‘NetNet Mega-Size: news and reviews of new horror books, shorts, movies & TV; true ghost stories; an original song; paranormal nerd appreciation; 19th century ghost nonfiction; bigfoot, an invisible bird, a puppy named Weasley and more.
Posted: March 8, 2014 Filed under: Guest Posts & Reblogs, NetNet | Tags: 19th Century, AHWA, Bigfoot, cryptid, Ghosts & Hauntings, horror, horror movies, Horror Writing, Hunter Shea, Insidious 2, Jonathan Janz, Michael Laimo, Oak Island, paranormal, Renae Rude, River City Lights, The Paranormalist, winter, writing horror 10 CommentsOkay, Gang. I imagine you’ve all noticed that I haven’t done a #NetNet roundup for a while. I have been grabbing some favorites since the last installment, and I just found a bunch more when I finally got caught up on my blog reading. There’s a lot of good stuff here, so I’ll add minimal commentary and just let you explore at will. If there’s no text link, click the pic to be taken to the post.
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FROM MATTHEW ALAN BENNETT, A GORGEOUSLY BLUESY ORIGINAL: RIVER CITY LIGHTS
You might as well listen while you look over the rest of my offerings. (Just remember to right click the links and open a new tab or window, in case WordPress chooses to ignore my instructions … again.)
Here’s the link to Matthew’s post about the backstory of the song.
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FROM EVA HALLOWEEN – 9 WINTER HORROR TALES TO KEEP YOU WARM
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FROM PATRICK KELLER: 15 REASONS TO BEFRIEND A PARANORMAL NERD TODAY!
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FROM TIM PRASIL: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 19TH-CENTURY NON-FICTION ABOUT GHOSTS
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FROM BRITT REINTS: INTERVIEW WITH A “PROFESSIONAL SCARER”
Margee wants to scare the crap out of you. And I don’t mean in that airy-fairy “scare you by pushing you out of your comfort zone” way.
I mean she wants you to scream because you think a zombie clown might be coming after you with a chainsaw.
Figuring out how to scare you is Margee Kerr’s job – she works for Pittsburgh’s notorious ScareHouse – and her passion. She’s researched, experimented, and earned advanced degrees on the subject.
Read the rest here: What Happiness Looks Like: Dr. Margee Kerr, Professional Scarer
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FROM HUNTER SHEA, WHO HAS BEEN A BUSY GUY:
1) A thought provoking blog: Is Evil Real? An Exorcism In America
2) A new THRILLER novel, out from Pinnacle in paperback: The Montauk Monster
3) News on ANOTHER (horror) novel that will be available April 1st, The Waiting. Apparently this ghost story is based on true events. Here’s an excerpt and here’s a review.
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FROM ACADIA EINSTEIN: REVIEW OF THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND (ON HISTORY CHANNEL)
Acadia’s piece convinced me to give it a shot, and it turns out I really like it. There may be hope for this type of program.
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FROM CONNER THE DOG (COMPANION TO EMILY EINOLANDER): REVIEW OF INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2
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FROM JOSEPH PINTO: PUBLICATION IN MIDNIGHT ECHO, OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE AUSTRALIAN HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION
Apparently it’s an all-ghost issue … and you all know how I love my ghosts. Here’s the link to his announcement at his blog.
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FROM HALLOWEEN GIRL: A REPORT ON AN APPEARANCE BY BIGFOOT “EXPERT,” RICK DYER & HIS “BIGFOOT CORPSE”
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FROM JONATHAN JANZ, WHO HAS ALSO BEEN A BUSY GUY:
1) Publication in Piercing The Darkness: A Charity Anthology for the Children’s Literacy Initiative (You’ve GOT to see the company he’s keeping these days.)
