|
|
|
|
Hi Gang!
Well, I've been waiting for this...and I'm not just talking about the arrival of October, my favorite month!
I've finally been cleared to announce what my big book project of 2022 has been: since January I've been working on my first coffee table art book, and the title is...<DRUMROLL>...
The Art of the Zombie Movie.
Yes, I've spent 2022 doing a deep dive into all things zombie. I've become an expert on things I never imagined I'd have to learn about, like all of the Resident Evil movies, the history of Nazi zombies (there are a LOT of Nazi zombie flicks), and the very best Japanese zombie movie ever made (see Still Life below). I've also learned about the details of doing an art book, which is a very different process from working on any other kind of book. I've learned terms like "spreads" and "flat-plan"; I've been schooled in locating great images and obscure films. It's been a fantastic journey and although the book is still a year away from publication (by Applause Books), I'll be talking more about it here. Thanks for indulging me!
The other big news this month is the publication of my first novella in many years: Halloween Beyond - The Talking-board, which shares space in Crystal Lake Publishing's Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil along with superb new works by Lucy A. Snyder and Kate Maruyama. That'll be coming out on the 21st, but pre-orders are already live. In the meantime, check out the cover (by Ben Baldwin) below - isn't that gorgeous?
Oh, yeah, and there's that little thing called Halloween this month, which means a ton of interviews and appearances for me. I'm also still running my #61daysofhalloween series at Instagram, with new posts daily and giveaways, like the authentic 1909 postcard you can win if you enter before 10/5!
I hope you're staying well and happy and planning for a deliciously spooky Halloween!
Lisa
|
|
Still Life
In which I rhapsodize about favorite movie photos from my collection
|
|
|
One of the pleasures of working on a book called The Art of the Zombie Movie is discovering gems you may have missed before.
I've seen dozens and dozens (and dozens!) of zombie movies throughout 2022, but only one absolutely blew me away with its technical brilliance, its unique take on the genre, its sheer ingenuity, and its mix of thrills and laughs. I'm talking about the 2017 Japanese movie One Cut of the Dead.
I'm guessing you haven't seen this - sadly, few have - and I don't want to give anything away, but let me just warn you in advance: 45 minutes or so into this you'll probably think the movie is over and hey, it was pretty good but enough to blow someone away?
Well, with One Cut of the Dead, it's just getting started at that point. About halfway through it takes a hard and very unexpected left turn. Suffice to say it's so smart and so funny (and unexpectedly heartfelt) that I'm amazed Hollywood hasn't snapped up the remake rights already (or maybe they have...they'll probably just mess it up anyway, so who cares).
Also, if you're someone who isn't into heavy gore, you'll probably be okay with this one (unlike the insanely gory Belgian zombie flick Yummy). It's streaming on Shudder, although you can also rent it cheap through places like Amazon Prime and Vudu.
This was director Shin'ichirō Ueda's first film (he also wrote the screenplay), and I hope to see more from him soon. This guy's some kind of mad genius.
ABOUT THE STILL: I wish I owned a lobby set from this film! As it is, I found this image online and it encapsulates the film so well I had to share it.
|
|
The Halloween Spirit
Tips for keeping it going all year 'round
|
|
|
We all know about the main traditions of Halloween, but what about personal traditions?
We all have those things we like to do during certain holidays, things that are maybe not widely-practiced, but that tie us to the deeper meaning of the holiday, and that bring us warmth and joy,
What are some of your personal Halloween traditions? Here are five of mine:
- Go to a Spirit Halloween store as soon as it opens. This is both business and pleasure for me - the pleasure part is obvious! The business part is that I scan Spirit's offerings to spot trends in Halloween (and I like to go early before they start to sell out of certain things). It's been interesting, for example, to see the growing popularity of occult decorations over the last few years, starting with a simple display of Ouija board items (blankets, glasses, clocks, etc.) and branching out to include tarot and magickal or witchcraft items. I suspect, by the way, that this is tied in with the rise of interest in the paranormal that we've seen during the pandemic.
- Buy a box of See's Candy Halloween truffles. When I was a kid my family was obsessed with See's Candy. I, of course, liked it as well, but I especially loved the Halloween candies with the hard shells and the cheerful little jack-o'-lanterns on top. I love that the ones they still sell look very much like the ones I remember from my childhood, and looking at these takes me back to making costumes with my parents and my SoCal suburban night of trick or treating.
- Watch a Universal monster movie. Yeah, I know - everybody watches horror movies during October. But for me, I love going back to the black and white classics I grew up on and that probably helped to inspire my early love for horror. I even love the goofy monster-mash ones like House of Dracula and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
- Buy the Dia de los Muertos calaveras planters from Trader Joe's. I've been doing this for at least ten years now, I think. These things are all over my house and yard. I really shouldn't buy more of them...but I love them! Plus they're inexpensive. And one can always use more succulents, right? Right?
- Watch videos of the latest haunted attractions. I don't usually have much time to go out by the time the big haunted attractions open - plus I'm not a fan of long lines and rowdy crowds - but I can still catch up with the latest haunts by checking out YouTube. At the end of a long day, it's so fun to sit down and check out the (amazingly high quality) video walk-throughs of Knott's and Universal and whatever. As with my Spirit Halloween store visits, this is both work and fun because I'm watching to see new technologies and themes. Plus it's just fun to watch everyone else jump and scream.
|
|
Strange Doings
The weirdest thing I've recently uncovered in my research
|
|
|
Quick: name any zombie movie from the 1950s.
Okay, first off: kudos if you thought of one! The '50s weren't exactly a decade known for cinematic walking dead. If you thought of one, I'll bet it was Ed Wood's notorious Plan 9 From Outer Space.
When I started working on this decade for my zombie book, imagine my surprise at realizing that not only were there some interesting zombie flicks made during the '50s, but they were all made by one guy: a low-budget filmmaker named Edward L. Cahn.
Cahn was a fellow who, by the '50s, had already been around for decades, making movies in nearly every genre. He has a couple of fairly well-regarded film noirs to his credit (mainly 1950's Destination Murder) and he made some Our Gang comedies, but he didn't really venture into science fiction or horror cinema until 1955, when he made Creature With the Atom Brain...and from that point on he made almost nothing but.
His most famous horror/scifi flick is the 1958 It! The Terror from Beyond Space, which went on to inspire Alien, but he also made three zombie movies, following up Creature With the Atom Brain with Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) and Invisible Invaders (1959).
Now, let's be clear: I'm not going to argue that these are great movies. "Fast Eddie" (so-called because he worked so fast that actor John Agar once said he was already moving on to the next shot when he called "Cut" on the last one) wasn't some neglected lost talent...but, with Invisible Invaders, he was the first filmmaker to explore the notion of post-apocalyptic zombies, reanimated by alien invaders and coming for the survivors who are holed up in a military bunker.
Despite the obvious cheapness, I enjoyed all of Fast Eddie's movies, especially Invisible Invaders. He deserves his little spot in cinematic history, and I hope to give it to him in my zombie book.
|
|
|
When Lucy Snyder approached me about sharing space with her in a Halloween novella triptych, first we talked about who our third author should be, and fortunately Kate Maruyama was an easy choice, given that we’re fans of her work (especially her incredible 2021 novella Family Solstice). Our publisher, Joe Mynhardt, told us that we could either inter-connect our three stories or make each one a stand-alone piece, as long as it referenced Halloween. Kate, Lucy and I decided almost immediately that we wanted our stories to mesh, so we started tossing ideas around. The one that stuck was the idea of a seasonal pop-up store like Spirit Halloween but somewhat more mysterious. We named our chain Halloween Beyond, and decided that I would go first so Kate and Lucy could pull elements from my novella.
Like the Spirit Halloween stores, Halloween Beyond places would pop up in closed or abandoned storefronts for a short time, and would have a distinctive logo (Spirit has the reaper-ish looking figure; Halloween Beyond has a spooky tree), but there would be some key differences…like the fact that Halloween Beyond is staffed in part by ancient tricksters and sells genuinely magickal items. I wanted my story to have both a deep grounding in Halloween history and represent witches in a positive way (I know a number of witches and they’re some of my favorite people, so this was particularly important to me). Given that, I wanted to include Samhain/Celtic ideas, like the Otherworld, where the dangerous sidh, or fairies, reside, and I wanted the story to have a witch who is genuinely wise and powerful…and who teaches the young protagonist about her own hidden talents.
One amusing misunderstanding on my part led to the creation of the plot: somehow I got it in my head that I was supposed to deliver a Halloween-themed mystery, so my story hinges on a crime: a missing child, who vanished on Halloween night a year before my story begins. The protagonist is her sister, out to solve little Hailey’s disappearance. The magickal item acquired at the Halloween Beyond store? A talking-board (the forerunner of the Ouija board), through which Hailey begins to communicate with her sister Kayla. Baffled and more than a little frightened, Kayla turns to the elderly Brigid – who was actually a suspect in Hailey’s case – and discovers a deeper, more cosmic mystery than anything she could have anticipated.
Kate and Lucy got Halloween Beyond: The Talking-board before I’d even finished polishing it because I knew they were anxious to pluck out those elements they’d use in their stories. Having now read all three novellas, I can truthfully say that I love how they tie together and I think this will be a very special collection.
Next time you head to a Spirit Halloween store, just beware of an ageless woman with too-green eyes who tries to lure you into a hidden room.
|
|
Getting political.
For years I've heard writers argue against doing this in fiction. "Oh," they argue, "nobody wants to read something preachy." Or they turn to, "I don't want to lose readers who don't share my position."
