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Welcome, and thanks for stopping by.
It's my hope this web page will serve as easy access to my creative work. I'm currently focusing my energy on screenwriting, so if you don't see much new poetry or fiction here it either means:
a) I'm hard at work on my latest cinematic masterpiece, or
b) I'm playing way too much Xbox.
Obligatory caution -- some of these pages or the links within may contain language or images intended for mature audiences. Okay, enjoy . . .
What's New?
2/7/12 -- I've been selected as a top-10 finalist in the Industry Insider Screenplay Contest. For the next 12 weeks I will be working with a Story Specialist from The Writer's Store to complete my screenplay Beyond the Indigo Veil, which is based off the following log line from producer Todd Garner (Knight and Day, The Sorcerer's Apprentice): a father and son find themselves trapped in the Bermuda Triangle after embarking on a quest to discover what happened to the father's missing parents.
1/2/12 -- West Pigeon Press has announced they will be publishing my short story "The Third List" in an upcoming anthology.
Reviews & Awards
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The Little Room Above: -- Semi-Finalist, 2009 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Contest: "an original, new twist on the hallucination/reality thriller ... fantastic and imaginative ..." -- 3rd place, 2008 StoryPros Screenplay contest: "a strong and distinctive psychological horror script ... nightmarish in tone..." -- Top 15%, 2010 Nicholl Fellowship entries
Stagnant: -- Quarter-Finalist, 2010 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Contest: "wickedly disturbed ... an incredible Lovecraftian tale ... very clear and creative visuals help advance the story, even for those who may not be familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's work." -- Semi-Finalist, 2010 Shriekfest Screenplay Contest -- Finalist, 2009 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival Screenplay Contest
-- The most thought-provoking offering in the issue: Minier takes a hard look at society's obsession with the pureness and innocence of babies and our equation of youth with purity. The unexpected ending lobs an extra level of surrealism onto this grim tale -- Suzanne Church, Tangent Short Fiction Review
-- Started off like it was going to be one of those Alzheimer's stories that I've certainly had more than enough of, but then it zags when I expect a zig ... This story is funny and gross and horrifying: the ending is disturbing and fitting - Minier straddles well the line of humor and horror. I found this the best story of the issue - LiveJournal |
Slasher : -- Quarter-Finalist, 2010 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Contest: "compelling to read ... authentic ... an original coming of age story" -- Semi-Finalist, 2009 Shriekfest Screenplay Contest: "Well-written, flowing, darkly cerebral without a typical ending which I found refreshing; something I would like to see."
"The Third List": [S]imply masterful. Each time the reader thinks he knows what's happening, Minier spins his plot elegantly sideways, leading us somewhere new but equally compelling ... The Third List is wonderfully descriptive and effectively gruesome and eerie to boot, making it a pitch-perfect dark holiday fable. A+
"Stuck": -- The unlucky central character of Sam Minier's "Stuck" is plagued by nocturnal regrets and unhappy replays of her life. Those are traps in themsevles, but there's a physical one to exacerbate matters, and her escape proves more hideous than her plight. --Grand Master of Horror Ramsey Campbell -- A particularly well-written piece, subtle and heart- wrenching, even to the bloody end. --Nickolas Cook, HELLNOTES.COM This is not a pleasant story, but neither is it trite nor shallow; Minier handles his difficult subject matter well and succeeds in creating characters who feel like a real family -- dysfunctional but trying to be loving, too, and struggling to make life work. -- Alex Dally Macfarlane,The Fix Short Fiction Review This is good stuff .... It deals with abuse and dysfunctionality, it deals with children and wonder, it deals with blood and horrific things. I liked it, but it wasn't a pleasant read. Not all good fiction is... -- Anonymous review at theanonreader.wordpress.com
"Treats": Another of my favorites [from Read by Dawn 3] ... In this surreal story Minier presents us with a macabre trick or treating ritual. Extremely disconcerting and nightmarish, you'll definitely be asking for seconds when you're finished ... -- Fatally-Yours.com review
"No matter how piercing and appalling his insights, the desolation creeping over his outer world, the lurid lights and shadows of his inner world, the writer must live with hope, work in faith." - J.B. Priestley
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"Sam Minier is a terrifically talented writer--innovative, creative, unusual, a lateral thinker." -- Sandra Kasturi, Chizine Publicationcs
"Game of Friends": [Tells] a good, taunt horror tale squarely in the Arkham tradition, notable for its characterization, sharp writing, and suspense. -- Amy Sterling Casil, SFReader.com
Honorable Mentions in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: "Quiet Flickings, Milky Darkness", Vol. 14 "Figment and Other Bedtime Friends", Vol. 15 "Fair Day", Vol. 19
"The Stone (Lowlnthorne)": 2001 nominee for the Science Fiction Poetry Association's Rhysling Award |