2) A post that will make you say awww: Introducing the Sixth Member of Our Family: Weasley the Puppy
3) A new novel – this one a vampire western: Dust Devils
AND FROM ERIN SWEET AL-MEHAIRI – WHO CAN MAKE ME WANT TO READ A BOOK LIKE NO OTHER CAN – A REVIEW OF DUST DEVILS BY JONATHAN JANZ
UPDATE: SHE FINISHED THE BOOK AND POSTED THE FINAL REVIEW AND AN INTERVIEW WITH JANZ – READ IT HERE 🙂
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FROM NINA D’ARCANGELA: A ROMANTIC STORY – THE BLOODY VALENTINE
Can you feel it? My heart? It is beating solely for you; so strong – so swift; the rapid pump pulsing ever so swiftly through me. My body pressed so close to your own; my soft fetid breath scampers across your sweet creamy skin.
Read the rest here: A Heart For Valentine’s Day
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FROM RAY YANEK, WHO GETS TWO SPOTLIGHTS FOR HIS RECENT BLOGS:
1) This one for being both timely and helpful: He’s a Character All Right … or at least I hope so. (It’s a great template for creating characters for fiction.)
2) This one for just great writing in A Newbie Guide to the Digital Scent of Comic Books
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FROM CHRISTY, AT GHOSTS & GHOULS: ANOTHER GOOD TRUE-GHOST-STORY SUBMISSION
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FROM MICHAEL THOMAS-KNIGHT: THE TOP 5 HORROR MOVIE REMAKES
This is an elegant post, even though my favorite is only an honorable mention.
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OOPS, EVA GETS ANOTHER ONE: 5 GREAT HORROR FILMS BY FEMALE DIRECTORS
Read: Women in Horror: 5 Films to Watch on Netflix Instant
AKA Monster
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FROM CRACKED.COM: 5 DISTURBING OLD-TIMEY ADS OBVIOUSLY CREATED BY ALIENS
Yes, the topic is a good one, but it was the actual writing that had me in near tears.
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Is the song done playing yet? I’ve saved the videos for last, so I wouldn’t cut that short.
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FROM MICHAEL LAIMO: 3 TEASER TRAILERS FOR HIS CHILLER NETWORK ADAPTATION OF DEEP IN THE DARKNESS
When I read it, back in 2004, Deep in the Darkness was one of the books that made me think, I can do this writing thing. (Wanna-be horror writers should not read Stephen King exclusively.)
See the other two here: Deep in the Darkness Movie Teasers – Coming May 2014
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AND FINALLY, FROM RANDOM VIEWING OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS, THE WORLD’S MOST BRAZENLY HIDDEN BIRD — THE COMMON POTOO
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There is no way I’m going to capture every great thing that happens in my personal web, let alone on the wider internet. The posts I feature here just happened to catch my eye. They resonated with me and whatever is going on in my life right now. And they are worth sharing.
#NetNet
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wrimoprog 03/08/2014: 2 + 12 = 14/80
Creepy reads for the Halloween season: good horror authors, old & new.
Posted: September 13, 2013 Filed under: *Macabre Media, Books & Authors, Halloween | Tags: Anne Rice, Brad C. Hodson, Clive Barker, Dan Simmons, Dean Koontz, Halloween, halloween countdown, horror, Horror Writing, Hunter Shea, Joe Hill, John Saul, Jonathan Janz, Mitch Lavender, Peter Straub, Poppy Z. Brite, Ray Bradbury, Renae Rude, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Robert McCammon, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, The Paranormalist 40 CommentsUPDATED FOR THE 2014 SEASON
At Halloween-time, there are few activities more satisfying than falling whole-heartedly into a scary book. Reading opportunities abound:
- read during the last couple of trips to the cabin, because the lake turns chilly as soon as the earlier dusk sets in
- take your lunch hour at a park when the leaves are turning, the sun is warm, and the breeze is cool
- curl up with a mug of your favorite hot beverage and a blanket during one of the season’s last thundery evenings
- steal a chapter or two while waiting for the kid’s band / dance / karate lessons to end
- stay up too late so you can get through just one more chapter
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I don’t read enough.
I used to. From the time I could pick up a book until my first child started walking, I was voracious. I’m well-versed in at least one era of horrorbooks. (See my favorite titles, from my favorite old-school writers, at the end of this post.)
