Survival Plan or Cyanide Pill: Which would you choose?

Posted on 02/15/2013 | 23 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

The main thing going on currently is the Somewhere in the Shadows giveaway which is going for 14 more days.  This is a pretty good one.  The top winner will receive all books from all of the contributing authors for Somewhere in the Shadows.  It’s a Rafflecopter giveaway, which means you can get multiple entries for various reasons (i.e.- following the authors on Twitter, tweeting about the contest, following their blogs, etc…)

To enter the giveaway, click here. 

To read my foreword and a brief review of Somewhere in the Shadows, click here.

But without further ado…

So I had an interesting conversation with a colleague the other day.

Actually, it was my wife and I who were having the conversation with a fellow faculty member at lunch when the topic of the end of the world came up.  Yeah, it was a weird lunch, and I’m not sure how we ended up on that topic.  I think it was when my wife asked the history teacher if it was just our current state of the world that seemed so polarized, or if mankind had cycled through this type of mentality like it cycled through so many other things.

castleTowerOr maybe it was when the history teacher mentioned the planned community known as The Citadel in Idaho.  For a simple description of what this community (read: “compound”) will be about, there is a banner at the top of their website saying “Get an Assault Rifle before it’s too late.” Continue reading →

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Night Terrors and Murder: A Liebster List and a Giveaway

Posted on 02/01/2013 | 16 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

I’m participating in a big giveaway with all other contributors to the Somewhere in the Shadows anthology (for more on this anthology, click here).  The top winner is going to be awarded all of the books from all of the authors featured in the anthology.  Whew!  As if you didn’t have enough to read, right?  But there’s always room for more books (especially now that they’re e-books).

Unfortunately, I can’t host a Rafflecopter-thingy on my blog, so I need to refer you to the blog of my TESSpecFic group mate and fellow contributor to Somewhere in the Shadows, Jonathan D. Allen (click here to link to his giveaway page).

liebster2But without further ado…

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Carl Purdon.  I usually fudge on the requirements of these things, but I’m going to actually try to do it by the rules this time.  So here are the requirements: Continue reading →

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So the World Didn’t End. Are You Disappointed?

Posted on 01/18/2013 | 8 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

Just plugging along.  The time away from the blog and focusing on my WIP has been productive, both in word count and enthusiasm level.  Plus, with my hectic schedule, writing really has been catch-as-catch-can, which I figure is good practice for doing it professionally.  Never knowing for sure when I’m going to get a good writing session in, I’ve had to eliminate the ritual aspect of the craft in favor of just getting down to it whenever a moment presents itself (either getting up at 4:30 in the morning, or on those rare moments when both of my children take a nap at the same time).

Unfortunately, when he looks like this, I feel like this.

Unfortunately, when he looks like this, I feel like this.

Otherwise, I had a fun interview I did for Tara Maya’s blog.  She was one of the other authors (besides myself) in Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies.  If you get a chance and want to learn more about me, check it out by clicking here.

What does the future hold?

I’m debating axing this regular section of my blog for two reasons.  One, with everything going on in my outside-of-writing life right now, I can’t guarantee the regularity with which I’ve posted in the past.  Two, do any of you really count on this section of my blog and mark your calendars based on it?  Feel free to comment with your opinion.

But without further ado…

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by a woman named Allison Morris.  She had come across my post, End of the World Stories We Love to Hate, and sent me a graphic she helped create on a timeline of failed apocalypse predictions (well, one still remains to be seen).  Continue reading →

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Waiting for the Lights to Go Out: On the state of horror… and the world?

Posted on 12/21/2012 | 10 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

keep-calm-and-make-it-to-christmas-break-232As of the release of this post, I am officially on Christmas break!  And believe me, while it’s a break from school for the students, for teachers, it’s a well-needed break from 400+ teenagers :)   Over the break I plan on really digging into my WIP.  I’ve been working in fits and starts the past month or so, and it’s my goal to use this break to really get it going full steam.

What does the future hold?

If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, it’s not secret that I’m not betting on the future until tomorrow morning.  So we’ll see.

