Kelly Williams and her son, Daetrin Gonzales, holding her prize
A far shot of the Open Air Market and Festival at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, CT. Photo Credit: Mel Tavares, Rocky Hill (CT) Patch ~ http://rockyhill.patch.com/users/mel-tavares
This Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven authors will be available to meet people and sign their work at the ninth annual Middletown Open Air Market at the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate.
The seven authors at the market will be Kasey Shoemaker (Silver Vengeance), Stacey Longo (Malicious Deviance, Hell Hath No Fury), Dan Foley (No Longer Dreams, Damned Nation), Kristi Petersen Schoonover (Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole: Tales from Haunted Disneyworld), Kurt Newton (Breaking Eggs,The Wishnik), Rob Watts (Huldufólk), and Greg X. Graves (Codex Nekromantia).
The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate is located at 421 Wadsworth Street in Middletown. For a list of vendors, check out the website, http://wadsworthmansion.com/html/openAirMarket2011.html.
Actor and Director Talk about Their New Film by Jason Harris
Actor Zachary Quinto (2009’s Star Trek, Heroes) started his production company, Before the Door, in 2008 and its first film, Margin Call, is being released Friday.
The film is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. Entry-level analyst, Quinto’s Peter Sullivan unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm; a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster.
Quinto said the script was “fantastic.” He also liked how the film “handled the subject matter.”
“I liked how it drew me in,” Quinto said. “I thought it was really compelling material.”
Margin Callis written and directed by J.C. Chandor, his first feature film. He doesn’t know if the timing of the film’s release during the Occupy Wall Street movement will help the film’s marketing efforts.
Zachary Quinto and J.C. Chandor on the set of Margin Call
“It’s certainly rewarding,” Chandor said. “It takes many years to make a film. To be able to introduce a film into that environment is very rewarding.”
Chandor said he has visited the New York City Occupy Wall Street site.
“It’s very inspiring that people are actually out in the street having their opinions heard,” Chandor said.
Chandor said he will have to wait and see if the movement helps the film at the box office.
“We wanted to give the viewer an entertaining look into this field,” Chandor said. “Hopefully it will give the viewer a greater understanding of who we’re protesting against.”
Chandor doesn’t think it will be a challenge marketing a film about an unsympathetic company taking advantage of people.
“You don’t have to like everyone in the movie,” Chandor said. This is about coming into a world where you really aren’t supposed to like everyone in it. Every character is human. In the same way a horror movie can be entertaining and fun, you are with these people in their every day professional lives. You see it from a different point of view.”
Chandor mentioned two reasons for people to see the film.
“I would say a reason to see Margin Call is hopefully it entertains you for an hour and a half,” Chandor said. “We tried
to make a compelling drama. The second thing is we tried to do is give the viewer insight into a world they are not normally privy; a world not normally available to them.”
Along with Quinto, the film stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.
“The cast was an unbelievably great surprise,” Chandor said. “These actors really believed in the project. It made it that much more rewarding.”
Chandor said the 17 day shoot helped the film land actors with very busy schedules. The shooting schedule was “very short in the world of filmmaking,” he said.
The performances turned in by Spacey and Irons were everything Chandor could dream of as a writer and director, he said.
“It was actually a bit of a risk at the time to cast Kevin in a role that is essentially for much of the film supposed to be quite empathetic with the audience,” Chandor said. “In the past, it might have been more typical to cast him as the CEO.”
Chandor said Spacey inhabited the character and made it his own.
Quinto in a scene in Margin Call
Quinto prepared for his role by shadowing some Wall Street workers at Citibank.
“The Citibank workers were really supportive and really available,” Quinto said. “They were able to help myself and the other actors.”
Chandor had several incidents in late 2006 through 2008 that inspired him to write Margin Call, which he started writing
three years ago, he said.
The movie will be available in theaters and on video on demand. Check out the film’s website, http://margincallmovie.com/
for the theaters showing the film.
David Price
It’s been a while since I’ve been to a convention of any kind, and I’ve never been to a horror convention before. I used to go to the occasional comicon when I was younger, but I gave those up about twenty years ago. I didn’t know what to expect from Rock & Shock, but I went there on a mission: to meet some of the writers of the New England Horror Writers’ organization. My brother, Denny, came with me, since he is a horror fan as well and was curious to check it out.
When we got there, my brother wanted to know if I wanted to find the horror writers first. “Nah,” I said. “Let’s check the place out, and when we find them, we find them.” So we wandered and meandered through the maze of B-schlock horror dvds, gory movie posters, bizarre original art and gruesome dolls that no parent would let there kids play with, unless they were trying to raise a serial killer. In short, it was awesome! Or so I thought.
