“Writing Something Horrifying” now on TimothyBatesonAuthor.com

Psychologists and philosophers debate “horror” as a concept. Authors have it much easier. They want to give readers chills. They want to make readers nervous. Uncomfortable. They want readers to turn on all the lights, to check locks on the doors, to tuck their feet up under themselves so nothing can grab them from below, to check under the bed before getting under the covers, to look in their closets, to look at their loved ones suspiciously.

Remember last week I wrote “Why This Were Here, Now?” now on TimothyBatesonAuthor.com?

Remember that amazing post?

You’d think he’d learn, ya know?

Well, he asked me to do it again. Or something similar.

This week’s theme is horror and I thought he wanted something horribly written.

No, he assured me. That wouldn’t prove a challenge for me.

He’d much rather I write something about crafting horror.

Hopefully I did, and hopefully it’s not too horrible.

Give Writing Something Horrifying. Leave a comment or two. He’ll like that.

And thanks.

INSIDE THE WORLDS OF JOSEPH CARRABIS, AUTHOR OF THE AUGMENTED MAN

Hey Joe! Tell us a little about yourself.
I consider myself boring and dull.

Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

It starts with “Not only is Joseph Carrabis a fellow Black Rose Writing and Book Fiends author friend, he’s an amazingly nice and generous guy. I am looking forward to meeting him in person in November, but right now you can get to know him a little better with my next World-building Showcase interview.”

The Mighty Phoebes (Steampunk author Phoebe Darqueling, for those who don’t know) asked me lots of questions, I fumbled through several answers.

The real kicker is where I wrote “I’m told that my work is so tightly written that it’s tough to remove stuff without throwing everything else out of whack.”

The Mighty Phoebes, proving the lie, pulled about four pages from my responses and you’d never know.

The Mighty Phoebes is a Mighty Editor, she.

Take a read, hope you enjoy, be sure to leave comments. She’ll like that.

Boo has issues with Opie

Can’t we all just get along?

Boo, our dog, has issues with Opossums. We’re not sure why.

He also has some issues with Immanuel Vickers, a beautiful and healthy coyote who visits us often. Sometimes, when we’re in bed, we’ll hear Immi and his crew howling it up. Quite nice.

But this post is about Opie and Boo. Boo has no issues with raccoons. Raccoons by the dozens, Boo barely lifts his head.

An Ops? Oh, well, that’s it, right then and there, how dare they, let’s go out and take of this, dad!

I asked him once, “What do you have against opossums?”

“Well…they’re opossums, dad.”

He could not have picked up such prejudice from me or Susan. We both go out and chat with our visiting opossums, dine with them, so on and so forth. Ditto coyote. Ditto wolves.

Where do our children learn such prejudices if not from us?

It’s a foolish question to ask in a media rich world. Especially when they’re young, impressionable, and have no moral reasoning ability.

Do we police their media time? How can we? We can’t police our child individually when they’re out of our influence for a good chunk of the day.

And you know other people aren’t going to police their children, right?

I mean, they’re other people, after all…

 

“Why This Were Here, Now?” now on TimothyBatesonAuthor.com

Werecreatures are nothing new. Cave drawings frequently depict humanimals. Study any culture’s mythology and one wonders who wasn’t a werecreature. The concept of versipellics as evil is relatively new compared to human recorded history (about 800 years v 35,000 years).

Timothy Bateson put a call out for his 31 Days of Halloween and I hid.

But he found me. I was cringing behind my mobile (it’s a big mobile. Not quite so mobile a mobile, you might say).

Anyway, he wanted something about were-creatures. I’ve written a few stories about were-creatures. Therefore, I’m an expert.

NOT HARDLY!

But I came up with something and he, being gracious (probably also taking pity on me), accepted it.

So make him happy, do yourself proud, and go take a read of Why This Were Here, Now?

Here’s a tease:
Let’s say someone wants to write about werewolves but nothing they’re coming up with fits “werewolf.” Probably they’re putting the hearse before the horse. Their interest is on the were, not the were’s purpose in the story.

Be sure to leave comments. He likes them.

Meet dozens of local authors at Nashua Library

And I’ll be there!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to write, publish, and sell a book? On Thursday, November 7, you can get the answers from dozens of local authors at the Nashua Public Library’s Local Author Night.

Among those scheduled to take part is Mike Morin, the Frank FM 106.3 morning radio personality, whose latest book is about a New England institution: “If you watched candlepin bowling on TV as a kid with your family on Saturdays,” Morin says, “’Lunch With Tommy and Stasia’ is the book you’ve been waiting for. If you didn’t do that, you’ll still like the book because there are puppies, a parking meter coin theft scandal and everything in between.”

The Local Author Night, which is free and open to the public, runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

 
Forty-five writers are scheduled to be on hand, selling and signing their books. Attendees will be able to talk to them individually about their books and how they came to be published.

This is a perfect opportunity to do some holiday shopping for the booklovers on your list.

If you’re an aspiring author yourself, come early at 4:45 p.m. to hear a talk by Sara Marks, librarian and author of the 21st Century Austen books. She’ll be giving advice on using free and low-cost techniques to sell books. This talk is free and open to the public; registration is not required.

The topics of the nonfiction authors attending include American history, gluten, memoir, horror and more. On the fiction side, attendees can meet writers of fantasy, romance, mystery, poetry, thriller and science fiction.

For more information, contact Carol Luers Eyman at (603) 589-4610 or carol.eyman@nashualibrary.org.

The library is located at 2 Court Street, and its website is www.nashualibrary.org.