Willy Martinez's Blog

I already knew
You weren't a real friend to me,
So when you did that thing
It came off as poetry.
My shoulders shrugged
dust brushed off,
Let's walk it off.

The post Untethered appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

I stepped into Synchronic expecting a psychedelic thrill ride, but what unfolded was a midnight-soaked odyssey through New Orleans. Two world-weary paramedics chase fragments of time—facing conquistadors and Klan riders in equal measure—to save a lost girl and rediscover purpose amid the city’s neon shadows.

The post Synchronic: A Noir Time-Travel Romance That Found Me appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Horror noir intertwines classic noir's gritty themes with horror's unsettling truths, exploring internal fears and societal issues. From Shirley Jackson's psychological suspense to Victor LaValle's modern narratives, the genre evolves while paying homage to its roots. Readers are invited to confront the darkness within and beyond, making horror noir a timeless exploration of fear.

The post Shadows Deepen: Tracing the Evolution of Horror Noir, Classic to Contemporary appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Writers don't just put pen to paper; they conjure magic through absurd rituals. From Victor Hugo's naked discipline to Maya Angelou's hotel isolation, these eccentric practices fuel creativity, proving that brilliance often springs from the bizarre. Embrace the madness.

The post 7 Bizarre Writing Rituals That Guided Literary Masterpieces appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Every October, as the shadows stretch long, American folklore calls us back to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving’s iconic tale isn't just America’s first great ghost story; its true terror lies in how it wove ancient dread into new American soil. The Headless Horseman isn't merely a ghastly apparition; he's a chilling manifestation of history's unanswered demands, forever seeking retribution for what was lost.

The post The Tyranny of the Past: Why the Headless Horseman Haunts Us Still appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

In this post, horror meets brevity. Where folklore is fed through mirror-tongues. Where forty-four words become a ritual—each poem a glyph, each glyph a mouth. My quadrille series begins with a beast (Altered Beast) and blooms into a garden of eco-horror, erotic dread, ancestral memory, and mythic longing.

The post Folklore, Flesh, and Forty-Four Words: A Pillar of Ritual Quadrille Poetry appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

The current shutdown has severely impacted libraries, threatening their existence and limiting public access to vital resources. Readers face significant losses in community programs, research opportunities, and preservation efforts, necessitating collective action to support these essential institutions.

The post Impact of Library Closures on Community Knowledge appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Dive into the grotesque with "Folklore and Flesh," where visceral horror meets mythology. Stripping away illusions, this collection serves not just stories, but haunting reminders of our collective hunger for the uncanny in the shadowy depths of memory and creation.

The post We Are the Hunger appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Kurt Vonnegut meets government shutdown: a tale where silence reigns and absurdity thrives! Amidst golden podiums and essential/nonessential chaos, our narrator, Kilgore Vought, tries to alphabetize democracy while pondering the President’s "spa day" shutdown. Spoiler: it's a cosmic joke—so it goes!

The post Government Shutdown: A Satirical Reflection appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.

Hypotyposis is the secret ingredient to rendering scenes so alive, readers can’t look away. This device immerses the senses—sight, sound, smell, touch, even taste—transforming mere narration into living, breathing dread. When you summon hypotyposis, you bypass abstraction, plunging readers into terror’s beating heart while their own imaginations fill in the darkest corners.

The post Harness Hypotyposis for Vivid Horror Scenes appeared first on Mind on Fire Books.