Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Gary A. Braunbeck's LiveJournal:

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Monday, May 5th, 2008
3:21 pm	Something Weird Just Happened... I'm eating a late lunch downstairs. All the windows are open. I get up to take my empty plate into the kitchen and the doorbell rings as I walk past. Not 2 seconds elapses between the ringing of the doorbell and my opening the door. There's no one there, but Sabrina, our outdoor cat. is sitting there glaring up at me and howling to be let in. I looked out, saw no kids, no neighbors, no human beings anywhere nearby. Our doorbell is at elbow-level for a human being; a cat would have to jump a little over 3 feet in order to hit it, and I don't think Sabrina is that bright. Of, course, now I'm wondering. And a little afraid of her.... (13 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 18th, 2008
10:00 am	Until Sunday Night, Then... Lucy and I are heading out to Penguicon (http://www.penguicon.org/) in about an hour and won't be back until Sunday, so if you e-mail me between now and then, don't feel as if you're being slighted if you don't receive a reply until Sunday night. Lucy is one of the con's "Nifty" guests this time around, while I shall be resplendent minding our table outside the dealers' room. Until Sunday night, then.... (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
10:47 am	COFFIN COUNTY Reviews, or: You Say I Wrote What? So the first batch of early reviews for my next Cedar Hill novel, Coffin County are starting to come in, and thus far (knock wood) all are extremely good: http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/BookReview.cfm?Product_ID=2137 But here's the thing; just like with Prodigal Blues, some of the reviewers are talking about the "graphic" nature of the violence in the novel. If you're one of the folks who read Prodigal Blues, then you know that -- with the exception of a single 4-line description -- I kept all of the really horrific stuff off-stage, yet many reviewers warned readers about the "graphic" depictions of child abuse contained in the story. This was both a good thing and a bad thing: a bad thing because I think it turned off a lot of potential readers who probably thought the whole thing was a brutal torture-fest; and a good thing because it meant that the novel accomplished what I in part wanted it to do -- force the reader to summon up some pretty horrible images in his or her head. Unfortunately, there were and are reviewers of Prodigal Blues who still believe that much of the brutality toward the children in the book was actually depicted. So how does this relate to Coffin County? Because if you read the review excerpts linked to above, you'll see that a couple of them talk about the graphic violence contained in the novel. I read these reviews and shook my head, thinking it was the Prodigal Blues Syndrome all over again. So, for shits and giggles, I went back to the galleys and read through the book ... and I'll be damned, this is one angry, violent, and -- in more places than I recall -- graphic novel. The depiction of the violence in the novel is all necessary to the theme of the story, but I honestly didn't remember it being as savage as it is in places. I hope those of you who read my work will read Coffin County and understand why it had to be as violent as it is. (The novel, BTW, is an expansion of my novella "Haceldama," that originally appeared in Cemetery Dance.) It just took me by surprise that the thing reads like Sam Peckinpah meets Harry Chapin and Rod Serling. I don't remember being that full of rage as I wrote the book, but the rage is there. Coffin County is the penultimate novel in this branch of the Cedar Hill Cycle, the book where everything starts to come together. If you've been following the cycle, I thank you (you're going to find a lot of characters from the three previous Cedar Hill novels returning in one form or another); if you haven't read the other novels, it'll still be all right because I made the necessary inclusion of information for those who might be reading me for the first time. However, I will warn you now that you will have to have read In Silent Graves, Keepers, Mr. Hands and Coffin County, in that order, by the time the fifth novel, Far Dark Fields comes out next year: FDF is going to be the wrap-up of this part of the novel cycle, and the third Cedar Hill collection from Earthling (still untitled) will contain the final Cedar Hill story, "This Dark March." The entire timeline will then have been established, and all other Cedar Hill stories, novellas, and novels will fall somewhere between "A Death in the Day Of" (the opening story from Graveyard People) and "This Dark March." And it will have taken me 23 years to reach this point in the cycle. Hopefully I've not over-explained this. Like the fortune cookie said: "Keep it simple; the more you say, the less people remember." Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
