Bloggety Blog

Review Contest

2012-02-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Have you read TZ's work? If so, have you written a review? Through Friday, post an Amazon or B&N review of any of TZ's books, post a link to the review on TZ's Facebook page and be entered to win a signed paperback copy of Destination Unknown. Kind of neat, huh?

http://www.facebook.com/trentzelazny

Thank You

2012-02-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just wanna give quick thanks to everybody for their recent help and support. Friends, and the writing community in general, well, there just ain't anything better.

Wow...

2012-01-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

All I can say at the moment is I'm speechless.

Hate writing this and may delete it

2012-01-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

As everybody knows, the job market these days is horrendous. The current unemployment rate is beyond comprehension. In the past eight to ten months I’ve applied for roughly 150 jobs (this ranges from editorial jobs to McDonald’s) without snagging a single one. There are many woes to go along with this though I am also very blessed, and I won’t for a second say otherwise. Given where my life was two years ago, or even a year ago, my life now is fan-freaking-tastic. Being jobless sucks but has been bearable with one exception, and that has been my inability to keep up with my child support payments. Before my personal and financial crash I never missed a single payment. Now, however, as I have been unable to keep up with the payments due to lack of work (I have paid when I can) I’m looking at jail time and I’m sure I’m quite rapeable. No, my ex-wife has nothing to do with this either. In fact she asked the state NOT to pursue it, given my circumstances. Her words held no weight, however, as the system does what the system does. It enraged me the other day to see the newspaper here announce that most people in the state of New Mexico spend no more than a week in jail for domestic violence, while I (and others) look at much longer terms for being unable to get work, but I’ll refrain from going off about that.

No, I am not asking for money. My days of shamelessness in that way are over. Interesting, as that comes at the time when that pathetic side could really maybe be quite helpful. I merely want to ask a favor of you, and no, this is not a shameless marketing scheme either. I simply would like to ask that, if you have had the intention to buy any of my books, might you be willing to do this now? If I can come up with roughly $3,000, there is a good chance that I can get out of this mess and continue working on getting my life back in order, and continue hunting for work. A couple of sales is all I ask, or if you know someone who might enjoy what I write, maybe you could sway them to buy a copy or ten. I’ve been selling beloved items on Amazon and Ebay (including some rare things of my father’s) but it just isn’t cutting it. My conscience gnaws at me every second for this, but I don’t see how jail is going to help me find work, or make me feel any worse than I already do. It's a numbers game with these people, and a sucky one at that.

If by chance you do care to donate, however, well, thank you, and you probably see the donation button on this blog. Sigh, and thank you again.

Hmm...

2012-01-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

So I'm considering doing more blog stuff. Makes me think of The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC a little. Guess we'll see.

FD Cheap

2011-12-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

Through Xmas, exclusively on Amazon, a Kindle copy of Fractal Despondency is only .99¢ Git while you c'n git!

Well...

2011-12-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

They may put me in jail, but at least Destination Unknown is finally out :)

It's true

2011-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

No matter what you say or what you do, you're gonna hurt somebody. Sucks, but how it is.

Hmm.

2011-12-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

No, I honestly don't think the system works. When neither party wants anything to do with a legal issue, no one is pursuing or pressing charges of any sort, and there are agreed upon terms outside the system, I see no point in spending tax payer's money to take action because somewhere it says they should.

Just weird to me.

They Want to Put Me in Jail

2011-12-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

That's right. For not having steady employment, the state of New Mexico wants to put me behind bars. I'm very rapable. If you know of any work at all, please let me know. Also, there is a donation button on this here blog. We'll call it the "Keep Trent out of jail and help him get his life back together fund." I hate to say it, but I've gone into dire straits. I guess this is what happens when you bust your ass to get your life back on track.

Thanking you in advance.

A TOAST TO GEORGE

2011-12-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

A toast to George! The finest man I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. A man with a heart so big the universe perishes by comparison. A man who is always willing to turn the other cheek, and who always keeps his judgment of others quietly to himself. A man who shrugged and said, “What can you do?” when his brother-in-law embezzled every cent he had. Who said, “It happens,” and still gave me a hug after I seduced his wife at last year’s Christmas party. The same man who, when replaced at work by a young college graduate, shook the kid’s hand and said, “I’m sure you’ve earned it.” So, here’s to George. Thank you, George. Thanks for everything! Especially for staying out of the way.

Totally Broke

2011-12-10T17:52:00.001-08:00

Yes, that's right. I currently can barely afford to piss. This, friends, is why there is currently a donations button on my blog.

