Dead Stars and Stone Arches

A Collection of Utah Horror

Presented by Timber Ghost Press

There is something out there, just beyond the reach of human understanding. It flits at the corner of our eyes and titillates the hairs on the back of our necks. You can feel it sometimes, just under your skin. Fortunately, most of us will never know the full extent of what lies sleeping in the cosmos. They are the lucky ones. However, those few who glimpse the maddening truth become forever changed. Contained within this esoteric tome are thirty-seven stories and poems about forbidden knowledge, hidden terrors, and mind-breaking horrors that lurk in the dark places of the earth. Be warned, though, there’s no stopping once you start this journey, and sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Featuring poems and stories by:

Michael Jess Alexander, Mickie Bolling-Burke, J.M. Cullen, Daniel Cureton, Steven Dee Kish, Donald Evans, Nicholas J. Evans, K. Scott Forman, Arthur Goodhill, Joseph Hope, Derek Hutchins, C.R. Langille, C.H. Lindsay, Carter Lappin, Bryan McEntire, D.J. Moore, Eric Nirschel, Lehua Parker, Cygnus Perry, Jonathan Reddoch, Levi Robinson, Nnandi Samuel, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Henry Snider, Joshua P. Sorensen, Paul Starkey, S.J. Townend, Heidi Voss, Chad A.B. Wilson, William R.D. Wood

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“There is something out there, just beyond the reach of human understanding. It flits at the corner of our eyes and titillates the hairs on the back of our necks. You can feel it sometimes, just under your skin. Fortunately, most of us will never know the full extent of what lies sleeping in the cosmos. They are the lucky ones. However, those few who glimpse the maddening truth become forever changed.”

Dead Stars & Stone Arches is a collection of cosmic horror. You can help bring it to life over at Kickstarter. One of my stories, Fog of Sand, will be included. It’s inspired by ancient Babylonian mythology, but takes place in the future after the Great Salt Lake has dried up. The anthology features dozens of other authors and poets as well as a forward by Betty Rocksteady. Rewards for different backers include other books from Timber Ghost Press, other collections of Utah Horror, and a cool limited edition enamel pin. As I write this, it’s already over 30% of the way to its goal. Be sure to check it out!

I’ve got another story up at Every Day Fiction called “The Test”. It’s a flash fiction story, so I can’t say too much about it without spoiling it, but the beginning was inspired by an actual event. I was on the freeway when I saw a fire truck coming up behind me with lights flashing and horn blaring. Like any decent human, I pulled over to let it pass, but I saw some jerk following behind the fire truck, using it to speed past everybody else. Who does that?

I was also inspired by a podcast I listen to called Oh No Ross and Carrie which did a series of episodes about real estate get-rich-quick schemes. I think I named the character Jack because my mom once complained about audio books having characters named Jack in them because inevitably, the phrase “Jack asked” will come up.

This story was originally published a few days ago, but I’m only mentioning it now because I was away on vacation to Bear Lake or, as the tourist industry is calling it now, “The Caribbean of the Rockies“. It was a really nice trip, highly recommended to anybody in the area. Anyway, if you like “The Test”, please leave a positive rating. It’s currently got 4.1 out of 5 stars, so a lot of readers seem to like it so far.

Just a quick announcement that I’ve got another story up at Every Day Fiction. This one is called “Cinders” and it’s a twisted take on the Cinderella story. Since it’s flash fiction, I don’t think I can say much more about it without spoiling it. One commenter called it “Clever! very enjoyable read.” Another commenter stated, “I must salute the total genre subversion.” Read it yourself and give it a good rating if you like it!

Also, the Kickstarter for an upcoming anthology I’m in has just launched. It’s titled Wasatch Witches: A Collection of Utah Horror. The inspiration for my story “Unfruitful Works” was basically “mimes are creepy” and I went from there. The story is about a woman with telekinetic powers and let’s just say she decides not to use her powers for good. There are many other stories from other writers as well, including some in which the witch is the hero. You’ll be wondering which witch is which! (Sorry, I can’t resist a good pun.)

Be sure to check out the rewards for backing the project. If you’re an Early Bird backer, you can get a couple of my eBooks, Pioneer Day and Sin Lieth at the Door, along with books from other authors included in the anthology. You can also get copies of earlier anthologies of Utah Horror, a rune reading, a tarot reading, and more!

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know my story, “Mommy Blog Z: Picky Eaters”, has just been published on Every Day Fiction! It’s basically what the title suggests: an entry from a mommy blog on how to deal with a child who is a picky eater. Oh, and it takes place during the zombie apocalypse.

