Aug 16 2013

Getting to Know Author Georgina Morales

By Jason Harris

Georgina Morales started writing when she was nine.

“I wrote poems in Spanish, mostly, and never thought I was any good. I got busy building a career in medicine and forgot about writing for 15 years. After some insistence from my husband, I started writing fiction 4 years ago, and I’ve never been happier.”

Since she started writing fiction, Morales has published a horror novella, Perpetual Night, which has been described as YA even though the subject matter may be a bit dark. She has also written, “Francis,” a short story published in the horror anthology, Isolation. Her most recent published work, “Broken Promises,” appears this month in Heater magazine. It’s her first endeavor into crime/mystery writing, which she finds exciting.

Morales’ not resting on her laurels, but instead is working on two short stories at the moment. The first one, “Tamam Shud,” is a noir mystery scheduled to be part of the anthology, Lucky 13, which will be published by Padwolf Publishing. It’s about an old man who becomes disenchanted with life after the death of his wife, and his kids pay the price.

There is an unnamed horror story Morales is working on for a themed anthology that she won’t name so as not to jinx it, she said.

She is also working on a paranormal mystery, Deliverance. “I’ve been working on it for some time now, but it is still far from completed, thanks to my recent commitments to write other pieces.”

Morales is grateful for the commitments, even though they have kept her from working on her mystery.

She does have a few habits when she starts writing.

“I usually sit at my desk in my office about 10 or 11 a.m., I answer emails and play—I mean, promote—on Facebook for about an hour, and from then on, I’m a mean writing machine.”

She stops around 3 or 4 p.m. so she can go pick up her girls from school. She tries to stick with this schedule because she finds that without specific goals she’s less productive. The use of sticky notes reminds her of these goals, she said.

Morales belongs to a critique group and must post at least 1500 words every Sunday, which is what keeps her “ass in line” and “very productive.”

“Deadlines are gold for me.”

The best advice she has received covers writing and editing.

“Don’t edit while you write or you’ll never move forward. When you write, write. When you edit, edit. I don’t remember where I read that but it speaks to the quintessential need of a writer. We want our words to be gold from the moment we set them on paper. If the sentence is not perfect, if the feeling is absent, if the atmosphere is not exactly what we envision, we don’t move forward. We tend to correct ourselves every second, but the truth is that all first manuscripts are shit.”

She doesn’t use the word “shit” for shock value, but that first manuscripts are that, Morales said. “This is why writers edit and edit.”

As writers should, Morales reads whenever she isn’t writing or taking care of her family.

“I read a lot of horror and try to read at least a couple of new or modern voices in the genre every other month.”

For the last year, she’s been focusing on the true classics of horror, but not Bram Stoker or Mary Shelley. She’s been reading Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Daphne Du Maurier, Algernon Blackwood, and Thomas Ligotti.

Morales hates procedurals and isn’t quite a fantasy girl, but is trying the Harry Potter series. She isn’t above the Twilight books, but not the movies, she said.

“I grew up reading Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, so you will see a lot of their influence in my stories. However, I love Latin American literature. I strive to achieve a personal style similar to the poetic prose of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or the bluntness of Paz, the yearning of Federica Garcia Lorca. All of these great voices have formed me, and that is why my style is different from other horror writers. Or at least, it will be; one never stops to improve.”

She doesn’t have any promotional events coming up, but is working to change that. Until that happens, visit her blog, her Goodreads page, her Facebook page, or her Amazon page.

Editor’s Note:

Here is Heater magazine’s Facebook page.

Aug 9 2013

Getting to Know Author Rachelle Bronson

By Jason Harris

Author Rachelle Bronson started writing when she was very young. It was around the age of 6 or 7.

“I would fill those school notebooks full of drawings and stories. I’ve always had a good imagination, and seeing those ideas turn into reality struck a chord.”

Her newest work, Frozen, was released last month.

“It’s about a group of scientists that trek high into the Himalayas to dissect a newly discovered breed of humanoid,” Bronson said about Frozen.

