Pimping Polson, Etc.

I figure that it has been at least three days since I last pimped something, so today seems like a fine day to do that. Those of you who have dropped by for a while have heard me mention writer Aaron Polson before. I've enjoyed his short stories for nearly two years and he now has novels available for purchase. I think of his work as 'literary horror'. It is descriptive, it is mesmerizing. Sometimes the horror sneaks in slowly, enveloping you with a cloak of unease. Other times it hits you like a punch in the gut. I recently read his story 'Wanting It' in Shock Totem 3. A ghostly tale about the loss of childhood innocence. It was one of those stories that sticks in your mind for a long time.

Aaron is generously offering the Kindle version of his novel The House Eaters for a measly 99 cents. That's no typo. You can download the horror for less than a buck. Link to the information at his blog here. I've downloaded my copy (Aaron will be pleased to hear that he's nestled nicely between Sir Walter Scott and Sir Thomas More in my Kindle directory). Keep in mind, though, that this is a temporary offer so you should drop by now.

*Awkward segue alert* And while we're on the subject of Shock Totem...

I'm about 7 or 8 stories into that third issue of Shock Totem (yes, they are indeed curious tales of the macabre and twisted). I must say, there is NOT a bad tale in that anthology. It's difficult to describe, but I think the team there have elevated horror to a new level. Perhaps horror isn't the correct word...it's more of a 'unnerving' feeling you get as you work through each tale. Anyway, I hadn't intended this post to turn into a book review so consider the Shock Totem 3 anthology highly recommended. And if you can't trust a guy in a fez, who can you trust?  Help out a small press and get a copy.

*Second awkward segue alert* And since I mentioned the team at Shock Totem...

I'd like to send a shout out to the lovely Mercedes M. Yardley. She handles the non-fiction submissions at Shock Totem and is also a fine writer of horror and otherworldly things. She blogs at A Broken Laptop and has resurrected her "Be Mysterious: Writers in Masks" series. The short explanation...she hosts a weekly blog feature pimping out a writer (and their current project) with a bio and a photo of them donning a mask of their choosing. Mysterious indeed. Click on the link if you'd like more information or if you'd like Mercedes to feature you and your writing project in the near future. Don't be shy.

*Third awkward segue alert* And speaking of not being shy...

Drop by my blog on the weekend. There WILL be an announcement about a cool contest. Sharpen your crayons now. It involves writing. And maybe the juggling of wee, hairless animals.

Maybe.

Am I Awake Yet?

"...and the great, woolly mammoth stirred temporarily from its deep slumber."

Yeah, sounds like a good line. Perhaps I'll use it in a story one day. It's a pretty good description of the state of my writing this year so far. I scraped together about 750 words for a flash story the past couple of weeks. I'm not happy with it, though, and will work with the suggestions from the 'writing group' and try to evolve it into something interesting.

It's been an odd week. In the blink of an eye it passed by in a blurr. "Forgive me...fa...it's been a week since my last post." I know...a penance of some sorts is in order.

We had the boy's birthday this week, so my parents came down for a visit. And cleaning the house prior to their visit was quite a chore (even with the assistance of a dozen types of cleaners, a couple of Swiffers and a team of hunch-backed, old, cleaning ladies). It was also surprising that I missed Robbie Burns day on the 25th all together. Nary a word about it in the news either. Guess that I'll have to crack open that bottle of single malt and eat tinned haggis for supper tonight. I think that I may be dining alone.

I forgot to mention that I received a package in the mail a couple of weeks ago that contained two books. I hadn't ordered anything from Amazon? They were from a certain A. Polson in Kansas. I was so perplexed about why I had been given the copies of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Robert Frost's Poems that I emailed him asking why. Back in November he had held a contest at his blog promoting the release of his book Loathsome, Dark & Deep. I think that I had read as far as "winner of an Amazon gift card for $25" and stopped reading when I Wooted! and did a happy-dance about the office (much to the chagrin of my neighbours who discovered it was "Pantsless Friday"). So...apparently the books were another prize for winning the contest (to be honest, my name was randomly drawn...or so Aaron Polson SAYS...I think that he's developed a soft spot for Canadians--and why NOT?)