:)

Destination Unknown Trailer

2011-12-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

Order it HERE!

Destination Unknown

2011-12-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

I just wanted to let y'all know that, after more than two years, my novel Destination Unknown is now finally available. Kindle now, and in print in about the next week or so. Thank you all for your support and friendship, etc.

Check these out

2011-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

These are two projects by two great talents. I highly recommend you donate to them, so there can be more cool stuff in the world.

Radar Rangers Animated Feature

A science fiction adventure based on the Parsnip Saga series of comic books.

FMO Fiction eMagazine

X-rated Science Fiction & Cyberpunk

RIP Zach

2011-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Just learned this morning that I've lost another friend. This is becoming too much, especially considering how young these friends are. RIP, Zach. Love you, and still support you.

Please understand...

2011-11-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

That though I post certain quotes, thoughts, musings, etc. on Twitter or Facebook or whatever, this does not mean I am in despair. There are courses dedicated to picking apart people's words, and nine times out of ten, the blue curtains did not represent anything, did not intentionally contain symbolism. The curtains were simply fucking blue.

This is why I often disappear from Facebook (well, there are several reasons, but it's a big one). My words apparently have a strange power that, when read in what is clearly a fiction form (book, short story, etc.) are taken as deep or entertaining or whatever. But in a Facebook post for example, they are often taken as me saying "Hug me. I'm in a pit of despair and can't take care of myself and need electronically-transmitted love and coddling." While I very much appreciate that people care, it is often misinterpreted.

I would like to site my most recent Twitter post:

I've decided, fuck it. I've failed enough times in my life. I can afford to fail again.

Though I can see how it could be taken as a negative thing, in fact it was intended as quite the opposite. I have failed several times, in career, in life, in love. What it meant is, I know what it's like to fail. I know what it's like to crash and burn and just barely make it out alive. I've been there, more times that I care to admit. Saying Fuck it, I can afford to fail again, it was me saying I haven't given up. That I'm still trucking and taking new risks, and fear of failure is not a factor. Failure might be the outcome, but you will neither fail nor succeed if you don't do anything. I was saying, Even if you've failed before, that is still no reason to give up.

I appreciate concerned emails but please don't misinterpret me. If something I post worries you, simply ask if I'm okay, rather than send froo-froo emails and unnecessary words of encouragement for something that does not exist. Without knowing what's going on, the well-intended words become discouragement, and then my interpretation is that the kind words bestowed upon me from people who don't know what's going on are actually belittling. So, please, simply ask. I'm honest enough that I will tell you if life is fine or life is shit.

In other words, please do not assume. It can be a form of talking down to someone, and what had been a wonderful moment of inspiration for me can then be doused in kerosene and set ablaze. It's all in how we interpret things. Interpret my fiction, that's fine. Please don't interpret a simple statement or random musing and then turn it into the state of my life.

Again, please ask before jumping to conclusions.

Thank you.

RIP Brian M.

2011-10-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, I lost a good friend last night to suicide. I've had to deal with this kind of thing too many times now. It does not get any easier, however. There aren't really any other words except, I love you, man.

2011-10-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

You can relate to me, fine, but I'm not writing YOUR story, folks. I'm talking about my own neurosis and my own bullshit. Don't write me and say "You just wrote my life." Wrong answer. Are you that fucking disconnected? I did not just write your life. I'm writing MY fucking life. Relate to it, yes, that is what art is, communication. But don't be arrogant enough to think I'm actually writing about you.

Sorry, been having a lot of anger lately.

And please do not write me to ask about my dad. I know that kind of thing can be exciting and have done it myself. But the truth is being the son of a great writer has hurt my life a lot more than it has helped it. Don't be ignorant and think I get published because of my fucking last name, either. Joe Hill was wise to go by Joe Hill and not son of Stephen King. Editors are harder on you, and when you go to conventions petty, threatened assholes try to mock you and say the only reason you're published is because of your name. Fuck you (Mark McLaughlin comes to mind, even if that was years ago). I'm just fucking fed up with people's dumbass judgments on my career. Like my work or don't, it's that simple. Treat it like you do with every other schmuck who's fucking cursed to be a writer. We're cursed and blessed. None of us are sitting there thinking how cool it would be to write a book. We fucking write them because, for most of us, if we didn't, we'd be fucking dead or institutionalized. I don't want to be a writer. Many writers don't want to be. The idiots who aren't writers are the ones that who arrogantly raise their hand and say, "Then why don't you stop?" The simple answer to that is, "Because you, sir or madame, are a moron, and don't understand. Because you, sir or madame, would not like it if I asked you, with the same arrogance, "Why dopn't you give up breathing?"

