Monthly Archives: September 2012

Sep 7 2012

Pictures from the First Day of the Hebron Harvest Fair

The NEHW sign at the back of the booth at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Stacey Longo at the NEHW sign promoting the readings and skits. Photo by Jason Harris.

The Mystic Woodcarvers (www.mysticcarvers.com) booth right next to the NEHW booth. Photo by Jason Harris.

The NEHW Director of Publicity in his skit costume. Photo by Stacey Longo.

Author Stacey Longo and a spider hangout at the NEHW booth at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Stacey Longo giving a reading at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

The Mystic Carvers busy carving at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

The NEHW booth at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

The NEHW booth at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Stacey Longo getting her hand eaten licked by the Farmer’s Cow’s calf. Photo by Jason Harris.

Sep 4 2012

The NEHW Appearing at the Hebron Harvest Fair for the Second Time

The New England Horror Writers’ Association will be appearing at the Hebron Harvest Fair for the second year in a row.

Seven New England authors are scheduled to appear at the fair from Sept. 6 through 9 to do readings, perform skits, and autograph books.

Author Stacey Longo will be at the fair all four days, with copies of her children’s book Pookie and the Lost & Found Friend, which was just published in July 2012. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Stoker-nominated Epitaphs, which will also be available at the NEHW booth.

Also appearing will be Kurt Newton, author of The Brainpan Concerto, Ultimate PerVERSEities, and Powerlines, among other titles. He will be at the fair on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

G. Elmer Munson will be on hand on Saturday to sign copies of his novel, Stripped.

Robert Duperre, author of seven novels including The Fall and Silas, will be at the NEHW booth on Saturday.

Rob Watts, author of Huldufolk, will be at the fair Saturday. Huldufolk is an Icelandic fantasy/horror novella that comes with a free CD of music compiled by the fictional band in the story.

Authors Alan S. Kessler (A Satan Carol) and Dan Foley will be appearing on Saturday and author David Price (Tales from the Grave: An Anthology of True Ghost Stories) will be appearing on Sunday.

The NEHW was formed in 2001 to promote writers and illustrators of dark fiction within and outside the association. They offer writing workshops, discussion forums, social events, and appearance opportunities to their members.

Click here to find out about the Hebron Harvest Fair.

Sep 3 2012

The Epitaph, Issue 23 (August 2012)

Issue #23 (Aug 2012)

The Epitaph

Journal of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW)

The NEHW Board of Directors:

Tracy L. Carbone – Co-Chair
Stacey Longo – Co-Chair
Dan Keohane – Treasurer
Jason Harris – Director of Publicity/Webmaster
K. Allen Wood – Director of Publications
Scott Goudsward – Director of Events
Danny Evarts – Art Director
Tim Deal (alternate)
T.J. May (alternate)

NEHW SIGNINGS AND READINGS:

Hebron Harvest Fair

The NEHW will once again have a booth at this four day fair. It runs from Sept. 6 through 9.

Rhode Island Comic Con

The NEHW will be at Rhode Island Comic Con on November 3 and 4.

Anthocon

The NEHW will have a table at Anthocon (www.anthocon.com) from Nov. 9 through 11.

Tantasqua’s Holiday Craft Fair

The NEHW will have tables at the Tantasqua’s Holiday Craft Fair at the Tantasqua Regional Sr. High School in Fiskdale, MA from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 1.

Want to Give Back to the NEHW?

The NEHW has been asked by the Barnes & Noble in Manchester, CT to man its gift wrapping table. There will be a jar set-up for donations, which will go to our organization. We will be there on Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The table sits three people comfortably. There will be shifts. After gift wrapping ends, we can go out to eat at a local restaurant.

Email Jason Harris at dudley228@gmail.com if you like to help gift wrap.