Denny is a big fan of zombie flicks, so he was drawn over to a guy who was selling zombie swimsuit calendars. He was nice enough, but he seemed really nervous. His eyes kept darting left and right, as if he was expecting something bad to happen. My brother was really interested in the calendar, but we told the guy we wanted to go through the whole place once and get a feel for what we wanted to spend our money on. We promised we’d be back later.
Eventually, we found our way to the NEHW table. I introduced myself to the first guy I met there, John McIlveen, who gave me a big, strong, fuzzy handshake. Did I say fuzzy? Well, his palm may have been a bit hairy, I guess. Maybe I just imagined it. He introduced me in turn to Scott Goudsward, Danny Evarts, and Stacey Longo.
I had the idea that I wanted to get some of the novels that our members had written, so I could review them on Amazon. Still, when I got there I saw there were more books than I could possibly afford at one stop, so I asked Scott what he recommended.
“Well, mine are over there,” Scott answered, “but I don’t want to pimp myself so…”
“No go ahead,” I encouraged. “Pimp yourself. What books have you written?”
“Well, there’s Shadows Over New England and Shadows Over Florida, about haunted locations in those states,” Scott said. “And then there’s Trailer Trash.”
“Oh really, what’s Trailer Trash about?” I asked, curious.
“It’s about his life,” John McIlveen joked.
Scott smirked. “Yeah, well … see, it’s about this kid who becomes a vampire hunter, but eventually he realizes he has a lot in common with the monsters and ends up befriending them.” That sounded good to me, so I grabbed a copy and went over to the other table.
“What do you recommend, Stacey?” I asked.
“There are some anthologies over here,” Stacey said. I saw some of her short stories were in those collections. “There are also some vampire books over here. I don’t particularly like vampire books, she added. “They get everything wrong.”
My brother snapped a phone picture of Stacey and I looking over the anthologies, and then called me over. “Dave, try this one by Jennifer Yarter-Polmatier.” He showed me a book called The Madness Within. “It’s about a girl who grows up to be a serial killer.” That sounded good to me, so I picked up a copy. And hey, who can resist a book of haunted stories set in Disney World? So I grabbed Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole by Kristi Petersen Schoonover. John McIlveen was selling Strange Seed, so I took one of those as well. My brother had been talking with author Nathan Wrann while I was shopping around. He introduced me and we started talking about what he was selling.
“Give me your elevator speech,” I prompted.
“Well, I don’t really have an elevator speech,” Nathan admitted.
“Okay, what’s this one about?” I asked.
“That’s a young adult vampire story,” Nathan explained. I picked up a copy of the book called Dark Matter Heart. “Kind of like Twilight without the romance.” Not being a fan of Twilight, I just smiled, nodded and put it down. Nathan could tell I wasn’t interested in the bloodsucker book, so he showed me another. “I also have this one over here, called Europa.”
“What’s that about?” I asked, now a little hesitant after the YA vampire novel.
“It’s like The Thing.” Nathan said. That perked me up. John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, as far as I’m concerned. Nathan explained that this book was about a team of scientists working on a moon of Europa, “so it’s got that atmosphere of perfect isolation.”
Now, personally, I think the best horror stories always have that element of isolation. There has to be no chance of rescue, you know? You’re on your own and have to survive the monster and escape to freedom. Bleak isolation is present in The Thing, Alien, The Shining and Night of the Living Dead, as well as so many other great horror stories. He had me convinced. That was enough for now, I knew I could buy a few more at Anthocon in a few weeks, which was the next con the NEHW would be at. Until then, I had enough reading material to hold me over. I got all the books signed by the authors who were present. An attractive woman in a smokin’ miniskirt had also wandered over. She turned out to be Yarter-Polmatier, so I was able to get her book signed also.
Pumpkinhead statue
My treasures in hand, Denny and I went to check out the celebrity room. Naturally, there were long lines for the top celebrities like Robert Englund, Lance Henriksen, and Roddy Piper. For reasons I can not rationally explain, Ace Frehley had at least a hundred people waiting to meet him. Denny noticed a few celebrities with the word “zombie” among their movie credits, so we decided to visit them. The first was Addy Miller, a ten year old girl who had the distinction of being the very first zombie on The Walking Dead. We talked a while with her friendly mother before moving on to the next zombie. In the almost exact opposite corner of the room sat Sherman Howard, who played the zombie Bub from Day of the Dead. Denny got an autographed picture of Bub with a razor to his face. Sherman signed it “There’s something about an aqua velva man.”
