Feb 7 2012

Another Notch in the Bedpost?

This entry originally appeared on New England Horror Writers’ member, K. Allen Wood’s website.

Another Notch in the Bedpost?

by K. Allen Wood

I’ve been contemplating—and worried about—writing this blog post for a long time now. My worry is a simple one: Will people be offended, take it the wrong way? I can’t answer that, but I hope not, because I’m compelled to discuss it.

So here goes…

I started a small-press horror publication in the fall of 2008. I enlisted the help of some online friends, we dubbed it Shock Totem, and in July of 2009 we published our first issue. (Most of you know this.) Ever since we published that debut issue, I’ve had one question constantly rattling around my head:

Does an author owe his support to the publications that publish his work?

That question pertains not only to me as a publisher but as a writer as well. Through four issues of Shock Totem, we have gotten some amazing support from authors we’ve published. But not all of them. Some hardly mentioned us at all, even when the issue containing their work came out. On a selfish level, I can’t help but find that disappointing. On a rational level, I understand that I have no idea why an author does what he does. There are things at play here that I am simply not privy to. I can dig that.

But back to the selfish side of things… As a publisher, I find myself leaning toward the notion that writers should be supporting those who publish their work. Because if the publisher is doing it right (relative to that particular publisher, of course), and if they’re a publication like Shock Totem where every issue is still in print and actively promoted, then the publication is fully and continually supporting the authors.

Back to the rational side of things… As a published author—hell, as a lifelong creative type—I completely understand that the muse commands one to look forward, to move forward, and create, create, create, to not waste time looking back. I also know how little time most artistic people have to actually focus on their art. So maybe some people simply don’t have the time. But that leads to the one thing I can’t rationalize…

When I finish a new story, I move onto a new one. But when I have a story published, I never move on. (All this can be applied, as well, to my musician days.) I can’t move forward and not look back in that regard. Because I want people to read my work! Do I owe it to that particular publication to support them, promote them? That’s debatable. But I sure as hell owe it to myself to support and promote my work! So I make the time.

And that is precisely what baffles me. (This does not take into account the fact that some authors publish bad stories best left forgotten from time to time.) Why do certain writers choose to not actively promote their work? Is a publication credit just another notch in the bedpost for these authors? As a publisher, sometimes it feels that way.

I have just three publication credits. The first was in 52 Stitches, Vol. 2. The publisher, Aaron Polson, essentially put Strange Publications to bed—at least for the time being—when this anthology was published. But this book is still available, and I promote the hell out of it…because I want people to read my work! “By the Firelight,” my story in this anthology, is a mere 457 words, but I still want people to read it. It doesn’t matter that the publication is inactive or perhaps permanently closed, because I like my story and, in my opinion, I owe it to myself to promote it.

My second published work, “Goddamn Electric,” was in The Zombie Feed, Vol. 1. I’ve sent out copies for review, I’ve posted about it here on this blog and on the Shock Totem blog. I will continue to do so as long as it’s available.

I’ve done the same thing, and will continue to do so, with Epitaphs: The Journal of New England Horror Writers, which contains my story “A Deep Kind of Cold.” In a certain, roundabout way, I’m promoting my work right now.

Which brings me to the revelation of things…

Since that first issue of Shock Totem came out in 2009, I’ve been asking myself should the author support the publisher? Again, the answer is debatable. But few would argue that an author shouldn’t promote his own work, right? And in promoting his own work, is that not, therefore, supporting the publisher? Is there a difference between promoting your own work and supporting the publisher?

I’m no longer sure you can have the former without the latter, but I know what I’m going to do. Always.

Editor’s Note:

Wood makes a lot of valid points. A creative person does look ahead, but to become well-known or even known, they need to promote their work. By authors’ promoting their stories, they are promoting the publisher of their work. How hard is it to write a Facebook status update or a tweet about your story being in an anthology, magazine, etc.

Wood promotes his magazine and any anthology his stories appear in. He does this through his website and his different twitter accounts. He also attends different conventions and fairs too. He will be at the NEHW tables at the Queen City Kamikaze Convention on Feb. 18 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Feb 5 2012

New E-books from NEHW Members

In the last few weeks, members of the New England Horror Writers’ organization have published new stories in e-book form.

Author Tracy L. Carbone, editor of Epitaphs, recently released The Folks, her first venture into the e-book market place.