NEHW WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

From Charles Day:

Evil Jester Press is looking for comic book/graphic novel artists to submit samples of their work for our new 6 issue series. Please send a couple pages to David C. Hayes, Executive Editor at: eviljesterpresentscomics@gmail.com

From Trisha Wooldridge:

Doorways to Extra Time, a short story anthology, is now accepting submissions.

In our busy world of meetings and microwaves, car radios and cell phones, people always wish they could get an extra hour in the day. What if they could? Doorways to Extra Time is an anthology that explores ways to get extra time (be it an hour, a day, or a decade) and the impact it would have (whether upon a single life, a family or an entire world).We’re looking for stories with a touch of the fantastic—whether mystical, magical, mechanical, or just plain mysterious—but they can be set in any time or any genre: contemporary or historical, science fiction or fantasy, horror or magic realism. We could even find a place for a nonfiction essay if it was truly exceptional. In short, show us something show-stopping, and we’ll make time for you.

Suggested Length: full stories (from 3,000 to 7,000 words) and flash fiction (preferred under 1,000 words). We will accept good stories up to 10,000 words but longer lengths are a harder sell.

Due Date: Oct. 15, 2012

Editors: Anthony Francis and Trisha J. Wooldridge

Submission Guidelines: Please email your submissions to anthology@spencerhillpress.com. Put your story in the BODY of the email (no attachments) and put “DOORWAYS TO EXTRA TIME” in the subject line along with the title.

And now the boring bits: We can only accept previously unpublished stories. Please don’t use characters or material to which you do not own the copyright so Disney doesn’t come sue us—this is not a fan-fiction anthology. Contributor payment will be an advance of $10, a contributor copy of the print edition, and an equal share of the contributors’ portion of the royalties. Please make your work appropriate for a PG-13 audience and avoid gratuitous sex, violence, politics and puns.

For accepted submissions, Spencer Hill Press will take first print and electronic publishing rights, which are exclusive publishing rights for as long as the anthology remains in print. This means that authors will not be able sell or publish their stories elsewhere, and when the rights revert to the authors after the anthology is no longer in print, they will only be able to market the story as a reprint, which in nearly all cases is a harder sell and has a lower pay rate than first print. We at Spencer Hill Press hope that the anthology will have strong sales that will result in healthy royalty payments, but we want authors to go into this with eyes open, knowing how acceptance to one anthology limits the marketing of the same story down the road.

NEHW MEMBER NEWS:

From Erin Underwood:

Underwood sold her short story “The Foam Born” to Ticonderoga Press for their new anthology Bloodstones, edited by Amanda Pillar, which will be released in October 2012.

From Bob Sterns:

Stearns released his first e-book novella, The Harvester, on Amazon. It is a dark fantasy/horror/sci-fi adventure story and fully illustrated. Here’s the link, http://www.amazon.com/TheHarvesterebook/dp/B008SGZKXU/ref=sr_1_5?s=digitaltext&ie=UTF8&qid=1344562146&sr=1-5&keywords=the+harvester

From K.H. Vaughan:

Vaughan’s story, “Love and Rocket at the Siege of Peking,” will appear in the steampunk-wuxia anthology Shanghai Steam, due this November from Absolute Xpress.

From Robert Heske:

Heske’s graphic novel, The Night Projectionist, was reviewed by ComicsGrinder.com (http://comicsgrinder.com/2012/08/05/how-to-tell-a-good-vampire-story-the-night-projectionist-tpb-review/) and on HorrorNews.net (http://horrornews.net/55250/book-review-the-night-projectionist-author-robert-heske/).

He also did a follow-up interview with Henry Chamberlain at ComicsGrinder about The Night Projectionist and his other work, including his upcoming indie film Blessid (http://comicsgrinder.com/2012/08/14/robert-heske-interview-screenplays-and-comics/).

He reports that initial filming will begin on Blessid in September with a 2-day shoot, with the balance occurring in November. Here are links to “Like”, Follow and Fund Heske’s film: www.facebook.com/BlessidTheMovie, www.twitter.com/blessidthemovie, and www.indiegogo.com/blessidthemovie.