Okay, rant over... for now.

...

2011-10-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Things have been rough. I wish this was something new and I was experiencing it for the first time. I'm taking another break from FaceFuck, as no one (myself included) has figured out this new dimension of socializing, and the result is everybody (myself included) comes off as a dick head. We preach honesty but very few people like it when you're honest. Everyone's opinionated, which is good and bad. People should have their own opinion, but when they give it, especially when dealing with another person's personal matters, they should understand the situation before they let their God complex set in. Even when well meaning, you come off as a dick.

Okay, I've rambled a little, vented some.

Comment or don't, I don't give a fuck.

With a handful of followers, none of whom actually look at this blog, I'm really not concerned.

She Never Slept

2011-10-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

My interview has been moved from the 8th to the 15th. Be sure to check it out. We'll be talking about stuff.

Servante of Darkness

2011-10-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

A very nice piece by Anthony Servante at The Black Glove: Horror Culture and Entertainment.

It is below, or you can click the link. Thanks, Anthony!!!

Servante of Darkness #2: The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories by Trent Zelazny

I decided what I want to do with Servante of Darkness. I want to use it as a soapbox/forum to address horror and its branches in a scholarly way. I want to discuss it as literature. I hope that by doing so I can help elevate its status a notch in the scholastic community as well as for the mainstream fans of the genre. That is direction this column will now take.

In today’s column I want to address the meaning of “psychological horror”. After a bit of discussion, I will analyze "The Day the Leash Gave Way And Other Stories by Trent Zelany", Wilder Publication, in terms of the application of this meaning.

Horror in the Age of Romanticism was a combination of beauty and grotesque elements. Dracula fed on beautiful women. The lovely vampire Lilith drank only the blood of children. The Frankenstein Monster was an intellectual. “Disparate elements become united because Imagination reconciles opposites,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge expounded. Kierkegaard approaches Irony in the same fashion: “Irony limits, finitizes, and circumscribes and thereby yields truth, actuality, content; it disciplines and punishes and thereby yields balance and consistency.” Today, this balance between extremes subjectifies the elements of Horror; the reader faces the horror within himself, and when the subject is the reader and the extremes are the source of the book or story, this extended balance between reader and book, we call “Psychological Horror.” In essence, the reader journeys into the depths of his own dark side by way of the story which contains attractive elements leading him to grotesque elements. He becomes Kurtz going down the natural beauty of the Congo River leading him to “the horror, the horror” (Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad).

The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories [Leash] by Trent Zelazny, Wilder Publication, exemplifies Psychological Horror (PH) in modern Horror with its balanced structure of story form and its effect on the reader. Zelazny echoes the Romantic Horror writers’ definition of PH in an interview with Darrell Schweitzer (Windows of the Imagination: Essays on Fantastic Literature, [1998], Speaking of the Fantastic I and II, [2002 & 2004, respectively]). He says, “[PH] is a study of the negative side of human behavior…. I do believe everybody has some serious darkness inside.” But how does he involve the reader to share or partake in these personal demons? That would be through the use of “fear.” Zelazny explains, “People can be afraid of many different things, and being scared is often very unpleasant. But there can also be a thrill when your fears are invoked without actual danger.” However, there must be some form of danger, albeit in the form of a ‘suspension of disbelief.’ The ‘thrill’ for the reader is in the safety of the story, just as the thrill of a roller coaster ride is in the safety bar that keeps one from flying off into space, even as the possibility exists that one can actually be ejected from the safety seat accidentally. The fear is real; it is the safety that is imaginary.

In Hooch, the first story of twenty-three tales in Leash that establishes the Romantic structure from the start, the PH elements revolve around the pretty girl Darlene and her questionable status regarding genital crabs. Just as our protagonist Tim is attracted and repulsed by the young girl, so too is the reader. The element of danger begins with the risk of catching crabs and escalates when the bully Alec and his crew arrive. Tim’s friend, Harry, is beaten by the gang, but Tim and Darlene escape to relative safety. The reader rests easy now that the danger has passed, and Tim’s thoughts return to the matter of whether or not Darlene is safe to have sex with. But the safety is short-lived for Tim. Darlene’s father suddenly appears, beats him into the street, where a truck hits him, knocking out his left eye before killing him. The reader is blind-sided; while he thinks that Darlene probably doesn’t have crabs or an STD, hoping that he will see Tim score, he instead witnesses Tim’s gory death. Zelazny has pulled the safety net out from under his reader. The danger never passed; it merely changed circumstance. The reader was thrown from the roller coaster, albeit an imaginary one.

