tomorrow's creepy entry and be sure to check out everyone else on the blog hop!