The Shape of... Horror?

The Shape of Water won four Oscars and a slew of other awards over the last few months. It deserved them; it's easily one of the best films of 2017. But it's far from the first piece of fiction to tell of the love between woman and fish-man.

Separated at birth? Left: The creature from Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water.
Right: John Davie's illustration of the One from the Deep for Horror Heroes 2.

Two years before it even previewed, I released my own take on the love of a man from the depths of the ocean and a modern woman in a short story simply titled "The Beach House." As part of the anthology Horror Heroes 2, it told the story of a young woman named Lynda. Out on her own for the first time after a pampered childhood, she quickly finds herself in trouble when she moves into a beach house with several other students seeking freedom. But the strange boy that saves her one night on the sand quickly sends her life in a direction she could never imagine...

Perhaps it's nothing Oscar worthy, but "The Beach House" is a compelling entry in my writing history. It's well worth a check for anyone that wants to see more creatures from beneath the sea, or just want to see me write something a bit more romantic.

Horror Heroes 2 is an anthology of monsters turned heroes. It also features "Frankenstein & The Rejects" by Travis Hiltz and Darrin Albert's "Steamed,"  which features Bigfoot. It is now available in print and Kindle editions.