AN UNFORGETABLE YEAR
2023 Reflections
Hello dear friends,
Quite honestly, this year feels more like several. So many things happened that I will undoubtedly leave something out. It was a year of incredible highs and unexpected lows. The only way I can justify such disparity is to say the wonderful moments wouldn’t be anything without the horrible ones being there to pull you crashing back to reality. I suppose highs and lows are better than what we all end up as; a constant flatline. I don’t mean to sound grim or ungrateful—I’m incredibly grateful for every waking moment I get to do this. But there are just some things we go through in life that are beyond comprehension.
Without further adieu, here is 2023 in a nutshell.
SO MANY AWESOME EVENTS
Scares That Care, KillerCon, Barnes & Noble, Monsta Xpo, and all the other events/signings this year were incredible. It was great to be able to sit down inside a major bookstore with close friends and sign. We appreciate everyone who showed up to support us. It was awesome to see my mom at Monsta Xpo! Awesome to meet so many people—authors and readers—I’ve interacted with online, in person, at Scares That Care and KillerCon. Can’t wait to do more of the same this year! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support.
MY LOVE
Thanks to my wonderful wife, Katie for being so selfless and helping me through the extremely horrible times this year. I could not have done it without you. You’re the best and I love you forever. I’m glad we got to travel and see so much random stuff this year. Where will we go in 2024? ;)
SAYING GOODBYE
I’ve already written an extensive piece on my father this year, but I’d like to say one more thing. For those who weren’t aware, I had to say both hello and goodbye to my dad this year in a very short duration due to a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. I learned how time passes and we all get caught up in seemingly unimportant things. How these tasks kind of fog our brains, sometimes until it’s too late. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Even if you think it’s impossible, push for it. My father was a good man. While our reconnection was brief, I’m grateful for the little time I was given.
I won’t pretend to know if something comes next after all this, or if we’re all just some computer algorithm, but if there is something afterward, I’m hoping to see you again, Dad.
PLAYGROUND CAUSES PANDEMONIUM
They wanted me dead, and that’s when I knew I had truly succeeded. In my humble opinion, art is a lot like wrestling. If you’re coming out to the ring and the people are cheering you, that’s great. If you’re coming out and they’re booing you, that’s also great. If you’re coming out and they’re quiet, you’re fucked. Because haven’t made an impact—you haven’t made them care.
I was very fortunate to get both over-the-top worship and execution-style jeers when Playground caught fire. The result saw the book pushed into the #1 slot on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I couldn’t be more grateful. To those who supported me, I’m forever indebted to you. To those who wanted me beheaded, let me tell you, in 2024, get ready to want me dead all over again.
I’ll leave this section with a quote.
“Art is anything you can get away with.”
—Andy Warhol
PLAYGROUND WINS THE SPLATTERPUNK AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
What can I say that I haven’t already. I’m honored to be a part of this genre and even mentioned in the same breath with the legends who came before me to pitch the tent poles. I’m nothing without them and I’m eternally grateful for this honor. I’m so glad the judges found Playground captivating because I poured my heart and soul into that one. Thanks again to everyone who voted.
FESTA EXTREME
My above post says it all. I’m truly looking forward to beginning a relationship with Festa Extreme. What a wonderful milestone.
THE OBITUARIES & THE LEGENDS
I speak for both Kristopher Triana and Daniel J. Volpe when I say it was an absolute honor to get to work with Extreme Horror legends Edward Lee and Bryan Smith this year. We couldn’t be happier with how the issues turned out and getting to have a relationship with each of them was something special. Thanks so much to Mr. Lee for sending me this signed Zebra copy of Creekers!
WET MARKET & MORBID CURIOSITIES
This year I released my first 3 book series. It was really fun and tied into my love of old, strange television shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Releasing these books was truly a challenging task but also an absolute blast. Will we return to the Morbid Curiosities shop in the future? Only time will tell…
Wet Market was the first-ever AB Horror Exclusive release. I understand this isn’t ideal for all readers, but in an age where people want to erase your existence for a horror story, sometimes making the material more difficult to obtain is a good thing. Hence why this book of depravity was only released in paperback form on ABHorror.com
As a result, it has become the top-selling item in the history of my website. Thanks to everyone for understanding and supporting one of my most depraved works. And if you haven’t voted for it yet as Best Collection for this year’s Splatterpunk Awards and think it’s deserving, please send your vote to: SplatterpunkAwards@gmail.com
SCREAMS FOR TEENS!
It was an honor to supply 3 classrooms full of teens with age-appropriate dark fiction books this year! Blood Bound Books also did 3 classrooms as well, and hopefully, Screams for Teens will continue to help children across the US explore literary works for years to come!
OLD FRIENDS AND NOSTALGIA
I was able to close out the year by seeing some old friends at my 20-year Central Falls High School Reunion (yes, I’m old now). Then, for Christmas, I saw some of my friends and had some fun. Here are some bonus pictures to close out the post!
One final thanks to everyone who has supported me. I look forward to 2024 and seeing how things unfold. Thanks a million!
UNTIL NEXT TIME… KEEP IT 100% HORROR!
Aron Beauregard is the TWO-TIME Splatterpunk Award-winning author of such atrocities as The Slob, Playground, All Smiles Until I Return, Modern Hysteria, Yellow, and countless others.
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All the best for 2024, Aron 🙌
Happy for your successes this year, brother. I hope 2024 is a good one for you