From Dave Goudsward:

Goudsward is proud to announce one of the top Lovecraftian scholars, Kenneth Faig, Jr., will be writing the foreword to his book H.P. Lovecraft in the Merrimack Valley, which explores the region’s ties to the Amateur Journalism movement that served as an incubator to Lovecraft’s writing, and the influence of later visits on HPL’s work.

From K. A. Laity:

Laity has the cover art for Weird Noir, the forthcoming collection she’s editing for Fox Spirit Books (foxspirit.co.uk), out this November.

Recent publications include:

The Price. Short story. Tales of the Nun and Dragon (http://www.foxspirit.co.uk/?page_id=82). Ed. Adele Wearing. Fox Spirit Books. August 2012.

ASBO Bambi. Flash fiction. Pulp Metal Magazine (http://pulpmetalmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/asbo-bambi-by-k-a-laity/).

Aug. 4, 2012.

The Claddagh Icon. Short story. Atlantis eBooks/Lite Editions (http://atlantis.lite-editions.com/ebook.php?c&p=28). July, 21 2012. [English/Italian language editions]

Her dark story collection, Unquiet Dreams, will be released Oct. 4 from Tirgearr Publishing.

From Eric Stanway:

Emu Books will be releasing two new anthologies by Stanway, a New Hampshire author, whose previous books include “Vintage Blood,” “The Old Rindge House,” and “Madame Sherri,” on September 21, for the Halloween season.

Stanway has edited the anthology, The Blood is the Life, a collection of classic vampire stories, by such literary luminaries as F. Marion Crawford, F. G. Loring, E. F. Benson and Nikolai Vasilivich Gogol. This collection also includes the story “The Vampyre” by John Polidori, which holds the distinction of being the first vampire tale in modern literature.

He also edited Mad Ghosts and Englishmen, a treasury of classic British Ghost stories by such renowned authors as M. R. James, Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Each book is lavishly illustrated with period engravings, and is 267 pages. They will retail for $14.95 apiece, and are available at Amazon.com and all good bookstores.

For more information or interviews, interested parties can call the author at (603 585-6820 or email eric.stanway@yahoo.com. Visit EricStanway.com for more details.

From L.L. Soares: 

L.L. Soares’s novel, Life Rage, will be making its debut at Killercon in Las Vegas the weekend of September 20 – 23.

From Dan Foley:

Foley sold a short story, “I Will Make You Beautiful,” to Scarlet River Press for the anthology, Rigorous Mortis – A Mortician’s Tale Anthology.

From John Grover:

Grover is very excited to announce the release of his first full-length novel, If God Doesn’t Show, co-written with R. Thomas Riley and published by Permuted Press. It’s the apocalypse and the dead are rising, shadow creatures are on the loose, Cthulhu has returned and only two men can stop the madness and they’ve never even met.

Available in all formats and reading devices, but you can start with Amazon and B&N: http://www.amazon.com/Doesnt-Show-Cthulhu-Mythos-Novel/dp/1618680560 and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-god-doesnt-show-r-thomas-riley/1112297347?ean=2940015024272

Grover’s first Zombie book is now available on Kindle and Nook. Frozen Stiff: A Zombie Novella is a horror adventure set in the Canadian Arctic. A horror colder than the snowy landscape awaits a military search and rescue team and their civilian survivors in this original chiller of the zombie apocalypse. Get it for Kindle or Nook: http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Stiff-Zombie-Novella-ebook/dp/B008XRUSGS or http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frozen-stiff-john-grover/1112550486?ean=2940014899239

Finally not quite horror, but for those who enjoy fantasy, the second installment of Grover’s dark fantasy series Song of the Ancestors II: The Human Condition is now available exclusively on Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Human-Condition-Song-Ancestors-ebook/dp/B008ITKUAK

From Charles Day and Evil Jester Press:

I am delighted to announce that after a few months of brainstorming and talking with some members of the HWA board, James Chambers and I are now excited to be co-chairing the HWA NY/LI Chapter. We are looking to hold our first meeting early October, possibly in the NYC area, near the Javitt’s Center if possible. A few of us HWA members will be attending the NY Comic book Convention (COMIC-CON) and this would be a great time to gather up some people.