But don't despair. You can enter his newest promotional contest described here until this Monday. I have a purchased a copy of Loathsome but, alas, am yet to read it. I will surely post about the book once I've read it.

But wait...Al the Pimp is not finished yet! A friend emailed me this morning with a link to Jodi MacArthur's Love Bug contest. I have no idea how I missed her post on that. I was probably on my hands and knees, slaving away, scrubbing muddy paw prints off the floor  sleeping. She's looking for one-liners to post leading up to Valentines. I think that you have up to Feb. 3 to get her an ending to..."Love is..." How hard could it be. Even a geezer like me managed to dredge up some Hallmark-ish wisdom. Or perhaps it was something I heard uttered by my thrice divorced Uncle Angus...

The Gift of Horror for Christmas

Is your significant other into horror? Then the release of 52 Stitches (Volume 2) should be of interest to you. This newly released collection of horror stories from Aaron Polson and the folks at Strange Publications is described at Amazon as:

"...quick, dark and sometimes mean. You'll find black humor here. Zombies. Killer Angels. Maybe a vampire or two. But there are other, less common, horrors at work. Even a few subtle, unsettling tales which stretch far beyond their few pages. Each story can be read in a few minutes, but will haunt you for much longer."

Man, if that doesn't scream Christmas, I don't know what does...

Lurking within its depths is my story "Thor's Hammer," an innocent coming-of-age story of three children in a small New Hampshire town. Ok, maybe its a bit darker than that...

You can link to 52 Stitches (Volume 2) at Amazon here. I encourage you to drop by and buy a copy. As you may have heard, the profits from the sale of this anthology go to Jamie Eyberg's memorial fund put in place for his children.

Loathsome, Dark and Deep

As writers, we spend a lot of time reading other people's stories and attending their blogs. There is a lot of talent floating about out in cyberspace, but every so often you run across someone who stands out from the masses. A person who writes at such a level, about such subject matter, that you have to read everything they produce. I have long thought that Aaron Polson falls into this category. I obviously wasn't the only one...the talented Cate Gardner started the Aaron Polson fan club about the same time.

It was about a year ago that Aaron Polson started to post excerpts from his novel Loathsome, Dark & Deep at his blog as part of his regular WIP Wednesday feature. He described Loathsome as "...a weird, steampunkish romp through the Pacific Northwest in the 1880s, haunted by selfish men and monsters." It was those story snippets that won me over and I knew I would buy this book when it was eventually published. That day is coming soon...check out this trailer for Loathsome, Dark & Deep--Aaron Polson's first novel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SOHzEC1rY&feature=player_embedded


Still unconvinced? Drop by Belfire Press to read an excerpt from the novel. You can also pre-order a copy of the book from there.

Take a moment to drop by Aaron Polson's blog where he is currently running a contest to help promote Loathsome, Dark & Deep.

Being Connected

I don't have much substance in this post. It's one of those "Have a look at what this person's up to" linking sort of posts. There are some people I follow that post nearly daily and, once in a while, convey great pieces of information that gets you thinking (more so than usual).

Aaron Polson's post from yesterday, Giant's Robes on a Dwarfish Thief, is about using your blog as a connection tool rather than a networking or promoting tool. "Just talk" is a strong theme in his heartfelt post. That's something I've come to admire about Aaron this past year. Aside from the fact he's a man of many talents: school teacher, writer, ezine publisher...he is also a man of strong character who works hard at his craft and is always quick to visit your blog with a kind or helpful word. One of the good guys out in cyberspace. If his blog is for talking, I think people are definitely listening. I'll share a true story of networking taking care of itself...

The other day I received a copy of The Devil's Food anthology from Aaron in the mail. I won it in a contest he held recently at his blog (which was really cool, because I've never won literature before). Anyhow, the book was unwrapped and lay upon the dining room table. My son came home for lunch with one of his school friends in tow. Sean spotted the book on the table and began leafing through the ToC. I was downstairs at work in my office and heard him exclaim, "Cool! Aaron Polson's in this book!" The power of networking really boggles the mind. Aaron has one story (Spider and I) in the book and Sean quickly found it (note: the book also contains stories by Natalie Sin and Jameson Caine, both readers of this blog). Sean happened to remember Aaron's name from reading his story 'The Distillery' in the last issue of Necrotic Tissue I had received in the mail. Who would have thought that a writer of horror from Kansas would be getting talked about by 14 year old boys on an island reaching into the Atlantic (umm...I'm not sure if that came out right. I mean talked about in a good way).

