Having a bad day? [30 Sep 2008|07:10pm] queenie_writes [ mood | amused ] [ music | Technoviking! ] Technoviking will cheer you up. At least, if you are me he will. :) ALL HEIL DAS TECHNOVIKING! post comment

Chainsaws! Chainsaws! Chainsaws! [30 Sep 2008|06:50pm] jeffstrand Recently I was accused of having an abundance of chainsaw references in my fiction. I feel that this observation is FALSE, and so join me on a merry tour as I do a search for "chainsaw" in my books...   How to Rescue a Dead Princess: Not a single chainsaw reference. Ha! Granted, it's a fantasy novel...   Elrod McBugle on the Loose: I picked this book second because I was going to go "Not a single chainsaw reference. Ha! Granted, it's a kids' book..." But actually Elrod McBugle, when facing the idea of a fight with the school bully, wonders if he could hide a chainsaw behind his back. So I'm 1 for 2.   Out of Whack: Travis mentions taking a chainsaw to Seth's stereo. Hmmm. I really wasn't expecting to find chainsaw references in my comedies. This could be embarrassing.   Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary): Andrew Mayhem makes a joke about being chased by a lunatic with a chainsaw. Later there's a reference to various prop weapons, including a chainsaw, in the movie studio. Then a reference to juggling chainsaws. Then Andrew asks if anybody has a chainsaw to cut Roger free of The Dismemberment Machine (I forgot about that scene--that was way cool). Then a non-running chainsaw stuck in a corpse. Okay, maybe I have a problem.   Single White Psychopath Seeks Same: This one, of course, starts off with a great big chainsaw scene. Then there's a chainsaw in the operating room where really scary stuff happens. But that's it.   Casket For Sale (Only Used Once): In the big exciting finale, a corpse has been outfitted with a chainsaw arm. Son of a bitch...   Pressure: A reference to juggling chainsaws. My second reference to juggling chainsaws, for those keeping count. Also a reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but that's pushing it.   The Haunted Forest Tour: Another reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but in a completely different context than in Pressure. Then a whole bunch of chainsaw references as some folks go to work against the rapidly growing forest, but I'm pretty sure Jim Moore wrote that scene.   Suckers: One of the bad guys uses a chainsaw, and in fact is named Crazy Chainsaw Goon, but J.A. Konrath definitely wrote that part.   Gleefully Macabre Tales: This book was mentioned as being particularly chainsaw-obsessed, so let's see...an early reference to a chainsaw in "Socially Awkward Moments With An Aspiring Lunatic," followed by several more as the aspiring killer decides that a chainsaw is a bad idea. Then a chainsaw is a key plot point in "BrainBugs." And that's it. So thirty-two of the stories in this book DON'T contain chainsaws.   Disposal: Frank suggests that they decapitate the body-that-won't-die with a chainsaw, followed by a discussion of the purchase price and availability of a chainsaw.   The Sinister Mr. Corpse: Stanley Dabernath, in his pre-zombie film distributor life, owns the rights to a movie called Put Down That Chainsaw, I'm Not Made of Wood. I'd go see that.   So, How to Rescue a Dead Princess is the only one of my published books not to contain the word "chainsaw." Let's look at some upcoming titles...   Benjamin's Parasite: Benjamin, a high school teacher, has marked up an essay with so much red ink that it looks like a killer has chainsawed a few victims in the vicinity. Later, there's a dialogue exchange that includes the line "Chainsaw?" Then somebody is described as snoring like an orchestra of chainsaws.   The Severed Nose: None!!! Ha!!!   Okay. Well. This has been an eye-opening experience. I think it's time to start writing about meat cleavers...   1 comment|post comment

