REVIEWS!!!

I have to admit that I was ready to take a break from writing. My plan was to spend the next six months editing old work and then reassess where I was at, to see if I wanted to try it again. This was spawned by a combination of frustration with my horror novel and a fear that my story in the Chlorophobia anthology would bomb.

Then, one morning a few days ago, I awoke to a review of the anthology on Kendall Reviews, one of the larger horror sites. The reviewer Ksenia Murray had nothing but good things to say about Chlorophobia and proceeded to mention her 3 favorite stories. One of those was my story “The Uytoroi.” She said the following:

And the last but certainly not least is The Uytoroi by Zé Burns. That story is about white ghoulish looking polyps that erupt onto a beach and take human slaves to do their bidding. What I loved about that story is how unique it was. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story like that before.

I hope this doesn’t sound like bragging. I’m just so jazzed. This is the greatest thing to happen to me as a writer, the first time I’ve received recognition for my work outside family and friends. I’m planning to frame that review in my study, so I can look at it every time I feel like an impostor or lose faith in myself.

(As I’m writing this, I’ve noticed a new review on Amazon, calling “The Uytoroi” a “standout story” of the anthology.)

Wednesday was the release date. You can find it on:

Amazon

Bookshop

GENERICA

With all this, I’m still going to finish editing Generica. Like I said earlier this month, I feel this bizarro novella has the most potential of anything I’ve written, and honestly, it might be my favorite.

With the Wonderland Awards and the Thanksgiving holiday, I didn’t get much actual editing done. I read over the manuscript and organized my notes, a process that involved hours of digging through my filing cabinet. I’ll be ready to start editing next week.

Unfortunately, last time I worked on Generica (several years ago), I didn’t finish the edits, leaving some big gaps that I don’t know how to fill. The biggest problem is the ending. At the time, my friend Danger gave me some great advice on how to end the book. If I wrote that down, I can’t find it. So, I’ll have to fudge my way through.

What makes Generica so different from anything else I’ve written is the humor. I’m not a funny guy, as many people will attest, but I must admit I found myself cackling as I read over the manuscript for the first time in years. Whether other people will find it as funny, I don’t know. Still, it brings joy to my life.

Next month, I’ll elaborate more on Generica, hopefully with some exciting updates. But until then,

Tchau,

Zé