My work was more on the implementation side...I was a District Ranger. So trying to kill trees, grow grass, and clean toilets...and the bean counters were rarely helpful!😂
Funny thing is for years I was our regional appeals and litigation SME for wildlife and actually helped develop a lot of the regulations I was abiding by, and I had people argue with me about what the regulations said...not a good plan...😂
Oh yeah, I did compliance in California, balancing federal and Cali’s extra regulations was a lot. So glad not to have that stress anymore. Bet you are too!
holy fucking shit this had me contorted into a fetal position by the end of it. I’ve been wanting to work on horror writing but have a hard time with it, and i realized that’s probably because I don’t read enough horror. I feel like I’ve discovered a little goldmine with your substack, like this is so brilliantly crafted and the PACING is so good. I always feel like I’m learning so much about writing whenever I read your writing lol
So the problem is that i find the horror genre so cool and fascinating but i'm also a huge scaredy cat lmao and have a hard time with body horror especially. I'd like to read some more Stephen King--i've only read Misery and On Writing, both of which were great--and I loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. My fav horror is probably fantasy horror--maybe because if there are no magical elements, it's just too real and scary lol. I love Neil Gaiman's stuff cause it's not quite horror but it tends towards the weird eerie spooky type shit which i love!
Haha! I hear that a lot, “I love horror but it scares me!” That’s what it’s supposed to do! Horror is always going to have gore, that’s what makes it horror.
As for recs:
Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning and Smoke series is more fantasy driven, but also has monsters and the like. Anything by Seanan McGuire would be good, too, she has a number of dark fantasy series, including one set half in the fairy realm. Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is awesome as well.
If you’re really feeling brave, my all-time favorite horror urban fantasy is Stephen Blackmoore’s Eric Carter series. Carter is a necromancer and the whole series is set in a Los Angeles where mages try to coexist with normies who don’t know that magic exists. It’s pretty dark and as you can imagine, having a protagonist who’s a necromancer means there’s a good bit of gore.
Ooh that sounds super cool, I am fond of necromancers. I’m in the middle of the locked tomb trilogy—not rly horror but there is a lot bone and flesh magic and one of the most inappropriately yet perfectly placed dad jokes of all time.
I mean there’s horror stories that are more about the slow creeping feeling of dread rather than gore and jump scares which is also cool. I think I just have a limited capacity for it despite liking the genre 😆 thanks for the recs!
Wow, this seems like a borris Karloff horror with a little Lovecraft feel to it. I like it. Awesome slime story. I am fond of slime. But I like the moral lesson here for Bill. It is rather a shame he didn't get his punishment but innocent people got harmed. Great piece of comedy horror @Honeygloom.
A wonderful progression of a good idea goes astray to return with vengeance and slap you on the face. A Kafka’s metamorphosis — the bugs with in expressed with entertainment.
Oh God this was funny! Not only poking fun at the bureaucratic bean-counter mentality put the whole "teamwork" conformity b.s. peddled by inept management...😂
My work was more on the implementation side...I was a District Ranger. So trying to kill trees, grow grass, and clean toilets...and the bean counters were rarely helpful!😂
Funny thing is for years I was our regional appeals and litigation SME for wildlife and actually helped develop a lot of the regulations I was abiding by, and I had people argue with me about what the regulations said...not a good plan...😂
Oh the arguments 🙄 “Did you READ the standards? No? Then hush.”
Oh I sympathize...I'm retired from the US Forest Service...the federal bureaucracy is the worst of the worst...😂
Oh yeah, I did compliance in California, balancing federal and Cali’s extra regulations was a lot. So glad not to have that stress anymore. Bet you are too!
holy fucking shit this had me contorted into a fetal position by the end of it. I’ve been wanting to work on horror writing but have a hard time with it, and i realized that’s probably because I don’t read enough horror. I feel like I’ve discovered a little goldmine with your substack, like this is so brilliantly crafted and the PACING is so good. I always feel like I’m learning so much about writing whenever I read your writing lol
Wow, that’s a huge compliment! Thank you so much!
What type of horror do you like? I’ve got recommendations for days if you need reading material😂
So the problem is that i find the horror genre so cool and fascinating but i'm also a huge scaredy cat lmao and have a hard time with body horror especially. I'd like to read some more Stephen King--i've only read Misery and On Writing, both of which were great--and I loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. My fav horror is probably fantasy horror--maybe because if there are no magical elements, it's just too real and scary lol. I love Neil Gaiman's stuff cause it's not quite horror but it tends towards the weird eerie spooky type shit which i love!
Haha! I hear that a lot, “I love horror but it scares me!” That’s what it’s supposed to do! Horror is always going to have gore, that’s what makes it horror.
As for recs:
Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning and Smoke series is more fantasy driven, but also has monsters and the like. Anything by Seanan McGuire would be good, too, she has a number of dark fantasy series, including one set half in the fairy realm. Stephen King’s Dark Tower series is awesome as well.
If you’re really feeling brave, my all-time favorite horror urban fantasy is Stephen Blackmoore’s Eric Carter series. Carter is a necromancer and the whole series is set in a Los Angeles where mages try to coexist with normies who don’t know that magic exists. It’s pretty dark and as you can imagine, having a protagonist who’s a necromancer means there’s a good bit of gore.
Ooh that sounds super cool, I am fond of necromancers. I’m in the middle of the locked tomb trilogy—not rly horror but there is a lot bone and flesh magic and one of the most inappropriately yet perfectly placed dad jokes of all time.
I mean there’s horror stories that are more about the slow creeping feeling of dread rather than gore and jump scares which is also cool. I think I just have a limited capacity for it despite liking the genre 😆 thanks for the recs!
Wow, this seems like a borris Karloff horror with a little Lovecraft feel to it. I like it. Awesome slime story. I am fond of slime. But I like the moral lesson here for Bill. It is rather a shame he didn't get his punishment but innocent people got harmed. Great piece of comedy horror @Honeygloom.
Thank you!! Ah he’s going to suffer, don’t worry. He’ll have a lifetime of suffering.
A wonderful progression of a good idea goes astray to return with vengeance and slap you on the face. A Kafka’s metamorphosis — the bugs with in expressed with entertainment.
Aw thanks!
Oh God this was funny! Not only poking fun at the bureaucratic bean-counter mentality put the whole "teamwork" conformity b.s. peddled by inept management...😂
Maaaybe working through some stuff 😂 I’m glad you liked it!
Haha this was so fun. <3
Ahh I’m glad! ❤️