Ways to keep oneself amused at work # 356 [30 Sep 2008|04:51pm] wrathchylde I am tempted not to title or explain this post, but I would like to meekly point out that spam has a value. It's quite fun to take one of the silly emails everyone gets bombarded with and just run with it. Like so: SPAM TITLE: Daughter of Kazakhstan's leader defends "Borat" SPAM BODY: And a ripple of expectation passed over the audience and sarah traylor had the old dream in their hearts teuse, the priest's garrulous old housekeeper bombay. There is something like ancient history seemed to grow very lighthearted indeed, and she. SPAM AND EGGS. MORE SPAM. SPAM AND SOME OTHER STUFF. SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM (or: what I've done with spam) A ripple of expectation passed over the audience as the flames caught, surged into fear and then terror as the inferno took all. Sarah traylor had the old dream, the one they had left wrapped up in their hearts to use only when the White Queen died. It was a dream that belonged in a quiet gable, in the head of some 18th century child, a dream of doves and trees and ribbons, a dream of chaucery. So the seance was called, for the twelfth day of the twelfth month, as it were, and they all came, even old Mr. Driscoll. As they filed into the room and settled in arount the table, the priest's garrulous old housekeeper's thoughts fled to bombay. There is something like ancient history seemed to grow very lighthearted indeed, and she, she stared at them all with an arrow in her eyes, and arrow of silence that set the stones crashing down. In the end, all the silly gods flew away, and the sun broke like an egg. In the end none of it mattered in the least, for the child died in the morning. Well, mine doesn't make a whole lot more sense than the original, but it was fun. Holy crap, it's after 5. More fun than I thought! post comment

War on Terror Success Stories [30 Sep 2008|01:32pm] lurkerwithout [ mood | depressed ] Top female police officer in Afghanistan murdered by Taliban: The most prominent female police officer in Afghanistan has been murdered by the Taliban, the latest victim in a vicious campaign against women in public life by Muslim fundamentalists. Malalai Kakar, who specialised in rescuing abused women, was shot dead outside her home in Kandahar in an attack which also left her 15-year-old son, one of her six children, critically injured. "We killed Malalai Kakar," said a Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi "She was our target, and we successfully eliminated our target." The Islamist group had previously carried out several unsuccessful attacks on her life, and those of her female colleagues, before yesterday's lethal ambush. kali921 and box_in_the_box speak about this better than I can. I'm going back to bed and curl up in a blanket... post comment

Context 2008 - This is how I Roll [30 Sep 2008|02:45pm] mauricebroaddus http://www.mauricebroaddus.com/2008/09/context-2008-this-is-how-i-roll This pretty much sums up my con experience. Friends, family, networking, parties, and laughs. And as Alethea said "if this picture was a sitcom, you'd watch it." *** If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say "hi", feel free to stop by my message board. We always welcome new voices to the conversation. post comment

A Message to Wall Street from Main Street [30 Sep 2008|12:32pm] douglain 1 comment|post comment

What Does Your Burger Say About You? [30 Sep 2008|06:50pm] blogthings http://feeds.blogthings.com/~r/blogthings/NewestQuizzes/~3/407492350/ What Does Your Burger Say About You? - What kind of burger you eat says a lot about you and your eating habits. Take this quiz to find out more. 9 comments|post comment

Lon Prater at How to Write Stories About Writers [30 Sep 2008|10:36am] douglain Just reprinted Lon Prater's story "You Don't Know What Slipstream Is" over at How to Write Stories About Writers. Please read. 1 comment|post comment

FenCon Schedule [30 Sep 2008|12:27pm] angelinehawkes [ mood | busy ] Friday  9:00 PM  Trinity 6 Going all the way - sex in SF Description: How much sex is too much sex in SF, fantasy and horror? How do we keep it real and believable? Are shows such as "Battlestar Galactica" going to far with it, or is it a necessary part of the story?  Saturday  12:00 noon  Trinity 3 Whose Pantheon is it Anyway? Description: What gods, demi-gods and dieties make good fodder for SF/F? lets talk about how this should be done correctly, when it shouldn't be done, and what source material to consider. Saturday  3:00 PM  Gallery Autographs I will have Advance Reader Copies of Symphony for the Forgotten available for purchase/signing.   Sunday  11:00 AM  Pecan Room Reading I will be reading from Spicy Slipstream Stories from Lethe Press. My story is entitled, "The Fantastical Acquisition of the Sword of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna"   Sunday  1:00 PM  Addison Lecture Hall Real World Influence on Fictional Worlds Description: Honor Harrington is Admiral Nelson. "Firefly"s civil war is modeled on the American civil war. How do writers use real world history and current events to shape their fictional reality? post comment