Her previous story, “Lulabelle,” was published in the Hersham Horror Books anthology, Alt-Zombie. This collection includes stories by William Meikle and Joe McKinney.

The story was shortened from its original version, Bronson said. She would like to see the whole story published someday.

Before she begins writing, she does a lot of research. She also makes sure to have well-developed character and plot outlines before beginning.

“I like to know where I’m going, which helps me avoid writer’s block. Many times however, the characters and story take on a life of their own and always surprise me in the end.”

Her published short stories aren’t the only works she has written. She has a few unpublished novels, Legends: The Bleeding Door, which will launch next year, and Tarzwell, which doesn’t have a release date at the moment.

Her first novel, Legends: The Bleeding Door, is based on an urban legend she researched and turned into fiction. It was conceived when she was in high school. Legends is what got her involved with Invictus Films, who wanted in 2007 to turn the novels into a television series after her pitch was received favorably by NBC and HBO. Unfortunately, the recession in 2008 killed the project’s momentum.

“I reacquired the rights in 2012 and am planning to launch the series, as intended, in book format, with The Bleeding Door being the first of a series of 13.”

Outside of the Legends series, she also has her novel, Tarzwell, which takes place between 1992 and 1996 and is based on actual events.

“Talk about a confusing time, going through high school and living in a house that has paranormal activity. It was a tough time for everyone. My mother was ill, my father was forced to work out of town to support us, so I was there many times alone, taking care of my mother, dealing with teenage angst and spirits. I never believed in ghosts until I lived in this house. It changed me profoundly.”

She considers living in the house “a major learning experience” and considers herself stronger for it.

“It definitely reminds you that life is about mind, body and spirit.”

The best writing advice she has ever received is to “never quit.”

“There are many obstacles to becoming published. But if you want it bad enough, hone your craft, lick your wounds and just keep going. Oh, and get yourself a good editor. They can make or break you.”

She is currently the chief reviewer at The Novel Blog website, which was conceived in 2008 by Daniel Boucher and Peter Mark May. She joined shortly after that and they have had a blast publishing news, reviews and interviews of authors ever since, she said.

“We wanted to do a book review site, one that included both up-and-comers and established authors to help get out awareness of their works and grow the community. It also gives authors of other genres that may not be in the fiction literary mainstream a place to get the word out about their work.”

Bronson doesn’t have a website, but she hopes to remedy that by the end of this year or the beginning of 2014. She does have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/rachelle.bronson.9?fref=ts) and a Twitter account (@rachellegagne).

She and her publisher, Hive Collective, are looking at different promotional opportunities for her, which she will announce on her two social media accounts.

She loves reading the classic authors such as Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Robin Cook, and H.P. Lovecraft. She also has had great pleasure exploring new writers such as Kane Gilmour, Daniel Palmer, JT Ellison, Jonathan Maberry and Peter Mark May.

Bronson looks up to all writers, who stay true to themselves and their craft, but doesn’t want to emulate them.

“I want to be me, being original and trusting in my own pool of knowledge and creativity in order to produce something new, entertaining and inspiring to horror fans everywhere.”

Aug 3 2013

Pictures from the 2013 New England Author Expo

By Jason Harris

The New England Author Expo and Book Sale organized by Christopher Obert and Pear Tree Publishing took place at the Harborview Ballroom in the Danversport Yacht Club in Danvers, MA. on Wednesday, July 31.

The Books & Boos tables at the New England Author Expo.

The New England Horror Writers table with author Scott Goudsward sitting behind it.

Authors Erin Thorne and Dale T. Phillips.

The Rosstrum Publishing table.

Author Stacey Longo talking with Joseph Ross of Rosstrum Publishing as author Vlad Vaslyn photobombs.

Author Stacey Longo (middle)helping author Tracy Carbone (right) with her banner as author Scott Goudsward looks on.

The Shadowridge Press banner after Stacey Longo put it together for Tracy Carbone.

Tracy Carbone’s table.

Author Erin Thorne at the Books & Boos table.

Authors Rob Watts and David Price behind the Books & Boos table.

