Daniel Charles Wild's Blog

Driving to a caricaturing event in Dwight, IL, yesterday, I called my friend and mentor, the Bram Stoker award-winning author Mark McLaughlin, to catch up. When I’m taking long drives is typically when I call my family and friends. It helps pass the time because these drives, while beautiful, can get a little long and lonely.

It was an unfamiliar route, a single-lane road that wound through small, slightly creepy empty towns, vast rolling cornfields, and beneath the occasional shadows of wind turbines. While I drove, Mark and I talked about writing, publishing, and my newest book, Stories For Imaginary Friends: 50 Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Stories, And Essays. I sent him the first draft of the author proofs, and he’d made helpful suggestions. When I called to thank him for his help, he half-jokingly said that writing two books separates a writer from an author. “It shows the first book wasn’t a fluke!” He said, “This is something you’re going to be doing a lot more of!”

Today, I’m thinking about what he said. It feels true! I (probably) became an “author” when I published my dark fantasy novella, Little People: A Fantasy Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters. Before that, I just had tons of stories floating around the internet, most of which I’ve collected in Stories For Imaginary Friends. I’ve also published a little ebook, Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn't Read, containing the ten most popular Internet stories. On my hard drive and in my phone's Notes app, I’ve got manuscripts I can spend years turning into something more. But, at this point, I have two printed books available. They are two solid chunks of words, thoughts, and dreams that I’ve written, published, and that now occupy physical space in people’s hands, on bookshelves and coffee tables.

It feels like the beginning of a journey. It’s an unfamiliar and winding road. One sprinkled with strange towns, vast horizons, and towering shapes and shadows. But I am enjoying the drive because I get to talk to you, my readers, along the way.

Stories For Imaginary Friends: 50 Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi Stories, And Essays

Hey friends, I’m excited (and nervous) to announce that I have a new short story collection available. It’s called Stories For Imaginary Friends. It’s a collection of 50 fantasy, horror, and sci-fi stories and essays written over the last five years. I originally posted most of these online, where readers and narrators shared them far and wide. Currently, there are 60 fan-made multimedia productions of the most popular on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Apple Podcasts, with more in the works.

I’ve collected the stories, improved them, added new material, organized them by genre, and had the collection professionally edited. I created the cover art too! I’m pretty proud of it. The audience members you see are all characters from the stories—including me on the stage and my cartoon mascot giving me a thumbs-up.

This collection is book-ended by two essays about my experiences as a fledgling author. The forward is about the best movie in the world, and why it resonates so deeply with my creative journey. The afterword is about a personal loss and the two discoveries that helped me rediscover the joy of writing after a 10-year hiatus.

In addition to the stories and essays, I’ve really put my heart into this book. It’s squished between the pages. If you read it, I think you’ll be able to tell. My cartoon mascot thinks so too. If you enjoy the book, please let both of us know by leaving a review on Amazon. While you’re there, check out my other books too! If you’d like to join my mailing list to get updates on future projects, drop me a line at dan@danwild.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Typically priced at 2.99, it’s currently on sale for 99 cents.

Little People: A Fantasy Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters is a 20,000 word YA fantasy adventure story that will appeal to readers of all ages. It deals with some pretty large (and small) themes, and just a heads up—it‘s a little dark. In it, a town is terrorized, an adult makes a terrible choice, and a child is badly hurt—and that’s just the first chapter. Things get even wilder after that.

Below is the title and plot description.

Little People: A Fantasy Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters by Daniel Charles Wild

Five days after his estranged father’s funeral, a young man is visited in his apartment by two tiny figurines from the father’s basement model train diorama.

They are desperate for help and claim that their world is in terrible danger. Their sun has been out for a week, the train has stopped running, and an unstoppable monster from the outside world has gotten into the basement.

This is a wild adventure that may or may not be true about a son’s discovery of and quest to save the hidden world his mysterious father left behind.

Here’s what early reviewers have to say about Little People:

“Swept away. Powerful and lovely tangle of imagery and emotion."

“...a deeper story about memory, braveness, and forgiveness."

“Found myself unable to put it down."

“...it embodies all of the aspects that make a story worth reading."

“A story of misunderstanding and hurt followed by forgiveness and redemption."

“Gulliver meets Through the Looking Glass, but with more blood!"

If you like fantasy that has a heart and deeper message, you might enjoy “Little People.” On one level it’s a adventure story about a family, hidden worlds, and monsters. On another, it’s about how memories mislead, courage comes in all sizes, and how seeking to understand and forgive can be the greatest quest of all.

Most of the first chapter is free on Amazon. Let me know what you think! If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help increase the book’s visibly in the Kindle store, and let other readers know if it’s worth checking out.

Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.

My writing was featured on a podcast! Prompt and Circumstance podcast, a humor podcast about Reddit writing prompts, dedicated an episode to some of my prompts that became stories in my collection Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn't Read.

Check out the podcast here.

