Ross E. Lockhart's Blog, page 65

Countdown to Cthulhu: The Big Giveaway Has Begun

I love a good giveaway, don't you? There's nothing quite like a door prize to send somebody home happy. But seven somebodies... that's crazy talk...

But we're doing it. With the help of Goodreads, the leading book cataloging community on the Internet, we're giving away seven signed (by the editor) copies of The Book of Cthulhu. Details are at the link below, and the contest ends September 3, 2011.

Okay, maybe it's actually only six copies and that copy of the Cthäat Aquadingen we found moaning in a corner of the warehouse a few months back. Freaky looking thing. Ate the last intern. Worries the dog. Cries. And should leather smell like that? Boy, somebody's sure going to be surprised...






Goodreads Book Giveaway













The Book of Cthulhu




by Ross E. Lockhart

Giveaway ends September 03, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win





And as always, this post was brought to you by The Book of Cthulhu, now available for pre-order from better independent booksellers everywhere, and online through Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble. Want your bookstore mentioned here? Drop me a line!

My tweets

Mon, 14:01 : RT @johnhornor: This week at The Night Bazaar, I'm giving away two copies of SOUTHERN GODS. Comment to be entered to win. Any post. http ... Mon, 14:02 : RT @YSDC: More Lovecraft audio adaptations with 'The Thing on the Doorstep' from 19 Nocturne Boulevard. http://t.co/Zs4FkAx Mon, 14:23 : RT @JMMcDermott: Times are tight all over. Remember, when you buy an indie book from an indie author (preferably at an indie bookstore) ... Mon, 14:24 : RT @JMMcDermott: If this book goes up above #1000 in rank today on Amazon, I will give away Death Mask and Eulogy for free: http://t.co/ ... Mon, 15:25 : RT @oedonline: VIDEO: Potato salad http://t.co/jcw8b3k Mon, 15:27 : RT @StaciaDecker: .@johnhornor's collection includes "a world where cowboys round up zombies for slaughter." Uh. . . AWESOME! http://t.c ... Tue, 04:24 : Countdown to Cthulhu: Cephalopodcasts 2: Electric Boogaloo http://j.mp/mPBFOW

Countdown to Cthulhu: Cephalopodcasts 2: Electric Boogaloo

Today was a good day for Lovecraftian podcasts.

On my way in to the city this morning, I tuned in an audio drama adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's gender-bending tale of possession, "The Thing on the Doorstep" from 19 Nocturne Boulevard. "What does a man do when his new bride really, really wants his body?"



And on the way home? The latest Drabblecast, with an excerpt from H.P.L.'s sonnet cycle "The Fungi from Yuggoth" and a reading of "The Haunter of the Dark."



But it's been a very, very long day, and now it's time to settle back with a book. Tonight, it's an e-book, John Hornor Jacobs's Fierce as the Grave: A Quartet of Horror Stories, which I downloaded this morning, and is currently only 99¢ for Amazon/Kindle.



And if you dig H.P.L. or J.H.J., you're sure to enjoy...

The Book of Cthulhu, now available for pre-order from better independent booksellers everywhere, and online through Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.

My tweets

Sun, 18:11 : Horses trot past the house, heading to Wickersham Park. Must be the St. Vincent's Assumption of Mary Parade. Time to break out the camera. Sun, 20:55 : Petaluma loves a parade... http://j.mp/n5ibFT Mon, 02:29 : RT @nj713: Saw @johnhornor 's SOUTHERN GODS at local B&N. Told friend, 'I know him! - Well, sort of.' My copy of SG on nitestand, wants ... Mon, 03:20 : RT @JMMcDermott: Apparently, everybody has my books already because no one wants to win anything: http://t.co/wAmaIZ5

Adult Beverage: J. C. Flyer IPA

What a day! A parade, a ballgame (on TV), some errand running, and an awesome sandwich. Now I'm watching Beetlejuice with Maddie and knocking back a libation from Fairfax, Ca: Iron Springs Pub and Brewery's J. C. Flyer IPA. Named for the Bay Area country-rocker, J. C. Flyer is "an English style India Pale Ale with West Coast hops." I'm afraid I'm not familiar with J. C. How's his beer?

J. C. Flyer IPA pours hazy amber with a finger-thick pale tan head, which quickly falls and leaves little to no lacing. The nose knows: it's a Cali IPA, with citrus (orange juice?) and sweet, piney hops. Taste fulfills scent's promise: sweet malt and grassy hop character. Suggestions of butterscotch. Mouthfeel is wet, maybe even watery, but balanced and refreshing. Nice astringent bitterness starting on the underside of the tongue, then rolling along the back of the throat with a light touch against the palate. Clean finish with a residual back of throat bitter burn. Very pleasant overall. Good enough that I may have to track down a J. C. Flyer record by way of saying thanks.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Petaluma loves a parade...

Petaluma loves a parade. We've got a bunch of them, from Butter and Eggs Day to the Veterans' Day parade. But my favorite comes when St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church celebrates the Assumption of Mary in mid-August every year. This year, I followed the parade route from Wickersham Park all the way down to St. Vincent's, snapping pictures the whole way. Enjoy them:
















































































































And here are pictures of the parade from 2010 and 2007. I missed 2008 and 2009 because I was away at WorldCon those years.