We decided to check out the rest of the convention and make good on our promise to visit the zombie calendar guy again.
“Oh, it’s you guys again, thanks for coming back,” he said appreciatively. “My name’s Rocky and the calendar was my idea.” We introduced ourselves as well. I told him I was here to see the horror writers, but I was impressed with the rest of the event as well. “Look guys, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”
“What’s the favor?” Denny asked. Rocky looked quickly to his left and right. When he was convinced the vendors nearest us were busy with their customers, he started hurrying through his story nervously.
“I’m so screwed,” Rocky told us. “I won the lottery!”
“What’s wrong with that?” Denny asked.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “People are usually happy when they win the lottery.”
“No, not that kind of lottery,” Rocky said. “The freakin’ Rock and Shock lottery, man!”
“What’s the Rock and Shock lottery?” I asked.
“Yeah, what could be so bad about dinner with Robert Englund, or something like that?” Denny laughed. “Freddy Krueger give you nightmares?” I chuckled.
“No, it’s not like that,” Rocky said. “With the Rock and Shock lottery, winning is definitely losing. I get to be the lamb!”
“What lamb?” I asked.
“Jesus, I thought you said you were with the writers,” Rocky said, exasperated.
“Actually this is my first time meeting them. It’s my first time at Rock and Shock too,” I explained.
“Freakin’ virgins! Great, just great.” Rocky ran his fingers through his spiked hair and looked around fearfully, yet again. “The lamb,” he continued, “is the sacrificial lamb, man. Every year one vendor is sacrificed to the horror icons on Saturday night. In return for the sacrifice, the horror icons bestow prosperity on the rest of the vendors for one year, until the next Rock and Shock. That’s the lottery that I won.”
“Come on, buddy. You’re messing with us,” Denny replied.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much the plot of the Shirley Jackson story,” I noted.
“Oh really?” Rocky said. “In the Shirley Jackson story, do the horror icons sit around this big table and drink the blood of the sacrifice out of a giant punch bowl? Hmm? Do they? All the other vendors just sit there and watch. I know, I’ve seen it a half dozen times.” He stopped a moment, shrugged, and continued his tale.
“It’s a sickening sight. I bet you expect me to say the horror icons physically morph into the demons they play in the movies. It’s not that simple. It’s more like a possession takes hold of them. Look, these horror icons, they seem like nice, friendly people when you talk to them. But at the sacrifice, it’s like you can see this evil invading their souls. They still look the same, mostly, but you can still tell they’ve turned into monsters. It’s a horrible thing to see. Gary Busey is an animal.” He was even more agitated now as he apparently contemplated his fate.
“Why would the vendors keep coming back, if there was a chance of that?” I said.
“Are you kidding? In this economy?” Rocky said. “People will do just about anything for a year’s worth of prosperity. There’s a hundred vendors here. That’s only a one percent chance you’ll get chosen. It’s worth the risk.”
“Well, then stop complaining about it,” Denny said, playing along.
“I’m not so sure I want to join the New England Horror Writers group if there is any chance I could get killed at a con,” I joked.
“Oh, the writers, they’re not vendors,” Rocky said. “Technically, they’re part of the celeb room.”
“So do they drink the blood too?” I asked, curious to see where he was going with this.
“No, they don’t drink the blood, but they don’t sit with the vendors, either,” Rocky whispered. “They just stand around the table near the horror icons. They drag the body of the victim off. Then they’re gone.”
“Well that doesn’t sound too bad, Dave,” Denny kidded. “Maybe you can join them after all.”
“Listen,” Rocky interrupted. “I’m having this party with all the zombie girls from the calendar. If you guys help me get outta here, you can come. It’s gonna be sick. You’d like that, right? Come on guys, help a brother out.”
“Why can’t you just leave on your own?” Denny asked him.
“Cause they’re watching me, man!” Rocky whined. “Plus, I’m sure they’ve messed with my car by now. I’ll never get away. I need a distraction,” he thought it over for a few frantic moments. “Okay, I’m going to summon my girlfriend; she’s the zombie on the cover. She does this great dance of the dead. After she gets up on the table, people will gather around. It’s really hypnotic. You guys can sneak me out of here then.”
“She’s coming in zombie makeup?” I asked.
“Not makeup, man. She’s a real freakin’ zombie! All the calendar girls are.” Rocky exclaimed. “You guys really are Rock and Shock virgins.”
“All right then,” Denny said. “We’ll come back when your zombie girlfriend gets here and smuggle you out, okay?”
“When will she get here?” I asked.
