Music selection of the day! <--------- the new musical obsession has begun, and you should REALIZE. kthanksbye!


Good news in the writing world. I'm *this* close to selling a story at a great rate and I'm quite excited about that. I'll keep everything secret until I get the final details. It's a story that has been rejected time after time for not living up to "conventional" standards or for mentioning "pop culture references that readers won't understand." But the overall tally was always that the story was beautifully told, enchanting and DARK. Which is what I was going for in essence, so I guess I scored there. But as for not being conventional, blame William S. Burroughs, James Joyce, Kathe Koja and Jack Kerouac (my four favorite writers, one living) for showing me that my writing does not have to be linear, that it can be stream-of-conscious and be all angled and mangled (however you see fit). I love stories that don't pay attention to the old rules; I prefer to read ones that stick out like sore thumbs. Then again, I was always one for sticking up for the little guy, never following anything mainstream. Hell I wrote an entire NOVEL about it called THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT (looking for a publisher).

So, yeah. I'm back in school so my life comes to a screaming halt most days, including today. I'm about to do some math as we speak, and about to look over my microbiology text book and wonder why I like the subject matter, though it inspires me on the negative. Ah well, suck it boy. So my life is boring, and that's all there is to report.

Married to textbooks,
J. Daniel Stone

Song selection of the day. I dearly dig this one. Nice and melodic.

Happy EndOfTheWorld 2012 ! 

I made the jump to vegetarianism and I feel better than ever! My diet is consistent of fruits, veggies, nuts, cheese, peanut butter, lots of iron and protein and the lot. I can go on forever about vegetarians, and why I made the switch, and hell, the better it is for my bowels, my urine, kidneys and more. But I'd be here all day. IF YOU think you'd like to try out being veg, than check this pace out here. 

I'm on the downscale of my writing period. I've gotten rejection after rejection. I sense it's not my work, that the cronyism is rampant. But it's always been this way. And now people I've been reading and looking up to, who've gotten their contracts by making friends in the right places, don't want to share the love. I won't name any names, but this author was dear to my heart, and has written many books that I like, and has a new novel coming out this March (if you want to do some detective work, go right ahead, but I will won't say any names as maybe my opinion can change) and you can count on the fact that she will not get my money anymore. If she thinks that it's cute to be an arrogant bitch, and to not let aspiring dark fiction writers in on the cronyism pack, than she will lose fans after a while. I firmly believe most of her fans are writers themselves. Let's face it, readers are scant...writers are the main readers. But this is not my problem anymore. I feel liberated to say this, though I won't ignore her and I'll still follow her LJ but never will she get any of my money again. I'll turn to more humble authors.

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So about that downscale: I've put much thought into it. I can sense that if one doesn't kiss ass they will not get published. I sense these editors let their friends in first before any other authors without these "cool connections. If I'm wrong, correct me! I want to read the other argument. I think from now on I'll post my stories to this journal, let people read them and comment so I know where I went wrong and how to fix things. I've lost faith in editors because they ask for one  thing, and then when you execute that they bite you in the ass. They're looking for the next "big thing" in horror, something that "reflects the time." Well I hate to break it to you, the times suck. The people suck. Trends suck. The music SUCKS BIG DONKEY BALLS. Humans are stupid and love to compromise their life for the sake of instant gratification. I refuse to fall in this post 00's demographic. 

There was something to say about the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and perhaps 2000-2003 but that's about it. Post 2003 has sucked. I technology is the problem and the solution. However you digest that point is up to you. There are no more hippies (occupy Wall Street tried, but they were shot down, and no one stuck around to see it to a dignified end), no more punks, metal heads, no more inventors, no more interesting causes or art. This is a dead generation, stagnant. I hate this generation (Hmmm hate, death, stagnancy...sounds like a story in itself) so I'll be happy living with my music from the decades I mentioned, my clothes from the decades I mentioned and most importantly my FICTION from the decades I mentioned. I'm not interested in anyone's work if they write about today's world. Tell me, what's interesting about today's scene aside from a rotted global economy and the technological craze of people? Please, clue me in.

Desperately seeking answers,
J. Daniel Stone

Song selection.

I guess the heat (ha ha) of the holiday season took me over. I spent way too much time bowing down to Monsignor Consumer Xmas. Yes, the bastard has a nice long, and unconventionally perfect name. I can't help it, and I hate that it take me AWAY from my writing and reading time, but I must do it. For the family, the lover, friends and the lot. It's part of life, and I find--after I go through with all that holy hell we call shopping--that I come home with a fresh mind and a brand new sense of inspiration to continue working and what have you. Things that, I already know, mean the most to me, and most people don't even care to find out about.Anyway, so the novel is done, my ghost hunting story is complete, and what does one do with a 100,000 word manuscript? Pray that Bantam Dell will sign me? HAHAHAHA.

