Tag Archives: David Price

Feb 13 2012

Experiencing Arisia

Experiencing Arisia 2012

by David Price

When did steampunk become so popular, would someone tell me? I went to Arisia for the first time this year, which, for those who don’t know, is a yearly science fiction and fantasy convention in Boston. Now, admittedly, my convention-going experience is limited. When I was a kid, I used to go to some of the local comic book and Star Trek conventions, but that was over twenty years ago. Last year, I went to a horror convention called Rock and Shock, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a horror writers’ convention called Anthocon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Neither one of those prepared me for the spectacle I would find at Arisia.

I had expectations for Arisia. I’ve seen these kinds of things on tv, so I thought I would find a bunch of people dressed up like Starfleet officers, Klingons, Jedi, Hobbits, Elves, and Battlestar Galactica pilots. My expectations were, however, blown out of the water. Instead, it seemed like every science fiction fan woke up one morning and said, “Hey, I finally get that 1960s television show, The Wild Wild West. You know the show, right? Robert Conrad and Ross Martin were James West and Artemus Gordon. These two were a couple of James Bond types during the time of the Old West. It was half science-fiction, half western. The gadgetry they employed was far in advance of what you would expect for the period, with things like cyborgs, force fields, flamethrowers, and batman-style grappling hooks. The 1999 version starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline really sucked, but they played up the whole steampunk angle even more than the series. So that’s what steampunk is, this blending of Old West and Victorian era time period with science fiction elements.

If the the Arisia I attended is representative of what it is usually like, they could just call it a steampunk convention. There were plenty of people dressed up in costume, that’s true, but most of it had that steampunk theme. I saw one Starfleet uniform, one hobbit, and a couple of guys who might have been Jedi, but they didn’t have light sabers, so I couldn’t be sure. Dressing for the occasion seems to be the way to go at one of these things too, as I would say a good three quarters of the convention-goers showed up in costume. I was in the minority. It was fun to go there and people watch, though. Let me tell you something; nerd girls dress up in some of the, ah, *ahem*, most appealing costumes you could imagine. I’ll admit they surpassed what I expected. There may not have been any Slave Leias, but there was a scantily clad elven archer from the Lord of the Rings or Skyrim, a seductive assassin from the video game Assassin’s Creed, and a very revealing Poison Ivy from Batman wrapped in only, you guessed it, ivy.

All right, so I still decided I would go in there and enjoy myself. I like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Babylon Five as much as the next geek. Stepping into the dealer room was like entering some alternate universe, where geeks didn’t even know who the Doctor, Captain Kirk, Han Solo or Starbuck were. I wandered around and checked out everything they had to offer, but nothing really jumped out at me. I’m amazed to say that I walked out of Arisia without purchasing a single thing. When I went into the dealer room, however, it seemed the dealers got the same memo that everybody else did. It was Steampunk Central in there. I’m an introvert by nature and I have to admit that I found the place to be a bit overwhelming. I think I could have settled in better if I found some of the familiar Harry Potter and Star Wars elements that I expected to, but those things were almost non-existent, except for one notable exception. One of the highlights of the day was a life-sized stormtrooper cake that was on display. Towards the end of the day, it was sliced up and served to a very long line of hungry Star Wars fans. I passed on that, because hey, how good could it really be? If it was Darth Vader cake, maybe, but stormtrooper? It was probably just a cloned recipe, anyway.

The biggest lesson I learned from this convention, was that I should have made myself familiar with the schedule before I even walked in the door. There were hundreds of events that included movies, seminars, discussion groups, and even combat sword training. I know I would have enjoyed a bunch of those, and next time I intend to have a plan of attack. I missed the discussion I had planned to attend, which was a panel of critics wrapping up the science fiction movies from 2011. A friend of mine, Woody Bernardi, had what they call a “fan table.” Woody started a group called the Boston Science Fiction Association, which is really just a bunch of fans who get together and hangout sometimes. He got the fan table to drum up some more interest in the group. So far we’ve mainly been getting together for lunch at the Tavern at the End of the World, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. I agreed I would take a turn watching the fan table for Woody so he could go to some of the discussion groups that interested him. I think he was particularly interested in a tribute to Anne McCaffrey. I was happy to sit down and unwind a bit. I actually talked to more people sitting at that table than I had wandering around the crowded dealer room.

I look forward to the next one, though, now that I’ve had a chance to process the experience. As a writer, I dream of a day when people will be dressing up as characters from my fantasy novels. That would be something to see. Would I go in costume? I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Of course, my ultimate goal is to be one of those guys sitting behind a table with a long line of people waiting to see me. I’ll be serving the Darth Vader cake, of course.

Feb 12 2012

Experiencing the iPhone

My New iPhone

by David Price

I was born two years before man landed on the moon. My earliest memory is actually watching the moon landing on a static-filled black and white television, up at our cottage in New Hampshire. I have grown up in the age of hand-held electronic gadgets, and I have seen them all. The very first has to be the transistor radio, followed by those nifty electronic calculators that we used to write “ShELL01L” upside down. I guess I have always been intrigued by these devices, because I can remember owning all of them. Digital wrist watches were cool, with their glow-in-the-dark faces and their nifty electronic beeps. Remember the first hand-held electronic video games? I had this “football” game which was really just a bunch of red dots on a screen. You controlled one electronic light and had to evade all the others on your way to scoring a touchdown. In eighth grade, I even remember having a digital watch that had a scaled down version of Space Invaders on it.

There was some electronic innovation in the eighties, of course. The eighties gave birth to some of the technology which today practically runs our lives, like the cell phone and the personal computer. There were some cool gadgets too, like the Walkman. Everybody had to have one of those. This was also the time of the birth of the Compact Disc, which would go a long way to revolutionizing music. I bought my first VCR in the eighties, too. Then in the nineties, cell phones started to catch on and become an affordable technology. The Palm Pilot was a nice digital replacement for

those hefty day planners some people used. Personal computers and video games took a giant leap, and the internet was born. It’s all gone crazy since then, hasn’t it? Now we have technology that looks like it is straight out of science fiction. Star Trek even seems a bit short-sighted, doesn’t it?

What if I were to tell you that there is a device that can replace just about every hand-held device you have ever owned, except for possibly the Taser gun? That device is, of course, the iPhone. I purchased my iPhone about six weeks ago and I am constantly amazed at how useful it is. The keys are the apps. You have to find the right apps, but once you do, you find out what an amazing little device this is. Where do I begin? Last week, my wife had to travel to a bridal shower in an unfamiliar town. She was going to just use the GPS, but couldn’t find the power cord. I pulled up the GPS app on my iPhone, programmed in her destination, and sent her on her merry way, with my iPhone, unfortunately. But hey, at least the emergency was solved. When she returned from the shower she told me it was a good thing I had given her the iPhone, because the directions she had received from my mother were wrong.

Another app I particularly enjoy is called “Around Me.” This is another one that uses the GPS feature, and will show you just about any kind of business in the area that need. Around Me lists stores, banks, atms, bars, coffee shops, gas stations, hospitals, movie theaters, and, well, you get the picture. It is very useful. As a contractor by trade, I travel to wherever the jobs take me. Sometimes we find ourselves in unfamiliar cities looking for a bank, or someplace to grab lunch. Problem solved. With the Xfinity TV app, I can set up the DVR to record a show from anywhere. I also have a local news app, which has proven useful with traffic and news alerts. I like sports, so I have a few of those apps that keep me updated with scores and information. Do you like space? I have two NASA apps; one for regular news, and one for NASA TV. There are also cool sky map apps like Sky Safari and Star Walk. With Star Walk, you can point your iPhone at the sky and it will identify constellations and satellites for you. If you are one of those people who has all those rewards club tags hanging from your key ring, there is an app called, you guessed it, Key Ring, which will scan all of those into your phone so you don’t have to carry them around anymore. If you just can’t live without your social media there are apps for Facebook and Twitter.

Is going green important to you? Thanks to the iPhone, paper and pencils are now obsolete. The iPhone is a notebook and a calendar. With the Stitcher app, you can link to magazine articles that interest you. Combine this with the Nook and Kindle apps and you have the ability to carry around a small library. Add a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, and word search app, and time spent sitting in a waiting room flies by. You actually have access to what you want to read, not what the dentist office sees fit to provide (like two years of Golf Digest or Woman’s Day). If you are a comic book geek, you can even get some cool comic book apps like Comixology, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. Comic books delivered right to your phone. Who knew? Last month, I attended a science fiction convention in Boston called Arisia. An app called Guidebook took the place of a paper program and listed every event available at the con.

I have tried to show how this amazing little device can take the place of every other device you own. The iPhone was based on the iPod touch, so saying it plays all your music goes without saying, but I also added the Pandora radio app, because I don’t like to clog up the phone with too much music. I am always trying to improve myself or learn something new, so I like to rotate an audiobook through there. I would rather leave enough space for any cool apps that come along. Flixster is great if you like to go to the movies. I’ll never call Movie Phone again. You can even watch movies and TV on your phone with either Netflix, Hulu, or iTunes. I’m not really one for watching video on the small screen, but my kids seem to like it. One app that looks cool, but I haven’t had a chance to try yet, is called Bump. If you and another person both have this app, you can just touch phones and it exchanges contact info. I like to get little bits of inspiration once in a while, so I also have the Notes from the Universe app by Mike Dooley. I’ve saved the games for last because I’m sure most of you are familiar with many of the addictive games that are available. In case you are not, many of the favorites are Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Cut the Rope, Tetris, Bejeweled, Doodle Jump and Words with Friends. That’s pretty much everything I have experienced with the iPhone so far. Six months or a year from now, who knows what else I will be doing with this amazing little device? To sum up, it’s awesome.

Dec 30 2011

The Most Popular Stories of 2011

I want to thank the publicity committee members Stacey Longo, David Price, Doug Rinaldi, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover for their contributions to the NEHW website this year. I also want to thank Nick Cato, Bracken MacLeod, Kurt Newton, Kasey Shoemaker, Rob Watts, and Kate Laity for their contributions.

I want to thank all the readers who have come to the NEHW site. Thank you for reading. Hope to see you all in 2012.

Here are some of the most popular articles during 2011.

What Happens When a Horror Writer Goes to a Horror Convention https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/what-happens-when-a-horror-writer-goes-to-a-horror-convention/

A Writer Discovers the Famous Dundee Cemetery https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/a-writer-discovers-the-famous-dundee-cemetery/

Author’s Nightmare in Worcester https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/authors-nightmare-in-worcester/

Horror Icons and Fans at Rock and Shock https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/horror-icons-and-fans-at-rock-and-shock/

How Location Writing Worked for One Author https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/how-location-writing-worked-for-one-author/

An Author’s Account of the Middletown Open Air Market https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/an-authors-account-of-the-middletown-open-air-market/

Kurt Newton’s Encounter with the Blurry People at the Hebron Harvest Fair https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/kurt-newtons-encounters-with-the-blurry-people-at-the-hebron-harvest-fair/

Have you Heard of Santas Traveling Companion, the Krampus? https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/have-you-heard-of-santas-traveling-companion-the-krampus/

The NEHW Creeps into Sci-fi Saturday Night https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/the-nehw-creeps-into-sci-fi-saturday-night/

Discovering Shock Totem https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/discovering-shock-totem/

Author Dan Keohane’s Experience at the Hebron Harvest Fair https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/author-dan-keohanes-experience-at-the-hebron-harvest-fair/

Dane Cook Talks about His New Movie and His Inspirations https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/dane-cook-talks-about-his-new-movie-and-his-inspirations/

Get in on the Ground Floor at the First Annual Anthocon https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/get-in-on-the-ground-floor-at-first-annual-anthocon-november-11-13/

The Southcoast Toy and Comic Show Write-up https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/the-southcoast-toy-and-comic-show-write-up/

What to Do after Writing your First Novel https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/what-to-do-after-writing-your-first-novel/

Breaking Out of the Vacuum https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/breaking-out-of-the-vacuum/

Epitaphs is Back up on Amazon https://jasonharrispromotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/epitaphs-is-back-up-on-amazon/

Dec 20 2011

What To Do After Writing Your First Novel

What To Do After Writing Your First Novel

by David Price

This is all new to me. I finished writing my first novel just five months ago. It’s been a long time coming. There’s been so much to do since I finished the first draft, more than I ever imagined. I knew I’d have to edit it, but I never guessed how much work that would be, because I’d only written short stories before. I found out I needed to have a website, start a blog, as well as get active on facebook and twitter. Last and not least, I needed to network. As far as networking goes, the best thing I have done to date was join the New England Horror Writers.

The NEHW seemed like a good, solid group, right away. I immediately got involved in the facebook discussions and tried to help by contributing to the website. I had a chance to meet some of the members at Rock and Shock, and then about a month later at Anthocon. Those two events were great places to start and meet a few people, but the best chance to really get to know some people was going to be the Christmas party at John McIlveen’s.

Driving there was a bit of an adventure for me. I had trouble following the mapquest directions, and found myself wishing I had taken the GPS from my wife’s car. Overall, Haverhill is not that far from my home city of Peabody (pronounced Peebuddy, Jason), but once I got past Georgetown, I was in unfamiliar territory. It probably took me about a half hour longer to get there than it should have, because I turned around and backtracked so many times. In the end, I made it though.

From left to right: Scott Goudsward and David Price playing pool (picture courtesy of John M. McIlveen)

Now, I’ve been an introvert all my life, so meeting new people isn’t really my specialty. I’m sure a lot of you other writer types out there can relate to this. I walked into the conference room where the party was being held and all those old anxieties came to the surface. All the seats at the table were taken, which didn’t make it any easier to blend in. Luckily, Dan Keohane got up from the food table and asked in anyone wanted to play pool. A few of us teamed up and we played some pool. This gave me a chance to mingle with just a couple people to start and break the ice. As an added bonus, our host John McIlveen brought down enough alcohol to supply a frat party. I’ve been in enough social situations to know the lubricating powers of alcohol, so I grabbed a beer and tried to relax.

People came and went, but I had the chance to talk to Paul McMahon, Scott Goudsward, John McIlveen and Tracy Carbone during the day. Eventually, Stacy Longo and Jason Harris showed up, the two people who I’ve had the most contact up until now. I’m not so good at mingling that I had the chance to meet everybody, but hopefully I’ll get there eventually. I’m learning more all the time. Everybody had their own experiences and their own advice to share. The NEHW is a very friendly, supportive community, and I’m glad I can be a part of it. As day turned to night, the partygoers dwindled to a level I was more naturally comfortable with.

At eight o’clock, those of us who had stuck it out that long, gathered around the television so we could check out Tracy Carbone’s appearance on Animal Planet. This was the best time for me. We all got a kick out of Tracy’s appearance on some show that had to do with exotic pets. It lightened the mood up for a fun conversation. At that point, Scott Woolridge and Gardner Goldsmith were telling stories about convention experiences, other writers they have met, and the British sci-fi comedy, Red Dwarf, a show I had never seen before. Gardner really had some great stories to share about Red Dwarf and what the show meant to him. Gardner and a friend of his even flew over to England one year, just to watch the show on tv.

As Gardner was telling us this story, he described his big, burly friend who went with him. He looked around the room, reached over and tapped me on the shoulder, “Kind of like this guy,” he said. I have to chuckle about this. I have been part of a few different social circles over my life, such as hockey players, construction workers, Boy Scout fathers and now writers. Everything being relative, I seem to be some sort of hybrid. When I am around the athletes and construction workers, I am generally one of the smaller guys, but when I hang out with Boy Scout dads and other writers, it goes the other way.

Anyway, it was a fun day filled with interesting people. I’ve never completely fit in with the athletes and construction workers. Nothing against them, mind you, I’ve been part of that crowd for over twenty-five years. Still, it’s nice to finally find a group of people who can sit around all day talking about H. P. Lovecraft, Star Wars, the next Stephen King mini-series and the zombie apocalypse. I hope I get the chance to get to know more of this group over the coming year. Maybe by the 2012 Christmas party I’ll even know the names of the others that I didn’t get a chance to meet. I guess I’ll wrap this up now. I think I’ll watch one more episode of Red Dwarf on Netflix before bed.

Editor’s Note: Along with being a NEHW member, David Price is part of the NEHW Publicity Committee.

Nov 16 2011

Horror for a Good Cause

This information submitted by NEHW Publicity Committee member, David Price.

Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology

Photo courtesy of the Horror for Good Facebook page

This anthology is looking for original, unpublished stories.  All horror stories accepted, there is no particular theme.  The only requirement is that the story must be awesome.  The deadline for submissions is December 15.  There is no payment for this anthology, since proceeds will go to amfAR, which is an international AIDS research charity.

The anthology is being co-edited by Mark Scioneaux and Robert S. Wilson with the help of Publishing Consultant R.J. Cavender

Stories for this anthology have already been accepted from Ray Garton, Jack Ketchum, Ramsey Campbell, Jeff Strand and others.  Full submission guidelines can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/horrorforgood?sk=app_174225559282949

For more information about this anthology check out its website, http://horrorforgood.blogspot.com/

Nov 12 2011

Top 10 Reasons …To Self-Publish

This blog entry was found on Nathan Wrann’s website by David Price.

Top 10 Reasons …To Self-Publish

by Nathan Wrann

Nathan Wrann at Rock & Shock 2011 (photo by Kristi Petersen Schoonover)

First some housekeeping before I get into the meat of this blog:
**I recently started a tumblog for those times that I want to put a quick link, pic or vid out there. So make sure to follow me there. This wordpress blog will still be for my long-winded diatribes.
**There’s a Dark Matter Heart Facebook page now too.
**Dark Matter Heart is now available at iTunes for iPad etc: http://bit.ly/DMHitunes

Now, about that title up there. I had to shorten it. The full title of this blog is:

“Top 10 Reasons That I Decided To Self-Publish.”

Almost immediately after announcing Dalton Gang Press and DARK MATTER HEART the same question kept being asked of me: “Why did you decide to self-publish?” So I’ll use this forum to answer that question. Here are my top reasons why:

10) I’m lazy. I didn’t want to spend the amount of time and effort it would take to try to get an agent or publisher to like my work enough to work for me. The thought of formatting an e-book, designing a print book, designing a cover, and spending countless hours getting the word out to potential readers that the book actually exists is more appealing to me than writing a single query letter.

09) I’m impatient. I wrote my book. It’s done. There’s no way in hell I want to wait 2 or 3 years for a publisher to put it out. I’d rather take 2 to 3 years to build up sales for Dark Matter Heart.

08) I’m not good at asking permission. I’m not all that into asking (begging/pleading) someone (an agent/publisher) to read my work and publish it for me.
To lift a phrase from Jason Brubaker’s Filmmaking Stuff website, the old way of book publishing is “asking permission” for someone to put your book out for you. I don’t need to ask, I can just do. Why ask a half-dozen people (agents/publishers) to read your work when you can ask millions of people (customers/readers), simply by making it available and enticing them to read it.

07) I’m ‘hands on‘. I’d have trouble letting someone else design my covers, and do all that other stuff that publishers are supposed to do. That’s not to say that they would make a bad cover or that my covers are the best for my books, but that is to say, that I like to do that stuff. Like making promotional pins.

06) I’m greedy, possessive and I don’t like to share. It’s tough seeing my movie “Hunting Season” out there handled by someone else and only getting a cut of the proceeds. Do I appreciate Gravitas and Bosko Group’s efforts in getting the movie out there and available? Sure. Do they get it to an audience that I probably wouldn’t be able to reach? Sure. Does it suck that I can’t do whatever I want, whenever I want with my own movie? Hell yes. I want to be able to do whatever I want with my books. Like release a special edition of Dark Matter Heart that includes the original screenplay that it’s based on.

05) I don’t want to be pigeonholed. If you’ve seen my movies you know that I don’t do the same thing over and over. Yes, I will be putting out a second Cor Griffin Novel, but I’ve also got some hardcore horror stuff to put out, and some sci-fi to put out, and some dramatic stuff. I have a lot of different stories in a lot of different genres and styles. Signing with a publishing house would probably mean that I would have to stick with YA Paranormal. Without diversion. For at least a little time. Maybe that’s not true, but I believe it to be.

04) Here’s a quote from my pal Joshua Jabcuga: “You did it on your own terms. That’s art in its purest form, in my opinion. Fuck compromise.” I agree. Getting published means getting edited. Which means compromised for the purpose of marketability. Maybe that’s good for the book. Maybe that’s good for the story. I don’t know. All I know is that the book and story that is out there is exactly the one that I wanted to put out. Writing isn’t collaborative like filmmaking is (unless something is co-written). It doesn’t necessarily improve with more cooks in the kitchen.

03) Have you read J.A.Konrath’s blog? It’s a very convincing fantasy site about the gazillions of dollars a self-published author can make.

02) Have you read Dean Wesley Smith’s blog? It’s a realistic approach to the hard work and time that goes into building a self-publishing business.

01) To quote my pal Josh Jabcuga again: “Cor Griffin is proof-positive that the best investment you can make is an investment in yourself.” or as I’ve said in the past: “If I’m going to bet, I’m going to bet on myself.”

So that’s it. I’m sure these are the same reasons J.K. Rowling is self-publishing the Potter e-books. Let’s discuss.

Nov 4 2011

Short Story Contest

This information was found by David Price.

Lulu has a short story contest for the month of November.  Write a 600 word short story and you could win $500 cash, a B&N Nook, or a $100 B&N giftcard.  Full details can be found here.

http://www.lulu.com/blog/2011/11/01/lulu-short-story-contest/

Price is part of the NEHW publicity committee. He can be located on the web in a couple of places. Here are his links: www.authorwebpage.com/davidprice
http://davidpriceauthor.blogspot.com
follow him on twitter: DPAuthor or
find him on facebook: DavidPriceAuthor.