Teodor Reljic and Michael Vella, fellow members of my writing group Hopefull Monsters, produce an online publication called Schlock Magazine.  It’s a quarterly publication that contains, well, “schlocky” speculative fiction stories.  What does that mean?  The editors describe schlock as “trash, treasures, ghosts, gore, literature, Lovecraft, sex, space, weird, wonderful, and fantastic…subject-matter that other magazines cringe at, but…pique[s] the imagination.”

For this quarter (September issue), they’ve put together a gothic-themed issue.  I must admit, after reading the stories, I’m not exactly sure why they consider it “gothic-themed”—the pieces didn’t seem all that “gothic” to me, but then again, I’m not really sure I know what “gothic” is.  Regardless, it has some enjoyable fiction beneath that cover (and some inspired interior artwork, too).  I particularly enjoyed the story “Bigger Fish” by Peter Farrugia and the issue also contains a poem, “Rosemary for Remembrance,” by Annette Bowman, a previous member of our illustrious writing group.  If you have a chance, check out the schlock at Schlock Magazine.