Brian Pinkerton's Blog, page 3
May 5, 2013
I can drive 55
The Zombie Authors blog asked me to contribute a piece of flash writing -- precisely 55 words in length, no more, no less -- related to the undead. Here's what I sent them.
A favorite zombie memory.
Carl Kolchak confronts a sleeping zombie in the back of a hearse in an auto junkyard. To undo the voodoo, he must pour salt down its throat and sew the mouth shut. Kolchak successfully fills the mouth with salt then positions a needle under its lips.
The zombie opens its eyes.
A favorite zombie memory.
Carl Kolchak confronts a sleeping zombie in the back of a hearse in an auto junkyard. To undo the voodoo, he must pour salt down its throat and sew the mouth shut. Kolchak successfully fills the mouth with salt then positions a needle under its lips.
The zombie opens its eyes.
December 15, 2012
Monsters and me
Blame it on the babysitter. Or perhaps the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. You see, it all started like this. When I was little, my parents routinely escaped the terrors of three rowdy young boys by going downtown on Saturday nights to enjoy the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Our teenage babysitter did what most teenage babysitters would do, she turned on the television to distract us from tearing up the house.
And that is how we discovered WGN-TV’s Creature Features, a weekly offering of monster movies unlike anything we had ever seen before. I recall the first movie to dent my brain was War of the Gargantuas, a Japanese epic about two enormous ogres (one green, one brown) battling it out in Tokyo, shoving one another into crumbling skyscrapers as the military counterattacked with tanks, bombs and lasers. The mayhem was positively thrilling and left a lasting mark. (Imagine my surprise during 2012’s Oscars telecast when Brad Pitt declared the same movie to be a cherished memory from his childhood.)
In the following weeks and months, Creature Features introduced me to many of the Universal classics of the 1930s and 1940s, and I relished in their moody, black and white worlds. My hunger for monster movies extended to the cheapie 1950s and 1960s horrors regularly screened on Saturday afternoons on fuzzy UHF channels – dumb but compelling films like Attack of the Puppet People and Death Curse of Tartu.
When an elementary school classmate excitedly told me about a terrifying TV movie featuring a haunted house, it became my mission to track it down. He described the chilling scene of a woman hearing a baby crying in the middle of the night and tracing it to a jar of glowing red goo in an old shed.
I combed the TV Guide for the movie’s reappearance and when it showed up for a late night rerun, I pestered my parents into letting me stay up to watch it in exchange for a nap earlier in the day. The movie was indeed super eerie and many years later I discovered the director was none other than Steven Spielberg. The title is Something Evil, one of Spielberg’s earliest, most obscure films and to this day it remains unreleased on DVD, adding to its vague, dream-like existence.
I remember my other personal entries into the world of horror: the fantastic wolf man painting on the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland # 99, gleefully out of place among the ladies magazines stocked at the local grocery store…Bernie Wrightson’s Swamp Thing comic book…Jack Kirby’s The Demon…television’s Kolchak The Night Stalker…short stories by Richard Matheson.
Whenever my interest in horror waned, there would be something unexpected to rev it back up. I remember seeing the original Halloween in a theater packed with shrill teenagers screaming in unison like a massive chorus – it remains one of the most electrifying movie experiences of my life.
I found bad movies endearing, too, and grew particularly fond of Ed Wood films before he became a household name. There are still people who won’t forgive me for making them watch Glen or Glenda and Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Some passions of my childhood dissipated over time but somehow the monsters endured. There is something about the thrill of a safe scare that invigorates us in our stale, ordinary adult lives. We all like fake frights with a soft landing because there are too many real terrors in everyday life – just watch the evening news.
The classic horror films continue to reach new audiences through their original incarnations, sequels and remakes. (A new version of I Spit on Your Grave? Seriously?) Zombies are back in style (TV’s Walking Dead), vampires are hot (the Twilight books and movies) and werewolves haven’t lost their bite (Bill Gagliani’s wonderful Nick Lupo series).
My passions inevitably become my creative outlets. As a writer, my earliest novels were suspense thrillers (I also love Hitchcock) but more recently I have been creating horror stories with satisfying results.
My book Rough Cut is a big, affectionate tribute to the world of horror movies. It features a deadly rivalry between two horror directors – a legendary ‘80s slasher filmmaker and a contemporary “torture porn” hotshot. There are references to everything from Bela Lugosi to Blair Witch.
Rough Cut has got horror, humor and heart…it’s my letter to the genre that has kept me wonderfully entertained for so many years.
This entry originally appeared as a guest post on the blog of W.D. Gagliani.
And that is how we discovered WGN-TV’s Creature Features, a weekly offering of monster movies unlike anything we had ever seen before. I recall the first movie to dent my brain was War of the Gargantuas, a Japanese epic about two enormous ogres (one green, one brown) battling it out in Tokyo, shoving one another into crumbling skyscrapers as the military counterattacked with tanks, bombs and lasers. The mayhem was positively thrilling and left a lasting mark. (Imagine my surprise during 2012’s Oscars telecast when Brad Pitt declared the same movie to be a cherished memory from his childhood.)
