Normally this is the season of Oddtober, my month of uncanny micro-fiction writing, but this year I ran into a Season of Gloom. I’d been forging ahead, but by late summer I was worn down, so I decided to end all newslettering, writing agendas, and onerous tasks until the foreseeable future. I don’t want to call it a Mental Health Break or make it a Thing, since I live an amazingly charmed life, but I felt like I should send a quick note updating you: A Slough of Mild Despair has challenged me of late and I am taking a break from the Enormous Room.
Don’t Panic, I come bearing GIFTS.
Also, I read this amazing poem that I just had to share:
October you fat month of gloom and poetry
It's no longer your melodious graveyard air
Your night-yanked cypresses
Your lovely dead moon
It is October of me! My Power!
Alive with a joy a sparkle a laugh
That drops my woe and all woe to the floor
Like a shot spy
Gregory Corso (1960)
In my downtime, I’ve been reading a lot. I’ve read some excellent to weird sci-fi (Tom Strong, Sphere, The Stars Are Legion) along with a quick reread (with pen in hand) of my own Unique Miranda Trilogy. I’ve been meaning to give it a good editing scrub, but I also needed to rediscover my drive to write. It might come across a bit arrogant, but: there’s a reason they say to write the sort of books you’d want to read.
I wanted to read this story. In fact, I needed this story so bad that I had to write it.
In fact, I think you need to read it. To that end, I’ve decided to run a giveaway on Amazon. I’d love for you to spread the word.
The Unique Miranda Trilogy is Free
From Today, October 20th to the 24th! Go get it!
If you’d like to buy the paperback of all three, you may do so by clicking here.
Kill Ship is a related short story that isn’t included in the Omnibus, but it can be found here. Someone rated it four stars because it was good, but he wanted it to be longer and only gives four stars to short stories. It is F R E E as well.
As always, my book of uncanny micro-fiction, Oddly Concerning, is always free.
I’m not ready to commit to writing the Enormous Room quite yet, but I’m getting there. Soon, I’ll be back with book reviews, rankings, movie suggestions, free stories and my shameless self-promotion.
Thanks for subscribing. Thanks for your support. Take care of yourselves.
-H. W. Taylor