What You'll Get: Turn to Ash Vol. 2

The Frame Novella, Cold Call

The second volume of Turn to Ash showcases the ambition of its editor, Benjamin Holesapple. The "magazine" in this instance may also classify as a sort of collaborative novella, with Johnathan Raab taking the helm as lead writer. Raab has a penchant for dark humor, creeping horror and strong characterization. Chuck Leek is a grizzled veteran of radio, Art Bell with a cowboy hat and a fondness for whiskey. Co-host Ken and Akula also have strong personalities, both deserving of further time and consideration in future stories.

I hope that Ben returns to this format in the future, in part because I have more Chuck Leek stories ready to go, but also because I'd like to see these characters more and more.

The frame-novella has inspired me to read Raab's The Lesser Swamp Gods of Little Dixie (linked below), and it will be one of my next Kindle purchases.

The Fiction and Non Fiction:
For the fiction, I find myself in a dilemma. I don't want to spoil these stories, but I do want to tease. So, rather than describe the contents, I'll detail my reactions to these stories. I'll cap it off with a little description about how my meager contribution came to be:

The Sun Screams in Retrograde by Rebecca Allred: This story immediately sets the tone for the entire collection. It reads like a violent conspiracy, the terror not coming in the subject but the zealous tone of the caller. So wholly convinced of its own truth, the story is a fascinating conversation that cannot be escaped from. And because we cannot get away from it, we are ensnared by it.

The White Factory by Kurt Fawver: Fawver showcases a talent for imagery here. This is a beautiful story, and if I am to be perfectly honest: I'm a little jealous. By the end of the story, I was repeating a row of expletives and haunted by the notions inherent in the White Factory. As maddening as locales such as Carcosa are, I would much rather find myself there than the White Factory.

A Room With Two Views by Johanna Michal Hoyt: Speaking of imagery, this story. It creates just enough doubt to really hammer the reader with the sort of vague uncertainty that "real" horror stories invoke. It is a sort of thing you might tell around a campfire, with dreadfully cosmic implications.

When the Trees Sing by S. L. Edwards: As a certifiable dingus, I am only fortunate that editors, readers and other writers tolerate my tomfoolery. When they tire of me, all will be over. More on this story at the end.

Rails by Thomas Mavroudis: I was impressed by both how quickly and strongly Mavroudis developed his caller, and how grounded in existing cryptid/paranormal mythology it was. I confess that I was really heartbroken by the ending, as this horror ended in a tragedy.

Lullabies from the Formicary by Betty Rocksteady: Frequent readers of Betty Rocksteady have come to expect certain motifs and qualities. This is a wonderful story, mixing grotesque humor and a creeping unworldliness. I found myself laughing and shivering at the same time.

Midnight in the Desert by Joseph Pastula: A story that interacts quite well with the frame novella. I liked the strangeness of it, and a certain realness endowed by an experience which many people have documented and reported.

All that Moves Us by Evan Dickens: Oh man. This story. This story is horror with a capital "H" and a booming echo. I really won't get into the description, but I will say that I cannot stop thinking about it.

The Merger by A.P. Sessler: Sessler's story that addresses the nefarious role of technology in society. He does so deftly, providing an experience which thematically overlays the rest of the stories and the greater frame novella.

Death Run by Martin Rose: This story oozes "cool."  Like The Sun Screams in Retrograde there is a certain panic in the prose that electrifies the narrative. It's exactly the sort of thing you wanted to read at midnight.

OGRE by Joseph Bouthiette Jr: This story echoes Lullabies from the Formicary, forming a shared mythology of the Late Night Leak Universe. It is a horrifying echo, and one that provides just enough plausibility to linger.

The magazine also has several nonfiction articles which I am not qualified to comment on. However, I should point out that an interview with Matthew M. Bartlett makes me more excited than ever to finally get to his much-praised work on WXXT.

For those of you curious and patient enough to learn about my story, I will talk about it a bit below:

Developing my contribution, "When The Trees Sing." 
The idea for When The Trees Sing had been with me for about a year before the submissions call went out. I titled my blog after the proposed story idea, a take on the notion of the old "haunted woods" trope. I had a scene, a narrator running panicked through the woods as a song swallowed them whole.

Reading Ben's guidelines, the pieces sort of fell into place. I did not think I could write a story about aliens, and nothing immediately came to mind regarding cryptids and G-Men. But, an emphasis on conspiracies spoke to my knowledge and field of study. I knew that governments often go to terrifying lengths to cover up their conduct, classifying records of all-too-real horrors. 

The School of the Americas. Mai Lai. And I got to Tiger Force. To me, Tiger Force was a more real and horrifying Mr. Kurtz, and I wonder if these soldiers carried a copy of Conrad's book with them the same way Nazi soldiers were said to carry Nietzsche with them. Necklaces of severed ears. Forced participation in mutilations.

I had my conspiracy, and it was all too real.

I tried to blur the lines between good and evil in this story, creating a narrator who I ultimately is sympathetic despite everything that he did. He is dogged by his past, and it catches up with him to claim everything. It is a tragedy, one of uncertain justice and unending violence.

Relevant Links:

Pre-Order Turn to Ash: http://turntoash.storenvy.com/products/18359891-turn-to-ash-vol-2

The Lesser Swamp Gods of Little Dixie by Johnathan Raab: https://www.amazon.com/Lesser-Swamp-Gods-Little-Dixie-ebook/dp/B01MTVG69U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1480963716&sr=8-3&keywords=jonathan+raab

Matthew M. Bartlett's WXXT works: https://www.amazon.com/Gateways-Abomination-Matthew-M-Bartlett/dp/1500346721/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1480963663&sr=8-3&keywords=matthew+m.+bartlett

And: https://www.amazon.com/Creeping-Waves-Matthew-M-Bartlett/dp/0997080310/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480963691&sr=8-1&keywords=matthew+m.+bartlett

More information on Tiger Force: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Force