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Hi Gang!
I trust you're all staying sane, healthy, and employed.
My day job as a bookseller has resulted in a crazy, exhausting, but ultimately deeply satisfying last month. Our store re-opened to in-store shopping almost a month ago, an opening that came with its own set of worries - would anyone show up? Would people observe social distancing and masking? Would we, the skeleton crew staff of three, feel safe?
The good news is that all three concerns were answered with a resounding "YES". Business has been insane (in fact, exhausting for the small crew!). The store's customers are very conscientious about observing COVID protocols. And between our thoughtful customers and the plexiglass shields around our main sales counter, we feel safe working there. Our customers have voiced over and over how happy they are to have us open again, and that makes us very happy indeed. I feel like I just had the world's biggest and friendliest family reunion.
Now our concern is: will we be able to avoid another lockdown? As I write this, Los Angeles is leading the nation in new cases. California's governor is already rolling back re-opening in some areas, like bars. Here's hoping that we don't come to another crisis point that necessitates a lockdown. In case it hasn't been said enough: WEAR A MASK, FRIENDS! It's the easiest thing we can all do to help our economy get back on track and protect those around us.
Oh, and there's some pretty great writing news, too - check the " WIPIt" section below to read about a little something called Night Terrors and Other Stories.
Stay well.
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Still Life
In which I rhapsodize about favorite movie photos from my collection
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This month's "Still Life" column is less about the still or the movie, and all about how this photo was acquired.
This is a strange and melancholy story...
I have a friend we'll call G. I've known G. for over thirty years. I met G. through other friends, and since we shared a lot of similar interests (especially in regards to movies and music), we hit it off.
Although G. and I were never more than platonic buddies (for one thing, we lived 200 miles apart), I found out much later that G. had always hoped to change that. G. wrote some pretty great song lyrics which he sent me, hundreds of them over the years.
Some were about me, although I wasn't sure about that at first.
G.'s life was overall not a happy one. He wrestled with drugs, unemployment, family disputes, and massive insecurities. He never did anything with those beautiful songs beyond sharing them with me. He never got to experience romance first-hand; his songs were often awash in yearning and sadness. His love of movies and music kept him going.
A few months ago, G.'s situation started to turn dire. He was about to get kicked out of his apartment. He had no job and no savings, nowhere else to go. I of course urged him to seek help, but he sounded like he was giving up. At some point he stopped answering my e-mails.
Then, about a month ago, the postman showed up one day with a mountain of packages for me. I had no idea what all this was. It was only as I was bringing them all into the house that I realized:
This was all of G.'s stuff.
I started opening the packages. Sure enough, there was a lifetime of one man's passion for the arts: movie one-sheets. Photos. Band posters. Signed memorabilia. Even ingenious things G. made to celebrate favorite directors (he was also a skilled illustrator and sculptor).
Here's the ironic thing: there's probably $10,000 worth of material here. G. had incredible collections of Kubrick material (especially 2001: A Space Odyssey), David Lynch odds and ends, Blade Runner, Brazil, and the entire Mad Max franchise. G. could've probably lived for at least another year off sales of all this extraordinary material.
This is a LOT of stuff, taking up storage room in my office. I continue to e-mail G.; I've told him I'll hang onto this for him. I've scanned the internet for news about him, but he was never one to spend time on social media forums.
I dread finding an obituary.
And if any of you happen to know G. and have heard from him (and believe me, if anyone here knows him, they'll know who I'm talking about from the description above), tell him I'm thinking of him and I hope he's okay, and his stuff's here whenever he's ready to claim it again.
About the still: an 8"x10" lobby card from G.'s original Brazil set.
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The Halloween Spirit
Tips for keeping it going all year 'round
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The pumpkins are coming!
Last month, I showed you a photo of my new pumpkin seeds, and I'm pleased to report this month that the seeds have sprouted!
Oddly, the seeds planted directly into (fresh) soil outside were slow in coming up, so I started more indoors...and then they ALL sprouted at the same time, so I have six pumpkin plants now in my backyard, all doing well.