“In a little bit,” Rocky’s eyes rolled back in his head and a bit of drool slid out of the corner of his mouth. Denny and I just looked at each other. Was he having a stroke? In a few seconds, Rocky snapped out of it. “All right, I just summoned her. She’s on the way.”
“Yeah, okay,” Denny said. “We’ll check back in a little while. Then we can help you escape, or whatever.” We walked away.
When we got around the corner, I said, “What a nut case!”
“Maybe it’s just part of the show,” Denny suggested.
“That’s got to be it,” I agreed. “Like some prank on Scare Tactics. Want to go get zombie caricatures of ourselves?”
“Let’s see how long the line is,” Denny said. Along the way, we bumped into Stacey from the NEHW.”
“Oh, hi again,” I said.
“Hi David,” she said. “Did I see you guys talking to the zombie calendar guy?”
“Oh, yeah, Rocky,” I confirmed. “That guy must have forgotten his meds or something.”
“You were over there for quite a while,” Stacey said, folding her arms in front of her.
“Well, he had this really crazy story to tell,” I explained. “We were actually wondering if it was some sort of trick the Rock and Shock people pull on unsuspecting noobs.”
“What did he tell you?” Stacey asked, blinking innocently.
“Something about a lottery and a sacrifice,” Denny said.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to divulge the whole story to Stacey, just in case, you know? But since Denny started the ball rolling and I am not very good at making up lies on the spot, I decided to relay Rocky’s twisted tale to Stacey. “He’s nuts, right?” I said.
“Huh,” Stacey said, licking her lips. She looked around and moved closer to me, showing a little too much tooth. I was uncomfortable, so I backed up until I hit a wall. “Listen, David. Jason likes how you stepped up to help out with the publicity committee. He thinks, maybe, that you have something to offer our group, some potential. I don’t know if he’s right, but that’s his call. In regards to Rocky, I just want to offer you this advice. Walk away.”
“Now wait a minute,” Denny said. “We don’t like threats.” Suddenly, two huge Predators came up behind my brother, and seized him. I had seen them earlier in the celebrity room and assumed them to be men in costumes, of course. Up close and personal, I wasn’t so sure those were costumes. My brother is not a small guy, but the Predators towered over him. Denny struggled a bit, to no avail. They had him.
“We don’t want any trouble,” I said. “Let my brother go.”
“I’m sure we can come to an arrangement,” Stacey smiled. “If you guys agree not to interfere with our dinner plans, then I can forget this ever happened.”
“Dinner plans?” I said.
“Of course,” Stacey said. “Rocky’s not a writer, so he doesn’t know what we do.”
“Yeah, he said you guys take the victim’s body and leave. That’s all he knew,” I said.
“The horror icons get the blood,” Stacey said. “But the horror writers, we get the meat!” She had a wild look in her eye and I felt real fear. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. If this was really just some prank, it was working. I wondered if was going to say–no, I prayed she would–“Are you scared? You should be, because you’re on Scare Tactics!”
My prayers were not answered.
“Okay, fine. Look, we’ll leave peacefully,” I said, holding my hands up. “Could you just answer a question for me?”
“What is it?” Stacey said.
“On Facebook, there was an invitation to go out to dinner that was sent to the whole group. Is that when you eat the meat? What if I had accepted?”
“In that case, Jennifer would have cast a glamour spell over you,” Stacey answered. “You would have been served whatever you ordered, but we would have been served the meat. The glamour would have kept you from seeing what we were really eating. All you would be able to see would be cheeseburgers, Caesar salads, quesadillas and the like.”
“Jennifer’s a witch?” I asked.
“She does have that Michelle Pfeiffer Witches-of-Eastwick-look going on,” Denny said.
“True,” I agreed. “Okay Stacey, we have a deal. We’ll leave quietly. When should we go?”
“Now would be good,” she instructed. “There may still be a place for you in the NEHW, but right now, you know too much. Just go home while I do damage control. And remember,” she added with a grin, “we know where you live. Jason mailed you a shirt, remember?”
Of course I remembered. I had ordered one of those cool New England Horror Writers t-shirts almost immediately after I joined the group. Denny and I left the building. It was not the bravest moment for a couple of hockey-playing construction workers, but we had entered a world we were not prepared for. In this case, discretion really was the better part of valor. As for Rocky, we felt bad, but he knew what he was getting into.
It was raining, so we hurried to the parking garage where I had parked my truck. I put the key in the ignition and turned. Nothing. I tried again. And again. Still nothing. Crap! I looked back at the parking garage attendant in her little booth, just a few parking spaces away. She pointed two fingers at her eyes, and then at us. I’m watching you. “We’re not going to say anything. We’ll mind our own business, I promise!” My shouts echoed hollowly in the parking garage. The attendant glared at us for a torturous amount of time, then nodded slowly. I turned the key again and the truck started. We got the hell out of there.