Author Vlad Vaslyn behind his table.

Author Rob Smales setting up his books at the New England Horror Writer table.

Author Dale T. Phillips behind his table.

Author Rob Smales’ books on the NEHW table.

The Penguin Lady’s table.

The Books & Boos table.

Authors Michael Evans and Stacey Longo at the Books & Boos table.

Jul 22 2013

Pictures from Necon 33

by Jason Harris

The 33rd Northeastern Writers’ Conference (Necon) has wrapped up another fun filled year. It was great seeing old friends and making new ones, talking about writing and marketing and just having a good time.

Throughout the four-day convention, there were panels including That Line We Crossed: How Explicit is Too Explicit and We’ve Got You Covered: How Print Cover Art Happens. There were also the Necon Olympics: bowling, darts, foosball, and hi-lo-jack.

There was an Meet the Author party on Friday night and an Artist reception on Saturday. A Hawaiian shirt competition, Necon Update, That Damn Game Show and the Infamous Necon Roast also took place during this fun weekend.

Necon campers remembered Rick Hautala, who passed away in March, on Thursday night during his memorial tribute, which was introduced by Christopher Golden.

Christopher Golden on the panel, “I’ll Buy That for a Dollar: Resurrecting Your Backlist & Marketing the Hell Out of Your Writing (a.k.a. The Business Panel)”

Author Jeff Strand during the Necon Roast.

Author Heather Graham on the panel, “I’ll Buy That for a Dollar: Resurrecting Your Backlist & Marketing the Hell Out of Your Writing (a.k.a. The Business Panel)”

From left to right: Craig Shaw Gardner, Christopher Golden, Elizabeth Massie, Nicholas Kaufman, and F. Paul Wilson participating in That Damn Game Show.

Author and NEHW member Nicholas Conley holding his book, The Cage Legacy.

Craig Shaw Garner about to talk about the prizes for winning That Damn Game Show.

Authors Trisha Wooldridge and David Price at the NEHW table.

Jeannine Calia finishing shaving author Rio Youers who shaved his head for charity, The Jimmy Fund.

Jeannine Calia fixing the shaving job author Rio Youers had done for charity, The Jimmy Fund.

Author P. Gardner Goldsmith having some fun as he shaves some of Rio Youers’ head as author James Moore films it and the blurry Christopher Golden watches.

John M. McIlveen’s dealer table.

The Dealer and Art room at Necon.

Bram Stoker winning poet Linda Addison being roasted.

Artist Courtney Skinner during the Necon Roast.

Author Brian Keene during the Necon Roast.

From left to right: writers Catherine Grant, Stacey Longo, and Tracy Carbone.

Jul 19 2013

‘Red 2’ Keeps the Action Going and The Laughs Coming

By Jason Harris

I didn’t care for Red when it was first released almost three years ago. I’m not sure why. I recently watched it again in anticipation of seeing Red 2, and this time around I enjoyed it and would like to own it. It is now a favorite action movie of mine, as is Red 2.

Red 2 opens up with Frank (Bruce Willis) and Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) shopping at a Costco. Frank doesn’t seem any worse for wear after running from the Moldovan Army at the end of Red. He excitedly comes up to Sarah with bulk bargain items. The look on Sarah’s face seethes with boredom. She wants action. This is shown by her enthusiasm when Marvin (John Malkovich) shows up to tell him that Interpol is after him because of Nightshade, a Cold War project to sneak a nuclear weapon into Russia. Frank wants nothing to do with Marvin or his information so he sends him away, much to the chagrin of Sarah.

Even after Marvin’s car explodes and he is presumably dead, Frank still wants to play things safe. With the Red movies, you can never be sure what to expect. Frank isn’t sure Marvin’s dead, and he tests his theory a few times at Marvin’s funeral. These moments are funny and cringe-worthy since you and Frank are thinking the same thing. Is Marvin really dead? I won’t spoil it for you.

It’s not long after the funeral that Frank is living up to his RED (retired, extremely dangerous) designation.

