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Nov 20 2012

Author Speaks to Students

On Nov. 8, Stacey Longo, author and Co-chair of the New England Horror Writers, spoke to a couple of groups of students at the Putnam Middle School. She read her children’s book, Pookie and the Lost and Found Friend, to them.

Author Stacey Longo signing a book for a young fan. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author surrounded by readers. Photo by Jason Harris.

Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Stacey Longo reading her book, Pookie and the Lost and Found Friend. Photo by Jason Harris.

Photo by Jason Harris.

Along with writing stories and books, Longo is the co-owner of a bookstore, Books and Boos, which opens its doors Tuesday, Nov. 20. The store is located at 514 Westchester Road in Colchester, Connecticut.

Nov 1 2012

NEHW Members at Rhode Island Comic Con this Weekend

The Rhode Island Comic Con happens this weekend in Providence at the Convention Center and members of the New England Horror Writers will be there.

Author Don Franklin, who has his own table at the convention, will have his first novel, Reaper’s Walk: Hellstone, on hand and will be autographing copies.

According to Grayhart Press, the book’s publisher, “follow The Reaper’s Walk series of supernatural thrillers as Lita and her family —  descendants of a dark witch from the 18th century —  form fragile alliances and fight desperate battles with demons, werewolves, witches, and vampires in an attempt to capture the Circle of Stones and escape their doom … because after waiting 10 generations, the Reaper is coming to collect his due.”
The books official launch was Oct. 31 and it will be available through Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and other booksellers in a few weeks, the publisher has told Franklin.

Authors at the Official NEHW Table

The other NEHW members, who will be at Comic Con, are Stacey Longo (Epitaphs, Pookie and the Lost and Found Friend) Rob Watts (Huldufolk), Kristi Petersen Schoonover (Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole, Bad Apple) and Scott Goudsward (Epitaphs, Call of Lovecraft).

Check out the convention’s website here and see what celebrites are going to be signing during the weekend. After getting celebrity autographs, don’t forget to come on by and say hello to all the NEHW members at the convention.

The convention center is located at 1 Sabin Street in Providence, Rhode Island.

Oct 20 2012

The New NEHW Forum

The new NEHW forum went live last night. It was created by Director of Publications K. Allen Wood. Check it out by clicking here.

The forum contains categories for discussing movies, stories members are writing, upcoming events, and many other subjects.

Oct 19 2012

The Distracted Wanderer Stalks Stephen King

It’s October and the Distracted Wanderer heads to Maine to do some sight-seeing and stalking. Read about it here.

Oct 2 2012

NEIBA Fall Conference Begins Tomorrow

The New England Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference happens at the Rhode Island Convention Center at 1 Sabin Street in Providence, Rhode Island from Wednesday through Friday.

During the three-day conference, there will be exhibitors, lunch with booksellers, wholesalers and reps, panels, and plenty of other activities. You can check out the entire schedule by clicking here.

Some of the panels taking place during the conference include Best of Both Worlds: Understanding the Young Adult and Adult Crossover Market, Social Media 2.0: Beyond the Basics: Using Social Media to Drive Sales and Customer Engagement, Meeting the Literacy Needs in Your Community and ABA – E-book Solution.

There will also be autograph sessions with a number of authors inlcuding Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box), Nancy DiFabbio (Midnight Magic: Be Careful What You Wish For) and Kristy McKay (Undead) throughout the three-day event.

The 2012 Independent Spirit Awards will also be given out on Friday.

If you want to support NEIBA member stores in any of the New England states, click here.

Aug 8 2012

Tour the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Where One Man’s Home Really Was a Castle!

Check out the website, “Travels with Nathaniel” by Linda Orlomoski. The current blog entry has Linda and Nathaniel touring Hammond Castle.

Tour the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Where One Man’s Home Really Was a Castle!

by Linda Orlomoski

In addition to visiting Beauport, the beautiful Sleeper-McCann house on Gloucester’s Eastern Point, day-trippers from Salem’s Hawthorne Hotel can also visit another historic home of a completely different sort overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the Magnolia section of Gloucester where you’ll feel like you’ve journeyed back to the days of fair maidens and chivalrous knights.
Nathaniel and I traveled to the very unique Hammond Castle Museum located on Hesperus Avenue on a bright, sunny Saturday to tour the home that was built by John Hays Hammond, Jr. between the years 1926 and 1929. Designed as a medieval-style castle, the structure was to serve as his home with his new bride, the location of his laboratory, and a backdrop for his collection of Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance artifacts.

For those of you who have no earthly clue who John Hays Hammond, Jr. is (and trust me, I was one of them before hearing about Hammond Castle!), he was one of the greatest electrical and mechanical inventors of his time who was known as known as “The Father of Radio Control”, an invention which eventually led to remote control and no doubt makes him the hero of couch potatoes and channel surfers the world over! In total, Hammond, Jr. is credited with more than 800 foreign and domestic patents on more than 400 inventions mostly in the fields of radio control and naval weaponry.

