Hahahaha! I got word this morning from a fellow Xangan in a mutual blogring that the evil horrible horror author got permanently booted from the Horror Writer's Association yesterday. One member of the HWA dropped me a comment to the effect, which was later confirmed by my editor, who is also a member.

For those of you not in the loop, Google "Pacione Insect" and try reading it--it's typical. His writing is horrible (grammar, misspellings, typos, and numerous tense changes within a single sentence, to name a few), his megalomania knows no bounds, and he thinks it's perfectly acceptable to threaten people's lives via phone and email if they don't worship his genius. Never mind that the life-threatening part is a federal offense, since it crosses state lines. He has personally sent me death threats. I'm far from the only one to receive them from this jerk.

I'm not a member of HWA. My Amish murder story will not be published for real, so I won't become a member within the next few months. The upside is that my editor has asked me for another story, with the theme of poison. My undergrad chemical engineering training could come in useful for that theme, so I'm up for it.

No deadline as of yet, since publication date would be at least a year away. So, I spent some spare time last night tossing together a short scene featuring a fictional horror writer battling writer's block. It was mostly an exercise in developing my dialogue skills, but it is rather humorous. You can read it here, but be forewarned: it contains some sexual innuendo.