Helen Mirren’s Victoria is back. She’s given a contract by MI6 to kill Frank. There is a moment where it looks like she will fulfill that contract, but before long they are all together trying to stop world destruction.

Anthony Hopkins portrays baddie Bailey. It’s not Hopkins’ best performance since it didn’t seem to be even. This problem could lie in the writing, though. One moment, he’s crazy or just acting like a loon. The next minute he’s fine then he starts to slip back towards crazy. It was an off-putting performance.

The movie’s writers, Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, took a page from The Fast and the Furious movies with the character of Han Cho Bai (Byung-hun Lee). The audience is introduced to Han before he is contracted to kill Frank. Han is a cool character whom you want to survive and be in Red 3. This can’t happen if Frank and Han remain enemies. By the end of the movie, Frank and Han are working together. Hopefully there will be a third movie where we see more of Han.

The Red series could be considered Bruce Willis’ Expendables series (which he is in, but not in a starring role). Red is high on action and excitement, and there is definitely enough gas in the tank for a third movie.

Jul 18 2013

Author Talks about First Novel and Writing

By Jason Harris

Gordon Anthony Bean recently published his first novel, Dawn of Broken Glass. It was released in June.

He has written two other novels, but shelved them since they didn’t feel right to him. He plans to revisit them at a future date.

“Dawn of Broken Glass felt like a great story with fully developed [and] believable characters that the reader could identify with, so I decided this was the book I wanted to publish first,” Bean said.

Dawn of Broken Glass tells the story of Michael Carson, who witnesses the brutal and senseless slaughter of his family during Kristallnacht in the early days of World War II. The loss of his family has left him with deep emotional scars, and feelings of anger and hatred which become all-consuming to the young man. Years later, he seeks his revenge. Along with the mysterious Jason Froemmer, Carson begins a mission to eradicate the bloodlines of each soldier who partook in his family’s slaughter so many years earlier.

Bean wrote it over eighteen months. He spent the better part of a year doing multiple revisions on plot, characters, and writing style.

Bean is working on Bloodlines, a sequel to his first published short story, “From a Whisper to a Dream.” This story was published in the anthology, Sinister Landscapes, published by Pixie Dust Press. He does have a second short story, “Out of the Corner of His Eye,” in the Grinning Skull Press anthology, From Beyond the Grave.

“One interesting tidbit about my writing is that the stories are all interconnected. In my second novel, there will be an appearance of a central character from Dawn of Broken Glass. Basically, I’m creating a wholly contained universe where all my stories take place on the same earth,” Bean said.

His primary career is in finance, but he wants it to be writing.

“I’m trying to get my writing career to take off and hopefully be able to one day devote myself to it full-time.”

He has been writing his entire life. “In elementary school, I had a short story published in our school’s spring journal. In high school, my creative writing teacher told me that of all the students she ever had, she felt that I was best suited to be a writer.”

He belongs to the New England Horror Writers organization. He hopes to get exposure for his writing through the NEHW. This is what he hopes would happen with belonging to any writer’s organization.

“What I hope the NEHW or any other group would be able to do is help give exposure to this novel and future novels,” Bean said.

Bean has received good writing advice in his life, he said.

“The best I remember getting was to write for myself. Like most writers, I love to write. I am a huge horror fan and if I can leave a lasting imprint on a reader through my work, it’s all worthwhile.”

Besides writing, he enjoys reading. Michael Moorcock and Robert Heinlein were two early favorites and Clive Barker, who he loved when he was a teenager. He reads Christopher Golden, Brian Lumley, F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale, Edward Lee, Jonathan Maberry, Dan Simmons, Richard Matheson, Douglas Preston & Lee Child now. His tastes vary, he said.

Jun 13 2013

A Conversation with Author Adam Cesare

By Jason Harris

1. You have written a novel, novella, and a short story collection. What are you working on now?

Next up will be another full-length novel. That one will be from Samhain (they put out Video Night, as well) and it’s my take on the satanic cult subgenre. All the longer pieces I’ve written have all been set in specific periods (the 1980s, 1960s, etc.) I didn’t want to become known as the “throwback” horror guy, so The Summer Job is set in our time. The characters have iPhones. I’m all done with that one and right now I’m working on a novella for a to-be-named publisher. I’m super excited about both of these.

