My Autopsy is now in print

My Autopsy is now in print on page 43 of Haunted Waters Press' Fall Edition of "FROM THE DEPTHS" as published today. You can find it on their site for internet reading; print TBA.

Happy Birthday KILLER

I just want to wish a Happy Birthday to my musical idol; a man who shows us all what to do when life has dumped all the crap it can on you and yet he rises from the ashes like the phoenix to be better than before. I just want to wish a man who was so nice to me and showed me some piano tips when I was a stupid kid sneeking back stage; not to mention he introduced me to his band and his daughter, treating me like a friend. Happy Birthday to the one and the only KILLER, MR. JERRY LEE LEWIS.

Well this is positive....

We may have something shortly in '69 Flavors of Paranoia'. They are looking for a couple of lines to be added to "I Should Have Stayed There." I am happy they like the straight and simple apocalyptic concept; one without stumbling zombies or hungry vampires; just the end. We'll keep the fingers crossed.

THE MEETING in Insomnia Press delayed one month

Publication of my short story THE MEETING has been pushed back from November to December. Issue #3 of Insomnia Press' collection titled AS I LIE DYING has been delayed due to issue #2's delay in appearing in print. It will be worth the wait.

Coming This Spring....

This is a warning. Coming this spring; just as the earth thaws from the winter and plants and flowers struggle to reach the sky; just as the planet's mammals awake from hibernation; just as the time springs forth; and thoughts turn to love and baseball; something will happen. As the sun fades from view and the night swoops down from the sky... It will happen. Hey I am going to teach creative writing for Milford Adult Education. And I promise the product we generate from this spring semester will be better than that clap trap lead in. Thanks Milford Adult Ed for the opportunity.

Book Review front and center

Thank you to Blasted Heath publishers of two of my favorite crime writers, Douglas Lindsay and Anonymous-9 for putting my review of Mr. Lindsay's WE ARE THE HANGED MAN front and center on their website referencing my comments and wy website josephjpatchen.weebly.com. Thanks.

"WE ARE THE HANGED MAN" book review is on LURIDLIT!!!

Another great title by both Mr. Lindsay and his publisher Blasted Heath can be found on Luridlit now. Read the review and buy the book.

FEATHERTALE to publish SHOOTING STARS a humorous poem

Just as the title indicates. The humor magazine/ezine 'Feathertale', based in Canada, has accepted my humorous UFO poem titled "Shooting Stars". Here we make fun of UFO phenomena, science, eye witness testimony, the men in black and the government all in 25 satirical lines. Thank you so much Feathertale.

Autopsy micro-flash fiction story to be published in FROM THE DEPTHS

Thank you to Haunted Waters Press for accepting an untitled thirteen word autopsy tale for the Fall 2012 issue of FROM THE DEPTHS. Couched as a contest the submission can be found as part of their PENNY FICTION section.

A Sign of the Times Belly Up

Every writer has to deal with rejection. But in these tough economic times, more than ever, a writer has to deal with a publication going belly up. Two submissions of mine have been the victims of this in one week. These were publications that were threee months ago healthy and solid publications. Whether a writer's voice is suppressed by the actions of its government proactively via censorship or through the relentless stripping of an economy to feed the whims of special interests -- freedom of expression suffers and all of our rights are called into question.

REST IN PEACE STEVE SABOL

A true pioneer and artist, Mr. Sabol has passed. Our prayers to his family and friends. Steve Sabol revolutionized sports coverage; taking professional football and turning it into art. The camera angles, the miking-up of coaches and players, the music and John Facenda. Football ceased being a game -- it became Shakespeare. Thank you Steve Sabol and rest in peace.

Okay you are write....

A close friend of mine said to me tonight---you are getting snarky. Drop the political stuff and get back to doing what you do best. He's write.....

Hank Williams Happy Birthday

Hank Williams would have been 89 today. We wish the spirit of Hank Williams a Happy Birthday. Everyday we are saddened about his short life. But we are also immensely blessed with his catalogue of song. Leonard Cohen you are so right, 100 floors above is Hank Williams. Rest in Peace to the only man who can rival the great bard.

THE WALKING DEAD in a Review

My article concerning AMC's THE WALKING DEAD will appear in SURREAL GROTESQUE'S HALLOWEEN/OCTOBER issue along with my Halloween tale 'Diminishing Sight'. Details to follow.

We will return to writing....

Yep. Longer pieces being written with longer wait times...we're getting there.

Apologies (Opinion)

Okay, I have to apologize to the DNC as it has come to my attention that the only choices brought in by Joe Biden for fleet photos was the Russian Navy, a photo of an enema and his bath tub flotilla of rubber ducks. I guess they made the only choice they could.

Call in the Russian Navy AND NOW THE TURKISH AIRFORCE (Opinion)

I had promised I wasn;t getting political and petty again, but I do have to post this in the wake of learning that not only did the DNC use the image of the Russian Navy; they also used the TURKISH AIR FORCE to represent our vets. What can the excuse be other than incompetence and/or derision for our veterans. This is disgusting. Here is the original blog entry: In case anyone missed it the DNC Convention used an immage of the Russian Navy as a backdrop in its salute to veterans. Nothing more needs to be said. It is just consistent with the last four years. What a Freudian slip. The joke is over.

Now Yemen (Opinion)

I am so glad to see that the beefed up security the president promised is defending our interests. Look, I cannot help but get more political at this time. For news organizations such as NBC to blame a film for this clearly speaks to the violent nature of radical Islam something that liberal organizations such as NBC will never speak to. Of course NBC should be commended for their further coverage of the world of the reality TV as they ignore the reality of the 9-11 moment of silence. The orchestrated attacks should concern all of us as a headline not as a movie review.

