Chaosynthesis: Sequence #5.25
You drive that old junker down the bumpy street, wondering why the motor is making that odd sound it didn’t produce before as you test drove it on your initial visit, and it threatens to veer to the right. You do your best to make it work until the motor desists altogether and the vehicle dies, leaving you stranded.
What happened? A valid question.
Where skepticism fails, a con artist succeeds.
You were lied to. That’s pretty much it.
Now you’re walking, and it’s a long, unlit road on a cold night. An alleyway offers a shortcut to nowhere. You haven’t brought a jacket because your faith in a broken promise never faltered until the engine failed. The chill is dire. Your teeth are chattering.
Still, you continue walking, like poor Abbie in the dead of December, lost and alone but with eyes on an uncertain horizon because what else is there? To stop will be to reflect on an utter lack of recourse and throw yourself on the mercy of the elements like the little match girl on a frigid, solitary Christmas with naught but memories and the flicker of a dying flame, if even that.
Keep walking. Somewhere in the dark, the Chaos Synthesizer burns low, but steady, and its crimson fire beckons.
What’s New?
With the final gasps of 2024, Sleeve of Hearts released, a collection of poetry edited by Lindsey Goddard. This collection features my first-ever poetry publication, “Insomnia.”
I first read this one at a local event, Fort City Slam, held on the first Friday of each month at Fort Smith’s own independent bookstore, Bookish. I might have frightened some people in the process. That’s nothing new.
Sleeve of Hearts features 52 poets in total, and can be found here.
It is available as a FREE digital download through March 8, 2025. Wait, that’s today, isn’t it? So you might want to hurry.
Women in Horror 2025
March is Women in Horror month, and though we should recognize the massively talented women of horror who are speaking power against circumstances with horror fiction, poetry, and film as weapons of choice throughout the year, this occasion is special for directing a prominent spotlight and reminder to the fact.
Lindsey Goddard, who edited the Sleeve of Hearts collection mentioned above, has a new poetry collection of her own. Trapped Verse released in 2025, and is described as a no-holds-barred collection of free verse poetry delving into some disturbing topics.
A few other notable new releases from women in horror include Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales by Rebecca Cuthbert, The Pink Agave Hotel from V. Castro, the Vixens of Horror anthology from Stitched Smile Publications and Lisa Vasquez, and The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, which came to me by way of recommendation. Also, keep an eye out for Bloodstains by Gaslight, out soon from Red Lagoe.
The multitalented Sako Tumi, whose artwork you must know by now if you have dared to experience the Chaos Synthesizer’s myriad of sequences, has this to say of the horror community: "Horror people are twofold: on one hand I will be quizzed on my knowledge by passersby. On the other, the horror writer community has been very warm and supportive. They love talking craft and dark art, which is my jam. I feel like I found my tribe."
Amanda Worthington, author of No Quarter: A Novella in Verse, as well as founder and chapter chair of the Horror Writers Association’s heartland chapter, Horror in the Heartland, speaks of what it is to be a woman in horror today:
“For me, being a woman in horror means owning my story, facing my demons head-on, and being the most authentic version of myself. It means connecting, empowering, transforming. I think a kind of alchemy happens when we dare to express ourselves on the page. Our words have the power to outlive us. They are our legacy and some evidence that we were here and we dared greatly when that was a difficult thing to do. Nothing about being a woman in horror is easy. We're still mostly expected to write quiet gothic pieces that highlight our own fragility. As a writer of cosmic and body horror (and occasionally cosmic body horror), I hope to empower other femme writers to do the same. Sometimes the best stories come from those who have been told for decades that they don't have one to tell, that they should exist for others, that they are not in fact architects of their own fate. I hope I can shift that narrative with my storytelling and encourage other women to do the same.”
The Three Forks
Last year, I traveled to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, one of the earliest settled regions in the state. The area was home to the Osage and Cherokee, who warred until the establishment of an intervening military post which eventually became Fort Gibson. Some of the original structures remain, while others have been reconstructed to maintain Fort Gibson’s role as a historical landmark.
The confluence of the Arkansas, Verdigris, and Neosho Rivers and its surrounding territory is known as the Three Forks area. I made my visit when it became clear that, with the completion of Obliteration Circle, third volume in the Black Carmenia trilogy, one final tale sought its place.
The roads were a touch tricky, but we found our way and drove past the old, rusted Union Pacific bridge over the Neosho River to the riverside and the Jean-Pierre Choteau Nature Trail. The trail runs deep into the woodland, providing an occasional view of the river to the left, and leads to the hanging bridge over Dry Branch Creek and beyond in a stretch of—well, some sources mention 1.5 miles and others indicate twice that distance.
We didn’t travel its full length, but passing the sidewinder trail and absorbing the route’s twisting nuances, I gained a sense of the journey of Claude de la Cour, and much later in time, that of Albert and Chloe.
What began with the poem of stones and trees first referenced in Oblivion’s Child, further inspired along this curving route buried in the forest of the Three Forks, would become “Northward Stones Mark a Crooked Path.”
It was the final Black Carmenia tale I wrote, occurring after the events of New Era and preceding Oblivion’s Child, and of course can be read entirely on its own for a taste of what the series is about. “Northward Stones Mark a Crooked Path” is still available as a $0.99 digital download, and you can get it here.
Events
My first event of the 2025 year will be AuthorCon V in Williamburg, Virginia, and right before that, I will also be attending Spirited Giving. It is essentially AuthorCon’s pre-party, offering an entertaining evening of readings, performances, and cocktails.
You can purchase tickets here.
All funds raised by this event will benefit Scares That Care. “Scares That Care!” Inc. is an IRS approved, 501©(3) charity. Founded in 2006, “Scares That Care!” has raised and donated over $300,000 to organizations and families with a child affected by illness or burns, or women fighting breast cancer.
Please support this fabulous cause, and I hope to see you on the road. You’ll find me at any of several events for 2025.
March 28-30, 2025: AuthorCon V, presented by Scares That Care in Williamsburg, VA.
June 6-8, 2025: Between the Pages Writers Conference in Springfield, MO.
June 14-15, 2025: Fort Smith Comic Con in Fort Smith, AR.
June 20-22, 2025: SoonerCon in Norman, OK.
July 18-20, 2025: Imaginarium in Louisville, KY.
I am currently at work on projects to come, and you can watch for additional updates at http://tommybsmith.net.
And of course:
You can also find me on Facebook via my author page at http://www.facebook.com/authortommybsmith.com.
And/or at Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/authortommybsmith.
Until the next.
Love and Destruction,
Tommy B.