2. On Amazon, it has you credited with Bound by Jade (the Fourth Sam Truman Mystery). Is this true and were you involved with any of the other mysteries in the series? I only ask since you don’t have this book listed on your website.

There are a couple of posts about it on the site, but I think they’ve been pushed off the front page over the last few months. It should be on the website; I’m just the world’s worst webmaster, so it’s not up there. I’ll fix that.

The series was created by writer/publisher Ed Kurtz. Sam’s a disgraced P.I. who just happens to get the city’s strangest cases (the books are supernatural noirs). I didn’t write the first three, but they all share the same character. The series is something special and I’m very proud of my entry. They’re dirt cheap, so everyone should give the Sam Truman books a try.

My installment is a novella called Bound by Jade. It can stand on its own, but reading the whole series is the best way to go.

3. You have written about movies in Tribesmen and Video Night. Would you say, you have been influenced by movies? What movies have influenced you?

Yeah. Even from a young age, movies were my everything. Not to get lame with the “write what you know” adage, but I use the world of film as a jumping off point in those books. Video Night is based on the phenomenon of watching movies, especially the social aspect of that, while Tribesmen is more about making movies and what goes in (and shouldn’t go in) to getting what you need on camera.

The Summer Job doesn’t explicitly connect to the world of film, but it is my attempt to write in the genre of folk horror. To the best of my understanding, folk horror is predominately a film term and it describes the subgenre that films like The Wicker Man, Blood on Satan’s Claw and Kill List belong in. Those are all British films, and I am nowhere near British enough to try and write about the location, so mine’s a New England folk horror story.

4. You were a film studies major in college. What made you decide on that degree?

I studied both English and Film. When you’re a film studies major (as opposed to a film production major) the two fields of study are actually very similar. They’re both a lot of reading, writing, and analytical thinking. That kind of stuff interests me and I think that being a critical consumer of media (no matter if it’s Re-animator or The Canterbury Tales) makes you a better writer.

5. What did you envision doing with your life with a Film Studies degree?

I went to grad school for a year and picked up a Masters in Education. So I’m qualified to teach, which is also something I find worthwhile/enriching.

6. Who are some of your favorite writers?

Oh boy. This is one of those questions I could spend all night on. For horror, let’s go with Aaron Dries, Sarah Langan, Laird Barron, Stephen Graham Jones, Shane McKenzie, and Jeff Strand.

7. Who are you reading at the moment?

I’ve got Joe Hill’s latest, NOS4A2 almost finished. I’m right now in the process of choosing what goes next. I try to put my genre consumption on rotation, so since I’m just finishing reading something that’s horror I’ve got three different genres all vying for the title: N.K. Jemisin’s The Killing Moon (fantasy, I think), James S.A. Corey’s Abaddon’s Gate (science fiction) and Duane Swiercynski’s third Charlie Hardie book, Point & Shoot (crime).

8. You have a blurb from Jeff Strand for Tribesmen. How did you feel when you received that blurb? Did you seek him out for one?

Jeff and I had only met once very briefly before I asked him to take a look at the book, so I was really surprised how nice he was about the whole thing. His blurb is amazing and now that I’ve seen him a couple more times at conventions, he and his wife (author Lynne Hansen) are two of my favorite people.

9. Would you like to see Tribesmen or Video Night made into a movie?

Yes, please.

10. If they were made into a movie, who would you like to see direct it and why?

Some aspects of the books would probably have to change either way, but I like to think that they’re both pretty adaptation-friendly.

Lexi Alexander would be a good choice for Video Night, in my opinion. She knows how to work with actors and gore in equal measure as evidenced by the criminally underrated Punisher: War Zone.

The dynamic directing-duo of John Skipp and Andrew Kasch would be my choice for Tribesmen. They’ve done some incredible short work that’s both hilarious and disgusting. They would get the tone EXACTLY.