Day’s also excited to be hanging out with the NEHW at the Rhode Island Comic-Con this coming Nov 3 and 4. He’ll be signing copies of my Legend of the Pumpkin Thief and the newly released Tales of Terror & Mayhem from Deep Within the Box.

Nov 9-11: The evil little jester and his jesterly minions will be arriving at ANTHOCON in New Hampshire. Our booth is registered and we hope to see many of you there. I’ll be signing copies of my books, and we will have other authors at the table and around the conference to sign copies. We hope to also have Joe McKinney’s Inheritance released by this time. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. Last year was such a blast.

If any of you are active members with the HWA and would like to participate in the HWA Mentoring Program, please get in touch with me. I’ve been filling all the slots, and could use more professional writers to share their knowledge to aspiring writers. My email address is cday3067@hotmail.com.

From Dale Phillips:

Phillips is on the radio, talking about writing, as a guest on David Tierney’s show on 91.5, WUML. Listen via radio or on www.wuml.org. He will be on Monday mornings from 9:50 to 10:10 (approximately).

From E.F. Schraeder:

Schraeder’s short story “Stacked” appeared in the Summer 2012 Dark Gothic Resurrected magazine.  Two other stories were also selected for upcoming anthologies.   “Employee of the Month” was selected for Carnival of the Damned anthology edited by Henry Snider and David C. Hayes from Evil Jester Press, and “The Hopeful Doctor” was included in Dark Moon Books’ upcoming alternate history horror anthology, Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories, edited by Lori Michelle, Max Booth III, and Stan Swanson.

From Scott Goudsward:

Goudsward has sold “Ghost Lights” to Evil Jester Press’ Carnival of the Damned.

Once Upon an Apocalypse is still taking submissions for another month. www.onceuponanapocalypse.com

From Errick Nunnally:

Nunnally sold a short story, “Who Bears the Lathe?” to eFiction’s inaugural genre magazine. The magazine’s first issue will be published in early September 2012.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
 
Georgina Morales (CT)
Heather Randolph (MA)
Joe Mirabello (MA)
Barbara Farrow (MA)

– Jason Harris, Editor, the Epitaph: Journal of NEHW
– Stacey Longo, Assistant Editor, the Epitaph: Journal of NEHW

Sep 1 2012

The man behind the ‘Guy Who Kills People’ talks about what inspired his screenplay

The Man Behind the ‘Guy Who Kills People’ Talks about What Inspired His Screenplay

by Jason Harris

Screenwriter Ryan A. Levin’s script for Some Guy Who Kill Peoplewas inspired by his short film, “The Fifth.” His short film only came about because he had written it for fun and wanted to avoid it becoming just another file on his computer, he said.

“I wanted to see it come to life.  I had no aspirations to be a director, and still don’t, but I ended up writing, producing and directing the short film.”

Some Guy Who Kills People

As he traveled around the festival circuit and saw the positive reactions, he started thinking about an everyday guy who happens to be a serial killer and wondered if he could expand the main character’s world. Through brainstorming, he slowly developed his character’s background, family life, friends, and motives for killing. By developing his short into a movie, his character changed and it allowed him to let go of the character from the short film.

“Ultimately, while the short and the feature bear little to no resemblance to each other, there would be no Some Guy Who Kills People without “The Fifth.”  Fortunately, our distributor, Anchor Bay, was cool enough to include “The Fifth” on the Some Guy Who Kills People DVD.”

The movie contains bullying, which came about because of “creative need.”