Hosts Joe and CJ usually talk about three prompts each week, and conversations go in the weirdest and wildest directions. They also feature great guests, and a regularly appearing super-guest—Joe’s wife Kyrie, who is hilarious.

They mentioned a writing prompt of mine in their 19th episode, so when I published Horrible Writing, I gave them a heads-up. They dedicated their 48th episode, titled “Top Choice Meat,” to three of the prompts that inspired stories in my book.

If you’re a writer or reader and think you’d enjoy smart, creative, and funny conversations about the rWritingPrompts subreddit, and sometimes r/ShowerThoughts and r/AskReddit too—check out Prompt and Circumstance. 

Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn't Read

Well, this made my day. Fellow author and book reviewer Ekta R. Garg wrote an awesome review of my short story collection Horrible Writing.

Read the review here: https://thewriteedgebookshelf.wordpre...

I'm really pleased that she enjoyed it!

Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn't Read

I’ve been posting fiction on Reddit for a few years. Some of the stories have been shared pretty far and wide, made into narrations and movies, and translated into multiple languages. I’ve collected 10 of the most popular of the horror stories into a little 10,000 word e-book. It’ll be the first of four short collections of equal size, the other three will be fantasy, sci-fi and creative non-fiction that I’ve written. Once all three collections are completed, I’ll eventually combine the four of them into a printed book with illustrations drawn by me.

Below is the title and book description.

Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn’t Read by Daniel Charles Wild

These 10 horror stories were originally posted online under a pseudonym. Some of them have taken on a life of their own. Cumulatively the stories written under this name have been read by tens — possibly hundreds — of thousands. Some have been translated into other languages, and many have been featured on podcasts, SoundCloud, and YouTube channels. A few have even been made into short movies.

I’ve edited and collected the most horrible of the stories here. You probably shouldn’t read these; they aren’t good for you. Still, I enjoyed writing them, and lots of people enjoyed reading them. You might too.

They are about horrible things that happened and might yet happen. Upsetting. things like rewatching movies we’ve all seen, what happens when we’re sleeping, and the horror of unconditional love. Creepy stories about trying to go home, things that happen at coffee shops, a strange flu, and a dog that wants so badly to be good. Disturbing things like appreciating art, the choices we make, and to end it all — a caricaturist’s love note to you, and you, and you. All awful, unbearable things. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn't ReadI’ve been posting fiction on Reddit for a few years. Some of the stories have been shared pretty far and wide, made into narrations and movies, and translated into multiple languages. I’ve collected 10 of the most popular of the horror stories into a little 10,000 word e-book. It’ll be the first of four short collections of equal size, the other three will be fantasy, sci-fi and creative non-fiction that I’ve written. Once all three collections are completed, I’ll eventually combine the four of them into a printed book with illustrations drawn by me.

Below is the title and book description.

Horrible Writing: 10 Horror Stories You Probably Shouldn’t Read by Daniel Charles Wild

These 10 horror stories were originally posted online under a pseudonym. Some of them have taken on a life of their own. Cumulatively the stories written under this name have been read by tens — possibly hundreds — of thousands. Some have been translated into other languages, and many have been featured on podcasts, SoundCloud, and YouTube channels. A few have even been made into short movies.

I’ve edited and collected the most horrible of the stories here. You probably shouldn’t read these; they aren’t good for you. Still, I enjoyed writing them, and lots of people enjoyed reading them. You might too.

They are about horrible things that happened and might yet happen. Upsetting. things like rewatching movies we’ve all seen, what happens when we’re sleeping, and the horror of unconditional love. Creepy stories about trying to go home, things that happen at coffee shops, a strange flu, and a dog that wants so badly to be good. Disturbing things like appreciating art, the choices we make, and to end it all — a caricaturist’s love note to you, and you, and you. All awful, unbearable things. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

I have a little announcement—I wrote and published a novella. I illustrated the cover too. It’s a 20,000 word YA fantasy adventure story, but I think it will appeal to readers of all ages. It deals with some pretty large (and small) themes, and just a heads up—it might be a little dark. In it, a town is terrorized, an adult makes a terrible choice, and a child is badly hurt—and that’s just the first chapter. Things get even wilder after that.

Below is the title and plot description.

Little People: A Fantasy Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters by Daniel Charles Wild

Five days after his estranged father’s funeral, a young man is visited in his apartment by two tiny figurines from the father’s basement model train diorama.

They are desperate for help and claim that their world is in terrible danger. Their sun has been out for a week, the train has stopped running, and an unstoppable monster from the outside world has gotten into the basement.

This is a wild adventure that may or may not be true about a son’s discovery of and quest to save the hidden world his mysterious father left behind.

It’s available on Amazon as an ebook for $2.99. Little People: A Fantasy Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters

The first chapter is free. Check it out and let me know what you think. If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help increase the book’s visibly in the Kindle store, and let other readers know if it’s worth checking out.

***

Daniel Charles Wild is an author and Illustrator who lives inside his head. Little People: A Story About Fathers, Sons, and Monsters is his first published novella. It’s not the first story he’s written though, and it won’t be the last.