By Jason Harris

Ryan Emerson and Brandon Upson of Vinegar Syndrome.

Authors Stacey Longo and G. Elmer Munson at the Books & Boos table.
Ryan Emerson and Brandon Upson of Vinegar Syndrome.
Authors Stacey Longo and G. Elmer Munson at the Books & Boos table.
Books & Boos, which closed its physical location at the end of May, is continuing to do events like it was doing when the bookstore was still open. This weekend will give people two opportunities to visit the traveling bookstore.
The first opportunity to visit the bookstore will be Saturday at the Connecticut Horrorfest. Along with used books, people will be able to meet authors Stacey Longo and G. Elmer Munson and get them to sign one of their books. The horrorfest takes place at the Courtyard Waterbury Marriott located at 63 Grand Street in Waterbury, CT. It runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The second opportunity happens on Sunday when Books & Boos takes part in the Open Air Market and Festival at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, Connecticut. This will be the bookstore’s second appearance at this event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Wadsworth Mansion is located at 421 Wadsworth St. in Middletown, CT. Longo will also be signing her books at this event as well. She is joined by authors Dan Foley, Dale T. Phillips, and Joseph Ross.
Books & Boos will be one of the 80 plus vendors at this event. There will be 8 authors at the bookstore’s tent. The authors are Stacey Longo, Rob Watts, G. Elmer Munson, Erin Thorne, Craig D.B. Patton, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn, and Dan Foley, who will be selling their books there. There will also be Zombie Poe t-shirts, mugs, and keychains, wooden bookmarks, hand-carved wine stoppers and bowls, crocheted Cthulhus and reused flatware creations.
The Open Air Market and Festival takes place at the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill Estate. It’s located at 421 Wadsworth Street in Middletown, Connecticut. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can check out the other vendors here.
The fundraiser went well today. The bookstore raised almost $350 for Holly. Her husband, author Rick Hautala passed away unexpectedly on March 21, 2013. Unfortunately, before he died, his life insurance policy lapsed. His widow and family are struggling to pay expenses related to his death. Anyone who has met Rick knows what a genuinely kind and decent man he was.
Not every item in the silent was bid on so we will be putting those items up on Ebay and/or our Amazon page. We will let you know when they are listed.
We want to thank Bill and Marge Rockwell, Scott M. Goriscak, David Price, T.T. Zuma, Trisha Wooldridge, Vincent H. O’Neil, Ronald Winter, Dan Foley, G. Elmer Munson, Jennifer Allis Provost, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn, Lauren Middleton, Tim J. Finn, Brian and Loretta White, Richard Tomas, Sandy Deluca, Leslie O’Grady, Linda Orlomoski, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Daniel Keohane, Tracy L. Carbone, Stephen D. Rogers, Alex Scully, T.G. Arsenault, Carson Buckingham, Hal Kinney and Robert Heske.
The above list of people participated by appearing at the fundraiser, donating to it, or just helping by setting up and making food for the event. It was greatly appreciated.
We also would like to thank Rob Watts, Erin Thorne, Philip Perron, Gardner Goldsmith, Bracken MacLeod, Stephanie Johnson, Kate Laity, Amy Grech, and Catherine Grant for either sharing on Facebook, tweeting/retweeting on Twitter and/or writing blog entries about this fundraiser. Thank you for taking the time to promote this event.
We would also like to thank John Valeri of the Hartford Examiner and Ryan Blessing of the Norwich Bulletin for writing about this fundraiser.
We want to thank Pastor Kevin Zufall (Church of Hope) for lending us chairs for the event.
This entry is from the Books & Boos’ blog. You can read and see the pictures from the fundraiser by clicking here.
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.).
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.
Artist Cheryl Normandie standing next to her work at the Hebron Harvest Fair.. Photo by Jason Harris.
The above picture is just one of many that will be in this post. If any pictures catch your eye, feel free to call Normandie, who lives in Brooklyn, Connecticut, at (860) 779-0827. All photos of her artwork were taken by Jason Harris.
A young fan enjoying the children’s book, Pookie and the Lost and Found Friend. Photo by Stacey Longo.
Author Rob Watts getting a stern warning from Vernon Post Captain Austin Agnew for talking with some young fans. Photo by Stacey Longo.
Author Stacey Longo with Senator Richard Blumenthal at the NEHW booth at the Hebron Harvest Fair. Photo by Jason Harris.
The New England Horror Writers’ Association will be appearing at the Hebron Harvest Fair for the second year in a row.
Seven New England authors are scheduled to appear at the fair from Sept. 6 through 9 to do readings, perform skits, and autograph books.
Author Stacey Longo will be at the fair all four days, with copies of her children’s book Pookie and the Lost & Found Friend, which was just published in July 2012. Her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Stoker-nominated Epitaphs, which will also be available at the NEHW booth.
Also appearing will be Kurt Newton, author of The Brainpan Concerto, Ultimate PerVERSEities, and Powerlines, among other titles. He will be at the fair on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
G. Elmer Munson will be on hand on Saturday to sign copies of his novel, Stripped.
Robert Duperre, author of seven novels including The Fall and Silas, will be at the NEHW booth on Saturday.
Rob Watts, author of Huldufolk, will be at the fair Saturday. Huldufolk is an Icelandic fantasy/horror novella that comes with a free CD of music compiled by the fictional band in the story.
Authors Alan S. Kessler (A Satan Carol) and Dan Foley will be appearing on Saturday and author David Price (Tales from the Grave: An Anthology of True Ghost Stories) will be appearing on Sunday.
The NEHW was formed in 2001 to promote writers and illustrators of dark fiction within and outside the association. They offer writing workshops, discussion forums, social events, and appearance opportunities to their members.
Click here to find out about the Hebron Harvest Fair.
The Middletown Symphonic Band performing at the Middletown Open Air Market and Festival. Photo by Jason Harris.
From left to right: authors Alan Kessler and Robert Duperre and Duperre’s daughter. Photo by Jason Harris.
by G. Elmer Munson
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending my first event with the New England Horror Writers. It all started out like a dream I’d once had: The lights came on as we all gathered backstage in anticipation. The crowd chanted “N-E-H-W! N-E-H-W!” as they stomped their feet in the soft grass of the Wadsworth Mansion. Out of nowhere, someone screamed “Let’s get ready to rumble” and the crowd went wild. We all ran out to the sound of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and Apollo Creed gave us all high fives.
Okay, I may have embellished a bit there. What actually happened was no less awesome but much more low-key. I simply walked up to the booth full of people I’d never actually met and said, “hi,” and it was all cool. I met Robert J. Dupree, Jason Harris, Alan Kessler, Stacey Longo, David Price, and Rob Watts and immediately felt welcome. I was glad I’d decided against wearing my werewolf costume, and not just because it would have been life-threateningly hot.
After finding a home for my books, I sat down and we talked about movies and stories and other normal things that people discuss. It was very relaxed and very cool. The day was perfect (a bit of sun never did any harm … well, not much) and the place was pretty well packed. We spoke with a lot of different people and everyone sold some books. Quite a few people stood in the sun for a while just to talk to us about books, their favorite authors, and dark fiction in general. It was a great day to hang out, talk to people, and share our work with the world.
I left feeling great. I left looking forward to Hebron and events beyond. I also left inspired. On the drive home, I thought of the greatest story in the world. Unfortunately, I had forgotten it by the time I got home.
I couldn’t remember the greatest song in the world, so this blog is just a tribute.
Yes, I stole that from the D.