"Just talk" seems to be sound advice, because the networking is taking care of itself. I've talked enough...take a few minutes, though, to check out that posting from yesterday. If for no other reason, he provides a link to the ''Wussy Boy Manifesto," a hilarious rant by Big Poppa E on YouTube.

Necrotic MooseTissue...and a Moose

In my mailbox yesterday morning, I found...

No, not a quart of maple syrup or a bag of flaming dog crap. It was the latest issue of Necrotic Tissue. Number 10 to be exact. With trembling fingers I ripped open the bubble wrap to reveal it in all it's shiny, blue splendour. I was beginning to wonder if it was going to make it to the island. So many of you commented a while back about receiving yours already. The post mark indicates it was mailed March 26 from Minnesota. Perhaps it stopped off in Ottawa for a bit of sightseeing or Montreal for some fine dining.

At any rate, I'm ready to dive into the "40,000 words of yummy horror goodness" as noted on the cover. I am pleased that Aaron Polson has made the cut with his short story The Distillery and Katey Taylor is also in the ToC with her 100 word bite Hostile Takeover. Needless to say I'm giddy with excitement for both of them. Or perhaps I've had too much coffee this morning...at any rate, help out the small press and order up your copy today from the people at Necrotic Tissue.

Regarding the moose. As something of a PSA I should mention that we are fast approaching moose season with more of the beasts being spotted daily. I recall in the first few weeks moving here that I thought it cute that they did 'moose sighting reports' on the radio. "How quaint," I said to myself. I have heard that there's anywhere between 120,000 and 150,00 moose on the island. Most of them seem to lurk about the Trans Canada Highway, ready to prance out in front of unsuspecting vehicles. There are several hundred moose-vehicle accidents in Newfoundland every year (seriously). They really seem to be encroaching into suburbia this year. I guess that's only fair as we've been encroaching into their area for years.

I'll leave you with some kinder, gentler moose images taken by a co-worker of my wife's a couple of weeks ago. Notice how the crafty critter stealthily evades the fine members of the RNC. It's a baby...a calf or calve, or pup...or foal. Something like that...

Leave me alone! I just wants a walk in Pippy Park.

"Don't you dare crap on this taxpayer's lawn!"

I can beat you in a foot race any day, copper.

I'm not goin' for a ride with you...my mum told me to never talk to strangers.

Posts of Others: Insightful, Thought-Provoking

This morning I think that I will steal from link to posts on the blogs of others. A couple of blogs yesterday caught my eye as they dealt with different topics that, in an odd way, are connected to one another. Both are from my growing 'circle of writing friends.' If you are not familiar with these folks, please take the time to drop by their blogs and read their schtuff.

I will first send you to Aaron Polson's blog post from yesterday: "Why I'll Never Make a Living as a Writer." Mr. Polson, educator and molder of young minds, explores the state of short fiction and the state of 'popular art' in general. His post is fueled by a recent comment on Robert Swartwoods's blog that basically said "...if you want people to read what you write, then you have to write what people want to read..." An interesting post, and interesting comments on the 'fluff vs. art' issue.

My next referral is to Cathy Olliffe's post yesterday on her blog Life on the Muskoka River. She posts about Hugh Garner, whom she describes as Canadian 'literary bad-boy' of the 1950's and 60's. He often wrote of the mean streets of Toronto, from his working-class roots, and managed to eek out a living as a full-time writer.

Check out her link to Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing that describes Garner as...an outspoken social critic and self proclaimed “one man trade union,” Garner was not afraid to argue with his agents, publishers, and editors in order to control the content of his writing, ensure that his books were properly displayed in retail outlets, and to squeeze as much income as he could from his published works.

Hugh Garner is one of Cathy's literary heroes. After reading her post and the link I can understand why. He managed to 'out-tough' a tough business and stay in control of his writing. I wonder how he would have managed in this wondrous age of Internet publishing.

