From the Desk of William Pauley III
The end of the year tends to be a time of deep reflection for most people, myself included. Some of us speed through our days with a crazed look in our eyes, as we hack away at our every creative thought, until at last we reach this moment and suddenly become aware of the mess we've made—the blood, the bones. Is there anything here that could be considered art?
Well, let’s see…
I started this year off with the release of The Ballad of Old Joe Booth, an epic poem concerning a demonic shapeshifter—a folk horror told in four parts. The book was received so well that NetGalley actually wrote a case study on its abnormal success!
That was unexpected, to say the least, but more than welcome. I’ve been writing stories for close to twenty years now, and in that time, my fiction has been mostly ignored. Admittedly, I’ve never been great at marketing myself, so this very well could be my fault (it absolutely is my fault), but I have to say… things feel different now. The tide has changed. People have gotten weird, all on their own. Electricity is in the air. I can smell it every goddamn electric night. The time is now DOOM FICTION. Whenever you look at your phone, your watch, your TV, it’ll be DOOM FICTION. Its spreading like a disease, like a meme, and it won’t stop until every mind has been infected and destroyed! I tried warning you! Don’t act like I haven’t warned you. I put disclaimers in every book. I’ve made videos. Before any of you even read a single word of my fiction, you’re told there will be great consequences for doing so. It’s DOOM FICTION. This shit is dangerous. Hahahahahaha! You’re all mine now!!!
Whoa… that escalated quickly.
My apologies.
I’m not sure what else to say about it, so I’m just going to pretend we’re still on the rails here…
In February and March, I hammered out the first draft of what became my third novel, Holus Bolus. On the surface, it appears as if I wrote it in some mad fever, but that’s only half true. The reality is that it was a looonngggg time coming. I won’t get into all of that now. I’ve talked about the five years of struggling to get that story out of me in great detail here and here, if you’re interested in knowing. For the sake of this post, I’ll just say that that the story had been simmering on the back burner for far too long. By the time I finally got the recipe figured out, it was already ready to be served.
In April, I started this Substack and everything changed. Well, not at first… it took a few months, but eventually everything changed. This place became a one-stop hub for everything DOOM FICTION. I think of it as my own Netflix-type platform, where casual readers can enjoy free content every week and more adventurous readers can dive in headfirst, taking in as much exclusive content as they can stand. I have big plans for Substack in the coming year. I’ll be focusing on making even more exclusive content. I also plan on finishing my choose-your-own-mindfuck novel, A Night in Eighth Block Tower (I’m at the halfway point, and most of it is available to read now for paid subscribers). I also plan to share select stories from my past, things that have never been published before, including a film script and a number of short stories and novellas. I also plan on having Connor narrate these works, for those who enjoy consuming content in audio format. Hopefully he’s down. *fingers crossed*
This year also saw the re-release of The Doom Magnetic Trilogy! Dedicated readers have surely noticed that Doom Magnetic is the sequel to Holus Bolus… err, I suppose I should say that Holus Bolus is the prequel to Doom Magnetic, seeing as this trilogy existed years before the novel. I’ve written a lot over the years, and in my head, all of these stories exist in the same universe. They always have. It’s fun finding the stories that bridge the gap between certain settings and characters. If you enjoy my little playground of weirdness, just wait until you read the stories I’m working on now…
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Between April and August, I wrote the entirety of Twelve Residents Dreaming. That’s 14 short stories in 5 months. I’m really proud of this work. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written and I’m unsure I’ll ever be able to top it. It may be the final book in a seven-book series, but I think it’s the best place to start for newcomers to DOOM FICTION. I think of it as my portfolio. This is what I can do. If you like any one of these stories, then I can point you to a handful of others I’ve written in that same style. It’s a culmination of two decades of my particular brand of weird storytelling. I can say with great confidence that if you don’t like any of the stories in this book, then you will not enjoy anything I’ve ever written. But if you do find that you like it, boy do I have plenty more to show you…
This year, I also produced audiobooks for The Ballad of Old Joe Booth, The Doom Magnetic Trilogy, The Brothers Crunk, Holus Bolus, and Twelve Residents Dreaming. All were narrated by the G.O.A.T., Mr. Connor Brannigan. Every day I thank the universe for the two of us crossing paths. If you haven’t heard these audio editions yet, you’re really missing out. With a monthly paid subscription, you get instant access to the entire Doom Fiction library. What are you waiting for? Subscribe today!
What else? Oh, I started MELT Magazine… and made a few mini-comics. I also wrote a handful of as-of-yet unpublished short stories and participated in something like 20 live book events. It’s been a good year for me creatively, and an even better year for me personally, as far as my family life goes. Everything feels right. I’m so thankful and grateful for my family and friends, and also for those of you who are reading and supporting what I do. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve met so many wonderful folks this year. Let’s all go get a beer together sometime. First round is on me.
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“New Year’s Eve”
by Tom Waits
Oddities Theater
Oddities Theater is two years old! Can you believe it? Man, time flies when you’re getting weird.
I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of our movie nights together for quick reference, in case some of you may have missed a night or wish to revisit a film or two. You can check that out here.
This week we’ll be watching a childhood favorite of mine, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure! Sadly, Paul Reubens passed away earlier this year, so I thought we could honor him by featuring his masterpiece of weird cinema as our final film of the year.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his feature-film directing debut. Described as a "parody" or "farce version" of the 1948 Italian classic Bicycle Thieves, it tells the story of Pee-wee's nationwide search for his stolen bicycle. (Wikipedia)
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