HorrorAddicts.net launches our Horror Bites series with an
Alice-inspired story by Adam L. Bealby.
When he met Alice, he wasn’t prepared to go down the rabbit hole. His love for her pushes him into the uncomfortable realization she might be mad. He wants to keep her safe, but what if that’s not what Alice wants?
“Adam Bealby has written a mini masterpiece that explores mental illness, drug addiction, and real life horror.”
~David Watson, The All-Night Library
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A look inside…
Alice’s Scars
BY ADAM L. BEALBY
When I first met her she was Katie, soon to be Alice. It was her first day at Uni, my second, and her scars intrigued me. They lined her cheeks like tribal markings and the way she caked her face in foundation, you could tell they were forever on her mind. It helped, of course, that she was a beautiful Goth girl. I wanted to save her, share her pain, kiss her, and fuck her, too. I asked her what she kept in the drawstring purse around her neck.
“Money,” she said dismissively, turning away to talk to someone else at the bar.
She disappeared soon after. I only found out later how drunk she got, how she spent the rest of the night over a toilet bowl with Jackie holding her hair clear of her mouth. Her first and last run-in with alcohol. Alice had too much else going on in her life to get any more screwed up.
I dogged her all through freshers’ week. Instead of dorms, she’d been accommodated in a little house just off campus. A new friend I met lived there too, so it was an easy thing to fall in with her motley crew, drawn together by circumstance as we were. I became a regular in their kitchen, smoking weed and trying too hard—as we all did—to be quirky and cool.
We struck up conversation over a jar of pesto. I didn’t know what it was and she couldn’t believe it. I strung it out, made it appear I was more ignorant than I actually was, and I got her laughing. When I said her pesto looked like rabbit food she blushed, right through all that paint and powder.
“You don’t know the first thing about rabbits,” she said, and she showed me what was in her drawstring purse. It was a tiny white rabbit’s foot. It freaked me out and yet I felt even more attracted to her. It was my in, a secret shared. Looking at the severed foot I felt myself getting hard and I had to sit down for fear she’d notice.
She ran away that evening. We were all stoned and a bit drunk, talking about our parents, being glib, critical, or overly generous. She burst into tears and ran out of the kitchen and into the night, not even bothering to put her shoes on. We made an extravagant show of hunting for her, shouting her name up and down the street. Pete the Poet, as we later christened him, came out to help from next door. The way John shouted Katie’s name in his Irish accent, Pete thought we’d lost a cat. We had a good laugh about that.
But it wasn’t funny when we found Katie. She was hunkered down by the bushes on a bit of common area at the end of the row.
“Katie? What are you looking for?” I asked as we gathered round in a concerned hub.
“He was here,” she muttered. She’d been pawing at the dirt. Her fingers were black. “I saw him, but he got away from me.”
“Who was here, Katie?”
She looked up. The glare from a passing car lent her eyes a lustrous sheen.
“Alice. Call me Alice from now on, okay? Do you know what time it is? The days all seem to blur into one.”
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Adam L. Bealby writes fantasy, horror and weird fiction for both adults and children. His short stories and comic work have been published in numerous anthologies, including Spooked (Bridge House Publishing), Pagan (Zimbell House Publishing), Darkness Abound (Migla Press), Once Upon a Scream (HorrorAddicts.net), Sirens (World Weaver Press), World Unknown Review Vol. 2, rEvolution (MiFiWriters) and Murky Depths magazine. He lives in Worcestershire, UK with his wife and three children, and a harried imagination. Catch up with his latest ravings at @adamskilad.
Once Upon a Scream, featuring “The Other Daughter” by Adam L. Bealby
Once Upon a Scream…there was a tradition of telling tales with elements of the fantastic along with the frightful. Adults and children alike took heed not to go into the deep, dark woods, treat a stranger poorly, or make a deal with someone-or something-without regard for the consequences. Be careful of what you wish for, you just might get it. From wish-granting trolls, to plague curses, and evil enchantresses, these tales will have you hiding under the covers in hopes they don’t find you. So lock your doors, shutter your windows, and get ready to SCREAM.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was at a retreat with several other writers. The topic of indie writers, small presses, and general writing quality came up. If you’ve ever spent more than ten minutes in a room full of writers, you’re not surprised by that, I’m sure.
One thing I said was this: I’ve read books published by a well-known (in the horror community anyway) medium-sized press where the copy editing was so lacking that I found glaring errors on nearly every page. I’d rather self-publish and pay for my own editing than publish with a house that doesn’t provide a good editorial staff.
Immediately, a chorus of objections arose. “That’s not all there is to editing!” “The story is more important!”
I don’t actually disagree. I know, shocking! 🙂
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to explain myself because unpleasant news about Hurricane Matthew’s looming party-crashing seized everyone’s attention, including mine.
So let me elaborate on what I meant.