My tweets

Sat, 15:15 : RT @BarackObama: President Obama asks Americans to tell their members of Congress that it's time to put country before party. http://t.c ... Sat, 15:18 : RT @NSBposse: Ross E. Lockhart: Adult Beverage: Knee Deep Brewing Rydentity Crisis: Another week of juggling manuscripts in va... http:/ ... Sat, 16:59 : RT @martyhalpern: California residents, please help stop the privatization of California's public libraries #CA #p2 http://t.co/ON2SwnM Sat, 19:23 : RT @nightshadebooks: A review and giveaway: No Hero "It is at times humorous, at times thrilling, [...] and at all times a terrific read ... Sat, 20:40 : Countdown to Cthulhu: Mythos-related Releases I'm Looking Forward To... http://j.mp/nhTY2y Sat, 22:12 : Puff the Magic Dragon lived in a land called Honalee. The Deep Ones' city near Devil's Reef is Y'ha-nthlei. This is not coincidental. Sat, 23:06 : RT @Propnomicon: Daniel Ritthanondh's very cool Cthulhu idol is up on eBay. http://t.co/NSzt4Wa Sat, 23:07 : RT @Propnomicon: Where is H. P. Lovecraft's Innsmouth? http://t.co/447xuFz Sun, 01:27 : RT @chrislatray: 5 of 5 stars to Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs http://t.co/Vro2f8n Sun, 03:39 : Call it a suspicion: @iffer23 has had enough Judas Priest for the evening.

Countdown to Cthulhu: Mythos-related Releases I'm Looking Forward To...

We've told you about the Cthulhu Summer at Night Shade Books, with Jonathan Wood's No Hero, John Hornor Jacobs' Southern Gods, and my own The Book of Cthulhu, but here are some of the other Cthulhu Mythos-related releases I'm looking forward to...

So far, I've only heard two tracks from Ogham Waite and the Amphibian Jazz Band's Live at the Gilman House, but wow. The first, "My Slimy Cephelopod," is featured on a sneak preview page at HPLHS; the other, "Some Wonderland Undersea," closed out a recent episode of The H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast.

Now, I'm not typically a fan of filk, but Live at the Gilman House transcends the conventions (and conventions) of bardic fandom by bringing to the table 1) a top-notch backup band and 2) one of the best Tom Waits impressions I've heard -- and I say that as someone who once worked in a record store frequented by the Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. I'm quite familiar with Tom Waits' voice and mannerisms, and Ogham Waite, whoever he may actually be, nails it. If I've got any complaint, it's that I can't pre-order the album (this is going to be an LP, right?) right now (and I'm holding off ordering De Farbe until I can).



Chaosium and Red Wasp Design's Call of Cthulhu-based, World War I-set, iOS video game, Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land is another forthcoming Mythos-related item that's got my attention. I'm no hardcore gamer, and the odds of my finishing any given video game are pretty much nil (I'd much rather read), but with a teaser image this badass, I'm ready to buy it.



On a more placid note, I'm also looking forward to Twisted in Dream: The Collected Weird Poetry of Ann K. Schwader, coming from Hippocampus Press in October. Ann K. Schwader's story "Lost Stars" is included in The Book of Cthulhu, and come September, I think many of you will be as astonished by it as I was when I first read it. I don't believe this is the final cover for Twisted in Dream, but it was too cool an image not to hotlink.

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The Book of Cthulhu, now available for pre-order from better independent booksellers everywhere, and online through Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.

My tweets

Fri, 16:15 : Blurb of the Day: Chicken Fried Lovecraft http://j.mp/oesk9g Fri, 16:28 : Beautiful, overcast day. Walking down to pick up Maddie from the Groomer. Looking forward to that clean dog smell. Fri, 17:39 : RT @reverendelvis: Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surr ... Fri, 18:13 : Countdown to Cthulhu: U Got the (Innsmouth) Look http://j.mp/ppImR5 Fri, 18:38 : RT @KameronHurley: Remember When Fantasy Books Were AWESOME? Thoughts on The Cloud Roads http://t.co/6M6JaE9 Fri, 21:20 : RT @tsouthcotte: #fridayreads this week is Southern Gods by @johnhornor. Best horror novel I've read in years. Sat, 02:05 : RT @borderlands_new: Just in: THE URBAN FANTASY ANTHOLOGY edited by Peter S. Beagle and Joe R. Lansdale and THE BOOK OF CTHULHU edited ... Sat, 02:45 : RT @jdiddyesquire: #FridayReads The Book of Cthulhu from @nightshadebooks - short story collection inspired by Lovecraft. Pretty spooky ... Sat, 02:46 : RT @Hellnotes: THE BOOK OF CTHULHU - http://bit.ly/p4h7pF Sat, 02:48 : RT @NewBookIn: The Book of Cthulhu, Ross E. Lockhart, ed: An anthology of H.P. Lovecraft-inspired terrifying tales. In ARC, out 9/20: h ... Sat, 02:52 : I knew that big, swashy F would come back to haunt me. Sat, 03:15 : RT @dboshea: My belated review of SOUTHERN GODS. The short version? Buy this freakin' book. http://t.co/GLHzBXF

Adult Beverage: Knee Deep Brewing Ryedentity Crisis

Another week of juggling manuscripts in various states: rough drafts to polished prizes to final corrections. All to make sure they do one thing: communicate a story without stumbling. What I do requires a whole lot of trying to get into authors' and editors' heads, trying to glean the motivation and meaning behind the words. It's almost enough to give one an identity crisis. But then the weekend comes along, and I can at least pretend to turn it off. Oh, who am I kidding, the moment I post this, I'm going back to reading. But I'm reading with a libation at hand: Knee Deep Brewing's Ryedentity Crisis, a "rye saison." how
Is it?

Ryedentity Crisis pours light, cloudy straw with a dense, short off-white head. Little retention, a ring around the edge of the glass, and no lacing to speak of. Pears and sweet, musty rye on the nose. Sugary rye and cereals on the tongue, with a building fruitiness. Medium body with soda-pop carbonation. Sweet finish with a gradual residual bitter aftertaste.

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.