Killer Romance

•February 14, 2014 • 1 Comment

“Killer Romance” is from my short story anthology “Things that Go Bump In My Head,” which also includes a bit of poetry.

Killer Romance

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

Happy Valentine’s Day

Be My Blood Valentine!

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.

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GREAT BLACK AUTHORS OF SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY: Past & Present

•February 10, 2014 • Leave a Comment

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.

Balogun's avatarChronicles of Harriet

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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Keep it Lit! Help Support Marcus Books!

•February 7, 2014 • Leave a Comment

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.

Keep it Lit! Help Support Marcus Books!.

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Solitude (on sale for 99 cents)

•February 7, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Image

To what extent does the presence of others affect our thoughts and actions? What do we believe when we are truly alone? Solitude is the riveting tale of diverse individuals isolated in a San Francisco seemingly void of all other human life. In the absence of others, each journeys into personal web of beliefs and perceptions as they try to determine what happened to them, and the world around them. Each of them view events differently. One suspects aliens have invaded, another believes it’s a sign of Revelation and end times, some don’t know what to think, and others find their minds unraveling as they struggle to cope with unimaginable events. Soon, threats both natural and supernatural leave them too busy fighting to survive in a world of strange and unpredictable events where all of the luxuries of civilization are being slowly eroded to even stop to wonder. And unless they can find each other, they will have to face it all alone, in the dark.

 

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

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WiHM: women writing horror

•February 7, 2014 • Leave a Comment

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…

Nicole DeGennaro's avatarNicole DeGennaro's blog

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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Looking for more black women in horror

•February 4, 2014 • 1 Comment

ImageAs 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:

Interviews

Please repost and help get the word out. Thank you.

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21 More Black Women in Horror Writing

•January 31, 2014 • 1 Comment

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)

Sumiko Saulson's avatarSumiko Saulson

black history monthRecently 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 womeninhorror2013logo-300x290Matter”, 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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20 Black Women in Horror Writing

•January 31, 2014 • Leave a Comment

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)

Sumiko Saulson's avatarSumiko Saulson

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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Fairy Tales: The Original, Original Horror

•January 27, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Nice article, and a reminder that Women in Horror Month is just around the corner…

J. Lincoln Fenn's avatarPOE

Ah, fairy tales. You know, like The Little Mermaid and its happily ever-after ending, where the doe-eyed mermaid gets her legs and singing voice back just in time to marry the equally doe-eyed prince. Or Snow White, where the evil queen gets her just desserts from an unfortunate lightning strike.

Pure and utter bullshit.

No, I’m not on some kind of feminist rant, I simply read fairy tales, and not the sanitized, consumer friendly versions offered by Disney and other purveyors of suburban childhood. I grew up with original, original fairy tales, like the Andrew Lang Fairy Books, a collection of stories and fairy folklore spanning the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, Grimm’s Fairy Tales published in 1812, and Fairy tales from Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1899.

These versions were a bit more…horrific. Granted, they were designed to be told around some kind of rustic…

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Beta Readers Wanted: The Moon Cried Blood Series

•January 18, 2014 • Leave a Comment

I’m a good clip into the re-editing process with regards to The Moon Cried Blood, and have reached the stage where I need beta readers. I am happy to say that I’ve gotten three volunteers from my Facebook page. They are currently reading the first installment of what is now “The Moon Cried Blood Series.” This first segment is called “Legend of the Luna.”

What is a Beta Reader?

ImageA Beta Reader is not necessarily the same thing as a proofreader, although proofreading is definitely a plus. A Beta Reader is someone who reads the already proofread and otherwise edited document and gives the author an informal review, which would include pointing out any missed editorial or grammatical issues, certainly… but also to offer feedback on other things that readers care about, like plot consistency and character development.

Your critique will become a part of the road map I put together for my book series, to help it make its journey from its current state moving forward toward its perfected form.

Due to the nature of this project, I will also be looking for feedback on where to start and finish volumes in the series: the original novel was 550, but as it enters its new life as a YA series, it will become either two or three books. You’ll be part of the team that helps make that choice. You’ll receive serialized packages of the story (of 50 or 60 pages each) and give your opinion on where the new, shorter books should begin and end, among other things.

Evolution of “The Moon Cried Blood”

If you’ve been following the ever-evolving tale of “The Moon Cried Blood” from day one, you may recall that during the very earliest Imagedays of this blog, I’d repeatedly insisted that the original, five hundred and fifty page 2012 novel of that title was NOT young adult fiction. To be sure, central protagonist Leticia “Tisha” Gordon was a thirteen year old girl, but that didn’t make it young adult fiction.

Well, I take it all back.

During the period of time when the book was making its rounds as a KDP Select promo eligible eBook, I was able to get enough reader feedback to the contrary that I have finally accepted the fact that it is YA.  The other revelation that came to me during that review process was that the 550 page length is much too long for both the eBook format and the newly adopted Young Adult genre.

The book will be divided into either two 300 odd page books or three 200 odd page books. I haven’t decided yet. You help me decide.

Evolution of “Legend of the Luna”

Image“Legend of the Luna” is a revamping of the part of the story “The Moon Cried Blood” that introduces us to the Lunae, a bloodline of powerful witches who according to legend inherit their power from Luna, the Mother Moon, and the spirit of her daughter Leticia. Into every other generation of the Lunae families is born a daughter who inherits these powers, and is always named Leticia. The girls do not come into their powers until the time of their menarche or first menstruation.

The year is 1975 and a new Luna has been Awakened.

Thirteen year old Leticia Gordon is unique in that she is both the daughter and the granddaughter of a Luna, something that only happens when a young which comes from more than one of the Luna bloodlines. Living a hard knock life on the urban streets of a pre-bicentennial era Los Angeles, this Leticia, who is known as Tisha to her friends and loved ones, has no idea of who she is or the power she is about to come into.

Can you Beta Read?

I will need Beta Readers for each installment of the Chronicles of the Moon Cried Blood. Readers are welcome to follow the entire series, or to just come on board for one segment. All of the Beta Readers will be credited in the eBook and print editions that result from this project.

If you can Beta read, please email me at sumikoska@yahoo.com.

 

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