I found out about Tom Picirilli’s brain tumour the other day from Brian Keene’s blog. This is awful news. Apparently, he’d gone in to see the doctor because there was blood in his eyes, and this was the result. He’ll soon be having surgery, and then rounds of chemo. So buy his books, folks! He needs every cent, because medical care, especially serious and invasive medical care, is terribly expensive.
On another note, why do bad things seem to happen to horror writers? This tumour, Brian Keene’s heart attack… and on message boards like Shocklines and Horror Drive-in, I hear constantly of this person’s chronic medical condition, or that person’s sudden diagnosis. I do notice that horror writers seem to be darker people generally: a publishing industry hit by the economy, debt, divorce, unemployment.
So why do it? Why write horror?
Well, we love it. When horror is good, damm! It’s so good. So we are all searching for that perfect book, or trying to write that perfect book. That’s why the horror community – although on life support – is alive and kicking weakly.
Horror is a perfect escape from the everyday, even if you’re everyday is more horrifying that the most frightening horror novel. That’s why we all keep at it – searching and writing, knowing that we’ll find it somewhere or create it someday.
So today’s message – but Tom Picirilli’s books. He’s a damn fine horror writer, even by my standards, and he’s in a jam.
