Month: June 2019

Update: Major Changes to the Website

After some deliberation, I have decided to make a couple of major changes to this website.

  1.  I will be taking submissions of literary fiction of all genres and announcements for publication on this website.  Please see my submissions and announcements page for more details and guidelines. There will be no pay in the foreseeable future. You will have, however, all the glory that comes with being published on this website. They will probably be published on Friday nights.
  2. I am changing the name of the website to Slattery’s Magazine, so that the publication credit will look good on the resume of anyone published here.
  3. I will be focusing less on horror on this website and will be leaning more toward mainstream and popular fiction.  That does not mean that I will not publish horror.  I love good horror. I will just be throwing other genres into the mix.
  4. I have removed the pages focused on horror and migrated them to The Chamber Magazine, which is also accepting submissions.  The guidelines are close to the same as these, but focused more on horror and on flash fiction.
  5. I am restarting the Saturday Night Special feature that I ran for 43 installments a few years ago.  It will run on Saturday nights, of course, at 6:00 p.m. eastern standard time (11:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time–i.e. in London, England).  In accordance with the website changes, I will incorporate more mainstream literature into it, though I will initially re-run a lot of the original horror stories until I can find some good mainstream stories. Originally, I ran stories from prior to 1923, the year of institution of copyright laws in the US, in order to avoid copyright problems. I will probably continue to do so. I will focus on what are generally considered to be classic short stories, e.g. by Poe, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and others.

Stand by for more updates as they occur.  Check back frequently.

“Diabolical: Three Tales of Jack Thurston and Revenge” is Available on Kindle and in Print

Please go to amazon.com/author/philslattery or Goodreads or any other social media to leave a review.

Jack Thurston is a retired professor of medieval literature and history. He is also a widower and father and a retired sorcerer who has returned to the black arts to exact revenge for the death of his wife, daughter, and brother. He has an intriguing position in the universe at a focal point of life, the afterlife, logic and reason, anger and hatred, the ancient and the modern worlds, grief and his attempts to escape grief through self-destruction. Though he wants to have the peace he once found with his wife, Agatha, he is pulled in many directions by circumstance and by his powerful negative emotions.

I am a fan of the old school horror practiced by such authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Poe, Edward Lucas White, and Arthur Machen.  I endeavor to make a story as terrifying and suspenseful for the reader as possible without resorting to gratuitous blood and gore for a simple shock or quick feeling of disgust.

This collection of three short tales is perfect for those who have only a few short breaks to escape into the hidden world of horror, black magic, sorcery, and anger-fueled revenge.

You can find this and other works at my Amazon author’s page:  www.amazon.com/author/philslattery.

Currently, Jack has a Twitter account (@jthurston666), where he has attracted a small following and where it has only recently been revealed that he is fictional. Jack has his own blog at jackthurstonblog.wordpress.com (a work in progress) and his own e-mail at jackthurston666@gmail.com.

Information on more social media accounts and other characters (as they are developed) can be found at: philslattery.wordpress.com. Please interact with him at any of his social media accounts as you would with a real person.

Show your appreciation for these stories by leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.

If you enjoy horror, check out my collection of horror short stories A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror: Stories of wizards, werewolves, serial killers, alien worlds, and the damned, which includes these stories.

Update: Major Changes to the Website

After some deliberation, I have decided to make a couple of major changes to this website.

  1.  I will be taking submissions of literary fiction of all genres and announcements for publication on this website.  Please see my submissions and announcements page for more details and guidelines. There will be no pay in the foreseeable future. You will have, however, all the glory that comes with being published on this website. They will probably be published on Friday nights.
  2. I am changing the name of the website to Slattery’s Magazine, so that the publication credit will look good on the resume of anyone published here.
  3. I will be focusing less on horror on this website and will be leaning more toward mainstream and popular fiction.  That does not mean that I will not publish horror.  I love good horror. I will just be throwing other genres into the mix.
  4. I have removed the pages focused on horror and migrated them to The Chamber Magazine, which is also accepting submissions.  The guidelines are close to the same as these, but focused more on horror and on flash fiction.
  5. I am restarting the Saturday Night Special feature that I ran for 43 installments a few years ago.  It will run on Saturday nights, of course, at 6:00 p.m. eastern standard time (11:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time–i.e. in London, England).  In accordance with the website changes, I will incorporate more mainstream literature into it, though I will initially re-run a lot of the original horror stories until I can find some good mainstream stories. Originally, I ran stories from prior to 1923, the year of institution of copyright laws in the US, in order to avoid copyright problems. I will probably continue to do so. I will focus on what are generally considered to be classic short stories, e.g. by Poe, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and others.

