Phil Slattery

Wisdom Quote By T.f. Hodge: “There’s more rewards…”

I find this quote from Elena at Short Wisdom to be very true.

20 Must-Read Southern Gothic Novels

Source: 20 Must-Read Southern Gothic Novels

Here’s an interesting article I recommend. It gives a good, although brief, synopsis of 20 novels of the last 100 years.

Update: The Chamber Gift Shop and Cover Art

Yesterday, I remodeled, so to speak, the Chamber Gift shop by eliminating all the dozens of individual items and installing six collections, which is a feature Zazzle has, in which merchandise is grouped around a theme. Now instead of having to scroll though scores of individual objects, a reader can choose one of the six collections (The Chamber Magazine Collection, Famous Authors Collection, Quotes from the Darkness Collection, Cyberpunk Collection, Steampunk Collection, and The Dark Collection) and go directly to the page for that them. Alternatively, he/she can just follow the link in read above the collections to the homepage of the The Chamber’s Zazzle page and peruse everything.

I also added a block below the collections to my books (both fiction and blank notebooks/ journals) on Pinterest. Clicking on a book will take you to the Pinterest entry on that book. Click on the Pinterest image and you will be taken to the Amazon page for that book, where it can be purchased. This is just a short, easy way for visitors to see the works available and to go to Amazon while I develop something a little grander and easier to use.

I also took all of The Chamber’s cover art, which is that widget in the upper right of the website, and collected it onto another page. Although I have fun creating these covers, it does take some time and effort and I hate to see each of these viewed by the public for only a week or two and then to disappear forever. So, I put them all in one page, which I will update periodically. I also linked this page to The Chamber, so they can be found there also.

Hopefully, I will be making a few more changes soon.

A Tale of Hell Now Available at Your Local Bookstore by Print on Demand.

As of October 23, 2020, A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is being printed and distributed by IngramSpark. With their immense distribution network of over 39,000 retailers, A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is now available by print on demand. Be sure to ask for it at your local book retailer. It will continue to be sold via Amazon in Kindle and in print (though the IngramSpark version will be much nicer).

In this collection of published and previously unpublished stories of horror, I take you on a journey 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 Old West to the present and on to alien worlds in the distant future. Order yours today!

A Tale of Hell Now Available at Your Local Bookstore by Print on Demand.

Joke from the Old Tonight Show

Last night, I was watching reruns of the old Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on YouTube, when Carson told a joke that I feel obligated to share with the modern, more politically correct world to help them lighten up. Do take into consideration that I have had 4-5 margaritas at this ponit and I am old enought to remember episodes of the Tonight Show from the 70’s.

A man went to Mars and when he returned to Earth a friend asked him what Martian women are like. He replied that they are the same as Earth women except their breasts are on their backs.

“That’s really strange,” said his friend.

“Yeah, but it’s great for dancing,” he replied,

Hasta luego.

Side note: Twitter following

The Chamber’s Twitter following broke 200 today.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that The Chamber Magazine now has over 200 followers on Twitter.

Thanks, everyone!

Update: Shadows and Stars and The Chamber, April 28, 2021

It’s 2:50 a.m. and I am starting to feel the pinot noir. I still have a couple of glasses to go.

I am getting back to working on Shadows and Stars. I have been working on Lycanthrope since January, because ideas have been coming to me for Lycanthrope, while Shadows and Stars is becoming increasingly complex and ideas are not coming, if at all, as they once were. I am re-assessing Shadows and Stars and am trying to come up with a denouement that is more all-encompassing, more pervasive than my original idea. I want to have the denouement to be powerful, to explain/reveal more than I had originally envisioned, which was just to reveal the protagonist’s true nature.

Damn, it feels so good to have had a glass of wine too many and be watching clips from the old Tonight Show, which I loved as I was growing up. It’s too bad that it’s 3:00 a.m. and I have to get up at 7:00. It’s nothing I haven’t done before many times. Right now, I am watching The Tonight’s Show 17th Anniversary special (on YouTube). I miss the early 1960’s Tonight Shows, when guests would not only smoke and drink on set, but would often be outright drunk. Right now, Burt Reynolds is squirting a can of whipped cream down Johnny Carson’s pants.