It currently has a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, which I think it pretty good and there’s a couple comments on the story already. One comment reads: “Wonderful, I was laughing the whole way through!” and another commenter called it a “clever clear story.”

Be sure to check it out, and if you like it, be sure to leave a rating or comment of your own.

Hello, just thought I’d drop a note to let you know my book Pioneer Day is available to download for free on Amazon right now. As you can probably guess from the cover, it involves zombies, although they’re zombies with a twist. If you like it, be sure to leave a review. However, it won’t be free forever, so be sure to check it out before the price goes back up.

When some of the workers at Pure Laboratories suddenly become violent and even start eating each other, everyone reacts differently. Some people freeze up, unable to process what’s happening. Some people run, trying to get as far away as possible. Others pull out their phones and start posting pictures online. Since anyone can go crazy at any point, no one can turn their backs on anyone else and paranoia is rampant. Is this violent behavior caused by a new drug? A virus? Are the people trampling each other in order to flee back to their homes spreading this infection throughout the city?

With the outbreak being natural rather than supernatural, Pioneer Day is not a typical zombie story. At alternate times humorous, disturbing, and even philosophical, Pioneer Day will stick with you long after you’ve read it.

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Noted H. P. Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi has written a review of Machinations and Mesmerism: Tales Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffman in issue number 26 of Dead Reckonings, a horror review magazine.

He only spends one sentence on my story, “Spinollio”, but as there are over a dozen stories in this anthology, it makes sense that he wouldn’t be able to go into depth on all of them. I’m actually flattered that he mentioned me at all.

He describes my story as “mildly interesting”, which I think counts as praise coming from him. What do you think? Should I put this quote on the cover of my next book? “S.T. Joshi raves that D.J. Moore is mildly interesting!” Hehe. Just kidding. Maybe.

Machinations and Mesmerism: Tales Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffman is available on Amazon and Lulu.

Good news! My vampire cyberpunk novel Close Your Eyes and Run has just gotten a brand new cover created by the talented Eleonora Gueli. It looks amazing, doesn’t it?

To celebrate, I’m making the book available to download for free on Amazon from now until Friday, so be sure to check it out!

Back when I originally wrote Close Your Eyes and Run, I was a big fan of Neal Stephenson’s cyberpunk novel Snow Crash as well as Anne Rice’s novel Interview with the Vampire and I thought, why not combine the two together? The book ended up becoming something quite different than a simple combination of those two novels since I included several other miscellaneous influences as well, but that was my starting point.

Anyway, if you read my novel and like it, be sure to leave a review on Amazon since that helps other people find the book. I hope you enjoy!

The anthology Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel (which I contributed a story to) just won a League of Utah Writer’s Gold Quill award for Published Collection! The award was presented at the Quills Conference last Saturday. I wasn’t able to attend, but it sounds like it was a blast.

 

My story that appears in the collection, “The Miracle of the Gulls”, is partly based on the true story of Olive Oatman, partly based on the miracle of the gulls event from Mormon history, and also a little bit inspired by the Hell on Wheels television series. It’s a steampunk story featuring zeppelins and mechanical men, so it’s not exactly historical fiction, although I did read Olive Oatman’s 1857 biography for research and sprinkled a lot of old-fashioned words into the narrative for flavor. I loved working with editor John M. Olsen on the story. His suggestions improved the story a lot.

 

If you haven’t read this award-winning anthology yet, be sure to give it a read.

My story “Spinollio” was just published in the anthology Machinations and Mesmerism: Tales Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffman. For those who don’t know, E. T. A. Hoffman was a writer, artist, and musician who is probably best known for writing The Nutcracker and Mouse King. He also wrote the first detective story and some consider him to have started the Romantic movement. My favorite stories of his are “The Sandman” (a creepy horror story featuring an automaton and eyeballs) and “New Year’s Eve” (featuring a man without a reflection meeting a man without a shadow). He wrote romance, horror, and humor and wrote for both adults and children.

“Spinollio” is a pastiche I did of various Hoffman stories. I included some of his humor and some of his horror. I tried my best to write it in his voice, although I’ve only read his work in translation, so I guess I’m imitating the translator’s style and word choice as much as Hoffman’s. Like Hoffman’s stories, it takes place in a time where men always wore swords at their side, women regularly used snuff, and things like wigs, duels, and fainting were all the rage. Be sure to check it out!