Realm of the Reaper: Dark Fiction Inspired By A Darker Reality

A lot of times, authors get asked why they write, or what inspires them to write. It's a fairly cliche question, and I know many authors are often frustrated by it, because it can be a difficult question to answer. Answers are usually similar, and often can be vague: I just have to. I can't not write. I enjoy it. It's fun. It's my outlet. It's how I express myself. It's how I survive. For me, it's all of these things and none of these things. At different times, it's a different combination of a handful. There are times I do have to write; other times, it's just as easy not to. Sometimes, writing is fun. But more often than not, it's an extremely hard and emotionally taxing thing, and it definitely is not fun. One thing I can say for certain is that writing is how I survive. I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety, and for anyone who hasn't experienced those conditions, they can be almost impossible to accurately explain or descri...

Today was hard. It started with waking up. For several weeks now, my fibromyalgia has been acting up, keeping my pain levels higher than I'm used to--my guess is the ever-changing and abnormal weather is the culprit--and leaving me constantly fatigued. No matter how much I sleep, it's never enough; I'm always exhausted, and waking up is, quite frankly, a bitch. Getting out of bed is worse. The wrong places crack, and the right places don't. My muscles, tight from sleep, scream as I force them to move. And the little voice inside my head is an ever-present devil on my shoulder, taunting me with all the things I need to get done today, and I already know I won't. Which he follows up with, "Then why bother at all?" The urge to curl back up under the covers is nearly undeniable; it's so much easier to lay there and not move, to sleep and not think. The morning goes by fairly smoothly. I didn't get up until after ten, after all, and by then my hus...

It's April 1st, which not only means it's April Fools' Day--it means "Collected Easter Horror Shorts" officially hit the Amazon shelves. With stories by notable authors such as Jeff Strand, Jeff Menapace, Christopher Motz, Andrew Lennon, and Mark Fleming, this collection is guaranteed to please. It also includes several authors who are newer to the scene, but no less talented, including a strong showing by Stitched Smile Publications. SSP authors Lisa Vasquez, James Matthew Byers, Veronica Smith, and yours truly all have stories in this fantastic anthology that is already hitting the Amazon charts. If you're looking for something new to read, you should definitely give this collection a look. It won't disappoint. It can be found in the U.S. here  and in the UK here . I'll be posting a review very soon. If you buy a copy and enjoy it, I hope you'll do the same!

I write about depression a lot--and will continue to do so--because it's something that needs to be talked about. But I don't want to give people the impression that just because I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety, I don't have my fair share of sunshine and rainbows. I have good days, and today was one of them. Nothing all that specific about what made it good--I mean, we did find a stray dog and managed to find his owners and get him home--it was just an easy, low-stress, good day. The kids didn't drive me absolutely nuts. I folded some laundry. I wrote nearly 4,000 words on my newest short story. I've spent the last couple of hours working on the computer and listening to Josh Groban through my headphones while my husband navigates the new Xbox One. Once I finish this post, I'm going to read a bit--I'm currently in the middle of "The Way of Shadows" by Brent Weeks--and then **hopefully** get a good night's sleep. And tomorrow i...

"Can't you just stop being sad?" "Why don't you get over it already?" "Go out, get some sun, you'll feel better." "We all get sad sometimes. It passes." We've all heard these platitudes before; some of us might even say them at times. And they're usually said to someone claiming to suffer from depression. Why do I say claim? Because the unfortunate reality is that the majority of those who've never dealt with clinical depression don't understand clinical depression. They have a skewed perception of what depression actually is, and they don't recognize it as a chronic issue that never actually goes away. Their fault? Not necessarily. Media and lack of government support do their fair share of damage. But the result is the same. People think being depressed means being sad, and yes, we all get sad sometimes. But that's not what having depression means. Having depression goes so far beyond feeling sad. In ...