In the following weeks and months, Creature Features introduced me to many of the Universal classics of the 1930s and 1940s, and I relished in their moody, black and white worlds. My hunger for monster movies extended to the cheapie 1950s and 1960s horrors regularly screened on Saturday afternoons on fuzzy UHF channels – dumb but compelling films like Attack of the Puppet People and Death Curse of Tartu.
When an elementary school classmate excitedly told me about a terrifying TV movie featuring a haunted house, it became my mission to track it down. He described the chilling scene of a woman hearing a baby crying in the middle of the night and tracing it to a jar of glowing red goo in an old shed.
I combed the TV Guide for the movie’s reappearance and when it showed up for a late night rerun, I pestered my parents into letting me stay up to watch it in exchange for a nap earlier in the day. The movie was indeed super eerie and many years later I discovered the director was none other than Steven Spielberg. The title is Something Evil, one of Spielberg’s earliest, most obscure films and to this day it remains unreleased on DVD, adding to its vague, dream-like existence.
I remember my other personal entries into the world of horror: the fantastic wolf man painting on the cover of Famous Monsters of Filmland # 99, gleefully out of place among the ladies magazines stocked at the local grocery store…Bernie Wrightson’s Swamp Thing comic book…Jack Kirby’s The Demon…television’s Kolchak The Night Stalker…short stories by Richard Matheson.
Whenever my interest in horror waned, there would be something unexpected to rev it back up. I remember seeing the original Halloween in a theater packed with shrill teenagers screaming in unison like a massive chorus – it remains one of the most electrifying movie experiences of my life.
I found bad movies endearing, too, and grew particularly fond of Ed Wood films before he became a household name. There are still people who won’t forgive me for making them watch Glen or Glenda and Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Some passions of my childhood dissipated over time but somehow the monsters endured. There is something about the thrill of a safe scare that invigorates us in our stale, ordinary adult lives. We all like fake frights with a soft landing because there are too many real terrors in everyday life – just watch the evening news.
The classic horror films continue to reach new audiences through their original incarnations, sequels and remakes. (A new version of I Spit on Your Grave? Seriously?) Zombies are back in style (TV’s Walking Dead), vampires are hot (the Twilight books and movies) and werewolves haven’t lost their bite (Bill Gagliani’s wonderful Nick Lupo series).
My passions inevitably become my creative outlets. As a writer, my earliest novels were suspense thrillers (I also love Hitchcock) but more recently I have been creating horror stories with satisfying results.
My book Rough Cut is a big, affectionate tribute to the world of horror movies. It features a deadly rivalry between two horror directors – a legendary ‘80s slasher filmmaker and a contemporary “torture porn” hotshot. There are references to everything from Bela Lugosi to Blair Witch.
Rough Cut has got horror, humor and heart…it’s my letter to the genre that has kept me wonderfully entertained for so many years.
This entry originally appeared as a guest post on the blog of W.D. Gagliani.
November 25, 2012
Tag, I'm It
Tag, I’m it.
I’ve agreed to participate in a massive blog pyramid scheme of cross-promotional fun where I answer a set of questions about my newest work and then “tag” several other authors to do the same, creating an expanding network of linked blog pages.
I was tagged by W.D. Gagliani, author of Wolf’s Edge, the fourth book in a terrific werewolf series.
Now that I am “it,” I'm obligated to answer the following questions about my latest project. So here goes.
What is your working title of your book?
How I Started the Apocalypse, Book Two: The Hunger War (second book of a three-book series)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to do something different in the zombie genre and came up with a scenario where the zombie is sympathetic and self-aware, struggling with his affliction like an addict fighting an unwanted craving.
What genre does your book fall under?
Horror, although there are ongoing elements of dark humor. I recently discovered that Amazon UK placed book one in the category of “Horror – Parodies and Satire.”
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Nicolas Cage is good at offbeat, tormented characters.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Chaz Singleton is a lone zombie battling for survival against a hostile humanity.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I signed a three-book deal with the publisher, Severed Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Book one of the series took about seven months. I anticipate book two will be about the same, probably longer, given that I have multiple projects fighting for attention.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are other “smart zombie” books out there, but I haven’t read them because I don’t want to be influenced.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I wrote a short story, SWAT that was published in the anthology Zombie Zoology by Severed Press. The publisher asked if I’d be interested in writing a full-length zombie novel for them. I thought, why not? It’s a fun genre. I’m a huge fan of the first two George Romero zombie movies and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is the story of an individual who holds the fate of the world in his hands, whether he likes it or not.
How I Started the Apocalypse is available in paperback and ebook.
Now that I’ve done my duty, I’ve tagged three more authors to keep the “Next Big Thing” megablog alive and kicking… so please welcome the following talented people with a visit to their blogs. Next week, they’ll post their answers to the same questions and tag additional authors to join in.
