Jessica McHugh

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About Jessica McHugh
Jessica McHugh is a novelist, poet, and internationally-produced playwright running amok in the fields of horror, sci-fi, young adult, and wherever else her peculiar mind leads. She's had twenty-four books published in twelve years, including her bizarro romp, "The Green Kangaroos," her YA series, "The Darla Decker Diaries," and her blackout poetry collection, "A Complex Accident of Life." Please visit JessicaMcHughBooks.com for more samples of the McHughniverse.
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Blog post2014 is the year of #AStoryAWeek. All you have to do is write a story a week. I know, I know,ALL you have to do--like it's not hard. It will be hard at times, but some weeks will be easier than others. Hell, just scroll down through the list here: http://mcnito.blogspot.com/p/a-story-week.html. It's not really that long. I actually copy/pasted way too many "weeks" and was pleasantly surprised at how few there were. :)
REMEMBER: a story is a story, no m8 years ago Read more -
Blog postTHANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN MY COFFIN HOP CONTEST. I chose the winners using Random.org.THE THREE LUCKY WINNERS ARE BELOW:
Death by Drive-In ebook: GEORGINA MORALES
Signed print edition of From The Herald's Wearied Eye: JEANETTE J
Signed Print Limited Edition of Rabbits in the Garden: POPPLE
If I haven't contacted you by the time you see this post, please email me at jessica.mchugh@ymail.com.THANKS AGAIN, EVERYONE.If you would like to purchase a signed9 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome to the 6th day of COFFIN HOP 2013, my cute little chloroform addicts!
What follows below is a flash piece about car crash fetishes...but not the JG Ballard kind...This horrerotica is from a different POV entirely. >:)
(By the way, ONLY ONE PERSON HAS ENTERED MY PRINT CONTEST.If you'd like to win an autographed print copy of my novel FROM THE HERALD'S WEARIED EYE or the 1st edition of my bestseller RABBITS IN THE GARDEN, spend $0.9 years ago Read more -
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Blog postWelcome to the 5th day of COFFIN HOP 2013, my gorgeous Garbage Pail Kids!
Today, I'm featuring a short story that will soon be heard far and wide on The Wicked Library Season Three. If you haven't checked out The Wicked Library yet, you're missing out! It features established and up and coming authors, and the host Nelson W. Pyles is simply to die for! >:)
ENJOY the bizarro horror of THE RIGHT STUFF, which was written as a follow-up to Michael A9 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome to the 4th day of COFFIN HOP 2013, my twitchy little cadaver crickets!
As promised, here's another excerpt from my novella HIDDEN CHILDREN, which will appear in the Dark & Bookish Tour and Documentary anthology, AT THE NEXT EXIT.
(By the way, if you'd like to win an autographed print copy of my novel FROM THE HERALD'S WEARIED EYE or the 1st edition of my bestseller RABBITS IN THE GARDEN, spend $0.99 on a cop9 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome to the 3rd day of COFFIN HOP 2013, my crazy closet monsters!
Today, I'm featuring a selection from my One-Night Stand story FOOD FOR THOUGHT, recently released by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. By the way, did you know PMMP also just bought my novel THE GREEN KANGAROOS? Yep. That totally happened. :) Anyway, if you'd like to purchase the rest of this story, it'll put you in the running for one of two SIGNED PRINT books, one of which is a LIMITED EDITION. <9 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome to the 2nd day of COFFIN HOP 2013, my little graverobbers!
Today, I'm treating you with a tricky little excerpt from my novella HIDDEN CHILDREN, which will appear in the Dark & Bookish Tour and Documentary anthology, AT THE NEXT EXIT.
It's not the bloodiest of selections, but it does feature something just as terrifying:
DOMESTIC DISHARMONY (OOOooooHhhooohhhh...) Okay, okay, maybe it's not as terrifying as the gorier passages, but this scene does9 years ago Read more -
Blog postThat's right, boos and ghouls, it's COFFIN HOP time!!What is COFFIN HOP, you ask? The quick answer is: we're a loose association of hundreds of horror authors and artists who get together for the week before Halloween (Oct 24-31) and throw a colossal online party with prizes, giveaways and all the crazy you could want leading up to All Hallow’s Eve. The participating blogs will be posting articles, interviews, contests, creative writing, art, and more every day of the hop. To get started, h9 years ago Read more
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Blog postThe Last Scrap
The Starship Calamity barrels on,
Her belly reeking from the bodies that decorate her deck.
