Jun 20 2013

Fundraiser at Books & Boos this Saturday

Books & Boos is holding a fundraiser for Holly Newstein Hautala on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Holly is an author and a wonderful person. She lost her husband, Rick Hautala, to a heartattack in March. At the time of Rick’s death, he had let his life insurance policy lapse because he couldn’t afford it. A writer’s life is one of struggle and Rick’s life was no different.Rick was an author and the nicest guy. He would help aspiring writers with comments and by even reading their manuscripts if he had the time. I got to know him at Necon (http://www.campnecon.com/), a writer’s convention that happens every July. I talked with him there. I even beat him at darts with his own darts. I will always remember him calling me a ringer when I beat him. He is a person who will be missed. You can read the tributes from the people he touched here.

If you want to get to know him, his autobiography, The Horror… The Horror: An Autobiography, was released as an e-book on May 27, you can read more about it here.

There will be 14 authors attending the fundraiser throughout the day. Here is the list of authors attending: Dan Foley, Scott M. Goriscak, Stacey Longo, G. Elmer Munson, Vincent H. O’Neil, Monica O’Rourke, Dale T. Phillips, David Price, Jennifer Allis Provost, William Rockwell, Vlad Vaslyn, Brian White, Corrine De Winter, Ronald Winter, Trisha Wooldridge, and T.T. Zuma.

There will be three different panels (the Horror Movie panel from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Favorite Books of All Time from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and Ghosts in the Attic: My Personal Paranormal Experience from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.).

A 8×10 autograph William Shatner picture.

There is also going to be a silent auction going on throughout the day until 6 p.m. Over 35 silent auction items will be available to bid on throughout the day, including signed 8 x 10 of William Shatner, Walter Koenig, and George Takei; handcrafted jewelry; a writer’s basket of goodies; a rare The Outer Limits figurine; Dr. Who puzzles; a basket of books; original photography by Linda Orlomoski of Norwich, and many other incredible items. You can see the items here.

If you can’t make it on Saturday, the bookstore’s owners have set-up a way for people to bid on the items. Click here for more details and information.

There will also be giveaways, balloons, and free food at the event. It’s going to be a great day so please come and enjoy yourselves.

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.

Jun 11 2013

Pictures of the Annual 32nd Tag Sale on the Green

The 32nd Annual Tag Sale on the Green happened this past Sunday, June 9, in Colchester, Connecticut. This event is organized by the Colchester Business Association. There was beautiful weather, which attracted huge crowds of people. It was a great day. There were more people there than some other similar events I have gone to. I heard it was a very popular event, but wasn’t sure what to expect. It was my first time at this event and my expectations were met. I was at this event not only as a customer, but as a vendor. My store, Books & Boos, had a tent there.

BB, the Books & Boos mascot hovering around the banner for the 32nd Annual Tag Sale on the Green

If you want to find out about BB’s adventures, you can go to Books & Boos Facebook page and see the photo album titled “BB’s Adventures.”

This event also had fried dough, corndogs, sundaes, and even Subway was there selling six and 12-inch sandwiches. I wish this type of variety was at other craft fairs.

The crowds at the 32nd Tag Sale.

The Books & Boos and Re-use of Misdirected Flatware tent.

You can see the different items that John Gilchrist creates on his Facebook page here. He sells some of his items at Books & Boos too.

Author Rob Watts was at the Books & Boos tent on Sunday.

You can find out more about Rob Watts at his website.

Christine Volpe arranging pieces of work at the Glow in the Dark Glass tent.

Glow in the Dark Glass items.

Check out the Glow in the Dark Glass website for a lot of interesting items.

The J.R. Watkins Apothecary tent.

Larry Janesky’s Connecticut Basement Systems was at the tag sale.

The Rustik Attik.

Click here to see some of the items available from The Rustik Attik.

The Perfect Curb.

Redco Industries.

The products created by Redco Industries.

More Redco products.

Check out Redco Industries’ website here.

The Traveling Vineyard.

Another picture of The Traveling Vineyard tent.

The Traveling Vineyard will come to your house with a number of different wines along with glasses for a wine tasting. To find out more information, click here for the businesses website.

Jun 8 2013

Writing and Book Expo America

By Kendra Saunders

It’s afternoon, the beginning of June and I’m sitting outside of Starbucks in Concord, New Hampshire. This Starbucks holds special meaning, from the friendly staff to the two electric plugs that all of the laptop-happy-customers fight over. It’s very windy today and a Ben Kingsley lookalike sits in the parking lot watching me and blasting a news program from the windows of his Jeep. It’s surreal to be here, in a place that has been my home for so long, in the place where I wrote Death and Mr. Right, after visiting the gray and grime tinged rush of New York City.

I don’t belong here.

Last year, I pitched a novel to Kate Kaynak in New York City, as we carpooled back to New Hampshire together. It was my first time in America’s best city and I was overwhelmed with exhaustion, inspiration and lyrics from Interpol songs. Death and Mr. Right had a title and it had already been written as a short story. The premise: the agent of nightmares falls in love, loses his job and is exiled into the modern world. Kate loved the idea and asked me to write it and submit it to her. I returned home, my head buzzing, and wrote Death and Mr. Right in only a few months. I edited it and put the finishing touches on it Halloween 2012. The next morning I began writing The Unlove Spell, a novel I’d been kicking around my head for weeks.

Death and Mr. Right was accepted by Spence City in late 2012 and I wrote The Unlove Spell in a few brief, joyous months. Both books were comedies, full of light and dark, in-jokes, colorful characters and tributes to my friends, muses and heroes. They were the easiest books I’d ever written. Both were also surprisingly personal – much of Death’s backstory was linked to my own youthful neuroses, brought to life through the safety of humor. Viktor’s struggles to balance a demanding family member with responsibility and his own dreams of being a writer reflected my own familial troubles as an eldest child with a difficult relationship with a cruel parental figure. But both were full of bliss, a cathartic experience, a creative binge that left me worn out in the best possible way and glowing afterward.

When my publisher said we would have review copies of D&MR to sign at Book Expo America, I planned my whole year around the trip, reserving a room at the Jane Hotel as much for its special meaning to my best friend (her favorite building in the city) as for the inexpensive price.

All of my books are written like movies, with a complete cast of muses. The Unlove Spell had been inspired by Clemence Poesy as my impulsive witch, Marling, Lana Del Rey as my crazy fae queen (perfect, right?) and Dmitry Sholokhov as the honorable, rock star writer who is also hiding a huge secret – he doesn’t write about magical beings. He IS one.

I met Dmitry at his Lord & Taylor event to launch his capsule dress collection and told him how much he’d inspired me, both because he’d worked so hard to get where he was (a kick for me to get moving!) and as a muse for Viktor. Fast forward to May and Dmitry was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to drop by the Javits Center for a bit, as my guest.

Kendra Saunders and Charles Day at BEA. More pictures can be found here, http://www.kendralsaunders.com/BEA2013.html.

BEA seemed busier this year than the year before, but as I sashayed my way through the Javits in my gorgeous Sholokhov dress and six-inch heels, I noticed a more subdued attitude in the crowd. There weren’t nearly as many free books and from what I could tell, the biggest draw of Friday would be Grumpy Cat.

My signing took place between 12:30 and 1:30, deep inside the air-conditioned safety of the Javits. Handing my book to bloggers, librarians and reviewers was absolutely enchanting and nerve-wracking, in the right portions. One gentleman caught sight of it as he walked by, wandered over to investigate and ultimately asked for a copy. I guzzled two water bottles to suppress nerves, and received a steady stream of compliments on my dress, shoes and book cover.

Books and fashion? Win-win!

Dmitry arrived at the end of my signing and I handed him a special unbound copy of The Unlove Spell’s unedited manuscript, told him all about Viktor and then posed for pictures. Though it was a blur, I do remember looking out and seeing a line of ten? fifteen? digital cameras, professional cameras, cell phones and a pink iPad. It was crazy.

After wandering a bit, laughing about Grumpy Cat’s impending appearance and signing some silly messages in Dmitry’s copy of my books, we said our goodbyes and headed out into the blistering afternoon. All I could think of, over and over, was The Great Gatsby. My friend Megan and my sister hopped into a cab with me and we escaped to Greenwich Village, intending to hide out in the cool of our hotel, just as the protagonists of Gatsby had. I’d only taken a few steps away from the cab when my shoe broke.

I took this as a good omen. I’d traveled to the big city, brought along some dear friends, been aided by several fairy godmothers (complete with lip balm, tissues, and bottles of water!)

Death and Mr. Right lives in the hands of bloggers, reviewers, librarians, teachers, a few authors, a lovely young woman who travelled from Maryland to meet me and Dmitry. Between now and October 1, I will have interviews and promotional events to keep me busy, but June in New Hampshire might as well be the dark side of the moon in most respects. I’m ready to hear what everyone thinks of little blue haired Death and his misadventures, ready to unleash The Unlove Spell on the world, and I’m dying to return to New York City.

If the broken shoe is any sign of the future, I should be headed back that way soon, ready to begin a new volume in the book of life.

About the Author:

Kendra L. Saunders is the author of the urban fantasy Inanimate Objects, short story collection Overlapping Visions and the upcoming dark comedy Death and Mr. Right (Spence City, 10/13).

She’s conducted interviews with Jennifer L. Armentrout, Aurelio Voltaire, Dmitry Sholokhov, Fabio Costa and many others for ipmNation, Steampunk Magazine and The New England Horror Writers. She’s one cat allergy away from a stereotypical writer. Find her at kendralsaunders.com or on twitter @kendrybird where she loves to answer writing questions, talk about music and fashion and share insider tips about the publishing industry.

Jun 6 2013

An Excerpt from ‘Copper Girl’

by Jennifer Allis Provost

CHAPTER ONE, Part I

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

My office, like most modern offices, cranked the air conditioning down to Arctic proportions during the summer months. Consequently, we workers arrived in the morning dressed in sandals and sleeveless tops, donned heavy sweaters upon reaching our desks, and ended up shivering by noon. Ironically, when our workday ended we were hit by a wall of oppressive heat the moment we stepped outside the main doors. No, this wasn’t a flawed system in the slightest.

That day, I wasn’t having it. I had the grand idea of spending my lunch hour outside, away from the icy wind stiffening my fingers and chilling my neck. After I unwound myself from the afghan I kept in my desk (and only used in the summer months), I gathered up my lunch and my phone and headed out for an impromptu picnic in my car.

What I hadn’t considered was that the office runs the air conditioning so cold because it was, well, hot outside. Very hot, in fact. So hot that the cheese was melting in my sandwich and the lettuce looked like something that had washed ashore months, maybe even years, ago. I was parked in the shade and had taken down my car’s convertible top, but I still couldn’t manage to get comfortable. I’d already shed my sandals and cardigan, which left me wearing my sundress and …

Dare I?

I glanced around the parking lot of Real Estate Evaluation Services, the ‘go-to firm for all your commercial real estate needs’, according to the brochures. No one, human or drone, was taking a noontime stroll, and, by virtue of my being on the far side of the lot, no cars were near mine. Most of my coworkers didn’t even have cars, so the lot was rarely more than half-full. What was more, from where I sat, I couldn’t even see the office.

I dared.

I took a deep breath and channeled my inner wild woman, then leaned the seat back and slipped off my panties. Removing that small bit of cotton made an incredible difference, and the heat became somewhat bearable. Enjoyable, even. Was that a breeze?

Ignoring my decrepit sandwich, I fully reclined the seat, set the alarm on my phone, and closed my eyes. A nap. Now that would make today bearable.

***

Suddenly, he is there.

Here.

I know I’m dreaming, because he’s perfect. His lips are soft but insistent, his hands gentle. I glide my fingers across his back, feeling thick cords of muscle, before sinking my fingers into his hair. It’s superfine, like cobwebs, and when I crack an eyelid, I learn that it’s silver. Not gray or white, but the elegant hue of antique candlesticks and fine flatware. Cool.

I squeeze my eyes shut again, not wanting the dream to end any sooner than it has to. He kisses me once more, and I can’t help melting against him. His hand travels up my leg, up past my hip … shit! No panties!

I try twisting away, but he already knows. I feel his mouth stretch into a smile, and he moves to nuzzle my neck. “What’s your name?” he murmurs.

“Sara,” I reply. “Yours?”

“Micah.” By now, his hands have traveled to my waist, and he slides one around to stroke the small of my back. “Why did you summon me, Sara?”

“I didn’t,” I protest. “I don’t know how.” I would say more, but he nibbles a trail from my neck to my shoulder, and pushes my dress to the side. As for me, I let him.

Micah raises his head, and I get a good look at him for the first time. His eyes are large and dark gray, like thunderheads, his features chiseled into warm caramel skin, and his unruly mop of silver hair seems to float around his head. He wears an odd, buff-colored leather shirt, made all the odder in this heat, and matching leather pants and boots. Boots?

“You did summon me,” he insists. “My Sara, you must tell me why.”

“Does it matter?” I ask. I pull him back to me, kissing him with all the passion I’ve ever felt with anyone during my waking hours. Micah kisses me back, fingers deftly unbuttoning my dress while his other hand rubs my lower back. I’ve never felt so free, so alive as I do in Micah’s embrace, and I have no intention of rushing this. None at all.

If you enjoyed chapter one of Copper Girl, you can order it here.

Jennifer Allis Provost is a native New Englander who lives in a sprawling colonial along with her beautiful and precocious twins, a dog, a parrot (maroon bellied conure, to be exact), two cats, and a wonderful husband who never forgets to buy ice cream. As a child, she read anything and everything she could get her hands on, including a set of encyclopedias, but fantasy was always her favorite. She spends her days drinking vast amounts of coffee, arguing with her computer, and avoiding any and all domestic behavior.

Friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennallis

Follow her on Twitter: @parthalan

Check out her websites, http://jenniferallisprovost.com/ and http://jenniferallisprovost.blogspot.com/.

Jun 3 2013

Sturbridge Author Appearing at Two Different Locations

Author Erin Thorne, from Sturbridge, MA., will be appearing at the Tatnuck Bookseller on Saturday, June 8, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The bookstore is located in the Westborough Shopping Center at Rte. 9 and Lyman St. in Westborough, MA.

She will also be appearing at the Windowbox in Stafford Springs, CT. from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m during the Arts on Main event on Friday, June 14. The store is located at 44 Main St.

She’ll sign copies of all of her books at both events, which will be available for purchase. These events are free and open to the public.

Please check out Erin Thorne’s Amazon page here or her Facebook page here where you can find out about her and her three books, Behind the Wheel, Diane’s Descent and Deals Diabolical.

Erin Thorne welcomes interviews and different types of speaking engagements and signings. Feel free to contact her by phone at (508) 347-3677 or (774) 757-7159. She can be contacted by email too, AuthorErinThorne@gmail.com.

May 31 2013

A Relaxing Saturday Afternoon with Joe Hill

By Timothy P. Flynn

Last Saturday, on May 25, my daughter and I made the trip up to the Barnes and Noble in Nashua, New Hampshire for the special event where horror/speculative fiction writer Joe Hill was appearing. He is presently doing appearances in various areas to promote his newest novel, NOS4A2. He was to do a brief reading from his new book, a Q and A session with the audience, and then start the signing of his books.

My nickname should really start to become “Tardy Tim” because I am late for everything recently. We got to the event around 2:30 (half an hour late) and missed the reading part of the event. There was a huge crowd all encompassing the magazine section of the store. My daughter and I snuck in the back, right beside fellow Necon camper Gardner Goldsmith (SHOUTOUT).

Joe has a terrific personality answering the questions before him making the audience cackle with laughs at all the right moments. When the subject of his famous father came up, Joe retorted with the statement, “You all may have heard my Dad writes here and there. He may have a future in this business, but who knows.” Joe made a point to refresh the audience that ALL of his family members are fantastic writers. This included his mom, Tabitha, his brother, Owen with a new novel out at present, and Owen’s wife is also a novelist. The King household at get-togethers and around the dinner table has always been the place for literary conversation.

Gardner’s question was a very good one. He asked Mr. Hill about his productive output, as in a daily word count and also any certain moments in his career that were pivotal in his direction. Joe answered with a daily 1200 words before anything: emails, phone calls, etc. The pivotal moment was his choice to pursue the horror/speculative fiction genre after some literary attempts – simply because he loved the genre was the answer, and the choice of the pseudonym, which was to not rely on name alone for his writing merits. Joe Hill made it as a successful writer on his own terms before it leaked who his identity was. The speed round Q and A was hilarious with short “yes” or “no” answers to multiple questions.

The signing line was quite long, but well worth the wait. Joe was great by answering questions, signing multiple books, and even posing for a few pictures. One could easily say it was a successful event and a great time was had by everyone who attended. This was the second time I met Joe Hill, but it was my 10-year-old daughter’s first time. She braved through some of the boring parts for a child with her dad trying to best to keep a smile on her face. Her name is now even personalized in two of Mr. Hill’s books and resides now in our home on my bookcase.

About the author:

Flynn is an author and member of the New England Horror Writers. You can find out more about him on his website by clicking here.

May 30 2013

Grinning Skull Press Debuts First Anthology

Grinnng Skull Press debuted its first anthology, From Beyond the Grave, this month. It contains 19 ghostly tales by authors Michael J. Evans, Carol Weekes, David North-Martino, Jeffrey Kosh, Robert W. Walker, Nelson W. Pyles, Marianne Halbert, Gordon Anthony Bean, Edward J. McFadden III, Jeffrey C. Pettengill, Cynthia Ward, Michael Thomas-Knight, Tim J. Finn, Rose Blackthorn, Adam Millard, Brent Abell, Scott M. Goriscak, Jay Wilburn, and Lisamarie Lamb.

From Beyond the Grave is available in print from Amazon and digitally for Kindle, Kobo, and Nook.

Grinning Skull Press isn’t stopping with its freshmen effort. Their second anthology, ATTACK! of the B-Movie Monsters: Night of the Gigantis, will be released this summer.

They are working on even more anthologies. They are currently accepting submissions for a Christmas-themed horror anthology that will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Submissions can be sent to grinningskullpress@yahoo.com or submissions@grinningskullpress.com.

Evans, the publisher, will soon announce an unthemed horror anthology, Blood on the Moon and another ATTACK! of the B-Movie Monsters except this one will focus on Alien Encounters. The press has other anthologies planned: Gore Whores (ladies only) and Splatter Punks (for the guys), Only the Undead Know Brooklyn (open to NY writers only), and Hockomock: Tales of the Bridgewater Triangle (MA writers only).

For more information on Grinning Skull Press, check out its website here.

May 28 2013

Late Horror Writer’s Autobiography Released (updated 6/24/13)

The Horror… The Horror: An Autobiography by Rick Hautala was released on Monday, May 27, by Crossroads Press. At the moment, it is only available as an e-book.

Holly Newstein Hautala, Rick’s wife, said that Crossroads Press will do a print edition since enough people have expressed interest in it for them to go ahead with it.

“I will assume at this point a POD trade paperback,” Holly said about the print version.

Rick passed away in March and Holly found the manuscript two weeks after his death.

“He had a ‘man corner’ in the living room, where all his war games and ‘to be read’ books were piled up,” Holly said. “I was winnowing down the pile and found a Manila envelope. Inside was the manuscript with his handwritten edits. I had no idea he was working on anything like this.”

Rick wrote his autobiography almost four years ago, she said.

“I searched his thumb drives and external hard drive, by title and phrases, and came up blank,” Holly said. “I can only assume that he wrote it, began editing it, and then decided in his Eeyore way that nobody would be interested and deleted it. It really was the only secret he ever kept from me.”

She read it immediately and knew it was an important story, Holly said. It’s not only important for the people who knew and loved him, but also because it captures a chapter in the publishing industry.

“When Rick’s career began, publishers were still promoting and supporting ‘midlist’ writers, who might or might not have a breakout novel in them, but were modestly profitable.”

The tax codes changed and this doomed the midlist writers, she said. “There were no more tax advantages in promotion and in ‘growing’ authors – it was all about the mega-best sellers. With the advent of digital and on-demand publishing, the small presses came into their own and filled the vacuum left by the demise of the midlist, and Rick’s career got a second wind. The Horror shows in a very personal way the carnage and redemption that the changes in publishing have wrought.”

“In addition, Rick’s advice on writing is solid and time-tested, [and] worth a close read by aspiring authors,” Holly added.

“David Wilson and Crossroads Press had the rights to e-publish Rick’s backlist,” Holly said. “I approached them first, thinking that The Horror probably had a fairly limited audience (the ghost of Eeyore, I guess).”

Wilson and Crossroads were glad to take it on as an e-book, so she typed the entire manuscript including Rick’s edits and sent it to them, she said.

“When I posted on Facebook about The Horror, the response overwhelmed me. So I am hoping that maybe Rick’s story will take on a life of its own and be bigger than either of us imagined. Certainly Rick was bigger and better-loved than he ever dreamed he was. The world is a little darker without his kind and steady presence in the writing community.”

To purchase the e-book version of The Horror from Amazon, click here.

Editor’s Note: It was announced by Holly Newstein Hautala on June 24, 2013 that Crossroads Press will have a print edition of Rick’s autobiography out by the end of this week.

May 24 2013

Publishing Company at Rhode Island Arts and Crafts Festival this Memorial Day Weekend

Jim Dyer and his independent publishing house, Fenham Publishing, will be at the Gaspee Days Arts and Crafts Festival in Warwick, Rhode Island, this weekend. It’s a three-day event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Stop by his table to speak with him and to find out about the books he has published.

Dyer, the grandson of author C.M. Eddy, Jr., got the idea about publishing his grandfather’s collections after going through his grandparent’s papers and manuscripts. He wanted to produce a cohesive collection of their works, he said.

According to a 1963 Providence Evening Bulletin article, Eddy knew and worked with Houdini and H.P. Lovecraft. He was one of Houdini’s ghost writers along with Lovecraft. This article also states that Eddy’s wife typed up Lovecraft’s manuscripts.

His grandmother had written quite a few essays and remembrances of H.P. Lovecraft throughout the years for various magazines, newspapers, fanzines and books, he said.

“Many people wanted her to give her personal memories and view of Lovecraft, as she knew him as a friend,” Dyer said.

Dyer’s publishing house is located in Narragansett.

For more information about the Gaspee Days Arts and Crafts Festival, click here or to find out more about Fenham Publishing, click here.

Here is another article about Dyer, click here.

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