Alec Soth: “West Point”

“Intertropical Convergence Zone” was nominated for a Shirley Jackson award in the short story category.  Obviously it’s amazing and wonderful to get this kind of recognition.  Results are in July, although I am absolutely not hoping for anything.  It’s a cliche, but to be nominated is honor enough.  I think that “psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic” is a pretty accurate description of my so-called genre.  I’m getting more and more comfortable saying that horror’s my favorite genre to read, write, and watch (because let’s just be honest, it is).

“Everything Dies, Baby” was accepted by Strange Horizons.  I am so happy because this story is so close to me.  It’s named for one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs (“Atlantic City”) and is based on “Behind Closed Doors,” an episode of Air Crash Investigation.  Basically, I combined the Windsor Incident (American Airlines Flight 96) with the much worse crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981.  “Atlantic City”‘s chorus is one I instinctively, immediately related to/understood as pertaining to not only grief but spirituality: “Everything dies, baby, that’s a fact/ and maybe everything that dies someday comes back.”