The Ashen Eye - Issue #1 is finally released! Buy a print copy for only $6.99 or download the free PDF version from our store now!

But, with this good news also comes bad news. Unfortunately, our first issue will also be our last issue. The last six months have been both incredibly rewarding and, at the same time, incredibly stressful. I’ve had assistance and support throughout this period from many different people yet, in the end, The Ashen Eye became a solo job. Due to real life issues, I am no longer able to devote the amount of time to the project that it needs. I have considered many possibilities, but stepping back from the project seems to be the only possibility.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported the project during the past six months. Please keep spreading the word so that as many people as possible may read the works of the contributors in our magazine. The Ashen Eye was a project to promote authors and artists it publishes and, while it is in print, we should all strive to let the voice of the incredibly talented people featured in this magazine be heard!

Thank you all

Bas de Jong

Debra Leigh Scott is an award-winning writer, playwright, dramaturge and arts educator. She is also the Founding Director of Hidden River Arts, a literary arts organization offering competitions, publication, residencies and educational programs to writers. Her short story, “A Fire Goeth Before Him” is part of a collection of inter-related stories called “Other Likely Stories: A Novel in Contradictions”. She’s also completed the first novel of a trilogy, titled “Piety Street”, set in turn of the century New Orleans. Feeding a lifelong fascination with spirituality, mysticism and mystery, Debra Leigh has a graduate degree in World Religions with a focus on Renaissance Studies and Mysticism. This fascination often finds its way into her creative work. Debra Leigh lives in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania in the United States. But given the state of things in the U.S., she is open to any other suggestions about better, happier and more positive places to live in this world.

Instead of the regular brief story extract, we have a special treat for you: A reading of
A Fire Goeth Before Him by the author herself!

Right-click and Save as on the link below to download the mp3 file.

a_fire_goeth_before_him_reading_56kbs.mp3

Wayne Blackhurst works as a freelance illustrator from his home studio in the UK’s North West. He’s involved in a wide variety of commissions, his main interest being interior book and magazine illustration using a distinctive pen and ink style reminiscent of Aubrey Beardsley. Also fascinated with writing full length and short fiction, his current work includes Still Water, a possible series of volumes containing linked tales accompanied by his artwork. Emily And The City, which will be published in The Ashen Eye, is lifted from this project and captures all of the atmosphere found throughout Wayne’s short stories. The following is a brief extract:

“You really like this shop, don’t you Emily?”

Emily slipped her small hand into mine and led me to an entrance made of glass doors, set back from the barren main road where traffic lights cycled for nonexistent vehicles. I always found it difficult to comprehend the lack of activity in the city. Emily never revealed why it should be that way, content at times, in her naivety, to play her favorite game of hide and seek. Every quiet alleyway, every empty street, and every deserted square became nothing more than an immense playground.

For more information on Wayne Blackhurst, please visit his website or MySpace profile.

William Couper writes in various genres, but has had most success with science fiction and dark horror fiction. He has been published in a few small press magazines including "Darkened Horizons" and "TBD". He is also co-founder and contributor to the alternative arts magazine "Dangerous Ink".

His short story Sticky Floor will make its appearance in the upcoming issue of The Ashen Eye. Here’s a brief extract from it:

I am reminded of my own semen drying to a tacky mess against my skin as I lay on the sticky floor. The smell is completely different though, and I’m happy about that.

Maybe it’s what I did when we moved in.

Phillip Stecco is a 50 year old Michigan native, who has worked for a nonprofit organization for nearly a quarter of a century. His main interests are reading, writing, film noir, and the enjoyment of a certain Canadian beer. Phillip’s favorite authors include Thomas Ligotti, Philip K. Dick, and Jack Vance. The two things which sustain his life are absurdity and dark humor. Since he is highly critical of his own voice these days, he seldom commits his poetry to paper. Most of his free time is spent lurking at Thomas Ligotti Online, where he is a site moderator under the guise of G. S. Carnivals. Phillip has devoted much personal effort to the archiving of Thomas Ligotti quotations. A recent diversion has been the creation of clues and answers for Ligottian crossword puzzles.

Phillip Stecco’s poem Curtains will be included in the upcoming issue of The Ashen Eye. Here’s another one of his poems to give you a taste of his work:

Misty Lackey is from Bryson City, NC. She has been writing poetry since 1995 and in all has had 200 poems published all over the world. Misty has published two poetry books: Shade of the Moon Cross and Beyond the Grave.

For more information, please look Misty up on MySpace.

One of her poems, titled Bones and Letters, will appear in the upcoming issue of The Ashen Eye. As a preview to her work, she has been kind enough to provide us with another one of her poems:

Author Nickolas Cook lives in the Southwest desert with his wife and three pugs. His short fiction, reviews, interviews, and non-fiction articles have appeared in many print and e-zines, and have gone internationally viral. He is the writers group moderator for Shocklines and an editor for Dark Recesses Magazine. He is a practitioner of Krav Maga and Combative Tactics. More information about them can be found at MySpace. His books include "The Black Beast of Algernon Wood", "Baleful Eye" and "Paint it Black". To contact the author, feel free to email: Nickolasecook@aol.com or visit MySpace.