Now Sally Fields, then Burt Reynolds’s girlfriend, on a later show is squirting shaving cream onto Johnny Carson’s head and face.

Carson returns the favor by squirting shaving cream down Sally Fields’s cleavage, on her head, and down her shin.

Today’s television is so damned staid.

This pinot noir is not great, but it’s good enough. It gets the job done.

Steve Martin is on there now. The original “wild and crazy guy”. Today’s generation will never know just how wild and crazy Steve Martin was in his early years.

Anyway…on with The Chamber.

The Chamber is going great guns. I have ten stories in draft. Most need just minor fine-tuning before I post them.

Pie -in-the-face gags now. Hilarious!

Now, back to The Chamber. I am getting a lot of submissions from a lot of great, professional authors. Even the stories I am receiving from authors that have only a few publication credits for a few short stories in a few magazines are really go. It is rare that I have to turn a story down. I feel that I am rather lucky in comparison to many magazine publishers.

I am also learning a hell of a lot about marketing and publicity, too much to write about in this short article. Maybe I will write about it later. The key, though, is to publicize whatever you to the max. I hear something about Bieber (even though I really despise his a**), Megan Three Stallion, Brittney Spears, or whoever, I realize he/she is publicizing himself/herself to the max, which is not only necessary, but essential, to get to the level of the upper strati of the public consciousness that they occupy. I have often thought that every time Madonna farts, it makes the national news. After having studied marketing and publicity for only a short while, that that extreme of self promotion (I am rather humble and backwards, very much an introvert, by nature) is necessary to reach the level of exposure they have in the public’s eye is necessary to their financial success.

Anyway, I have had enough Pinot Noir tonight (it’s 3:45 a.m.) that I am calling it quits while I am seeing only double.

Au revoir. Hasta manana. Bis spaeter.

Entrance to The Chamber

Here’s another video I created as an introduction into The Chamber. Let me know what you think.

Reflections on a Wasted Life

Here is a video I created as an experiment, not to tell a story so much as to capture a mood.

Here is a video I created as an experiment, not to tell a story so much as to capture a mood. Let me know what you think. What mood do you think it captures? How does it make you feel? How much part does the music play in reflecting what is happening in the films as well as in setting the mood.

By the way, I made this film from elements available in the public domain. I did no actual filming myself. I certainly did not compose the music.

Update: The Chamber and My Writing

I have been busy establishing The Chamber over the past month or more and my writing has therefore suffered. The beautiful spring weather here in Arkansas seems to have brought in a severe bout of laziness as well.

On a personal note, as of April 3, I have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Nonetheless, I still follow CDC guidelines as regards wearing a mask and, maintaining social distance. The vaccine is 95% effective, so there is a small chance I could catch Covid-19 or one of its mutants anyway. Wearing a light mask and keeping my distance from strangers (who I normally don’t want to be close to anyway) are very small prices to pay to minimize my chances of dying slowly and miserably.

I was working great guns on Shadows and Stars until I started to be overwhelmed with double-checking all the details and was stumped on working in an additional chapter that I wanted but wasn’t certain if it was necessary or if it might be too much. I need to trim the book down anyway. At that time, I started getting a lot of ideas for Lycanthrope and work furiously on it for a while until I started running out of ideas. I still intend to finish both asap though.

At that point, I started getting a lot of ideas for The Chamber Magazine and started working furiously on that. Now, I have it at a good point, so I can now get back to writing on Shadows and Stars for a while.

I have made a lot of format changes (mostly simplifying things) and some behind the scenes mechanical changes as well, fine tuning it to attract a lot more writers as well as readers. I have also had it listed on two submission engines, Duotrope and The Submission Grinder and with Arkansas Writers. I will submit it to others, including the Horror Writers Association soon.

