Dec 27 2011

NEHW Authors in Charity Anthology to Benefit HWA President

by Jason Harris

Daniel Keohane and Nate Kenyon, both NEHW members, have stories in the new collection, Rage Against the Night.

Keohane’s zombie story, “Two Fish to Feed the Masses” is appearing in “an amazing charity anthology,” he said.

Kenyon’s story is called “Keeping Watch.”

All the proceeds from Rage Against the Night will go to the Rocky Wood, an author and current President of the Horror Writers Association, who is battling motor neurone disease.

According to the Wikipedia website, “motor neurone diseases (or motor neuron diseases) (MND) are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause progressive disability and death.”

Amazon states the stories in this anthology detail the brave men and women who stand up to “the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger.” These people are under the onslaught of supernatural evil and their good acts can seem insignificant.

The anthology was edited by Shane Jiyaiya Cummings and also features stories by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell, F. Paul Wilson, Nancy Holder and Scott Nicholson to name only a few of the authors in this charity collection.

Vincent’s story, “The View from the Top” is reprinted in this anthology, he said on his website. As of right now, it is only available in e-book format, but there will be a print copy in January, Vincent said.

The e-book is $3.99 through Amazon.

Dec 20 2011

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 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 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.

The cover of Shroud magazine, issue #11

The mass Epitaphs' signing at AnthoCon 2011

Author Brian Keene hands a book to Author Christopher Golden during the Epitaphs' signing

Author Kristina Schram

Author Michael Bailey

Sarah Gomes at the Shock Totem table at AnthoCon

Nov 10 2011

The NEHW Presents Epitaphs this Saturday

Before the mass signing of NEHW’s inaugural anthology, Epitaphs, there will be a panel “The NEHW presents Its Inaugural Anthology and Introduces Some Contributors” at 4 p.m. this Saturday during Anthocon. After the panel, there will be a mass signing with most of the authors in the anthology.

The Epitaphs’ authors on the panel are Tony Tremblay, Kurt Newton, Trisha Wooldridge, Gard Goldsmith, David North Martino, Roxanne Dent, Christopher Golden, Stacey Longo, and Jeffrey C. Pettengill. Editor Tracy L. Carbone will be moderating the panel.

Here is the list of the authors who will be at the signing:

Brian Adrian White

Tony Tremblay

Kurt Newton

Steven Withrow

Christopher Golden

Paul McMahon

Dave Goudsward

Trisha Wooldridge

Gard Goldsmith

David North Martino

Steve Dorato

Roxanne Dent

John Grover

Holly Newstein

Scott Goudsward

Rick Hautula

Peter N. Dudar

K. Allen Wood

John Goodrich

John McIlveen

Stacey Longo

Jeffrey C. Pettengill

LL Soares

Mike Arruda

Editor Tracy L. Carbone will also be on hand to sign the collection.

The anthology was available on Amazon, but has been pulled for the time being for some technical changes. Stay tuned here for the announcement when it returns to Amazon.

Nov 7 2011

Necon E-Books will be at Anthocon

Bob Booth and Matt Bechtel, of Necon E-books, will be at the New England Horror Writers’ table at Anthocon this coming weekend. Check out the convention’s website and read previous articles about Anthocon on this site just click on the “Anthocon” category.

Along with digital copies of the individual titles they sell, the company also offers print editions. Necon E-books will soon be offering the Complete Short Fiction of Charles L. Grant. There will be eight volumes in this series. Volume 1: Nightmare Seasons, Volume 2: The Orchard, Volume 3: Dialing the Wind, Volume 4: The Black Carousel, Volume 5: The Collected Oxrun Stories, Part 1, Volume 6: The Collected Oxrun Stories, Part 2, Volume 7: The Collected Horror Stories, and Volume 8: The Collected Science Fiction Stories.

Volume 1 through 4 will be coming out this year. Volume 5 though 8 will be released in 2012.

Grant’s novel, The Hour of the Oxrun Dead, is now available for $4.99. According to the site, “The Hour of the Oxrun Dead was a breakthrough novel for Charles L. Grant. It was the first of many books dealing with Oxrun Station, his invented, cursed locale that is probably only surpassed by Lovecraft’s Arkham and King’s Castle Rock in the minds of horror fans. First appearing in 1977, it helped usher in the golden age of horror fiction in the 1980s.”

