Michael G. Williams 🏳️‍🌈

@mcmanlypants.bsky.social

2321 Followers 1848 Following

I write queer horror & sci fi. Gay, Appalachian native, infosec professional, 2020 Manly Wade Wellman winner, co-host of Arcane Carolinas. He/him. michaelgwilliamsbooks.com #BlackLivesMatter #TransLivesMatter #SFWA #HWA #LGBTQ #FuckICE

A flyer for a reading event and book talk at Arcana Durham on June 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The event is titled "Queer Fiction: Taking Pride in Our Writing" and will feature Natania Barron, Jes Malitoris, and Michael G. Williams. Arcana Durham is a 21-and-up establishment serving craft cocktails and mocktails in a speakeasy-inspired setting. It's located at 331 W Main St, Durham, NC 27701, with the entrance at the back of the building (the parking lot side).
The set of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at Camel City Playhouse in Winston-Salem, NC, USA. The set is dressed as the stage in a small rock club.
An orange tabby cat with very sleepy eyes reclining atop a blanket with a tarot card pattern on it.
Diane Lane and backup singers in the rock musical "Streets of Fire".
The contents of a directory named "Audiobook," containing files for chapters of Michael's queer Appalachian cosmic horror novel CHILDREN OF SOLITUDE.
A registration promotion flyer for the NC Writers' Network Spring Conference 2026, on Saturday, April 18, on the campus of UNC Greensboro. For more info, visit ncwriters.org.
A flyer for "Murder in the Mountains: Dark Fiction Readings from the Old Marshall Jail," a reading event by the North Carolina chapter of Horror Writers Association! Live Reading Event, Q&A, Book Signing, Free Admission. Saturday, Feb 21 6-9 PM. Zadie's Market Restaurant & Bar @ The Old Marshall Jail, Marshall, NC
A flyer for "Murder in the Mountains: Dark Fiction Readings from the Old Marshall Jail," a reading event by the North Carolina chapter of Horror Writers Association! Live Reading Event, Q&A, Book Signing, Free Admission. Saturday, Feb 21 6-9 PM. Zadie's Market Restaurant & Bar @ The Old Marshall Jail, Marshall, NC
A flyer for "Murder in the Mountains: Dark Fiction Readings from the Old Marshall Jail," a reading event by the North Carolina chapter of Horror Writers Association! Live Reading Event, Q&A, Book Signing, Free Admission. Saturday, Feb 21 6-9 PM. Zadie's Market Restaurant & Bar @ The Old Marshall Jail, Marshall, NC
A flyer for "Murder in the Mountains: Dark Fiction Readings from the Old Marshall Jail," a reading event by the North Carolina chapter of Horror Writers Association! Live Reading Event, Q&A, Book Signing, Free Admission. Saturday, Feb 21 6-9 PM. Zadie's Market Restaurant & Bar @ The Old Marshall Jail, Marshall, NC
A potential cover for a collection of horror short stories by Michael G. Williams. The collection is titled "ONLY NICE THINGS."
A promotional graphic noting that Michael has two awards-eligible works this year: CHILDREN OF SOLITUDE in the Novel category and SCAVENGER HUNT in the Novelette or Long Fiction categories.
An 1832 signature by David Dickey, Esq.
Isaiah smiled at her, and shook his head. "You say that, and I understand why you say that, but to be honest the experience of Sparkling Branch from within was entirely civil. Polite. Sometimes even kind." "And that's what makes them dangerous," Laura said after a few moments of silence. "They can make you feel like an outcast, and then they can make you miss them."
Chapter One - The Vision October 2021 Reginald Voth's dead mother first appeared to him at the moment of her own demise: a quarter to four on a Tuesday morning as he sat in bed trying to read.