We drove home in silence for a while. About halfway home, Denny decided to look at the pictures on his phone. “Dave, look at this.” I was driving, but I glanced over.
“Yeah, so what. It’s a picture of me looking at books at the horror writers’ table.”
“Right,” he said. “But it was a picture of you looking at books that Stacey was showing you. She was right beside you.”
“She’s not in the picture now,” I said.
“But she should be.”
“Maybe you have the wrong picture?” I suggested.
“I’ve checked them all. I took three pictures Stacey should be in, but she doesn’t show up in any of them.”
“What are you saying. Stacey is a vampire?” I asked.
“Maybe,” Denny answered. “Hey, did you shake hands with John?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it just me, or did he have hairy palms? And I’d swear he sniffed me,” Denny commented.
“I thought I might have been imagining the hairy palms, but I noticed the sniffing too,” I remarked.
“What’s that a sign of, again?” Denny asked.
“Werewolf,” I admitted, my stomach sinking.
“Remember what John said about Scott’s book, Trailer Trash? It was Scott’s life story, an autobiography. What did he say it was about again?” Denny asked.
“Something about a monster hunter who sees the error of his ways and joins the monsters,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Denny said.
“Okay, so if Stacey’s a vampire, John’s a werewolf, Jennifer’s a witch and Scott is an ex-monster hunter, what about Nathan?” I said.
“I get the feeling he’s a new guy,” Denny said. “Maybe he hasn’t passed the initiation yet.”
I nodded. “What about Danny Evarts?” I said.
Denny thought about it for a minute. “You notice the way he stuck by Stacey’s side? Followed her around?”
“Yeah, so?” Denny said nothing, giving me a second to figure it out. “Oh, you think Danny’s a thrall?” He nodded. “I can see that,” I agreed. “So I guess I won’t be joining that horror writer’s group.”
“Why not?” Denny said.
“They’re freaking monsters man. I don’t know, but maybe that sounds kind of dangerous.”
“So? They seemed like a good group, otherwise. I liked them,” Denny explained. “Take out the whole Stacey threatening our lives thing, and I think it went well.”
“Well…I guess you’re right. I liked them too,” I said. “I guess we could give it another try at Anthocon and see how that goes.”
“I think we should,” Denny agreed. It occurred to me that John was having a potluck supper at his house in December. If I was still invited to it when the time came, I would be careful what I ate.
No mystery meat.
The article “Tips for Selling your Work: For Traditional and Self-Published Authors (Or Those Who Are Thinking about It) by Phil Sexton originally appeared on Writer’s Digest’s website (http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/tips-for-selling-your-work-for-traditional-and-self-published-authors-or-those-who-are-thinking-about-it)
Whether you’ve been published traditionally or are self published, your success as an author can only be measured by a few different things:
* Quality of the work
* Personal satisfaction
* Positive response from readers
* Copies sold
* Revenue generated
Now those last two elements might seem crass for those of us whose aspirations are more literary than monetary. But it’s the hard truth that impressive sales enable you to get more projects published, live more comfortably, and build a bigger readership.
To that end, we’re going to start posting occasional marketing tips from Rob Eager, author of the upcoming Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, and a freelance marketing specialist who has worked with numerous publishers and bestselling authors to help promote their books.
This week’s tip:
SEO is an abbreviation for a term used by website programmers and hosting companies that stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” This concept refers to employing various methods to make your website appear on the first page of displayed answers when someone conducts an Internet search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. There are both paid and free techniques that can be used to help the search engines find you and rank you higher than other sites. The problem is that there are all manner of technology sharks who will lure you into paying extra money to use their SEO “secrets.”
These techniques usually focus on trying to drive random people to your site when they conduct an Internet search. But, that’s not your goal as an author. Instead, you want to be the primary option when someone searches on your specific book topic or expertise. The good news is that you can enhance your search engine results for free through properly choosing your website metatags, keywords, blog posts, and providing lots of online articles on your subject. Tell your webmaster to make sure that your site contains keywords that focus on your name, book titles, and article titles.
As an author, you want targeted, repeat traffic to visit your website – not random, disinterested traffic. You’re trying to build a community, not a flea market of casual observers. So, don’t let people up-sell you on paid SEO services. Most of those tactics are a waste of money. You will grow legitimate website traffic as you build your reader community and strengthen word-of-mouth among your fans.
