Today, I start work on the second short story in the upcoming horror anthology I’ve been writing.
Yes, it is tied to the Barbarians of the Storm series. I don’t specifically want to say how, as I want the stories to be surprises to those who have already enjoyed the books. The stories do serve as either origins or earlier looks at characters that have appeared in the first two Barbarians of the Storm books: Dan the Destructor and Atomic Beasts and Where to Kill Them.
The image above is the promo art for the second short story. With this book, I’ve gotten into the habit of working on a piece of art to capture the tone of the story. With that, it helps gives me inspiration going into a new tale.
Where the first story in this book was wholly original and new, this second one is a reworking of a story I outlined for a novel about six or seven years ago. The idea kind of blends elements of a Jack London story with something Lovecraftian with a touch of old school John Carpenter. I don’t want to say more than that, however.
Some of the other stories I want to include in this third book that isn’t Book III will be reworkings of stories I wanted to tell previously, but never buckled down and just made. Some of them are actually outlines I had for horror films I wanted to make at some point with a friend of mine who was trying to get something rolling. Hey, if I sell enough books one day, maybe one of these can be adapted like that.
In regards to the first story, it is done. I’ve also done the first round of proofing and editing and I’m really happy with the end result. I think it’s my favorite story that I’ve written, and I can’t wait to get it out there. I will proof it at least two more times and there could be more edits but I think it’s pretty good to go.
The first story is roughly twice as long as I anticipating it being, and since I am trying to keep the total book around 200 pages, the anthology may just be three stories, as opposed to the five or so I was aiming for. I’ll reassess that once the second story is near completion.
That’s it for now. I’ve been really busy trying to crush this next book out and I want to get back to it!