In the spirit of Skipp and Spector (who have heavy influence on my writing being that they were the originals in writing about gutterpunks, goths and metal heads, [aside from Lestat's five minute stint in a "rock" band], and I'm one of those so it's so easy to write about) I can only pray that some big company will find my book attractive...and then I come back to reality. Publishing isn't what it used to be. Nothing is. Agents are no longer needed, big companies are going bye bye. Amazon has taken over, has turned idiots into paid authors and then some. Kind of amazing. Kind of scary and enlightening. Does this kind of practice take away from the author that works hard to get published? Or does this help the little guy? The question cannot be answered, for I fight for both sides. I love getting rejected, it means someone didn't like my work and that I have to work harder to win the editor over. And I love being published, in whatever form; it means I did the job right!

Or I can just sit home and read Koja, Burroughs, Kerouac and Rice all night because I have to say that i've never lost faith in them. On the other hand, I've lost faith and respect for a lot of authors (the ones living at least) for the antics they pull are things I no longer give a shit about. Why do you have a LJ talking to your "fans" when the last thing you do is talk about writing? Why are you spitting out information and personal recommendations when you should be, well, making up things and writing them down! (Fiction! Let's put the F back in FICTION)  Shame on you. Learn from your peers and mentors. A writer writes; a writer doesn't dither. You're wasting precious time...

Song selection of the day!

The link above makes me want to run through a plethora of sheet rock walls and then off a bridge into an ocean full of vodka. Don't ask me why, this is the result of music upon my brain. That is all.

So there has to be some changes in my life, yet again. Not that I mind complaining about them here, for the 5 people that religiously read this thing (4 perhaps...) but I must let them be known. 

1. My pen name, JD Stone, which I thought was so fucking innovative, is actually taken by a myriad of people and places. This for example, and this, this, and fucking this! So now all my submissions and my old publications will have to changed, I'll have to bed some editors to open the vaults and change the name. I don't know what I'm going to go with yet...I'm quite upset.

2. INTO THE VOID is now going to be called, and honorably so, SONG OF THE SPIRAL. A much more fitting name.

3. I've nothing more to report.

Regrettably so,
Anonymous (now that I have no name)

Song selection of the day.

It has been announced. Please, for the sake of music, click that link and witness history before your very eyes! I can't even express what this means to me, what this band has one for me, the fun I've had partying to their music, Ozzy's voice, Iommi's haunting guitar, Geezer's bashing bass and Bill's thrashing drums. Black Sabbath has been the pinnacle of music for me for over 10 years. They've gotten me out of psychotic situations, made me a happy boy and I'm sure effect has trickled to millions of people across the EARTH! I can't even go on the inspiration this band has had on my writing. Music has always flowed through me, though I am a writer at heart, you will see Black Sabbath influence throughout my work, from black magic to dressing in black, dark makeup, musicians, guitars, lyricists and more. It's something that's in my heart and I can't find a way to get rid of it! It fills me with too much fun.

For example of my work click here for Sins & Tragedies and here for Thadd Presley Presents: Horror. I have work in other major outlets, but I like the stories featured in these anthologies the best. They encompass my earliest work, from when I was about 19 to 23, short stories dealing with the lush, the horrible and the darkly fantastic. My stories these days still deal with those subjects, but are progressively shifting in their own right, which is, right now, for the better. I can't be that angsty little boy forever now can I? So won't you have a look, just for the music? I believe that most of my tales are songs, and well, truth is, every story I've written has been accompanied by a song. "Cursed Blessing," for example, in Sins & Tragedies, was written with The Great Below by NIN on repeat. "Glass Atrophy," was written with Trailer Park Jesus by Glassjaw on repeat. "It's Up to You, New York," in Horror, was written with New York, New York, on repeat by Old Blue Eyes. The story may not correlate with the song, but there is always music, yes, always music.

10 years ago this summer passed, I saw Sabbath live at Ozzfest 2001, when I was little boy of 14-years-old, and it was the best night of my life. I remember being in the 6th row, with Ozzy dead center in my view, him jumping around like a rabbit, Tony to my right looking evil as ever, Geezer on my left looking bad ass, and Bill in the back pounding away, shrouded by flashes of drum stick and cymbals. It was a night like that that would live in my heart as something that meant more to me than anything in the world, to see my heroes live in action and being damn good at it, the best to be exact!. The God's of Heavy Metal, right before my fresh teenage eyes. GOOD TIMES! This performance made it to the official live release. I'm so glad I was able to hear it live! Ozzy's voice is perfect, the entire band is perfect!

That year I also got to see a slew of other great bands, and 2004 marked the last time I saw Sabbath live at Ozzfest 2004, which was the festival's best line-up to date.