—Rob Eager
If you’re interested in self publishing, be sure to check out the official Writer’s Digest self publishing imprint, Abbott Press. We provide self publishing services, as well as education, information and a collaborative environment for creating your book. To learn more, simply click here. We’d be happy to discuss the options available to you.
Best
Phil
Here is an entry about Rock and Shock from Author Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s blog. Please click the link to see the video she put together, http://kristipetersenschoonover.com/2011/10/17/nightmare-in-worcester-nehw-rock-and-shock-2011-video-overview/.
NIGHTMARE IN WORCESTER: NEHW ROCK AND SHOCK 2011 VIDEO OVERVIEW
Writers, artists, and other creators spend a lot of time in isolation—not necessarily because we are actively crafting, but because, I’ve often felt, we seem to think differently.
Although I’ve always been comfortable in my surroundings, I’d forgotten how much fun it was to be around other people who share the same creative drives, dreams, ambitions and even habits. At this weekend’s Rock and Shock—where I worked the New England Horror Writers booth with several of my peers—I almost felt like I was on a different planet, one I wasn’t too anxious to leave.
I’m planning on writing something up for the NEHW blog that discusses this a little bit more in-depth, but for now, I think this mini-movie I made—at least for me—says it all. Enjoy!
The most successful NEHW panel was the Women in Horror panel. It was moderated by Trisha Wooldridge and the panelists were Tracy Carbone, Stacey Longo, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, and Kelli Jones. When I talk about success, I am talking about the attendance level. This panel had the most people in attendance and it was at the perfect time slot of 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The other three panels were Small Press and Magazines on Friday at 6 p.m., The Writers Studio on Saturday at 12 p.m., and E-Publishing Workshop on Sunday at 1 p.m. All the panels were informative and successful. An unsuccessful panel would have been a panel with no audience. Since this was the first year for the NEHW panels, it will just grow as the convention grows and continue to get better and better year after year.
Necon E-books panel: (from left to right) Kelli Jones, Matt Bechtel, Bob Booth, and Jack Haringa
The NEHW booth had a raffle and the prize was a coffin full of books. A coffin looking box, not an actual coffin. The winner was Kelly Williams, of Enfield, Connecticut. Her name was drawn out of the raffle container Sunday afternoon.
The raffle prize and winner's name
Here are some more pictures of convention attendees, celebrities, and other things at Rock and Shock.
Woman with werewolf baby
Ken Sagoes a.k.a. Roland Kincaid in Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Monster Golf at Rock and Shock
Roddy Piper talking with a fan
Derek Mears a.k.a Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th (2009)
Rock and Shock is getting better and better. I was happy to be there on Saturday and Sunday. The NEHW organization fits in well at this convention. It was fitting that Robert Englund, the original and best portrayer of Freddy Krueger, was at this year’s convention. He was always my favorite horror movie actor.
Robert Englund holding his autobiography, Hollywood Monster
It was great seeing the people of different ages walking the convention. There were young and old people walking between the booths in the dealer’s room. There were people wearing different movie t-shirts, but some even went further and dressed up in costumes.
Logan Miller, of Lunenburg, MA., strikes a pose as Freddy on Sunday
These costumed attendees gravitated to the NEHW booth to hang out with the authors.
Author Kristi Petersen Schoonover meeting two Rock and Shock attendees
A horror fan brought two different conventions together within his costume when he created a zombie Stormtrooper.
Author Greg X. Graves with the zombie Stormtrooper.
When groups of horror fans weren’t meeting horror icons, they were walking through the dealer’s room looking for a copy of Evil Dead: The Musical or that cool looking movie related t-shirt like Children of the Corn or the original Piranha.
Uncle Fright and posse at Rock and Shock
One dealer, Joe, has taken his love of movies and started a glass business, Glass by Joe. He has been working with stained glass for three years. He creates glass works of films like Ghostbusters and Jaws. He has also put the image of Freddy Krueger on stained glass.
Joe has even been commissioned by Kane Hodder, who has portrayed Jason Voorhees in a number of Friday the 13th movies, to create two pieces. Joe’s website is www.glassbyJoeo.com. Along with movie images, he also does landscapes, movie posters, and portraits to name a few.
This article, “A Writer’s Life, ‘I’ve Never Heard of You,'” by James Jackson is from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/james-jackson/a-writers-life_b_979923.html.
Some fourteen years ago now, the fellow had marched across a crowded airport departure hall in order to deliver his crushing verdict. He entered the bookstore in which I was signing copies of my first thriller, picked up and briefly studied the paperback and slowly put it down, looked me in the eye and told me straight. Absolutely no doubt about it, he had definitely not heard of me. I smiled and replied: ‘That’s because I don’t write children’s fiction’. Security was called.