In The Folks, Valerie and her young daughter are relieved to stumble upon Hardscrabble Farm after their car gets a flat tire late at night. “The farm is surrounded by an army of scarecrows, but the warm safe house beckons to them.” Once arriving, “they discover that the horrible secrets kept by the farm’s owner Clara Rantoul are far more sinister than they could have imagined.”

Her second offering, One Minute, is a Twilight Zone-esque tale about three people in a love triangle discovering “the cruel irony that all life can change in just one minute.”

Her current offering is Pretty Pig Let Me In, which tells the story of Paula, whose “gluttony has always served her well, has driven her hunger for success and wealth. But when she sets her sights on winning over a rich man, ‘be careful what you wish for’ takes on a gruesome new meaning.”

Paula’s gluttony has always served her well, has driven her hunger for success and wealth. But when she sets her sites on winning over a rich man, “be careful what you wish” for takes on a gruesome new meaning.

Carbone hopes to have a large collection of stories and a couple of novels available on Amazon in the coming months.

According to the description on Amazon, Mark Edward Hall’s Apocalypse Island is about young women being stalked and slaughtered in Portland and how Danny Wolf is witnessing these crimes in his dreams. “Wolf, a gifted musician and newly released from prison, has no memory of his early childhood, but discovers that he spent his first eight years in a Catholic orphanage on a mysterious island off the coast of Maine. Soon the killings become more bold and gruesome, as members of the church begin to die. Enter Police Lieutenant Rick Jennings and his young assistant Laura Higgins. They discover a government conspiracy involving the Catholic Church, and a cold war mind control program known as MK-Ultra. Danny Wolf becomes the number one suspect in the murders, but no one, not even Wolf, is prepared for what they discover on Apocalypse Island, a mind blowing secret that was supposed to stay hidden forever.”

Hall also released Feast of Fear, which contains four horrifying tales and the first four chapters of his upcoming novel, Soul Thief.

John Grover’s Echo Lake-A Short Story is a sample of his work. Amazon’s description said, “Ryan didn’t know why he’d come back. He just had to see it one more time. Echo Lake waited for him, looking exactly the same after all these years. The tragedy that happened there was still alive and well in Ryan’s mind. His little sister drowned in that damned lake. She was not the first, probably wouldn’t be the last. He’d come back because of her, because of that day. See, there was something else there. Something in the lake. Something in the water. He couldn’t see it. He couldn’t hear it but Ryan knew. The drowning was no accident. Something took her.”

Jan 25 2012

Epitaphs on HWA’s Preliminary Ballot

It was announced last Saturday that Epitaphs, the first NEHW anthology is included in the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award for Anthology. According to the Bram Stoker Award rules on the Horror Writers Association’s website, Epitaphs will be on the final ballot, but cannot be called a “Stoker Nominated” collection until after the final ballot is announced on Feb. 18.

Jan 16 2012

NEHW Members at Annual Author’s Night

Four NEHW Members to Appear at Winery’s Annual Author’s Night

by Jason Harris

The second annual Author’s Night at the Zorvino Vineyards in New Hampshire on Jan. 20 features four New England Horror Writers’ members, who will be signing their books, at the event.

The members are Tracy Carbone, Roxanne Dent, Karen Dent, John M. Mcllveen, and Scott Goudsward.

There will be copies of the first NEHW anthology, Epitaphs, which was released last October and debuted at Anthocon in November, will be available at the event. The anthology was edited by Carbone and features stories by Roxanne Dent, Mcllveen, and Goudsward.

According to the vineyards’ website, there will be over 75 New England authors at this charity event that goes from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. This event will be “partnering with five New Hampshire Schools to help bring the joy of reading to all.” This year’s participating beneficiaries are the Timberlane District Elementary Schools. Each school, Pollard School (Plaistow), Atkinson Academy, Danville Elementary, Sandown Central, and Sandown North, will be holding a raffle, where the money generated will go towards reading in the classroom, the website said.

Everyone who signs up for the event on Zorvino’s website will be entered into a chance to win a “Private Wine Tasting and Tour For Up To 20 People,” which includes a cheese and cracker platter and a tour of their facility. Just sign up online, print your ticket and bring it to the book signing to be entered.

The event is free and there will be a cash bar at the event. The winery will be open all night for complimentary wine tasting as well. The vineyard wants people to be aware to bring cash since the authors won’t have access to a credit card machine.

For a list of the authors attending the event and their websites, check out Zorvino’s website. The vineyard is located at 226 Main St. in Sandown, New Hampshire.