Born in San Francisco on April 13th, 1888, Hammond, Jr. soon after moved to South Africa with his family in 1893 where his father was a mining engineer who earned a reputed one-million dollars a year plus bonuses for his renowned expertise in the gold and diamond fields. While there, Hammond, Sr. became involved in the infamous Jameson Raid which he thought to be a political demonstration against the despotic Boer government. When the demonstration which occurred over the New Year’s weekend of 1895–96 went wrong, Hammond, Sr. was among those arrested along with Colonel Francis William Rhodes. The participants of the raid were put on trial for treason and sentenced to death in April of 1896, a sentence that was later commuted to 15 years’ imprisonment.

Click here for the rest of the blog entry and the pictures Linda took.

Here is one of the treasures Linda took a picture of in the museum and a description it.

One of the most treasured items that was kept in the Burmese Manuscript Box was given to Hammond, Jr. by the Governor of Santo Domingo – the purported skull of one of Christopher Columbus’ crew members. The oval box that the skull is resting in is of the late-14th or 15th century design; both were kept in the Burmese box at night and highly valued by Hammond, Jr. as he considered himself to be a world class explorer much like Columbus and his ilk.

Editor’s Note:

This blog entry was found by Publicity Committee Member and NEHW Co-Chair Stacey Longo.

Aug 2 2012

Heads Up!

Heads Up!

by K. Allen Wood

If you’re an author with access to the Internet, you’ve undoubtedly been bombarded recently by other authors peddling their books or stories. We’ve all been exposed to this before, but until the past year or so most self-promotion from authors was done in a classier, more respectful manner.

Some still operate that way (and we’re grateful), but others have taken it to a whole new level.

I won’t sit here and tell anyone they shouldn’t promote their work or the work of their friends or authors they enjoy, but I will explain what typically happens on my end when authors do it incessantly.

What’s that smell?

If you follow me on Twitter, I will likely follow you. If you do nothing but post links to your book or books, I will block you and vow to never read your work.

If I connect with you on LinkedIn and you immediately send me a message or an e-mail telling me to check out your book on Amazon, I will “disconnect” from you and vow to never read your book—especially when, as happened yesterday and thus prompted this post, I sample it and there is a mistake three words in. No, thank you!

If we’re friends on Facebook and I’ve “liked” your author page—which is the page I expect to see writing updates generate from—and you go and post daily the same goddamn updates on your personal page, your author page, and every writing-related group you and I (sadly) belong to, even those that are not meant for such updates, I will block your updates, vow to never read your work, and find you to be a total wackadouche.

If you constantly post 5-star reviews on Amazon and then share those overblown, unhelpful reviews loaded with WHIZBANGPOW! adjectives and vague clichés like “it gripped me from the first word and didn’t let go until the last”—which are obviously meant to A) kiss the (undoubtedly more popular) author’s ass, B) hide the fact that you didn’t actually read what you reviewed, and C) use his or her book as a piggyback to your own shitty book or books—I won’t believe a word you’re saying and more than likely will never read that author’s book because your word can’t be trusted.

(That’s right, an absurd run-on sentence in a post where I criticize bad writing. Got a problem with that?)

The fact is, you’re not helping anyone, especially yourself. Most of us promote our work in some regard, but some of you are OUT OF FUCKING CONTROL! I won’t begrudge you your rights to be that way—that pushy, lying kind of self-promoter. You’ll surely fool a lot of dummies out there. But I won’t support you. And worse, I’ll find it very hard to support those other authors that are unlucky enough to be promoted by you. They’re the innocent bystanders in this whole thing. And some are probably damn fine writers, which is a shame.

In the grand scheme of things, the big picture, this post is just one insignificant opinion from a relatively insignificant dude … but rest assured, I’m not the only one with this opinion.

So do as you will, but remember this: You can’t push or lie your way to the top. You can push and lie your way to a top, sure, but it’s most definitely not the top.

Editor’s Note:

This blog entry originally appeared on K. Allen Wood’s website.

Jul 27 2012

Three Reasons to Attend Necon

Three Reasons to Attend Necon

by Jason Harris

I have been going to the Northeastern Writers’ Conference (Necon) for over 13 years. I can’t believe it’s been over a decade since my first one. Since I started going in the late 90s, I haven’t missed a year. I have been going to this convention longer than I have known my wife, who I have gotten hooked on Necon as well. It’s funny that it took a friend from Florida to introduced me to Necon since this convention is based in New England; a place I have lived my entire life.

1. The first reason to become a Necon camper is to meet fellow writers or fellow readers if you are not a writer. Here are a few writers that have attended the convention in the past: Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson, Peter Straub, Rick Hautala, Christopher Golden, Neil Gaiman, Craig Shaw Gardner, Tracy L. Carbone, Stacey Longo, Dan Keohane, Wraith James White, Brian Keene, Simon Clark, James A. Moore, Weston Ochse, and Jack Ketchum.

2. The second reason is to learn about the publishing industry and upcoming trends. Every Necon, there are always panels with varying topics such as e-books, young adult horror, trends in horror, vampires, zombies, and movies to name a few that have been held at this convention. The e-book topic is fitting since Necon E-Books was announced at Necon 30. Check out the selection of e-books here.

