I am working on a series of Women in Horror Month interviews for the Examiner.com with a more local focus. “Killer Romance” is from my short story anthology “Things that Go Bump In My Head,” which also includes a bit of poetry.
Spoken Word Poetry
By Sumiko Saulson
People love, you know…
We do love, untrue love,
and there are puppies and kittens,
chubby babies who don’t
have bows…
and arrows…
All trivialized in February
(that was my grandpa’s birthday)
Because they are now
Iconic representations
of an infatuation
More impure than
The sweet-smelling rose
We chose
To kill, to represent…
Incense, sickly sweet
I have allergies
It makes me sick
It reeks…
like a grape-favored cigarillo
And I know that you know
When it lies…
I like the natural
look of love
You know, the way it is.
I said I was tired
And you didn’t keep me
Up all night…
Almost like you recognized
I was a human being
With needs
Like sleep
To me, that is love.
But I am not
Romant-ick…
It makes me sick
Like if sex is good
You don’t always have to
Talk about it
You’re too busy
Doing it…
And love is like that
If you do love
True love
Not just constantly hot
New love…
It’s real.
Like a kitten, not a card
Like a baby, not a cupid
Like a grandpa, not a holiday
Like a real, live, rosebush
It lives because
You tend it
Like a garden
I water my garden
I don’t just
Write poems to it
Your coupon code is UA75V (not case-sensitive). Good til 2/15/14
Get a copy of “Things that Go Bump in my Head” for only 99 Cents for Valentines Day on Smashwords!
“Things That Go Bump In My Head” is a collection of short stories and other writing by horror and science fiction novelist Sumiko Saulson. A bit of old fashioned horror… a ghost story… a couple of works on the dark humor side of horror (and they are unabashedly funny), a science-fiction dystopic tale, a few works of psychological horror… even a bit of poetry.
It contains: “Frankenzombie”, “A Life of Her Own”, “Agrippa”, “I, Stammer (In Disbelief)”, “Dead Horse Summer”, “Attempted Happiness” and other short stories.
Because it is a collection of these pithy and varied tales… there is a bit for everyone: Reading “Things That Go Bump In My Head” is like entering a haunted house ride… you never know what you will find around the corner.
To get a copy for yourself, or gift one to a loved one for the low price of 99 cents, click on the link below:
“Things that Go Bump in my Head” on Smashwords
And enter the coupon code is UA75V (not case-sensitive) at check out for a 50% off reduction.
As I research my 2014 list of black women in horror, I think I’ll share some related lists,like this one of black sci-fi and fantasy writers.
GREAT BLACK AUTHORS OF SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY: Past & Present
Ask people to name Black authors of science fiction and fantasy and only a few names will be repeated, if any names are known at all: Octavia Butler…Tananarive Due…L. A. Banks…Walter Mosley. While, most certainly, these brilliant authors should be in everyone’s library, you are cheating yourself if you do not know of – or explore – the many other great Black authors of speculative fiction.
The Black presence and impact on the world of speculative fiction is a vast and powerful one. Some of these authors you may have heard of; some you may not have. Some will absolutely surprise you. All of them tell Blacknificent stories.
Let’s dive in and see just how deep this well of creativity is.
Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932)
Chesnutt published The Conjure Woman in 1899. The book, a series of loosely associated…
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Marcus Bookstores needs your help. The oldest running black bookstore in the United States, the original Marcus Bookstores in San Francisco has hosted noted black authors including Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. Marcus Bookstore was also the second bookstore to carry my debut title “Solitude” (after my neighborhood bookseller Laurel Bookstore), first Marcus Oakland then Marcus San Francisco carried the title.
Available formats: epub, mobi, pdf, rtf, lrf, pdb, txt
Here is a link to where to get it: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/326403
As I am working on compiling a third list of black women in horror writing for February 2014, I am very excited to see so many bloggers and people on social media helping to put the word out about the lists, and helping to get black female horror writers on the radar. I’m going to start reblogging some of the articles that link back to the original post, like Nichole DeGennaro’s WiHM blog post below…
February is Women in Horror Recognition Month! So my posts this month are going to highlight this topic in some way.
First, I would be remiss not to mention that the anthology The Grotesquerie from Mocha Memoirs Press, which contains my story “The River”, was released specifically in honor of WiHM and features only women authors. I’m thrilled to be a part of this anthology, so please buy a paperback or Kindle copy and support WiHM. Or, if your finances are tight this month (I totally understand!), at least check out some of my fellow authors’ websites to learn more about them! They’re all awesome and impressive.
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As many of you know, last year I complied two lists of black female horror writers: 20 Black Women in Horror Writing and 21 More Black Women in Horror. February is back around and I am looking to create a third list in Black History Month / Women in Horror Month 2014. Do you know anyone who was not included in the first list but should have been? Are you a black female horror writer yourself? Please let me know by posting the name of your list nominee and the title of her book(s) in the comments below or email me at sumikoska@yahoo.com.
I am also interested in finding new horror writers to interview in February. Information about how to request to be interviewed is found here:
Please repost and help get the word out. Thank you.
February 1st is coming up and with Black History Month and Women in Horror Month here again, this seems like a good time to revisit the subject of black women in horror (part 2 of 2)
Recently I published an article in honor of Black History Month and Women in Horror Month called “20 Black Women in Horror Fiction“. While the first list consisted almost entirely of women whose works have been published solo book length collections such as novels, and single author short story and poetry anthologies (with the exception of Angela C. Allen), this list consists primarily of women whose works of horror were published in multiple-author black writer horror showcases, including “Dark Thirst”, “Dark 
Matter”, and “Dark Dreams.” Many of the women on this second list are women who are frequent contributors to a variety of short story compilations, and women who write primarily in another genre, but have also contributed short horror for to the anthologies.
You can find the first article HERE: 20 Black Women in Horror Fiction
This list has expanded to include two other lists for a total of…
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February 1st is coming up and with Black History Month and Women in Horror Month here again, this seems like a good time to revisit the subject of black women in horror (part 1 of 2)
February is Black History Month here in the United States. It is also Women in Horror Month (WiHM). As an Ambassador for WiHM, and as a woman of color (I am Black and Jewish) who is a horror writer, I am poignantly aware of the fact that while women writing horror is a rare occurrence – women of color are exceedingly so. The number of black women writing horror that most people are aware of can still be counted on one hand. For a lot of people, in fact, it can be counted on one finger: “Octavia Butler“. Most people are aware that the talented Ms. Butler, best known for her Science Fiction works, has also written horror. Far too many fans of the genre are unfamiliar with Linda Addison, first African American winner of the Bram Stoker award, or Stoker award nominees Tananarive Due and Jemiah…
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