Also -- Leisure Creature Feature [30 Sep 2008|01:24pm] marysang Sooo... Leisure asked me to do a feature for their website. I talk about making monsters, and what I think makes monsters work in horror. Tis HERE. post comment

Episode 31: Give me a slice of Mr. Broaddus [30 Sep 2008|11:47am] mauricebroaddus http://www.mauricebroaddus.com/2008/09/episode-31-give-me-slice-of-mr-broaddus I was on another JustLifeTv podcast. The topic was my idea given a conversation that my wife and I had a week or so ago (which then was echoed by Team Broaddus). Episode Synopsis Almost everyone I know is busy. Busy with work, family obligations, hobbies, etc. Busy-ness has become a virtue in our culture. So today, we’re going to talk about what contributes to our busy-ness and what we are doing to keep our heads above water. You can check out the podcast directly here. The whole idea of learning to rest is a tough one for me, though it might be time for me to revisit my blog Take Your Ass Home. *** If you want to make sure that I see your comment or just want to stop by and say “hi”, feel free to stop by my message board. We always welcome new voices to the conversation. post comment

FOUND YOU Available NOW [30 Sep 2008|11:28am] marysang For all those interested, FOUND YOU is now available at bookstores, online booksellers, and assorted Walmarts, Acmes, Shoprites, and the like near you. Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Leisure (September 30, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0843961104 ISBN-13: 978-0843961102 11 comments|post comment

Posting the Widget [30 Sep 2008|02:24pm] officialgaiman http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/09/harper-collins-audiobook-widget.html posted by Neil So -- at least in theory and I think in practice too -- this magical widget (which I found at http://harperaudio.gigya.s3.amazonaws.com/harper_v1.html will play you the whole of me reading Chapter One of The Graveyard Book. And you can hear some lovely Bela Fleck danse macabre banjo music too. Labels:  The Graveyard Book, magical audio widget 5 comments|post comment

I met Ben Franklin [30 Sep 2008|09:04am] raw_dog The Baltimore Book Festival this year was fun but the weather was pretty bad. I'd say the attendance was maybe half of last year's event but our sales were better than last year. I'm not really sure how that happened. It's always interesting doing events where RDSP is out in front of the general public. Obviously we get some pretty strong reactions but we also get a lot genuine interest from people and we wind up answering all kinds of questions. However, all-weekend events are a huge investment of time when you combine the before and after of planning, packing and record keeping plus travel time. I don't know how many of these events we'll continue to do. The rest of the pics from the Book Festival are here: http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/BookFestival2008.html post comment

Smartness embiggens us all [30 Sep 2008|04:03am] lurkerwithout [ mood | hopeful ] I need to remember to re-bookmark Plok's page when I get home. Because watching people way smarter than me talk about shit serves as a nice antidote to the rest of the unwashed internets masses, who I just want to punch in the face for a couple of hours... 1 comment|post comment

