Welcome back for another issue of JW’s Writerly Outpost. I hope you are all doing splendiferous out there. Myself? I’m doing well and keeping ultra busy as usual. Most of my attention lately has been on running Dark Forest Press. Things have been picking up on that front as we roll into spooky season.
Just this past weekend Leslie and I were part of the Bellingham Local Writers table at Bellingham Seafeast. There, we officially launched the brand new Not-So-Subdued Stories: An Anthology of Bellingham Fiction. We sold lots of copies and DFP has officially raised over $270 for the Bellingham Food Bank. You too can pitch in and get your own copy at DarkForestPress.com. (My bizarro short story “Moonfire” is hiding within the pages.)
Today (Thursday) I will be at Aslan Depot in downtown Bellingham as part of the Agora Artists Collective Market from 5pm to 10pm. Come out and here some awesome music, chow on pizza, drink beer, and check out the vendors.
Then on Friday night Leslie (of Spectricity Books) and I will be tabling at Resurrected Hair and Art Studio for the Downtown Bellingham First Fridays event from 5pm to 10pm.
And there is more!
On Saturday October 17th I will be on the “Why All of the Blood?” panel at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference as well as selling books all day at the HWA Seattle table in Lynnwood, WA.
Then, from Friday October 23rd to Sunday October 25th, Leslie and I will be running the Dark Forest Press table in Artist Alley at the Washington Horror Con in Pullyalup, WA.
October looks to be a busy busy month and I am thrilled.
Even with all of this going on I am finding time to edit my short stories for my upcoming collection Gustav Floats and Other Horrific Absurdities which will come out in July of 2027.
In other news, David Beaumier and I are running a writing conference! The Bellingham Spec Fic Con will be at the Holiday Inn in Bellingham, WA on November 7th. Tickets are only $100 for a full day of education from industry professionals like Donald Maass, Brianna Malotke, Kaitlyn Schmidt, and many more. Topics genres include science fiction, fantasy, horror, and more. Learn more at BhamSpecFicCon.DarkForestPress.com today!
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Irritation
But I have been irritated lately. Irritated by all of the GenAI slop I keep seeing everywhere around me, both digitally and in the real world. I get that some people don’t yet understand that GenAI is a theft machine throwing real artists’ work into a blender and spitting out average slop. But, it has gotten to be too much to bear. I’ve started unfollowing Facebook pages with organizers using GenAI for fliers. I’ve begun taking note of which businesses in town use GenAI for their advertising and menus and do not give them any of my money. And people who clearly already understand the theft aspects of the tool and choose to keep using it, I just outright block on my socials. This doesn’t even take into account the environmental impact problems. But that is a whole other ball of worms.
All of this to say, if you have someone close to you who is using these tools, please reach out to them and explain not only the environmental impacts, but also the artistic theft they are built upon. Explain to them that these tools are taking away jobs in all levels of society. And explain to them that a badly designed flier is far superior to some over-saturated slop shat out by GenAI that looks exactly like every other putrid slag of GenAI slop out there.
Yes. I know GenAI is built into everything, but it is still possible to avoid using it. I personally use Canva for a lot of things. But I steer clear of many of its internal tools. I also am wary of their built in library of art. I tend to check the authorship of any of their art before I use it in my marketing graphics, or I just go elsewhere like Pexels or Unsplash, where I know the art is trustworthy.
We are stuck with GenAI. At this point there is no purging it from the culture. It friggin sucks.
rant over 🙂
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Other stuff:
I’m currently reading Wuthering Frights by my partner Leslie Edens. It is a fun retelling of Wuthering Heights with ghouls and ghosts. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of spooky things and Emily Bronte.
I’m also still in the midst of The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. This is also a great read. It feels like reading classic fantasy in that it leans a bit more wordy than more modern stuff like Sanderson, and the pacing is super slow. But I love a good slow burn as along as the payoff is worth it, and it feels like the story is heading toward something huge and I am here for it. I’ll report back once I finish it.
I think that will be all for this month. I hope you all have a wonderful and spooky-fun October. Enjoy something on the darker side. If you come across anything amazing, be sure to share it with the world!
Thanks,
JDubs