Publication History

A few days ago, someone asked me when and where my first story was published. I couldn't remember. Isn't that nuts? I honestly could not tell her the year the story came out, and I had to think for a minute before I could even remember where it appeared. Crazy.

It was important to me, obviously, but damn. There is clearly something wrong with my brain.

So... I took some time yesterday to piece together my publication history, more for myself than anyone else. I've always been really horrible about keeping track of stuff like this. But there were enough resources on my hard drive and on line for me to work it out.

If you're interested, here it is. But like I say, this is mostly for me.

 2007

--“Battle of the Carson Hotel”, to WELL-TOLD TALES podcast. Made twenty bucks, and heard the story read by a really terrific voice talent named Andy Hoff. Later republished in DIG TEN GRAVES. I got lucky right out of the gate, but I wasn't able to sell another piece of fiction for almost two years after this. Well-Told Tales is gone, but you can still find the podcast on line.

2008

--“How the Great Depression Gave America the Blues”, to HISTORY MAGAZINE. Non-fiction, but I’m including it because it was the first time I ever got a substantial amount of money for writing. I have found it plagarized by students in several places on line. Oh well. It actually made me consider giving up fiction writing and going entirely for essays and articles. That didn’t take.

2009

--“Emancipation, with Teeth”, to NECROTIC TISSUE. A very good horror mag which I was proud to be in. They insisted on changing the ending. When I reprinted it in the story collection DIG TEN GRAVES, I re-instated my original ending. No disrespect to the mag, I just liked my way better.

2010

--“It Will All Be Carried Away”, to CHIZINE (number 44). A real breakthrough for me, as Chizine is a very well-respected mag. The editor cited “Carried Away” as one of the best stories he ever read for publication, and it was nominated for a storySouth award. Go, me. Also republished in DIG TEN GRAVES.

2011

--THE BASTARD HAND, my first novel, published by Jon Bassoff at NEW PULP PRESS.  Things sort of broke open for me that year because of it.

--“Blood Relations”, published in CRIME FACTORY #8. My first shot at a Western.

--“Nine Pale Men” and “Bones of the Conquerors”, the Grey Hawthorne adventures, published at THE NAUTILUS ENGINE. Grey Hawthorne was sort of the proto-type for the later character Hawthorne.

--“The World is Made of Candy”, “Greener”, and “Bleed Out” published at Jason Michel’s PULP METAL  over the course of the year. To this day I love working with Jason and I consider him a friend. “Bleed Out” was republished in DIG TEN GRAVES. "Greener" was later reprinted in Pulp Metal's anthology LAUGHING AT THE DEATH GRIN, which, sadly, is no longer available.

--Two chapters of a zombie serial called “Deadland USA” published as e-stories by a small press. Unfortunately, these chapters were a dead end and are no longer available.

--DIG TEN GRAVES, a self-published collection of short stories. Some had seen publication previously. About half were new to the collection.This is the only thing I've ever self-pubbed.

--“Miles to Little Ridge”, a novella published as an e-book by David Cranmer’s BEAT TO A PULP, and featuring his character Gideon Miles. My first contracted work and huge fun to write. 

--“Now I Wanna Be Your Dog”, a very nasty short story published in the anthology OFF THE RECORD.

--“No-Account Sonofabitch”, a very short story published at the great webzine SHOTGUN HONEY.

2012

--“A Freeway on Earth”, published in the anthology BURNING BRIDGES.

--“My Life with the Butcher Girl”, published in the anthology PULP INK 2.

--“Baby Jebus’ Big Score”, published at PULP METAL.

--“That Damned Coyote Hill”, the first Hawthorne weird western, published as an e-book by BEAT TO A PULP.

--“The Long Black Train”, the second Hawthorne, published as an e-book by BEAT TO A PULP.

--“The Spider Tribe”, the third Hawthorne, published as an e-book by BEAT TO A PULP. 

--FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER, a novella, under the name Jack Tunney. Published on Sept 1. This is part of the ongoing series of Fight Card novellas published by Paul Bishop and Mel Odom.  

--CITY OF HERETICS, my second full-length novel, published by Ron Earl Phillips and SNUBNOSE PRESS. It came out only days after the FIGHT CARD novella.

2013

--“Bad Sanctuary”, the fourth Hawthorne, published by BEAT TO A PULP. All four Hawthorne e-books are unavailable now, as they've been collected in one volume.

--“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, published in the Lee Marvin-themed anthology LEE, from CRIME FACTORY PUBLICATIONS.

--“The Unholy; or, How the Gowan Gang Died”, a very short Hawthorne story, published at the webzine THE BIG ADIOS.

--“The Dead Hagedorns”, a flash fiction piece featuring Hawthorne, published in 5 BROKEN WINCHESTERS, from ZELMER PULP.

--HAWTHORNE: TALES OF A WEIRDER WEST, collecting all the Hawthorne stories except “The Dead Hagedorns”, published by BEAT TO A PULP.

2014

--“Five Bucks Buys Some Goddamn Vodka”, published in the crime fiction magazine/anthology NEEDLE, editor Steve Weddle.

--“Scarred Angel”, published in the anthology HOODS, HOT RODS & HELLCATS, from Chad Eagleton and CATHODE ANGEL PRESS.

--THE AXEMAN OF STORYVILLE, a novella about an older Gideon Miles in 1921 New Orleans, published by BEAT TO A PULP.

 --To be released: A Western novel that I can't say anything about yet.

--To be completed: A screenplay that I also can't say much about yet.

Doing this actually made me feel a little better about what I'm doing. Not a bad body of work for a few short years. With any luck, this is just the beginning. But you know how these things go... Thanks for reading.

Heath