Once my adulthood began in earnest, though, my time became scarce. I read as much as I could but I had to spend some time on more instructional things – books on parenting, budgeting, cooking, raising chickens, staying sane, etc. I lost track of most of the developments in my preferred genre. When I had time for fiction, the great temptation was to re-read old favorites, and seek out titles I may have missed from my stable of tried and true authors.
That’s not to say I missed out on EVERYTHING in those years, I managed to stumble across authors like Scott Nicholson, Poppy Z. Brite and some kid named Joe Hill.
(Yes, that’s how out of touch I was — I didn’t KNOW Joe Hill was Stephen King’s son until after I bought Heart-Shaped Box. I was pleased, however, that I figured it out myself. I clearly remember getting really excited about this new writer within the space of the first chapter. I thought, Wow … this is like a modern King. I turned to the book jacket to read about the author and thought, Wow. He even looks a little like Constant Writer. Actually, he looks A LOT like him … and he’s from ‘New England’. Beat. Beat. OMG!!!)
It’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve made an effort to come up to speed on what’s going on in the horror world. What I’m seeing in the genre looks promising.
I think it’s harder to find new authors than it once was though. It doesn’t help that many bookstores have done away with the horror section. (Damn you, Barnes & Noble.) It doesn’t help that some of the horror imprints I used to count on have disappeared. (Right now I’m relying heavily on Samhain Horror.) In truth, I find Amazon overwhelming, and I’m not a big fan of the self-publishing craze. (I know there’s good stuff out there, it’s just hard to separate from the chaff … and I’ve found some awful chaff in the wilds of Amazon.) For all these reasons, I thought it might be helpful to tell you what I have found that I like.
Full disclosure: I “know” the new authors I’m about to list. There are no reviews of specific novels below. I can’t publicly critique the work of people I’ve come to think of as friends. Rest assured, If they are here, I like their work. This is simply a round up of resources for readers who are ready to try someone new. I’m comfortable telling you these guys are worth checking into. I’ll let you know which books I’ve read and show you where you can get a free sample or two of the author’s work – whether that be an ebook, a published short, an audio clip, or an outstanding blog post.
Hunter Shea:
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- novella between 1 & 2
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- book 1
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- book 2
Hunter is the first author I connected with here in the blogosphere, and I did it before I read any of his work. I wrote a whole post about stalking him. (I’m more subtle about that kind of behavior now. But, if you think I’m trailing you, I probably am.) He was amazing to me, and I’m grateful for his support and encouragement. I was terribly relieved when it turned out he can really write too.
I’ve read: Forest of Shadows, Sinister Entity, Asylum Scrawls, The Waiting, The Montauk Monster
Sample his work here: The Graveyard Speaks is avaiable as a free ebook download. (This is a short story that bridges time between Forest of Shadows & Sinister Entity, but it’s a fine stand-alone.)
UPDATE: I told you a year ago to keep an eye on this guy. Not only is he prolific, he’s getting better with every book. The Montauk Monster, for example, was named one of the best reads of the summer by Publisher’s Weekly:
“This wholly enthralling hulk of a summer beach read is redolent of sunscreen and nostalgia, recalling mass market horror tales of yore by John Saul, Dean Koontz, and Peter Benchley.” — Publishers Weekly — Voted one of the best reads of summer!
His latest release is Hell Hole.
Extra fun:
I’ve had the opportunity to interview Hunter about, well about all sorts of stuff, this year. Have a listen:
- Conversing with author Hunter Shea: on publishing horror.
- Interview with Hunter Shea: on THE WAITING and the true-life ghost-story that inspired the novella.
Hunter and his friend Jack Campisi do a great little video podcast about all things horror. Links to all episodes can be found here: Monster Men
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Brad C. Hodson
I’ve read: Darling
Sample his work here: Read the first chapter of Darling at his blog.
