Simon Strantzas

Other Sides | Lethe Press In Other Sides, Simon Strantzas invites you to explore the eerie fringes of reality, where the familiar twists into the unexplainable. A hungry house that demands a price from its occupants. A boy who...

I’m Simon Strantzas. I write horror but also sort of don’t. It's complicated. I wrote the collection Burnt Black Suns and edited the anthology Aickman’s Heirs. Last year I published a new collection called OTHER SIDES that I really think you might like.

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I don't, unfortunately.

The last time I spoke to Terry was probably around 2014, and at that point he was living in Amsterdam. I choose to believe he is still there, sitting on patios and drinking beers. I don't expect he thinks much about writing any longer.

I’d just like to say it was an immense honor to be part of this omnibus.

If you can afford a copy, you should buy a copy.

www.centipedepress.com/horror/thing...

Caught this play a few days ago in Toronto. Not sure how much it reminded me of either Poe or Jackson, but it was a fun experience.

www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events...

I’ve received a lot of pushback on this thread.

Why does it happen? Because it happens.

Roll the bones.

Do you like them better in the high school halls, or in the shopping malls?

People gonna people, I suppose.

My dudes and dudettes and all those between: it wasn’t my intention to harsh your mellows today. I wish you all long and successful short story writing careers from the bottom of my blacked heart.

I honestly believe if this thread discourages someone from writing, they were never going to make it anyway.

My musing on collection oversaturation is more nuanced than Bsky makes room for. (I mean, I’m 7 in, so obv it’s not stopping me.)

Other Sides | Lethe Press In Other Sides, Simon Strantzas invites you to explore the eerie fringes of reality, where the familiar twists into the unexplainable. A hungry house that demands a price from its occupants. A boy who...

"Strantzas is one of the masters of modern weird fiction, able to mine the common materials of everyday life for unmistakable signs of dread." — Steve Rasnic Tem

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This is probably why there’s motivation for so many short story writers to write a novel. Even if it’s just to experiment with something different after so long, it gives them a chance to toe the waters of a different, more tempting and lucrative pond. (9/9)

I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to only publish 2 or 3 short story collections at most over a career. Once you get past 5, who really wants to keep reading them? Isn’t around fifty short stories enough to get the gist of what a writer’s all about? With 2 or 3, you leave them wanting more. (8/9)

There’s a heavy mental load buying a book of ten short stories, much heavier than buying a novel where there’s only one story. And the more books of stories you write, the more daunting that mental load becomes. (7/9)

Why would anyone buy ANOTHER book you wrote when they already bought the last two? (6/9)

And, if that doesn’t kill your short story writing dream, what follows is a slow decline into the firmament of the genre. People take your presence for granted. Reviews of your work dry up, readers mention you less often. (5/9)

What no one tells you is being a fresh new kid on the block has a short lifespan. People want the high of discovering a new thing, so as soon as you’re the thing, you’re out the door in favor of the next fresh new thing. Readers… they don’t care who they hurt. (4/8)

If you fight through all that—if you get through the constant rejection and overcome life’s obstacles and continue writing—you may be one of the lucky ones who develops a bit of a buzz. You may even become a bit of a thing. Congratulations! You’re a fresh new kid on the block! (3/8)

You work a lot for next to no money. It burns out almost everyone. I’d wager over 90% of the writers I was published alongside when I started stopped writing short stories years ago. Life probably got in the way. (2/8)

Here’s the thing about being a short story writer: there are a lot of you. A lot who started writing before you, and a lot who will start after. And depending on when you begin to send your work out, there may be a plethora of places to publish, or a paucity. (1/8)

Shameless.

Wanted: Short Story Writer. Must love: long hours for little pay; minimal book sales; multitudinous rejections; working in anonymity. Perks: doing what you want because no one is reading anyway. Misplaced self-importance an asset but not required. Apply within.

Kurt Fawver?

Atticus standing around while Trent sings is giving real Pet Shop Boys vibes.

Among the Lilies — Undertow Publications PAPERBACK Cover art: Yves Tourigny The long-awaited new collection of short stories from Daniel Mills, whose literary antecedents include Poe, Hawthorne, Vernon Lee, and John Darnielle. A visionary ...

Daniel Mills has long been one of my favourite writers. Missing this book would be a great mistake. (One you may regret every day for the rest of your life.)

undertowpublications.com/shop/among-t...

Let's see how she feels after THE EXORCIST III.

I hope it’s not lost on you just how angry this makes me.

We should judge our success not by our few times of triumph, but by our perseverance during multiple times of failure.

Phantasmagoria Magazine Issue 27 Phantasmagoria Magazine Issue 27 [Kennedy, Trevor] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Phantasmagoria Magazine Issue 27

PHANTASMAGORIA, issue 27, is now on the newsstands and includes a reprint of my story, "Thea Was First", and a brand-new interview with me.

I feel I'm getting better at these interviews as I slouch toward decrepitude, but I'll let you be the judge.

www.amazon.com/Phantasmagor...