Jan 10 2012

The HWA Announces 2012 Recipients for Lifetime Achievement

by Jason Harris

The Horror Writers Association has announced the 2012 recipients of its Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Rick Hautala (photo courtesy of his Facebook page)

The two recipients of the award are NEHW member Rick Hautala and Joe R. Lansdale.

Hautala and Lansdale join previous recipients such as Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson, John Carpenter, Thomas Harris (no relation), Anne Rice, Charles L. Grant, Harlan Ellison, and Ramsey Campbell to name a just a few of the people who have been honored with this award.

Hautala, who recently had his first novel, Moondeath, rereleased by Evil Jester Press and is in the NEHW’s first anthology, Epitaphs, released last year, said that receiving the award was “unexpected.”

Lansdale’s novel, All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky and the e-book, Bullets and Fire, were released last year. His newest book, Edge of Dark Water, comes out March 25.

“Truthfully, I am more humbled than excited by it,” Hautala said. “There are so many other writers who, I think, are much more deserving. I feel like Carrie White at the prom.”

Lansdale “was surprised” and “maybe even shocked” when he heard about the honor, he said.

Joe R. Lansdale (photo courtesy of his Facebook page)

“It’s an honor to be given this award along with Rick,” Lansdale said.

According to the HWA website, “the Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious of all awards presented by the HWA. It does not merely honor the superior achievement embodied in a single work. Instead, it is an acknowledgement of superior achievement in an entire career.”

A committee chooses the recipients for the lifetime achievement award instead of it being voted on by the entire associations’ active membership, the website said. By having an committee, it “prevents unseemly competition” and the “impression that there are any losers in this category.”

Hautala said, he will “accept the award with humility and — yes, a measure of pride.”

He feels better “sharing the stage with Lansdale, who has been a great friend” for many years.

“As Harlan Ellison says: ’Becoming a writer is easy. It’s staying a writer that’s hard.’ So this award should be an inspiration to young and aspiring writers everywhere … If you stick around long enough, eventually they have to notice you.” Hautala said.

Lansdale agrees with Hautala’s sentiment about having to be noticed when “you have been around long enough.”

“… I like to think we’ve contributed to the field of horror and dark suspense, and that there’s someone out there who became a fan, or writer of horror, because of something I wrote, or something Rick wrote,” Lansdale said. “Again, it’s a great and respected honor.”

Nov 30 2011

The Epitaph, Issue #14 (November 2011)

Issue #14 (November 2011)

The Epitaph
Journal of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW)

The NEHW Board of Directors:

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

NEHW HOLIDAY PARTY:

Only 11 Days ‘til the NEHW Holiday Party and YOU are invited!

The NEHW Holiday Party will be on December 10 from 1:00—8:00 p.m. at John McIlveen’s apartment complex (we have a whole party facility at our disposal!) The address is 40 Locke St., Haverhill, MA, and you can always call Mac at (603) 930-8679 if you get lost. Break out your cauldrons and whip up something ghoulish—it’s pot luck! It’s also BYOB, so bring your own poison. RSVP by emailing Scott Goudsward at screaming602@gmail.com or contacting him via Facebook – we need a headcount and a dish list, so please RSVP ASAP!

NEHW SIGNINGS AND READINGS:

Authors Tracy L. Carbone, Scott Goudsward, Karen Dent, and Roxanne Dent will be appearing at the first Pear Tree Publishing/Haverhill Country Club Christmas Book Sale being held at the Haverhill Country Club on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The country club is located at 58 Brickett Lane, Haverhill, MA 01830-8703. Doors open to HCC members at 5 p.m. and to the public at 6 p.m.

NEHW PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:

Hi! I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and our group. I am The Dome from Sci Fi Saturday Night. We are a podcast and website devoted to Fantasy and Science Fiction in its myriad forms. We are the Official podcast of Boston ComicCon and over the years we have met many artists and writers and had them and their works on our website and in our podcasts. Some of the people on our website and podcasts are: Ben Bova, Harlan Ellison, Spider Robinson, H.P. Mallory, S.J. Wright and Resa Nelson.

One of our ongoing columns is called “Fiction Friday,” which gives our readers the chance to sample work by authors they may not have yet read. It usually works out that if a short story is appearing on the net by you, we put a sample of it on the website with a link directing our readers to the full text of that story. If this is something you might be interested in, please contact us at the_dome@comcast.net.

NEHW member Kristi Petersen Schoonover is scheduled to appear on the podcast on Dec. 17.

NEHW WRITING OPPORTUNITIES:

From David Price:

The Mystery Writers of America are now accepting submissions for an anthology tentatively titled What Lies Inside, edited by Brad Meltzer. This should be a story about something that is hidden, whether it is a real object hidden in a vault somewhere or a secret buried deep down in someone’s subconscious. Stories should be between 3,500 and 7,000 words. Deadline is February 1, 2012. Full guidelines can be found at: http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/208752/42a6e17ebb/ARCHIVE

NEHW MEMBER NEWS:

From Daniel Pearlman:

Pearlman did an interview for the Italian e-book company, 40K Books, which has already published some of his stories in both English and Italian. Here is the link to the interview about short fiction, http://www.40kbooks.com/?p=12453. 40K specializes in genre fiction.

From Charles Day:

Day has two novels coming out in 2012. The first is Legend of the Pumpkin Thief, a YA horror novel with Noble YA Publishers, which will be released on Jan 9.

An adult horror novel, Deep Within, will be published by Twisted Library Press with a release sometime in the Spring of 2012.

From Steven Withrow:

Withrow has founded Poetry Advocates for Children & Young Adults (http://poetryadvocates.wordpress.com/), a nonprofit, grassroots, and global organization dedicated to promoting poetry for young people.

From K. A. Laity:

Laity is on a Fulbright at the National University of Ireland Galway, working on digital humanities at the Moore Institute. She has a survey for writers that she would love folks to take about what it means to be a writer in the digital age.

Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dG1GaGNkQmJ5cFRKS1RaNFN5aW5TeUE6MQ

Recent and Upcoming Publications (none have been listed yet, she believes):

It’s a Curse: Drunk on the Moon, Book VII. Trestle Press (http://www.trestlepresspublishing.com/ (Nov. 2011).

“Mandrake and Magpies.” Dark Pages: International Noir, Vol 1. Ed. Giovanni

“Gelati.” Dark Pages/Trestle Press, http://www.trestlepresspublishing.com/

(Nov 2011)

“And It Felt Like a Kiss.” Blink|Ink, http://www.blink-ink.com/ (Sept.

2011)

“Dracula X.” Defenestration Magazine,

http://www.defenestrationmag.net/2011/07/%E2%80%9Creview-dracula-x%E2%80%9D-by-k-a-laity/ (July 2011)

“The Wyandotte Haunting” in the anthology, There Was a Crooked House.

http://www.pillhillpress.com/crooked-house.html. Ed. Jessy Marie Roberts.

Pill Hill Press (June 2011)

From David L Tamarin:

Tamarin’s story “Melting” has been accepted into the second issue of Grave Demand magazine.

The new issue of Girls and Corpses comes out today. The issue has his interview with the godfather of gore, H.G. Lewis, along with an article about him.

The issue also contains a second article by Tamarin, on winter horror films, featuring discussions about The Thing, The Shining, Dead Snow, Frozen, and more. The issue is available at many bookstores and online at www.girlsandcorpses.com.

The magazine used to be available at Barnes and Noble, but they stopped carrying it because they were offended by the religious issue.

Tamarin appears in the new iParty Christmas commercial which will be airing throughout New England until Christmas.

From J.P. Freeman:

Freeman turned one of his stories into a short-run comic book series, “Suicide Man,” and the first issue is to be released in January. A professional artist did the artwork for the eight-part series. Once every issue is release, they will be compiled into a graphic novel. He will have the exact release date along with a short teaser for the comic for the newsletter next month. He really hopes any horror comic book fans will stop by his website and “like” his Facebook page so they can check this out.

(Editor’s note: his website is listed on the NEHW website under “NEHW Members’ Websites.”)

From Kristi Petersen Schoonover:

Schoonover talked about the real ghost stories which may have inspired vignettes in Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction, on Dave’s Disney View, and read her out-of-print ghost story, “House Sitter,” on Canada’s Paranormal, Eh? Radio. You can listen to both shows at Kristi’s website here:

http://kristipetersenschoonover.com/about/radio-interviews/

Schoonover’s flash piece, “Slow Grill,” was runner-up in Culture magazine’s annual Scary Dairy Contest (fellow NEHW member Dave Goudsward took first place for “Michael, Is That You?”). NEHW member Stacey Longo also entered (her story’s untitled), and you can read all three stories here: http://www.culturecheesemag.com/blog/wfertman_scary_dairy_contest_2011

Schoonover’s book, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole—Tales from Haunted Disney World, is now available in both the Endicott College (Beverly, MA) and Pinellas Park (FL) libraries.

