The struggle of going online while dodging Stranger Things spoilers because I haven't caught up yet is crazy. I don't normally binge shows but this might be the exception

I don't know how many pages or exactly how much time I spend reading every day. I just... like to read? I do it when I can? I don't care if it improves me as a person. Probably I'd still do it if it was unhealthy, like some kind of delicious cigarette. I'd have books stashed in bags under the bed

I read somewhere that the pagans used to hang the organs of animals they sacrificed for yule on pine trees, and that this is where the idea of Christmas tree ornaments originated. Bring back the old traditions I say!

I don't like making goals about things I can't control. Instead of: 'my book will be read and loved by the masses', I prefer to think: 'For my next book I will write the most unique and interesting characters I can.' Or at the very least: 'I will not prioritize nachos over writing today'

The cool thing about books is you can just buy as many as you want every time you pass a bookstore and they will sit, happily on your shelf like so much wine in a cellar, waiting for when the time is right for you to read them. And then they can be given away. It literally can't go wrong

"I may be bad... but I feel good" - Army of Darkness, classic

get to know your mutuals! list 10 random things you like 1. Mezcal 2. Chess 3. Hyenas 4. Brazillian Jiu Jitsu 5. Cold, Dark, Stormy Weather 6. Surfing, and big scary waves 7. Very hot Vindaloo 8. The DOOM games 9. Supernatural noir horror 10. Lana Del Rey music

Books I just bought: Coffin Moon - Keith Rosson Rest Stop - Nat Cassidy Necroscope - Brian Lumly Crypt of the Moon Spider - Nathan Ballingrud Darkness that Comes Before - R.Scott Bakker A Game in Yellow - Hailey Piper Will prob get King Sorrow and Tom's Crossing in hardcover

Horror and Noir are such a great blend. Who does it best? Besides Silvia Moreno Garcia of course - I'm already reading everything of hers...

Today in writing: No words. Stared at screen for 10 minutes, then wall for 15. Then realised there is a much better way to start the final act of this novel. Deleted last scene, then made a rough plan for what comes next. Smiled at ceiling and thought for 25 min. Total of minus 1250 words. Satisfied

Dancing for the Gods officially released! Enjoy my latest 'slice of horror'... "Pienaar shackles you to his story with razor-wire tension... This page-turning slice of horror will keep you at the mercy of his tale. Zachary Ashford - author of Polyphemus. shorturl.at/qP0qm

I am sick, but writing stops for no man! Even one with a sore throat. I have noticed though that being sick can make me loopy, and i pursue weird story developments i wouldn't normally. Hmm, maybe i'll give myself 1 strepsil per 500 words. Seems reasonable

I've been working at the same liquor store for almost twelve years, and in that time I wrote 10 horror novels and published the last 3. Selling delicious poison is fun, but it's stories that feed my soul, and one day, that will be all I do. Here's to 10 more!

I've always preferred having physical books (don't we all?) but lately I've been really getting into the idea of physical media in general. Movies, games, even music. It's so nice to just... have something. In the flesh, as it were.

In retrospect, doing a deep dive on the Rwandan genocide at 1am was... not the best choice

Lettuce is the bread of the vegetable world.

I'd rather spend 2 hours on a single paragraph I think is good than 1 hour on 2000 words I vomited to hit an arbitrary word count goal. Then again, I'd rather finish a shitty novel in 1 year than agonize over a 'masterpiece' for 10. Strive for perfection, but only until the deadline hits.

Keen as hell to finally have something coming out again! Get ready... In the mean time check out this badass cover by the great @kealanpatrickburke.bsky.social at elderlemon designs! If you like bittersweet, noir horror, pre-order here: acesse.one/mw164

I once saw advice that would grind my writing to a halt if I followed it. They said that 'you have to know the ending of the story at the start' and that would be impossible to me. I'd lose interest. I need to solve the mystery. I write as my interest arrives and then edit it together layer by layer

Write what you want. Embrace who you are. Forget everything else. Get lost in the art.

My only piece of writing advice is that if your thing DOESN'T include characters saying things like this, it is bad and you should throw it out

Why I Love Horror lands 9/23. Edited by @raforall.bsky.social, published by @sagapressbooks.bsky.social, this one's not to be missed! "... my first impulse is to look to my childhood..." -- John Langan Indeed, indeed, indeed. My memories are vivid and bloody. So bloody. #whyilovehorror

It's Friday night tonight, and when work's done at 9 I got two bottles of wine waiting for me and whole lot of pages to fill. Life is good

Simply the best slide I have ever seen in a powerpoint presentation care of @premeemohamed.com’s talk at @banffcentre.bsky.social re: Putting the Science in Science Fiction

"You are only entitled to your labour, not the fruits of your labour" - Bhagavad gita. I think about this all the time

#books are awesome.

I used to care a lot about word counts, but these days I only think about time spent. As long as I spend that time dedicated to the story at hand, I don't care what I do with it. Sometimes I write, sometimes I edit, and sometimes I just stare into space with a loony smile.

I started learning how to draw recently. Obviously I suck right now, but it's actually pretty fun to be bad at something. There's no pressure to do well, and you can improve a lot at the beginning of a new skill. I'm thinking in 5 or 10 years I'll be good enough to illustrate my own books.

They say when you're writing a book it's good to go for long walks or meditate but I'm a big fan of staring wide eyed at the ceiling at 3am with my heart beating really fast

Man I had to discard like 25,000 words of my current book... Sometimes you go down a rabbit hole and then realise it's nothing but a dead end. Brutal, but it's part of the game we love to play! The way ahead is juicy, though. I'm enjoying the hell out of this one.

28 Years later was just as terrifying and dread inducing as the first two, and with a killer opening as well. Sinners kicked ass - it was like Django unchained meets Dusk till Dawn. Oddity, Nosferatu, The Substance, countless others... This really has been a great year for horror.

My writing music right now alternates between Lana Del Rey, the Raveonettes, and random horror movie soundtracks (recently It Follows and Candyman). If anyone got recs for this kind of mood let me know, I need new ear juice!

Hello, people of Earth! I’m Ben Pienaar, Aurealis award winning author of multiple horror novels. I like to write bittersweet, noir horror about characters confronting unimaginable evil in surreal worlds. I come in peace, to meet like-minded weirdos and talk about horror, books, and life itself...