Her operators travel the corridors as before,
Except they slide across the floor now,
Flopping through sudden stopping:
Once easily avoided obstacles interrupt
Tumbles toward further oblivion.
The Starship Calamity has a similar destination.
Guideless space greets the craft as a friend,
But there is hunger in his hands9 years ago Read more -
Blog postToday's NaPoWriMo prompt suggested I write a sea shanty. I hope this serves! Even if it doesn't, I dig the rhythm. I'm pretty sure I'm going to become a sailor just so I can spread it around the world like a disease...you know, like sailors do... ;)
Shore Leave at the Big Top
(Hey-o, wey-o)
I got a pretty girl with her knickers down.
(Hey-o, wey-o)
Too damn bad she's a circus clown.
(Hey-o, wey-o)
But the pennies are pinched and the times a9 years ago Read more -
Blog postAs I'm typing this up, I now realize how appropriate it is that this poem is NaPoWriMo #2. Jeez, the first day I mention piss, and today I mention...well, you'll see. It must be all of the bizarro writing. My blog is starting to sound like a version of The Aristocrats joke.
Broke as Shit
From now on, my shit goes unpaid.
The lazy squeezes to consume the day
Waste only my time.
The smell of money is snuffed,
Leaving behind, Ramen and wine. <9 years ago Read more -
Blog postHAPPY 2013 NAPOWRIMO!! Number 1, comin' at ya!
(Okay, that sounds like I'm going to pee on you. I won't. Not until you read my first NaPoWriMo poem, at least.)
Paper Boats
On a night river, the travelers release their paper boats.Floating from dock-town desks, they seek to thicken souls over feetAnd touch worlds beyond atlas edges.That moment of disconnection—when paper is on its own—incites a frightful dance. Although it was their intention, the travelers fear n9 years ago Read more -
Blog postHear ye Hear ye! Author Dustin LaValley and Artist Jody Rae Adams have put together a book that Raw Dog Screaming Press will release to readers for FREE!!Pretty ballstothewallawesomesaucejones, right? (Just nod your head, and no one gets hurt.) So, without further ado, please enjoy the trailer for Odds and Ends, coming soon from Dustin LaValley and Raw Dog Screaming Press. * * *Guns, Girls, and Tattoos: a book trailer for Odds and Ends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7hG6DRXoF4From th9 years ago Read more -
Blog postThe following was written for Brent Kelley's blog. The author of "Chuggie & the Desecration of Stagwater" (which is awesome!) asked: You’re alone, cornered in a dark basement. Something horrible is upstairs looking for you, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes down those stairs. What is it?
What is it, indeed. >:) Please, enjoy my answer aka "Malfunction."
I'm afraid it will smell the gash on my leg. Even with a towel wrapped ar9 years ago Read more -
Blog postFirst things first. GO HERE: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nathanrosen/michael-a-arnzens-fridge-of-the-damned-magnetic-po GIVE MONEY. BE RAD.
Until the end of January, super awesome indie publisher Raw Dog Screaming Press has declared it ARNZSTIGATION DAYS (days! days!). They've requested pieces inspired by the master of microfiction himself, Michael A. Arnzen.
From Raw Dog Screaming Press: "Now through the end of January post a short story, poem,9 years ago Read more -
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Blog postToday's Sci-Fi/Fantasy Saturday snippet is from the prologue of my neo-Victorian adventure, "The Sky: The World," published by Reliquary Press in 2010. If you dig alternate history, you might dig Azazian England, so feel free to nab an ebook or print copy. But no matter what, make sure to visit the rest of the sites on this lovely little blog bounce!!
It all seemed so long ago and so far away, but no matter how focused Toby was upon those blissful10 years ago Read more -
Blog postHAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
And Happy last day of COFFIN HOP!!Aww, don't be so sad, Skellie, there's plenty more fun to be had!!
REMEMBER: leave a comment on this (or any of my Coffin Hop posts) to be entered into the contest for a super rad prize pack containing "Play the Way Home," my newest novel "PINS," and an ebook of the Coffin Hop Collector's EP "Death By Drive-In." And don't forget to visit the other rad writers on the Hop. There have been some really10 years ago Read more -
Blog postI hope you're enjoying the storm of awesome Coffin Hop posts and staying safe from that Sandy tramp that's about to sit her fat, wet ass down on the east coast. If you're stuck inside today (which, with the forecast, you probably should be), take the time to peruse the amazing authors that have dedicated so much time to the 2012 Coffin Hop. Share their posts, leave comments, and win prizes!
