My story “A Pinhole of Light,” which concerns itself with ghost hordes, photography, and transformation, just came out in the September/ October issue of Black Static. I was going through a rough patch when I wrote this piece and something of that dark energy wove itself into this particular story world. As usual, all those story-world details such as the mill town, the history of photography, and whatever else struck my fancy are the fruits of all that research I find myself compelled to do.
This will make my fourth publication with TTA Press and my first publication in this particular magazine. I have no deep insight into the phenomena, but I find it incredibly satisfying, having emigrated from Britain as a child, to have found such a welcoming home with this (well regarded) British publisher of the fantastical.
First Lines: Like this life, the afterlife is unfair. A woman dies at twenty-nine and leaves her infant daughter behind. Eight years later she is still trapped on the other side. When I’m in my happiest frame of mind, I imagine Veronica searching for my darkroom each time I turn on the blood-red light. In my darkest moments, I know I’m failing her. She still hasn’t arrived.
I’m an experienced photographer. I should be able to do better.
(Continue reading…)