Blog Archives
At Rhode Island Comic Con this Weekend!
I’ll be signing at the Rhode Island Comic Con this Saturday and Sunday, November 3 and 4, with fellow New England Horror Writers David Price, Stacey Longo (Malicious Deviance), Charles Day (Evil Jester Press, Legend of the Pumpkin Thief), Scott Goudsward (Shadows Over New England), and Rob Watts (Huldufolk).
The event will run on Saturday from 10 to 7 and Sunday from 10 to 5 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, 1 Sabin Street, Providence, and promises to be quite the weekend: in addition to vendors and celebrity signings, the schedule’s crammed with face painting, costume/cosplay contests, video game tournaments, Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon Tournaments, panels, and even a kids’ room. Movie cars include the Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee, the Ghostbusters Wagon, the Delorean from Back to the Future, and more. For all the details, visit here: http://www.ricomiccon.com/#!home/mainPage
Celebrities include a mega-list for those in my age-range: Buck Rogers! Chewbacca! Q! Holly from Land of the Lost! Major Don West from Lost in Space! But wait for it: I go to lots of cons and don’t usually bother meeting the celebrities (most of the time it’s because I’m too old to know who any of these people are). But this time around, that won’t be the case. Nine members of the cast of the original Battlestar Galactica will be there, including Dirk Benedict! If you knew me as a seven-year-old, then you know what a big deal that is: Battlestar was my favorite show. Well, until The A-Team came along. Now, NOW we are cooking with gas! But the big question is, do I bring my Battlestar Galactica board game or my original TV tie-in? I guess it all depends on how geeky I want to get, right? See you in line!
We Rocked and Shocked the weekend…
The New England Horror Writers were up at Rock and Shock in Worcester, MA, last weekend. We met new friends and old, sat on panels, had a great time, and, of course, sold some books. Here’s pix from the weekend — just click on any photo for a larger view and to flip through the gallery.
- …because the weekend can’t begin without it…
- These NEHW members are really cool cats. They’re getting married Friday the 13th in September, 2013 and then they’re honeymooning in Disney World.
- Scott Goudsward, writer of several short stories in various anthologies, brought the candy.
- TJ photo bombs my pic with a fan.
- Me and TJ May, author of Ill Conceived (now in e-form from NECON E-books).
- From left, TJ May, me, and Matt Bechtel, of NECON E-books, on Friday Night’s “Breaking into the Biz” and Marketing panel.
- Jason Harris, Director of Publicity and Webmaster for the NEHW and co-owner of Books and Boos, a book and novelty shop opening in Colchester, CT, and Tracy L. Carbone, author of The Soul Collector and Restitution, on Friday Night’s “Breaking into the Biz” and Marketing panel.
- Friday Night’s “Breaking into the Biz” and Marketing Panel. All of the Rock & Shock panels are coordinated by Fangoria Magazine.
- Me with Allison Smith and Temperance Damora, whom I met at last year’s Rock and Shock. They’re big fans of Howe Caverns, too!
- Trisha Wooldridge, editor and anthologist, on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- Lisa Marie (Vampira in Ed Wood, among other things) on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- Friday Night’s Women in Horror Panel. From left, Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Tracy L. Carbone, Stacey Longo Harris (writer and co-owner of Books and Boos bookstore, opening later this year in Colchester, CT), Trisha Woodridge, and Lisa Marie on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- Stacey Longo Harris on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- Heather Langenkamp on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- Tracy L. Carbone on Friday Night’s Women in Horror panel.
- K. Allen Wood, editor of Shock Totem, and writer Scott Goudsward watch over the NEHW booth.
- Pizza time!
- Late-night meal.
- Stacey loves these Skeleton shot glasses. I do, too!
- Jack Haringa in deep thought. Jack is a writer and editor whose short stories have been included in the Year’s Best Horror and Fantasy anthologies.
- Me and SciFi Saturday Night’s The Dome.
