I’ve read “Damnation Observes.” It read like most of Pacione’s other stories, with convoluted sentence structure. Several thing are readily apparent. Pacione still keeps expecting different results, though his behavior never changes. Mental illness is how he defines himself. Without it, he is nothing. Obviously, he’s well aware that he’s insane.
Horrors in hell are insanity – waiting for different results from the same actions. Madness wanders looking in the abyss as a mind wanders within the winters of eternity – damnation observes when it begins, the nervous breakdowns and the medication induce the nightmares as they are taken one step further.
I would suggest that Mr. Pacione look into getting his meds changed. They probably aren’t causing the nightmares, but are allowing him to sleep. I’d bet he would have nightmares without any medication, but of course, he’d be completely psychotic. He may be psychotic, anyway. I don’t think his nervous breakdowns cause his nightmares, either, although they may be a warning sign that he’s headed for another one.
All the sermons you heard preached will never tell you about the true sick from the ones who are physically ill. I’ve seen this kind of sick and am one of those kinds of sick. The modern leper within the shadows I am – the madness that becomes real when it is disconnected through life with chemistry.
This tells me that he’s had a bunch of bible thumpers tell him he’s not mentally ill, but . . . what? Possessed?
The idea frightened her in the truth being — we’re all on our own. No God – no Christ to leave for salvation, and it was in this a dwelling nightmare they can’t imagine or fathom. There was none – just as damnations observes.
Really, the editor should have caught the error in that last sentence. Damnations, if plural, do not go with the word observes. Otherwise, it should be simply damnation.
This world was described in the eyes of both Dante and Milton – a world that paradise is forever lost.
I don’t believe for a second that Pacione has read Paradise Lost. He’s got the attention span of a gnat; he’d never make it through the entire thing.
She was a woman of sincere faith walking around in the mind of someone with none. I was a man without a soul, bringing a woman into his depths within the nightmares.
Does Pacione really believe he has the power to make others live his nightmares? His megalomania’s keeping him company again.
Pacione concludes with this line:
Her screams were lost within the abyss known as the dreams of the mentally ill, and those are smeared in an eternal darkness drowned in silence for the rest of ones memory.
There’s a typo in that sentence. Didn’t anyone proofread this nonsense? I freely admit that typos bug me more than they do most people (I can drive Janrae up a wall at times), but this one is so obvious that it might as well have been in boldface. I’m not immune to making embarrassing typos either, but when I find them, at least I go back and fix them.
If I read this story correctly, it’s basically a rant about holy rollers either not believing in mental illness, or believing it can be cured by faith alone. Why, oh why, did it take him so many words to say it?
Throughout the story, Pacione sticks to his imagery that he’s used hundreds of times: a woman in gray, nightmares, drugs, holy rollers, mental illness, and uncaring medical staff. His characterization of the woman in gray is virtually non-existant. He has no real ability to convey fear or confusion, so the tells the reader that’s what she’s feeling. He’s never progressed to the point of understanding what “show, don’t tell” means.
After the full-page ad that Pacione took out for his TPIV anthology, the editor-in-chief adds a two-page editor’s note. Horrorgal mentioned this in her latest blog entry. She chose different quotations from it. I particularly liked this one:
Darkened Horizons will forever stand for the market that gives new talent a place to be heard. Though we have published better known authors we will always have a place for those who do not have a long list of publications in snotty magazines.
Translation: we can’t get published in anything but 4theluv publications either, so we’ll take just about anyone, as long as the person doesn’t want to get paid.
Frankly, other than Pacione, who makes his presence painfully well known, the only other contributor I’ve heard of is Kevin Lucia. Were it not for Pacione, I probably would not have heard of Kevin, either.
…..and, is that a good thing, or bad? 🙂
Pacione has a habit of bringing good people together, Kevin. His motto should be “Pacione: bringing good people together since 2001.” As far as I can tell, it’s the only thing he does well.
That’s how I came across Janrae (Cussedness), Shadowtron, Ben, Peter Barnes, Karen Koehler, Bob Freeman, Brian Knight, Angeline Hawkes, Mark Orr (Sir Otter), Eric Enck, Jane Timm Baxter, and you. Unless someone’s holding back on me, I get along with all of you. 😉
Good enough for me. Time to go to bed, though, so I can get up at 3:30 AM and do the writer thing. With a three year old and 11 month old, quiet time is scarce. 🙂
I’m not going to go off on a wild tangent, rest assured. I am a professional and, as such, I would like to keep an aura of professionalism about myself.
