Vampires and Robots

Today is Friday the 13th, a day considered unlucky by otherwise rational folks. For some, it's an excuse to stay home, avoid ladders, mirrors, and black cats. For others it's an excuse to watch cheezy horror flicks and wear hockey masks. For twenty-something me, it was an excuse to wear black lipstick, smoke clove cigarettes, and sneer about mainstream music being the devil and death is just so cool, you guys!  Ahem... Since we only get one Friday the 13th this year, I decided to honor it by posting a handful of neat little secret jokes and asides I threw into my books. Nothing below should spoil the stories they came from, but they may add insight or a giggle for those of you who might have read them. 13: None of the witches in the Discordant series had names until Bogie shouted "Geez Louise!" As soon as I typed the demon's frustration, I knew my blonde witch with the big hair had to be named Louise. I wasn't kidding when I said these stories wri...

Thanks to social media and the growing globalization of every aspect of our lives, it seems that every day, week, and month is designed to honor everything from waffles to presidents. May is no different. May the fourth holds a special place for fans of Star Wars and puns, likewise the eighth of May gets a gritty giggle from fans of Motörhead and puns. But the entire month of May is dedicated to short stories and I can’t think of a medium more deserving of its own month of celebration. According to the website for the organization that started Short Story Month , we are at the dawn of a new golden era for short storytelling and I agree. As such, I sat down with Dwayne Fry to get inside the mind of a short story master. Dwayne is an indie author with more than thirty short works and collections published in a wide variety of genres ranging from lighthearted comedy to serious literary fiction that tackles tough issues. He is also fellow Vonnegut fan and a super fantastic guy, so rea...