So, I will be reliving those memories in 2012, just before the world is set to end, and what better way to die than seeing your heroes on stage, all alive and well and polished for touring live! Not only that, but a new fucking studio album! Gods, what a damn treat! I'm going to do the best of my ability to follow Sabbath as they come to the east coast, and fuck, I have some time to plan this out so I'm excited.

2012 is also when my debut novel Into the Void (which is also the name of a Sabbath song, if you didn't know) will be released. I can't wait for 2012, it will be a damn good year!

Music selection of the day.

I'm happy to announce that Into the Void will be making it to the printers so I can hand out ARC copies to friends who will critique it for me before I send it off the the publisher. It's been a wild ride with this book and I can finally say that I'm semi-proud that considering my CHAOTIC life, I completed a full fledged novel at the age of 24. Pretty young, right? And not so bad for having sold my first published when I was 22. Not published, but SOLD and simultaneously published. Who would have thought? But after two solid years of rejections (namely 19-21) I just turned 22 and was about to throw in the towel when I was told I'd made second place in a horror contest and that I'd won some money! I could've died right there and been happy to do such! 

This book was born when I was 20 years old, but then I got whiff of a little thing called Serial Killers and tried to write a book about them, but which my adolescent mind could not truly accept as a good piece of fiction. So I gave up, wrote tons of short stories to exercise my writer's voice, and then found the my first novel was still waiting for me...Rez, Delilah, Alex, Clive and Lynk...still waiting for me to open up about their lives. So I did, and now the story is complete, but there are plenty of room for short stories, back stories and memories that can be novellas and what not, but a full novel again about them? I don't think so. That won't do any justice. Their lives are complete.

If you want to a sneak peak at some of the characters from the book, there is my story It's Up to You, New York, in an anthology called Thadd Presley Presents: Horror  which features two main characters from Into the Void, Delilah and Rez, on their crazy journey in Queens, NY to find an alien...

Oh, and DON'T forget S&T, it's selling like hot cakes!

------
I've begun reading Under the Poppy by Kathe Koja, a personal hero and new friend of mine, and I have to say it's the sexiest novel I've ever read of hers. I'm not too far in, but so far, it's dark, sarcastic, sexy and yes, a bit funny. More later.

I have nothing much more to report, just keeping happy and trying to not watch television so to focus on writing. I love it how authors who think their prose is stellar and clean and razor-slicing, don't even read. It's amazing. I read their blogs and they focus on television and everything else that won't enhance their work...and they write lines like this...

"The knife was sharp, and it sunk into the girl's flesh with the lust of a thousand demons..."

-_________-

The end.

Living in Mockery,
JD Stone

Happy Haunted Hallowe'en, Halloween and Samhain !

Music selection of the day.

So the apparent horror over at The Twisted Library Forum is all true: Anthologies are null and void. They even dedicated an entire page to it. No hard feelings. I would've liked a formal notice from the editors, and even my payment, but what can a writer do but continue his quest for success but by, well, writing! I won't go on about it, I won't give my opinion other than that I'm actually, if you can believe it, relieved. I lost my faith in the Horror Comes Out anthology long before it even was cancelled, and by this happening I can formally say that I'm glad. Not that I didn't like the authors in the anthology, there are some powerhouse underground names in there, ones such as andrew_wolter myself, J.R. Rodriguez and more. There was even a forward written by the neo Zombie-king himself, David Dunwoody. I just no longer felt I liked the publisher, how slow they were, how rude some of the comments can be. I don't mourn the death of HCO, but I do mourn the death of print publications in general.

I haven't been creating enough these past months or so. It's all been consumed by the novel, still noticeably titled Into the Void (thank you NIN). I'm done, finally, word count at just above 102,000 and looking to not get any higher. I notice most publisher want less than 100,000, but for-fuck's-sake some stories break the rules, and this story certainly does. I think this story is nuts, filled with everything I've done in my psychotic teenage years and then some. Now, who wants to publish it?

Good question, save for another time.

------

In all this editing mumbo-jumbo, I managed to sell a story at a semi-pro rate to a great established press' professional anthology which shall remain unnamed until I sign the contract, and I also managed to get out two stories by Static Movement who published Thadd Presely Presents. I like the collection so far, thought I rarely read my counter parts in anthologies that I'm featured in. I don't know why I do this, perhaps I'm afraid my work isn't good enough compared to the other authors, or maybe I know that my stuff is naturally better. I really don't know. It's probably just my lack of interest since my reading list is too much to count at the moment.

There is still Sins & Tragedies at the lovely price of $7.99 for a PRINT copy. Go get it! I've been getting stellar reviews text to me, e-mailed to me. People love my work. My neighbor told me, and I quote: "Daniel, your stories are filled with psychotic things that I don't agree with, but I could not pry my eyes from the pages!"

