Issue #19 (April 2012)

The Epitaph

Journal of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW)

The NEHW Committee:

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

NEHW SIGNINGS AND READINGS:

East Coast Craft Fair

The NEHW will be at the East Coast Craft Fair on Sunday, May 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in New Haven, CT. It will cost $10 to participate at this event. The fair’s organizer is allowing authors’ readings if anyone would like to do that. Content must be G-rated. Contact Jason at dudley228@gmail.com if you wish to participate.

Foxboro Jaycees Spring Fair

The NEHW will have two spaces at the Foxboro Jaycees Spring Fair on May 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participation will cost $15. Contact Jason at dudley228@gmail.com if you wish to participate.

South Windsor Strawberry Fest

The NEHW will have a space at the South Windsor Strawberry Fest June 16 in South Windsor, Connecticut. Participation will cost $15. Contact Jason at dudley228@gmail.com if you wish to participate.

NECON 32

The NEHW will have a table at NECON. Participation will cost $10. Members will be responsible to man the table for a couple hours if you choose to sell books. Contact Scott Goudsward at screaming602@gmail.com if you wish to participate.

Rhode Island Comic Con

The NEHW will be at Rhode Island Comic Con on November 3 and 4. The cost will be $25 per member to participate. Contact Jason at dudley228@gmail.com to be at the table.

NEHW WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

From Scott Goudsward and Rachel Kenley:

Over the river and through the woods does not always lead to grandma’s house or happy endings—especially if grandma’s house is infested with zombies, or if grandma is really a Lovecraftian being in disguise. Once Upon an Apocalypse is a two volume post-apocalyptic anthology laden with the undead and otherworldly mythos crossing into the realm of fairy tales, nursery rhymes and other timeless stories. Editors Goudsward and Kenley, along with publisher Chaosium, are currently open to submissions for these two books of mixed-up retold fairy tales.

What we are looking for:

For both volumes, we want stories with strong narrative lines, stronger characters and a clear blending of the theme and the fairy tales.

For Volume One, imagine Cinderella arriving at the ball and discovering it filled with zombies. Or how different the story would be if it was Snow White and the Seven Zombies. Give us new horrors with Alice in Zombieland, and a prince who climbs Rapunzel’s hair to get away from and find a way to defeat—you guessed it—zombies.

In Volume Two, we want a strong dose of Lovecraft thrown in. What happens to the townspeople in The Boy who Cried Cthulhu?  Pinocchio is going to have a much harder time getting out of the Old One than the whale; a wolf would have been preferable to Little Red Riding Hood and the Byahkee and the Little Mermaid has so much more to worry about then her legs and a missing voice when she faces a Deep One.

Once you choose a story to change it’s your call how far you will take it.  Make the apocalypse clear and give some meaning as to why the dead are meandering through the streets and munching on the breathing or why the Elder God has paid the town a visit.  Plague, pestilence, bio warfare, meteor shower, tail of a comet…be creative.

Because we don’t want duplicates of themes, you will be able to follow the progress of the anthologies on our blog (http://onceuponanapocalypse.com) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OnceUponAnApocalypse) where we’ll keep a current list of themes/tales accepted.  For example, if we get a Sleeping Beauty story and it’s awesome, that will be it for the book.  Stories should be 2K – 4K in length (please query for stories under or over our limit. We will consider them if they are of exceptional merit.)  The only true way to have similar stories is A Snow White and the Seven Zombies in one and Snow White Star Vampire Slayer in the other.

What we are not looking for:

We all know these are dark fiction anthologies, but gore for the sake of gore is un-needed. This is not splatterpunk or extreme horror.  Sex?  If the story calls for it, fine, but keep it to an R rating (maybe even PG-13). We don’t to hear about insertions and spurting fluids, unless its blood from a bite wound or a gun shot.  Try to keep the violence towards animals at a minimum.  In some mythos, zombies chew on animals and that’s fine, but we don’t want redneck zombies killing all of Bo-Peep’s sheep for a pie.  Finally, though we shouldn’t have to mention it (but we will, given the theme)—go easy on the child-related violence, please.  And no pedophilia—that’s just skeevy.

Reading period: now through July 31, or until filled.

Pay rates: pays $.03 per word, no royalties, and three free books and additional copies at 50% off cover.