Today's post is a selection from my middle grade book "Play the Way Home," the 2nd book in10 years ago Read more -
Blog postooh, that looks finger-lickin' good... i hate you, skullface.
Hey, potential winners, have you left a comment for the chance to win signed copies of my coming-of-age thriller "PINS" and my middle-grade ghost story "Play the Way Home"? You HAVEN'T?! What the balls,10 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome back! Are you having a beautifully bloody Coffin Hop? I certainly hope so. And I hope you left a comment on the post yesterday to enter my giveaway. Remember, you have the chance to win signed copies of my coming-of-age thriller "PINS" (18+) and my middle-grade spooky story "Play the Way Home (appropriate for all aka the antithesis of "PINS"). You can also win the ebook Collector's Edition of "Death By Drive-In," which is only being distributed during t10 years ago Read more
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Blog postWelcome to the 2012 COFFIN HOP! This fantastic blog tour (which features over 100 incredibly rad writers) starts today and lasts until October 31st AKA the day I shower next.
That was a joke...kinda.
Each day, I will post horror entries, on which you should leave a comment. At the end of the Hop, I will throw all of the commenters' names into a hat and pick a winner. The winner will receive a prize pack containing autographed copies of "PINS" and &q10 years ago Read more -
Blog postMichael Sands tagged me in this blog game which involves searching your current WIP for the word ‘look’ and posting the surrounding paragraphs, then tagging another 5 writers to do the same.
Here's my contribution, from my bizarro sci-fi novel, "The Green Kangaroos." This is my NaNoWriMo project, but I'd already written the prologue, from which this selection was plucked. Enjoy!
“Why'd you hafta throw 'em out, Mama? Why'd you hafta hurt me like that? I can't g10 years ago Read more -
Blog postWelcome to the introductory 2012 Coffin Hop promotion post!! By the way, there's still time to sign up! Last year was a resounding success, so I'm jazzed to participate again this year, especially after meeting so many new inky cohorts. So, here's a little bit about what I'll be doing this year, as well as the prizes you can win from commenting on this blog.
Each day, I will post horror entries, on which you SHOULD leave a comment. At the end of the Hop, I will throw all of the comm10 years ago Read more -
Blog postPrompted by author Jason Jack Miller, I have completed the following survey regarding my next big thing. To continue the chain, I shall place my almighty tag upon Red Tash, Axel Howerton, and Georgina Morales!
What is the working title of your book?
The Green Kangaroos
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Judy Blume wrote a book called "The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo," which deals with Middle Child Syndrome. That, added with the ye10 years ago Read more
Titles By Jessica McHugh
“go mad.”
Beyond ancient gates, among thorny overgrowth and carnivorous blooms, a raven called Death waits tirelessly for its chance to roost within us. Using scraps of love, remorse, anger, and pain, it weaves. With erasure, memory, and discovery, it binds. And from the garden of wounds that grows within our broken hearts, it builds Strange Nests.
In the follow-up to her Bram Stoker and Elgin Award nominated collection, A Complex Accident of Life, Jessica McHugh uses poetry, design, and illustration to unearth the horrific, consumptive, and transformative nature of grief from the pages of the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, The Secret Garden.
Legends tell of a hollow earth, a world beneath our own. A world filled with wonders... and danger. But what if the legends are true?
Delve into dark worlds in HELLHOLE, where death lurks around every corner, and come face to face with creatures from your worst nightmares in this collection of dark thrillers. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and Bram Stoker Award winner Rena Mason headline a cast of bestselling and award-winning authors.
Praise for Hellhole!
“Deliciously gory and enough monsters and mayhem in the depths to satisfy even the most jaded spelunker!”
William Meikle, author of The Valley
“A thrilling collection of underground terror from a cross-section of the best horror writers working today. It’ll shine a light on your deepest, darkest fears.”
Alan Baxter, author of Devouring Dark
“A collection of claustrophobic horror that drags readers into the darkness!”
Paul E. Cooley, author of The Derelict Saga
This collection includes:
Introduction by James A. Moore
All the Devils are Here- A Joe Ledger/Lizzie Corbett Adventure by Jonathan Maberry
The Devil's Throat by Rena Mason
A Plague of Locusts by Michael McBride
Pit of Ghosts by Kirsten Cross
Where the Sun Does Not Shine by Paul Mannering
Guard Duty by SD Perry
Black Lung by Aaron Sterns
The Offspring by JH Moncrieff
Ginormous Hell Snake by Jake Bible
Ghosts of Hyperia by Jessica McHugh
He Who Fights by Sean Ellis
Edited by Lee Murray
Inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Jessica McHugh's debut poetry collection, A Complex Accident of Life, combines visual art and text to create 52 pieces of Gothic blackout poetry exploring the intense passion, enigmatic nature, and transformative pleasure of life, viewed through the kaleidoscopic lens of a female horror artist.