Randy Richardson, author of Cheeseland: Cheeseland Blog
Connie Corcoran Wilson, author of The Color of Evil: Weekly Wilson
James Robert Smith, author of The Flock: Til The Last Hemlock Dies
I’ve agreed to participate in a massive blog pyramid scheme of cross-promotional fun where I answer a set of questions about my newest work and then “tag” several other authors to do the same, creating an expanding network of linked blog pages.
I was tagged by W.D. Gagliani, author of Wolf’s Edge, the fourth book in a terrific werewolf series.
Now that I am “it,” I'm obligated to answer the following questions about my latest project. So here goes.
What is your working title of your book?
How I Started the Apocalypse, Book Two: The Hunger War (second book of a three-book series)
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to do something different in the zombie genre and came up with a scenario where the zombie is sympathetic and self-aware, struggling with his affliction like an addict fighting an unwanted craving.
What genre does your book fall under?
Horror, although there are ongoing elements of dark humor. I recently discovered that Amazon UK placed book one in the category of “Horror – Parodies and Satire.”
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Nicolas Cage is good at offbeat, tormented characters.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Chaz Singleton is a lone zombie battling for survival against a hostile humanity.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I signed a three-book deal with the publisher, Severed Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Book one of the series took about seven months. I anticipate book two will be about the same, probably longer, given that I have multiple projects fighting for attention.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are other “smart zombie” books out there, but I haven’t read them because I don’t want to be influenced.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I wrote a short story, SWAT that was published in the anthology Zombie Zoology by Severed Press. The publisher asked if I’d be interested in writing a full-length zombie novel for them. I thought, why not? It’s a fun genre. I’m a huge fan of the first two George Romero zombie movies and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is the story of an individual who holds the fate of the world in his hands, whether he likes it or not.
How I Started the Apocalypse is available in paperback and ebook.
Now that I’ve done my duty, I’ve tagged three more authors to keep the “Next Big Thing” megablog alive and kicking… so please welcome the following talented people with a visit to their blogs. Next week, they’ll post their answers to the same questions and tag additional authors to join in.
Randy Richardson, author of Cheeseland: Cheeseland Blog
Connie Corcoran Wilson, author of The Color of Evil: Weekly Wilson
James Robert Smith, author of The Flock: Til The Last Hemlock Dies
November 17, 2012
Zombies: supernatural or scientific?
The blog Zombie Horrors posed a compelling question to me...
James Robert Smith: What’s your opinion on the origin of the fictional zombie plague: supernatural or scientific?
Brian Pinkerton: Zombies represent science at its most wicked. One of the harrowing realities of life is that we lose control of our bodies. Oh sure, we can pump iron at the gym, diet to shed unwanted pounds, or sign up for a nose job or facelift. But in the end, the body—not the brain—rules.
We get old and sick and fall apart. Our joints wear down, our posture curls. Our hair falls out, we sag, we slow down. Wrinkles, varicose veins and age spots spoil our appearance. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and other evils attack from within. We become horrified observers of our own decay.
Chaz Singleton, the central zombie of my new book, How I Started the Apocalypse, is fully and painfully aware of the terrible things happening to his state of being. He smells bad. He has bad skin. His eyes are dull and bloodshot. He limps along. People hate him because he is a repugnant reflection of themselves.
Chaz also suffers from the zombie curse of flesh eating. He struggles with his obsessive appetite like an alcoholic battling with booze. The cruelty of addiction is just one more torment our bodies throw at us. Whether it’s alcohol, cigarettes, crack cocaine or heroin, the human species encounters physical cravings that can take control and not let go. Time and time again, the brain loses out to the temptations of the flesh.
Supernatural defines those things that exist outside the natural world. Zombies represent the natural world falling apart. We have seen the face of our worst nightmare, and it is us.
In paperback and ebook:How I Started the Apocalypse
James Robert Smith: What’s your opinion on the origin of the fictional zombie plague: supernatural or scientific?
Brian Pinkerton: Zombies represent science at its most wicked. One of the harrowing realities of life is that we lose control of our bodies. Oh sure, we can pump iron at the gym, diet to shed unwanted pounds, or sign up for a nose job or facelift. But in the end, the body—not the brain—rules.
We get old and sick and fall apart. Our joints wear down, our posture curls. Our hair falls out, we sag, we slow down. Wrinkles, varicose veins and age spots spoil our appearance. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and other evils attack from within. We become horrified observers of our own decay.
Chaz Singleton, the central zombie of my new book, How I Started the Apocalypse, is fully and painfully aware of the terrible things happening to his state of being. He smells bad. He has bad skin. His eyes are dull and bloodshot. He limps along. People hate him because he is a repugnant reflection of themselves.
Chaz also suffers from the zombie curse of flesh eating. He struggles with his obsessive appetite like an alcoholic battling with booze. The cruelty of addiction is just one more torment our bodies throw at us. Whether it’s alcohol, cigarettes, crack cocaine or heroin, the human species encounters physical cravings that can take control and not let go. Time and time again, the brain loses out to the temptations of the flesh.
Supernatural defines those things that exist outside the natural world. Zombies represent the natural world falling apart. We have seen the face of our worst nightmare, and it is us.
In paperback and ebook:How I Started the Apocalypse
