A Writer's Tale

Aug. 19 I mailed the Madland sample chapters and outline to Ralph, and he would send them on to John Silbersack.

Aug. 27 - Sept. 11 I wrote an “on-spec” screenplay based on my short story, “The Hunt.” It would be published in the book, Scream-plays, edited by Richard Chizmar in 1997.

Sept. 12 I resumed work on The Stake.

Sept. 16 Bob Tanner called to tell me of W.H. Allen’s offer for Funland, approx. $15,000.

Oct. 22 We had dinner at Scandia with Dean and Gerda Koontz, Gary Brander and Martine, and Robert and Sally McCammon. The dinner was hosted by Dean.

Oct. 25-28 At Mike Bailey’s request, I made minor revisions in Funland for W.H.

Allen mostly to tone down the sex.

Nov. 5 I went to Gary Brandner’s bachelor party.

Nov. 6 Paul Mikol of Dark Harvest invited me to participate in Night Visions VII.

Nov. 7 I started writing the novella, “Mop Up” for Night Visions.

Nov. 11-12 At a hotel in Westlake Village, we fed the ducks in the stream. Our daughter, Kelly, instigated the duck banquet. Dean and Gerda helped by supplying the bread. The next day, I was best man at Gary Brandner’s wedding to Martine, and toasted the bride and groom.

Nov. 13 I started writing my short story, “Bad News,” for Night Visions.

Nov. 16 I started writing my short story, “Madman Stan,” for Night Visions.

Nov. 23-27 Eight months after starting work on The Stake and still almost two months away from finishing the first draft, I went on a trip to Death Valley with Ann, Kelly and the De Laratta gang. Exploring the ghost town Rhyolite on the 25th, The Stake started coming true. (More about that elsewhere in this tome.)

Nov. 29 Having found a skeleton in Rhyolite, I started writing a story about a skeleton found in a tree for Night Visions.

Nov. 29 I was interviewed on Kim Greenblatt’s public access television show.

Dec. 3 Earthquake! Magnitude 5.0, not very big, but enough to shake us up. Regardless of the quake, we drove to Santa’s Village near Big Bear.

Dec. 11 I finished the final drafts of my stories for Night Visions.

Dec. 23 I had a long telephone conversation with John Silbersack, my editor at New American Library (Onyx). He wanted my next novel to be the “break out,” saying I can do it “as well as King, Koontz & McCammon, or better.”

Dec. 28 I started writing a western horror story, “Dinker’s Pond,” for Joe Lansdale’s anthology, Razored Saddles.

Jan. 4 I had another telephone conversation with John Silber-sack about possible ideas for my “break out” novel.

Jan. 6-9 I worked on the outline for a new novel, Voices. (Though this book was never written, its main idea about reading minds possibly mutated into Body Rides.) Jan. 12 I sent a partial of Voices to Ralph Vicinanza for submission to New American Library.

Jan. 19 I finished writing The Stake.

Jan. 21 I began working on a novel I called Rain. This would become One Rainy Night.

Jan. 27 I mailed the manuscript of The Stake to Bob Tanner and Ralph Vicinanza.

Feb. 17 Ralph told me of a U.S. film company’s plans to option The Cellar. (No film made.)

March 1 A special friend sent us a surprise check a loan to help tide us over while we waited for our “ship” to come in.

March 6-17 I had jury duty in Beverly Hills, got to read some good books, but didn’t make it onto a jury. Ironically, the prosecution made the mistake of rejecting me. (This is ironic because I am generally rabidly pro-prosecution unless they’re trying to nail good cops.)

March 31 I wrote a piece about Resurrection Dreams for Ed Gorman’s Mystery Scene.

And Bob Tanner called “from London to inform me of an offer from W.H. Allen for The Stake and one other unnamed novel for about $54,000. YES!!!

April Flesh was named best horror novel by Don D’Ammassa in his article, “1988: The Best Novels of the Year” in Science Fiction Chronicle.

April 19 I received the big W.H. Allen contract for The Stake and untitled.

April 20 Bob Tanner called to inform me of a U.S. offer from Thomas Dunne, St. Martin’s Press, to publish The Stake hardbound for $15,000. Also, I learned that Flesh (published by Tor) had made the Horror Writers of America’s final ballot for a Bram Stoker award in the “novel” category.

May 11 I finished writing One Rainy Night.

May 14 I started a new novel, working title Beast Nights. It was intended to be the third of the “Beast House” books.

June 4-5 I answered questions for a David Whitehead interview.

June 14-21 We went to New York for the Horror “Writers of America weekend. The Stoker for novel was awarded to Thomas Harris’ The Silence of the Lambs, not to my Flesh.