Phil Ford

Just released, and quickly, from Bag of Bones Press a flash fiction smorgasbord (or would it be tapas?) of horror written in the second person present. That can be a challenge! My short story, Gryllidae, is in there. A quick little terror involving grief. I have another longer story I am shopping around currently that also entwines grief with some horrible things. Thanks to SJ Townend for this 1st of a two part series, which proceeds go to a Children’s Fund in the UK! You can get copies here.

Today is the official release day for Generation X-ed! So far the reviews from various media outlets have been extremely positive. 22 dark stories of that era by writers that grew up during that era, though you don’t have to be a Gen X-er to enjoy them. Fun for all ages!

Here is a listing of the stories and writers:

In From the Cold – Adrian Ludens

A Genealogy of Hunger – Thomas Vaughn

Sacrifices – Douglas Ford

Splitting Maul – Phil Ford

Naming the Band – Elaine Pascale

The Walk-In – C.D. Brown

Nothing to See Here – Kristi Petersen Schoonover

Get Away from Me – Kevin David Anderson

The Shade – C.O. Davidson

Paper Dolls – Glynn Owen Barrass

The Crimson Church – Thomas K.S. Wake

Birnam Hall – L.E. Daniels

Prey Heed to the Preacher Man – Eldon Litchfield

Tough Break – Mark Towse

How I Met Kurt Russell – Rob Smales

Movie Call – Derek Austin Johnson

Waiting for the Worms – Erica Ruppert

Parker Third West – Dale W. Glaser

Stand Beside Me Now – Tim Jeffreys

Subdivision – Matthew Barron

Maya – Matthew Chabin

Regulators – Holly Rae Garcia

We all have stories. Generation X has now reached the era and life of middle-ish age, and whether it be the press or ourselves starting to embrace it as some sort of banner to wave, it is happening. As a 20-something year old when the phrase was coined by a “boomer”, I was not a fan, implying Generation X leads to a y and z and then what? Where is youth supposed to go from there? Plus it wasn’t even coined by someone of our generation. I’m past that now. Every generation embraces their creativity as the be all and all of everything, and we are no different in that respect. Music and movies were our babysitters though, so in some ways we may have one upped all of you bastards. Horror movies were definitely our bag too, so it’s only appropriate that a delightful anthology like this exists right now. I’m honored to be a part of it, and I recommend anyone that enjoys that era of culture give this a spin on your reading turntable. 22 varied tales from a great group of writers and edited by the amazing Rebecca Rowland on the terrific Dark Ink / Am ink publishing group which is also home to books by Tom Savini and Kane Hodder. Today Generation X-ed is let loose upon the world!

Order here: https://rowlandbooks.com/generation-xed

Coming up super soon, y’all! This book is already getting some great reviews from horror websites and I’ve already read some of the wonderful tales in here. (Trying to savor it!) Plus Editor Rebecca Rowland is phenomenal to work with as you can see with this great promo! You can order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc, or find out more here.

Now available for pre-order and on sale! I’ve gotten an advanced copy and read several of the stories. Quirky and fun and already has gotten some good buzz on it. Sweet! Available in paperback, hardcover and audio soon HERE.

“Dear Phil Ford, I’m thrilled to be able to inform you that “Splitting Maul” has been selected to be included in the Generation X-ed collection.”

Those are some nice words to read in an email! Dark Ink Publishing (an imprint of AM Ink) has included my story, Splitting Maul, in their upcoming Anthology titled “Generation X-ed”, a set of dark horror stories by and about that generation. My story fits perfectly, a summer tale set in the early 80s about three suburban kids going to find adult magazines in the woods, but they also discover something else. There are a lot of references from my own memories growing up as an 80s kid, from movies to toys to language, and it was a lot of fun to write. It’s a subtle slow burn type story that I hope creeps you out!

Dark Ink is also home to Kane Hodder (Jason, in the Friday the 13th movies) and Tom Savini (Special FX genius from George A. Romero movies like Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow, actor and director). Prestigious!

I’m very excited for this one and to quote Jason Williamson, of Sleaford Mods, who said to me in an IG post regarding creating stories and getting frustrated at not getting published: “Don’t stop.” True words to live by as a creative artist, no matter what your art form may be. Keep at it.

The anthology is due to be released January 2022 and available in book form, ebook, and freaking AUDIO! I think it is going to be a pretty good one considering the theme.

That’s all we have been able to do during these pandemic times. Which is probably a good thing. I’ve written several stories and have been submitting them everywhere for possible publication. So far no luck, but that is the game.

The worst case would be to have a collections of short stories then just publish the damn thing myself! Not a bad plan if you think about it!

Also as far as the radio shows. We haven’t been very active, for obvious reasons. The Firehouse Theatre and Death Club Live may have run it’s two year course, a beautiful ride and maybe we will pick it up with them again. The radio show version has been on hiatus as well since the beginning of all of this. Alane, however, seems renewed in spirit recently with it, so we will see where we go with it.

Of course, I am still doing my Friday Clock Out, which is awesome, gloves on and masked up at the station!

Create!

So in the year 2019, since our band was no longer playing, I had a goal to write more and be published. I aimed mostly for short stories, and cranked out a few (so far unpublished), and did manage to get a couple of essays released through RVA Magazine.Check out my author page that has them.

 

Also in the December street edition, Death Club Radio is featured in an interview!