GUMBO FICTION PART 3

GUMBO FICTION PART 2

More photos from the reading on the 11th. That suave guy is Mort Castle. More photos tomorrow.

JOYCE CAROL OATES, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST

David Bainbridge told me that Joyce Carol Oates will be one of the GoH at this year's Printer's Row LitFest. I have a one degree separation with her, not six, thanks to Mort Castle. I never would have thought I'd be in the same book as Oates, but there I am.

RAIL RIDER/THIRD RAIL RIVER ROAD/ROSEMONT

Decades ago, Mark Rainey dropped me off at the (then) River Road el stop on the Blue Line, and I told him that I would write him a story as I waited for my train. Mark was going to be moving away from Chicago and going back to North Carolina, hence the story. Which started with Mark getting back into his car.

The story was reprinted several times, first in Year's Best Horror (where the title was changed back to "Rail Rider" after the first editor wanted it to be called "Third Rail", when the first title made perfect sense), then every time

sense. So, over the decades, Mark is continually getting into his car on a foggy September night in 1987. I had never thought to do so before, the many times I had gone to Chicago Comic-Con and then Wizard World after that, to take photos of that el stop along the Kennedy. I rectified that.

The only thing to add is that, if you ever read the original short story, I describe the buildings across from me in detail, if anything to add to the claustrophobia of the el platform as opposed to the wide open areas to the north and west. By looking at the photos, not a single building from that time remains and there is not a single empty area to be seen.

RIP KAROLINA STEPEK: POLISH COP, PINK NINJA

So Mort Castle invited me, years ago, to speak to the kids at Columbia downtown. That's Mort with the moustache next to David Bainbridge. Mort has written dozens of books and edited On Writing Horror, and I am a part of that. I talked about my dad having been a cop and that is why so many of my stories were really based on events my dad and his partners had to deal with over the course of their careers.

Karolina attended that class and was also a cop and we became friends. She got cancer and I would call her while she was getting her chemo treatments. I visited her on Christmas Eve of 2015 after she had received word that there was a bone marrow match from someone in France. Unfortunately, the match did not take, though for 89 days, everything seemed to be going good. We all know the end to cancer stories.

Karolina died two weeks ago Sunday. She was 40 years old. And had the most beautiful eyes.

UK EDITION OF ALL-AMERICAN HORROR

My story "High Moon", a werewolf-western, is in the book. Here is the original US edition for comparison. Mort Castle as editor. The US edition was out in the fall of 2013. An Italian edition will come out soon.

ALL-AMERICAN HORROR OF THE 21st CENTURY: THE FIRST DECADE

Thanks for the patience any repeat visitors to my website had while there was radio silence from this end. My father had two brain surgeries and was hospitalized for 51 days. He's missing part of his skull. I'm going to try posting regularly now that he is home and in stable condition.

Mort Castle accepted a story of mine, "High Moon", to be reprinted in a Best of... anthology, published by Wicker Park Press. (I just noticed the repeats in photos, my apologies. It was great to be included in the book, alongside other brilliant writers like Jay Bonansinga. I'm saddened that Walter White never had a chance to read any of the stories.

City Lit in Logan Square

So Mort Castle edited the book and the readers were Jay Bonansinga (pictured here with his lovely wife Jill Brazel), John Everson, Sam Weller, and Jeff Jacobson. Eric Miller, the guy who published the book for Wicker Park Press was there, but both here and on FB the photo is coming up with some weird code where it won't upload. Finally, though, the photos. UPDATE: Eric's photo mysteriously loaded this time.