However, if we make it through today, because of my drive to get things going with the WIP, I’m going to take the next two Fridays off from the ol’ blog.  But don’t worry, I have a few ideas in the can that I’m looking forward to.

“Would you like that in the can?”

“No, I’ll just have it right here, thanks.”

(Sorry, obscure National Lampoon’s European Vacation reference)

But without further ado…

Somewhere-in-the-Shadows-III-Amended-SmlSpeaking of my irrational paranoia about the end of the world, I really didn’t intend the timing of this piece with today.  It just worked out that way.  I wrote this foreword to Somewhere in the Shadows back in September and figured I’d post it on my blog to drum up some publicity for the anthology.  But here we find ourselves on 12/21/12. Continue reading →

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“Undead” Release and Guest Post/Blog Tour with Jonathan D. Allen

Posted on 12/14/2012 | 10 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies has been officially released.  It features stories from Jeff Strand, Tara Maya, Matt Hults, Rayne Hall, Douglas Kolacki, Tracie McBride, April Grey, John Hoddy, Jonathan Broughton and me.  I’m looking forward to digging into this one.  You can find it at the following links:

Amazon, Smashwords and Kobo (with other distributors to follow shortly)

Here’s the trailer for the book:

What does the future hold?

Well, next Friday may be the end of the world, right?  If nothing else, it’s the end of my semester teaching.  Yahoo!  Christmas break!

In addition, I will be posting my foreword to Somewhere in the Shadows as well as a few words about the stories therein.  With any luck, I’ll be able to get through all of them by next week.  I’ve read a little more than half, and they’re quite diverse in content.

But without further ado…

I’m pleased this week to be hosting a guest post from my TESSpecFic group mate Jonathan D. Allen.  Continue reading →

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Cover Reveal and Artist Interview for “Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies”

Posted on 12/07/2012 | 12 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

Somewhere-in-the-Shadows-III-Amended-SmlWell, kind of a rush of things, actually, which has caused a switch in plans here at the ol’ blog.  More on that shortly, but the news for this week is that Somewhere in the Shadows, the anthology that features a foreword by yours truly, is now available for purchase.  I had originally intended to post my foreword here this week, but with another anthology coming out with which I’m involved (the aforementioned Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies), I’ve been asked to do some other pre-publicity today.

So I’m pushing back my foreword for Somewhere in the Shadows for two weeks, but the good thing is that it will allow me time to read and comment on some of the stories when I do post additional details.

Until then (and if you don’t want to wait for me), you can find Somewhere in the Shadows at Amazon (click here).

What does the future hold?

Another fellow writer who has been pretty busy lately is fellow TESSpecFic group mate, Jonathan D. Allen.  In addition to also being featured in Somewhere in the Shadows, he has just released a new novel, Room 3, and next week, I’ll be hosting Jonathan for a guest post regarding this release.

But without further ado…

In the next week or so, one of my short pieces, Another Oldie but Goodie, will be appearing in an anthology edited by Rayne Hall.  Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies is the next in a series of releases by Hall, all following the Ten Tales concept.  I’m honored to be in this company of nine other authors (check back for more information on the other authors soon) Continue reading →

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A Book Fan’s Review of the Movie Version of “Life of Pi.”

Posted on 11/30/2012 | 11 Comments

What’s news for horror writer Paul D. Dail?

Not much to report this week.  I’m still waiting on a couple of releases that I’ve mentioned here that contain content of mine.  One of them is actually due to be released today or tomorrow, I believe, so…

What does the future hold?

Next Friday, I’ll put up a link to Somewhere in the Shadows, where I was asked to write the foreword.  And because it is simply the foreword (both to the anthology and on my thoughts on the state of horror in general), and not a specific story in the anthology, I’ll be posting it here to pique your interest.

But without further ado…

If you’ve perused my blog, you would know that the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel made it into my Top 10 Books that Have Inspired Me.

From that post:

[Life of Pi is] Another one my wife introduced me to, and this story found me at just the right time and appealed to me on multiple levels.  Continue reading →

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