Publication Day [30 Sep 2008|05:00am] officialgaiman http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/09/publication-day.html posted by Neil I planned to blog early this morning, but the hotel phones and internet were dead. I used my cell phone to call the front desk, where someone explained that they were upgrading their system and nothing was working. When I asked why they hadn't done it at at 3.00 am, she said that was when it had had started, and they'd be done in half an hour. (When I left the hotel, about half an hour later, she said they'd be done by 4.00pm). High tech works so well, when it works, but when it goes wrong it goes so wrong. Saturday was wonderful and a bit daunting: I had seven lines of people to get through. The festival estimate was that I signed for about 1400 people, some of them in the rain. (The rainbow was fairly wonderful.) I was given a Panda at one point, and also heckled by someone who turned out to be my friend Brian Henson, on his way across the Mall to give a talk at the Smithsonian. The Henson exhibition goes until the 5th of October, looks marvellous, and I wish I'd been able to see it.) The Festival officially ended at 5.00 pm, and there were still about a hundred people waiting, so I got up, picked up a pen, and scurried down the line, scribbling on opened books and apologising for not personalising things, and then we were done. It was an adventure, signing for people with a broken finger, but it definitely made me happy that this is now a reading tour... Neil! You deserve lots of credit and general applause for taking care of the long, damp line at the National Book fair this year. I was at the tail end of the sixth line (there were seven) and plenty of folks around me were worried that you wouldn't get to them but based on my two previous encounters with you, I assured them that you would NOT let them down. I hope your hand didn't hurt too much, it had to be a bit awkward signing with that finger splint on! Thanks again - good luck on the rest of the tour! -Jason- ...which I post because, truth to tell, I wasn't certain that I'd be able to do it all either. Today... I got briefed on all the things that are happening. The new incarnation of the Mousecircus.com website has gone live and is filled with all sorts of wonders and marvels. (And, more importantly, no more flash animation.) (Except possibly for the Graveyard Book Sudoku.) (The Graveyard Book Screensaver is currently Mac only, because AVAST on my computer was convinced it contained a Trojan, and while it didn't, and no-one else's viruscheckers saw anything wrong, Harpers wanted to make sure that no-one with Avast would have to worry about whether there was a Trojan in the mix.) The videos of the chapters of the Graveyard Book Chapters will go live one or two days after the reading. With luck we can get them up quickly enough that the people at the end of the tour will be completely up-to-date... Dear Neil/Mr. Gaiman, You mentioned in your journal that perhaps you weren't "trying hard enough" to make it on the Banned Books list. You were probably joking, but I just wanted to ask what exactly you meant by "trying hard enough". Does it mean that in order to "try hard enough" you have to write about controversial things that you don't believe in? Unchallenged books are just as valuable as the ones that are; it's just a difference in subject matter. A book with "offending" material is just as important as one with material that more people accept. I just wanted to know your opinion on this. Cheers, Evelyn Well, partly I was joking, and partly I was very serious. You know you're doing something that matters when people start trying to ban it. When the American Family Assocation and the "Concerned Mothers of America" wrote to tell us that they had blacklisted Sandman, I figured I was doing something right. Who decides which stores will sponsor your tour appearances? Is it the publisher? I ask this because I had planned to take my wife and kids to your appearance this week at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, Illinois. However when I called for tickets, I was told by an Anderson's bookstore representative that in order to get a ticket EACH ONE OF US needed to purchase your book--and also pay $5 for each ticket. Since I can't afford $100 and don't need four copies of your book, I've had to cut my wife and son out of Thursday's event. I looked through the rest of your appearances and it doesn't seem like buying a copy of the book is a prerequisite in any other city. If Anderson's is trying to recoup their costs for staging this event at the Tivoli, I'd like to appeal to whomever plans your next tour to either go with a larger bookseller or ask Anderson's to find a less costly venue that would allow families in with tickets and one purchased book. According to Harpers, there's some miscommunication somewhere -- no-one is trying to make families buy multiple copies of The Graveyard Book. That would be silly (and mean). I think this should have been sorted out with Anderson's, so if you call them again you shouldn't have any trouble getting your wife and son in. Hi! I'm going to your reading in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and I just called the number for Border's on your website and they told me that the event starts at 5:00, not 6:00 (which is what your website says). The guy at Border's said "There are going to be a lot of disappointed people" so I thought I'd give you a heads up. Looking forward to seeing you whatever time it starts. According to Elyse at Harpers, "6pm. Definitely 6pm. Doors open at 5pm, perhaps that's where the confusion was." And given that Borders has it up on their website as starting at 6.00pm, I would not worry... Greetings! I could have sworn I got an email from Author Tracker telling me that your Graveyard Book readings in the states would be broadcast on the interweb. However, now when I try to look up a link for the broadcasts, the interweb assures me that I must have dreamt the whole thing. Did I imagine it? If not, do you have the link? I was really looking forward to my first experience with the book being you reading it... Thanks, Nicholas I don't think the link to that page -- which will be somewhere on mousecircus.com -- has been posted yet. I'd keep an eye on http://www.mousecircus.com/extras.aspx as a likely place, if I were you, and an eye on this journal as I'll post the actual location as soon as it's live. Oh god. It's 1:30. Right. Done. Labels:  perhaps I will go back and put labels in later and perhaps pigs will learn the use of their stubby little wings 15 comments|post comment