I have also examined the statistics for The Chamber since resurrecting it (it had been a failed project of mine that had been languishing in the background for several years) and wrote up a summary that can be used as something of a media kit to publicize it and to submit it to different organizations for listing. A copy is below for your information and edification.

The Chamber Magazine, an online magazine headquartered near Gillett in Arkansas County and founded by Phil Slattery, is seeking submission of quality short, contemporary dark fiction (of any genre) and dark poetry (of any style) . It can be found at https://thechambermagazine.com.

The Chamber has been operating since December 2020 and has been steadily growing. To date, the website has had 8,083 hits. It has from 15-270+ visitors/week resulting in 100-800+ views/week. Because The Chamber is striving to create a worldwide readership, since our opening we have had visitors from 65 nations.

The Chamber accepts submissions from writers of all experience levels from around the world. Some of its writers have only a few publication credits of short stories while others, such as Niles Reddick and Marcelo Medone, are professional writers with several novels to their credit.

The Chamber is looking for articles, reviews, essays, poems, and short stories of approximately 7,500 words or less including flash, micro fiction, smoke longs, drabbles or of any flavor of short fiction that demonstrates the art of writing dark fiction, whether it be prose, poetry, one-act plays, or any other form of literature. The Chamber wants to showcase the genre in all its subtlety, intelligence, art, horror, terror, suspense, thrill-seeking, and gruesome detail. The Chamber will also accept dark humor provided it follows the guidelines below with regards to content and good taste. At this time, The Chamber is not interested in anything of the erotica or young adult genres. Specifics are available on the submissions page of the website: https://thechambermagazine.com. Visit the website to find out more.

There is no pay for submissions except for a publication credit and exposure to the market. However, the writer keeps all rights to his/her work. Often, The Chamber offers (by invitation only) its more experienced writers the chance to participate in an interview of about fourteen questions.

The Chamber will accept reprints, multiple submissions, and simultaneous submissions.

The Chamber can be found on Duotrope (Duotrope: Find markets. Track submissions. Get published.) and The Submission Grinder (The Submission Grinder (diabolicalplots.com)).

All submissions, queries, and questions should go to thechambermagazine@gmail.com.

Photo of woman in red turtleneck with face mask — Prevent the spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19. Follow federal, state, and local guidelines. Use common sense when the guidelines are insufficient.

Update: The Chamber on YouTube

Here’s an update on what’s happening at The Chamber.

The Chamber Magazine

Over the last few days, I have been experimenting with developing a YouTube presence for The Chamber. At this point, I am not much of a filmmaker. I don’t have the time, experience, or equipment to develop a professional YouTube video. Ergo, I have been experimenting with public domain, royalty-free videos I can find at Pexels.com or Pixabay.com using free video editing software at Kizoa (using the basic free membership demands that I have the Kizoa logo on my works) or the very simple stuff available using the YouTube Studio editor. Above is about the best film I have developed so far. I have a longer one of a minute and fifteen seconds in the works. As I get the hang of making these, they are becoming easier to make.

I have not yet developed an ultimate goal for these videos other than to use as basic advertising on YouTube…

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The Chamber Magazine is Seeking Dark Fiction and Poetry from Around the World

The Chamber Magazine is seeking articles, reviews, essays, poems, and short stories of approximately 5,000 words (more or less) including flash, micro fiction, smoke longs, drabbles or of any flavor of short fiction that demonstrates the art of writing dark fiction, whether it be prose, poetry, one-act plays, or any other form of literature. We want to showcase the genre in all its subtlety, intelligence, art, horror, terror, suspense, thrill-seeking, and gruesome detail. We will accept dark humor provided it follows the guidelines below with regards to content and good taste.

To be good short fiction, the shorter a work is, the more power it must pack.

There is no pay for publication, but the author retains all rights. Reprints are acceptable. Multiple submissions of up to three works per submission are permitted. Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but you must tell us if the work has been accepted elsewhere. We usually respond within a week. Works generally appear a month after acceptance.

More details about submissions are available on the website.

