2015

Good morning. Dispensing with 2014, as wonderful as it was for me, here is a list of the books I read in order.

1. The Black Spider - Gotthelf
2. Going Clear - Wright
3. Autobiography - Morrissey
4. The Accursed - Joyce Carol Oates
5. Seven Footprints to Satan - A. Merritt 
6. Night Magic - Thomas Tryon
7. Harvest Home - Thomas Tryon
8. Mindfuckers - Felton, Green, Dalton
9. The Model - Robert Aickman 
10. Now You See It - Richard Matheson
11. The Scarf - Robert Bloch
12. Anarchaos - Curt Clark
13. The Businessman - Thomas M. Disch
14. Some of Your Blood - Theodore Sturgeon
15. The Third Reich - Roberto Bolaño
16. Excavation - Steve Rasnic Tem
17. A Call for the Dead - John Le Carre
18. More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon 
19. The Three Impostors - Arthur Machen
20. Nazi Literature in America - Roberto Bolaño 
21. The Spectral Link - Thomas Ligotti
22. A Heart So White - Javier Marias
23. The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
24. Conjure Wife - Fritz Leiber
25. The Pilgrim Hawk - Glenway Wescott
26. Woodcutters - Thomas Bernhard
27. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
28. A Murder of Quality - John Le Carre
29. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
30. All Souls - Javier Marías
31. Burnt Black Suns - Simon Strantzas
32. Autumn in the Abyss - John Claude Smith
33. North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud
34. Ana Kai Tangata - Scott Nicolay
35. Every House is Haunted - Ian Rogers
36. Gardinel's Real Estate - Orrin Grey and M.S. Corley
37. Revival - Stephen King
38. Secret Things - Stacey Longo
39. Desolation - Tim Lebbon
40. When the Stars are Right - Scott R. Jones
41. The Nickronomicon - Nick Mamatas
42. The Sea of Ash - Scott Thomas
43. Wolf in White Van - John Darnielle
44. Devourer of Souls - Kevin Lucia

In addition, I read stories by Lovecraft, Ligotti, and Aickman, as I tend to do.

I'm sorry to hear that 2014 was not a good year for many of you. My demon year was 2013. Even now I flip the furious bird at that year. Sometimes I argue in the shower with people who went out of their way to make my life difficult that year. In my head, I mean. I wouldn't invite any of those bastards into my yard, never mind my shower. Except for the little oasis at Necronomicon and a few lovely excursions with friends, it was a year of worry and quotidian fears.

2015, as I've said, will see some of my stories hitting anthologies for the first time. I'm so excited about this I'm tempted to alienate everyone on Facebook by bringing it up every day. I also have a few stories out for consideration, one of which I may restore to novella length soon. I have works in progress too, of course, and ideas, ideas, ideas.

As far as books, the next thing will be a DIY chapbook which I'm having a lot of fun writing. That will necessarily be a limited thing, as I'm doing it all myself, or paying a local copy shop to do it. Obviously there will be no eBook version. Signed and numbered because why not. After that will be "The Witch-Cult of Western Massachusetts." The illustrator has sent me five of the thirteen illustrations and they're so damned good it's a daily temptation to share them.


As for reading, I've recently bought a large number of books with Christmas money. If I didn't buy another (ha!), I'd have more than enough to read this year. Also, new books are due to be released from Nathan Ballingrud, Simon Strantzas, Mike Griffin, and others, and I'll be spending some dough on those. I'm straddling the years reading "The White Hands and Other Weird Tales" by Mark Samuels now, and finding the stories terrific.

Here at the Bartlett-Saulnier stronghold, we wound down 2014 with sundaes and Star Trek. We began 2015 with jowl bacon and fried eggs and strong coffee. Soon we will enjoy brunch with some friends. I always find New Year's Day to be a dreary affair. I feel adrift and vaguely depressed. This new tradition of getting together with a few good people alleviates that quite nicely.

If 2014 was your demon year, I hope things come together for you better this year. I anticipate facing some powerful losses soon, but my support system is strong and sturdy-hearted and kind.  I hope to see my old friends and meet my new friends for the first time. I look forward to making new friends at conventions and online. I may even try to get less fat by the time Necronomicon rolls around.

May 2015 treat you well.