And for years I've argued in favor of politically-themed horror.
First off, let's talk about that "preachy" thing: ANYTHING can be preachy if badly written. Conversely, a great writer can comment on anything and make the work exciting as well as thought-provoking.
Case in point: Alma Katsu's remarkable new novelette The Wehrwolf.
In case you don't know the writer or her work, Katsu spent decades as a CIA analyst. In an author's note at the end of The Wehrwolf, she talks about how her job required her to be well-versed in the history and methods of genocide. She then goes on to talk about how she wanted to comment on the American events of January 6, 2021...and she did so by telling a story set in a rural German village during the waning days of World War II.
The Wehrwolf is an insightful look at how a normal citizen, a man who loves his family and his work, can be corrupted. It's fast and frightening. It's powerful. And it's most definitely NOT preachy.
If a political situation makes a writer angry, I believe writing about it is the best thing they can do...provided, of course, that they address the situation in a creative, exciting way. I like to think I've done this a number of times in my work.
What about that second argument - the one that says you could lose readers? Well, sure, maybe you could. I can personally attest to having received hate mail in regards to some of my work. My story "Sparks Fly Upward" in particular has engendered some pretty scorching comments. And ya know what? It's also my most successful short story ever. It's been reprinted so many times that I've ultimately made more money from that one short story than I've made from three of my four novels combined.
Tell your truth. Be bold. If you get some nastiness in response, take it as a badge of honor that says you moved someone enough to make 'em scream. And meanwhile, other readers - like me - will be loving what you put out and buying your work.
|
|
WIP It
My current works-in-progress
|
|
|
Pre-orders are now live for Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil, which includes my new novella Halloween Beyond - The Talking-board!
As usual, my busiest month is full of interviews and chatter. Most of what I'm doing this month is via either print or pre-recorded interview, so I don't have exact dates yet on some things; you can see the others in my list of upcoming appearances below.
Here's a guest blog from me at Meghan's Haunted House of Books in which I confess my strange affection for Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
I was featured in the pages of All About History magazine, WOW!
I provided the foreword for the fourth volume of the excellent journal The Feminine Macabre.
I'm still doing film reviews for Rue Morgue Magazine, most recently the skydiving horror flick Hex.
And Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances will be reissued in paperback on December 8.
|
|
|
|
|
Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil
|
|
|
Includes my brand-spankin'-new novella Halloween Beyond - The Talking-board. Pre-ordering is now ALIVE!
|
|
|
Haunted Tales: Classic Stories of Ghosts and the Supernatural
|
|
|
My Ghost Stories partner Les Klinger and I have re-teamed for a new anthology of more classic horror tales. Coming in August 2022.
|
|
|
Working with members of the Wily Writers writing group, I created this small anthology that marks the first in a series of Wily Writers Presents books, all with different editors and stories. Includes my story "Hollywood Dirt." Available in print or e-book.
|
|
|
Classic Monsters Unleashed
|
|
|
Now available! Includes my Headless Horseman tale, "Hacking the Horseman's Code".
|
|
|
Includes my (science fiction!) story "Touch Has a Memory".
|
|
|
|
|
Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
|
|
|
My award-winning history of Halloween, now available in an affordable "compact edition."
|
|
|
Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances
|
|
|
Now in a second printing (and coming in paperback in December): my comprehensive survey of the history of spirit-calling looks at necromancy, Spiritualism, modern ghost-hunting, and more. Illustrated and fully indexed.
|
|
|
Weird Women Volume 2: 1840-1925
|
|
|
A new volume of Weird Women, with stories by George Eliot, Edith Wharton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and more!
|
|
|
Here's the second in the Wily Writers series of anthologies, this one edited by the estimable Loren Rhoads and with my story "La Japonesa."
|
|
|
Includes my ghostly tale "Halloween at the Babylon".
|
|
|
The Feminine Macabre Vol. IV
|
|
|
I'm proud to have provided the foreword for this wonderful collection of nonfiction works by women writers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's a Halloween grab bag! One lucky winner will get a crazy mystery box full of Halloween toys, candy, and surprises selected by me. This contest will close on October 15th so the winner will get their box in time for Halloween. Click the blue button below to enter, and good luck!
|
|
October 2, 2022, 3 pm: Reading and signing at The Village Well in Culver City.
October 17, 2022, 4 PM PST/7 PM EST: Live panel for Book and Author Society with Linda Addison, Gabino Iglesias, Hailey Piper, and Chuck Wendig.
October 22, 2022, 7:30 AM: I'll be guesting on Dave Nemo Weekends on Sirius XM station 146 to talk horror with Jimmy Mac.
October 23, 2022, 6 PM : I'll be returning to jabber on Pop Culture Kaboom!
November 7, 2022, 7 PM: Les Klinger and I will be talking Haunted Tales with Friends of the North Hollywood Library.
June 15-18, 2023: I will be attending StokerCon 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
