2011 was an interesting year. I’ll stay out of politics for now, and just give you my favorite two or three of everything. What are your favorites? What did I miss? What made you say, “You’re crazy?” Let me know in the comments.
Books: I read a lot of indie books this year. Some were great, some were horrible, most were fine.
Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition) by Sharon Day and Julie Ferguson: You could cry foul here since I know the author through my writers group. I tell everyone from the group I only write honest reviews, and this is a legitimate five-star book. If you don’t read it, you’re missing out on something truly unique and interesting. 
Seed by Ania Ahlborn: It was difficult not to put this number one. Seed received the only other five-star review I gave all year. This is horror at its best as practiced by masters Poe, King, McCammon and now Ahlborn. Remember that name; you will hear more of it.
Fiction Podcast Episodes: 2011 gave us too many great stories to list. I could probably make this list fifteen stories long.
- Lonely At the Top – 19 Nocturne Boulevard: Two girls in very different times and places both make their way to the top – One finds exaltation, the other merely death. This story isn’t just great; it’s important.
- Tupac Shakur and the End Of the World: Great writing voice mixed with amazing voice acting make this a one of the top stories of the year.
- You Had Me At Rawwwr: There just aren’t enough zombie/human love stories out there.
Short Stories:
- Movement – Nancy Fulda: I can’t imagine writing so beautifully as Nancy, but the excellent writing is only icing on the cake. Movement delves into the mind of a girl who views time and space differently than everyone else. It makes a fascinating and poignant read.
- Playlist at the End – Weston Ochse: When do we love someone the most? When we have them or after we lose them? It’s a great question asked in a great story. The author has a reading on Youtube, or you can buy Shock Totem issue #4 for $0.99.
Movies:
- Rise Of the Planet of The Apes: I didn’t expect much from this movie. I went into it thinking it might be interesting and have some cool special effects. Instead, the movie delivered a fantastic story with the most compelling non-human character I’ve ever seen.
- Warrior: This movie came out of nowhere. An MMA movie about a broke teacher fighting to save his house may sound cheesy, but Warrior is a great example of character-driven storytelling.
- Insidious: Great classic horror movie feel. Relied on a fantastic setting instead of special effects. Titles like this and the upcoming Woman in Black give me hope for the future of horror movies.
Short Horror Films:
- The Harvester: I’m not a fan of serial killer stories, but this one is terrific. Great music and professional quality make this my favorite horror short of the year.
- Red Baloon: This one just had a creepy feel throughout. Cool premise and good acting.
Albums:
- La Dispute – Wildlife: This album blew me away, and literally made me cry. If you can listen to King Park or I See Everything with dry eyes, you have no soul.
- Faun – Eden: Usually renaissance folk music comes off sounding gimmicky, but Eden is real music played with traditional instruments. A beautiful and unique album.
- Flogging Molly – Speed Of Darkness: Celtic rock with an American attitude played with enthusiasm. Nothing pretty, just a lot of good music. Might be the best bar band out there.
Songs:
- I See Everything – La Dispute: Great song. Made me think, made me cry. Simply amazing. I can’t get enough of this band.
- Adam Lay Ybounden – Faun: I could just listen to this song over and over. It’s fun, interesting, has a good beat and beautiful singing. What more can you ask?
- Fear The Beard – Heavy Lord: With a name like that, what’s not to love? Plenty, actually. There’s slow 70s heavy guitar, a groove and a great beat. Metal fans need to check out the burgeoning scene in Russia. They are putting out some awesome music lately.
Thank you so much! That was a very weird book to write since I know of no other writers writing about psychic reads from abandoned sites. I did later take a local resident to an abandoned site and did a read and had her then confess the history of the place which matched up 100%, so at least I know my reads are dead on. Oh, and I would add Stake Land to that list of movies–wow!