iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Received a personal rejection from a market I’ve been trying to break into for a long time. I guess I’m doing something right.

250

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

500 words written on a project I practically abandoned when crises made every creative endeavor look impossible. Calling that a good day.

040

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Define your horror taste in five films Psycho The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Shining Ringu The Descent

220

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Are you living in the real world?

240

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Okay, fine, Zach Creggor, I’ll follow you wherever you go.

050

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Charles Barouch of the Horror Worlds Podcast caught me and Alp Beck in conversation yesterday. You can find it at youtu.be/2xIUKkhAdpU?...

youtu.be

s2e7 Derek Austin Johnson & Alp Beck

YouTube video by Horror Words Podcast

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Rachel Harrison and Agatha Andrews in conversation.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I’d completely forgotten what a good, tightly written story Pat Cadigan’s “Roadside Rescue” is.

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It can knock you flat. You attend a conference, and feel like you’ve got a handle on the writing game, and then receive a rejection from a market you’ve been trying to crack for a decade. It makes you wonder why you bother doing this at all, and makes you ready to throw in the towel.

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The gifted Derek Austin Johnson pens the fabulous A Whole New You for Cthulhu Awakens When embarking on a wellness program, it is important to follow your doctor’s orders. Back us now on Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com/projects/ink... #inkdpub #Horror #Cthulhu #CthulhuAwakens #kickstarter

011

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The Kickstarter for Inkd Publishing’s upcoming anthology Cthulhu Awakens is live! www.kickstarter.com/projects/ink...

011

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I seriously thought the latter half of 2026 would be a fallow period for great horror movies. I thought wrong.

120

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Several years ago a good friend asked what career path I was following. I never responded because I was absolutely baffled. I mean, did they want to hear "blind animal panic"?

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I’ve got more fiction to write, including three stories and a novella. Rather than working on those, I formatted a possible second collection and submitted it. Oh, and I provided an updated bio to an editor for an upcoming anthology.

260

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Crap. Again. 2026 can fuck right off.

020

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

For those who don’t know, I have a collection coming out somewhere in the wilds of 2027: 17 stories that span my career since 2017. Reviewing my backlog, I also have 10 previously published uncollected stories. I’m wondering if I should work on submitting those as a second collection. What say you?

110

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Tonight’s reading: “Country Mouse” by Edward Bryant.

Dark Angels: The Complete Works of Edward Bryant Volume Two. And Pinot Grigio.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Adam Cesare chats about the fourth Clown in a Cornfield novel with Gabino Iglesias.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Woke up to a story acceptance. So that was nice.

060

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Humans Are Such Easy Prey: Forty Years of From Beyond panel. Fred Van Lente (Moderator), David Quiroz Jr., Kayte Terry, Jason LeBlanc, Victoria Dalpe.

011

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Bloody Weird: Splatterpunk on Its Fortieth Anniversary panel: Cody Goodfellow, Victoria Dalpe, Douglas E. Winter, Paula D. Ashe.

030

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Corporate Horror Panel at Necronomicon: John Foster, Jeff VanderMeer, Gillian Daniels.

0302

Reposted by Derek Austin Johnson

Heatherface Wixson @thehorrorchick.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I’m a bit late in celebrating BLOW OUT’s 45th anniversary but I decided to do a deep dive into the character of Sally Bedina for my De Palma series because it’s one of my favorite Nancy Allen performances: from-the-desk-of-the-horror-chick.ghost.io/the-last-voi... Open to paid/free subscribers!

from-the-desk-of-the-horror-chick.ghost.io

The Last Voice You Hear: Sally Bedina and the Quiet Humanity at the Heart of Blow Out

Exploring horror, film, and pop culture, all while celebrating the creators, history, and artistry that keep the genre alive.

512342

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Having a Japanese lager at the Charlotte, North Carolina airport and someone is playing Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag” on a piano. This is a level of surrealism I wasn’t prepared for.

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

It was fifty years ago today…

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND remains my favorite Robert Zemeckis movie. I won’t be taking questions.

020

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Happy (?) “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury to those who celebrate! users.wpi.edu/~zrbutzke/Do...

“There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury graphic

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Was it cool to see Florence Pugh in Spider1Msn: Brand New Day? Certainly. Would I rather see her in another splattery elevated horror? Absolutely.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Typically this would elicit little more than a shrug, but hey, it’s Zach Cregger. So, yeah, I’m in. Why do you ask? youtu.be/mNd1gb19A-c?...

youtu.be

RESIDENT EVIL – Official Trailer (4K)

YouTube video by Sony Pictures Entertainment

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

“The sci-fi vision becomes an escape hatch from reality, funded by private wealth and governed by private interests.” The Looting of Science Fiction aeon.co/essays/silic...

aeon.co

001

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Reading Nabokov to Obi-Wan. Alas, he’s not impressed.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Tip: when “Jesse’s Girl” starts playing in the restaurant where you’re having lunch, you’re required to say, “Rick Springfield. He’s a buddy of mine!”

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

I am on Quick Bites reading the first few paragraphs of my story “It’s Always Ourselves We Fund in the Sea”, which you can find in the latest issue of Chthonic Matter Quarterly. youtu.be/s5T_fSxOuBE?...

youtu.be

Quick Bites s2e7 Derek Austin Johnson

YouTube video by Horror Words Podcast

020

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Yeah. I purchased it with a gift card. I’ll do what I can to carve out time for it.

000

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Krull. I’ve never seen it. Yay or nay?

210

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

These are designed to scare people, not hurt them.

010

Derek Austin Johnson @daj42.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Top Five Favorire Horror Movies of 2026 (So Far): 1. Exit 8 2. Obsession 3. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 4. Hokum 5. Backrooms Honorable Mention: We Bury the Dead

220