Such are the trials and encounters involved in writing for a living. Some never get used to it. One friend of mine – a hugely successful bestselling author – confided to me she feels genuine pain whenever she is gratuitously criticised. The revelation amazed me, for affirmation surely came in the millions of her books purchased and read avidly by her fans throughout the world. But no, the occasional brickbat still hurt.
She should count herself lucky. Another friend – an actress – stepped from the stage-door after a feted West End performance and found two American tourists waiting for her in the rain. Her face lit up. ‘Did you enjoy the play?’, she enquired. ‘No, we really did not’, bluntly came the reply. Well, she did ask and one cannot win them all. Maybe those in the creative world should grow a thicker skin and accept that criticism and subjectivity are part of the deal. Frankly, m’dear I have never really given a damn.
Indeed, I have always worked on the basis that reviews – like media interviews – reflect more on the individual penning the plaudits or poison than on anything one has produced oneself. One Amazon review – read to me down the phone with great relish by my brother – spoke of how ‘It must be Jackson’s friends and family who give him such good write-ups… he will be needing them’. I suspect that particular contributor is a frustrated and unpublished novelist, for they are ever the most spiteful.
On a bathroom wall I still have framed the first rejection letter that I ever received from an editor. Rather naively, and without the advice of an agent, I had punted a manuscript in her direction. A terrible mistake. She wrote back: ‘The characterisation is thin, the dialogue unconvincing, and the violence gratuitous’. Ah well, that has never been known to stop a book deal. Within three weeks I had found myself an agent and shortly thereafter secured a pretty significant publishing advance (my agent bought herself a new pair of boots to celebrate). It was the very same book that provoked the airport bookshop incident. Beginner’s luck, I suppose.
Few things prepare one for a career as an author. I kicked against it for years, resenting the isolation and even finding myself smoking cigarettes with tree surgeons working nearby (I am a non-smoker). Only now do I fully embrace this life of gainful unemployment, the freedom to lunch, the advantage of not trudging to work through the sleet and snow and darkness.
Complete the book, push it out, get on with the next. That is how it goes. After almost two years since the start-point, the title hits the stands and promotion begins. So too does the wait to gauge it is heading into The Sunday Times top-ten bestseller list. A friend once rang to say she had seen my books piled high in a famed London store and had spread them around to create an impression of high demand. That afternoon a second friend rang to inform me he had noticed my books spread about in the same bookshop and had piled them up to ensure a stronger visual presence. Avoid help from those you know.
A new book now begins its gestation and another historical thriller is due to appear in January 2012. So the cycle continues, a challenge, a total immersion, a privilege. Whilst giving a talk in Cambridge, I was once asked if there was any genre of writing I would not attempt. An easy question. It would have to be sci-fi: things are strange enough with a fan base that occasionally dresses as Templar knights. Readers garbed in bacofoil spacesuits would probably drive me over the edge. Yet the life of a writer would be impoverished without the truly committed.
As for the editor who so cruelly dismissed my first manuscript all those years ago – I gather she now works in the soft furnishings business.
This article appeared at www.worcestermag.com.
Rock & Shock Returns to Worcester
By Trisha J. Wooldridge
Hordes of leather- and black-clad denizens of the underworld are crawling, walking or running into Worcester’s DCU Center and the Palladium this weekend of October 14- 16. There will be cries of terror, thundering earthquakes, and screaming guitar strings and fans. It’s Rock & Shock time again!
“I really enjoy coming to Rock & Shock because it’s New England’s horror con, and everyone we’ve met there has been great,” says Penny Dreadful, horrormovie hostess based out of Massachusetts and regular Rock & Shock guest. “This is New England’s big convention for all things monstrous and horrific, and there’s rock ‘n’ roll to boot!” Attendees to this year’s Rock & Shock get the added Shilling Shockers bonus of a free six-page preview of the upcoming comic, “Penny Dreadful’s Cauldron of Horror,” with artist Frankie Washington of Marvel Upper Dec art cards doing special signings on Sunday.
The DCU Center and Palladium host the unique convention pairing the horror industry with the rock and metal music industry. Not only do attendees get to meet horror icons such as Robert Englund and William Forsythe, but they get to see music legends like Ace Frehley and attend concerts given by local bands to headliners such as Insane Clown Posse.
Rock & Shock is the dark, evil love project of WAAF’s Kevin Barbare and Mass Concert’s general manager Gina Migliozzi. Based on both horror fans’ experiences at conventions, they wanted to create the unique event that is Rock & Shock. As the convention grows every year—with significantly more in 2011 than prior years, it’s excellent reputation grows with it.
