I got a copy of the anthology back -- about 80% of the thing turned out not too bad (actually liked the results of some of them, just some of the stories appeared all stretched. I gave my cousin the only copy I have right now) but trying to fix it where I have page numbers in the thing is going to take a bit of effort so I sent it to Thomas from EbooksonDisk.com to see if he could make the thing look a little more polished up.

The only real way to improve that book would be to banish it from the universe, Nicki-poo.

Then now there are a few assholes out there who are pushing around the links to the stories where they might try to hurt sales of the thing but I will not let them do that.

Nick, if the stories were worth buying, people would buy the book anyway, regardless of the links posted all over to all of the stories. You don't get that, do you? Most people would much rather sit down with a book than read something on a monitor. And if something were to peak their interest, I've no doubt that books would be sold. I've bought many books that I've read online excerpts from. I highly doubt I'm the only one. The biggest thing hurting the sales of your book is the shoddy quality of it. Not links.

The formatting what I am referring to is where the text would appear stretched out, usually the very last sentences in a paragraph would have this but this is the very case that happened with Hasan Abood's and Paige Smith's short stories. I am trying to see if there is some way to make them more polished toward the end.

Now, I could be wrong here, and I hope that someone will let me know if I am...but...if it were a professionally published book, would those problems exist? Could this maybe be because Nicki here did all of the formatting of the book himself?

I am thinking of getting this anthology out there with Scars Publications.

Again, I could be wrong, I only peeked over the site briefly, but isn't Scars yet another vanity? Geez, Nick, you're really going places, aren't you?

I was working on the details as I speak and seeing if there is something I can really do with the formatting. On a 12 pt font it will be 263 pages.

Great. 263 more pages of utter garbage in the world. Big yay.

I got an email back from someone on AuthorsDen they are wanting to get me involved in the process of the horror anthology. This is going to be fun because I already got some of the stories that were sent to me for my next anthology, I think if I can get them involved with the project, this thing can be about the size of Tabloid Purposes. I am going to contribute my shark story in with the AuthorsDen anthology.

More people that you're dragging down with you. Good for you. I guess, though, if you can't climb to the levels of those you admire/envy/hate, that it's best to just find a bunch of random kids and make them just like you, huh?

And for the record -- the stories obtained for Tabloid Purposes were done with expressed written permission of the authors involved with it. I made it clear that no part of the book may be reproduced even for review purposes in the newer editions and I noticed one person posting saying they will be photocoping stories just to make them available to the people who hate me the worst.

But Nick, did you get permission from all those kids' parents? You do need permission, you know. Kids aren't legally allowed to sign stuff like that. And, personally, I would think that if they've got their stories up all over the damn net that it doesn't matter if you say that it can't be reproduced for review purposes. You're the one reproducing crap if it's already available to the public, aren't you? And Nick, really, I don't care about the "newer editions" or anything else. I'm perfectly happy reading Cussedness' reviews. :) I have read a couple of the ones that she's said were halfway decent (or whatever her wording was), but that's as far into that crappy chunk of "literary" toxic waste that I'm willing to go for a second time (really, the first time I read that book, I was in kind of a daze. I don't know how Cuss is reading the entire thing without losing her mind).

I am still working on the shark story and this edition of the anthology it will have the shark story in it if I can get the story done soon enough. This story is one of my darker stories by far and it is going to surpass the one published with Ebooksondisk.com -- this is longer than that story by about 4000 words, now it is about 13 pages.

I suppose it's probably pretty easy to "flesh out" a plotless "story". After all, all you really need to do is pepper the entire piece with the word "dark"...and do it loudly, like you've got Tourettes. Then, break out the thesaurus, and choose random words that look like they might fit. Hey Nick! Remember when you called my buddy Palanthos a "harmonious prick"? I still think that's priceless, and I get images of musical penises whenever I remember it. Oh yeah! My point, though, was that thesauruses are pretty nifty little books, but you can't just go through and pick random words from random pages, Nick...or you end up with musically concordant penises.

I know this anthology will lend well the moment I get the newer editions out. I am going to be emailing the rest of the anthology members the moment I do load up the edits -- the edits are more the formatting.

You mean, just like it sold like hotcakes the first time you said it would sell like hotcakes? And the third, and the hundredth? News flash, piggy, it doesn't matter how many times you change the formatting. It still sucks. Also, you said, "the edits are more the formatting". Does this imply that you're also editing other things? Like...the stories? I certainly hope that you run any re-writes through the authors before you...you know...sell any books. hehehe

I know that Aaron Bennett's been passing around the links to the stories in the anthology so he could sabotage my sales of the thing, nice try fucker. At least I don't write for a porno mag, I want to see that asshole answer this post on his journal. I noticed he was trying to fuck up the sales on his review on AuthorsDen. What makes him even think I will publish him on any anthology I run -- he won't be published more than he is already. I would rather see him end his career right now if he is going to try to ruin my sales.

