Orrin Grey's Blog: Shovel Murders & Monologues, page 78

Sabbatical

In the interests of my own mental health, and also in the interests of hopefully getting some actual writing done ever again, I am taking a specialized sabbatical for the month of October. Basically, I'm taking a hiatus from doing anything that I feel like I "ought to" do. I'll still do things I have to do, and things I want to do, and many of the things in the second category will also happen to be things I ought to do, but I'm not going to do them because I feel I ought to. For most...

Tales from the House of Mystery

One of the coolest of the (many) 'blogs I follow is Golden Age Comic Book Stories, which consistently presents me with all manner of amazing comic art and illustrations. Most recently, it has delivered a real gem.

Apparently, some years ago (circa 1973) there were a pair of short story collections based on DC's House of Mystery and fully illustrated by classic Berni Wrightson. Of all the illustrations included within, I'd previously only seen the covers. Needless to say, the contents are a...

Whacky Shack

Let me tell you a story. It's a story about serendipity. Or maybe it's a story about my childhood. Or maybe it's a story from my childhood about an amusement park that just features serendipity. I dunno. You tell me.

Anyway, I read this 'blog called Monster Brains that's just a 'blog of pictures of monsters (you can probably imagine the appeal for me). It recently posted a photo of a spider from an abandoned fun house. Oddly enough, that photo is from an amusement park that I used to...

Bros. Grossbart Art Contest

Because I am a really nice guy, I am using my enormous Internet clout to help spread the word about Jesse Bullington's Bros. Grossbart art contest. Just draw/paint/Photoshop/macrame a picture of the titular Brothers and send it in to Jesse and you could win yourself an ARC of Jesse's debut novel so you can get on board before he gets way too famous to take the time to talk to you anymore.

Obscure Hollow

I'm a huge fan of the kinds of set designs and visual imagery that you pretty much only find in vintage horror movies, and so imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon The Obscure Hollow, a 'blog designed exclusively to showcase such things. I've only scratched the surface of it so far, but it is already a treasure trove.

In Which I Suggest a Meme

Cullen Bunn has been posting some comic covers that captured his imagination when he was younger, and I thought it was fun, so here's one of mine (from the Grand Comics Database):

I'm cheating a bit with this one, since I actually stumbled upon it fairly recently, but it did produce the title of one of my stories (you can find it in the fourth issue of Dark Worlds magazine).

This seems like an awesome meme to me, so everyone, post a picture of an old comic book cover that captured your...

Monsterpocalypse Now

I've been a fan of Privateer Press and their twin tabletop wargames Warmachine and Hordes for several years now. I haven't played in ages, I don't seem to have the money for miniatures nor the time for games anymore. But I still consider myself a fan.

So when, some time back, they announced their collectible miniature game of kaiju battles Monsterpocalypse, I figured I'd check it out. Pre-painted plastic collectible miniatures are cheaper, certainly, and the games sounded quicker. But I...

Deficient in Shame

I just heard from the publisher, and there are still a tiny handful of copies of THE MYSTERIOUS FLAME available for purchase.  I mean just a few.  Like, maybe a dozen.  So, if you don't already have a copy and would like one, now is emphatically the time to get it, before it's all gone.

Clarkesworld Today

The latest issue of Clarkesworld Magazine is online today, and it features an interview conducted by Jeff VanderMeer with several "emerging writers," including that upright gentleman Jesse Bullington who was so kind as to name-drop yours truly when asked what writers have "really excited" him recently.

And speaking of really exciting writers, this is the second time that my name at least has appeared in a publication with a new Kyle Murchison Booth story by Sarah Monette.  Hey, I'll take my vicar

Some People

This week has been a little rougher than I expected around the ol' homestead, in no small part because of some technical difficulties with the wife's computer.  We are fairly certain at this point that it's a lost cause, and the only things left now are preparing last rights and figuring out the most cost-effective way to replace it with another goldfish without the kids noticing a younger model.

However, it's not all been gloom and busted computers on the Internet.  Dashing rogue, hero of the re