Stand by for more updates as they occur.  Check back frequently.

“A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror” is Available on Amazon Kindle and in Print

My e-book collection of horror shorts A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror” is available on Amazon Kindle.  For your copy, go to my Amazon author’s page (amazon.com/author/philslattery) where you can find links to my other works as well.

In this collection of published and previously unpublished stories of horror, I offer a look into the minds of people who perpetrate horrors, from acts of stupidity with unintended results to cold-hearted revenge to pure enjoyment to complete indifference. Settings range from 17th-century France in the heart of the werewolf trials to the resurrection of the Aztec black arts to a medicine man’s revenge in the Old West to the depths of Hell to mob vengeance and modern day necromancy to sociopathic serial killers and on to alien worlds in the distant future.

Don’t forget to show your appreciation for these tales by leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.

 

P.S. Winn gave the collection four stars on Amazon, calling it “Great variety”, and commented: “The author has given readers a fantastic collection of varied horror stories. Short stories, flash fiction and even shorter micro fiction tales are included in a collection that might have readers keeping their lights on. I have read other books by this author and love the writing style and the way his words draw one into the tales.”

Comments on previously published stories (which are only a part of those in this collection) include:

Jay Manning, editor of Midnight Times commented in its Spring, 2006 issue: “Wolfsheim” is basically a traditional horror story that tells the tale of a small European village confronted by the threat of werewolves. If you like stories about lycans, you definitely need to check this one out. Great stuff.”

Publisher Charlie Fish of Fiction on the Web summarizes A “Tale of Hell” as a “… chilling vision of hell”. Other comments on “A Tale of Hell” from readers of Fiction on the Web:

“An intense and well paced story, cleverly leading the reader up a number of garden paths before Jack’s reality finally clarifies and appears in all its horror. The writing is focused and spare as Jack’s malevolent characteristics and idiosyncrasies manifest themselves…Overall a strong tale that lingers in the imagination…”

“brilliantly descriptive piece on man´s apparently unstoppable descent, literally into hell,…”

” Enjoyed this story. I thought it was nicely written. Started with a familiar vision of hell, but added several unique treatments; kept me interested in how it all would end. Thanks”

Publisher Charlie Fish of Fiction on the Web summarizes “Dream Warrior” as a “…powerful revenge epic about a man who visits his Mexican grandfather for spiritual guidance after a violent crime results in the death if his fiancée”. Fiction on the Web readers commented:

“quite literally a rite of passage, mystical and with an interesting payoff, one which Miguel may have to reckon with in time. some very good writing and characterisation. well done”

“…this is a rite of passage, complex and rich with significance. The cultural invocations are vivid and intense, the work of a writer in his/her full stride. The future for Miguel, who knows? The readers interest is fully engaged with what is to come…”

“Really enjoyed the story-kept me up past my bedtime reading it!”

“I loved the concept, was fascinated by the almost hallucinatory detail of legend with its fatal shadowlands.”

Reader comments on “Murder by Plastic” include:

“Chilling and brilliantly economical”

“Very well-paced and intriguing”

“Fabulous story! Five stars!”

Follow me using the link on the homepage or check back frequently for updates.

Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or on other social media.

Marketing Test

Phil Slattery, 2015

For at least the next few weeks, I will be testing advertising my works at various times to see how that will affect book sales.  For example, you probably saw the same announcements for Diabolical and Alien Embrace at least four times (every six hours) each on a few days, sometimes in sequence, to see if that not only affects sales in the US, but around the globe as well. My followers in other countries occasionally purchase a work, but I have to ask myself if this is because of the difference in time zones and because I have been making announcements only once per day. For example, if I announce a book is available at 8:00 eastern standard time (EST) in the US, which is an optimal time to advertise in the US, that announcement reaches people in India around 5:30 pm, which may or may not be a time when the announcement will reach the most viewers.

What gave me this ideas is noticing that since I have started advertising my works once per day at 8:00 EST, my readership in India has picked up. Therefore, I am experimenting to determine the optimal times to reach a worldwide audience.

Unfortunately, this will clutter this website with the same repeated ads, so I will run these multiple ads only sporadically.  I will not be doing this every day.

You will also start seeing the occasional article in another language as part of the effort to reach a global audience.  This articles will be most likely be in German, French, or Spanish, all of which I can speak or read to some degree.  A translation may or may not be provided.