Davey had on one of those candy necklaces gripped in his teeth, and he and his friend were sharing a laugh about something as they approached. Davey guffawed in his usual over the top way, but his friend expressed amusement with something closer to a Mona Lisa smile, a contained, controlled, almost mysterious upturning of the lips at the corners combined with an undeniable sparkle in his eyes. I’d always liked Davey’s friend—he brought him to Thanksgiving once a few years earlier and still I struggled to recall his name—but in the intervening seasons the guy had gone from cute college boy to drop-dead gorgeous. I was only three years older than Davey but I liked to think of him as my “little” cousin and that had extended to his friend as well by association. With one glance at Davey’s friend, all that got wiped away. I nearly didn’t call out to them, letting them enjoy whatever moment they were sharing and, frankly, too starstruck by Davey’s companion to know what to say without looking the fool or drooling on myself. But Davey spotted me, and in his typical way he stopped short in the middle of the intersection, extended one stick-thin arm, wrist limp, index finger arched to indicate me, and shouted from twenty feet away, “Oh, my STARS, Jordan, it’s my Big Cousin Nick!” And then Jordan favored me with that hide-everything smile of his, and his eyes sparkled. I leaned on my rolling cart/desk/podium thing, gripping the sides with both hands so hard my knuckles turned white, and opened my mouth to speak. After what felt like a delay of three or four days I managed, “Uh.” Davey was already dragging Jordan toward me, and I turned as purple as an eggplant in embarrassment at my own shyness. But Davey saw it, and he loved it about me—he always loved playing little pranks and getting me to blush when we were kids, it was exactly how he liked to stand in relation to others, being the one allowed to design chaos and then put others through it—and he laughed harder than ever.
“What does Mr. Gatsby do?” “He is a businessman.” I tried not to sound irritated. “Sure, but what business?” When the butler didn’t seem terribly interested in answering I added, “I was a business major. Just got my degree. It’s a professional curiosity, not an objection. Promise.” The butler didn’t laugh aloud at professional curiosity but it was an exchange of favors: he owed me one for me not laughing aloud when he used merriment. “He founded MillenniByte.” I waited for some further explanation, never having heard the name before. None seemed forthcoming. I felt like it would be an insult to ask what they did, given the butler’s clear expectation I should already know, so instead I said, “That’s awesome!” It sounded so dumb as soon as I said it that I started to blush. “How much is the room?” It turned out the room was ridiculously cheap by San Francisco standards, ridiculously expensive anywhere else. Some things are true in every era. Still, the ad said rent was negotiable. I made him haggle. When we settled, I wrote him a check for the first month’s rent and a deposit, then set my suitcase on the bed and grinned at the butler, arms wide as if showing it off to a first-time visitor. “I’m home!”
A black and brown tabby cat and a tuxedo cat sprawl playfully on a colorful space-patterned carpet.
The poster for an event titled "Rainbow in the Dark: Exploring Queer Horror with Michael G. Williams and Jes Malitoris, moderated by Jon Carroll Thomas." It features three robed figures blasting rainbows from under their cowls. The event is on 6/25 from 6 to 7 PM at the Durham County Library's Main Library.
A screenshot of a headline from the website of People magazine. It includes a photo of Queen Elizabeth II. The headline reads, "Queen Elizabeth's Final Diary Entry Contained Only Five Words."
A screen in a movie theater reading "Michael G. Williams - Books for people who love messed up movies! michaelgwilliamsbooks.com".
The cover for CHILDREN OF SOLITUDE, by Michael G. Williams. The image is of an old farm house against the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. It glows from within with evil red light.
The copyright page to a book titled “Children of Solitude” by Michael G. Williams.
A file folder for a property listed for sale. It contains a photo of a run-down one-story home painted white.
A white man with black hair, dressed in a foppish manner, stands beside a young boy with blond hair. They both smile.
Mrs. Briggs, a white woman with blond hair and a red blouse, speaks to Agent Cooper.
Two elderly men in a fight are separated by Big Ed and Sheriff Truman during a wake.
A high school administrator sits in his office. Behind him through a window we can see a bank of school lockers in a hallway.
