Issue I

Concerning Yokai Monsters, insect coffee, and finishing my third novel...

Introduction

So, this is it. The inaugural issue of the Doom Fiction newsletter! WPIII here, and I’m writing to you from an insect-themed coffeeshop in Krypton, KY, where the coffee is good, but the service isn’t the best. I have the utmost respect for my friends in the food service industry, but this guy is exceptionally bad. He stirred my coffee with a toilet brush! And I drink my coffee black!

Oh, well. What can you do?

*sips*

Subscription Tiers

Before we get to the good stuff, I’ll give you a quick rundown on how this newsletter works. It’s a little different from other newsletters in that it unfolds over the course of an entire week. If you’re only interested in becoming a casual subscriber (nothing wrong with that at all! Glad to have you!), then only the first section of the newsletter will be available to you. I’ll be posting that section every Saturday.

For those of you interested in becoming a premium subscriber (for a low monthly fee), you’ll get not only the freebie section of the newsletter, but every Tuesday you’ll also get a sneak peek at yet-to-be published Doom Fiction stories! Every now and then I will post additional content, such as exclusive videos, scans from my personal notebooks, and audiobook streams, just as a way of showing my gratitude for supporting Doom Fiction.

And, lastly, there’s a VIP subscription tier that you would have to be absolutely insane to purchase. Let me tell you why…

Being a writer, I write often (duh). I’ve been cracking at it most of my life, and professionally for nearly two decades now. I have a system that works for me. This subscription tier will give you ultimate access to my creative process. I will share with you not only my daily progress, but also an exclusive look at everything I wrote that day (warts and all!), oh, and any notes from my notebook that may have assisted me during that particular session. Total transparency. This is the absolute closest you can get to sitting on my lap as I write every day. I totally understand that not everyone is interested in that particular (peculiar) perspective, and that’s more than fine! I’m honestly a little nervous to share these things, but…why the hell not? It could help me be more productive. It could help you, too. Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. Probably not.

Anyway, so I try to write something every weekday. I typically take weekends off, but sometimes I have to scratch that writing itch on a lazy Sunday. Whether I have five writing sessions a week or only one, I promise to show you every bloody bit, no matter how excruciating and embarrassing it may be for me. Should be a good time! 😬

Alright, alright, alright… let’s get on with this newsletter, shall we?

Yokai Monsters, Pt. 1

One of my favorite boutique labels, Arrow Video, had a sale recently, so I used that as an excuse to order a shitload of cool Japanese films. One of the box sets I picked up was Tetsuro Yoshida’s Yokai Monsters trilogy (which also included Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War). I’m only halfway through the set, but it’s brilliant so far. Wildly entertaining, totally unique, and the humor still holds up. I highly recommend getting these films into your brain any way you can, especially if you enjoy weird monster flicks.

The first of the trilogy was a film called 100 Monsters. Without giving away any of the fun, I’ll give you a brief rundown of the plot. It opens up with a wealthy landowner who aims to tear a bunch of small town buildings, including a local shrine, so that he can build a brothel. This, of course, doesn't sit well with the other townsfolk, but they can’t do much other than to sit back and watch as their town crumbles around them. At one point, the landowner decides to hold a ceremony, where the stories of the 100 yokai monsters (monsters of Japanese folklore) are told. Being the brash man that he is, the landowner cuts the ceremony short, before the storyteller has a chance to purify the town. This, of course, would’ve rid the streets of the many spirits conjured up during the ceremony, but who has time for that, right? These brothels aren’t going to build themselves! This is when the real fun begins.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the first film, I think I dug the second just a little more. This one, entitled Spook Warfare, didn’t take itself so seriously, which allowed for so many fun, memorable moments. This one had a similar plot—in that something unwanted moves into town and the spirits all join forces to move it back out—however the thing the spirits are fighting this time is…I shit you not…an ancient Babylonian, shapeshifting vampire. We also get more monsters in this one, and we spend almost the entirety of the movie with them as well. So much fun. A must see.

I’ll report back with Yokai Monsters, Pt. 2 once I finish the other two films in the box set.

What are you working on?

Right now, I’m finishing up the first draft of what ended up becoming my third novel, HOLUS BOLUS. This story was supposed to be like 30k-35k max, but the thing just kept getting bigger. The characters had a lot more to say that I initially gave them credit for.

It’s a murder mystery that takes place in the Eighth Block Tower, which essentially means that someone died and literally all of the suspects are fucking insane. Like all the books in The Bedlam Bible, this is a stand-alone tale that doesn’t require having to read any of the other books in the series to enjoy. With that said, if you have read the other things I’ve written, you’ll get a kick out of story that’s casually playing out in the background as the mystery unfolds.

I’ve been wanting to tell this story for over five years now. It’s surreal that it’s almost finished. 😵‍💫

The book is currently sitting at about 50k and I still have a couple sections left to write. I plan to finish those this weekend. *fingers crossed* Somehow, I managed to write this thing in something like two months. My first two novels took over a year to write! This is pure madness. I feel like I’m channeling some ancient power.

The Yokai. Oh shit.

On Monday, I’ll begin writing the final book of The Bedlam Bible. It’s called TWELVE RESIDENTS DREAMING, a collection of twelve Eighth Block tales. The plot summary is a bit vague at the moment, but here’s what I’ve got so far: A shipwrecked man comes upon a strange apartment building located in the middle of the ocean. Inside, he finds the skulls of twelve residents, each one eager to tell their stories.

Premium subscribers, I’ll be posting the first three HOLUS BOLUS chapters on Tuesday!

VIP subscribers, you can expect to see writing updates starting Monday! I’ll be working on the first story of TWELVE RESIDENTS DREAMING, a brain-bender entitled Heirs of the Abyss.

Skull Candy

Things I’m Currently Stuffing Into My Head

The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs / Taxi - Season 3 / The King of Comedy (Scorsese) / Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? by Lana Del Rey