Send submissions and queries to thechambermagazine@gmail.com.

“Little Girl Blue”, my poem has been published by eclectic THE CHAMBER MAGAZINE.

An Awadh Boy's Panorama : tracing words on these filigreed, discerning fingertips.

Hush! she is a spirit of fine fettle clad in whole nine yards of mystique, haunted by a gossamer fabric of heresy. Maligned in her charm The halo of an apparition, she unfurls her midnight legend. […]

“Little Girl Blue” Poetry by Prithvijeet Sinha

It’s time for some midnight horror aesthetics !!

My poem ‘LITTLE GIRL BLUE’ has been published in the very eclectic portals of THE CHAMBER MAGAZINE.

I thank the editorial team and hope you all enjoy my foray into versatile themes and styles.

So read it, spread the word and share your thoughts. THANK YOU!

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“The Scent” Flash Fiction by Phil Slattery

This is a story I have had published several times since it was first written around 2001. It is also the first story I ever had published. It is poignant and reflective has always been one of my favorites.

A strange thing happens as Quinn lies down to sleep after a night on the town. Rolling onto his side and pulling the covers to his face, he notices the scent of a woman on his sheets and pillows. He thinks at first it is the scent of the latest woman with whom he has been sleeping and of whom he has been thinking a lot since she left for California over a month ago. As he lies contemplating and sniffing the air, he thinks the aroma must be some type of olfactory memory suddenly arisen from the depths of his mind. But no, it is not quite the same as Cynthia’s. It is different. Her hair smells of green-apple-scented shampoo. This has the vague aroma of talcum. The scent enlivens fading memories in a fragile chain bringing things ethereal from his subconscious. The first is the texture of the warm, soft skin of an upper arm covered in tiny goose pimples as his face rests against it under a jumble of blankets on another cold night long ago. Then a shape drifts forward through the darkness, as if he is opening his eyes slowly, and he visualizes the minute blonde hair delicately clinging to the arm as the sensation of body heat lingers. He thinks he detects cigarette smoke, possibly his own, as he has been in a few nightclubs tonight, but he has often gone to bed after smoking and has never experienced this. He thinks maybe the smoke is coming from the stove, which may have been left on after dinner. Dragging himself out of bed and into the kitchen, he finds all burners off. He stumbles back into the bedroom to lie back in bed and contemplate. It is not a single thing that he is responding to, but a combination: the warmth of a body; the smell of cigarettes, talcum, and shampoo; the texture of warm skin with a wispy down.

He stretches back with his fingers interlocked behind his head and clears his mind. He tries to think of nothing, in hopes the aroma will trigger a remembrance. The scent is stronger now. It is sweet and gently relaxes him, but it is not the scent itself that relaxes him. It is a presence associated with it. It is a presence just out of sight, just behind a wisp of smoke. He recognizes the aroma; they are clove cigarettes. There is only one woman who smoked clove cigarettes and shared his bed: Christine, whom he knew seven years ago in Seattle.

Before he left earlier this evening, he had a hunch someone might call, but no one did. There were no messages on the answering machine when he came back. Still, he can almost feel her presence and hopes all is well with her. He wonders if she is thinking of him. He also thinks, God forbid, that if something is dreadfully wrong, it is not her ghost he feels. But, because they parted on good terms, that would be a friendly spirit.

He can almost feel the side of the bed sag slightly under her weight as she sits quietly watching him; he can almost see her long, silky blonde hair flowing over her shoulders; he can almost feel the delicate pressure of her pouty lips against his. Safe in her warm, comforting presence, he falls asleep quickly, hoping that in the morning, unlike a dozen other times, he will not forget to look for his old address book and maybe send her a letter.

As he drifts off, he wonders who she found to replace him, if she has kids, if she is happy. He thinks of the first and last times they made love and if, by some wild twist of fate, they might make love again. But she needed something more, as she put it, and now Quinn sleeps alone once again, with no new prospects on the horizon. Quinn knew what she had meant, but, until now, he never felt it as deep inside as she must have.