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Hi Gang!
Well, here we are in the last month of the Dumpster Fire Year, and the world seems to have been plunged into the darkest Covid cycle yet, with numbers exploding everywhere. In Los Angeles, we're going into a more restrictive phase starting today, although retail stores haven't been shut down...yet. I don't know about you, but I've already started my holiday shopping this year...just in case.
I hope you've been fortunate enough to stay healthy; I'm grateful that I have. I've also been reasonably productive, with a number of recent new short stories finished and some exciting projects coming up. As usual, I can't tell you about all of them yet, but one involves the number 2 behind the title, which makes it the first time I've worked on a follow-up volume to one of my books. I'm also thrilled to report that Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances has already gone into a second printing, which I think makes it my most successful non-fiction book to date.
There's also an exciting special Christmas show coming for Ghost Magnet With Bridget Marquardt - trust me, you won't want to miss this unusual and very fun episode!
I hope your holidays will grant you a wish and lead to a far, far better 2021. Thank you for sticking 2020 out with me.
Lisa
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Still Life
In which I rhapsodize about favorite movie photos from my collection
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I've been on a Vincent Price kick lately.
I'm not sure why I've come to Price so late. I mean, certainly as a kid I grew up loving him in the Roger Corman Poe movies and The Fly and House on Haunted Hill and the remarkable Witchfinder General and so many others, but it's only recently that I've come to appreciate how skilled an actor he really was.
I recently acquired a Blu Ray box set of Price's films that included The Abominable Dr. Phibes, and I was struck once again by not only how beautiful this film is, with its gorgeous art deco design, but how masterful Price's performance is. Dr. Phibes, whose face and mouth was horribly destroyed in an accident, speaks almost entirely via expression and gesture. It's a very physical performance, and one that Price just absolutely nails.
I also recently had the opportunity to sit in on a live virtual presentation by Price's daughter Victoria, in which she shared stories and rare photos of her father (my goodness, who knew Vincent Price was once a gorgeous young blond hunk!). If you get a chance to attend one of Victoria's talks, I can't recommend it highly enough - she's a delight, and you'll learn a lot of things about this legendary actor you didn't know.
About the Still: I wish I owned this German lobby card, but I had to find it online.
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The Halloween Spirit
Tips for keeping it going all year 'round
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Krampus.
Surely there's no better indication of how Halloween's influence has spread to other holidays than the rising American popularity of Krampus. What started in Austria and Germany as a regional Christmas demon has crossed oceans and borders to become a new American Christmas icon, one that's merchandized and even celebrated in movies.
Did you know that the European Krampus Christmas parades may involve strolling Krampuses actually whipping the onlookers? In her marvelous book Drawn to the Dark, Chris Kullstroem describes being hit hard enough by a Krampus to create a welt on her leg.
Somehow I think that particular part of Krampus might be a little slower to make it to America.
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Strange Fruit
The weirdest thing I've recently uncovered in my research
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Dumb suppers.
I recently wrote a short story that involved this strange Halloween ritual (and dumb suppers, by the way, are not confined to Halloween, but are also held around other times and holidays, especially in certain pagan beliefs). Dumb suppers refer to really any gathering in which a meal is shared in complete silence. In the Halloween version, this was a party of young women who were anxious to find the identities of their future husbands; on Halloween night they got together in a kitchen, made simple little cakes (the recipe was usually something like flour, salt, and water), baked the cakes, and then waited to see if the "fetch", or spirit, of their future spouse would appear to claim a cake.
Needless to say, a lot of young men took advantage of these Halloween gatherings to appear to their sweethearts, a practice which makes an appearance in my story as well.
The story, which involves an appearance by none other than Sherlock Holmes at a London Halloween party, will be out soon in an anthology that I look forward to sharing next time around.
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"The Deals We Make"
(From Tales of the Lost Volume 2)
When I was invited to contribute a story to this anthology, I thought first about the theme of loss - what could I lose that would scare me?
The answer was immediate: my ability to think. I've cared for two women in my family - my great-grandmother and my mother - who suffered from dementia, and the idea that I might carry that genetic time bomb within me is something that frightens me on a deep level.
I knew, then, that I would write a very personal story, something that would include many of my own experiences as a caregiver. What would I give to relieve my mom of the dementia that often leaves her frustrated, confused, and even terrified? Would I make a diabolical deal to rid her of the disease if I could?
The story was painful to write, frankly, but I hope that makes it an honest and compelling read.
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Books should be sold in bookstores.
Of course I'd say that - I've worked in bookstores since I was 14. But let me explain exactly what I mean by that: while it's all well and good to sell books online or at events like conventions and festivals, I believe that authors should also try to make their books available in bookstores.
If you're an indie author, you might be thinking: Oh, sure - it's a lot easier to get traditionally published books into bookstores. You're probably right about that. Every bookstore receives dozens of inquiries every week from indie authors who want the store to carry their books. Because new bookstores are deluged with these requests, they often require things like a payment or a guarantee of x-number of copies sold to carry an indie book or host an event.
So how can you, the author, move ahead of the pack to get your book into bookstores?
This answer is really going to apply equally to both indie and traditionally published authors, and it's shockingly simple: get to know the booksellers. Become a buyer of books before you approach the store as a seller, Become a regular at your local bookstores; you don't have to spend a lot of money, but buying an occasional book isn't a bad idea. Get to know the staff. Talk books with them. After a few visits, mention your book. Chances are that by this time the store buyer will be much more open to stocking your book or hosting a signing event with you, especially if you assure them that you'll do your part to promote and get the word out.
However, there are ways to make use of online booksellers, too. Take, for example, Bookshop.org, which burst onto the bookselling scene about a year ago as a rival to Amazon. Bookshop.org exists to help independent bookstores, but did you know they also offer authors free shops on their website? As long as your book is carried by Ingram, it'll show up at Bookshop.org , and you can make a shop there to showcase yourself and your books. Just click here and check it out for yourself.
When I set up my shop at Bookshop.org, I created a special header featuring covers of books I've either written or appeared in, but you don't have to do anything that fancy to get your shop going. Once you've set up your shop, be sure to share it on social media and link to it from your profiles or website.
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WIP It
My current works-in-progress
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There's a lot of good writing stuff going on, although - doggone it! - I can't talk about a lot of it quite yet.
I can tell you about a cool IndieGoGo campaign going on right now for a proposed anthology called There is No Death, There are No Dead, which would collect stories related to Spiritualism, something I know a little about. I'm excited to be a part of this book, mainly because I'm ready to write more about this remarkable subject!
My interview with Alma Katsu, author of the acclaimed novels The Hunger and The Deep, is now free for all to read at Nightmare Magazine.
The next release in the Horror Writers Association's Haunted Library of Horror Classics, Pauline Hopkins's 1902 Afrofuturist dark fantasy Of One Blood, just received a starred review at Publishers Weekly. My afterword, written when I was serving as the HWA President and oversaw the development and launch of this series, appears in each volume.
Here's a complete list of all my virtual appearances from October.
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Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances
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Now in a second printing: my comprehensive survey of the history of spirit-calling looks at necromancy, Spiritualism, modern ghost-hunting, and more. Illustrated and fully indexed. You can order a signed copy from Iliad Bookshop.
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Best American Mystery Stories 2020
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Includes my story "What Ever Happened to Lorna Winters?"
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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 "We Live Through This."
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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. You can order a copy signed by Lisa from the Iliad Bookshop.
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Night Terrors & Other Tales
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This, my first major collection, will launch at StokerCon 2021 in May, but you can pre-order yours now. Includes twenty reprints plus one new story, "Night Terrors", written for the collection.
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My story "Family" is in this fabulous anthology, coming in June.
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Stephen Jones completes his "Art of Horror" trilogy with this beautiful volume, and I'm honored to have been included in all three books.
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Horror in the Eye of the Beholder
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Marta Oliehoek-Samitowska is a gifted artist who created this amazing book that pairs Marta's art of individual horror authors' eyes with extensive interviews with those authors (including me).
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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's giveaway is a paperback copy of K. A. Opperman's wonderful Halloween poetry collection Past the Glad and Sunlit Season. I provided the preface, and will of course sign the copy going to the lucky winner.
Just hit the blue button below to enter the contest, and good luck!
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December 30, 8:30 a.m. PST - The Folklore Podcast - I'll be discussing Christmas ghost stories.
February 21, 4 p.m. - Dark Tides Virtual Livestream
May 20-23, 2021: I'll be a Guest of Honor at StokerCon in Denver, Colorado.
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