Vlad Vaslyn chats with The Storyside’s own Rob Smales about murder for yogurt, the lighter side of necrophilia, and the horribly hilarious collection of short stories he’s helped craft into a brand new release for Books and Boos Press: A Sharp Stick in the Eye and Other Funny Stories.

Rob Smales

Rob Smales is the author of Dead of Winter, which won the Superior Achievement in Dark Fiction Award from Firbolg Publishing’s Gothic Library in 2014. His short stories have been published in two dozen anthologies and magazines. His collection of short stories entitled Echoes of Darkness, published by Books & Boos Press (2016) received both two Pushcart Prize nominations and multiple honorable mentions on Ellen Datlow’s list of the Best Horror of 2016.

Most recently, his novella, “The Christmas Spirit,” was published in the anthology Triplicity: The Terror Project, Volume 1.

More about his work can be found at www.RobSmales.com, or you can look him up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Robert.T.Smales.

Vlad Vaslyn (a.k.a. Vlad V.) is the author of The Button, Yorick, and Brachman’s Underworld. His most recent stories, “Toon Time” and “The Somethings,” appeared in Insanity Tales III: Seasons of Shadow in June 2017 (The Storyside Press). His novella “Float” appeared in Insanity Tales II: The Sense of Fear in October 2015 (Books & Boos Press). His novella “The Sleep Artist” was published in Insanity Tales, a collection of dark fiction, in October 2014 (Books & Boos Press). His first kids’ book, The Moon is Dead!, was released in January 2015. His books are available through Amazon and most bookstores.

Vlad is an author, publisher, and host of the podcast 20 Minutes With …, a forum for authors to talk with authors and other creative personalities.

He is also the founder and managing editor of The Storyside, a publishing collaborative dedicated to bringing their best independent fiction to the market.

Vlad resides in Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in History & English from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.