HAHAHAHA! The mad author strikes again !

I do, trust me. That's what I love to hear. And I'd be lying if a goal of mine when writing was not to take YOU, dear reader, away from this land and suck you into mine, if only to get you a free vacation for a half hour at a time!

So go get it, pups, do me the honor, you won't regret it.

Once again, Happy Haunted Hallowe'en, Halloween and Samhain!


Spookily yours,
JD Stone

Feeling this At The Moment!

I've been getting some great, well deserved feedback from my stories featured in Sins & Tragedies. And it's $7.99 now so what are you waiting for? GET IT, PLEASE! Where can you find an indie book so CHEAP? A Print Indie title...if you can find print cheaper than that post it right here in the damn blog !

I managed to sell a story yesterday which I'm so stoked about. So there's S&T, Thadd Presley Presents: Horror and the recently sold piece (I'm keeping the press' name under wraps until I make sure thing are final). Something yesterday has sparked me to do such.

andrew_wolter reminded me about a certain publisher who had purchased stories from the both us in an exclusive anthology that was supposed to be put out, well, months ago! Now this certain publisher has closed its doors with no notice to the writers. How nice, right? Such is the life of a writer, we get played for fools and nobody cares. Ah, the old me would have a blood lust against this publisher, but now I've completely given up. I don't want to waste my free time on this mumbo jumbo, though Andrew feels it's not right and will be taking the correct action to get some kind of redemption.  I don't blame him, someone had to stick up for us writers ! I used to be that person, but I gave it up because it takes too much creative energy away from my mind. But for Andrew, this is personal, I'm guessing because it has happened a plethora of times to him. This is only number 2 for me, being double crossed b a publisher that is.

The first was SNM who purchased my first ever published story Grave Offerings 2 and a half years ago for $25 bucks and made a good friend out of me, tugging me on a very nasty fishing line. But when I woke up and realized I was being taken for granted, Mr. Editor didn't like that and tried to brainwash me more, but I stood up for what was right and spoke my mind and we parted ways in a bloody em-mail war. 

And I'll leave that other publishing company out of the loop, because yes, they are LOWER than SNM, if that's even possible.

------

In the news, OWS is no protesting Jews? Oh bejesus this is getting worse and worse. The media wants to kill these people because you know why? Those Wall Street Tycoons fund the media! It's their jobs on the line. They have to find pretty euphemisms on the poor OWS kids and oust them as quickly and efficiently as they can without a finger being pointed at them. But my finger isn't going anywhere. I got you, media, I know what you're up to. More on this another day!


In Fear and Loathing,
JD Stone

ps,
if there are any typos they are of my indiscretion and i'm sorry but I'm E to the X to the H A-U-S-T-E-D

Good Song.

Couple of new developments, and things on my mind. And, like greygirlbeast, there will be a list.


1). Indie publishers versus mainstream publishers...
I had a very vocal, loquacious and "passive-aggressive"* argument with a very nice girl over the weekend at my stay in Rochester (Thank you so much, Visit Rochester !) According to this person, if the author name is not recognizable, then "who do they publish?" Boy did this person know how to make me see red! Once again, a numbers game, a numbers game in a country where the majority of money-spending people think the Star and Enquirer are good reads. Vomit...in my heart. What is the big deal with this numbers crap? Why do numbers make a good author and bad author? Actually, if you put some books back to back, and read them word for word--one being this crap The New York Times calls best sellers, and the other an indie book--you will see the immediate difference. I promise you that. Try it. Pick a title from Random House (or even their "superior indie-esque" imprints like Bantam, Dell, Del Rey, etc...but which I must add these imprints did a fantastic job in the '90s but these days everything is the same) and then put it up against an indie title from Two Dollar Radio, or perhaps anything put out by Cemetery Dance or Chizine and you'll notice (if you have a good eye) the difference. From prose to plot, to likability, to the "want" of reading the book for a second time. 

2). My opinion: if you pick up a book and don't feel the need to read it a second time, the author did something wrong. End of story!

3). Sins and Tragedies is still around, please go grab a copy.

4). There is also a new release! It features two stories of my own from the Pill Hill Press/Static Movement line and many other talented authors. Thadd Presley Presents: Horror. If you buy two copies, you save yourself shipping, though the books are a tad bit pricey, you might as well spend the extra 5 dollars on two books versus one copy and a ridiculous shipping cost. 

5). My friend andrew_wolter has just released his novel on Kindle. Get a copy!


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Enough lists. Lastly, animal abuse, I will Avenge, worry not!!!!!!!


No one gets out alive,
JD Stone


*for you, Jessi, since you said it!