In Acupuncture, the narrator’s cute wife with the “sunshine” smile provides the attractive element while the use of acupuncture needles provides the horrific element in the torture of his wife’s lover. The reader is lured by the extramarital affair, and then watches the torture at a safe distance while sympathizing with the narrator’s plight as cuckold husband. It is difficult to avoid the double meaning of the word “prick” in this story. “Like a dick, a needle’s only so long,” the narrator informs the reader as he pushes the sharp slim instrument into the victim’s eye, while referring to seeing a light, which echoes the “sunshine” of his wife’s smile. To a lesser extent, the story Competition follows the same pattern as Acupuncture, without the drawn out torture scenes. On My Feet replaces torture with murder, but has the same construct. In The House of Happy Mayhem, Zelazny maintains the balance of PH with a stalker and his “Laura,” the girl of his obsessions. But the reader is drawn out of this happy fantasy in the stalker’s mind when he pulverizes the face of James, Lisa’s (Laura’s in his mind) husband as they lay in bed. The majority of the Leash stories follows the same structure.

It is good to see Trent Zelazny carrying on the rich tradition of S.T. Coleridge, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, and the other Romantics who put the super in supernatural. Zelazny has simply factored in his own darkness to the tradition, especially in The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories, giving us a modern definition of Psychological Horror to apply and advance both critically and creatively. Structurally, the author’s work would fit between the irony of O’Henry’s endings, especially Zelazny’s iconic use of gory surprises, and the epiphanal endings in Dubliners by James Joyce, similar to Zelzany’s descriptions of his characters’ personal moments of darkness and their hope for light. But it is in the evolving tradition of the literature of Horror from the Romantic Age to the Modern movement where Trent Zelazney fits best.

--Anthony Servante

Ellipses

2011-09-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

I posted this on Facebook but figure I might as well post it here, too:

I'm not your enemy or your savior. Nor am I a down-and-out guy you've decided to label a cause. I'm just some dude on Facebook, and frankly I'm sick and tired of misinterpretations, exaggerations, illogical reactions and where-the-fuck-did-that-come-from assumptions, creating the stupidest of stupid drama in the semi-fictional world of social networking. I've been misinterpreted on here too many goddamn times now. I'm not your lover, nor am I out to get you. I have little to nothing to do with your personal fucked up shit and I don't want any of it. I have more than enough of my own. And I also understand that you have little or nothing to do with my shit. I'm beyond exhausted with trying to defend myself against impaired and desponding diatribes and full-blown attacks that have nothing to do with me whatsoever, all because for whatever reason you've decided I should be one of the focal points of your inanity.

Don't build me up and don't build me down. I'm just one of the 250 million people that happens to hang out on this website. I want you to be my friend, yes, and I want to be your friend. However, I don't want to enter a fucking episode of goddamn Dawson's Creek whenever I log on. Stop trying to make me the core of your shit. Other than a name and picture on a computer, I don't even exist to most of you.

I love you all, but if you think I'm the one creating your problems, go play an online version of 90210 and use my fucking name as a character.

And now that that's out of the way, what the fuck are people thinking on a day to day basis? What goes through your mind, first thing in the morning? I'm not judging, I'm simply curious. Let's say you wake up and the first thing that comes to mind is a giant owl. Likely this is left over from a dream, unless you maybe happen to be obsessed with giant owls. But then by the time you're taking your morning piss, you're thinking of a stack of papers that need organizing, or some shit. Okay, what thoughts fell in between? What caused your mind to go from giant owl to stack of papers? Dream/reality, blah blah blah. There were thought in the middle. Giant paper? Owls shitting paper? Did you briefly think you were pissing owls, and the sensation was note worthy? You thought maybe you'd write something about the peeing sensation that made you briefly think you were peeing owls? You wanted to write a paper about it, and when finished you could add it to the stack of...Oh shit, that stack of papers. They need to be organized, and if and when I write my pissing owls paper, should I file it under P for Pissing or O for Owls?

Does any of this matter? I don't fucking think so.

Stuff

2011-09-28T14:31:00.001-07:00

So, many things happening, but I shall keep it limited in this little space. A Crack in Melancholy Time, the follow-up to Fratal Despondency is now available in eBook from Crossroad Press. Before too long, it shall move next door to Shadowboxer in a combined print edition. I'm hoping to convince them that it should be done like the old Ace Doubles so popular in the fifties and sixties, but we'll see. Feel free to write the publisher and suggest it.

Also, check out the trailer to A Crack in Melancholy Time. I'm quite pleased with the way this one turned out.

Also, on October 8th, I'll be doing a live podcast interview on She Never Slept. I'll be trying to sound smart, and shall do my best to whore my work.

There are other things, but, honestly, I'm drawing a blank at the moment.

A Crack in Melancholy Time, Trailer for the new Novella

2011-09-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

Love starting image, huh? Still, you should buy it.

To Sleep Gently Book Trailer

2011-09-24T00:16:00.000-07:00

Also, Fractal Despondency and Jim the Bitch are now available in Nook, as well. Tell the kids.

CONTEST TIME

2011-09-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven't picked up To Sleep Gently, this would be a good time to do so. Through September 23rd buy To Sleep Gently, show proof of purchase, and receive a free download of Fractal Despondency.

Also, four mass market copies of Shadowboxer were produced as a test print run with Black Curtain Press. One shall be given away.

Simply write a review of To Sleep Gently and post it on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, or any other viable alternative. Post the link on Trent Zelazny – The Writer in Ward Eleven. Everyone who posts will be entered to win the super limited Shadowboxer mass market paperback (signed or unsigned, up to you). Two runners up will receive a signed paperback of The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other stories.

Contest ends October 15th.

Also, be sure to check out the new novella A Crack in Melancholy Time, the continuation of Fractal Despondency's Blake Gladstone.

Two for One

2011-09-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

Have you picked up Fractal Despondency yet? Well, here's a deal for you e-reading folks. Through the 23rd buy To Sleep Gently, show your proof of purchase, and get a free download of Fractal Despondency. As some friends might say, "Huzzah!"

A Crack in Melancholy Time

2011-09-06T14:49:00.000-07:00

The follow-up to Fractal Despondency, A Crack in Melancholy Time, is now available exclusively for ereaders. Check it out. I think this concludes releases for a while.

To Sleep Gently

2011-08-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

My novel To Sleep Gently is now available in ebook with a print version soon to follow.

HEIDI'S PICK SIX

2011-08-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

I did Heidi Ruby Miller's Pick Six interview.

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology)

2011-08-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan

March 11, 2011 - Three prefectures in northeastern Japan are devastated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, and a massive tsunami that takes the lives of nearly 30,000 people.

April 2011 - 75 authors from 11 countries came together to collaborate on a mixed-genre anthology of short stories to benefit the orphans of the disaster-stricken Tohoku area. Ninety percent of which is all original work written for this book.

Interview on Book Talk

2011-08-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

I recently did an interview with Steven Janiszeski on his new show Book Talk.

Fractal Despondency Trailer

2011-07-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

So, yeah, have you bought this yet?

Shadowboxer Book Trailer

2011-07-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Kinda cool. Never lived in a trailer before.

Review at Underwords.

2011-07-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

The smart and oh so lovely Erin Underwood just posted a review of Fractal Despondency. You can read it by clicking the colon, capital D. And yes, I forgive her for misspelling my last name.

Inter-Fractal House of Despondency

2011-07-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

IHOP does not endorse this product.

Remember

2011-07-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

FRACTAL DESPONDENCY REVIEW CONTEST

Want to win a signed paperback of The Day the Leash Gave Way? Would you like to enjoy a hot beverage (coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.) in a new mug while reading it? Well, simply write a review of Trent Zelazny’s latest novella Fractal Despondency and post it on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, or any other viable alternative. Post the link on Trent Zelazny – The Writer in Ward Eleven. Everyone who posts will be entered to win a signed copy of The Day the Leash Gave Way AND a Fractal Despondency coffee mug. There will be two winners picked at random on July 31st.

99¢ Shadowboxer on Kindle

2011-07-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Shadowboxer.
99¢ on Kindle.
Win BIG!

Trent Zelazny Wants to Give You a Signed Book

2011-07-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Via She Never Slept:

Today we have a very spooktacular thing! – Trent Zelazny is going to be giving away a signed copy of his book.

Ok my wicked ones, here are the rules for this thrilling contest. There will be three trivia questions taken from our review of Fractal Despondency and our interview with Trent Zelazny. If you answer all 3 questions correctly your names will be thrown into my witchy hat and the lucky winner will receive an autographed copy of this terrorific novella. All entries must be received by Friday, July 15th at Midnight Pacific to qualify. Send your answers >>here<< and good luck! (Winners will be announced on Sunday, July 17th.)
Trivia Questions
1. What state does Fractal Despondency take place in?
2. Will there be a sequel to this novella?

3. Trent wrote his first story, based on a film he saw, when he was very young. What movie did he “rip off”?

Contest???

2011-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Want to win a signed paperback of The Day the Leash Gave Way? Would you like to enjoy a hot beverage (coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.) in a new mug while reading it? Well, simply write a review of Trent Zelazny’s latest novella Fractal Despondency and post it on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, or any other viable alternative. Post the link on Trent Zelazny – The Writer in Ward Eleven. Everyone who posts will be entered to win a signed copy of The Day the Leash Gave Way AND a Fractal Despondency coffee mug. There will be two winners picked at random on July 31st.

Shadowboxer

2011-07-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

This was quite a nice Amazon review for Shadowboxer:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing!, July 11, 2011

RuthB -

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shadowboxer (Kindle Edition)

I picked up Shadowboxer after reading Fractal Despondency Trent Zelazny's more recent novella. I was definitely not disappointed!

Once again Trent Zelazny's vivid descriptions and story-telling prowess place you right in the heart of the story as you follow the main protagonist; Kealan into the depths of his tortured and damaged soul. After surviving an horrific car accident that left both his wife and son dead, Kealan is stumbling to find his ground again, swimming aimlessly through life with no real direction until a chance encounter at a local coffee shop sparks a renewal. What follows is a fast-paced dynamic story that will grip you and thrill you until the very last word.

Zelazny is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to read his short story collection; The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories

If you're looking for a well-crafted interesting exploration of the human psyche, you won't regret picking up anything written by Trent Zelazny. :)

Princess Whore

2011-07-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, my fiance Angelyn passed away last year. I came across this piece of art she did and figured I'd share it. One of the gazillion reasons I loved her.

Shameless Promotion

2011-07-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I've been told sex sells, so...

No one really knows what sells something. Sex failed miserably at selling the sewing machine. Still, I don't mind looking at this.

It's summertime...

2011-07-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Summertime sum sum summertime
Summertime summertime sum sum summertime
Summertime summertime sum sum summertime
Summertime summertime sum sum summertime summertime...

Fractal Despondency is actually doing well

2011-07-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, even if it's brief, Fractal Despondency has reached #16 on Amazon's mystery bestseller list. This is a good thing. Let's see if it can do even better, or at the very least hover in the teens for a while.

2011-07-01T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hola and howdy. So, Fractal Despondency is now available in paperback. This means the old school folks (myself included) can now get their hands on an actual tangible object with my name on it and my words in it. It is dedicated to my late fiance, Angelyn, who, as many of you know, passed away in April 2010. This novella is semi autobiographical but I won't tell you which parts.
Reviews so far have been very good. In my humble opinion, this means you should buy it, which you can do, currently, at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. All the cool kids are buying it. Don't you wanna be cool?

Here's what a few have said:

“Powerful and poignant; frightening and moving. A gut-wrenching allegory of self-destruction that progresses with storm force intensity from beginning to end.” —Made in DNA

“Trent Zelazny is a skilled weaver of the written word. He guides you down a path of darkness and you follow willingly. His stories haunt you long after you close the book—and you always want more!” —Sarah L. Covert, She Never Slept - News and Reviews

“Obtain Trent Zelazny's Fractal Despondency. It's your only hope of escape. Break out! Read the book!” —John Shirley

Why are you still here? Order it. Order it now!

Soley to be annoying...

2011-06-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety Bloggety.

She Never Slept

2011-06-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you missed it, I did an interview with the lovely Sarah Covert at She Never Slept. We talked about Fractal Despondency and other various things. It was a half-hour talk and bullshit session and I had a good time. Thanks, Sarah! So, yeah, anyway, if you missed it, you can listen to it by clicking the word "here" HERE.

Fractal Despondency Cover

2011-06-18T20:53:00.001-07:00

For the print version. Nice, no?

Green

2011-06-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

NOTE:

Vulcans bleed green. Celtics fans do not, unless they are Vulcans.

Review of Fractal Despondency

2011-06-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

She Never Slept just gave my novella Fractal Despondency a fantastic review. Check it out Here!

It should be seeing a print format in just a couple of weeks.

“Obtain Trent Zelazny's Fractal Despondency. It's your only hope of escape. Break out! Read the book!”
—John Shirley, author of Black Glass

Enjoy!

NOTE: Neither of these covers will be the cover for the paperback. That's right, three varying covers. Good or bad, I dunno.

Wonderful Short Review

2011-06-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Of my Collection The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories by the always amazing Curt Jarrell.

You can read it by visiting Jottings From Dover Farm.

Thanks, Curt!

Fractal Despondency

2011-05-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, just a little reminder that this is available in Kindle. Hopefully it is going to soon be available in print format, but for now, if you have a Kindle...

This is one of my personal favorites. It is the most honest thing I think I've written, dealing with a seriously difficult time in my life. It is a short novella (about 90 pages or so), so please don't feel ripped off when you realize it is not a full-length book.

Check it out!

Also, my website is going through some changes, which is why it has not been updated in a long time.

Crazy

2011-05-10T20:52:00.001-07:00

Yes, I feel it.

That is all.

Fractal Despondency in Kindle

2011-04-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

So my novella (possibly novelette) is now available in Kindle (or should be, anyway). A dark piece but I like it.

His life having crumbled, Blake Gladstone returns to his hometown of Santa Fe, where he tries settling back into the unsatisfying life he'd had before he left. It's here that he meets Denise, a pretty young blonde with a bag full of tricks, and the more they get to know each other, the more Blake can't figure out if he's on a road to salvation, or a road back to hell.

http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Despondency-ebook/dp/B004V0D3V8/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301882153&sr=1-2

Zelacamusny with existential thought on uncorrected proofs

2011-03-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

I don't know whether or not this world has a meaning that transcends it, but I do know that I cannot know that meaning, and that it is impossible for me just now to know it

What can a meaning outside of my condition mean? I am certain that, still, on this date, senseless to think of complaining, since nothing has decided what I feel or what I am, the question that has been tormenting me and yet not being the "one thing in my life" is not even important, because I have yet to receive uncorrected proofs for Destination Unknown.

So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. I remember being told about the fire and brimstone and the burning marl. Hogwash! There's no need for red-hot pokers. HELL IS THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY!

Hmm

2011-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

So I was told I'd have uncorrected proofs of Destination Unknown by now. The book has been delayed a couple of times. As Homer Simpson said: "Oh, the waiting game sucks, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos."

Current Summation

2011-02-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

"Fantasy love is much better than reality love. Never doing it is very exciting. The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet." --Andy Warhol

Maybe this is why it's tough to shake my cyber crush.

Writing and writing and writing some more

2011-01-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

So I have been working almost non-stop on my new book, Too Late to Call Texas, a suspense piece set in southern New Mexico. I can't recall having quite so much fun writing. It's wonderful when everything just kind of clicks and I'm writing in a style not typical for me but it seems to be working really well. I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I've been enjoying writing it.

A Splintered Mirage

2011-01-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

A Splintered Mirage

Something illusory, without substance or reality.
The sticky threads that communicate the meaningless in a thousand different ways.

“The doors made me do it!”
—Ida Lupino

“He dressed up, even to a cheap wig he bought. He’d walk about the house, sit in her chair, speak in her voice. He tried to be his mother! And, uh... now he is.”
—Dr. Fred Richmond

     In Fight Club, The Narrator’s mental state deteriorates due to insomnia; his mind forms a new personality capable of escaping the problems of his reality. In the movie Man in Uniform, Henry Adler is an actor who’s cast as a cop in a TV show and takes his role too seriously; things come to a head when an officer mistakes him for a real cop. In Single White Female, Ellen Besch tries to look exactly like whatever roommate she has in order to find a female companion to replace her dead twin sister. These are decent examples of the kinds of things I’m hoping to find for A Splintered Mirage. People having borderline personality disorders, suffering from a markedly disturbed sense of identity, or agoraphobia or schizophrenia or amnesia: things that support all activity but explain none of it, if that makes sense.
     Think Robert Bloch, Cornell Woolrich, Chuck Palahniuk, Thomas Harris, etc. Have fun but please be smart, and shoot for originality. Be weird and messed up. Crime/Noir/Thrillers are my favorites. No minimum word length with a limit of 5,000; that is, of course, not set in stone. Also, please take note that this is a non-paying anthology. The only payment is exposure. If it somehow manages to make money, everyone will make money, but please don’t be expecting it in the near or distant future.
     As I am also a copy editor, I will be going through each accepted story, mostly to smooth things out, but if there is anything significant I shall run it by you first. I may also ask for a rewrite if I think a story is almost there but could maybe be a bit stronger. Please note that a rewrite does not guarantee acceptance.
Feel free to include a cover letter in the body of your e-mail and a bit about yourself and your publication history, if any. This anthology is open to old pros and newcomers alike. Send your story as a .DOC file to trentzelazny@juno.com with SUBMISSION, your story title and your name in the subject line. I will try to get back to you as soon as I can.
     Look forward to seeing what folks come up with.

The Dead Letter Office

2011-01-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

So my friend Brian Knight and I wrote a story a while back called "The Dead Letter Office," about a guy who literally evolves into a post office. It was being considered for Tom Monteleone's legendary Borderlands anthology series but it seems the series is having trouble getting the next one to go. So, after oh-so-long it's been sent somewhere else. Guess we'll see.

Brian Knight is an awesome writer and an awesome guy and it was fun working with him. Do yourself a favor and check out some of his work.
www.brian-knight.com

The full profile picture XXX - Be Warned

2011-01-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

Nathan, me, Matt, and Dude Looks Like a Lady.

Trying to be artsy

2011-01-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

Not my strong point, but fun nonetheless. Couple self portraits, or something...

I need to get out more.

Some videos are just important

2011-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Cousin Betsy and EMDR

2011-01-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna take just a moment to pitch my cousin Betsy. We had been out of touch for years and recently got in touch on FaceBook. Despite how different our lives are, there are also similarities. Guess that can happen when you're connected by blood--genetically, of course, not Fulci- or Tarantino-style. She's a very talented artist and a sweet gal. I recommend checking out her site: http://www.grimmsituation.com/betsy/home.html

Also, I have been doing EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) for about half a year now. In April I lost my fiance, to suicide. It is a very difficult thing to accept and one moment from the next you don't quite know what to do or how you feel. EMDR is a fascinating therapy that deals with both hemispheres of the brain, and is especially good for trauma but can be helpful in many areas. It is more and more becoming recognized as a powerful form of therapy. If you have experienced serious trauma, or are even in therapy for watching too many Woody Allen movies, I suggest EMDR, if you get a chance. Most people I know who do or have done it have been amazed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_and_reprocessing

What is a blog?

2011-01-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

Honestly, seems to me a blog is merely a place for folks to rant without the fear of some agitated person punching them in the face. I'm not entirely sure why I've decided, after all this time, to start one. Maybe it's because I feel like one of the only people left on the planet who hasn't.

How often will I blog? Good question. As this is a new thing to me, I could love it and blog every five minutes, or this could be the one and only blog I ever do. Personally, I think I would rather spend my writing time working on the things I actually write (books and stories and such), but you never know. The other things I ask myself is, Will anyone actually care at all about what's going on or what I have to say? Maybe I'll let readers--if there are any--decide that for me.

Bloggety Blog

Review Contest

Thank You

Wow...

Hate writing this and may delete it

Hmm...

FD Cheap

Through Xmas, exclusively on Amazon, a Kindle copy of Fractal Despondency is only .99¢ Git while you c'n git!

Well...

It's true

Hmm.

They Want to Put Me in Jail

A TOAST TO GEORGE

Totally Broke

Destination Unknown Trailer

Destination Unknown

Check these out

RIP Zach

Please understand...

RIP Brian M.

...

She Never Slept

Servante of Darkness

Servante of Darkness #2: The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories by Trent Zelazny

Ellipses

Does any of this matter? I don't fucking think so.

Stuff

A Crack in Melancholy Time, Trailer for the new Novella

To Sleep Gently Book Trailer

CONTEST TIME

Two for One

A Crack in Melancholy Time

To Sleep Gently

HEIDI'S PICK SIX

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology)

Interview on Book Talk

Fractal Despondency Trailer

Shadowboxer Book Trailer

Review at Underwords.

Inter-Fractal House of Despondency

Remember

FRACTAL DESPONDENCY REVIEW CONTEST

99¢ Shadowboxer on Kindle

Shadowboxer.99¢ on Kindle.Win BIG!

Trent Zelazny Wants to Give You a Signed Book

Contest???

Shadowboxer

Princess Whore

Shameless Promotion

It's summertime...

Fractal Despondency is actually doing well

Soley to be annoying...

She Never Slept

Fractal Despondency Cover

Green

Review of Fractal Despondency

Wonderful Short Review

Fractal Despondency

Crazy

Fractal Despondency in Kindle

Zelacamusny with existential thought on uncorrected proofs

Hmm

Current Summation

Writing and writing and writing some more

A Splintered Mirage

The Dead Letter Office

The full profile picture XXX - Be Warned

Trying to be artsy

Some videos are just important

Cousin Betsy and EMDR

What is a blog?

Shadowboxer.
99¢ on Kindle.
Win BIG!