Volume two of FROM A CAT’S VIEW contains 18 new stories written by authors from around the world who understand and appreciate a cat's unique sensibilities.
Fantasy, paranormal, horror, contemporary and historical fiction—something for everyone. Like the first volume, you can expect to be terrified and delighted; to laugh... and to cry. But know: These aren’t grandmother's cat stories.
CALIFORNIA COOKIN' - Mega-fires ravage the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. Ash blankets communities as far away as San Francisco. Now, even the ‘hangers-on’ must let go. The responsibility to lead Gloria thru the devastation to shelter falls to Miss Molly, a 15-pound house cat with a silicon skeleton.
BLACK CATS - Carmine’s beloved servant, Jessica, knew he liked things comfy and cat-centric. She dutifully kept them that way. But his comfy world shuddered the day Jessica brought home the sinister figurine. Did Carmine detect the faintest twitch of its porcelain tail?
SMILE - City cats have it posh. For feral cats in the Outback it’s a different story. He is hunted by wild dogs, snakes, hawks, and the indigenous folk. But this Tommo—with his mesmerizing weapon of choice—is unlike any predator the feral cat has faced before.
THE OUT WORLD - Michael put on the uniform with the shiny buckle and many buttons and left for the out world. When his master didn’t come home, Bear was determined to find him. A big challenge for an unsophisticated house cat who’s never ventured past the front porch.
And many more stories. The purrfect gift—buy your copy today.
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Contains new material as well as a bonus short story, “Crazed in Christmas City” AND an excerpt of HARES IN THE HEDGEROW, the highly anticipated sequel to RABBITS IN THE GARDEN.
Being a teenager is hard enough, but growing up in an asylum could drive anyone crazy.
At twelve years old, Avery Norton had everything: a boyfriend who was also her best friend, the entirety of Martha's Vineyard as her playground, and her very own garden to tend. By thirteen, it was all over.The discovery of a secret crypt in the basement starts the Norton family down many unexpected avenues, including one that leads to Avery's arrest for murder and her subsequent imprisonment in Taunton State Lunatic Asylum. Set in 1950s Massachusetts, Rabbits in the Garden follows Avery Norton's struggle to prove her innocence and escape Taunton with her mind intact
STORIES BY: Joanna Roye, G.G. Silverman, Stacey Bell, Amy Easton, K.P. Kulski, S.M. Ketcham, E.E. Florence, Briana McGuckin, Annie Neugebauer, Kayleigh Barber, Sam Fleming, Hailey Piper, J.H. Moncrieff, Jessica McHugh, Jennifer Loring, Joanna Koch, Angela Sylvaine, J.C. Raye, Christa Carmen, Juliana Spink Mills, Leslie Wibberley
“The editor’s claim that the first season of True Detective was a big inspiration for this anthology is evident: Ashes and Entropy sports a finely balanced mixture of grit, crime and blood along with the irrational, occult and weird.”–Rue Morgue
Stand on the precipice and prepare to dive down through the event horizon into the bleak and mind-shattering void of both the cosmos and of humanity.
Nightscape Press is proud to present ASHES AND ENTROPY edited by Robert S. Wilson, an anthology of cosmic horror and noir/neo-noir. ASHES AND ENTROPY is beautifully illustrated by Luke Spooner and includes brand new stories by Laird Barron, Damien Angelica Walters, John Langan, Kristi DeMeester, Jon Padgett, Nadia Bulkin, Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, Lucy A. Snyder, Tim Waggoner, Jessica McHugh, Paul Michael Anderson, Max Booth III, Lynne Jamneck, Greg Sisco, Lisa Mannetti, Nate Southard, Erinn L. Kemper, Matthew M. Bartlett, Autumn Christian, and more.
The intoxication from a pint of vodka, the electric buzz from snorting cocaine, the warm embrace from shooting heroin--drinking and drugging provides the height of human experience. It's the promise of heaven on earth, but the hell that follows is a constant hunger, a cold emptiness. The craving to get high is a yearning as intense of any blood-thirsty monster. The best way to tell the truths of addiction is through a story, and dark truths such as these need a piece of horror to do them justice. The stories inside feature the insidious nature of addiction told with compassion yet searing honesty. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental deaths, and some of the most incredible names in horror fiction have tackled this modern day epidemic.