The site said the novel is “character-driven and emotionally wrenching, The Hour of the Oxrun Dead’s subtlety stands in sharp contrast to the “gore galore” style that would come to dominate horror fiction.

Check out Necon E-Books blog which has an entry written about Brian Keene, a guest at Anthocon, by Booth. There are also entries written by authors James A. Moore and Jeff Strand.

The company also has books by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala available. These two authors will also be at Anthocon this weekend. They also both have stories in Epitaphs, the first anthology by the NEHW, which is published by Shroud Publishing. There is going to be a book release party for this inaugural anthology at the convention and most of the authors in the collection will be on hand to sign the book.

Nov 6 2011

The SouthCoast Toy and Comic Show Write-Up

The Happenings and Pictures from the SouthCoast Toy and Comic Show

by Jason Harris

There was no sleeping in this morning. No enjoying the extra hour of sleep gained from falling back a hour for Daylight Savings Time. The day started at 5 a.m. Sunday morning for Author Stacey Longo and myself. We left around 5:40 to get the SouthCoast Toy and Comic Show in Fairhaven, MA. On our drive to the show, we came across this site.

Smoke over Interstate 695

We arrived at the Seaport Inn and Marina without any problem. Once there, Longo performed her magic and had the table set-up in no time. This picture is of the second version of the NEHW table. There were two more set-ups as different authors arrived. Thanks to Longo, Dave Goudsward, Kasey Shoemaker, and Rob Watts for participating in today’s event. Thanks goes out to Nathan Wrann and Kristi Petersen Schoonover for having their books and dvds at the table.

The Toy and Comic show had many draws today from George “The Animal” Steele, Brian Harnois, Penny Dreadful and Gaoru, Uncle Fright, and Thom Christopher (Hawk on Buck Rogers). There were also sideshow performers and paranormal researchers.

Along with the stars and guests to see and meet, there were also convention attendees who came in costume.

Books were sold and some great networking opportunities were made. The show was a lot of fun and I know the NEHW will be back at this show in the future.

It was nice meeting Rick Silva of Dandelion Studios today. He will have a table at Anthocon next weekend.

Watts, Longo, and Goudsward will be attending Anthocon next weekend in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Be sure to look for their books at the NEHW table at the convention.

Enjoy the following pictures from the SouthCoast Toy and Comic Show.

George “The Animal” Steele

Zehara Nachash, sideshow performer

Longo and Watts talking.

Jason Deveau as Captain America and Panda Valentine as Peggy Carter

Jedi Adam Joyce, of Cambridge, MA., with lightsaber

Jessica Rabbit and friend

Eric Shafer, of Waltham, MA.

Harris, Longo, Shoemaker, Watts, and Goudsward

Darth Vader

Stormtrooper

Raymond Ramos, of New Bedford, as Blade

Mark Tauares as Superman and his son, Myles, as a stormtrooper.

Nov 3 2011

Professor Writes about E-books and Short Fiction

This article originally appeared on the website, http://www.40kbooks.com/. Professor and author Daniel Pearlman is the writer of this article and is a new member of the New England Horrror Writers’ organization.

The e-book is the latest and best hope for the commercial viability of short fiction by Daniel Pearlman

“Daniel Pearlman‘s writing presents us with a rare multiplicity of unique voices. His unforgettable characters continue to whisper in the reader’s ear long after the final page is turned,” said Paul Di Filippo.

Novels can have pauses, faults: a long story wins by points. A novelette, as Julio Cortazar wrote, needs to win by knock-out. Do you agree?

I generally agree. Few readers read novels with the expectation that a dramatic climax will repay them for the time, often portioned out over several days, they invest in reading them. Readers of novels expect to be “repaid” continuously, with several dramatic high points making the long haul worth it–each such high point followed by the “pause” you mention, though I don’t see why your question seems to equate “pauses” with “faults,” like passages that are boring. Pauses should simply be the re-commencement of the narration at a necessarily slower pace if the novel is to build up toward a new high point. In contrast, the shorter form is naturally designed to build up to the one high point only, Poe’s “single effect,” the knock-out Cortazar mentions–and that takes special dramatic skill, a ruthless focus of attention, that many writers, known primarily as novelists, do not have the capacity for, or the interest in, pursuing. Many novels succeed without a knockout ending, but a short story simply fails of its purpose without one.

