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Hi Gang!
This is a somewhat truncated newsletter because...I'm exhausted.
Christmas in retail is always exhausting, but this year I got slapped by both jobs - they suddenly moved up one writing deadline from what was already difficult to nearly impossible. But I did it, and it's done, and it's all good.
Also...2022. My second least favorite year of all time (2015 was the worst). Too much death and crime and weirdness. Fortunately I had the zombie movie book to work on. Right now I have no idea what I'll be doing in 2023 and that leaves me a bit unsettled, but I'm sure something will pop up.
Stay safe and well in this new year, everyone! We need each other.
Lisa
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Still Life
In which I rhapsodize about favorite movie photos from my collection
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This just might be my single favorite image from my forthcoming The Art of the Zombie Movie.
This remarkable alternative poster for Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead by Elvisdead (Mathieu Pequignot) captures the film so perfectly...yes, I ordered my own copy of this piece.
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The Halloween Spirit
Tips for keeping it going all year 'round
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Do other people exchange Halloween-themed gifts for Christmas?
We certainly do in my house! This was one I received this year that I adore: John Carpenter's Halloween Artbook. This beautiful coffee table art book contains page after page of art based on Carpenter's film. Who knew so many artists were inspired by Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Dr. Loomis? (Because, yes, there are tons of Donald Pleasance portraits in here, too!).
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Strange Doings
The weirdest thing I've recently uncovered in my research
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Have you heard of the Akashic Records?
This is a phrase that pops up from time to time in paranormal circles, but I didn't really know what it was until I recently decided to research it.
First off, it's not a new phrase - it's been around since the 1880s. At about the same time that Spiritualism was happening in the U.S. and the U.K., Madame Helena Blavatsky introduced a belief system called "theosophy," which mixed a lot of eastern religious concepts together with more modern western beliefs. The word "akasha" is Sanskrit for "sky" or "aether," and Blavatsky defined the word as, "The subtle, supersensuous spiritual essence which pervades all space." A few writers in the 1880s used this idea, but it was C. W. Leadbeter in the 1899 book Clairvoyance who discussed the idea of the akashic records being a compendium of all knowledge that the psychically-gifted could access.
Perhaps the most famous psychic who claimed to be able to access these Akashic Records was Edgar Cayce. Cayce called the Records "the Universe's super-computer system." He was known as "the Sleeping Prophet" because he supposedly enter a trance state and then accessed the Akashic Records for information about whoever he was sitting with.
When it comes to something like the Akashic Records, I remain...well, let's be diplomatic and just say I'm unconvinced. For one thing, Blavatsky's credentials as an expert in eastern religions were questionable at best. And you have to ask: if the Akashic Records were real and could be read by psychics, wouldn't they be able to know everything about everyone? I mean, would they really have to rely on, "I'm reading that someone whose name starts with the letter 'J' was important in your life..."
But it is a fascinating concept!
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"Christmas at the Babylon"
(December 21, 2020 episode of the podcast Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt)
Last month I talked about the short story "Halloween at the Babylon" (from the anthology Literally Dead: Tales of Halloween Hauntings) and then I realized I never talked about what it was a sequel to.
Back in 2020, Ghost Magnet with Bridget Marquardt co-producer Rob Cohen told me they were looking for something fun to do with the show's Christmas episode (this year's Christmas episode was a three-hour streaming event with a lot of guests - including me - who've appeared on past episodes of the podcast). Rob thought something with traditional ghost stories would be fun.
My answer was, "Great! Let's tell a traditional ghost story...and make listeners think it's real, ala the famous Orson Welles radio show of War of the Worlds." Rob liked that idea, so off I went to write.
I had a list of guests Rob wanted for the show, so I wrote all of them into a story in which host Bridget had just discovered that her own apartment building was built on the site of a famous haunted theater (the Babylon) that was demolished decades ago. I knew the story would be presented in a Zoom format, so I took advantage of that, including a mysterious Zoom-bomber who appeared unidentified on the screen...the ghost, in other words (played by Richard Grove).
I knew I'd be writing my friend Del Howison in as a guest, and since Del is a fine author I created a fake book complete with a cover that Del could hold up during the recording.
The guests all got the script a few days in advance, we did the taping, and it all seemed to work! I think we managed to successfully fool a few listeners along the way, everyone did a great job, and producer Rob shared the show's link for everyone to enjoy again this Christmas. |
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Have you ever tried to write a story for a themed anthology?
Or maybe you wanted to, but thought you couldn't. Or perhaps you're not interested in playing in someone else's sandbox.
Hey, I get that...but I'm going to make a suggestion here, which happens to be my Number One rule when it comes to crafting a story for a themed anthology (and I've done a LOT of them!): Your job is to make the theme fit what YOU want to write, not the other way around. You shouldn't approach it as writing in someone else's world; rather, make their world fit into yours.
How does that play out in the actual writing? Let's look at an example: my story "Hacking the Horseman's Code" from the 2022 anthology Classic Monsters Unleashed. Editor James Aquilone, knowing of my Halloween expertise, had invited me into the anthology and asked me if I could take the Headless Horseman. I agreed.
Knowing I had to write something that would put Washington Irving's horror icon in a fresh light, I first thought about how I could modernize the concept. I decided to really modernize and go for a horror/scifi mash-up involving AI in the near future. What did I want to talk about?
Fear itself. Or rather, how would a thinking machine approach the notion that humans actually enjoy safe scares?
The story was now something I was eager to write.
I guess the moral of this is: make your themed anthology submission something that excited you, and chances are it will excite the editor, too.
One last small caveat, though: be aware that if you write too specifically to a theme, you may end up with a story you can't sell to another market (should the first not buy it). Consider either approaching the theme very broadly, or writing your story in such a way that you know you'll be able to easily re-write it to remove or replace those theme-specific elements.
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WIP It
My current works-in-progress
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I am now finished with the major chunk of work on The Art of the Zombie Movie, and word is that the publisher (Applause Books) think its looks "terrific." Phew!
I'm currently working on three short stories for various themed anthologies, one non-fiction paper, an introduction for a fiction collection...and waiting to hear on the big proposals that are out in the world.
My story "Murder in Xanadu" appears in the Sisters in Crime LA anthology Entertainment to Die For, now available.
Here I am chatting with the blog Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein, mainly about my work digging into the history of weird women writers.
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Halloween Beyond: Piercing the Veil
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Includes my brand-spankin'-new novella Halloween Beyond - The Talking-board. Pre-ordering is now ALIVE!
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Haunted Tales: Classic Stories of Ghosts and the Supernatural
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My Ghost Stories partner Les Klinger and I have re-teamed for a new anthology of more classic horror tales. Coming in August 2022.
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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.
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Classic Monsters Unleashed
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Now available! Includes my Headless Horseman tale, "Hacking the Horseman's Code".
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Includes my (mystery!) story "Murder in Xanadu."
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Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween
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My award-winning history of Halloween, now available in an affordable "compact edition."
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Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances
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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.
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Weird Women Volume 2: 1840-1925
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A new volume of Weird Women, with stories by George Eliot, Edith Wharton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and more!
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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."
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Includes my ghostly tale "Halloween at the Babylon".
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The Feminine Macabre Vol. IV
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I'm proud to have provided the foreword for this wonderful collection of nonfiction works by women writers.
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Video by Ricky Grove!
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For this month, I'm offering up a Kindle e-book of Entertainment to Die For. Just click the blue button below to enter, and good luck!
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