“It actually makes it very tough to book the show because so many people want to come back here, year after year,” says Migliozzi. “You want to have them back, but you can’t because you have to have new people in, to keep it exciting and different.”
Barbare adds, “And if we weren’t a show where they wanted to come to or had a good experience with, it would be much harder to get them to come, even if they wanted the work.”
In fact, this year the convention has drawn the attention of Rhode Island’s Woodhaven Production Company, which will be hosting the world premiere of “Inkubus,” starring horror legends Robert Englund and William Forsythe, at Rock & Shock. It’s a full red-carpet affair drawing the entire cast, the director, writers and producer. Tickets are available exclusively as giveaways, by invitation or contest. Only paid attendees of Rock & Shock can attend the premiere and following Q&A.
Having the premier at Rock & Shock is “a win-win for everyone,” says producer Chad Verdi of Verdi Productions. “Rock & Shock benefi ts by having us there, and Rock & Shock is the best place to promote the movie.” He’s particularly looking forward to sharing this first red carpet of one of his movies with first-time director Glenn Ciano.
“We’re treating [Rock & Shock] like Comic-Con, getting all the actors there, doing panels,” describes Ciano, “taking a fan’s first route with this, because if it is going to get out there and be what we want it to be, the fans are going to have to take a part in how we do that.”
As an additional gift to Rock & Shock attendees, one of only five dolls made of Englund’s demon, Inkubus, will be raffled off at the convention. In addition to the doll, Rock & Shock fans will also be the first to hear about future projects with the character.
Another regular booth at Rock & Shock belongs to the New England Horror Writers, an organization founded in 2001 to provide peer support and networking to opportunities to authors who sell books, comics and other literature throughout the weekend. “I love that the New England Horror Writers’ organization is a part of Rock & Shock again,” says Jason Harris, New England Horror Writers’ director of publicity. “The written word fits in well at Rock & Shock. Without the written word, horror fans wouldn’t have Wes Craven’s creation, Freddy Krueger in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’”
“The great thing about the New England Horror Writers’ being at an event like Rock & Shock is that there’s a unique energy—it’s our time of year, we love rock, we love scary movies,” describes New England Horror Writers’ member and author, Kristi Petersen Schoonover.
This year’s Rock & Shock still has more to offer. Starting on Thursday, where weekend ticket-holders can attend a preparty concert with Alisano and The Bones at the Palladium. On top of that, Fangoria Magazine is sponsoring an excellent panel track that includes Q&As with actors, screenwriters and filmmakers; a writing workshop with professional authors and editors; a look at publishing in the horror industry, including small press, ebooks and indie publishing; and much more.
There’s more reason than ever to check out the convention that continues to become the northeast’s premier horror media con — plus it’s right in our own back yard!
Worcester’s Rock & Shock Hosts Red Carpet Premiere of “Inkubus”
While Worcester DCU Center and Palladium are crawling with the torn shirts and band T-Shirts of recently undead or concert goers, some dark denizens will don tuxedos and dresses to strut down the red carpet for the World Premiere of “Inkubus,” the latest horror film starring icons Robert Englund and William Forsythe.
In this film, Englund plays the demon Inkubus who arrives during the last shift, a skeleton crew of officers closing Cranston Police Station, with the severed head of a girl so he can use his one phone call to contact retired detective Gil Diamante [Forsythe], who nearly caught him 13 years ago.
In addition to the intriguing plot, it’s interesting that this film with amazing star power behind it—Jonathan Silverman, Joey Fattone, and Michelle Ray Smith help round out the cast—is a local production filmed less than an hour away, in Cranston, R.I., at the old Cranston Police Station, employing local cast and crew.
“During ‘Inkubus,’ I drove twoand- a-half minutes from my house to the police station,” describes actor Tom DeNucci, who plays Offi cer Pax. “It’s something that wouldn’t have happened even a few years ago. Maybe a whole future generation of filmmakers could get churned out of Rhode Island because they see what we’re doing and say, ‘Oh, we can do that, too.’”
Producer Chad Verdi explains, “We want locals to support local filmmakers. And I can guarantee you, no one had more fun making these films than us and the actors. They’re coming to this red-carpet premiere because they want to come.”
Only attendees of Rock & Shock will be able to attend the World Premiere of “Inkubus.” Tickets are being given out via contests and giveaways throughout the convention. After the premiere, there will be a special Q&A. The movie will be released in theaters throughout nine states on October 28.
Jason Harris Promotions 