The Ghoulish Times | 12/18/22
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The Ghoulish Times | 12/18/22
Introducing a new pro-paying horror magazine
Hello and welcome to the latest issue of The Ghoulish Times. My name is Max Booth III and this is my spooky newsletter. I am the head ghoul of Ghoulish Books, the host of the GHOULISH podcast, the co-founder of the Ghoulish Book Festival, and the author of several books such as We Need to Do Something and Maggots Screaming! and Touch the Night.
In today’s newsletter I will tell you about a body horror rom-com, I will tell you about recent publishing acquisitions, I will tell you about a brand-new horror magazine currently open for submissions, I will tell you about some recent disappointing career news, and I will probably tell you about other things. It is hard to predict. Even the order of these updates are unknowable. I am writing this at 11:30 PM on Saturday night after having spent the entire day working a book vendor table in San Antonio, and Sunday morning (today?) we will be heading back to the same venue to continue begging strangers to give our books a chance.
I am very tired, but that’s okay, because I am always very tired, so nothing has changed.
My dogs are not happy with me right now. They want me to go to bed so they can snuggle against me. Instead they are pacing around the kitchen as I type this newsletter.
Here are some things that I will now type and you will then read:
TOUCH THE NIGHT news
A while back I posted about my novel Touch the Night getting re-optioned by a popular television streaming service. Unfortunately, I received word late last week that the company has decided not to move forward with the project.
The showrunner and writers and producers currently attached to the show remain passionate about getting it made, however, and we will take it back out to pitch elsewhere in the new year.
I won’t say what streaming company broke our hearts, obviously. I am not that kind of person.
Unrelated, I have recently cancelled my subscription to Peacock.
Signed copies of Touch the Night can be ordered through our WEBSTORE.
THE SCREAMING CHILD acquisition
Earlier this week we announced another book in our 2023 line-up: Scott Adlerberg’s The Screaming Child!
No joke—I have been begging Scott for years to write us a book. I am a massive fan of his work and I am thrilled that we’re finally working together on something. The Screaming Child is going to blow your minds. Just you wait. July can’t come fast enough.
LIKE REAL, a body horror rom-com
Over at LitReactor, we revealed Luke Spooner’s cover art for Like Real. Check it out!
“A hilarious bizarroid science fiction horror thriller, with great vivid characters, crackling first-rate dialogue, nonstop momentum and unguessable plot twists galore. Rarely does a book make me laugh out loud this often, while keeping me engaged in the delirious drama unfolding.”
—John Skipp, Wonderland Award winning author of Don’t Push the Button
In Shelly Lyons’s debut novel, Like Real, Vic Moss—kenjutsu hobbyist and clueless Lothario—lets vanity dictate his decision to acquire an experimental new-tech prosthesis that promises to evolve into a seamless, realistic looking hand. Instead, it tears from his body, transforms into his clone, and pursues a relationship with the same woman Vic has in his crosshairs—forcing Vic to kill or be replaced.
This mind-bending body horror rom-com is a rollicking Cronenbergian gene splice of Idle Hands and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It’s freaky. It’s fun. It’s LIKE REAL.
“Cyborgs, self-improvement, and the horrors of the LA dating scene collide in Like Real. A side-splitting, ass-kicking, and oddly tear-jerking good time.”
—Brian Asman, author of Man, Fuck This House
Note: This title will also be included in the 2023 Ghoulish membership book bundle via Kickstarter in January. Stay tuned.
Announcing GHOULISH TALES, a new horror magazine currently open for submissions
As many of you already know, a few months ago we decided to discontinue the long-running Dark Moon Digest after publishing its final, 48th issue. It was a good run and we are immensely proud of the work we accomplished with the digest. But now it is time to move forward. Which brings us to Ghoulish Tales, our latest experiment with short horror fiction.
Behold, Betty Rocksteady's cover art for issue 1!
The art is finished, but the inside of the issue remains to be determined. That's where you come in!
What we are after: short stories that fit our personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is "fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky."
Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it's not all we're looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre. We want to have a perverted little smile across our face while reading. Make us slobber like idiots. Turn us into the Sickos.jpeg meme.
We are also interested in non-fiction about the horror genre.
Payment for both short stories and essays will be 7c per word. However, payment may increase to 10c per word if we hit a certain stretch goal on a Kickstarter we plan to launch on January 5th.
Click HERE to view the full guidelines and find out how to submit.
THE GHOULISH SHOW - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
THE GHOULISH SHOW is a live variety comedy show celebrating everything spooky, hosted by Max Booth III (that’s me) and featuring numerous guest performers. This month's special GHOULISH CHRISTMAS SPECIAL installment will include...
Ryan C. Bradley
Michael Louis Dixon
Lucas Mangum
Andrew Hilbert
John Baltisberger
Robert Saucedo
Come on down and enjoy the spooky fun!
Location: Radio Coffee & Beer | Austin, TX
When: Tuesday, December 27th
Time: 8pm CST (showtime) | 6pm CST (book market)
Check out the Facebook event page HERE.
Well, I started working on this newsletter an hour ago, and in that time my dogs have only gotten further aggravated with me for not going to sleep. So I guess it’s time to wrap things up.
Okay, that’s it for this week. You can support us on Patreon, browse the books in our webstore, and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter (PMMP | Ghoulish Tales | Ghoulish podcast | Ghoulish Books | personal).
Or just click on our LINKTREE for all relevant links.
Reserve your ticket for Ghoulish Book Fest 2023.
You can also join us on the Ghoulish Discord.
See you next time, ghouls