I mean. There are no films in the works or anything, so why don’t we throw P.T. Anderson and Kathryn Bigelow and [Martin] Scorsese in the running?

11. What made you stay in Boston after college?

I love it. It’s been my home for seven years. It’s a movie-loving town, for one thing. The Coolidge and the Brattle are two of the best theaters in the country and they’re both walking distance from me.

12. Are there any plans to put Bone Meal Broth out in paperback? What inspired that collection of work?

I had the rights back to a bunch of stories that had been previously published, so I picked out the best of them and put out a short (20,000 word) collection. I’m quite proud of it, but I’m not sure it’ll ever be in paperback. It’s the only time I’ve self-published something and I really enjoyed the experience. Maybe in a few years I’ll bump up the word count by adding some stories to the roster and then find a publisher that would tangle with it.

13. What has your nonfiction work been about?

It’s all film essays. I’ve written guest posts for a few blogs and my articles have seen print in Paracinema Magazine. They’re amazing, by the way, if you haven’t read that magazine I highly recommend it.

14. Your work has been featured in Shroud and Fangoria. How did it feel being in Fangoria, a horror magazine that I think every person who is or has been into reading/watching horror has read?

That was just a quick book review I wrote freelance for them, but it got my name on the contributor page and I thought I would faint. For the whole month I was going to newsstands, thumbing to my page and giggling like a madman.

15. You had a blog, Brain Tremors. I love that name by the way. Why choose that name? Did the name come to you right away? Is there history behind the name?

Yeah, Brain Tremors. That was my old page, but I still use the banner over at www.adamcesare.com. I kind of knew what I wanted the insignia to look like, and what’s creepier than an involuntary shaking of the brain?

16. What would be your advice for wannabe writers?

Ha. I’m too low-level to be handing out advice. My advice would be to take writing advice from Joe Lansdale, as he hands it out occasionally on his Twitter/Facebook feed.

One thing that does bug me is the idea of an “aspiring” writer. There are a lot of people on twitter that label themselves that way. Fake it till you make it, guys and gals. There’s no room on the internet for low self-esteem, it’s too full of cat pictures and lackluster writing advice.

Apr 25 2013

Welcome!

Hello,

My name is Jason Harris. You may have noticed the website change from the New England Horror Writers to Jason Harris Promotions. All the entries from the former NEHW site are still available here. All entries like this one, nehwnews.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/the-epitaph-28-jan-2013/, get redirected to this site. The NEHW has decided to go back to it’s former website on Blogspot, which can be found by clicking here.

I created Jason Harris Promotions because I believe in promoting people, events, and other things and getting the word out. It’s tough out there and getting tougher to get noticed. There are so many things drawing people’s attention. Let me help you get the word out about your book, convention, craft fair, business, or anything else you want the world to know about. Contact me at jasonharrispromotions@gmail.com and let me help you.

Apr 16 2013

Boston Comic Con Happening as Planned

by Jason Harris

After the Boston Marathon bombings yesterday that left three people died and more than 170 people injured, the organizers of Boston Comic Con have said the convention is still going on this coming weekend, which is being held at the Hynes Convention Center, located at 900 Boylston St. The convention center isn’t that far from where the bombs went off.

Since a previous entry on April 3 about the convention, there have been some updates about guests. Jon Bernthal (“Shane Walsh”) from the hit television series The Walking Dead, has cancelled due to his filming schedule.

This morning it was announced that rock n’ roll icon Marky Ramone of The Ramones will be attending the convention.

Apr 14 2013

Pictures from this Weekend’s Author Events

by Jason Harris

On Saturday, Annie’s Book Stop in Worcester hosted A Dark Carnival of Authors, an event to remember Rick Hautala, who passed away in March. The authors who read were Eric Dimbleby, Jennifer Pelland, K.A. Laity, Jessie Olson, Errick Nunnally, Rose Mambert, Frank Raymond Michaels, Morven Westfield, Inanna Arthen, John McIlveen, TJ May, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover.