MicroHorror

I thought you all might like to see the trophies that are now winging their way to their rightful owners. These acrylic beauties were designed by me and brought to reality by LazrArt. And of course, as promised, they’re accompanied by the DVDs of Ninjas vs. Zombies and Ninjas vs. Vampires, as well as the Ninjas vs. Zombies comic book issue #1, all courtesy of Justin Timpane and Endlight Entertainment. Here’s a candid photo of the packing carnage:

One last time, congratulations to Jasmine Gould, Michelle King and Justin Pollock. Enjoy your prizes!

The good news is I’ve just posted several great new stories. The bad news is you might never get to read them if the SOPA and PIPA bills pass, which would give the US government the power to shut down any website at any time for any reason, or indeed no reason at all. Learn more, and take action.

Here’s the news, kiddies. A few days ago, Jennifer, Oonah and I convened in the secret MicroHorror lair, with strict orders to the homunculi not to let us out until we came to a consensus on the three winners for the 2011 Halloween story contest. I assure you, it wasn’t easy. We received over fifty entries, each of which addressed the theme of water in a different frightening fashion. But in the end, after extensive debate and minimal bloodshed, three winners emerged, and so did we. Read on, my fiends.

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Great gibbering gargoyles, it’s November already! That means the deadline for contest submissions has come and gone. There’s quite a pile in my inbox, and I’ll continue posting them as quickly as I can. I’ve never let you down before, have I?

Check it out, kiddies! I announced this last week, but here’s the photographic proof. Ninjas vs. Zombies and Ninjas vs. Vampires on DVD, along with issue #1 of the Ninjas vs. Zombies comic book from Azure Press. That’s one prize pack for each of the three winners of this year’s story contest!

Thanks again to Justin Timpane and Endlight Entertainment for donating these great prizes. And remember, they still need your help on their Kickstarter page to produce their next opus, so don’t delay! In the meantime, I’m going to put these DVDs and comics in a nice, safe crypt to await the final judging.

EDIT: I’ve just been informed that the DVDs are encoded for Region 1, i.e., North America. If you live elsewhere, you’ll need an unlocked or region-free DVD player to watch them. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience.

Good news, my fiends! The prize pool for the story contest just got a little bit deeper: Each of the three winners will receive the award-winning horror comedies Ninjas vs. Zombies and Ninjas vs. Vampires on DVD, courtesy of Justin Timpane and Endlight Entertainment!

The ninjas need your help, though. They’re wrapping up the trilogy with the biggest stunner yet, Ninjas vs. Monsters, and we all know that independent filmmaking is tough even in the best of economic times. So please, visit their Kickstarter page and pitch in if you can!

In the meantime, keep sending me your best watery horror, and watch this space for more prize news.

I hope I’m not dampening any spirits when I remind you all that it’s October once again. That means MicroHorror’s annual story contest returns, as reliable as the tides, so whether you’re washed up or still wet behind the ears, now is your opportunity to make a splash and win some lovely prizes.

Is a notion starting to seep into your mind yet? For any drips who haven’t figured it out yet, this year’s theme is…

Interesting stuff, water. Dihydrogen monoxide humor aside, it’s one of the most common chemicals on the planet. You can find it under the ground or literally falling from the sky. We need it to live, but too much at once will kill us. History and legend are full of water-related disasters, from the Great Flood to Kevin Costner’s Waterworld. And even when water is behaving itself, have you seen some of the creatures that live in it? Anything could be down there, and it probably has huge teeth.

So put on your drinking caps, kiddies, and get started. As always, you have the whole month to send in your entries to microhorror@gmail.com, and you’ve got the whole 666 words to explore your best watery horror. The complete rules are here. Cast your nets into the depths, and let me see what you dredge up!

MicroHorror favorite Maria L. Castejon sent me a new batch of stories, and it’s taken me far too long to sit down and translate them. I’m finally done, and they’re all up. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Good evening, boils and ghouls. As of this moment, your humble editor actually has things under control. Not only is my in-box clear (and ready to start filling up again with horrifying new tales), but I have also shipped the 2010 contest awards to their rightful winners. That’s right; I have entrusted them to the tender mercies of the US Postal Service and the Royal Mail, and they should arrive in a matter of days. My part of the job is fulfilled, and that feels pretty darned good right about now.

But what is the nature of the awards, you ask? See for yourselves. I’ve placed the photo behind the jump in case the winners don’t want any spoilers.

Now I can finally relax just a little bit, and start planning the 2011 contest, which I promise will go more smoothly. For one thing, I don’t have another appendix to lose.

Stay scary!

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I’ve fallen behind again, and I’m sorry. I just wanted to drop a quick note to assure anyone paying attention that I’m still around and working on things. Current backlog is about three weeks.