Oh, and if you're wondering about the chicken wire in the photo: that's because I have a few pesky backyard varmints - could be raccoons, possums, squirrels, or even cats (okay...it's probably cats) - who like to chew on and dig around seedlings, so new plants get protected until they're big enough to cause these little rascals to lose interest. The chicken wire should be removed from this nicely-sized pumpkin this week.
Here's hoping for a walloping big pumpkin crop in 2020!
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Strange Fruit
The weirdest thing I've recently uncovered in my research
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Jack the Ripper is a ghost.
So, I'm figuring by now you all know that I do these weekly "Ghost Reports" for the Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt podcasts. Here's how these work: I get sent the recorded interview (sometimes only a few hours in advance), I listen, and I pick out something I can have some fun with. Then I research that topic, write my "Ghost Report", record in my home office, and mail the .wav file to the show's co-producer Rob Cohen.
Originally Rob just cut my recordings into Bridget's interview, but recently he's also been making cool little videos from them for the show's new YouTube channel.
In the most recent episode of Ghost Magnet, Bridget and her guest talked a bit about Whitechapel and Jack the Ripper, so that became the subject of my Ghost Report.
If you're curious about what I uncovered, click on the video above and find out! Here's a hint: Jack may still haunt a certain bridge in London...
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In 1993, I was in a strange place writing-wise. I'd had moderate success as a screenwriter, but was so unhappy with the final films that I decided it was time to turn to prose. I wrote a bunch of short stories, showed them to my friend Roberta Lannes, and she thought they were good enough to shop around. A short time later, I attended my first World Fantasy Convention (in Minneapolis), where Dennis Etchison introduced me to the British editor Stephen Jones. Meeting Steve that first time was like re-connecting with an old friend, and he invited me to submit stories to him. He didn't buy the first one I sent him (which wound up being used as my werewolf story in Monsters of L.A.), but he bought the second one.
That story - "Sane Reaction" - appeared in Dark Voices 6, and was my first published short story (not counting some things published in school creative writing magazines).
So why isn't "Sane Reaction" in my forthcoming collection Night Terrors?
Well, it's like this: "Sane Reaction" was based on a one-act play I'd written and directed to great acclaim. It ended up being produced at numerous cities throughout the U.S., it garnered rave reviews, and its initial run (here in Los Angeles) had sold out and been extended.
Here's the thing (and this merits a spoiler alert if you ever plan on reading this story): at the time I wrote "Sane Reaction", the idea of a female victim turning the tables on a serial killer who has trapped her was still somewhat new. Yes, there'd been William Mastrosimone's play Extremities, but I went even farther (in fact, the L.A. Times notably said that "Sane Reaction" was "taking Extremities to extremes").
But, in the decades since...the prey becoming the predator has become a slightly-overused trope. Sure, it can still be done in a fresh and exciting way, and I'd like to think "Sane Reaction" still has some of that original excitement...
However, I opted not to include it in the collection because I feared it had lost some of its original freshness. I remain proud of it and hope you'll read it at some point...heck, maybe someday it'll find a new home in a "Complete Stories of" collection. |
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So, about starting a non-fiction book (or a novel that requires a lot of historical research)...
Way back in issue #30 of this newsletter, I talked a little about where I start when writing a non-fiction book.
Well...I'm considering starting another one, and it reminded of something I want to expand on a little from that original article (and by the way, this can apply equally to non-fiction or a historical novel):
My first step is to gather materials, even just for the proposal. This will not only help me to create a better, more authoritative-sounding proposal, but it will also give me a head-start on getting together the stuff I'll need to use to actually write the book.
Here are the four ways I approach gathering materials:
- First, I look at my own shelves. As someone who has been collecting for a looooong time now, I usually have at least one or two titles on anything that interests me; I also have some very useful more generalized books that I can pull information from. In some cases, I've even collected magazine and newspaper articles.
