Mind Boggling Free Reading List at SF Reader












SF Reader RAWKS!
I don't know if I've ever seen such a huge list of FREE fiction links compiled in one place, but SF Reader has done it! Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy readers --You'll never be bored if you visit this link. Wow, what a labor of love.

To see the juicy list: CLICK HERE

Enjoy!

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel

PS - If your story is on the list, please point it out (don't be shy). Since it's such a humongo list, your story will help us find the best place to start! You'll find one of my oldies but goodies in the horror section.

Black Quill Deadline and Stokermania!

Cast Your Vote (Pretty Please)
If you haven't had a chance, please stop on over at Dark Scribe Magazine and cast your vote(s) for the Black Quill Awards.

The deadline is tomorrow, January 25th!

I'm honored to have been nominated in the Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection category. If you want to cast your vote, it's easy. It requires a quick registration (if you're not already signed-up as a subscriber - it's FREE) at the Dark Scribe site, which is well worth the effort--it's a fantastic magazine.

For the list of nominees and the voting info (bottom of the page): Click Here

OR

Register Here - Click Here
For the Ballot Page and Login - Click Here

Category: Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection
My Book: Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales

Thank you SO much for your support!












Stokermania!
It's that time of year again when writers of horror loiter around the cauldron and decide the literary fate of their comrades. I'm very pleased that my collection, Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales, has made it to the second level of the voting process to the Preliminary Bram Stoker Award Ballot. Woohoo!

If you're an active HWA member, Apex is providing FREE hard copies of the collection for your consideration. Send me or Apex publisher, Jason Sizemore, an email, including your snail mail address and we'll whisk a copy right off to you! Fran at franfriel@gmail.com or Jason at jason@apexdigest.com. PDFs are also available, if you'd like a cyber-copy, as well.

For those of you who haven't seen the complete list:

2008 Preliminary Bram Stoker Award Ballot

Superior Achievement in a Novel
Coffin County by Gary Braunbeck (Leisure)
The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow)
Ghost Walk by Brian Keene (Leisure)
The Reach by Nate Kenyon (Leisure)
Duma Key by Stephen King (Scribner)
Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson (Bad Moon/Medallion)
Water Witch by Deborah Leblanc (Dorchester/Leisure)
Bad Moon Rising by Jonathan Maberry (Pinnacle)
Dead and Gone by Harry Shannon (Delirium Books)
The Price by Alexandra Sokoloff (St. Martins)
The Man on the Ceiling by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem (Wizards of the Coast)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse by William D. Carl (Permuted Press)
Apricot Brandy by Lynn César (Juno Books)
Midnight On Mourn Street by Christopher Conlon (Earthling Publications)
Veins by Lawrence C. Connolly (Fantasist Enterprises)
Eternal Vigilance by Gabrielle S. Faust (Immanion Press)
The Gentling Box by Lisa Mannetti (Dark Hart Press)
Monster Behind the Wheel by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin (Delirium Books)
Frozen Blood by Joel A. Sutherland (Lachesis Publishing)
Crimson Orgy by Austin Williams (Borderlands Press)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
“The Lagerstatte” by Laird Barron (The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy)
The Shallow End of the Pool by Adam-Troy Castro (Creeping Hemlock)
Miranda by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
Redemption Roadshow by Weston Ochse (Burning Effigy)
The Confessions of St. Zach by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)
Orpheus and the Pearl by Kim Paffenroth (Magus Press)
"Behold the Child" by Harry Shannon (Brimstone Turnpike)
Just Like Hell by Nate Southard (Thunderstorm Books)
Population Zero by Wrath James White (Cargo Cult Press)
Orgy of Souls by Wrath James White, and Maurice Broaddus (Apex Book Company)


Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
"The Last Word" by Maria Alexander (Sins of the Sirens)
"Mama Strangelove's Remedies for Afterlife Disorders, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mother Death" by C. Dean Andersson (Brutarian)
"Consumed" by Michael Louis Calvillo (Horror Library Volume 3)
"Petrified" by Scott Edelman (Desolate Souls)
"Mechanix" by Christopher Fulbright (Bound for Evil)
The Lost by Sarah Langan (Cemetery Dance Publications)
"The Dude Who Collected Lovecraft" by Nick Mamatas, and Tim Pratt (Chizine)
"The Haven" by John Palisano (Horror Library Vol. 3)
"Turtle" by Lee Thomas (Doorways)
"The Blog at the End of the World" by Paul Tremblay (Chizine)
"Those Eyes" by Mark W. Worthen (Thinner Than Mist)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology
The Undead: Headshot Quartet edited by Christina Bivins and Lane Adamson (Permuted Press)
Like a Chinese Tattoo edited by Bill Breedlove (Dark Arts Books)
Horror Library, Vol. 3 edited by R. J. Cavender (Cutting Block Press)
Abominations edited by Tim Deal (Shroud Publishing)
Beneath the Surface edited by Tim Deal (Shroud Publishing)
Unspeakable Horrors edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder (Dark Scribe Press)

Superior Achievement in a Collection
The Number 121 to Pennsylvania by Kealan Patrick Burke (Cemetery Dance Publications)
Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel (Apex Publications)
Just After Sunset by Stephen King (Scribner)
Little Creatures by Michael McCarty (Sam's Dot Publishing)
Other Gods by Stephen Mark Rainey (Dark Regions Press)
The Autopsy and Other Tales by Michael Shea (Centipede)
Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)
Fourtold by Michael Stone (Baysgarth Publications)
Gleefully Macabre Tales by Jeff Strand (Delirium)
Ennui and Other States of Madness by David Niall Wilson (Dark Regions Press)

Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
Shadows Over New England by David Goudsward, and Scott T. Goudsward (BearManor Media)
Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula by Robert Eighteen-Bisang and Elizabeth Miller (McFarland)
Spirits and Death in Niagara by Marcy Italiano (Schiffer Publishing)
The New Annotated Dracula by Leslie S. Klinger (W. W. Norton)
Beauty and Dynamite by Alethea Kontis (Apex Publications)
Cheap Scares by Gregory Lamberson (McFarland)
Zombie CSU by Jonathan Maberry (Citadel)
Modern Mythmakers by Michael McCarty (McFarland)
A Hallowe'en Anthology by Lisa Morton (McFarland)
The Book of Lists: Horror by Amy Wallace, Del Howison, and Scott Bradley (Harper)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
The Nightmare Collection by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)
The Phantom World by Gary William Crawford (Sam's Dot)
Virgin of the Apocalypse by Corrine De Winter (Sam's Dot Publishing)
The Flayed Man and Other Poems by Phillip A. Ellis (Gothic Press)
Attack Of The Two-Headed Poetry Monster by Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty (Skullvines Press)
Ghosts of Past and Future by Darrell Schweitzer (Borgo)


Please join with me in congratulating these very hard working writers for this wonderful achievement and wish them all success in moving onto the Final Ballot. So many of my dear friends are on this list, including many in my own category. I wish them all the very best!

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel

Wingsuits Flyers--Not for the Faint of Heart!











Wingsuits--WTF??
I think I'm a little late to the party, because I've honestly never seen anything quite this mad. Have you seen this before? I'm vertigo challenged so alas no wingsuit for me, but just watching this vid is exhilarating. I'm wow-ed and envious...and here I thought writing was a harrowing profession.

Seriously, watch this!

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1778399&server=vimeo.com&show_tit%3Ele=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&amp

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel

Climbing into the New Year and Readable Treats












Blue Moods and Warm Sun
I woke up this morning feeling pretty darn good--motivated, cheery and rested. While my husband slept (and the poor over-worked guy is still sleeping as I write this), I got up and walked the dog. The sun was shining and the water on Long Island Sound sparkled as we strolled along beach. Although it was cold out there, the sun was warm on my face (Ahhh...). The dog, perpetually chipper Sandy the yellow Lab, was happy as a peach and trotted along doing her doggie thing with abandon (I still say dogs are Bodhisattvas, here on earth to teach us how to be happy and forgiving).