Email subs to: ouaastories@gmail.com

Format:

Stories should be an attachment to your cover letter email, NOT copied and pasted into the body of the email.  The cover letter should include a single paragraph synopsis of the story and your publishing history. The submission should be in RTF or DOC format (no DOCX).  Left aligned, 1/2” indentation for paragraphs, single spaced. Double space between scenes and use five stars (*****) for breaks in the story. Contact info should be on the first page of the story with word count.

Please do not query for your story until we’ve had it for at least 12 weeks.  Publication is expected for the first half of 2013.  No reprints and no simultaneous submissions.  If we turn you down feel free to try again with a new story, but give it a few days between submissions.

And please, when submitting, be specific which book you are submitting to. We’re reading for both simultaneously. Subject line of the email should be Name, Story Name, Which book.

NEHW MEMBER NEWS:

From K. Allen Wood:

In May, Shock Totem Publications will be releasing its first non-magazine related product. The company is re-releasing a book, The Wicked by James Newman.

An ode to 1980s horror, The Wicked is Newman’s second book, which was originally published in 2007 in limited edition hardcover. The new version features revised text, a new foreword by Mark Allan Gunnells, a new afterword by Newman, and brilliant new artwork and illustrations by Jesse David Young (with additional cover layout by Yannick Bouchard). Also included is a brand new, exclusive tie-in short story the author wrote specifically for this release.

The Wicked will be released in paperback and e-book formats.

Newman is the author of the critically-acclaimed Midnight Rain and Animosity, the short-story collection People Are Strange, and the novellas The Forum, Revenge Flick! and Olden.

From Kurt Newton:

Newton’s new sci-fi/horror novel, Powerlines, is now available for pre-order through Gallows Press, and is now available on Amazon. Here are the particulars:

Order page: http://gallowspress.com/?wpsc-product=powerlines-by-kurt-newton

Plot description: “After his beloved brother is killed in Iraq, Ethan decides to take a weekend hike to clear his head and to get in touch with nature. His destination is a stretch of power lines that run deep into the forests of Connecticut. His journey will bring him through a reclusive area surrounded by mysteries and strange legends. Kissing his beloved and patient girlfriend, Lindsey, goodbye, Ethan sets off on his adventure. It doesn’t take Ethan long to discover that the stories are true…something strange and insidious is hidden in the Connecticut countryside. Something deadly. When Ethan fails to show up at their rendezvous point, she knows that something is horribly wrong. Finding local law enforcement to be uncooperative, she partners up with an unlikely friend as she enters the woods in search of her lover. As they follow the power lines deep into the woods, they have no idea what awaits.”

Book details: 278 pages, trade paperback, retail price $12.99.

He also has a story in The Gallows, available for pre-order through the Gallows Press site. His is the order page: http://gallowspress.com/?wpsc-product=the-gallows-an-anthology

Book description: “From Gallows Press comes a collection of 11 tales showcasing the narrative talents of the Gallows authors. The Gallows anthology is the perfect book for readers looking to sample what our talented storytellers have to offer.” Newton’s story, “The Pit” is included in this collection.

Book details: 228 pages, trade paperback, retail price $8.99, special pre-order price $7.99.

From Peter N. Dudar:

Dudar is pleased to announce his novel, A Requiem for Dead Flies, will be published this summer by Nightscape Press in a trade paperback and a Kindle edition.

From Robert Heske:

Heske’s graphic vampire novel, The Night Projectionist, a vampire graphic novel, will be out in comic shops and bookstores in May.

He also reminds NEHW members to join the coven at the novel’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/thenightprojectionist. The page now has over 10,500 “Likes” and he would welcome more.

The book is only $12.99 and the eye-popping art is by Diego Yapur, whose credits include Priest: Purgatory.

From Tony Tremblay:

Tremblay would like to report he had three stories chosen for inclusion in the Necon E-Books Best of 2011 Flash Fiction anthology.

http://www.neconebooks.com/bytitle.htm

From Deb Eskie:

Eskie would like you to visit the website www.youtube.com/like2productions to view the film short, “Mother’s Sin,” written by her and directed by Chris Lawn.

From L.L. Soares:

L.L. Soares’ story, “The Gulch,” will be appearing in the horror/western anthology, Welcome to Hell, edited by Eric S. Brown, and will be published by E-Volve Books.

