by Christopher Ryan

Humans make interesting connections. When our father passed, my sister started seeing cardinals (way before Kacey Musgraves released her lovely tribute to John Prine). When my wife Glorious’ father passed, we started seeing blue jays. Before anyone starts shaking their head, none of us believe the fathers are now birds, it just serves as a lingering connection, a comforting reminder, a moment that helps healing.

We can all use some healing in our lives.

Then again, my friend Ross tends to see crows, often taken as signs of death and/or doom, so, something for everyone.

Similarly, some people believe iPhone’s shuffle tends to play the songs we need to hear. This is not much more magical thinking than birds from our fathers so sure, whatever works.

As long as such things do not start influencing life decisions or financial mayhem, no harm, no foul. Whatever gets you to a better place.

But if my iPhone starts playing my favorite songs as covered by blue jays…

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Hi, I’m Christopher Ryan, a hybrid author with forty years of previous experience in journalism, education, sketch comedy, indie film, unions, community service, parenting, public speaking, acting, fiction writing, and podcasting. I’ve experienced moderate success in all of these, but I’m pushing to be more, to become one of the oldest breakout authors in the business. Together, let’s see together whether I can get there.

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NEWS: Deep into writing and rewriting an essay for an upcoming book on a comics legend. Rather than history or chronology, this one will celebrate the person in all his creative genius. That’s all I can say at the moment, besides nothing that it has been an honor to participate and a thrill to write.

Over in the podcast/YouTubeisphere, the show I co-host with Alex Simmons, Tell the Damn Story, just posted its 350th episode. That’s weekly episodes, folks, all talking with creatives, mostly writers, about overcoming challenges either in the writing, publishing, or promoting process to make it easier for emerging writers to, um, emerge.

Above is a still from that show, with (clockwise from top left) me, Alex, Jeannine Acheson, Tom Sniegoski, and Rebecca Cuthbert. If you don’t know, Alex writes a lot of things, most recently a story in Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson edited by Jesse J. Holland. Jeannine and Tom work together on Vampirella, as well as a few of their own characters. Tom is also writing a new comic featuring The Herculoids which has to be seen to be believed. Rebecca Cuthbert wrote Creep This Way: How to Become a Horror Writer with 24 Tips to Get You Ghouling for my Seamus and Nunzio Productions imprint, as well as books of poetry and short stories. For more information on all of them, and to enjoy a really great discussion about writing and creativity, check out the show. Here’s the link:

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IN OTHER NEWS: Soul Scream Antholozine lives on!

After publishing six volumes of my anthology/magazine mash-up, I thought it might have run its course, but then Fate sent an email. In this case, Fate was played by Victoria Weisfeld, and the short story she sent me hurled me into a bout of self-reflection I realized might be really cool for readers to experience. The whole “What would you do” in certain situations just haunted me until it became clear that with our country going through as much turmoil as it currently is (if you haven’t noticed, widen your news sources), a volume of stories that entertain and allow us to work through some of our current national anxieties might help everybody. As a result Soul Scream Antholozine Fear and Loathing is in production again.

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UPCOMING EVENTS: I’ve been confirmed as a reader for the upcoming Broken Hearts Horror on Sunday, 2/23 from 6-9 pm at the Shade Bar, 241 Sullivan St., West Village/NYC.

I’m also on a few panels at the Long Island Convention of Horror (see below). More on that as we get closer.

Coming in March, Alien Buddha Press will be publishing It’s Been a Privilege, a horror story in verse. Here’s me reading a selection from the book:

Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/hMOwiEFMRSc?si=tpB2RWuWdSxLuAy_

CURRENT OBSESSIONS:

MUSIC: When I write, I often listen to 107.1 The Peak-FM. Cool mix of classic rock and new releases. Currently, I’m intrigued by Lola Young’s “Messy” – cool groove, great lyrics, pained subtext in the vocals. Great song.

Additionally, I’ve heard “Rodeo Clown” by Flipturn. The sound draws you in. Great lead singer who has the cool to lay back into the song letting her slightly whiskey tenor/Stevie Nicks type voice to sit on top of a solid production that allows all the instruments to contribute to the overall effect without pulling attention from the whole. Really cool.

TV: Last week saw a hundred thousand different specials celebrating the 50th season of Saturday Night Live. At least it feels like that many. And as is tradition with SNL, the results are ea mixed bag. The music concert had some moments but I thought it was going to be a clip show of great musical performances from throughout the half century of shows (NBC, there’s still time to do that!). The three-hour live extravaganza was also hit-and-miss, which is part of the appeal of SNL’s trapeze act. The hidden gems are on Peacock, where four intriguing specials offer different looks at aspects of the SNL experience. My favorite was the improbable and compelling documentary on one sketch: “Recording Session” known to us as “More Cowbell.” Fascinating.

BOOKS: After luxuriating in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World for awhile, I’m working my way back to Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! Still intriguing.

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FREAK OUT: Like so many different factions of our country, I’m finding it necessary to work overtime to defend against the tsunami of bullshit coming out of D.C. Good people are getting hurt by a bunch of those who cannot not see beyond numbers and agendas to the humanity being impacted. One of the things I did was to search out the writings of great Americans, thinking they might inspire a renewal of faith in the Idea of America.

A lot of it did.

Ben Franklin, however, scared the hell out of me. In his September 17, 1787 speech at the conclusion of The Constitutional Conventions deliberations, he asked his fellow participants to work past the parts of the document they might not love and unify for the sake of establishing “what may be a blessing for the people, if well administered (so far so good, I thought); and I believe, farther, that it is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other.”

You’re killing me, Ben.

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Thanks for coming by. Talk atcha soon.