Tag: short story

Halloween Hangover?

I don’t know about you, but Spooky Season is one of my favorite seasons. After that, it just gets cold and…merry…(shudders).

So, I’ve got a bit of a Halloween Hangover (and not just because my Vella just released part three of three in its Halloween party episodes!).

The HAUNTED: Deluxe Illustrated Collector’s Edition has been well received, so thank you to anyone who picked up a copy to keep the spooky times rolling.

I’m currently working on a collection of short stories centered around death and extinction (sounds fun, right?), which will likely also make its debut on Vella.

Now it’s November, and I need your help. If you’re not aware, Vella has these things it calls “faves” — basically a vote for your favorite story you read that week.

I kind of love that my Vella about a teen pretending to be a vampire…is the #2 fave in vampires.

They reset at the start of the month, and there’s a lot of shifting and vying for positions in these early days.

So…I need your help. 5 minutes of your time.

A new month means it’s time to crown the new kings and queens of Vella! This is the NUMBER ONE way for new people to learn about the story. I hate to ask, but it makes a huge difference.


If you’re in the US, go to my SOCIAL VAMPIRE page (https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0BDGM1J8J) and unlock any episode (past 1-3). Then you get to vote for your “fave” — this should pop up automatically after you like the episode at the bottom, but if not, you can click the icon noted in the image below:


If you’re not in the US, I’m sorry they STILL haven’t made it available for you to read. Fear not, it will be available in print & ebook (and I’m looking into audiobook) in 2023.

Now I’m going to go crawl under a rock and try to recover from how awkward it felt asking this of my fans.

Does anyone have any bonus spooky stories they can give me? I’m enjoying Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix. What about you?

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The Living and the Dead

I was asked by my friend and fellow author, Todd Travis, to write the foreword to his new anthology of short horror/thriller stories. I’m honored to have done so and I think I even managed to say something halfway poignant, so it’s my pleasure to share that foreword with you now:

TLATD FOREWORD
by James Schannep

The short horror story is one of the oldest human traditions. Indeed, one could theorize that we evolved into creatures with language just to be able to tell such tales. Prehistoric man’s first thriller—for which he was rewarded with a warm fire, roast strips of mammoth venison, and ample grunts of approval—was called “The Terror at Black Rock” and told of a brave warrior’s near-death experience with a saber-toothed tiger. You see, these stories and their monsters were real, and by hearing them we could learn to avoid Black Rock, especially alone and after dark. The short horror story kept us alive.

These tales are still important in the modern world; whether it’s still being told around a campfire for the benefit of your fellow hikers or if you’re reading this book in bed, ready to plunge down an emotional rollercoaster before safely drifting off to sleep in the comfort of your own home. But what about the monsters—are they still real?

I’m not telling you that Bigfoot is out there (constantly looking over his shoulder and walking with extra long arm-swings, such as the Alaskan scientists in the story In Season hope to find) but certainly the potential exists. The threat of the unknown is real. There are, without a doubt, things in this world we don’t fully understand that are dangerous, and out to get us.

Recent events have proven that monsters are real. I don’t understand the kind of person who would bomb a marathon any more than I do the kind who would shoot up a school or a movie theater, but I do understand exactly what motivates zombies and werewolves. Ultimately, that’s why we love a good horror story, because all the terrible things that we live with, all the hidden facets of society, become tangible and comprehensible. Whether it’s a simple ghost story or something more complexly metaphysical like in The Living and the Dead, we get to break down and analyze the dangers of evil through the reading of stories. We experience something new and terrifying without needing to go down to Black Rock ourselves.

The true genius in Mr. Travis’s collected shorts is that he manages to do both: delight us with thrilling tales of monsters while showing us that true terror lives in the people and world around us. So sit up, don’t relax, and prepare to be terrified, because if you pay attention—these short horror stories might keep you alive. Just make sure you blame Todd Travis (and not me) if you can’t look at the people around you the same way when you’re done.

Happy reading and sweet dreams.

16 April 2013
Orcutt, California

TLaTLCheck out The Living and the Dead, available now!

For fans of STEPHEN KING and DEAN KOONTZ … author TODD TRAVIS (Creatures of Appetite) has gathered a haunting collection of suspense stories exploring the monsters, both living and dead, roaming our world.

– A brilliant biophysicist on the verge of proving there is no life after death discovers, to his horror, that the dead are determined to stop him …

– An abused small town boy finds a special friend in the woods next to his trailer, but his friend isn’t like other children and cannot leave the woods, not ever …

– A group of determined graduate students seek Bigfoot on a remote Alaskan range seek but discover a monster far more deadly than they ever imagined …

– An elderly store manager, disturbed by a stranger eying the armored truck deliveries to his store, decides to take matters into his own hands …

– A beautiful young woman walks the streets of Manhattan at night seeking men, but for her own dark purposes, because for her, night is for hunting …

– A mysterious little girl somehow “invites” herself along on an abduction, leading her captors to wonder who really is in charge …

Five stories of suspense and terror and a short novel exploring the darkness everyone eventually faces when it’s their time to die, THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is a collection one may want to read with all the lights in the house on …

by Categories: On WritingTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Happy Published Author Day!

The first of my published works is now available to buy on amazon.com. Hooray!

Check out the awesome cover design by Allie Harold:

Corporate Zombie cover
Corporate Zombie at amazon

Yes, this is a piece of zombie fiction. No, it is not related to my impending book. “Corporate Zombie” takes place in a different world, with slightly different rules. Here, zombies may not learn, but they certainly never forget. And yes–that means zombie ninjas are possible.

It’s $1 to buy, or FREE if you’re a Prime member (don’t worry, Amazon still pays me even if you get it for free), so why not check it out?

by Categories: FictionTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

The Power of Editing

This post serves as the official announcement that I’ll be self-publishing an ebook later this year (hopefully this summer).  It’s the new Wild West in publishing, and anything is possible in this exciting time.  I’m proud to be part of  this neo-Gutenbergian movement bringing far greater reach for the written word and empowerment to writers.

I’m still finishing my manuscript, but I’m getting close to completion, so I’ve begun researching ebook self-publishing already.  As such, expect updates chronicling what I learn along the way.

For this entry, I want to highlight editing.  A professional editor is perhaps the single most valuable resource a publishing house deal could provide.  But the indie writer is not without hope thanks to the internet.  Many excellent editors freelance, and I’m searching for one to work with now (so feel free to contact me with any leads!).

All the short stories on this site are, hitherto, unedited by a professional; peer-review only.  As a part of my learning process, I’ll be taking these stories down in the next upcoming weeks, sending them to editors, and then publishing them as ebooks.

I was perusing David Gaughran’s excellent website on the subject and came across a link to a Raymond Carver story, showing the markups by his editor.  It’s originally from the New Yorker, and can be found here: Primary Sources: : The New Yorker.

It’s worth checking out!

by Categories: On WritingTags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment