Doomsday Giveaway

First off, this post has nothing to do with the no doubt godawful John Cusack film coming out this week. No, this is about the latest issue of Space and Time magazine, number 109, which features my story "End of Our World as We Know It."

This is a special story for me, namely because it's written in the second person. I love second person narratives ... at least when they're done right. One of my favorite novels is written in the second person (A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan). For some reason second person is frowned upon in many circles, and I've never understood why. It's just as good and effective as the first and third person, sometimes even more so. I think the main problem is people are told -- or maybe assume -- that when you are reading something in second person, it's supposed to be you doing whatever is written there.

This I cannot disagree with more.

Sure, some second person narratives are set up like that, but many others -- the very best -- are just another way of telling a story about a character.

Such as:

John woke up that morning with the worst hangover he'd had since he graduated college. He sat up, yawned, looked around. Froze. He didn't recognize this room.

Or how about:

I woke up that morning with the worst hangover I'd had since I graduated college. I sat up, yawned, looked around. Froze. I didn't recognize this room. Or the woman lying next to me.

Or finally:

You wake up that morning with the worst hangover you've had since you graduated college. You sit up, yawn, look around. Freeze. You don't recognize this room. Or the woman lying next to you. Or the blood dried around her neck.

(Note that when writing in the second person, it almost seems mandatory to do it in the present tense. Can it be written in the past? Sure. But I think keeping it in the present tense maintains a nice smooth flow that makes the story more effective in the end.)

Of course, a story can be written in any point of view. Yet an author usually knows which POV is best ... and if it's wrong, they can usually tell after they've started writing (it just doesn't feel right) and play around accordingly. I know there have been times when I'll start a story in, say, third person, then realize it would be best in first person, or vice versa.

"End of Our World as We Know It"? I first wrote it in third person. Liked it but didn't love it. Changed the POV to first person. Felt the same way. Changed it then to second person, and bang, like that, it felt right.

Of course, not everyone would agree. Here's what one editor at a pro magazine had to say in his rejection:

This piece started out so good. So interesting! And then along came the second person perspective.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

I like the story. I really do. But I despise--I mean really DESPISED--the use of second person perspective in this piece.

See, second person isn't for everyone. Again, I think it's just gets a bad rap, mostly because it's so obscure that when readers actually do see it, they don't know what to think.

So my thanks to Gerard Houarner and Hildy Silverman for liking this story enough to take a chance on it.

Okay, enough of that. On to the mini-contest ...

To view the complete table of contents of this issue, click here. To purchase a copy (or better yet, a subscription), click here. Or did you want the chance to win a free signed copy? Sure you did. All you need to do is name your favorite doomsday film or book in the comments section of this post (if you're viewing this on Facebook, please leave your comments on the main site). That's it. The deadline is Friday, midnight here on the east coast, when a winner will be randomly selected.

But wait -- there's more!

Because I'm so pleased to have published this story, for every five people who participate I'll throw it another copy of the magazine.

Have fun.

Saturday Shuffle

Thank you to everyone who participated in the "Name That Monster" mini-contest. There were a lot of great suggestions, but unfortunately there can be only one winner, and this time our random winner is ...

Ben White

Ben's suggestion was to name the monster Raev, the Hebrew word for "hungry." Hey, works for me. Ben, e-mail me your address at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com and I'll ship off a copy of Fifty-Two Stitches posthaste.

Again, thanks to everyone who participated. And remember -- if you didn't win, don't blame me. Blame statistics.

Also, I'd mentioned weeks back that my pal Joe Schreiber had two new books coming out, one an original horror novel, the other a Star Wars horror novel. Well, they both came out this week and you -- yes, you -- really need to do yourself a favor and pick them up.

What's that, you say? You only have money to buy one of Joe's books this weekend? Fair enough. Then I suggest you pick up Death Troopers, the Star Wars novel, if only to help catapult Joe to the bestseller list. Next weekend you can pick up No Doors, No Windows. Oh, and do make sure to check out Joe's blog for updates regarding his tour, including pictures of him being guarded by none other than Darth Vader.

My One Lonely Stitch ...

... is now live at Fifty-Two Stitches, which publishes one horror flash fiction piece a week. My story "Dead Weight" can be found here. It can also be found in the annual anthology edited by Aaron Polson, along with fifty-one other stitches. Wanna win a free signed copy? Sure you do. First go read the story and then come back and see below.

Okay, so that creature in the cabin? It doesn't have a name, and it really wants a name. So to appease its vicious hunger, in the comments section leave the name you think it would like best. I'll keep this mini-contest open until Friday, October 16 at midnight here on the east coast, when I'll pick a random winner.

An Inhuman Little Contest

The name Allen Koszowski is synonymous in the horror community with quality artwork. He's done over 2,000 illustrations for countless magazines and anthologies. Most of his artwork has a pulp sensibility, so it would make sense that he would eventually start his own magazine -- a monster magazine -- where he would not just be the editor, but also the artist for every work included. In 2004, the premiere issue of Allen K's Inhuman Magazine appeared. Over the next two years, two more issues became available. I wrote a pulpy science fiction horror story for Allen, which he kindly accepted (and paid on acceptance, too!).

And like many other writers whose work had been accepted for the magazine, I waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Then I found out Allen was having health problems, and it looked as if the magazine would cease to exist. A shame, sure, but completely understandable considering the circumstances. It's just one of those things that happen -- publications come and go, and we writers must move with the flow. (No, I was not trying to sound like Dr. Seuss there.)

But then, just a week ago, I learned that Allen's health has gotten much better, and that he's resurrected the magazine -- which, happily, includes my story "Castle Hybrid."

So many years have passed that the story has gone through a number of revisions. I tried selling it elsewhere, but there aren't that many markets looking for pulpy science fiction horror. So what the text is going to look like, I'm not sure -- I have yet to get my paws on a copy -- but Allen did e-mail me to let me know that, to try to fit in as many stories as possible, not all stories are accompanied by illustrations.

Mine, apparently, is one of those stories.

Am I disappointed? Yeah, a little, because it would have been great to see what Allen came up with, but that's okay. I'm just happy the story has finally seen print.

So what's the contest hinted at in the title of this post? Well, years ago -- back before that first issue of Inhuman even came out -- I had a novelette accepted for a monster anthology edited by J.F. Gonzalez and Garrett Peck called Tooth and Claw. The response had been so large that the editors decided to split the anthology into two volumes. My novelette was prepped to close out the second volume, which, as an extremely young and new writer, was a thrill. Each story in the anthology was illustrated by Allen. Volume 1 came out, but before volume 2 could be released (like right before, because I remember signing 300 signature sheets), the publisher folded.

Again: writers must move with the flow.

I never did anything with the novelette, because as years went by I kept revising it a little bit here, a little bit there, that I never became satisfied, but I did manage to get a hold of the original artwork Allen did for my story.

And that's where this mini-contest comes into play.

If you'd like to purchase the latest issue of Inhuman or just check out the table of contents (or check out Allen's work in general), you can do so here. If you'd like a chance to win a free copy signed by me, here's how:

The title of my novelette was "Through the Guts of a Beggar." The original artwork -- which, again, never saw the light of day -- appears below. As you can see, it's quite pulpy. And keeping in the tradition of old pulp magazines which featured illustrations and had captions accompanied with those illustrations, I'm asking you to write a quick caption. Obviously you don't know anything about the story or characters, but based on the novelette's title and the illustration itself, I'm sure you can come up with something imaginative. Keep it short, too, like around 25 words. And to celebrate the resurrection of the magazine, the more people that participate, the more copies I'll give away. So for every 5 people leaving a caption in the comments section of this post, I'll throw an extra copy in the mix. This mini-contest runs until Friday at midnight here on the east coast. Then I'll use one of those fancy random-name-picker-thingys online and announce the winner(s) some time Saturday. (Note: if you're reading this on Facebook and would like to participate, please do so at my website.)

Sound like some good ole fun? No? Too bad. Play anyway.

Now feast your eyes, people, and let the captioning begin:

Because I Feel Like It

I don't know why it just hit me tonight, but I like self-promotion. Granted, I'm not one to lurk message boards and beg people to read my stuff or buy my books, but I like interacting with people on this blog and on Twitter and on Facebook. Obviously I want to keep all you friendly people coming back, plus I want to gain new readers. And what's the best way to do that?

Have random giveaways, of course!

My plan from here on out is, every time I have something published that isn't online (like a story in a magazine or anthology), I'll have a mini-contest here on the blog. What the contest will entail, I don't know (it will hopefully be different every time), but the winner will get said magazine or anthology or whatever.

Sound good?

You bet your sweet hiney it does.

And because I'm such a generous guy, our first giveaway is an old issue of Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, issue 33, published in 2004, which contains my story "Persistence" ... as well as in my bio a mention of a short film that was to be based on a short story of mine that never made it into existence (that's what you get for announcing news prematurely, kids).

To own your own copy of this fabulous issue of FMAM, signed by me, all you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section of this post by Friday midnight eastern time, and because my story is called "Persistence," in the comments say something you're persistent about. A random name will be picked and announced Saturday, when I'll post another anthology update.

May this be the start of something new and fun ...