Slowing Down

Things have really slowed down in life, due to declining health and an inability to concentrate on new work because I live in a madhouse.  The writing life is such a delight and it one of two things that really make life worth living.  So now, being unable to write because of weakness and distraction, I feel like one of ye walking dead.  Happily, I still have much to look forward to as an author, and so perhaps it's a good thing for me to stop and rest for a few years; I mean, I have so many books still coming out that people will burn out on my work.  There are several anthology appearances yet to happen, but the one I am most excited about is THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS, for which Maryanne K. Snyder and I have written an extremely unusual story set in London in the last 1870's, in the year that Oscar Wilde, having graduated from university, moved to London and set up house with the artist Frank Miles.  This is the same period in which the children of Sesqua Valley were awakened by settlers moving into the valley.  So I thought it would be fun to write a story in which the first-born beast of Sesqua Valley, Simon Gregory Williams, journeys to Victorian London and has a wee encounter with Oscar Wilde.  It was great fun, writing that story with Maryanne.  She was here last night signing the signature sheets of the book with me.  It is going to be an awesome book, edited by Jason V Brock and William F. Nolan.

Maryanne and I at ye Lovecraft Plaque at Brown University

Although it may be some time before I work on completely new books--and if I don't get my health back that time may never come--I have been daydreaming and planning one last huge omnibus aka The Tangled Muse, that would contain the best of my fiction that I have written since that gorgeous Centipede Press book was publish'd.  Included would be the new stories from forthcoming books, tales such as "Gathered Dust" and "The Strange Dark One."  I also want the entire Some Unknown Gulf of Night included and have the entire of Lovecraft's Fungi from Yuggoth in the book as well, as prologue to Gulf.  If my strength and ability to write returns, then I'll compose a few substantial new stories for the book as well.  I plan on calling this new omnibus Unhallowed Places, and wou'd like to see it published around 2016.  So, although I absolutely cannot work on new fiction now and may not be able to for some time, I shall not be idle.  At the moment I am carefully going over the entire Some Unknown Gulf of Night, polishing and revising.  I have entirely rewritten segment XIII. 

I am thankful to my editors and publishers, and especially to my readers.  I love you for your support.  This Friday I will be visited by Larry Roberts and S. T. Joshi, and I hope to get them before my webcam to discuss the new line of Mythos books that S. T. is edited for Arcane Wisdom Press.