And/or, listen to one of Brad’s short stories – Breathe – read by John Shirley, on the podcast Tales to Terrify. (I’ll be getting back to that little gem in another post.) In the player available on the linked page, Breathe starts at approx 10:20 and continues to approx 17:45.
Extra fun: I think the book trailer counts.
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Jonathan Janz
I’ve read: The Sorrows, The Darkest Lullaby, Castle of Sorrows
Sample his work here: Night Terrors ( Part one of the five-part serial novel, Savage Species), available as a free ebook download.
UPDATE: Next up for me is Dust Devils:
Beware when the vampires come to town.
When traveling actors recruited his wife for a plum role, Cody Wilson had no idea they would murder her. Twelve-year-old Willet Black was just as devastated the night the fiends slaughtered everyone he loved. Now Cody and Willet are bent on revenge, but neither of them suspects what they’re really up against.
For the actors are vampires. Their thirst for human blood is insatiable. Even if word of their atrocities were to spread, it would take an army to oppose them. But it is 1885 in the wilds of New Mexico, and there is no help for Cody and Willet. The two must battle the vampires—alone—or die trying.
Extra fun: The finest Halloween blog post I’ve read yet: Born in Halloween. If you click on no other link in this post, click this one. This post is how I knew I needed to find and read his novels.
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Mitch Lavender
As far as I know, Mitch has confined himself to short stories so far, but I think he’s a comer.
I’ve read: Untrue Stories, Volume One – It Didn’t Happen This Way
Sample his work here: Mitch makes many of his short stories available at his blog. One of my favorites is A Kiss of Thorns
Extra fun: Mitch offers an amazing selection of wallpapers for writers at his blog too.
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This Halloween, give a thought to these new authors and give them a chance. I suspect you’re going to be glad you did … now and in a few years.
That said, there’s nothing wrong in turning to one of the established masters. I will be re-reading some of these this fall … because I have to. The following list of great horror is nowhere near all-inclusive. I’m forcing myself to choose ONE book from my favorite 13 authors. For me, this is canon:
- Stephen King – IT
- Robert McCammon – Swan Song
- Dan Simmons – Summer of Night
- John Saul – Suffer the Children
- Poppy Z. Brite – Lost Souls
- Dean Koontz – Odd Thomas
- Peter Straub – Ghost Story
- Robert Bloch – Psycho
- Clive Barker – Cabal
- Richard Matheson – Hell House
- Anne Rice – The Witching Hour
- Shirley Jackson – The Haunting Of Hill House
- Joe Hill – Heart-Shaped Box
Anything above should satisfy your taste for horror this fall, but if you want something truly evocative of the Halloween season, I’d suggest:
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
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HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN QUICK LINKS:
2014: Countdown-to-Halloween Ideas & Checklist
2014: The Paranormalist’s 1st Annual Halloween Photo Scavenger Hunt
FOR MORE HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN ARTICLES VISIT THE MAIN INDEX
Becoming a horror writer: now I know the difference between editing and revising a manuscript.
Posted: July 1, 2013 Filed under: *Writing & Editing, Horror Writing, Lizzy (witches & ghosts) | Tags: digital art, editing, Horror Writing, manuscript revision, Renae Rude, revising, revision, The Paranormalist, writing, writing horror 10 CommentsA couple of weeks ago, I had the entire Lizzy Novel manuscript printed. I thought I was going to fix the ending (which has been giving me fits) then do a hand-edit, make a few changes, check on the flow and pace, then start the second full draft of the book – you know, the one where you check for dangling subplot threads and go cross-eyed looking for adverbs and clichés.
See how clean and crisp those freshly printed pages look?
Then I read the damn thing – from page one to the end – and discovered that whole great swaths of the behemoth are pretty much useless.
The good news is that I had far exceeded my intended word count anyway – so much of the cutting was only painful, as opposed to excruciating.
The bad news is that somewhere in all those pages, I had become lost. My plot-line had become diluted and weak. Too many tangents had crept into the work as I tried to write my way from one flimsy section to the next, and too many crucial bits of story development had been glossed over or written around.
