Kevin Lucia > Recent Status Updates

"The Red-Headed Dead" by Joe Lansdale, "Hellfire on the High Frontier" by David Farland and "Stingers and Strangers" by Seanan McQuire the high points so far.

Excellent, crisp pacing so far - and very easy reading, which, as Nathanial Hawthorne once said, is "damn hard writing."

Prayer - more than just a shopping list, about spending time with God, and being honest about our questions, disappointments, and struggles. It's not about praying things into being, it's about coming before God every day, and saying, without pretense and with transparency: Here I am, as I am.

Really excellent, so far. Matt Hunter is fast becoming a favorite recurring character.

Absolutely amazing. People have always told me this was better than The Stand, and I didn't believe them...but they're right. Absolutely right.

I'm not sure why it took so long for me to get to this. This may sound like sacrilege, but I think people are right: This is much superior to THE STAND (though I still love The Stand!)

"Brass" - Wow. Awesome. Hate to admit to preconceived notions, but when I saw "Father of Splatterpunk" on the cover, I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this (I totally recognize splatterpunk as a valid genre, it just usually isn't for me.) But this is great stuff, far superior to a lot of the stories I've reading passing themselves off as "splatterpunk."

I've enjoyed all the Ronald Kelly novels I've read, but so far, I'm digging this one the most.

"Red Light" - Wow. I know I've read that before, somewhere - probably in an anthology - but still just as powerful the second time through.

So, approaching the section about how ambition and pride impacts our relationships, and the necessity of humility in healthy relationships. Relevant to trying to carve out a writing career, especially in regards to my relationships with fellow writers? I think so....

I'll say this, Laws' Matt Hunter series is pretty darn readable. This one has nicer "creep" factor than the first, though I wonder if, by end, this will be one of those "natural gothics" in which the supernatural has a human perpetrator. Either way, definitely enjoying this series.

"The Hands" and "Again" - profoundly disturbing, and that LAST one just about broke my mind....

"Midnight Hobo" and "The Depths." Truly, truly disturbing in an under-your-skin kind of way...

So, I've been on a Facebook break for over three months, and am not motivated to go back. Not convinced it's essential for a writing career; at least, not where I am right now. Have been spending more time here, posting more reading updates, which seems to be garnering a good response. Would like to learn how to generate more interaction here. Thoughts?

A horror/thriller novel asking deep questions about faith, dogma, and indoctrination - and engaging, also.

"Mackintosh Willy" and "The Show Must Go On" - Ramsey Campbell is a master at crafting such surreal horror stories out of the most mundane circumstances...

Definitely think we've got a winner, here. Will pick up his other two Matt Hunter books, and will cover all three and The Frighteners in a future edition of my Cemetery Dance Online column, "Revelations."

RATTLESNAKE KISSES, brought to you by the guy behind SAMSON AND DENIAL and THE COMPOUND (Bob Ford) and JEDI SUMMER (John Boden), you know what you're going to get: down and dirty pulp action with a gigantic beating and bleeding heart, and so far, it doesn't disappoint. It's about to go off the rails, and get tragic, at the same time.

RATTLESNAKE KISSES, brought to you by the guy behind SAMSON AND DENIAL and THE COMPOUND (Bob Ford) and JEDI SUMMER (John Boden), you know what your going to get: down and dirty pulp action with a gigantic beating and bleeding heart, and so far, it doesn't disappoint. It's about to go off the rails, and get tragic, at the same time.

"Out of Copyright" and "Above the World." Wow. I've found that, just like Robert Aikman's work, Ramsey Campbell's work is best appreciated in the quiet still of the morning....

RATTLESNAKE KISSES, brought to you by the guy behind SAMSON AND DENIAL and THE COMPOUND (Bob Ford) and JEDI SUMMER (John Boden), you know what your going to get: down and dirty pulp action with a gigantic beating and bleeding heart, and so far, it doesn't disappoint. It's about to go off the rails, and get tragic, at the same time.

"Out of Copyright" and "Above the World." Wow. I've found that, just like Robert Aikman's work, Ramsey Campbell's work is best appreciated in the quiet still of the morning....

"Where the Woodbine Twineth" - Wow. Needless to say, wasn't surprised to see, at the end, the dedication to Manly Wade Wellman. Sounded very much like it.

"Blood Money" - a tale only Noraman Partridge could've written.

"Red Right Hand," "Coyotes," "Do Not Hasten to Bid Me Adieu," "The Pack" - all pretty darned satisfying. Of course, I wouldn't expect less from Norman Partridge.

Even as i was finishing THE FRIGHTENERS, I bought Laws' first Matt Hunter book, very much interested. So far, I am not disappointed!

Just finished "The Voice of the Beach." So surreal and haunting, original cosmic horror not bound by Lovecraftian tropes. The only reason it's taking me so long to re-read is that's how you read Ramsey Campbell - slowly, in quiet, savoring every word.

I'm on page 160 of 320 of The Frighteners: So, we're out of "bizarre" culture and back into some meaty, interesting stuff: how horror, weird, and morbid games/playacting/fiction is good for kids. Lots of excellent stuff here, with a lot of the same beats from Greg Ruth's great essay on TOR.com, "Why Horror is Good For You (And Even Better for Your Kids)."

Entertaining, but not what I was expecting. Liked the opening; felt refreshing to encounter someone of faith who likes spooky stuff, too. However, it's veered into an exploration of Furries, folks who identify as vampires, and those obsessed with serial killer memorabilia, rather than looking at horror fiction and horror movies and culture, as Noel Carroll did in The Philosophy of Horror. Hoping to get back to that.