If I go to a new Italian restaurant and find that the cooking staff cannot produce a substantial, rich marinara sauce, I don’t need to know much more. I don’t need to wonder if the tiramisu at that restaurant is substandard. I don’t need to taste-test the Pizza Rustica. I don’t need to sample the spinach ravioli either. Why? Because the basics aren’t there. The foundation is weak. I will look elsewhere for my lasagna fix.
If the building blocks of the story — the actual sentences the writer uses to build the plot, develop the characters, and weave the magic spell — are flawed, the structure of the story won’t be as strong as it could be. If the structure isn’t strong, things will fall apart sooner or later. Usually sooner.
When I check out a book, usually via Amazon’s “look inside” feature, I can’t read more than a few pages. I can’t read enough to know if the story itself will pass muster. I can, however, notice the basics. If I see spelling errors, bad grammar, screwy punctuation, etc., I have a pretty good idea I won’t enjoy the journey very much, no matter how good the story idea might be.
That said, can a book be perfectly grammatical, excellently punctuated, and brilliantly spelled and still be lousy? Oh, heck yeah. I’ve run into a few of those, too.
On balance, however, I’ve seen way more badly spelled, badly punctuated, ungrammatical books — usually with stories I can’t get into because the basics aren’t sound — than correctly spelled, well punctuated, grammatical books with incompetent stories.
In my opinion, the ultimate responsibility for correcting these errors rests with the publisher if there is one and with the writer only if the book is self-published. If a publishing house is involved, I hold them responsible for editing. Granted, some writers are as obsessed with words and grammar as I am. Some aren’t. If you write and aren’t good with grammar, hire a copy editor, especially if you plan to self-publish.
Photo: singhajay at morgueFile.com
What is success for a writer? Heck, what is success for anyone, especially anyone working in the arts?
If you’re writing and you measure your success solely by the dollars and cents or the number of books you sell each week/month/year, the chances are pretty good, you’re going to be frustrated.
It’s difficult for readers to discover a new writer’s books. So many writers, so many books. And they’re all demanding, begging, pleading for attention. Readers tune out all the promotional pleas like so many droning mosquitos – and sometimes they swat them entirely with such programs as AdBlock.
So what is success? Finishing that last draft. Working out the plot so all the bits come together in the end. Creating a cast of great, three-dimensional characters. Crafting some wonderful, singing sentences. In short, doing the work.
It’s not that much different from any other artistic endeavor. Money is good, but finding joy and fulfillment in the act of creating the work is better. And if you’re lucky, persistent, and continue to improve your craft, you might find the money follows as well.
Then you can crack open that bottle of bubbly if you want to. (Or, if you’re me, buy a pound of that ultra-expensive coffee I covet.)
Photo: Alvimann at morgueFile.com
Typewriter
I often hear, “Why can’t I write like (fill in the name of a famous writer from the ‘60s, ‘70s, or ‘80s?)” Folks tend not to like my answer: That was then. This is now.
Tastes change. Trends change.
I came of age when you could title a play “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad,” or “The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade,” or a book “Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me,” or “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values.” These days, the smart money goes with short titles. One to four words. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe shorter attention spans.
And, yes, some writers of the past wrote paragraph-long sentences full of descriptive language that advanced the plot not one inch. Readers today have so many other options for entertainment, and, frankly, they have shorter attention spans. They won’t stick with you if you take tangents. Again, because little in writing is absolute, some writers working today still get away with it. James Lee Burke is one. Unless you have his chops, his following, and his backlist, I’d suggest you not try walking this particular high wire.
Push the envelope a bit if you want to. Don’t shred it. That’s my advice anyway, for what it’s worth.
How many times have you heard a writer say (or say yourself – I know I’ve said it), “I’d love to attend a conference, but they’re so expensive. And how can I get away from home? Conferences are all so far away. I don’t know the city such-and-such a conference is in, and I’m nervous about being there alone.”
Well, this one is online (you can attend from your bedroom or living room or the coffee shop down the road), both in real time and archived (so you can read the sessions and watch the video chats any time), filled with high-quality teachers (to judge from last year’s roster and the few announced so far for this year), and FREE. Free. Can’t beat that.
If you’re a writer, whether you’re an indie or traditionally published author or a hybrid, you owe it to yourself and your readers to work on your craft every way you can. Attending writers conferences, whether online or physical, is one way to do that.
So why would you pass up this opportunity? Great teachers. Extreme convenience. And free.
I attended last year and will again this year. And for the record, I have no other connection with this conference. I’m not a presenter; I’m not a sponsor; I’m just an attendee who thinks this is a great resource for writers of all stripes.
I’ve never been terribly fond of talking (or writing, which amounts to the same thing, doesn’t it?) about myself. But I suppose I need to put something explanatory here.
I’m a writer. I write slightly snarky, humourous vampire stories, mostly set in the US South. I also write flat-out horror, often featuring my own version of zombies, and still often set in the US South. Then there are non-horror, non-vampire stories that come out of nowhere.
Fright Mare: Women Write Horror Edited by Billie Sue Mosiman