Is there a literary bias against the short form of fiction?

There may be a market bias. Short stories of literary merit demand a great deal more of mental focus on the part of the reader than do most novels. Novels draw the reader into a narrative dream that relaxes the intellectually critical faculties. Reading a short story demands constantly being on the alert for the “point.” Reading a novel relieves you of that tension until perhaps you reach the ending. Reading a short story also demands close attention to language–to metaphor, irony, etc.–the kind of attention to language that you would give to poetry. Few novels demand such attention.

In any case, I don’t see any “literary” bias against short fiction. On the contrary, the classics of short fiction receive enormous literary-critical attention. Unfortunately, the market tells us that novels sell well compared to collections of short fiction. My hope is that someday, perhaps via the e-book, writers of excellent literary short fiction will be able to make nearly as good a living as do many writers of merely mediocre novels. Nowadays writers of excellent short fiction are taught to think that short forms are merely exercises preceding truly meaningful accomplishment by way of novels. How many writers have been warped, I wonder, by such market prejudices?

Plot, setting, ideas. What are in your opinion the perfect ingredients of a novelette/novella?

The novella is a really tough form to do well. You don’t have the leisure, as writer, to develop sub-plots and more than one or two main characters, and yet the reader demands a sense of fullness in the development of the main characters and setting, so that the novella has to provide some of the primary rewards of reading a novel–and still provide the climactic “single effect” demanded of the shorter form. It’s too bad that market conditions discourage the production of novellas, but I hope that the rising popularity of e-books will create a greater opportunity for their publication. The e-book is the latest and best hope for the commercial viability of short fiction.

Would you suggest 3 must-read novelettes/novellas?

There are just too many to choose from. But what jump out at me right away are Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” and Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.”

Oct 28 2011

Magazine Promotes NEHW Member

Author Kris Triana’s new piece of fiction, “Giving from the Broken Down Bottom,” is now up at Spinetingler Mag (http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2011/10/17/fiction-giving-from-the-broken-down-bottom-by-kris-triana/).

He hopes readers will leave him comments about his story after reading it.

According to the magazine’s website, Spinetingler Magazine was created to entertain its audience while it promotes and enhances the profile of talented emerging writers using the forum of electronic publishing.

“We know there are a lot of great stories out there that should have a place where they can be told, so we are providing that venue for them,” the website said.

Oct 27 2011

NEHW’s First Anthology Now Available and the Planned Book Release Party

The first NEHW anthology, Epitaphs, is now available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982727593/ref=ox_ya_os_product). The price is $12.99 plus $3.99 for shipping and handling.

The cover of NEHW

Amazon states, “the New England Horror Writers Association, in partnership with Shroud Publishing, are proud to debut its inaugural anthology, Epitaphs. The anthology is a compilation of some of the best dark fiction from both best-selling authors and up-and- coming writers throughout New England. Contributors include Christopher Golden, Rick Hautala, Holly Newstein & Glenn Chadbourne, LL Soares, Trisha Wooldridge, Kurt Newton, and more. The anthology features 26 stories and poems from the delightfully scary to the deeply macabre.

Epitaphs was edited by author Tracy L. Carbone and includes an introduction by award-winning author and publisher Peter Crowther, as well as a cover by Danny Evarts.

The table of contents in this chilling anthology is as follows:

Jeffrey C. Pettengill “To Sleep, Perchance to Die”
Paul McMahon “The Christopher Chair”
Kurt Newton “A Case of the Quiets”
Scott T. Goudsward “Build-a-Zombie”
John Goodrich “Not an Ulcer”
B. Adrian White “The Possesor Worm”
John M. McIlveen “Make a Choice”
Michael Allen Todd “The Death Room”
Rick Hautala “Perfect Witness”
Holly Newstein and Glenn Chadbourne “Stoney’s Boneyard”
Trisha J. Wooldridge “Kali’s Promise”
David Bernard “The Sequel”
David North-Martino “Malfeasance”
Stacey Longo “Private Beach”
Christopher Golden “All Aboard”
L.L. Soares “Holiday House”
Steven Withrow “Lines at a Wake”
K. Allen Wood “A Deeper kind of Cold”
P. Gardner Goldsmith “Alone”
Roxanne Dent “Pandora’s Box”
Michael Arruda “Chuck the Magic Man Says I Can”
T.T. Zuma “Burial Board”
John Grover “Windblown Shutter”
Stephen Dorato “Cheryl Takes a Trip”
Philip Roberts “The Legend of Wormley Farm”
Peter N. Dudar “Church of Thunder and Lightning”

