5/21/26
Dallas spent the night in the veterinary hospital. As I said yesterday, the poor little guy has urinary crystals and the initial vet treatment didn’t fix the problem like we’d hoped. Turns out he was now completely blocked. Apparently he has charmed the entire staff, particularly the nurses, which I hope means he’s getting extra attention and care. I will learn more this afternoon. Between the fact that he’ll most likely need meds and care at home, and the fact that I had to pay $2,000 for his initial admission yesterday and an estimated $1,000 to $1,500 when he is released. Mary and I have opted to stay home this weekend, rather than go on a trip for our anniversary (which is what we normally do). But yeah, vet bills ain’t cheap. Maybe click that Books tab here on the website you are currently reading and buy one. ;-)
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My youngest son had his final band concert last night — this was concert jazz band. He had a solo, which was GREAT, but afterward he was beating himself up, thinking it didn’t go well. His aunt Deb advised him as a parent who has watched countless high school band performances and solos that it went great, and I advised him as someone who’s stood on stage in front of thousands of people hundreds of times that it went great, as well. But we are over the age of 21 and therefore sus. Do you know about sus yet? And riz? I do. I am hip with the lingo of the young people.
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The final episode of HOW TO SURVIVE 2025…IN 2026 is live. Click here to listen.
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Women In Horror Year: Day 40
How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda Addison
Who doesn't need to know How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend? From the first African-American to receive the HWA Bram Stoker award, this collection of both horror and science fiction short stories and poetry reveals demons in the most likely people (like a jealous ghost across the street) or in unlikely places (like the dimension-shifting dreams of an American Indian). Recognition is the first step, what you do with your friends/demons after that is up to you.
Confession: My appreciation of poetry came later in life. Oh, I can quote you the lyrics to hundreds of thousands of songs across a multitude of genres. I enjoy the occasional limerick or greeting card. But as far as actual poetry goes? The only poem I remember studying in school was one by Stephen Crane. And I used to skip past the occasional poem in those 1970s paperback collections of Robert E. Howard’s stuff so I could get to Conan, Kull, Breckinridge Elkins, Kaine, and the rest of the REH crew fucking up bad guys.
It wasn’t until the mid-1990s, when I became friends with poets like Rain Graves, Tom Piccirilli, Charlee Jacob, and Linda Addison, that I began to appreciate and understand poetry. Indeed, it wasn’t until a party at Pic’s house (in the shadow of the Stanley Hotel) circa 1999 that I really got a formal education in it, because Linda herself gave me a crash course that weekend, while we were deep into some serious drinking.
First published in 2011, How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend is Linda’s fourth collection of both poetry and short fiction, and it is my favorite among her bibliography (along with 2001’s Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes which we will get to in this series later in the year). It’s full of the things about poetry that Linda herself taught me to appreciate. And while this is genre poetry — horror, dark fantasy, and science-fiction — it’s also deeply personal, and will surely resonate with the reader on a personal, emotional, human level that goes far beyond speculative fiction. And yes, 2007’s Being Full of Light, Insubstantial was about as deeply personal as you can get, being inspired by her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s, but How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend touches on a wider array of fears and anxieties. Definitely a great introduction if you’ve not yet sampled her work. Available in paperback and eBook from Crossroad Press.