10:58 am	So I'm Almost There I'm not quite sure what they mean by the "Patriarchy Blaming" line (or maybe I'm 85% sure but would like 100% clarification), but here's how I rank as a Feminist: Your Score: The True Feminist You are 85% on your way to being a Feminist! You are a fellow Patriarchy Blaming Feminist, my bosom-buddy in the Sanctimonious Women's Studies set. You know sexism where you see it, and you're not afraid to call it out! You know a lot about Feminism, and you got your head on straight when it comes to politics too. In general, you're just pretty awesome and you judge people for who they are, not what arrangement of parts they have and the roles they are expected to play. P.S. If you liked my test and want to bitch about sexism and talk about Feminism with me, feel free to message me. Us Feminists got to stick together! All Results: The Wife Beater The Antifeminist The Traditionalist The Egalitarian The Basic Feminist The True Feminist Link: The Feminist Test written by proudfeminist on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(proudfeminist) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
3:24 pm	WHC Weekend... ...was an absolute blast from start to finish, and the folks who organized the con deserve much applause and thanks. In case you've not already read about it on message boards or other blogs, I took home 2 Stoker Awards; the first, for co-editing the anthology Five Strokes to Midnight (http://hauntedpelicanpress.com), and the second, for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, for my novella "Afterward There Will be A Hallway." I'm still a bit dizzy from the wins. Here's a full list of the recipients: Superior Achievement in Poetry BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison (Space and Time) and VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press) Superior Achievement in Nonfiction THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington) Superior Achievement in a Collection PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark Regions Press) and 5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands) Superior Achievement in an Anthology FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press) Superior Achievement in Short Fiction THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson (Defining Moments) Superior Achievement in Long Fiction AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck (Five Strokes to Midnight) Superior Achievement in a First Novel HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow) Superior Achievement in a Novel THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper) It was a grand evening, one of the best of my life. Now, back to work, as it ought to be. Current Mood: cheerful (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
12:51 pm	Last Post Before Heading Out for WHC Lots of packing and triple-checking of lists today to make sure that we've everything we need for the World Horror Convention (that starts tomorrow, gulp). I just wanted to remind everyone that, for the first time in its 21-year history, the Bram Stoker Award ceremony will be broadcast live on the Internet this Saturday night, March 29, starting at 11 p.m. Eastern. To make certain that your computer has the necessary audio/video programs installed, go to: http://www.iscifi.tv/live and download the Flash player for free. Over the years a lot of folks have bemoaned their not being able to attend the awards, so this year anyone who wishes to can watch them live. I will be presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the Fiction Collection Award (along with my friend Mort Castle)...and, as you know, I have 2 pieces of work on the Final Stoker Ballot: "Afterward, There Will Be A Hallway" is nominated in the Long Fiction category, and Five Strokes to Midnight, the anthology I co-edited with Hank Schwaeble, is nominated in the Anthology category. Can you say "nervous"? Can you say "wracked with anxiety"? Good -- I knew you could. I hope you'll all tune in for what I'm sure is going to be a memorable and exciting event. I'll post a full report after we get back. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for moi come Saturday night. Current Mood: anxious Current Music: Grand Funk, "I'm Your Captain" (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 21st, 2008
1:49 pm	The Great Garbage Heist of 2008 Unbelievable. If I wrote this into a story, no one would believe it. Sincerely. The flooded garage is now all clean and dry and doesn't smell like an open sewer. Hooray. We did, however, lose several items to the water, and I had to arrange for a special trash pickup this morning. I put the dozen-or-so items out last night, per the City of Columbus's instructions. This was around 8 or 8:30 p.m. Among these items -- none of which smelled to pretty, mind you -- were a couple of folding card tables and a folding padded chair. About 9:30 last night I hear a van pull up in front of the house, its doors open, and several people get out. Their voices were quite loud, because they were on our sidewalk right outside the front door. I go to the door, turn on the porch light, and open the front door. You would have had to have seen this to believe it. Have you ever seen one of those action movies where some unexpected spy is standing on the street and suddenly a dark van pulls up, several masked men jump out, throw said unsuspecting spy into the van, and then tear out, closing the van doors only after the vehicle is in motion? Yeah, it was like that, sans the masks. These four guys are throwing the tables into the van -- an expensive-looking van, I might add -- and as soon as I turn on the light and open the door, one of them yells, "Shit!!", throws himself into the van, followed by two other guys, and the van begins to take off. The fourth guy -- still clutching the folding chair -- yells at them to stop (which they do not), so he runs after them, heaves the chair into the still-open side door of the van, and then grabs the hand of someone in the van who pulls him inside, slams closed the door, and they burn rubber down the street. I still laugh like hell when I think about the expressions on their faces when they saw me come out; you'd think I had caught them stealing a Van Gogh, or Florida ballot boxes. Never has my sudden presence provoked such unbridled terror in four other guys. Makes me happy. What makes me even happier is the thought that, by now, the stench of the tables and chair has to have filled their apartment. On another note, I have a temporary false tooth to fill in the gap left in the wake of the broken one, so I won't look like a member of the road company production of Deliverance next weekend when I hand out the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Horror Convention. Current Mood: amused Current Music: IQ -- "Leap of Faith" (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
11:53 am	Today's Disaster You know, were I not made of stronger stuff, I'd be tempted to go play in traffic on I-71 or SR 315 while wearing a blindfold. Sincerely. I will spare you details; suffice to say that I have broken a tooth -- and this couldn't be one that's, like, way in the back of my mouth, no: this has to be one of the 4 teeth right in the center of my mouth, top row. I'm not sure what this particular tooth is called, but you know those 2 teeth that are top and center in your mouth? Look at the one on the left. Now look at the tooth to the immediate left of that one. That is the tooth that I broke, and from the look and feel of it, it's not salvageable. I see the dentist tomorrow to have what remains of it extracted, and then I have exactly 8 days to get something in there to replace it or else I'm going to show up at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City looking like a cast member from the touring company production of Deliverance. Yes; I have broken what my mom used to refer to as "...the hillbilly tooth." I could just scream, except that right now it hurts too much. Could this week be finished, please? Or could I have a do-over? Grrrrrrrrrrrr .... Current Mood: angry Current Music: None. Not in. The Mood. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 17th, 2008
12:47 pm	If No One Hears from Me Ever Again... ...please search our garage;) Lucy and I returned last night from Millennicon to discover that, during the two-and-a-half days we were gone, our garage had flooded. I'm still not sure what exactly happened, but from what I've been able to determine, at one point over the weekend there had to be close to 2 feet of standing water in there -- enough to flood the litter boxes and destroy everything on the lower metal shelves. Right now there's still about an inch of standing water that I am preparing to push into the sump-pump drains; there are also about a dozen large cardboard boxes -- some filled with household items -- that are now pretty much these big piles of brown mush ... and don't even get me started on the contents of the litter boxes. Yeech. Luckily, life-saver David Wyatt will be coming by after he gets off work to help me fix the garage door so I can get it open and start hauling out the ruined matter (not to mention airing out the place, which -- like the dead skunk in the middle of the road -- stinks to high heaven). I may not return from this ruined land, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to say that, if no one hears from me by, say, midnight tonight, send a search party, a medical rescue team, several bottles of liquor, and a pizza. I will be a mere shell of the man I once was;) This is not the way I'd planned on spending the day. On top of this, it appears that starting tomorrow morning through late Wednesday, we're going to be hit with heavy rains -- 2 inches or more within 36 hours -- so unless Dave and I can figure out what caused this and take steps to prevent it from happening again, I might turn up floating in a litter box somewhere in Kentucky come Thursday morning :) I know, believe me, that there are people who have suffered much, much worse, and I'm grateful that this wasn't a bigger mess. Still ... not going to be a blue-ribbon day. So, if anyone e-mails me today and doesn't hear back right away, don't worry -- you're not being ignored. Current Mood: aggravated Current Music: IQ -- "Subterranea" (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
7:01 pm	Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Dark of Night, My Ass Ohio has sort-of reopened after the near-blizzard of this past weekend, but there's still a lot of snow on the streets and sidewalks of residential neighborhoods. Lucy managed to dig a nice path along our sidewalk and out of the driveway so she can get in and out to go to work, but the snow plow that made a perfunctory pass on our street left piles of the stuff along the curb, in places over 2 feet high. Well, the stuff is pretty wet and heavy, so it's a bitch to try and shovel (I tried, and boy was that a mistake -- or so my back is telling me). The upshot is that we haven't gotten any mail for 3 days in a row. I was working at the computer today and just happened to glance up through the window in time to see the mail truck drive right by our mailbox. I put on my shoes and ran outside and managed to catch the mail carrier at the next house over -- and I