Michael A. Arnzen

Gorelets is a 64-pg chapbook collection of “sudden horror poetry”: 52 ultra short shockers by Michael Arnzen guaranteed to make you squirm! Originally written on (and for) handheld computers as part of a successful online experiment at Arnzen’s gorelets.com, each of these little “caplets of gore” pack a powerful punch. With titles like “Zombeanie Babies,” “Teasing the Cyborg,” “Brain Chunks,” and “The Embolism of Evil” you know you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. Published in 2003 by Fairwood Press. Simultaneously released in an “expanded” e-book edition in 2003 from Double-Dragon books. An extensive "Omnibus" edition was released by Raw Dog Screaming Press in 2012 to commemorate it's 10th anniversary. Praise 2003 Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award “Like one of those stubborn and painful scabs, only Arnzen could pull this one off. Served up with humor both vitreous and gut-wrenching, Gorelets delivers its tasty mind-morsels in palatable portions both raw and rare. If you haven’t tried one yet, grab a plate and dig in.” –Kurt Newton “Gorelets are a sign of horror’s rebirth.” –Pittsburgh City Paper

An early poetry collection, produced in 1991 under Arnzen’s nascent imprint, Mastication Publications. Features twenty-one speculative poems, many of which are original to this collection. Chew also features fantastic artwork from five remarkable artists who had worked with Arnzen in various small press magazines: Marge Simon, Bob Crouch, Ree Young, Virginia Rubio and Renate Muller. Numbered to 234 copies. Praise: “A collection of well-developed work from one of the best horror poets in the small press. Michael Arnzen makes one cringe with the words of Chew and a few pages later you will giggle over the imagery.” –Atsatrohn “Arnzen reveals the fearful power of love and the unease it can generate. Good stuff!” –Jim Lee, Scavenger’s Newsletter “Concisely brilliant…slyly macabre.” –Denise Dumars, Dumars Reviews

Publisher’s Description Mark Michael Kilpatrick draws some killer tattoo art. Literally. Skulls and nudes are nothing for this madman. An artist driven to purge traumatic visions of hell from his tainted mind, Kilpatrick expresses himself by permanently working his ink into the skins of unwilling victims. His tattooed visions are so terrifying they drive the bearer to suicide. His tattooed visions that require only flesh as a canvas. Fresh, murdered, flesh…. News reporter Roy Roberts finds himself drawn into the tattoo subculture, just as Kilpatrick begings to sets his sights on the local news station to “go public” with his sick masterpieces. And as Roberts and his offbeat group of friends become drawn deeper and deeper into Kilpatrick’s world, Roy realizes that he alone must try to save them…only to find himself immersed in the torturous depravity of Kilpatrick’s private hell of ink and pain. Praise Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Critics Guild Award. “Grave Markings is a high-speed chase into madness, unpredictable and twisted as a mountain road, written by one of the most inventive and outrageous new talents in the horror genre.”– Karl Edward Wagner, Author “A Horse’s Mouth from hell. A piercing look at art’s illegitimate underbelly. Michael Arnzen is an excellent writer, and Grave Markings is a uniquely disturbing debut. Arnzen has a big future ahead of him.” — Bentley Little, Author “Michael Arnzen’s debut novel is garish, unsettling, and darkly beautiful — just like the artwork of its main character. Like that artwork, it makes a statement that simultaneously fascinates and repels. You want to turn away. You must turn away. But, oh God, you can’t. Arnzen’s definitely a writer to watch.” — Paul F. Olson, Author “Michael Arnzen pulls the reader into the world of Grave Markings with a vivid, surreal hook, then makes it impossible to escape as the nightmares are unveiled. A great thriller.” — Sidney Williams, Author “An authentically painful read, which conveys a real sense of a mind and a culture dangerously out of control.” — Ramsey Campbell, Author

Expands upon the early chapbook, Gorelets: Unpleasant Poems, by including hundreds of more poems, short-shorts and a "writer's workshop" (exclusive to hardcover edition). Also available in paperback and ebook.

