“The Hand of Vengeance”: A Blast from My Past
The following piece is my oldest existing horror story. While not my oldest completed work of dark fiction (I distinctly remember writing a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ripoff in 5th grade, and a werewolf…
Tag: Writing
Q&A: DIRTY SPIRITS, A HORROR NOVEL
With the release of my new occult/ghost horror novel DIRTY SPIRITS (my first novel in 10 years!), I thought I would answer some questions about what makes this book so special. Q: Why did it…
ChatGPT (Mostly) Lies!: My So-Called (Other?) Life
Ever the trend-follower, I recently tried the AI chatbot ChatGPT for the first time, asking it to produce text for the prompt “Sawney Hatton bio.” While the results accurately stated that I am indeed an…
Recycled Writing: From Script to Book
I’ve long been an advocate for repurposed writing. After finishing my latest novella, part of an anthology of teen-led Noir stories to be published later this year, I realized it is the final work that…
WTF Am I Reading?: Sawney’s Twisted Short Stories
EVERYONE IS A MOON is my definitive collection of short stories (at least, until I write a bunch more). While I’ve categorized the book as Dark Fiction as a whole, I don’t think that label…
UGLYVILLE: Writing an Untypical Young Adult Book
My new novella UGLYVILLE has just been released, and, like my debut novel DEAD SIZE, I once again can’t really tell you who the audience is for it. A Young Adult book perhaps… if the…
Flash Fiction: A Hole Away from Home
In recognition of me starting my Masters program in Writing Studies, a piece of flash fiction(?) from my early years as a writer. Recently, while sifting through some ancient papers of mine, I found this…
Author Talk: Rocking Q&A with Russ Colchamiro
I will be hawking my wares, reading from said wares, and possibly defiling same said wares at the upcoming TWISTED WORLD VILLAINS & VIXENS convention in Philadelphia (well, King of Prussia, but close enough) the weekend of…
Short Stories, New Voices
As a young teen I wasn’t the avid reader of novels I am today. Maybe I didn’t have the patience for them back then; my hyperkinetic mind couldn’t yet commit to long-form genre literature. I…
The Cult of Originality vs. The Coffers of Formula
I have a chronic creativity problem: I like to be different. I love originality. This may sound like a great problem to have… except it becomes a challenge when marketing my writing. Take my debut…