There was much worth salvaging – the characters are likeable, distinctive and engaging; I seem to have a decent handle on creating atmosphere and mood; there isn’t much info-dumping – but the foundation of the story was more like a haphazard cairn you’d stumble onto in the woods than the mortared stone wall I wanted it to be.
I set to with a will, but working with the pages didn’t get me anywhere. I kept getting caught up in details, rather than getting a clear overview of the story. No matter how much I manhandled the manuscript, and slashed at it with pencils, I couldn’t find my way back to the heart of the plot. Worse, I started to fear that the whole thing needed to be burned in a cleansing bonfire fueled with frustration and shattered dreams scrapped.
I stomped around the house and complained I needed a way to see the whole thing at a glance … I wanted a massive whiteboard or something. I didn’t make any real progress until Ogre reminded me that I already had the tool I needed, in the form of the section map I’d made before I started generating text. (A section map is basically a detailed, scene-by-scene, outline – the method is from The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing.)
I only needed about a day with my original section map to see how it was flawed. In the months since crafting it, I had done my job by writing to its specifications, but I had also learned a lot about how a plot should actually unfold. The map was solid at the beginning and ending, but the middle sections were too vague, and they had led me down the tangential paths. (When I made the map, I had not written anything as sprawling as a novel, so I didn’t spread out the plot development well.)
At first, I tried to make corrections on the original map. For a while, it worked. But then even the map became unwieldy as it stretched to several pages. Once again, I couldn’t see the big picture. I started a fresh one, and kept my section descriptions to a maximum of three lines. With patience, I was able to create what I needed – a map that showed me exactly where the major problem was … turns out, it was smack dab in the MIDDLE of the thing.
The start was good, the end was good (surprise!) but I needed to make sure the reader would find tasty crumbs all the way through the book. When I had pulled all the pointless tangents, I had revealed the holes. Into those holes, I needed to redistribute events and revelations more subtly and evenly; I also flat-out needed more of them. And I needed to figure out if any of the discarded sections were worth keeping, after being flogged into submission with a thorough reworking, of course.
I wanted to talk it all through with someone, but no person on the planet has enough patience to listen to me think-out-loud as I go over every detail of a plotline.
No person except me, that is.
So, I took the ultimate Artist Date. I settled in on my balcony with iced coffee, my smokes, the revised (hole-riddled) section map, and my cell phone. I fired up the same Easy Voice Recorder I use for EVP hunting. Then I talked my way through the entire story. It took an hour and a half. Then I listened and took notes for another two hours.
And now I know what to do with my writing time this week.
God, I wish I’d done this a long time ago.
I’ve taken the first seven minutes or so of that session, slapped it on top of a slide show of images that suit the book, and posted it to my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RRudeParanormalist
Those seven minutes cover the first five sections (of eighty-one.) Each section is 3-5 manuscript pages. (Sections are not chapters, nor even necessarily scenes – a scene can have multiple sections. These are guidelines, people, it’s not as restrictive as it sounds.)
You’re welcome to have a listen.
By the way, In this process, I may have stumbled onto my title. It might be appropriate to name the story after the town in which it takes place, especially if the name of the town also describes the story arc. (Here’s the plot synopsis.) Of course, that may be too punny. If it works though, which do you like better, Heritage Falls or Legacy Falls?
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It’s the first of the month, so WriMoProg is open for a new cycle.
I’m really proud of my June results – As usual, I spent too much time on social networking and could have done better on the novels, but I exceeded my total goal.
June, 2013 – GOAL: 68 (novels) + 30 (blog and other social media) = 98 (hours)
ACHEIVED: 60 +58 = 118
I feel like I can do better this month, so I’ve set my bar higher – kind of a lot higher, now that I think about it, but we’ll see.
July 2013 WriMoProg: 2 + 8 = 10/145
[X + Y = Z / total-hours goal, where X = writing/editing time, Y= other writerly tasks.]
Renae Rude - The Paranormalist 