“Ken, the killer in Some Guy Who Kills People, needed a reason to kill his victims.  In early drafts, he was just a serial killer who chose victims at random.”

The script shifted to Ken focusing on victims who treated others poorly, and then, ultimately, he began killing people who had done him wrong, Levin said.

“News about childhood bullying and suicides just started popping up on the news as we were in pre-production on this film, so while it was not intentional, I knew I hadn’t gone too far in scripting the often sad ramifications of bullying.”

Levin wrote the screenplay between 2007 and the end of 2009. It took about two and a half years to write the script, but it wasn’t a constant writing effort. There were many breaks “as other things came up” which caused him not to look at the script for six months or more.

“Ultimately, this worked to my benefit, as it allowed me to come to the script with fresh eyes each time.”

The movie stars Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick, and Karen Black.

“It was, and continues to be, surreal,” Levin said about Corrigan, Bostwick, and Black being in the movie. “Kevin was someone we approached immediately for the lead role, and we just crossed our fingers he would find something in the script he liked enough to say ‘yes.’  He knew he would essentially be working for free, not to mention working in LA, away from his family in NYC. I imagine it’s a lot easier to take those few weeks off and live elsewhere when you’re making real money, but he wasn’t getting that from us. ”

Levin never pictured Bostwick and Black in their roles and was shocked that they auditioned for the movie considering “their credits and experience.”

“It was perfectly clear to Jack Perez (the director), Lisa Essary (casting director) and myself that we wanted them, and that if we did indeed land them, our movie was headed in the right direction.”

These actors took their characters and elevated them to levels beyond anything that was on the page, he said.

“They are three fearless actors who gave everything they had to this movie, and I can’t thank them enough.”

He was living in New York City when he decided to wanted to write for television and knew he had to get a production assistant job to be able to do that. These “jobs are actually quite hard to come by, as they are essentially the jobs that get you in the door on a production.”

“I sent resumes to every single show imaginable, super-eager to work for any of them. Through sheer good fortune, I ended up knowing someone who knew someone who got me an interview to be a PA on Scrubs, my favorite show at the time.”

When he got the production assistant job, he thought he had “made it” even though he considers “being a PA sucks.”

“I was on the show, I was writing in my free time, but I just wanted to move up the ladder as quickly as I could.  I became the writers’ PA, then writers’ assistant then script coordinator. I knew the show runner would never promote me to a full-time writer because of a policy he had against doing so.  But I also knew that if I could prove to him I was a capable writer, I could write an episode.  Fortunately, that’s what happened.  I wrote one episode in season 5, and was told I could return as script coordinator the following season to write another one.”

He didn’t return to work on the sixth season of Scrubs instead he went out looking for a full-time writing position.

“It took a couple of years of close-calls, of working on web series and pitching ideas, but, ultimately, I got a job on a Disney show called I’m In The Band, which ran for two years, and was far better, funnier and more creative than a lot of shows on network TV, which I’m allowed to say because I didn’t create the show.”

The writing staff for The Simpsons, seasons three through seven, and the playwright/screenwriter Martin McDonagh are writers that have inspired Levin. He loves McDonagh’s film, In Bruges.

“I’ve always been drawn to the darker content – always loved horror films and dark comedies, Fargo and Better Off Dead – and I was blown away by how [McDonagh] took these seemingly morbid stories and injected them with some of the funniest characters, situations and dialogue I’d ever heard.  McDonagh’s ability to find the comedy in such dark material through characters with very specific points-of-views and his ability to seamlessly blend such different tones is what I can only dream of being able to accomplish.”

Levin is working on another Disney show and developing several features.

“The features are in various stages – from third drafts to basic outlines – and I keep moving back and forth between them.  The great thing is I have several ideas about which I’m very excited; however, I really need to just focus on one of them, see it to completion, and then move on.  If I don’t, none of them will ever get completed.”

The Some Guy Who Kills People DVD can be purchased through Amazon, click here.