I wasn’t sure I wanted to submit to this collection from CultureCult. It’s definitely not my typical kind of anthology, but the concept intrigued me. It’s not horror, but it is a fascinating and disturbing look at the violence – physical, emotional, even political – that men cause. Not some supernatural slasher or malevolent spirit, but just the worst kind of men doing what they do, because they feel entitled, or they’re just evil… who can tell?
My story, Trophies, came from my obsession with criminal investigation shows like ‘Criminal Minds’ and ‘Law and Order: SVU,’ and the question I asked myself – what’s worse than murder? What’s darker and more disturbing than a prolific serial killer? The place that question brought me to was where I found the core idea for Trophies. Instead of taking their lives, my villain lets them live, but forever changed. They become his trophies – he watches them from the shadows, using their suffering as a kind of currency on the darkest, most depraved corners of the web. It’s one of the most disturbing stories I’ve ever written. I’m happy with it, but it lingered with me long after I submitted it.
Now available in illustrated paperback and digital formats:
MALE PATTERN VIOLENCE features the works of Basile Lebret, Bissme S, Chad Anctil, Charlotte Poitras, Charlotte Wade, Clint Smith, Corey Mertes, Daniel Tarker, Igor Antoniuk (Translator: Olga Dzyubinska), J. Agombar, J.M. Frankel, Jane Rosenberg LaForge, JB Corso, Jeff Burt, Jim Dawson, John T. Biggs, Katrina J. Powers, Louise Gillespie, M. Lee Goodson, M.G. Phillips, Martin Eastland, Nick Young, Nikki Durbin, Rathin Bhattacharjee, Rebecca Redshaw, Ricardo D. Rebelo, Richard Oyama, Rochelle Jewel Shapiro, Shubhaa Forrest, Simon Mohsin, Steve Loiaconi, Swagato Chakraborty AND Tom Blicq
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