- Next, I look at the shelves of my bookstore. Granted, I have an unfair advantage here; the store that employs me is one of the largest used bookstores in Southern California, and I know the inventory better than anyone, so I can usually come up with a few rare gems from our stock. However, I'd urge any author to take advantage of bookstores in their area when it comes to gathering research materials.
- Third, I head to the libraries. That option, of course, is considerably curtailed right now thanks to the pandemic, but most library systems offer both online browsing and e-books that can be borrowed just like regular printed books. Check with your local library system to see if they're allowing walk-ins yet; here in the L.A. area, our libraries have just opened up to their version of curbside pickup, so I've reserved several books that I'll soon be able to pick up (by appointment) from a library near me. If this project goes forward, I'm hoping that L.A.'s magnificent downtown library will be open by the time I'm really writing, because I've already scanned their online database and they have a tremendous amount of material on my subject in their non-circulating reference area.
- Lastly, I cruise the internet. Why last on this, the easiest of the steps? Because I don't really trust a lot of the information online; if you're looking for accurate historical information, you need to check in with an expert, not somebody who just imagined what it might have been like and wrote a blog post about it. Something like Wikipedia can provide a good starting point for moving on to other sources, but be cautious about using anything you find there without cross-checking your facts.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to head off and start digging through that scrapbook of clippings I just dug out and that library e-book I borrowed. Happy researching!
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WIP It
My current works-in-progress
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If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I recently announced a surprise third book I'll have out this year: in addition to Weird Women and Calling the Spirits, my first extensive "greatest hits" collection will be published in September by Omnium Gatherum.
Night Terrors and Other Stories will include the following:
- Tested
- Poppi’s Monster
- Blood for the American People
- Joe and Abel in the Field of Rest
- Sparks Fly Upward
- Love Eats
- The New War
- Black Mill Cove
- The Ultimate Halloween Party App
- The Resurrection Policy
- Feel the Noise
- The True Worth of Orthography
- Erasure
- The Rich are Different
- Pound Rots in Fragrant Harbour
- The End
- The Secret Engravings
- A Girl’s Life
- Trigger Fate
- Larue’s Dime Museum
- Night Terrors
That's 20 reprints and one new story ("Night Terrors") written just for this collection. These stories span almost thirty years and include numerous Year's Best Honorable Mentions and one Bram Stoker Award winner.
I couldn't be happier to be partnered with Kate Jonez and her acclaimed press Omnium Gatherum in presenting this collection. Order links will be available next month.
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Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances
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Coming in September in the UK and October 14 in the US as an illustrated hardback. My comprehensive survey of the history of spirit-calling looks at necromancy, Spiritualism, modern ghost-hunting, and more.
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Miscreations, which includes my story "Imperfect Clay", is available now in hardback, paperback, and e-book.
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My story "Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Los Feliz" will be in this fabulous new anthology, forthcoming from Akashic Books in February 2021.
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In League With Sherlock Holmes
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My story "A Seance in Liverpool" appears in this forthcoming anthology edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Laurie King.
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Includes my poem "Meeting the Elemental".
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Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923
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My Ghost Stories partner Les Klinger and I have re-teamed to dive deep for this anthology of amazing, terrifying stories by early female writers.
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Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
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My award-winning history of Halloween has just been re-issued in a new less-expensive paperback format!
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The Lovecraft Squad: Rising
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The final volume in this incredible "mosaic novel" includes a chapter by me.
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My story "Family" is in this fabulous anthology, coming in June.
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Infected Volume 1: Tales to Read at Home
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This wonderful charity anthology includes a reprint of my story "Virus Verses" and will contribute to Save the Children Coronavirus Response.
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Are you listening to the free Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt podcast? Each week I provide a "Ghost Report" in which I talk about some cool little bit of history. Plus, there are great guests, and Bridget's a wonderful host!
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This month, everyone's a winner! I've created a free e-book that includes both the play version and the short story version of "Sane Reaction" (as discussed in this month's "Behind the Screams" column) - just click the button below to download your free PDF copy. Thanks for reading along!
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At this point...who knows?
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