Olympics and Pole Dancing?

I'll start off by saying that I was officially in mourning today after the shocking loss to the US in men's hockey last night. Canada had way more shots, but the US certainly made theirs count. Moving on to happier things...

I couldn't let this go when I read it this morning. Yahoo news ran a story by Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge about a woman in Japan who is a world champion in pole dancing and would like to see it recognized, on day, as an Olympic sport! You can link to the full story here. The gist of it is that they must first be recognized by the IOC as a sport prior to getting permission to participate in a future Olympics as a demonstration sport. I've got to tell you, the viewership for those events would be way up. At least for the male demographics. And where does that lead us? Will there be a male pole dancing category? Perhaps couples as in ice skating? My mind is wandering at the possibilities here...

I must admit that when I first read the byline (not wearing my glasses) I thought the story said "Poe Dancing" and I of course had to include the picture I ripped from Aaron Polson's blog. I look at it once in a while for a laugh (but how often is too often, you may ask?)

Speaking of Mr. Polson, he provides a link today on his blog to a podcast of his short story "The Sub-Basement." I must admit I loved this one when I read this when published at EDF in January 2009 (prior to joining the Aaron Polson fan club, I might add). Do yourself a favour and listen to his smooth delivery of his scary little tale.

Accepting the Warm Fuzzy...

A suitably vague blog title, I thought to myself...sweet, yet with a naughty undertone.

I again take the podium for another acceptance speech for an award bestowed upon me. Those of you who have followed this blog for any length of time probably remember that I'm terrified of public speaking. Ergo no speech.

The lovely Laurita Miller, regional friend and writer in crime, has present myself and 4 others with the 'Circle of Friends Award' aka 'The Big Blue Doughnut with Heart-Shaped Centre Award.' I am humbled to be included in her group of on-line friends whose work I admire and whose level of skill I hope to achieve one day. Check out her blog, Brain Droppings, and enlarge your circle of friends as well.

I am instructed to pass this on to 5 people within my circle of friends and will select those who have entertained me with their writing skills, lifted my spirits when I had little confidence in my own abilities and generally entertained me with their blogs. It's a tough call, but I think that I will select ones I hope run in different circles to help 'spread the joy'. I won't pass on any instruction regarding how many to pass this on to, just pick as few or as many you are happy to call friend. Oh, yeah. The five people are:

Mercedes 'super mom' Yardley at A Broken Laptop.

Elspeth Antonelli at It's a Mystery.

Dezmond at Hollywood Spy.

Aaron (yes, the guy from the fan club) Polson at The Other Aaron.

Anton Gully aka the Flash B*stard at The Black Dogs of Despair Reading Room (note to readers: I choose Mr. Gully as he loathes receiving these things and I enjoy his reaction--also, he is my longest running friend since blogging and a talented writer and I would be remiss not to include him in such a list...)

Do check out all of their blogs and be educated, entertained, amused or perhaps left in awe.

The Great Pretender

I figured that I will do my small part in getting the word out about somebody plagiarizing stories in our on-line community. Most of you will know this already but perhaps some have not.

Mercedes Yardley last night posted on her blog about a person by the name of 'Richard Ridyard' who attempted to pass off a story as his own, but was actually written by the horror master Stephen King. Fortunately, the people at Shock Totem recognized it for what it was and called him up on it. You can read her full story here. She also mentions that horror writer Angel Zapata has had one of his stories plagiarized. I read this morning that our own Aaron Polson has also had his story "Communion" plagiarized by this person. You can read his comments about this at his blog here.

Angel does an amazing job of building a case against this fraud on his most recent post. Do yourself a favour and read his well-researched story exposing this person here. There are numerous comments from folks at his blog, updating information on the story.

There's not more I can add to what others have said about this person. When on-line publishers accept stories there is a certain amount of trust assumed. I somehow doubt this was done for money because, as we all know, there isn't a lot to be had by publishing short stories on e-zines. I think that it's more of a sick joke by someone who has carefully placed stories for some time, knowing that eventually they would be discovered. I also think that this person is getting off on the amount of attention they are receiving. Sort of their '15 minutes of fame.'