If you were to ask the contributors to my publications you would receive, I’m sure, very nice replies. Save for Pacione, it seems that there is a level of animosity between you two that goes far deeper than words will ever heal.
I’m not going to ask that you or the other reviewers discontinue your reviews, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I did have the comments removed from the Darkened Horizons Issue 3 page unintentionally. I changed the review guidelines so that only people who have purchased a volume can post a review and- strangely enough- all of the reviews were deleted.
I did this mostly because of Pacione’s commentaries with the reviewers. I was very alarmed with the threatening way that he was acting toward the reviewers and asked that he discontinue his actions. I have warned him that if it continues I will be forced to take measures to clean up this “mess”.
I am glad that you enjoyed Kevin Lucia’s story. He is a very nice man with a great imagination. I am sure that he will go places in the very near future.
As far as Darkened Horizons having not printed stories by known authors I suggest that you read past volumes. I have published Eric Enck, who is a wonderful gentleman, Jane Timm Baxter, Jennifer L. Miller and Cassandra Lee. All of whom, along with myself, do have a history in professional publishing history. Also, the cover art for Issue 3 and a story included in the volume are by a professional artist/author named Gabrielle Faust.
As I have stated to people who voiced a concern about Mr. Pacione’s past behavior, I was not aware of it prior to accepting his story for publication. It seemed unethical at the time to send a rejection following an acceptance merely because of an e-mail correspondence telling me that he was a “reckless danger to the publishing world”. Furthermore, the page I was directed to had photoshop manipulated images of Pacione performing oral sex on another man. I assume these were there to ignite his fury because of his accused homophobia. I found that to be very childish and so did not put any stock into the things written about him on the page.
As far as the editing of the story goes it is my fault if some things slipped my attention. I threw the volume together in haste and have, obviously, missed some things. I apologize to all those who were alarmed by it, but I assure you that the volume was edited. Again, you can contact the other authors involved and they will collaborate that a good deal of dedication went into the production of this volume.
Nickolaus’s story was very difficult to edit due to the unique voice he chose to use. I haven’t had a chance to read his other publications so I don’t know if the reviewers were being honest when they said that it was just a “rehash” of his previously published material.
I thank you all for your reviews. The comments you have left will be used toward making Darkened Horizons a better publication in the future. Please feel free to email me personally with any other concerns that you may have. I gave my personal e-mail address at the end of the volume and will address all e-mails as time allows.
Thank you,
Jordan M. Bobé
Editor, Darkened Horizons
Good luck, Kevin. I remember those days when my daughter was little. I used to get up between 2 and 3 AM to write
Heh. I forgot about the snotty magazines crack.
It’s more than animosity, Jordan. Nick has a long history of making threats, stalking, and being out-right vile to people. He’s got a number of court orders against him by other writers, he’s used private information from the HWA to harass people… it’s a long list.
And his writing is atrocious on all levels. It’s not a “unique voice.”
Quite honestly, your best bet is to cut all ties with him. Naked Snake Press published a work of his and several good quality writers pulled their projects because of it. Later on NSP went on “hiatus” and then belly up in the course of … less than a year?
Do a google search on his name and see what you find. Look up his own label “Lake Fossil Press” on Preditors and Editors. You may not like what you see, but in all honesty, he is a menace.
And while we’re at it, you might want to contact authors Angeline Hawkes and Mary Sangiovanni and ask these professional ladies what he said about what he wanted to do to their children. It’s a suggestion.
And my daughter as well. And no, it’s not a ‘unique voice’ that Pacione uses. He just can’t write his way out of a wet condom.
A good editor knows voice and does not fall into the trap of believing that they reason they cannot make heads or tails of something is NOT that it must be brilliant.
The emperor is naked.
Janrae, it’s a good thing I’m drinking wine tonight… your “emperor is naked” statement invoked a visual that might have been painful if not for the alcohol… 🙂
Agree, Mike Brendan! I don’t want to see the words “naked” and “Pacione” on the same page EVER AGAIN.
Now I must find my spare container of Brain Bleach (TM).
At least you two did not join the Spewed Coffee Through Nose Brigade. I got some of those reactions in chat last night and over IM.
I’ll try to be more thoughtful of your delicate sensibilities hence forth 🙂