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Paimon Strantzas

@strantzas.bsky.social

1K followers 73 following 580 posts

Author of BURNT BLACK SUNS. Editor of AICKMAN'S HEIRS. Finalist for four Shirley Jackson Awards, two British Fantasy Awards, and the World Fantasy Award. Probably won’t follow you back. 🌎 https://strantzas.com 📘 OTHER SIDES: https://tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · May 2

A lot of my fiction is about transformation and transcendence. We call them Horror stories because the act of transcending is both painful and terrifying.

tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

Other Sides

Lethe Press is an independent publishing house specializing in speculative fiction, books of gay interest, poetry, spirituality, as well as classic works of the occult & supernatural. Named after the ...

tinyurl.com

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 7d

Caught this play a few days ago in Toronto. Not sure how much it reminded me of either Poe or Jackson, but it was a fun experience.

www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events...

The Veil | Crow's Theatre

SAVE UP TO 40% FOR A LIMITED TIME The Veil is part of the Complete Crowsnest subscription. Also, it may be included in any 4-ticket or 6-ticket Design ...

www.crowstheatre.com

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 16d

I’ve received a lot of pushback on this thread.

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 23d

Why does it happen? Because it happens.

Roll the bones.

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 23d

Do you like them better in the high school halls, or in the shopping malls?

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 25d

People gonna people, I suppose.

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 25d

My dudes and dudettes and all those between: it wasn’t my intention to harsh your mellows today. I wish you all long and successful short story writing careers from the bottom of my blacked heart.

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 25d

I honestly believe if this thread discourages someone from writing, they were never going to make it anyway.

My musing on collection oversaturation is more nuanced than Bsky makes room for. (I mean, I’m 7 in, so obv it’s not stopping me.)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · 28d

"Strantzas is one of the masters of modern weird fiction, able to mine the common materials of everyday life for unmistakable signs of dread." — Steve Rasnic Tem

www.lethepressbooks.com/product-page...

Other Sides | Lethe Press

In Other Sides, Simon Strantzas invites you to explore the eerie fringes of reality, where the familiar twists into the unexplainable. A hungry house that demands a price from its occupants. A boy who...

www.lethepressbooks.com

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

This is probably why there’s motivation for so many short story writers to write a novel. Even if it’s just to experiment with something different after so long, it gives them a chance to toe the waters of a different, more tempting and lucrative pond. (9/9)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to only publish 2 or 3 short story collections at most over a career. Once you get past 5, who really wants to keep reading them? Isn’t around fifty short stories enough to get the gist of what a writer’s all about? With 2 or 3, you leave them wanting more. (8/9)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

There’s a heavy mental load buying a book of ten short stories, much heavier than buying a novel where there’s only one story. And the more books of stories you write, the more daunting that mental load becomes. (7/9)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

Why would anyone buy ANOTHER book you wrote when they already bought the last two? (6/9)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

And, if that doesn’t kill your short story writing dream, what follows is a slow decline into the firmament of the genre. People take your presence for granted. Reviews of your work dry up, readers mention you less often. (5/9)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

What no one tells you is being a fresh new kid on the block has a short lifespan. People want the high of discovering a new thing, so as soon as you’re the thing, you’re out the door in favor of the next fresh new thing. Readers… they don’t care who they hurt. (4/8)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

If you fight through all that—if you get through the constant rejection and overcome life’s obstacles and continue writing—you may be one of the lucky ones who develops a bit of a buzz. You may even become a bit of a thing. Congratulations! You’re a fresh new kid on the block! (3/8)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

You work a lot for next to no money. It burns out almost everyone. I’d wager over 90% of the writers I was published alongside when I started stopped writing short stories years ago. Life probably got in the way. (2/8)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 10

Here’s the thing about being a short story writer: there are a lot of you. A lot who started writing before you, and a lot who will start after. And depending on when you begin to send your work out, there may be a plethora of places to publish, or a paucity. (1/8)

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 9

Shameless.

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 9

Wanted: Short Story Writer. Must love: long hours for little pay; minimal book sales; multitudinous rejections; working in anonymity. Perks: doing what you want because no one is reading anyway. Misplaced self-importance an asset but not required. Apply within.

Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 9

Kurt Fawver?

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 3

Atticus standing around while Trent sings is giving real Pet Shop Boys vibes.

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Sep 1

Daniel Mills has long been one of my favourite writers. Missing this book would be a great mistake. (One you may regret every day for the rest of your life.)

undertowpublications.com/shop/among-t...

Among the Lilies — Undertow Publications

PAPERBACK Cover art: Yves Tourigny The long-awaited new collection of short stories from Daniel Mills, whose literary antecedents include Poe, Hawthorne, Vernon Lee, and John Darnielle. A visionary ...

undertowpublications.com

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Aug 31

Let's see how she feels after THE EXORCIST III.

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Aug 30

I hope it’s not lost on you just how angry this makes me.

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Paimon Strantzas @strantzas.bsky.social · Aug 30

We should judge our success not by our few times of triumph, but by our perseverance during multiple times of failure.