His short story titled Karma will appear in the upcoming premiere issue of The Ashen Eye. Here’s a brief extract from that story:

That night, as Forster was dropping into the well of sleep, a parade passed along the street below his room. The sudden sounds grew in volume, like some evil wind rising in nightmares not yet dreamed, the babble ripping him from his half sleep: The sound of many feet passing by; low voices singing some droning tune; a braying goat- anxious and scared, an undercurrent to the monotonic song; someone shouted an incoherent imprecation to a nameless deity. His ululations of mindless exultance frightened him, and Forster began to push himself from the bed. But then the sounds tapered, faded into nothingness again, and after a few moments of hearing only the night birds and the soughing of a cool wind, he was sure that he had dreamed it all, and so he rolled over and slept.

A black skinned woman rose from the trees, her eyes white and furious. Forster recognized her from native artistic renderings—Kali, the goddess of death—as she stretched her many arms high into the air and smashed at the great hungry beast. The monster howled, toppling trees, shaking the world with its anger and pain. It fought back, pushing Kali away. Defeated, she fell back into the jungle depths, an enigmatic smile blossoming like a malefic flower on her awful lips.

Andrew Wolter is the author of the novels "The Rules of Temptation" and "Nightfall" (to be released Spring 2008 by Shadow City Press). Andrew has also moonlighted as a freelance columnist with over 85 published reviews and 15 published interviews.

Andrew’s most recent work (a short story entitled, "I’ll Be Home For Christmas"} has appeared in The Open Vein’s Christmas 2007 issue and was nominated in the category of Best Short Story Horror in the 2007 Preditor’s and Editors Reader’s Poll.

Andrew resides in Phoenix, Arizona where he is working on his next novel.

Visit Andrew’s Official Website or his MySpace page.

The following is an excerpt from Andrew’s short story Puppeteer, due to appear in the upcoming issue of The Ashen Eye:

…There is a slight piercing as the tip of the needle enters the crook of the arm. Surely, there is no difference between this and donating plasma at the local Red Cross. Though after extracting three vials of blood at a time in that especially tender part of the arm, there is bound to be bruising. In fact, it appears like the appendage of a heroin junkie—pinprick scabs over layers of flesh colored black and blue.

I know such colors well, those shades of abuse that had revisited my body from Dave’s constant beatings. There are times when I can easily recall having to wear long-sleeved shirts on a summer’s day because of the purple-colored imprint left behind from Dave forcefully tugging at my arm. Sometimes I remember having to use make-up to conceal the brown and yellow hues that encircled my eyes because of Dave punching me. Still, there are times when I see his face and I have to kiss him.

Carl ran down the stairs and out of Usher’s Fair Inn. Tumbling soda cans and sheets of white paper skipped down the dirt street. As Carl stared at the buildings on the North side of Main Street, he thought he could see things moving around in the cloudy windows. Watching the swings squeak and the childless playground melted his heart. His daughter never had the chance to go to school. School buses were smashed against the side of the police station. The hardware store, post office, and pharmacy looked like human skulls; lidless dark eyes with an unconscious wickedness resting within.

What appeared to be a wild dog, took on a fearsome and menacing form. Its crimson, repulsive eyes stared at Carl. The creature’s fur was coarse and Carl could see bald patches on the side of its abdomen. Once it exposed its long spiky fangs and blood-colored eyes, Carl turned around and ran back into Usher’s Fair Inn. Slamming the massive oak door shut and gasping for air, he immediately checked the windows and stared at the shadows on the top of the stairs. He knew that something unnatural was up there, waiting for him to lose his mind. And he realized that something grotesque was outside. Pushing back the curtains, he gazed out into the street and watched as the famished wild dog sniffed all of the doors. It was looking for him.

The previous is a short excerpt from a short story called Insomnium. It will be published in the upcoming issue of The Ashen Eye and is written by Jeffrey Buford.

Jeffrey was born in the small bustling riverboat town of Alton, Illinois on a cold day in hell. Born into a large family, he displayed a creative and often surprising interest in the arts. Other publications include "How to Tame a Werewolf with Baked Spaghetti", "The Cemetery of Glass Coffins", and "A Neighborhood of Cats." Currently he’s at work on a comic series titled "The 13th Key" and a novel, "Timothy’s Walk". Some of his other creative interests include illustrating and music, specifically the piano. He invites you to take a look at more of his work at Jeffrey’s Space.

Born and raised in scenic Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Mark A. Mihalko got his first taste of darkness and the unexplained in the Appalachian Mountains, listening to the folklore from generations of pioneers. These legends and lore hit close to home and opened his mind to the unseen world that exists. In conquering these possibilities, he has found his inner self and an outlet for his writing.

In May 2007, Mark completed “Walking Before Dawn” ($12.95 - Publish America – ISBN 1424176816), where he explores the worlds of the unexplained and darkness in his own poetic manner, venturing into the abyss that continues to haunt his soul. Through those words and his muse, he has discovered the secret to unlocking the brooding and desolate demons he harbors.

These same ideals led him to work on non-fiction and fictional items dealing with darkness, despair, and the unexplained. Mark A. Mihalko has had articles and stories published in “Mysteries”, “FATE”, “Haunted Times”, “Horrotica”, and “Revenant Magazines” and has been lucky enough to be the focus of the ‘Poet of the Hours’ for “The Graveyard Press”, the official webzine of the Vampire Nation.

You will find Mark’s intriguing poetry in the upcoming premiere issue of The Ashen Eye. In the mean time, here’s another one of his poems, titled Torment, for you to enjoy.

Mark can also be found on MySpace. To visit his page and add him to your friends, please click here.