Carbone, a New England native, has published several horror and literary short stories in magazines and anthologies in the U.S. and Canada. Her YA horror novel, The Soul Collector, will be released by Shadowfall Publications in late fall 2011. She is Co-Chair of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW) and a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

There will be a book release party for Epitaphs and a panel with a few of the authors from the anthology at AnthoCon, Nov. 11 through 13. There will be a special table for the anthology at the convention as well. Throughout the weekend, most of the authors in Epitaphs will be available to sign copies.

Presented by Shroud Publishing, The Anthology 2011 Conference will “showcase the imaginative talent in speculative fiction and art, with an additional focus on the convergence of images and literature,” according to the AnthoCon website (http://anthocon.com/).

The NEHW will also have a table where members can sell their books and other items at the convention.

The cover of Shroud issue #11

Like other cons, well-known writers will be on hand, among them Christopher Golden (Of Saints and Shadows), who will offer a reading and signing; Jonathan Maberry, who read from one of his new novels; and Jennifer Pelland, who will read from her debut novel, Machine. There will be an extensive dealer area which will feature books, films, artwork, comics, and more. There will also be a Juried Art Exhibit to include such shelf familiars as Ogmios (The Witches’ Almanac), Morbideus Goodell (Apex Digest, Maberry’s Vampire and Cryptopaedia), and Michael Bailey (who is also the editor of Pellucid Lunacy, an anthology of psychological horror and several novels).

“[AnthoCon] has some amazing authors, publishers and film people attending,” said Tracy L. Carbone, editor of Epitaphs, New England Horror Writers Association’s first official anthology. “It should prove to be the best new Con for horror folks out there.”

Jonathan Maberry (photo courtesy of the Anthocon website)

But what makes AnthoCon unique is its focus on the nine panels’ concentration on education for both writers and horror fans. For example, Reaching through the Veil will examine the channeling of myth, religion, spirituality and the collective unconscious in imaginative fiction; Getting Your Short Story Published with the Small Press will offer insight on finding, submitting, and selling your short story; Evil Jester Press Presents “Help! Wanted: Tales of On-The-Job Terror” will dissect the process of producing an anthology. Horror names Brian Keene, Rick Hautala, Cat Valente, Maberry, Joseph

Nassise, Pelland, and Golden will present I’ve Made It This Far, Now What?, using their paths to literary success to illumine what the process could be like for those in attendance.

Brian Keene (photo courtesy of Anthocon website)

Topics also go deeper with Writing Programs: from the MFA to Private Workshops. And Eric Red (The Hitcher, Near Dark) will present a lecture and workshop The Elements of Writing Horror and Thrillers for Films.

Aside from guests, vendors, and panelists, the event promises to draw a unique crowd to include film and book reviewers and magazine editors—like Peter Schwotzer, the man at the helm of Literary Mayhem (http://literarymayhem.com/) who also reviews anthologies, lit-zines and books for Famous Monsters of Filmland and IMDB.

“I’m going mainly to meet a lot of authors I’ve met over the past couple of years in person. We correspond by e-mails, phone, Twitter, Facebook, etc., but it will be nice to meet face to face,” Schwotzer said. “All of the authors have been so kind and generous to me, it still boggles my mind that I actually correspond with my literary heroes.”

With so much to offer that seems to be different from what’s offered at other cons, this promises to be a great inauguration with long-lasting recurring potential—writer or fan, artist or reviewer, don’t miss out.

AnthoCon 2011 will be held at the Best Western Wynwood Hotel & Suites at 580 US Route 1 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from Friday, Nov. 11 through Sunday, Nov. 13. For complete information on AnthoCon, including schedules, costs, and who will be there, visit www.anthocon.com.

Jason Harris Promotions

Tag Archives: New England Horror Writers

NEHW Authors in Charity Anthology to Benefit HWA President