The Oddville Press Issue 4

With a compelling mixture of humor and insight, Moody offers his reflection on religion and American life. Standing at the intersection of the public and the private, and speaking with authentic faith unfettered by fear, Moody offers words of clarity and compassion about some of the more troublesome issues of our time. Many readers will find this collection of newspaper columns most refreshing. "This book of short essays transports the reader into the realm of life's rhythms and every day surprises, writes Bob Mong, president and publisher of the Dallas Morning News in the preface. Moody's stories are not soggy and sentimental. There is fire and pathos intermingling naturally, with passages of love, forgiveness, and tenderness. Moving easily from the personal to the public, Moody offers a word that needs to be heard--"at times powerful and prophetic--"but also pastoral, often poignant, and always with a view toward the common good. Moody speaks to a broad range of topics--"books, family, church, friends culture--"with titles like "Did Jesus Know about Jabez?," "One Hell of a Prayer," "Survival, Guide for Orthodox Churches," "I'm in the Jailhouse Now," "Autism and Easter," and "Howard Finster--"Man of Visions." Moody describes candidly the joys and sorrows that have come his way and how the simple gifts of faith hope, and love have served as sources of both endurance and delight. Do not be surprised if these stories do not warm your soul even as they inform the mind.

Red Room Press is extremely proud to present its fourth annual anthology featuring this year's hardcore corps of authors with the best extreme horror fiction of 2018 that breaks boundaries and trashes taboos. First up is “Vigil” by Chad Lutzke. Chad takes us into a neighborhood where a steady stream of decayed corpses are exhumed from a neighbor’s cellar. Extreme olfactory horror at its best. Deborah Sheldon went under the knife for the inspiration of “Hair And Teeth,” and the result is a tale of gynaecological body horror likely to terrify women and make most men squeamish. With “Rut Seasons” Brian Hodge makes a return to Year’s-Best pages in a tale as chilling as it is heart-wrenching, inspired by a thousand-mile drive littered with roadkill and some personal tragedies. “Control” by Jeff Parsons introduces us to a meth addict stalking potential victims in Central Park to get money for the next score. Annie Neugebauer is back with “Cilantro,” a Neugebauerian yarn of culinary chaos sure to turn stomachs and cause nightmares. Tim Waggoner likewise returns this year with “Voices Like Barbwire,” an exploratory dig into old wounds and painful memories. Rebecca Rowland’s “Bent” wins the Most Cringe-worthy Story honor with her twisted tale of extreme body horror. Her well-drawn characters seem to come off the page but God forbid they do. Their idea of a pretzel party is truly twisted. Scath Beorh takes Lovecraftian cosmic horror to its next level with “Lord of the Mesa.” Sean Patrick Hazlett’s story “The Godhead Grimoire” possesses dangerous religious overtones and a forbidden bloodthirsty book. “Carnal Bodies” by R.E. Hellinger is a shocking story of baroque horror and demonic necrophilia from Two Dead Queers Present: Guillozine. You’ll have to read this one to believe it. In “Crossroads of Opportunity” Ed Kurtz and doungjai gam take you on a-deal-with-the-devil-at-the-crossroads trip with a son driving his dead mother to an uncertain destination. Trouble is, his mother is a bit of a backseat driver and she just won’t shut up. Seras Nikita’s “Dad’s Famous Preserves” won’t do much for your appetite but it will show you a recipe for disaster when a jungle missionary’s foot infection blossoms into a stomach-churning nightmare. “The Bearded Woman,” brought all the way from Rome, Italy, by the inimitable Alessandro Manzetti. His dystopian future tale takes us for a ride in the Bearded Woman’s circus trailer as she and her dwarf husband bring their marriage to a bloody end. Sara Tantlinger’s “The Devil’s Dreamland” takes us inside the Murder Castle of the infamous H.H. Holmes with her brilliant narrative poem of macabre beauty. Frank Oreto’s “All God’s Creatures Got Reasons” reveals that there are real monsters walking among us, monsters with a savage appetite for young flesh, but they are so skilled at covering their tracks, we never even know they’re there. “The Ugly” by J.R. Park introduces us to a couple of sweet little kids who may have a good reason for torturing and eating cats. It’s a way to keep the Ugly at bay. Or is it? Doug Ford’s “I Have a Confession” takes a coldblooded plunge into sex with a ghost. But what if it’s not a ghost? In “When the Owls Call” Lyman Graves takes us “stealth camping” in a Texas park after hours, where a strange and dangerous gathering is taking place. David Lynch might say, “The owls are not what they seem.” But are they? Jeremy Thompson is back this year with his nefarious pal the Hallowfiend in “Bloodletting and Intrigue On All Hallows’ Eve’.” With a stylistic nod to Ray Bradbury, Jeremy delivers on our promise that something twisted this way comes. Capping it all off, Alicia Hilton serves up “Monkey See, Monkey Do” as a tasty little nightcap (for those with hardcore tastes). Salud! Sleep well. If you can.

Welcome to Oddville. Here you will find flying babies, giant robots, undead rock bands, evil scientists, brick-throwing cats, talking monkeys, and eight-year-old super-hero Melanie McKay, better known as Jetcat! It all begins with a kiss. When young Tod Johnson gives Melanie McKay a peck on the cheek, Daisy appears and takes to the skies. From there, it's a mad dash through town for Jetcat to catch the gravity-defying infant and bring her back to earth. These things are things that can only happen in a place called Oddville, and only from the mind of a cartoonist like Jay Stephens. These classic comic strips began in independent newspapers before jumping into their own collected book, which then disappeared for many years, only now to finally return. ODDVILLE is a curious, bizarre, and hysterical book unlike any other. And it contains the first ever appearance of Jetcat anywhere! Take a left at weird and head up the road for about a mile, and settle down in Oddville.