wasn't the only person who did this. Three of us were out there asking for our mail. One guy (not me for a change) was so angry he could barely form a coherent sentence as he demanded his mail (at about 300 decibels). As I was getting Lucy's and my mail from the carrier, I asked -- politely -- why he'd been skipping so many of the houses on our street. "Because I can't get the truck close enough to the box to put the mail in it," was his reply. (In his defense, there's about 2 feet of solidly-packed snow in front of our box that extends out at least four feet into the street -- a situation not uncommon anywhere in the neighborhood.) "But I can get to the box," I replied. "I mean, yeah, I'll be up to my knees in snow, but I can get to the box to check it." (This was all very amicable, I wasn't upset, just really curious.) "I know, and I'm sorry," he said. "But we've been told in no uncertain terms that if we can't drive the truck right up next to the box, we are to skip it. Too many trucks have gotten stuck when the drivers have tried to do that." "And you're not permitted to just momentarily park the truck, get out, and walk the mail over to the box?" "No, sir, we are not." "But if you've got something that needs to be signed for, or a package too big to put in the box, then it's okay?" "That's about the size of it. Unless it's something like that, something too big for the box or something that's got to be signed for, we are not permitted to leave our vehicles." I took our mail from him and smiled. "That's some catch, that Catch-22." And he surprised me by saying: "It's the best there is." (Lines right from the book and the movie.) I don't blame the postal delivery personnel, I really don't; it just seems to me that, a government body that promises there will (theoretically) be mail the day after a nuclear holocaust ought to have a little codicil in there that says a delivery person should be allowed to take 3 steps away from their vehicle in order to put mail in a box that cannot be accessed while said personnel is in their vehicle. I don't think I'm being unreasonable here. But unless Lucy and I suddenly double our cumulative physical strength and manage to shovel away all the snow in front of our mailbox, I'm going to have to keep my eyes peeled for the mail truck every day so that I can be out there in time to catch it so I can be handed the mail. The whole thing has that "I'm waiting for the satellite TV guy to arrive" - feel to it. Plus (and this is a Biggie) I'm waiting for a book contract that's -- to put it mildly -- kind of important (as in, the sooner I sign them and send them back, the sooner Lucy and I will have the first half of desperately-needed advance money). Has anyone else encountered this kind of dumfounding bureaucratic brouhaha? Seriously -- it would have taken him 3 steps to get from his truck to our mailbox. he could do so while still keeping one of his hands on the truck itself, but because of one little and (to me) nonsensical rule, I now have to split my attention between my work and the front window so I can make sure we get our mail. Am I missing something here? If any of you who read this are USPS employees, or know someone who is, can you shed any light on this logic for me? (And remember, I'm not blaming the carriers -- this poor guy today told me he's been getting screamed at all day by angry people who've had to chase after him in order to get their mail.) Current Mood: confused Current Music: IQ, "The Narrow Margin" (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 10th, 2008
3:29 pm	When Inspiration Strikes Okay, so here I am, home from the hospital for less than one day, following doctors' orders to do nothing but rest, and I'm sitting on the couch watching the recent re-make of John Carpenter's The Fog (in my defense, I had just taken the second mondo dose of meds that I was scheduled to take that day -- including a fairly serious pain-killer, so reaching for the remote to change the channel was right out). Now, admittedly, Carpenter's original is no masterpiece -- its greatest value lies in its affirming Carpenter's status as a (then) young director to watch -- but Carpenter wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel when he made the original; he just wanted to tell a good old-fashioned ghost story with wit and style, and he succeeded. Back to Gary, feeling all shiny on the couch watching the re-make. Despite the pain-killers, this thing made me groan in agony more than once -- that is, when I wasn't laughing my ass off. Lucy calls down from her office: "Are you watching Buster Keaton again?" (I am a Keaton fool and have most of his films on DVD or VHS; thew man never fails to make me laugh.) "No," I replied. "I'm watching the re-make of The Fog." Lucy utters one word: "Why...?" "Because I wish to mark the moment where I realized that, in some ways, death will be a blessing when it comes next week." "Not funny." "Yes, it is. Hey, you know what this movie should have been called?" "If I yawn, it's only in anticipation." "They should have called this, Pretty But Stupid People in Ridiculous Situations Doing Dumb Things That Cause Them to Die and Make You Smile!" "A little long for a movie marquee, isn't it?" And then, inspiration struck. I wish to edit a new anthology entitled Let's Split Up: Dark Tales of the Dumbasses. The concept will be simple: 12 writers, each one to be assigned one of the top 12 urp-inducing horror movie cliches, only -- and here's the rub -- they have to make the cliche work within the arc of the story; the story hinges on this cliche, cannot exist without it. If, in the creation of said story, they can find a way to hint at another cliche to follow in the next story, all the better. World-building is important. Characterization is author's choice. Logic is to be avoided at every turn. Continuity is optional. So, to my publisher friends out there: any takers? Current Mood: devious Current Music: NIN: Ghosts I - IV (23 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
