Friday, December 13, 2013

Moved blog to WordPress

You can now find this blog on WordPress at dtgriffith.wordpress.com. All older blog posts and comments were moved there too.

This is now a dormant site sitting here for posterity, mainly because I haven't figured out how to shut it off.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Exploration

Sunrise over East River, NYC
It's been over four months since I last posted on here. A lot has happened since April. Most significantly, my daughter had corrective brain/spinal surgery from which she has fully recovered, thankfully. We've persevered during these difficult months and good things are finally beginning to happen. 

My focus has returned to honing writing style and voice while exploring topics for my MFA thesis including creativity, fear, and motivation. And of course, writing dark fiction occupies my free time.  

So why am I sharing these thoughts with the world?

I just finished reading a great book on motivation – Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink – which resonates quite well with my professional experiences. I've always found it hard to dedicate my time to a job I didn't care about, even more so if I felt there was no greater purpose than collecting a meager paycheck at the end of the week. This got me thinking about my writing: what motivates me to write about certain subjects, what breaks me out of self-imposed episodes of writer's block, where my ideas come from, and so on. Furthermore, why I am so focused on writing about the creativity vs. fear thing, the topic of my thesis. Sure, both are fascinating subjects on their own, but there is a much deeper rooted thing here, which I am beginning to investigate.

Over the next few months I will explore these items and more on this blog. And I invite any readers to share your thoughts and experiences on these topics as they relate to fiction and nonfiction. Topics include but are not limited to: creativity, innovation, fear, motivation, work culture, and writing/working environment. If you're willing, I may include some of your stories in my thesis/book. 

Friday, April 12, 2013

Overcoming A Negative Outlook

I’ve been in a rut lately. Creative writing has not been easy. Blog, fiction, my non-fiction book; the word challenge is an understatement. You might call it writer’s block. I call it work-related stress, grief over losing my beloved grandmother recently, and overall chaos that has pervaded my life lately. Staring at TV shows and zoning out to mindless puzzle games at night has never appealed so much, until it bothered me that time was wasting away on frivolity. Then something happened this week.

A co-worker read my blog entry “The Antithesis of Creativity.” She was floored, in her words; she said she had read it at exactly the right time. She printed it out so her husband could read it that night, I understand he’s going through some tough times too when it comes to employment, as several of my friends are in the same situation. She wanted him to read it to help change his outlook.

This knowledge, that I had this affect on someone with words and thoughts I wrote a few months ago, changed my outlook. Inspiration has returned just in time. My friend and coworker’s words came to me at exactly the right time. I have a busy year of writing ahead of me.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Announcing the Publication of The Demonologia Biblica

Demonologia-Biblica-cover-FINAL-lowres
Hey everyone,

I haven't been too active on this blog lately – hard at work on preparing stories for publication and dealing with some heavy curveballs life threw my way recently. However, I have some exciting news....

My short story "F is for Furcas: Lies Under Skin" is part of the brand new anthology from Western Legends Publishing, The Demonologia Biblica, the first of the Tres Liborum Prohibitorum series, edited and compiled by Dean M. Drinkel.

This book features twenty-six demonic stories from twenty-six emerging, established and award-winning authors. Now available on Amazon.

Please support this book – you won't regret it!

Amazon US
» Paperback
» Kindle eBook

Amazon UK
» Paperback
» Kindle eBook

Thursday, January 10, 2013

About to launch: The Demonologia Biblica

So I've been involved in this really cool project for the past four or so motion-blurred months: The Demonologia Biblica. A horror anthology from Western Legends Publishing featuring twenty-six stories by twenty-six authors about demons of all kinds doing all sorts of crazy evil things that only demons could do.



I was tasked to write a story featuring a demon with a name beginning with the letter F. After more research I care to admit to on some really geeky strange sites, I found my options were small. Like five options small, three of which were different spellings of the same guy. So I picked Furcas, a knight of hell who is known for teaching and wisdom and whatever else the old books purportedly claim according to those people who study this stuff. His simple folkloric appearance suggests that he is a harbinger of death, but he is also a calm rationale sort of guy. Who knew demons could be pleasant or nice?

My story, "Lies Under Skin," tells the tale of a seemingly good guy's encounter with Furcas on the road. Set in the autumnal wooded Hudson River Valley just north of New York City, it gives a subtle nod to one of the area's most well-known historic writers, Washington Irving. His work was one of my early influences that shaped my taste for fiction.

If any of you are wondering, I might have had something to do with the cover design, that seems to happen a lot. The incredible illustration credit, however, goes to the talented artist James R. Powell.

I will post more here when the book becomes available for purchase, should be by start of February.