From the Back Cover: Romance. Fantasy. Mystery. Science Fiction. Young Adult. Horror. Picture Books. Suspense. Many Genres, One Craft brings together award-winning authors, bestselling novelists, and hot new writers from all these genres to offer an amazing novel writing workshop in a book. Modeled on Seton Hill University's acclaimed MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction--where all of its sixty contributors have taught, studied, or been a special guest--this stunningly comprehensive guide for writers offers insights into crafting effective genre fiction of any kind, and provides an array of practical advice on selling novels in today's marketplace that you simply won't find anywhere, short of enrolling in graduate school. Learn everything from beating writer's block to building suspense, making monsters to marketing mysteries, approaching agents to writing romance...all from experts who have actually done it. Contributors: Michael A. Arnzen, Rebecca Baker, Shelley Bates, Michael Bracken, Gary A. Braunbeck, Crystal B. Bright, Jennifer Brisendine, Sally Bosco, Christopher Paul Carey, Ginger Clark, Lawrence C. Connolly, David J. Corwell, Susan Crandall, Kaye Dacus, Penny Dawn, John DeChancie, C. Coco DeYoung, Matt Duvall, Natalie Duvall, Ron Edison, Elaine Ervin, Timons Esaias, Tess Gerritsen, Venessa Giunta, Leslie Davis Guccione, Anne Harris, W. H. Horner, Lee Allen Howard, KJ Howe, Russ Howe, Scott A. Johnson, Nancy Kress, Chun Lee, Patrice Lyle, Susan Mallery, Dana Marton, Lee McClain, Mike Mehalek, Sharon Mignerey, Barbara J. Miller, Heidi Ruby Miller, Jason Jack Miller, M. A. Mogus, Thomas F. Monteleone, David Morrell, Catherine Mulvany, Nicole Peeler, Adrea L. Peters, Patrick Picciarelli, Steven Piziks, Rachael Pruitt, Lynn Salsi, Mary SanGiovanni, David Shifren, Randall Silvis, Lucy A. Snyder, Maria V. Snyder, Victoria Thompson, Diane Turnshek, Tim Waggoner, Albert Wendland, Teffanie Thompson White, Karen Lynn Williams, Ryan M. Williams, K. Ceres Wright

Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara. After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another golden's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years before. Andy pushes the boundaries of the law even further as he struggles to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take canine testimony seriously. It will take all the tricks Andy's fertile mind can conceive to get to the bottom of a remarkable chain of impersonations and murder, and save a dog's life--and his own--in the process.

Released as a paperback in 2004 this ground-breaking collection is considered by many to be a pioneering work in the flash fiction movement. It broke publishing barriers to micro-fiction, inspired many authors, has been adapted to film and audio, and was also a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. The expanded hardcover edition contains “Aftershocks,” a battery of newly added stories, as well as bonus writing prompts in an included reader’s/teacher’s guide, and a brand new Afterword. 100 Jolts actually features one hundred short shots of fiction guaranteed to stun. Arnzen has honed his craft to deliver the highest voltage using the fewest words. According to the author “Horror is the genre of the jolt, the shock, the spark. The horror story’s conflict is always a matter of life and death, but death…almost always comes too soon—that’s why we fear it.” And now readers have a new reason to be afraid. One hundred new reasons! From the grotesque to the hilarious these bits of micro-fiction will keep you entertained long after you put the book down. Praise Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection. “…this collection will be a treasured favorite for any collector of horror literature and indispensable reference material for any writer, horror genre or not.” —The Horror Library “The impact of each of these devastating tales is incredible, out of proportion to the brevity of the story…This book is like a little gift, each page revealing a new present, a mini-story told with more flair and style than most novels.” —Verbicide “If you crave a spin down the surreal side, and if you already love where horror poetry has come the last few years, you will appreciate the twilight zone between prose and poetry that Arnzen navigates so well.” —William D. Gagliani for Flesh & Blood