6:28 pm	Six Words You Don't Want To Hear From Your Doctor... ...let alone 3 of them: "Do you have a living will?" (One of them even followed up this question -- I kid you not -- with the following: "You don't look so good." (My initial impulse was to respond with: "Yeah, will, you wouldn't win any beauty contests, either, Brad Pitt.") And then have all 3 make a point of handing you the necessary paperwork 2 days before you're released from the hospital. I'm just sayin'.... Current Mood: complacent Current Music: Leo Kottke, "Busted Bicycle" (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, March 1st, 2008
4:23 pm	To Quote Dirty Harry: "A Man's Got To Know His Limitations." I was released from the hospital late yesterday, and am still a bit tuckered, so pardon this post if it's brief. Many of you who read Lucy's LJ (and mine, during those rare times I actually post) have probably already realized that I am frequently, um...unwell. So it's time to come clean about something: for reasons that would probably only depress you -- so excuse my not going into them -- I have had a decidedly (arguably seriously) compromised immune system since the age of 8. On my best days, when all the cylinders are firing, my immune system runs at half-mast. To quote Beckett's Waiting for Godot: "Nothing to be done." So, as 50 becomes less an abstract concept and more of a sentient being with questionable breath and discernible features, I have at last come to realize that Dirty Harry's observation is, for me, much more applicable than I'd like to admit. Lucy showed me all of the wonderful, thoughtful well-wishes so many of you sent during this most recent hospital stay, and I cannot thank you enough. It's a bit humbling to know that so many people care ... though I often remain puzzled as to why, but this isn't a post about my dreadful personality problems. Here is what it comes down to: I now know that I will get better, but as to "getting well" -- that train has permanently left the station. I will never be well, only better. I could get either depressed or irritated by this. I have chosen to be the latter, because the former would make it far too easy to simply throw my arms in the air and give up. Being irritated -- even angry -- makes it easier to fight back, and that's always preferable. This about drains today's energy level, so I'll sign off with: this isn't nearly as ominous as I may have made it sound, so please, no worries on my behalf, okay? Thank all of you for your thoughtful and humbling wishes for an upswing in my you-should-pardon-the-expression health. (Insert a smiley face here.) They mean a great deal to me. Current Mood: No icon for "resigned." Current Music: Spock's Beard: "The Great Nothing." (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, February 15th, 2008
1:24 pm	The 2007 Bram Stoker Nominees Are... The Nominees for the 2007 Bram Stoker Awards were announced a short time ago: Final 2007 Stoker Ballot Superior Achievement in a Novel THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot Publishing) HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow) THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper) THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown) Superior Achievement in a First Novel HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow) I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing) THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press) THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown) THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books) Superior Achievement in Long Fiction AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck (Five Strokes to Midnight) ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott Edelman (Postscripts) GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning Effigy Press) THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno) Superior Achievement in Short Fiction THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson (Cemetery Dance #57) LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins) THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine) THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay (Clarkesworld) CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10) THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson (Defining Moments) Superior Achievement in an Anthology FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press) INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor) DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon) MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery Dance Publications) AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree Press) Superior Achievement in a Collection PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark Regions Press) THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail) 5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands) DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press) Superior Achievement in Nonfiction ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic) THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper) THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington) STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged) Superior Achievement in Poetry BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison (Space and Time) HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro Publications]) VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press) PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press) OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing) Needless to say, I'm thrilled to have 2 works on the ballot this year ("Afterward, There Will Be A Hallway" -- a piece I'm particularly proud of -- came out very late in the year, as did Five Strokes to Midnight, the anthology in which it appeared, so to see them both here means a lot. I want to congratulate all of the nominees -- it's one of the strongest years we've yet seen. And since I don't want to clog up any message boards, I'll make this offer to any Active HWA member who may be reading this: if you'd like an electronic copy of "Afterward, There Will Be A Hallway," to read for consideration, please e-mail me: gary@garybraunbeck.com (19 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
4:38 pm	Close Call Thursday is our trash pickup day, so every Wednesday night, after Lucy gets home from work, I haul the wheeled container to the curb and make sure it's far enough away from any cars that the city truck won't have any trouble getting to it. Such was the case last night. Problem was, we've been having some nasty wind here lately, which makes the already-cold temperatures almost unbearable after sundown. Such was the case last night. I got up this morning to discover that the high winds last night had blown out trash container over on its back, thus making it impossible for the city truck to use its RoboCop-like mechanical arm to grab hold of it. (If the arm can't get to it, your trash is left behind.) Side-trip now: I have a photograph of my mother that was taken when she was 6 years old. It's the only photo of her as a child that I have. It's in a plastic yellow oval frame, roughly 2/3 the size of a credit card. The frame has a magnet on the back, and for many years now I've kept it attached to the metal lamp beside my desk. My father's WW2 dogtags hang beside the photo. This photograph was taken when she and her brothers were first taken into the county childrens' home during the Depression. Mom and my uncles spent 10 years as wards of the state along with dozens of actual orphans and other children who, like them were removed from unfit homes. She's not centered in the photo -- she's standing off to the left, staring at the camera with an expression of a little girl who's trying to look happy but can't quite make it. It's her eyes in this photo that really compel me every time I look at it; she looks as if she's trying to think of something happy to look forward to, and the smile that's not quite on her face is there in her eyes, but there's still a sadness there. I swear sometimes that her expression changes ever so slightly every time I look at it. She's wearing the only dress she owned as a child, a sweet little flowery number with a big white collar that looks like a bib. I love this picture, because I can look at that little girl and see the woman she would become, the one who never quite lost that look in her eyes. Yes, it makes me miss her all the more, but every day, at least once, I'll stop and look up from my work to see her watching me, and sometimes the look surprises me; sometimes it makes me smile; sometimes it makes me sad; but always, it reminds me of this wonderful woman who I was blessed to have as my mom. So I'm sitting here working today, and I look up to that picture of my mother as little girl, and it's not there. It's fallen off before, so I of course assume that it's on the floor near the base of the lamp. No such luck. So I go into a semi-panic and start digging around everywhere, then tried to remember if it had been hanging there last night. I couldn't remember -- then I remembered that there had been a small bag of trash on the floor that I had gathered up, tossed in with the rest of the garbage, and thrown out last night. I go outside and bring that bag of trash in and there it was, mixed in with the trash in one of the small bags. If the wind hadn't blown over our trash can so that the city couldn't pick it up this morning, I would have lost the only picture I have of my mother as a child. I was so relieved I actually started crying. Mom's back up where she belongs, and she doesn't look like she's too upset that I almost sent her to a landfill. Current Mood: relieved Current Music: Spock's Beard, "At the End of the Day" (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
