Lee Allen Howard's Blog, page 11

Reading and Signing at AUTUMN OF FEAR

I’ll be reading and signing books at AUTUMN OF FEAR, October 5, 2013, from 6:00–9:00 p.m. This horrific event is hosted by Carla E. Anderton of Jozart Center for the Arts in California, PA.

Along with Anderton, author of THE HEART ABSENT, I’ll be there with writers Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of HYSTERIA, and Sheldon Higdon, author of “Hand-Carved Coffins” and many other dark tales.

If you’re in the southern Pennsylvania area, come see us It will be a howl of a good time!

http://jozart.com/th...

I’m Going Back to School to Get “F”ed

Welp (that’s a “well” plus a gulp), I just slapped down the fifty-dollar admission fee, sealing my decision: I’ll be heading back to Seton Hill University to get “F”ed.

I completed SHU’s Writing Popular Fiction master’s program to earn a Master of Arts in genre fiction writing in 2006. DEATH PERCEPTION was my thesis. They’ve since upgraded the program to an MFA, so I applied again and was accepted. I’m going back for the F in January.

The extra 27 credits will center on the teaching of creative...

Coming Soon: CALL OF THE PISS FAIRY by Lee Allen Howard

Bizarro Psychological Thriller Coming Soon in Signed, Limited-Edition Hardcover

Armed with electric hair trimmers and a military fighting knife, Russell accepts his dark commission.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat…

Russell Pisarek is 26 years old and still wets the bed. He grew up different from other young men because his vicious mother punished him for wetting by shaving his head. When he confided this to his girlfriend Tina, she betrayed him by advertising his problem to all their hig...

How I Write Novels

Readers, have you ever wondered how a novel is developed and written? If you’re a writer, you might be curious about how other writers make their books. Here’s some insight into the process I follow.

Why My Early Attempts at Novel-writing Led Nowhere

When I was a fledgling writer, I would get a wild idea for a story or novel and rush to the keyboard. Excited and inspired, I would sit down and bang it out. Maybe I went on to the next scene, but soon enough, my inspiration fizzled or I didn’t kno...

The Motel Writing Binge

For the last seven years, I’ve worked full-time from home, and by the time my work day is done, I’m ready to get the hell out of the house. Most evenings, Saturday afternoons, and Sunday mornings, I camp out in one of the many coffee shops on the east side of Pittsburgh. But even this routine is wearing on me.

So I decided to do something new and adventurous: the Motel Writing Binge.

This is where I go somewhere—sometimes for research, sometimes just to get away—find a cheap motel, and binge-wr...

We Write Creative Writing Workshop: Self-edit Your Way to Publication

WE WRITE! Creative Writing University to Hold Writing Workshop at Monroeville Public Library

WHO: Pittsburgh writers:

Lee Allen Howard

Sharon Lippincott

Monroeville Public Library reference staff

WHAT: WE WRITE! Creative Writing Workshop

WHEN: September 21, 2013 – 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Monroeville Public Library

WHY: Writers of all levels learn from experiences of published Pittsburgh Writers and experts

HOW: Registration at library

WE WRITE! Creative Writing University @ Monroeville Public Libr...

Watch My Going LIVE TV Interview

I attended Seton Hill University’s In Your Write Mind writing conference June 28-30, 2013. It was the third time I presented, this year on “Self-editing for Publication,” which was well-attended.

Matt Dowling of FCTV’s Going LIVE, a variety show focusing on arts and entertainment, was there to interview many of the authors. Here, I share the spotlight with the fabulous Sally Bosco, author of The Werecat Chronicles.

After watching this, I’ve decided I need to work on my posture…

Here are some pho...

Cemetery Photo Shoot

I love cemeteries. Always have. It’s part of my creepiness, yet as a Spiritualist, I find them not morbid, but peaceful, places. So being a Spiritualist, a medium, and a writer of dark fiction, a cemetery was the perfect place for a recent photo shoot.

Sunday morning July 21, I met accomplished photographer John Colombo for a session. You’ll see John’s striking photos in many of Pittsburgh’s better magazines and newspapers. Here he is, fiddling with his equipment. (He’s the photographer, not m...

The Creepier, the Better

I’ve been wanting to post this for months, but I’m just getting around to it.

My motto for 2013 is this:

THE CREEPIER, THE BETTER

Instead of being ashamed that I’m creepy (and I’ve been creepy since a very young age), since writing my Arnzstigation, I’ve decided to exult in my creepiness! It’s something that contributes to my uniqueness, and I’m going to capitalize on it. (Thank you to Mike Arnzen for setting me free.) And thanks to John Edward Lawson, I got this great graphic:

I’ve been buying c...

The Importance of Research in Fiction Writing

This article first appeared on Anne J. Fotheringham’s site, Book Editor Plus.

Although fiction is a product of the imagination, if it’s set in the real world at least partially, there will be some real-life things you must get right. This means being accurate with your facts. In a contemporary story, if you’ve got a seasoned outdoorsman who drinks water directly from a still pool in a stream, you haven’t done your research.

Water can be contaminated with a variety of things risky to health and...