I could literally fill one of my typical publishing links entries with “end of year stats” from various agents, and I encourage writers to go out into the agentosphere looking for them, because their variety provides some real insight into the diversity of the literary representation biz.

But no, I will not roll out a runner of stat links.  Instead, I offer a list of recent writing and publishing links that seem curiously bound by the themes of fear, death, and the macabre, perhaps more appropriate for this dark time of year than it might seem.

Jade Smith blogs about writing dark, horror fiction that is more about emotions and consequences than blood and gore.  Mandy Morgan gives us another teaser from her YA novel about a young zombie on a quest to retrieve the soul her parents sold on eBay.

Business Week tackles the touchy subject of e-Books in a piece titled “Averting a Digital Horror Story.”  And, giving an insider’s view to the dangers of digital, Editor Eoin Purcell declares that “Bookstores Are Dead: And I Killed Them.”  (Thanks to BookSquare for pointing me toward these!)

Chasya at Dystel & Goderich tells a writer how to bring a query back from the grave: On Resubmitting Manuscripts.  And like a dark mirror of this subject, agent Janet Reid replays for us the tragic death of her New Year’s Resolution at the merciless hands of cruel “prosers” pouncing from the tall grass.

Jessica at BookEnds gives us a real-life case study in what happens to clients when an agent leaves an agency, something that addresses the fears many writers feel when committing to an agent.  In this same open vein, Eric at Pimp My Novel tells us about the peril of books marched off to the pulp machine.