Phil Slattery’s Sci-Fi Novelette “Alien Embrace” Is Free on Amazon Kindle Today

In celebration of the launch of the Mars Rover Spirit on this date in 2003, my novelette Alien Embrace is free on Amazon Kindle today.

In Alien Embrace, Logan Rickover, owner of a hardware store in a small town in Kentucky, has lucid dreams of life as an astronaut that intrude upon his life at any moment. Which of his lives is real? The quiet paradise of Danville or the terrifying jungle world of Stheno D?

Ron Baker commented, “This short has exactly what I like in science fiction: planet exploration and bizarre otherworldly aliens, in this case insectoid. The horrendous purpose the aliens have for the hapless astronauts who make planetfall to find the numerous previous missing exploration teams is grisly. I love the mystery of the planet and the authors device of alternating from the aliens bizarre perspective then switching to the astronauts point of view.”

I will be offering more of my works for free in the upcoming weeks.  Check back often.

Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.

How to Write a Great Headline — The Art of Blogging

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read the title of your blog post, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. This is why a great headline is so important. The better the headline, the better your odds of getting your content read by more people. Writing a great headline still […]

via How to Write a Great Headline — The Art of Blogging

Atemlos durch das Jahr. Über Herbert Kapfers Roman „1919“ — Literatur.denken

Am 7. Juli 1987 besuchte der Herausgeber und Autor Fritz J. Raddatz seinen Schriftstellerkollegen Walter Kempowski. Nach dem Treffen notierte Raddatz in seinem Tagebuch: „Dann zeigte er mir sein vollkommen absurdes, tickhaft überbordendes Archiv mit 1000en von Fotos, Laienbiographien, grotesken handschriftlichen Lebensläufen im Sinne des ewigen Taxifahrergesprächs ‚Mein Leben, wenn ich das aufschreiben täte, es…

via Atemlos durch das Jahr. Über Herbert Kapfers Roman „1919“ — Literatur.denken

Update: Major Changes to the Website

After some deliberation, I have decided to make a couple of major changes to this website.

  1.  I will be taking submissions of literary fiction of all genres and announcements for publication on this website.  Please see my submissions and announcements page for more details and guidelines. There will be no pay in the foreseeable future. You will have, however, all the glory that comes with being published on this website. They will probably be published on Friday nights.
  2. I am changing the name of the website to Slattery’s Magazine, so that the publication credit will look good on the resume of anyone published here.
  3. I will be focusing less on horror on this website and will be leaning more toward mainstream and popular fiction.  That does not mean that I will not publish horror.  I love good horror. I will just be throwing other genres into the mix.
  4. I have removed the pages focused on horror and migrated them to The Chamber Magazine, which is also accepting submissions.  The guidelines are close to the same as these, but focused more on horror and on flash fiction.
  5. I am restarting the Saturday Night Special feature that I ran for 43 installments a few years ago.  It will run on Saturday nights, of course, at 6:00 p.m. eastern standard time (11:00 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time–i.e. in London, England).  In accordance with the website changes, I will incorporate more mainstream literature into it, though I will initially re-run a lot of the original horror stories until I can find some good mainstream stories. Originally, I ran stories from prior to 1923, the year of institution of copyright laws in the US, in order to avoid copyright problems. I will probably continue to do so. I will focus on what are generally considered to be classic short stories, e.g. by Poe, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and others.

Stand by for more updates as they occur.  Check back frequently.

Phil Slattery’s Sci-Fi Novelette “Alien Embrace” is Available on Amazon Kindle and in Print

Logan Rickover, owner of a hardware store in a small town in Kentucky, has lucid dreams of life as an astronaut that intrude upon his life at any moment. Which of his lives is real? The quiet paradise of Danville or the terrifying jungle world of Stheno D?

This novelette is a terrific read for those who have only a quick break to take a breather and escape to another reality.  In this sci-fi thriller, I endeavor to blur the boundaries between alien-induced hallucinations, the brutal reality of the present, and memories of an idyllic past.

Ron Baker calls it “Nightmare Planet”, gives it five stars, and comments: “This short has exactly what I like in science fiction: planet exploration and bizarre otherworldly aliens, in this case insectoid. The horrendous purpose the aliens have for the hapless astronauts who make planetfall to find the numerous previous missing exploration teams is grisly. I love the mystery of the planet and the authors device of alternating from the aliens bizarre perspective then switching to the astronauts point of view.”

Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.

Check back frequently for updates.