- SciFi Saturday Night’s Dome interviews Rob Watts, author of Huldufolk.
- I love Cons. Such great cosplay!
- The Dome and Stacey Longo Harris on Saturday afternoon.
- Me and Philip Perron of the Dark Discussions podcast. I have written a couple of articles for him and been on the Chernobyl Diaries episode. If you like horror movies, then definitely check it out at http://www.darkdiscussions.com. I was so excited to finally meet him in person!
- I know. Don’t even ask me what I was doing, here, because I have no idea.
- Me and L.L. Soares of Cinema Knife Fight.
- A bird-eating tarantula who took up residence at the booth in back of ours.
- Trisha J. Wooldridge in Victorian finery.
- Shootin’ the breeze: from left, K. Allen Wood, Jason Harris, Sara Gomes and L.L. Soares.
- Rock and Shock Saturday Night Dinner is a tradition.
- Trisha, Jason, and Stacey following Saturday Night’s dinner.
- Me and Matt Bechtel of NECON E-books.
- Trisha Wooldridge.
- From front left: Kelli B. Jones of NECON E-books, TJ May, Trisha Woodridge, Jason and Stacey Harris, and Matt Bechtel.
- Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel. From left, Jason Harris, Rob Watts, Bracken MacLeod, author of several short stories in many anthologies, and Stacey Longo Harris.
- Rob Watts on Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel.
- Bracken MacLeod on Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel.
- Jason Harris on Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel.
- Stacey Longo Harris moderated Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel. Topics discussed ranged from best and worst horror movies and best and worst franchises of all time, favorite scream queens and most memorable terrifying moments.
- Jack Haringa asks a question of Sunday’s Horror in the Movies panel.
- The Fangoria panel schedule for the weekend.
- Winding down: Sunday afternoon, writers Bracken MacLeod, TJ May, Scott Goudsward and Jack Haringa talk shop with Erric, a friend of Bracken’s.
- I HAVE MY OWN TARDIS!!
- Me and Rob Watts.
Scary Scribes: Hear Huldufolk and catch Crabapples here!
If you missed an exclusive sneak peek of Rob Watts’ Crabapples and a creepy discussion about all things Huldufolk on this month’s Scary Scribes, the only thing you have to fear is the Huldufolk themselves. You can listen to the episode right here:
Scary Scribes Ep 6 – Rob Watts, 06-24-2012
or on the Paranormal, Eh? Radio Network here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/paranormaleh/2012/06/24/scary-scribes-ep-6-1
Scary Scribes tonight: Huldufolk high-jinx; Crabapples exclusive peek!
We’re pleased to feature Rob Watts, author of Huldufolk—the first in his quartet of paranormal books called The Crooked Roads through Cedar Grove—tonight at 6 p.m. on Scary Scribes. We’ll not only learn all about those hidden creatures of Iceland, we’ll get an exclusive sneak peek of the second book in the Cedar Grove quartet, Crabapples!
Rob grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and has degrees in Culinary Arts and Hotel/Restaurant and Travel Management. After a long career in the culinary industry, he spent a lot of years researching and writing on the subject of Boston’s historical music scene. Rob is also a musician—and he’s combined his music and love of travel to places such as Switzerland, Sweden, France, Iceland, Denmark, Kiribati, Mexico, The Caribbean, all over the U.S. and Canada and so on—with his thriller writing, and thus each book in his series The Crooked Roads through Cedar Grove will feature an accompanying CD of original music. Find out more at www.robwattsonline.com.
Our interview with Rob will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 24. Listen in here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/paranormaleh/2012/06/24/scary-scribes-ep-6-1
Strawberries and Screams: Pix of NEHW at South Windsor’s Strawberry Fest!