Necon Ebooks will soon be putting out The Collected Cinema Knife Fight Volume 1, featuring the early columns by himself and Michael Arruda.

Also, the Cinema Knife Fight (www.cinemaknifefight.com) site has new articles posted every weekday, and has a full writing staff, including several NEHW members.

From Karen Dent:

Dent recently sold her short story, “Basic Nature,” to e-zine publisher Horror On The Installment Plan (HOTIP) for their first issue, Children and Zombies. Check them out, www.HorrorOnTheInstallmentPlan.com. They are a bi-monthly magazine who is still looking for stories to match other themes.

From Alex Kimmell:

Kimmell’s novel, The Key to Everything, is about to be released by Booktrope publishing.

From David L. Tamarin:

New Additions to Profane Exhibit include a Grammy Winner and an Academy

Award nominee. Harbinger International is pleased to announce that Jose Mojica Marins (a.k.a. “Coffin Joe”), Ignacio “Nacho” Vigolando, Chris Vrenna and Steven Severin have joined the Profane Exhibit team.

The legendary Brazilian king of blasphemy and terror, Jose Mojica Marins will be directing the segment “Viral.” Academy Award nominee and film festival favorite Nacho Vigalondo will be directing “Sins of the Father.” Grammy Award Winner Chris Vrenna will score the segment “Viral,” and Steven Severin will also be scoring the film, as well as performing in the film as an actor.

From Dale T. Phillips:

Dale’s next story collection, Apocalypse Tango, will be released in May, featuring different tales of the end of the world (as we know it).

From John Grover:

Grover announces his recent release, “Warning Signs,” a .99 cent short story for Kindle, which is a preview story from his e-book collection, Creatures and Crypts. This story was discussed on the blogtalk radio show, Scary Scribes.  The story can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/Warning-Signs-A-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B007W84B4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335222682&sr=1-1.

Grover is also excited about the re-release of his very first published collection Shadow Tales by Double Dragon Publishing. This new edition contains all new cover art by artist and NEHW member David E. Chrisom and contains all new edits, a new wrap around story that ties all the tales together and story notes. Don’t miss this great collection. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Tales-Second-Edition-ebook/dp/B00107M488/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1335222979&sr=1-10

He has also recently received a great review for his newly released epic fantasy novella, Web of the Spider Queen. Check it out here:

http://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.ca/2012/04/ebook-review-web-of-spider-queen–

by.html. When you’re done there, check out the trailer for the book created by S.D.

Hintz with original music composed by Project Trinity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu5ejFh8SzQ&feature=youtu.be

As always check out John’s site, www.shadowtales.com, where he’s just added a new projects page that has news on upcoming releases, sample stories from his recent collections, and many other things.

From Timothy Finn:

Finn’s story, “Fighting for Emmett,” appears in the third volume of the Satan’s Toybox series, Satan’s Toboys: Toy Soldiers, from Angelic Knight Press. It’s available in e-book and print formats.

His company’s newsletter recently interviewed him about his nascent writing career.

From Daniel R. Robichaud:

Robichaud has a bunch of short stories he wrote under the pseudonym C. C. Blake being published as e-books by Vampires 2 Publishing (the new incarnation of Vampires 2 Magazine and Vampires2.com). These are not simple repackaging, but revised and expanded versions. He has doubled and sometimes tripled the lengths on them. Three are out so far (available now at Smashwords and soon in other formats as well): a novella length version of Cave and the Vamp (17,000 words) is one book, while the short stories “Cave’s Dark Mistress” and “Cave’s Deadly Beauties” (5k words each) have been bundled together in another (Kindle readers can get the short stories separately, if they wish.) He is really pleased with the new Cave and the Vamp story.

The cover is perhaps over the top, but it makes him smile.

Under another pseudonym, Kaysee Renee Robichaud, he has a blackly humorous erotic trickster tale, “Tricksters are Made, Not Born,” appearing in the Like a Cunning Plan anthology from Circlet Press, due out soon.

Under his own name, his Halloween steampunk story, “Autumn Jitters,” has been picked up for a reprinting in Raven Electrick’s kindle release, Spec-Tacular, which was released on April 24.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:

William Rockwell (CT)
Alan Steven Kessler (MA)
Rob Walsh (CT)
Derek Wiggins (MA)
Duane Coffill (ME)
Eric Stanway (NH)
Errick Nunnally (MA)

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