3. The third reason is to pick up more books and have the authors sign it. On Friday night during Necon, there is a “Meet the Authors” event. This is the time where you can get books that you brought signed. Or you can buy a book direct from the author. There is no better way to potentially meet the next Stephen King. And when they do become famous, you can tell your friends that you met and talked with the author at Necon. Your friends will be very jealous.

The NEHW table at Necon’s Authors’ Night. Photo by Jason Harris.

There are more reasons to attend Necon, but the main three are found above. Once you attend, you will find out the other reasons why this convention is so great. When you decide to go, just write on the registration form that Jason Harris referred you. You won’t regret it.

Necon happens in Rhode Island every July. For more information, click here.

Jul 26 2012

Hanging Out with Horror Writers

Since there has been a number of entries this week with pictures from Necon, I thought it would be nice to read an author’s blog entry written while they attended Necon 32. Author and Co-Chair of the NEHW Stacey Longo wrote such a blog. Author Jeff Strand (Pressure) even stopped by and commented on her blog.

Please enjoy this author’s current blog entry.

Hanging Out with Horror Writers

by Stacey Longo

I’m writing this in my hotel room at NECON, the Northeastern Writers’ Conference. I have to admit, it can be a little intimidating walking in to a conference center filled with some of the sickest, most twisted minds that horror has to offer, but I like to come prepared. Before I come to one of these events, I write up a list of fun topics and conversation starters in case I find myself face-to-face with F. Paul Wilson and can’t interest him in the pictures of the time I met Duran Duran. Here was my list for this year:
1. Brush up on your serial killers. Many writers base their novels on real-life events, and find this subject fascinating. I found myself on the first day sitting next to Dallas Mayr (Jack Ketchum) and was able to successfully entertain him with tales of a serial cannibal I once knew. These kinds of sure-fire conversation starters are key to any horror convention.
2. Pick a side: Lovecraft or Poe? You just can’t be ambivalent about this topic. If you’re going to go to a convention of writers, you’d better love one and hate the other, and be able to defend your side vehemently. Otherwise, Darryl Schweitzer will peg you as an imposter faster than you can say “Cthulhu.”
3. Watch as many obscure scary movies as possible before attending. The only thing horror writers like more than a creepy story is a scary movie. There also seems to be a tendency among this group to find the most ambiguous film ever made and make you feel like a giant lump of stupid if you haven’t seen it. Heard today over lunch: “You haven’t seen When Hell Comes to Frog Town? It’s only Rowdy Roddy Piper’s best cinematic performance of his career. I’m sorry, I can no longer continue speaking to you, you giant lump of stupid.”
4. Be prepared to have your favorite Stephen King novel completely skewered. Another popular activity for horror writers: espousing on why Stephen King is a hack. You thought The Stand was fabulous? Blind meadow voles could sniff out a better novel. Did you find Bag of Bones entertaining? You are an incompetent boor who should be eaten alive by blind meadow voles. Why on earth would you be so foolish to think that the most popular author on the planet could actually write a good story? (I suspect this is such a favorite activity among horror writers because they might be a tad jealous. However, this has not prevented me from trashing Under the Dome in select circles.) There you have it: a primer on blending in among horror’s literary elite. I would write some more tips, but I am currently being dragged outside and tied to a stake so that I can be eaten alive by blind meadow voles.

Moments after admitting that I kind of liked Stephen King’s Insomnia, I realize I’m a dead woman.

Jul 14 2012

Life Lessons from Southfork

Life Lessons from Southfork

by Stacey Longo

I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve watched the new Dallas series. In fact, I got a sneak peek of the first seven episodes and wrote a review of the show (read it here!) See, my sister made me watch the old Dallas when I was about nine years old, and she must have made me keep watching it up until I was 18 and it went off the air. Seeing my old friends Bobby, Lucy, Ray, Sue Ellen, and J.R. on the new show made me realize how much I’ve missed them. So many of the life lessons I abide by today came from watching Dallas. For instance …

1. If you’re going to shoot someone, make sure they’re dead when you’re finished.

2. Sure, you can use your pretty face to marry money, but deep down, you’ll always be Digger Barnes’s daughter.

3. That little old lady may look sweet, but you don’t know if she’s bludgeoned her husband to death with a frozen leg of lamb, then cooked it up and served it to the police investigating the crime. (Wait. That might be a life lesson from Alfred Hitchcock.)

4. Don’t sleep with the hired help. That hot ranch hand might turn out to be your uncle.

5. It’s probably not a good idea to start getting drunk at 8 AM. But since I’m not married to J.R. Ewing, who am I to judge?

6. Sometimes, when you think your life has turned to crap, it actually all turns out to be a bad dream.

So take it from me: tune in to the latest antics of J.R., Bobby, and Sue Ellen. You just might learn something useful!

Life lesson number seven: there’s something to be said for keeping up with your eyebrow plucking.

Editor’s Note:

This entry originally appeared on author Stacey Longo’s website.