The Cutprice Guignol

Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve done a little check-in on this blog, and now that we’re coming into spooky season (the era in which I rise to my full, terrifying power), I thought it might be nice to have a little mid-year catch-up on everything that’s been going on with me.

Because, I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been a great summer for me. There have been great parts of it – I ate so much curry with so many family members, after all – but this last six weeks or so, I have in in one hell of a depressive period. It’s been kind of a tough year, for a number of reasons (not least that we had to say goodbye to our beloved, horrible lady-cat, Scoop, who shall forever remain immortalized in the website icon image of this blog), and I feel like this sort of mental grinding-to-a-halt was inevitable, in a way. A lot’s been going on, a lot of it really grim, and there’s only so much your brain can put up with before it throws in the proverbial serotonin towel and goes “fuck this”.

Mine did, and I’ve been putting in a concentrated effort the last couple of weeks to try and re-route the nosedive my mental health has been in; it’s been difficult, I think, because so much of what has happened and continues to happen is really, undeniably shit, and it’s hard to talk your brain out of being sad when there’s so much sad stuff going on, you know? I’m trying to talk about how I feel a bit more – hence this post – and actually engage with the great support system I so often trick myself into thinking don’t want to be burdened with how I feel. It’s helped. Always annoying when the sensible stuff does, right?

Anyway. I swear to God, I smell Autumn in the air for the first time, and my brain just switches gears, and I’ve been riding that out of this depressive episode like a Sinclair C-9 down the doomed motorway of my mind. I am doing everything I can to get myself in the spooky season mood (my house smells of cinnamon, aggressively), and that’s going to mean a lot of horror-related writing here and over on No But Listen, so prepare yourself for that onslaught. I’ve also got some more horror fiction in the works, which I can’t wait to share with you. Think of me as Michael Myers, and my horror articles the hideous machete plunging into your gut. That’s fun, right?

So that’s where I’m at right now – it’s been shit, but I am making an effort to lift it into less-shitness (and maybe some downright-goodness) in the next few months. Your continued support of my work during this time was endlessly appreciated, so thank you so much to everyone who read or shared or commented on my work here – sometimes, it was the little boost I needed to lift a dreadful day out of the doldrums. I would love to hear how you’re all doing – let me know in the comments, any details on how you’re getting in the Autumn mood particularly welcome!

Take care of yourselves,

Lots of blood,

Lou