After our walk, we clamored back into the house and I decided to bake banana walnut muffins. Mind you, I'm not an avid baker, so wanting to make muffins was another indication of being in a darn good mood (btw, the muffins turned out extra-great--wish you were here, I'd share with you). Then to my surprise, I had the urge to blog. I've been wanting to talk with you and wish you happy holidays and see how life is for you, but I've been a little blue. When I'm blue, writing is very hard for me.

I've been slowly climbing out of this malaise for a couple of months now (clawing inch by inch, to be dramatic about it), hence my less than stellar blogging schedule. There have been a few stresses, (my dad's health, looming layoffs, college tuition for my daughter and worrying about her VERY stressful senior year in architecture, etc), but mostly I suppose the mood thing is seasonal or whatever, but it always perplexes me when it happens. I actually feel kind of guilty when I'm feeling down, since I have SO much to be thankful for and happy about. The world isn't a kind place to a lot of people, but I'm one of the lucky ones on the planet. All my basics are covered--I live in a safe and peaceful place, I have plenty of food and clothing, I have people who love me, and my family and I are healthy. Like most folks in the western world, I have aspirations beyond the basics, but when you really get down to it, I'm one lucky woman.

So as I said, I'm feeling pretty darn good and as I embark on a new year with you, I'm also feeling deeply grateful for all I have. And though it may sound a bit pollyanna, one of the things I'm thankful for is you. As my friends and readers, you truly make my life a richer place. You give me a place to share my thoughts and feelings, my fiction and my madness. Who else would put up with all my yammering? So please accept my thanks and my wishes to you for a new year filled with love, peace, excellent health and abundance. You deserve it!

Now, if you're still reading after all the whining and schmaltz, here's some great reading to look forward to in the New Year.






Apex Magazine
Here's the latest from Apex Magazine - CLICK HERE. It's online and it's FREE! Apex continues to bring us some of the best fiction in the business. Be sure to check out their up coming book releases, as well. They've got some doozies on the way. I got an early copy of Sara Harvey's, CONVENT OF THE PURE, and it's wonderful. If you like fast paced dark fantasy, you'll likely love this novella.

Dark Discoveries
Dark Discoveries is shipping it's latest offering--DD#12. Always an excellent read, buy a copy or, better yet, a very affordable subscription and help do your part to keep small press magazines alive. These folks have been dropping like flies lately, and DD is one of few still producing a fantastic print magazine. CLICK HERE for a look at DD#12.

Clarkesworld Magazine
Another fantastic online magazine that maintains a standard of excellence hard to come by online or in print. For excellent fiction online, both print and audio, be sure to visit the acclaimed Clarkesworld Magazine online FREE! And if you enjoy the visual delight as much as I do, you'll love Clarkesworld--they have some of the best cover art in the business. CLICK HERE for Clarkesworld Magazine.


So there you have it, gang. A few literary delights from some hardworking folks, plus lots of gratitude and new year's wishes from moi'. Onward into 2009!

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel

Note: Saint Bernard photo by corey and laura at flickr. Thank you!

And the Winners are...

Announcing the Winners
The HL V3 and DRP 10 Holiday Debut Contest was a big hit. We had tons of folks signing up to the last minute on four blogs for their chance at the latest goodies from Cutting Block Press and Dark Recesses Press. In our hope to get the prizes to the winners before the holidays ended, it was a quick contest, but a hefty one.

So without further yammerage, here are our winners:

First Prize - JAN
One Copy of Horror Library Vol. 3
One Copy of Dark Recesses Press #10
$10 Gift Certificate to the Horror Mall

Second Prize - Bret Jordan
One Copy of Horror Library Vol. 3
One Copy Dark Recesses Press #10

Third Prize - Horror.101
One Copy of Horror Library Vol. 2

Fourth Prize - GrimGnome
One Copy of Horror Library Vol. 1

Congratulations to the winners! And thank you, everyone, for your enthusiastic participation. For more info on the Horror Library Vol. 1 - 3 and Dark Recesses Press 10: CLICK HERE!

Happy Holidays, my friends!

Wickedly Yours,
Fran Friel

PS - Winners will be contacted by email.