A Monstrous End to the Year
Godzilla and more
Fellow macabrists and mobsters,
First, thank you for coming along on this journey with me. My family is in the midst of a major cross country move and I haven’t been able to get this out to you as often as I’d like, and I appreciate you hanging in there with me. Once we get settled in our new Rocky Mountain home in January, I plan on having at least bi-weekly recommendations for you, along with updates on whatever I am working on. Let me know if there is anything else you’d like to see!
So let’s get to it:
This is hands down one of the best movies of the year. Across any genre. Seriously, look at those Rotten Tomato scores in the link above.
The human story at the heart of this film is searing, heartbreaking, and full of depth. We experience the end of World War II through the eyes of a Japanese pilot, who heads back home broken by his experiences, and struggles to re-build his life just as the country around him lurches forward with recovery in the aftermath of the war. This is one of the most perfect depictions of post-combat trauma and PTSD I have ever witnessed on the screen, and with the addition of Godzilla on top of it, we have a metaphor for all of the massive devastation wrought upon humanity by war.
The movie hits hard at all levels, from the societal, as Japan struggles to build itself up anew amid the burgeoning strains of the emerging Cold War, to the interpersonal and civil strife that accompany the aftermath of the war, down to the deepest personal depths of a man wrestling with his own regrets, fears, and actions.
See it while it stays in theaters if you can. This beast of a movie deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can find.
A few months ago I was asked to join this podcast to talk about my story “Reap What You Sow,” which was included in the experimental horror series Soul Scream Antholozine Volume 4: Science Runs Amok. I and the other authors present jumped into a lively discussion about sci-fi horror, the roots of our stories, and the conversation goes to some very important places. If you have an hour or so, I encourage you all to give it a listen, and pick up a copy of this excellent anthology magazine!
Shallow Waters 3rd Place Finish
The same week as the release of that podcast episode, my flash fiction story “Hammered Halloween” won third place in the monthly Shallow Waters contest put on by Crystal Laker Publishing! Thank you to everyone who read and voted. These stories are only available on their Patreon (which is a steal at $5 a month), and this place winner will now be included in the physical release of a new collection next year to be titles Hotel Macabre Vol 1.
Creepy Pod acceptance
November was a big month for me, as I also received my second acceptance on the year from the fantastic story podcast Creepy Pod. This is for my short story “The Demon in the Closet” about drugs, sex, and gun violence, and if it is anywhere near as good as their production of “He Paces,” it is going to be brilliant. Coming soon early next year.
Shallow Waters Again!
And at last, today saw the release of my story “The Backwards Man” as part of this month’s CLP Shallow Waters contest. Again, it is only available at this time to their Patreon supporters, and if you enjoy my work, I believe you’d love the work of everyone involved in the Shallow Waters contests. Give it a try. I think there is even a free 7 day trial where you can explore everything they have on offer for a week. Voting on the month’s best stories will begin in about 7 days.
Thank you all again for being here with me. We all have a bit of darkness in us. And that darkness helps us see the light all that much better. It is like Thomas Hardy wrote: "If a way to the better there be, it exacts a full look at the worst."
Thanks for looking with me.
JG