8:17 pm	Cry For Mercy, For The YEAR OF THE RAT Is Upon You That's right; starting at midnight, we enter the Chinese Year of the Rat -- specifically, the Earth Rat. I am a Metal Rat, and we are the biggest, angriest, most obstinate, pains-in-the-ass of all the Rats. And it appears 2008 will be a very good year for we Rats. Cry for mercy; the Year of the Rat is upon you. And speaking for the other Metal Rats -- you'll never see us coming. Pleasant dreams. http://www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/Rat.htm (Note: I find all of this good fun; I don't embrace Astrology, but I take care not to mock it, either. The late Jerry Williamson was a strong believer in Astrology and once did my chart wherein he pretty much predicted my heart-attack, my marriage, divorce, and re-marriage, as well as several other things, the biggest of which -- financial success -- is supposed to come to Rats this year...so I'm not pissing off the Fates or the Stars in any way, thank you very much.) Current Mood: amused Current Music: Spock's Beard, "Waste Away" (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
4:14 pm	My "Best Of" Reading List for 2007 In no particular order and with no set number per category, here is a list of my picks for the Best Books/Novellas that I read (and were released) in 2007: NOVELS: The Terror by Dan Simmons The Missing by Sarah Langhan The Hollower by Mary San Giovanni Homeplace by Elizabeth Massie The Queen of Bedlam by Robert R. McCammon Fools Rush In: A Sam McCain Mystery by Ed Gorman The Memory Tree by John R. Little The Servantsby Michael Marshall Smith Dawn by Tim Lebbon The Dust of Wonderland by Lee Thomas The Midnight Road by Tom Piccirilli Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker Baltimore: or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden Unbroken by A.J. Matthews The Everlasting by Tim Lebbon NOVELLAS: Placeholders by John R. Little Frayed by Tom Piccirilli The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium by F. Paul Wilson Dead Earth: The Green Dawn by Mark Justice & David T. Wilbanks Under My Roof by Nick Mamatas General Slocum's Gold by Nicholas Kaufmann Somewhere a Band is Playing by Ray Bradbury Temple: Incarnations by Steve Saville COLLECTIONS: Sparks and Shadows by Lucy A. Snyder Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman Installing Linux on a Dead Badger and Other Oddities by Lucy A. Snyder Proverbs for Monsters by Michael A. Arnzen Darker Loves by James Dorr Mary Falls: Requiem for Mrs. Surratt by Christopher Conlon (Poetry collection) ANTHOLOGIES: Legends of the Mountain State: Ghostly Tales from the State of West Virginia Edited by Michael Knost Inferno Edited by Ellen Datlow Thrillers 2 Edited by Robert Morrish Midnight Premiere Edited by Tom Piccirilli A Dark and Deadly Valley Edited by Mike Heffernen Dark Delicacies 2: Fear Edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb Gratia Placenti Edited by Jason Sizemore and Gill Ainsworth Gary's "Kickass Writer of the Year" Award: Tom Piccirilli. The guy's reaching the height of his power, and his work throughout 2007 hasn't hit one sour note. Mystery, horror, suspense, he's everywhere, and well on his way to becoming a Very Serious Deal. Could not happen to a more deserving writer. Gary's "Kickass Small Press Publisher of the Year" Award: A Tie: Creeping Hemlock Press and Necessary Evil Press. Despite having been wiped out not once, but twice in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the storms that followed it, R.J. and Julia Seven not only managed to bring out CH's first book, Corpse Blossoms only a month-and-a-half later than announced, they have gone on to publish several more beautifully-produced books on a regular basis, the latest of which is The Fever Kill by some upstart named Piccirilli. Necessary Evil Press, after winning the Bram Stoker Specialty Press Award a few years ago, has continued to not only publish excellent-quality books on a regular basis, but have recently raised its own bar for quality. Don Koish and company continue to publish first-rate material, but the physical production of NEP's books -- like those of Paul Miller's Earthling Publications (last year's "Kickass" winner) -- has gotten even more detailed and beautiful. Gary's "Kickass New Publisher of the Year" Award: Tasmaniac Publications: http://tasmaniacpublications.com/ This brand-spanking new publisher from way Down Under has already proven its chops with its release of Paul Kane's The Lazarus Condition, and made my jaw hit the floor when they released my own In the Midnight Museum late last year (featuring a wonderful introduction by none other than Terry Dowling). The care and craftsmanship that goes into each of Tasmaniac's books is remarkable, and when Tasmaniac says "Limited Edition"...oooh, boy, are they not kidding. 300 softcovers and 26 lettered hardcovers -- and that's it. Publisher Steve Clark is here and he means business. Tasmaniac publishes novellas, period. Aside from Mr. Kane and myself, Steve has lined up Steve Gerlach, Steve Saville, Simon Clark, and Tom Piccirilli for 2008 releases. I will also be releasing a brand-new Cedar Hill novella with them. Remember the name: Tasmaniac Publications. It's going to be on everyone's lips come this time 2009. And Coming Soon... One of the perks I enjoy about my professional life is that I now more than ever have the opportunity to read new books months -- if not a full year -- before their publication, so I know what's in store for readers come such-and-such date. Here's a trio of books that are going to be knocking your socks off later this year: Miranda by John R. Little: another mind-bending time-travel novella from the author of The Memory Tree and Placeholders. The Devil's Marionette by Maurice Broaddus: the "Sinister" Minister's first foray into long fiction will be reason to cheer; it's the brilliance we've all been waiting for. Orpheus and the Pearl by Kim Paffenroth: for those of you who, like myself, long for the days of the Gothic tales of Ray Russell, the wait is nearly over. The cobwebs and creeps are coming. A Shameless Plug: Hank Schwaeble, my co-editor on the just-released anthology Five Strokes to Midnight, would kill me if I didn't mention this new anthology. Both Hank and myself have stories in the book, but so do Deborah LeBlanc, Christopher Golden, and that Piccirilli guy, and all of them are at the top of their game. For more information on this anthology, please go to: http://www.hauntedpelicanpress.com That is all. For now.... (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
8:21 pm	Darkness, Darkness... These lyrics are from the song "Darkness, Darkness" by the Youngbloods -- yet another happy song that speaks volumes to me -- and has spoken volumes -- throughout my life: Darkness, Darkness Be my pillow Take my head And let me sleep In the coolness of your shadow In the silence of your deep Darkness, Darkness Hide my yearning For the things I cannot be Keep my mind from constant turning Toward the things I cannot see now Things I cannot see now Things I cannot see Darkness, darkness, Long and lonesome, Ease the day that brings me pain. I have felt the edge of sadness, I have known the depth of fear. Darkness, darkness, be my blanket, Cover me with the endless night, Take away, take away the pain of knowing, Fill the emptiness of right now, Emptiness of right now, now, now Emptiness of ri-ight now. Darkness, darkness, be my pillow, Take my hand, and let me sleep. In the coolness of your shadow, In the silence, the silence of your deep. Darkness, darkness, be my blanket, Cover me with the endless night, Take away, take away the pain of knowing Fill the emptiness of right now, Emptiness of right now now now Emptiness of right.... Oh yeah Oh yeah Emptiness, emptiness Oh yeah.... It's a helluva song, actually. And I think the lyrics approach a level of poetry rarely seen in pop music. Maybe I ought to put Singin' in the Rain on a loop. Or rent the box set of Green Acres, Season One. Arnold the Pig was perhaps the wisest character ever to grace a TV sitcom.... (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
4:00 pm	Bartender I realize that there are a lot of people who loathe the Dave Matthews Band (I'm not one of them), but I recently discovered a song by them that I had never heard before, and it's ... well, have you ever encountered a song that struck such a deep personal chord within you that it feels like the damn thing written just for you? I felt this way about the song "Bartender." Here are the lyrics: If I go Before I'm old Oh, brother of mine Please don't forget me if I go Bartender, please Fill my glass for me With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free After three days in the ground Oh, and if I die Before my time Oh, sweet sister of mine Please don't regret me if I die Bartender, please Fill my glass for me With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free After three days in the ground Bartender, please Fill my glass for me With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free After three days in the ground I'm on bended knees, I pray Bartender, please When I was young, I never think about it Now I can't get it out of my mind I'm on bended knees Father, please Oh, and if all this gold Should steal my soul away Oh, sweet mother of mine Please redirect me in this gold... Bartender, you see The wine that's drinking me Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree His roots deep, deep in the ground Bartender, you see The wine that's drinking me Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree His roots deep, deep in the ground In the Ground... I'm on bended knees Oh, Bartender, please I'm on bended knees Father, please When I was young, I never think about it Now I just wanna run and die I'm on bended knees Oh, Bartender, please Bartender, please.... Part of it stems from the overall tone of the song (the music is quite powerful); part of it stems from the air of near-bitter disenchantment that pervades the song; and part of it stems from just having completed my new Cedar Hill novel, Coffin County, for which this could very well have been the theme song. And, if I am to be honest, its tone pretty much sums up the way I've been feeling lately. I've been in a mindset where if I never write another word, I might very well die a contented man. (I say "contented" because as Lucy -- and my ex-wife Leslie...and pretty much most everyone I know -- have often pointed out, I've never really been one of the "happy" people. It feels like I spend most of my waking hours waiting for the other bomb to go off. I'm working on improving this; really, I am.) I have decided that this will be one of the songs to be played at my funeral; very few songs actually hit me this hard or speak to me this intensely. Just sharing.... (3 Comments |Comment on this)
12:53 pm	R.I.P. Dan Fogelberg Admittedly, his music became awfully sentimental around 1986, but for the period between 1975 and when he recorded The Innocent Age (a masterpiece, IMHO), Fogelberg, in my book, could do no wrong. He was 56, and died from the same thing that killed my father: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/16/obit.fogelberg.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest Goddammit! (Comment on this)