New England Horror Writers had a screamin’ good time at the South Windsor (CT) Strawberry Festival on June 16. Here’s pix. Like these? Even more located here, at Robert J. Duperre’s blog: http://www.theriftonline.com/1/post/2012/06/nehw-at-the-south-windsor-strawberry-fest.html…and here, by Jason Harris at the New England Horror Writers blog: http://nehwnews.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/pictures-from-the-south-windsor-strawberry-fest-and-craft-fair/
Stop by the Strawberry Fest this weekend!
I’ll be signing books at the New England Horror Writers booth at the South Windsor Strawberry Fest and Craft Fair this weekend. Joining me will be Rob Watts (Hudulfolk), Stacey Longo, Robert Duperre (The Rift Series), K. Allen Wood (Shock Totem) and Jesse Young (The Rift Series).
The fair, located at Nevers Road Park in South Windsor,CT, will run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 16.
Hope to see you there!
Pix: New England Horror Writers at the East Coast Craft Fair
The New England Horror Writers were at the East Coast Craft Fair in New Haven, Connecticut, last month. Here are the pix!
Book Trailers: Boon or Bust?
I’ve been writing short stories since the age of five. At that age and into my early teens, I’d often dream of a commercial—a trailer, basically, but I didn’t know that word back then—for my tales; I could envision my characters as though they were real, talking to each other, saying their dialogue against cool music, and big letters with the title of my story and my name. I used to think, “why don’t people make these for books?”
Well, just like I had always thought “why don’t they just put a single song on a cassette?” in the late 1970s and then in the late 1980s it happened, book trailers burst on the scene a few years ago. I was thrilled that they finally existed, although some writers in some discussion groups in which I participate don’t necessarily feel the same way. There has been some debate about the value of book trailers—are they really necessary? Should I spend time on making one for my book? Should I spend money in hiring a company to make a trailer for me? Do they really sell books?
Frankly, I believe whether or not there’s a traceable point-of-purchase from your trailer to your book is irrelevant. A trailer provides content which supports your book. It takes less time to watch than a review takes to read, is easily accessible via mobile devices, and, more importantly, it’s visual, so it’s easy to remember. And while not many book trailers go crazy-viral, every book trailer has that potential.
I’m a visual person; when I read, I see what I’m reading as a “film” in my head (if that doesn’t happen, I put the book down and read no further). Therefore, a trailer is much more likely to entice me to make a purchase than a review—especially if that trailer’s unique or entertaining. Today’s audiences are so used to being bombarded with visual media 24/7—Youtube, Vimeo, Hulu, Netflix, DVRs, 24/7 Cable, watch everything instantly on your Kindle Fire, your laptop, your Ipad; in addition, the generations behind Generation X, the current and future book buyers, are primarily visual learners (Gardner, 1993)—so it just makes sense your book should have a footing there. After all, when you release a book trailer, what you’re really saying is, ‘hey, my book’s as entertaining as a movie or show! Come check it out!’
The value in a book trailer isn’t always tangible. But I know that sometimes a trailer has made a book look so exciting I had to have it—whether it was at that moment or down the road.
And isn’t that what you want?
Below, some book trailers I liked which grabbed me for one reason or another. I was going to provide a huge list of resources, but fiction writer Darcy Pattison has done such a comprehensive job of covering all aspects I’m going to let her do the work: http://www.darcypattison.com/marketing/book-trailers/
The Hour Before Dark, Douglas Clegg
Breaking Silence, Linda Castillo
Crabapples, Rob Watts
Dark Matter Heart, Nathan Wrann
Gardner, H. (1993). Mulitple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books.
Come join me and the NEHW at the East Coast Craft Fair this Sunday!
I’ll be joining New England Horror Writers Kimberly Dalton, Stacey Longo, Kasey Shoemaker, Rob Watts, and Nathan Wrann at the East Coast Craft Fair in New Haven, CT, this Sunday for signings and readings! Get a glimpse of what you won’t want to miss in this post by Jason Harris over at the NEHW blog below:
http://nehwnews.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/nehw-at-new-haven-craft-show-sunday/