9-11 (Opinion)

I was unable to post yesterday as I had several emergencies to handle on the homefront and with my business. It goes without saying how we all hang our heads each September 11th. In fact I, through quirks of scheduling, actually re-traced my steps that day at the same times. I cam into contact with many of the same people I encountered that day and needless to say our shared memories and silence spoke volumes. Now add to this the attack on our embassy in Libya and the cold blooded murder of our ambassador and three other americans. I don't want to politicize but we need a stronger response than we have seen from the President; we need to look more closely in where our financial aide is cashed, and; we have to wonder where our intelligence was. Hindsight is surely twenty-twenty, but the chronology of events was calculating an equation as simple as two plus two. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families of these attacks both past and present and my disgust is still with my own government for not showing strength and not demonstrating intelligence.

The Cover for RIGOROUS MORTIS A MORTICIAN'S TALES is unveiled

The Cover for RIGOROUS MORTIS A MORTICIAN'S TALES is unveiled on the Scarlett River Press website. Awesome job. The book with my story 'Mr. Friedenhandler' is coming out very soon.

Is Patronage Trapped In A Web?

I was just reading some interesting articles concerning Kickstarter. The only reason I was there was simply because I had a story rejected by a project there and wanted to learn more. What I read was both interesting and scary. But something seems to be lacking in all of the coverage. Overall, though, it made me happy the story was rejected and hammered home the idea that one needs to fully vet before submitting. I would be interested in any comments or an education on this process. I have never sought to fund my projects other than by myself. I have always thought it to be distasteful to ask friends and relatives for the money 'to pay it forward'. What I read even on Kickstarter's site seems somewhat vague and filled with sloganeering. But I could be wrong. A disconcerting group of articles followed in my search giving me the most disconcerting of times. Would love feedback on this one. Educate me. Please.

The CDC and The Zombie Apocalypse-OPINION

The first time our tax dollars were used to warn about this I let it go. Okay, here is a humorous way to make people aware of the importance of civil preparedness. I thought, everybody is allowed to try anything at least once and I hope it goes away. But now a second time and quite frankly in a culture that is already ignoring reality via reality television and hunkering down in their parents' and grandparents' basements to hone their gamer skills is a little much. Do we really need to perpetuate the joke or has the joke become us? If we need to communicate with the general public in a fantasy code then I pray the game is completely afoot. That the general level of intelligence in this culture is hitting an all time low. I write horror and have nothing against zombies, but I am also an adult and understand real problems and can discuss real issues without couching them in flowery vampire terms or fleeting ghostly whispers. Can we just grow up for at least a few moments each day and use the toy department for what it is and deal head on with the real issues of the day like adults not like a bunch of overgrown children? Please. This place is a shambles because of our apathy, our squeamishness, our fear of the offensive; just grow up. Deal with the hurricance. Deal the tornado. Deal with reality. None of which are fun. Life isn't fun and can't be fun all the time. Your government is treating you like children and no one is offended by this?

"Diminishing Sight" to be published in the Halloween Issue of 'Surreal Grotesque'

And we are also working on a 'Walking Dead' article as well. Details to follow....

Next on Luridlit will be Douglas Lindsay's WE ARE THE HANGED MAN

Coming up in a couple of weeks Blasted Heath Publishing's latest will be reviewed. Thank you for the advanced copy; I do have a limited review on Amazon.com. By the way, I love the book.

BLOOD RELATED by WILLIAM COOK REVIEWED ON LURIDLIT NOW!!!

Check out the review of this generational tale of serial killers and the cops in pursuit over decades at Luridlit now.

Amazon.Com Author's Page

Thank you Amazon.com for helping me with an author's page. Since we expect two more anthologies being published by the end of the year I can hawk all my books to date on just one page. So you can buy CORSPES DON'T BLEED and 31 MORE NIGHTS OF HALLOWEEN on Amazon.com under my name. And soon two more books.

Coming Attractions

While the complete review will be on Luridlit.com in a couple of weeks we did publish a short review on Amazon.com for WE ARE THE HANGED MAN by Douglas Lindsay from Blasted Heath. I love this publishing house and Mr. Lindsay is one of my favorite crime authors. So in the meantime, before the full review hits--buy the book.

Wine Tastings -- A Specific Vignette

I am not the kind of guy to judge other peoples' hobbies, but I have noticed that many of the same people who, twenty years ago, when it was fashionable to rail against driving drunk now spend every weekend touring the state for wine tastings. Now, first of all I do not condone driving and drinking. I think the law does not deal as harsh as it should on the subject. The Penal Code in my state, at times for various offenses, doesn't go far enough to protect a public of future innocents and punish the wrongdoer. Second, I find wine tastings boring. This is my opinion just as many of your opinions may be that I am a tedious little man who can't crap. Fine. It is Free Speech. You remember free speech. We used to have it three years ago. It was a concept that applied to everyone. Something happened three years ago and now only a select portion of our society is allowed to practice it. Hopefull after November it will make a comeback. Third, I know you are supposed swish it around your mouth, inhale the aroma and spit it out; but come on that is a cop out. I have been to several and many do not swish and spit. Their perogative but don't look down on me for having a Jack or a beer. It is as phony as a recent Presidency of non-inhalation and mired in well, something else you swish around in a mouth and can either spit it out or swallow it if you like. To each their own. But I have been to a few of these and don't like the pretention worn by many. I especially don't like when pretention comes strictly out of a bottle. Breeding has nothing to do with a bottle, but it does with well check out the blue dress. Cigars are for inhaling. Drinking and, well blue dresses aside, isn't swallowing a key component to the activity?