Catherine Martell, a white woman with red hair, speaks to Sheriff Truman.
The title card for the TV show "Twin Peaks." It features the name of the show against a backdrop landscape including two mountains, a country road, and the "Welcome to Twin Peaks" sign at the edge of town.
The title card from the TV show "Twin Peaks," showing the title against a landscape view of two mountains, a country road, and the sign reading "Welcome to Twin Peaks."
Donna Hayward, a white teenage girl, reads aloud to Agent Palmer from the pages she recently discovered were torn out of Laura Palmer's diary.
An elderly man wearing a dress shirt and bow toe with a wide-brimmed hat smiles as he speaks to someone off-camera. They are standing in The Roadhouse, a local dive bar in Twin Peaks.
Agent Albert Rosenfeld speaks to Agent Cooper against a backdrop of fir trees. They each wear beige overcoats and the white button up and tie uniform of the FBI.
Jerry Horne offers sound legal advice to his brother Ben in the Twin Peaks sheriff station.
Leland Palmer sings and dances in the lobby of the Great Northern Hotel.
A book trailer video containing captions.
The Giant, a tall, thin man in a grey-blue dress shirt and a red bow tie, stands on a stage in the spotlight before a red drape curtain. A microphone is in front of him.
A shot of the entrance to Harold Smith's greenhouse.
The One-Armed Man, channeling the spirit of Mike, describes BOB to law enforcement in the conference room of Twin Peaks sheriff department.
Assistant Director Gordon Cole of the FBI addresses his subordinate, Special Agent Dale Cooper, in the lobby of the Twin Peaks sheriff department.
Leo Johnson sits in a wicker wheelchair, wearing dark sunglasses and a party hat. He is covered in paper streamers and has a kazoo in his mouth. Shelly and Bobby party behind him.
Judge Sternwood and Sheriff Truman drink Black Yukon Sucker Punches at the bar of The Roadhouse while Agent Cooper holds his and regards it.
Agent Cooper does a headstand while speaking into a miniature tape recorder.
Hank Jennings encourages Toad, a regular at the Double R Diner, to finish his meal in the kitchen when they worry a food critic is about to arrive.
Sheriff Truman, Judge Sternwood, and Agent Cooper sit at the conference table at Twin Peaks Sheriff Department, discussing the cases to be tried.
Agent Albert Rosenfeld sits in the wood-paneled conference room of the Twin Peaks sheriff department. He has his feet on the table in a pose of disregard, and he grins as he speaks sarcastically.
Harold Smith sits in his home and speaks to Donna Hayward. He is a caucasian man with dark brown hair and dark eyes. Behind him, viewers can see his orchid nursery.
Mrs. Tremond, an elderly white woman in a housecoat, speaks to Donna Hayward during a Meals on Wheels delivery.
Agent Rosenfeld reads to Agent Cooper from a case file over breakfast at the Great Northern. Behind them, a barbershop quartet begins to warm up.
The Giant, a tall, gaunt, bald man in a grey shirt with a red bow tie, towers over Agent Cooper where he lays on the floor of his room at the Great Northern Hotel.
A kindly waiter of great age offers Agent Cooper a glass of warm milk.
Special Agent Dale Cooper stands in a hotel hallway, speaking into a handheld miniature tape recorder.
Jacques Renault tells Special Agent Cooper all about Laura Palmer's last night alive during a break from dealing cards at One Eyed Jack's.
Horne Department Store manager, Emory Battis, speaks to someone else offscreen while being secretly observed.
Big Ed and Special Agent Dale Cooper, dressed for a night at a casino, discuss strategy.
The Log Lady addresses Agent Cooper, Sheriff Truman, Deputies Hawk and Brennan, and Doc Hayward over tea and cookies.
Sheriff Truman and Special Agent Cooper examine a copy of a magazine titled "Flesh World."
A console television displays the title screen for a soap opera called "Invitation to Love."
Deputy Director Gordon Cole of the FBI listens to Special Agent Dale Cooper.