There will always be people who try to scam the system, but it is comforting that when a person like that is exposed for what they are the rest this community can rally together. In a matter of hours people all over the world have gathered and shared information on this fraud in an attempt to expose him/her more quickly the next time. I have no doubt that Richard Ridyard will surface again in another persona, but at least everyone will be watching.

Count Me In

Catherine Gardner at The Poisoned Apple has started a trend today that all the cool kids want to be part of this Halloween season.

The Aaron Polson fan club is now open to members and I, for one, have never been disappointed by anything he has written and am jumping on the bandwagon.

To join, all you have to do is add the certificate (below) to your sidebar/web page/blog/or have it tattooed on your butt chest.

I am a fan of his smooth, clear writing style and enjoy the evil and horrific journeys he has led us on. I would not hesitate to wave his flag or pimp him out...oops, I don't think that came out right. Anyway, in case you have been living in a well-lit, carefree world--take a moment to step into the shadows and check him out at The Other Aaron . Sign up now while there's still time...Muwhahahah....

Odds and Sods

I can't really think about what to post on this morning, so I've got a mish-mash of comments and observations...

• Following the last post about NaNoWriMo, I have started putting together some notes on my idea to see if coming up with 50k words is feasible.
  
• I was going to participate in the book shelf meme that has been floating about the blogoverse the past few days (since Aaron Polson generously tagged everyone and their pets). Surprisingly, I can't find books starting in the letters 'A', 'I' or 'N'. To get around this, I have been considering having my name legally changed...


• The weather here doesn't normally go above 25 during the summer (that would be degrees 'C' for my American friends, about 80F if my mental calculator serves). They say to grow tomatoes here, you have to keep them in a greenhouse--locally, that is a light wooden frame covered in plastic. We haven't been doing that, opting to bring them in at night. We were surprised to find this morning that a couple of the cherry tomatoes have turned red and look ready to eat. These were given to us earlier in the summer and, sadly, nobody in our family likes tomatoes. Perhaps the dog will eat them?

• Umm, this story is for the talented Natalie Sin: The morning show folks are always good for a laugh. The lady announcer has a pet pug called Pierre. It's apparently 4yrs old today and she will be making a cake for it's birthday. She also has bought a Halloween costume for the dog...a hot dog outfit...*sighs* Perhaps I'm a bit jaded on the whole dressing-up-your-dog-thing as I was once a cross-dresser dog catcher in a former life (but that's another story). The dog attire business will yet again rear its ugly head as the annual "Greyhound Picnic" we will be attending this month will have a fashion show for folks to dress up their lanky dogs.

I guess for not having anything to say this morning, I sort of rambled on a bit.

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been off work sick the past couple of days. My wife has the same nastiness. You should all be glad that you're not here watching us hock up greenish, blackish chucks of mucus, or lung or whatever that substance is (I know that you all are mostly writers of the horror genre, so a little mucus shouldn't gross you out...)

Anyway, the days of rain have finally stopped and the clouds are parting (ha, of course they haven't. This is Newfoundland, land of never ending fog). Again I digressed, probably a result of the cough syrup I've been swilling.

Back on Monday, Anton Gully bestowed upon me the "One Lovely Blog Award" at his blog The Black Dogs of Despair Ate My Novel. If for no other reason, you have to check out his blog for the picture of the two miniature pinchers. We have something of a bond as we have both recently returned to the writing world, both started blogging about the same time and were the first visitors to each others blog.

I have been secretly basking in the warmth of receiving the "One Lovely Blog Award" but it is now time to pass on the mantle on to another.

Over the past few months I've visited the sites of many friendly and talented writers. People who's blogs are beneficial to those new to writing, that are entertaining and blogs that sort of "tell it like it is" (if I may be allowed to use a cliche). It's difficult to pick one, but I will do exactly that. One classy gentleman (and I mean that with the utmost respect) has impressed me as an educator, a writer of fine horror, an editor and seemingly a well-balanced dude. The humble and multi-talented Aaron Polson mixes an entertaining blend of the professional and the personal at his blog The Other Aaron and can be found lurking there on a regular basis.

