"Transmission" Gets Some Love from Two 'Craftian Giants

As any regular reader of The Cosmicomicon knows by now, my story "Transmission" was published in the acclaimed anthology Dead But Dreaming 2 from Miskatonic River Press.  That's the news already in circulation.

What's more recent is the reception "Transmission" has received, which has honestly blown me away and humbled me in identical measure.  As I've shared on various platforms and shouted conversations, "Transmission" was the very first short story I ever penned since I dashed off some overly long and breathless heroic fantasy tale in my Honors English class my senior year of high school (which received an "A+++" and a note from my teacher encouraging me to pursuing prose writing, which I promptly ignored as I focused instead on God awful psychedelic poetry, music journalism, a humor/satire column, and finally a Lost Decade of screenwriting).

Since the release of Dead But Dreaming 2, friends, peers, and reviewers have responded favorably to "Transmission", which has lately included some of the biggest names in Lovecraftiana, most notably HPL scholar, critic, editor, and High Priest S. T. Joshi, as well as the Eldritch Queen of Lovecraftian Horror W.H. Pugmire.

Just today, a hastily scrawled note was slipped under my electronic door, containing a forthcoming review of "Transmission" (and I assume Dead But Dreaming 2) by none other than Mr. Joshi himself, who wrote:

"T. E. Grau’s 'Transmission' effectively utilises the remoteness of the parched Southwest to evoke horror—a horror that comes from the chilling and potentially cataclysmic messages heard on a radio transmission." - S. T. Joshi

Impressing Joshi, even in the slightest, is a major accomplishment, as not only is he the Kingpin of Lovecraftian academia and critique, but he's also a notoriously tough editor and discriminating reader, known far and wide for his strong opinions on the state of modern Lovecraftian fiction, and the quality of the many, many books he has compiled.  That he even noticed my story is a coup.  Drawing a positive mention is a feat I would never have dared contemplate.

Weeks prior, W.H. Pugmire, arguably the most acclaimed and sought-after pure Lovecraftian scribe working today, posted a review of Dead But Dreaming 2 at the amazon.com site, which included this lovely note about "Transmission":

"It astonishes me that 'Transmission' is T. E. Grau's first published story. He is off to a brilliant beginning. He has been working for a decade as a screenwriter in Hollywood, but that is a very different kind of writing than the short story form. This is one of the creepiest stories in the book, superbly told." - W.H. Pugmire

It might seem crass to share reviews of one's own story, but I really couldn't keep my yapper shut about this.  I'm so incredibly thankful, and feel blessed and lucky (or blessedly lucky) to have received such a warm reception for my writing, especially coming from two Cyclopean Big Wigs such as S. T. Joshi and W.H. Pugmire.  They're the swirling yin and yang of the HPL Omniverse, and I somehow managed to please both of them.  Oneness has been achieved.

The positive cosmic hum continues, and I'm lulled to contentment by the song it plays.  Thanks to ALL who have read and supported my work, and continue to do so, as more of my stories leak out into the candlelight.  I'm indebted beyond words.  It's the juice that makes the squeeze totally worthwhile.