Episode 007 – Robert Stahl | MAKE // BREAK
Robert E. Stahl is the Dallas-based horror author behind Show Me Where It Hurts (JournalStone, 2025), a debut collection of 30 short stories and poems exploring grief, transformation, and the monstrous within. A former bartender turned writer and filmmaker, Stahl built his voice at the intersection of prose and comics, drawing on influences like Swamp Thing while developing a pragmatic editing and submissions routine. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, he breaks down the “rejection math” behind landing pro-market placements, the origins of that unforgettable teeth cover, and the mindset that carried him from first readers to a book deal and Texas tour. It’s equal parts craft talk, resilience playbook, and indie-publishing reality check.
👀 What you’ll hear
Distil the title and teeth cover into a surprising origin story from a poem and a monster
Share the rejection-to-acceptance ratio and how persistence finally cracked pro markets
Explain how Swamp Thing and Monkey’s Paw tropes shaped a devastating reunion scene
Map the indie publishing path through grief, resilience, and landing with JournalStone
Detail a pragmatic editing system — cooling time, trusted first readers, revision boundaries
Offer brass-tacks routines for writing, submissions, and surviving the industry’s noes
🕰️ Chapters
00:00 Why Show Me Where It Hurts and the iconic teeth cover
01:52 Rejections, first pro-market sales, contest experiences
04:29 Political horror and placing in Story Unlikely
06:20 Swamp Thing influence and Monkey’s Paw mechanics
10:18 Publishing gauntlet, grief, and finding JournalStone
13:28 Resilience mindset — “the action is the juice”
16:39 Blood onstage story and Halloween gig
17:50 Books that reset creatives — King, Pressfield, Gilbert
18:44 Comics craft — Moore, Hickman, Gaiman shaping horror voice
25:37 Contemporary horror influences — Jones, Ketchum, Barker
39:45 Top films — Hereditary, The Descent, Talk To Me
48:06 Editing, first readers, routine, and rejection-proof habits
🔗 Guest Links
https://www.instagram.com/robert_e_stahl_author/
https://www.facebook.com/RobertEStahlAuthorhttps://x.com/RobertStahlTX
🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/makebreak
https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish
https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish
🔗 V13 Media Links
If this helped, subscribe and tell us in the comments how you handle rejection in the publishing grind
(explicit language)
#MakeBreak #Stahl #HorrorWriting
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