Note that the anthology from his Fifty-Two Stitches is now available to pre-order from the Strange Publications website for $11.95 in the US, and $14.95 elsewhere.

Should Aaron choose to accept this fine award, and the ensuing hurricane of PR that comes with such, here are the rules:

1) Accept the award, and don’t forget to post a link back to the awarding person.

2) Pass the award on.

3) Notify the award winners.

The Grand Motivator

Rebecca Nazar had an interesting post at her blog on Sunday. It related to having a novel idea, yet not having the drive or motivation to start writing it. In fact, likening it to a huge homework assignment. She felt that enrolling in a writing degree program at university was a good way to go, for her, as it would be a good way to finish the novel and, at the very least get mentored and earn her degree. I applaud that. She has thought it through and determined what her motivator is. That's something that I am yet to do. It's obviously something that a lot of people think about at some point as there were quite a few comments made regarding her post.

A small piece of background on me. Since moving to St. John's nearly 3 years ago, I have been tormented with an idea for a novel that just won't let me alone (does anyone else have this problem?). I set the idea aside as it is set locally, in the future, and I figured that it would require a great deal of research to pull in off convincingly (ie. I'm not up to the job at this juncture). I have worked on short stories for a while, now a second idea has hit me, gnawing at my thoughts on a daily basis. This one is a comedy, by the way. Now, all I have to do is acquire some zaniness (ala Cate Gardner or perhaps Carrie Harris)...

I took a night school class at the university to try to build on the scant creative writing knowledge in my possession. I took a second class the next spring, now there is nothing available. There's a couple of cool workshops to take taught by a local writer, but I'm feeling wary of investing more money in my education if I'm not going to "take the plunge." I am a member of the local Writer's Alliance, which offers a mentoring program, but I would need to fork over $2000 to the Alliance, some of which would go to the professional writer that would work with me. I can see that I would gain a lot of knowledge with that, but something doesn't feel right about paying a large sum like that in the hopes that something good will be produced. Note: this sort of ties in with Aaron Polson's blog today about paying others for advice.

The one carrot that I can think of dangling in front of myself is something called the "Fresh Fish Award", also offered by the Alliance. It's a yearly prize offered to a local, emerging writer. I will now be eligible (resident of Newfoundland for 3 years) to send in a manuscript for this when it happens next in June, 2010. The winner gets a $4000 cash prize and $1000 worth of professional editing services. The prize money would sure pay for a lot of mentoring, workshops, editing, etc...sounds like a lot of motivation.

It all seems like a big, scary thing. Yet the tormenting voices continue to nag me to pursue this (or perhaps that's the other voices in my head). My night school instructor, Ed Kavanagh, said that when he wrote he wrote his adult novel (as opposed to children's stories) it took over 3 years to complete, the final year was writing full-time (ie. no job). I'm not sure if I'm ready for that sort of flat-out, nose to the grindstone, giving up family life, sort of commitment...

Anyway, the post is getting longish so I'll stop here. Apologises for ranting about stuff that I may have touched on in previous posts. This flotsam has been distracting me for the past couple of days and I thought that I'd just throw it out there (ie. get it off my chest).

Alan Harps On, Ad nauseam...

Yes, I did have to check on the spelling of Ad nauseam prior to writing this (Spelling Bee champ I am not). I am going on about the use of horror or any other genre of writing, in whatever medium, to get teens interested in reading (again, linking to Aaron Polson's blog: it did get a lot of response from his readers).

When I think back long ago, prior to the grey hair, I can remember a number of books that really made an impact on me. There's no way that I can list them all but here is a sampling:

• The Four Feathers (A.E.W. Mason)
• The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)
• The Scarlett Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)
• Kim (Rudyard Kipling)
• The Razor's Edge (Sommerset Maugham)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)
• The Stand (Stephen King)

As you'll notice (aside from the King, probably his best) there is a common theme of adventure stories set mostly in foreign places. I'm not sure if this applies to teen boys (are girls interested in this sort of stuff as well?) but I think that if you capture their imagination at an early age, the love of reading will stay with them for the rest of their lives. That being said, I now have to put this to practice to get my 13 year old son to read a book without the use of a bribe or death threat.