An interview with her Read Short Fiction co-editor Robert Mayette is now available on Duotrope.com, the online writing market directory: http://www.duotrope.com/Interview.aspx?id=4000.

She and NEHW member and editor of Shroud magazine Tim Deal were interviewed for last month’s Reuters article “Halloween Horror Trend: Less Gore is More.” You can read that here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/us-halloween-haunted-idUSTRE79Q4V020111027

Her short story, “Under the Kudzu” was accepted for Wicked East Press’ upcoming anthology, Behind Locked Doors.

Paranormal Researchers of Fredericton (Canada) interviewed her for a feature on their website. You can read that here: http://paranormal-researchers.com/?p=453

From Andrea Perron:

Perron’s recent trip back to New England was busy and productive. She made an appearance at The Assembly Theater in Harrisville, R.I for a lecture, “The Biggest Chill.” Keith Johnson of NEAR Paranormal provided the introduction to the lecture, which was filmed and will be released soon.

She filmed an episode of The NEST Files (New England Spiritual Team) in Groton, CT. Johnson accompanied her, as well as her father.

She also had a “memorable appearance” at the public library in Uxbridge, MA, where she gave a speech and had a book signing. She was also interviewed for a local newspaper.

A review of her book was published in Retro Rhode Island Magazine (http://www.retrori.com/ri-places/a-haunting-read-%e2%80%9chouse-of-darkness-house-of-light%e2%80%9d). She also gave several interviews while in the area.

Since her return to Georgia, she has done a few radio broadcasts and booked several more. She met with Brandon Kreitzer and he has arranged to promote her book on Past TV Network, along with a variety of videos too long for her YouTube channels. All the links will be published on her Google profile and elsewhere on the web.

In the last week, she has published articles on Newsvine and Ezine and a new blogspot called “Conjuring the Spirits” is being released.

From Scott Goudsward:

Goudsward’s novel, Fountain of the Dead, has been accepted for publication by Twisted Library Press.

From Dale Phillips:

Phillips was interviewed and featured in a talk on writing on the Brazilian Book Worm blog: http://brazilianbookworm.blogspot.com/

From Patrick Rahall:

Rahall will have two pieces of flash fiction in the upcoming anthology, Daily Frights 2012: 366 Days of Frightening Flash Fiction, from Pill Hill Press. His stories are titled “Pot Roast” and “Stop, Drop and Roll.”

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:

Brian Dixon (CT)
Matthew Acheson (ME)
Charles Day (NY)
Richard Steeves (CT)
Paula Roswell (CT)
Joseph Sherry (MA)

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

Nov 22 2011

Epitaphs is Back Up on Amazon

Epitaphs: The Journal of the New England Horror Writers, edited by Tracy L. Carbone and published by Shroud Publishing, is once again available on Amazon. The first NEHW anthology had been taken down from the website to fix some technical issues with the book.

Nov 14 2011

Pictures from AnthoCon Part III

Author Thomas A. Erb at AnthoCon

Authors Rob Watts, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, and Tracy Carbone at AnthoCon (photo courtesy of Watts' Facebook page)

The Epitaphs' panel at AnthoCon

Everett Soars and Susan Soars of Jolly Rogue Studios

Rick Silva, of Dandelion Studios

The Raw Dog Screaming Press table at AnthoCon

The Dark Garden Inc. table

Another view of The Dark Garden Inc. table

A copy of Epitaphs next to a Gnombie

The Shroud Publishing table

Publisher Inanna Arthen and author Morven Westfield

Nov 14 2011

Pictures from AnthoCon Part II

Authors Peter N. Dudar and L.L. Soares waiting for the Epitaphs' panel to start

Author R. P. Steeves hard at work

From left to right: Author Stacey Longo reading while author Trisha J. Wooldridge looks on at the Epitaphs' panel

Authors Jeffrey C. Pettengill (left) and K. Allen Wood (right) at the Epitaphs signing

Actor Michael Boatman with his copy of the NEHW's first anthology, Epitaphs.

Author Stacey Longo holding her Hiram Grange Award

Longo received the award for “Excellence in the Art of Cover Letterage and Animal Mutilation. You will have to ask her at one of her appearances about the cover letter story. The “animal mutilation” part of the award you can find out about by reading her story in Shroud magazine, issue #11.