1) I don't know Aaron Bennett, but from what I see, the magazine that you must be talking about is Playgirl. Please, people, correct me if I'm wrong. But, Nick, Playgirl is a rather respected magazine. Okay, so it's got pictures of naked men in it (which you won't admit to drooling over), but if that's your only basis for disliking his writing...Gah, I don't even know what to say.

2) What exactly gives you the right to take the moral high ground? The only offense (and I use that word because of you, Nick, not because I think Aaron Bennett did anything wrong) of Mr. Bennett's that I've seen you list is that he wrote a story that ended up in a Playgirl. Should we list your offenses? Well, I'll list a few I think. You've threatened my life, numerous times, and talked to me about horrible acts of sexual abuse that you wish would be committed upon me. You've threatened to kill and bleed a good friend of mine, and talked to her of the same rape wishes you've talked to me about. You've threatened the lives of countless others. You've threatened rape. You've threatened physical harm. Once upon a time, you even threatened to hunt down and gut a young teenage girl because she told you that your writing needed work. You're threatened the lives, safety, and well-being of even more children. You have called people's homes to harrass and threaten them, and heap your verbal abuse upon them. So...why do you get to take the moral high ground? Please, enlighten us all. Because from where I'm sitting, you've no right. None.

3) You must be the most sexually repressed person on the planet. I'm serious about this. You're always talking about erotica as if it were some horrid "burn in hell" sin. Same with becoming sexually aroused, even while in a healthy relationship. And your anger...your incredible anger toward (especially) women...puts you at a serious risk of committing some of the crimes you've threatened. Whoever, or whatever it was that taught you that love and sex are dirty things have made you a monster. You may be hiding bits of it, but you ARE a monster. When I was a teenager, I knew a young lady that could possibly even match you in the repression department. She refused to even use a tampon because someone (her mother) told her that tampons were for sluts. One time, she tearfully admitted to her friends that she masturbated once. Once. One time. Then, she tried to kill herself because of the shame. She didn't succeed, of course. But, a few months ago, I found out that she had ended up committing unspeakable acts of abuse against her own children and then she murdered them. True story, Nick. So, my advice? Open up a bit. Not to us, we certainly don't want to hear it. But, porn isn't a bad thing. Go out and get some, if you don't have any, and have a heyday all by your lonesome. Because, truthfully, I worry about what the combination of your anger and your conviction that natural things are sins are going to do to you...and make you do to someone else. Get help. Yes, I mean this. I'm not being facetious. I'm not being cruel. But, you NEED help.

4) Considering that from what I can see, Aaron Bennett is published in numerous other places, why on earth would he want you to publish him? Why? Aaron, if you're reading this, and it's not just Nicki's delusions, could you please enlighten me?

5) There you go being a hypocrite again. We can't say that you don't deserve professional publication because you SUCK, but you can say that about other people because...you don't like them?

Hypocrite.



If Tabloid Purposes is off and online throughout the week it is because I am trying to fix the formatting of the thing.

Shouldn't you fix it all at once, instead of a little at a time? That just seems stupid to me. Really, really stupid.

And the newer editions will have the story, Leviathan's Ghost.

This isn't an anthology. It's a place for you to toot your own horn. That's all. I can just see it. With every new story you write, you'll reformat the book, and add it in.

Sounds like some of the peanut gallery is trying to ruin sales and will say they got copies of Leviathan's Ghost when they don't have the finished versions. I hate to burst their bubble, the version I have in the anthology is a work in progress version but ends off nicely.

No one's trying to ruin your sales, that I know of. No one needs to. First, it's published through lulu.com, which pretty much means that no one will even hear of it. The people that do will be put off by you, and your attitude. Not anything else. Not anyone else.

I might be making a longer version of the story available for the AuthorsDen anthology when they actually kick it off.

Great. More of that "fleshing out", thesaurus raping bullshit. Have fun with that.

I got an email back saying they want to hear some of my input of how to make this happen.

From more children, no doubt, that don't bother to read your work and only see that you call yourself a published author. I fear for the future.

I got submissions made to me for the next anthology I am working on. I am already setting up the submission guidelines for the next two anthologies. The second will be for writers in the graduating Class of 1994, and no erotica allowed. I will work on the guidelines soon and will have those up later on.

Of course no erotica's allowed. Please re-read what I wrote to you above, darling Nicki. And, to make it clear, no, I don't think that everything should be erotic...but there's nothing wrong with the occasional bit of sexiness, as long as it's done well.

The newest version can be purchased here -- I gave my only copy to my cousin.

Didn't you already say that? Yeah, you did. So, we come full circle within the dark, dark, darkity dark dark holes in your mind.

And please, Nick, consider again what I said. Bring it up with your therapist. If you don't, I've enough evidence saved to send to him myself.