My girl! [29 Sep 2008|10:47pm] sabledrake [ mood | proud ] She's all growing up and stuff! (And, no, I don't mean how her father woke me this afternoon with a growled, "YOUR daughter has a boy over!" because Nate was visiting after school and they were playing Spore.) She's written a zombie story! I've been helping her edit and revise! Tomorrow night, we do it all up proper, write a cover letter, and submit it to an anthology! We've also had several talks about how hard it is to get accepted, so she needs to be prepared and thick-skinned. Helps, I hope, that she's seen me get the rejections so often and I haven't given up yet. It's all a good learning experience no matter what. And if she DOES get accepted, at not even fourteen yet ... well, that'd just be extra awesome! 10 comments|post comment

Heroes 9/29 [29 Sep 2008|08:50pm] lurkerwithout [ mood | annoyed ] Why the fuck did you add them to the show to only use them as fodder? Gods fucking damn what a waste... 6 comments|post comment

Little Graveyard available for pre-order [29 Sep 2008|08:55pm] sewedel I've been talking about it for a while, and now you can put your money where my mouth has been. No, not there! You can finally pre-order Little Graveyard on the Prairie from Bad Moon Books. Don't believe me? Here's a link. Here's a brand new synopsis I wrote for the book this evening: Harley Shaw is a lonely man. His wife left him years ago, taking their daughter with her. His farm was ruined in 1980s oil speculation and money was running low. Then he hit upon an idea he felt sure would rejuvenate his farm and reunite his family - he began selling burial plots to people who wanted their final resting place to be all natural, and in a peaceful country setting. The problem is, Harley wasn't leaving the bodies beneath the stone markers. He'd found another use for them, and the spirits that once inhabited the bodies were not pleased. Haunted by the ghosts living on his farm and tormented by the intermittent dementia of Alzheimer's disease, Harley Shaw is a man who knows his grasp on reality is becoming tenuous. But he has more to learn. Memory and the ghosts will teach him that ... Dead ain't gone, and gone ain't dead. Did I mention that you can order the book now? Should I remind you of the blurbs again? No? Just one. "A touching tale of pain and madness. Wedel's voice is one of the most intelligent and moving I've read lately, and I'm now looking forward to many more such works by him." -Kim Paffenroth, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Gospel of the Living Dead, Dying to Live, and Orpheus and the Pearl Don't argue with the professor. Just stimulate the economy and pay the $50 for this book. Yeah, it's 50 bucks. It's my first limited edition. My first hardcover. There'll only be 56 of these books made available, not counting the even-more-expensive lettered edition. You get the novelette, my story "Nocturnal Caress," the story "Reunion" that will eventually be made into a movie, and introduction by Steve Vernon, and the artwork by Paul J. Groendes. What are you waiting for? Buy it now! 2 comments|post comment

Butcher Knives & Body Counts [29 Sep 2008|06:53pm] jeffstrand Those of you who obsessively memorize every detail of this blog may recall that I was going to have two essays in a book called The Ultimate Slasher Movies Guide, covering the movies Mother's Day and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original, of course). I still am, but the book is now called Butcher Knives & Body Counts, and it's now being published by Dark Scribe Press. It's about a year and a half away, so you'll have to buy stuff like Benjamin's Parasite, The Severed Nose, and the inexpensive edition of Pressure first, but while you're waiting, the slasher book is going to open to more submissions. That's right, your essay on Bloody Hatchet Death III: The Next Rebirth could be in there! And they'll pay you! For everything you wanna know, check out the official blog right here: http://www.swingingmachetes.blogspot.com/ 2 comments|post comment

navigation [ viewing | most recent entries ] [ go | earlier ]