OOGIE BOOGIE CENTRAL - Featuring Steve's Vent

We taught our daughter something important today. We taught her that there are crazy people in the world. We taught her that the insane don't just live on network TV. We taught her that sometimes you have to stand up for yourself in the face of idiocy and paranoia, even if your actions effect no change. Sometimes, you just have to stand up. We also demonstrated that violence is -in most cases- the reaction of a scared, dumb animal when confronted with a superior adversary. When the higher functions don't -or can't- function, the reptilian brain assumes control and lashes out. It's a defense mechanism for those without the mental capacity to address conflict as mature adults. The trick is knowing when to respond in kind and when to walk away. After all, it's cruel to abuse the mentally defective. It's pointless to debate with the intellectually challenged. It's counterproductive to attempt to undo years of false persecution and pathetic rationalization by way...

Two of my most favorite ladies in the world have made a startling discovery, but it’s only startling to them. To me and the rest of the people in our little circle of friends and acquaintances, this is old news. That doesn’t make their discoveries any less noteworthy. In honor of Marcy and Meghan , I’d like to dust off the following Vent, taken from But Then Again, You’ll Have This . . . Here’s my take on what you’re experiencing. I hope it properly conveys what I’m thinking, and how much I respect you both. I’ll Add It to My Collection. . . The other morning a woman approached me in the bookstore and asked about diet books. As we walked over to the section, she informed me that a friend had recommended one to her, but she couldn’t remember the exact title. Based on the limited information she gave me, I handed her a book by the author she mentioned. It’s one I’ve been selling a lot of lately, so I was reasonably sure it was the correct selection, although I did suggest she double che...

There was a package waiting in my mailbox today. When I opened it, I discovered this my contributor's copy for the book at the right. Thou Shalt Not... is the initial offering from Dark Cloud Press , a small press specializing in horror without an abundence of sexual content or profane language. In addition to 36 phenomenal stories, it includes my short piece Our Souls Abide on This Ocean's Tide . Now you see what I mean about the end of the world. . . Seriously, this is a gorgeous book, the project was a dream and Lee Howard from Dark Cloud was a true professional who restored my wounded faith in Small Horror Publishers. No small feat on any front. I'm sure this will be available from other sources eventually, but if you can't wait (and you can't, can you?) you can order a copy directly from Dark Cloud . 100,000 words for $17. That's a hell of a deal at twice the price. Hell? Oops, I did it again. But Then Again, You'll Have This. . .

Bestselling Author Brian Keene , in addition to his Stoker Award-winning fiction, has a regular column that appears at the appropriately named Hail Saten . Mr. Keene has taken the last few weeks off for some deadline maintainence, and invited several authors to fill the pundit gap. Anyone care to guess where this is going? The link's been on the right side of this page since its inception, but if you haven't clicked it yet, I'll ask you to do so now. You never know what you'll find . But Then Again, You'll Have This...

And then: αποχαιρετιστήριος αποχαιρετιστήριος παχύς γάιδαρος. Coming soon: Chicken and Beer! But Then Again, You'll Have This. . .