A WICKED THIRST, by Kealan Patrick Burke
THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, by Jessica McHugh
EVERYWHERE YOU'VE BLED AND EVERYWHERE YOU WILL, by Max Booth III
FIRST, JUST BITE A FINGER, by Johann Thorsson
LAST CALL, by John FD Taff
TORMENT OF THE FALLEN, by Glen Krisch
GARDEN OF FIENDS, by Mark Matthews
RETURNS, by Jack Ketchum
Elves aren't the only sexy ones, you know.
In these modern post-Hobbit days, it is high time we culture acknowledged one simple truth: dwarves can, in fact, be smokin’ hot. From the deep, rich and remote places of the world come legends of these fascinating beings: earthen men and women, fae kings, great metal workers and miners, mighty warriors, they are compact but virile mythological figures.
In Hard as Stone, editor Julie Cox brings together erotic stories of brawny builders and earthy smiths in which love can be robust, hearty, hardworking, bearded, and short... or not, as size is relative. And it's not the size of the hammer that matters, but how it's used... and perhaps how beautiful the sex toy is that one can craft with it.
Many of the stories in this volume also pick up on the notion that dwarven societal gender and biological sex characteristics may not be divided along the same lines as humans, and gay, lesbian, and genderqueer themes are amply represented in these stories. All the stories are magical, whether they touch on the modern world or delve deep into the realms of high fantasy. Some are bawdy, some are darker in tone--all are sizzling with sexuality.
Includes the stories:
Stolen Days by TS Porter
Rainbows in Hollywood by Lacie M. Jeffers
Ash and Elm by Bess Lyre
Wizard's Staff by Julie Cox
Cave Dwellers by Alanna McFall
To Those Who Move Mountains by Jason Carpenter
Don't Screw the Messenger by Jessica McHugh
Of Greed and Eager Things by Edda Grenade
Sample from "Wizard's Staff" by Julie Cox:
Next to Borabi, I was short. Not that I was tall next to most other people, either, but Borabi's long limbs were a dramatic contrast to my stocky build. He was lithe and graceful until he was startled, then those limbs went flailing everywhere like a colt's. When that happened, I laughed, and he scowled. Most of the time it was the other way around.
Like now. He writhed beneath me, a squirming mess of an elf, his breath hitching as he tried to stop himself from laughing. I held the paintbrush away from him and cuffed his pointed ear.
"Stop moving," I said. "These runes are very precise. I don't want to open a portal to some demonic realm because you're ticklish."
"I can't help it, Shale," he lied.
He could help it very well. He had unbelievable control, when he chose to exercise it. I leaned close over him, dabbing a spot of cornflower blue paint on his delicate nose. "Hold still, or I will stop touching you."
His pretty hazel eyes fluttered wide and his body stilled beneath me.
"There now," I crooned, "that's better." I drew the paint in thin lines across his body, weaving a spell with interlocking runes, the language of dwarves and of magic. I traced the curve of his bicep with a rune for the sorceress I needed to contact. His other arm was wreathed in the symbols of magical power, symbols for me to draw upon, like sinking a well into the ground beneath us to pull up the magic of the earth. I was dwarven; my magic was the power of stone and wells and mines and old language. I'd covered his chest in the runes of our families, the significant runes of our lives, the collective language that described our lives, apart and together. In naming them, I named us. We were the sum of our stories—literally, in the case of runic magic. Those had been easy; I'd painted those a thousand times.
I slid down his body, careful not to smudge the runes. I knelt between his legs and undid the lacing on his pants.
The crust: Stuffed with dread and despair.
And the sauce: Well, the sauce is always red.
Whether you’re in the mood for a Chicago-style deep dish of darkness, or prefer a New York wide slice of thin-crusted carnage, or if you just have a hankering for the cheap, cheesy charms of cardboard-crusted, delivered-to-your-door devilry; we have just the slice for you.
Bring your most monstrous of appetites, because we're serving suspense and horrors both chillingly cosmic and morbidly mundane from acclaimed horror authors such as Brian Evenson, Jessica McHugh, and Cody Goodfellow, as well as up-and-coming literary threats like Craig Wallwork, Sheri White, and Tony McMillen.
Tales from the Crust, stories you can devour in thirty minutes or less or the next one's free. Whatever that means.
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