James Dorr's Blog, page 193

And, as Promised Last Week . . . First 2014 Interview is Up

Rain and slush finally converted to snow, though tapering off by about midnight Sunday.  The winter wonderland look is here, but also the not-so-nice winter temperatures, nine degrees below zero according to the Weather Channel, though fortunately without much wind at the moment.  Monday morning has brought the shoveling, for which I’d already exhumed my decades-old Swedish Army officers’ coat (remember when those were a wintertime fad?) from the depths of the office closet, as well as readied my balaclava to wear with an extra watch cap over it (downside:  frequent fogging of glasses).

The cat is curled up on the bed, which seems proper.

For life, and the writing, still goes on and this is the week for mystery author Susan Whitfield’s interview of me on her blog (cf. a week ago, December 30).  See me answer such questions as how my environment has affected my writing (maybe I cheat a little on this one, but I think it comes down to what, exactly, one takes “environment” to mean); how much of me is in the characters in my book — in this case, THE TEARS OF ISIS; and what special challenges did putting the book together bring with it.

Also, this isn’t the first interview I’ve had with Susan, she having previously done one a couple of years back for “Vampire Month” with me (see August 9 2011 or, for the interview itself,  it’s also linked in last week’s December 30 post) with emphasis on my then latest collection, the all-poetry VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE).  For this one, which should be up all week — and with emphasis on my newest “latest” book THE TEARS OF ISIS – press here.

First Sundays Reading Cancelled as Area Buttons Up for Freeze

No winter wonderland stroll through the local campus for me this Sunday (see post just below).  Or readings either.  Just after midnight last night, in fact, the word came that the Bloomington Writers Guild’s First Sundays reading had been cancelled, perhaps to be postponed to a new date later this month.  As for me, that solved one problem at least, which of two 500-word stories I should bring to read at the closing open mike section — 500 words for me being about the length I can read comfortably during the 3-minute time allowed.  Would it be “Rocky Road,” a cheerful bit of macabre absurdity involving cannibalism and ice cream, or “Demons Are a Ghoul’s Best Friend,” a more routine romp through a Transylvanian graveyard?  But at least, perhaps I can use the time trying to think up more 500-word stories.  I’m running out.

But there’s no winter wonderland either, at least for now.  While Indianapolis is reportedly getting an inch of snow per hour, we here at about 50 miles south are right on the line between rain and snow, with a temperature still at just a degree or two above freezing.  This in a way is the worst of all worlds, with what amounts to falling slush prepared to become ice as soon as the temperature goes down.  And it is expected to go below zero after it gets dark — possibly to record or near-record depths below zero.

Then, at least, it should be all snow, but with temperatures still below zero Monday and not much above at the highest on Tuesday, I have no plans to stroll outdoors any more than I can help.  While, as for now, I’ve already been out once clearing slipperiness off the steps and, in a few moments, I probably should go out to repeat the process — hoping for a non-icy surface once the “real” snow starts to fall (the Weather Channel still says we might get three to five inches).  And then probably at least one foray out Monday morning to get new snow off and sprinkle salt and sand.

First 2014 Story Acceptance Day After New Year’s; The “Snow Queen” Visits, Expected to Come Back for Weekend

“What if fate had been a little different in the United States?    That’s a great question that speculative fiction writers have been exploring for decades, and the answers are endless.  Whether it’s straight alternate history, seeking to explore the possible results of altered history, or more fanciful ideas of magic or aliens in America’s past, these are the tales that let our imaginations roam.”

So started the guidelines for Martinus Publishing’s upcoming anthology ALTERED AMERICA and yesterday afternoon word came that my story “Avoid Seeing A Mouse,” originally published in Dark Moon Books’s ZOMBIE JESUS AND OTHER TRUE STORIES (cf. November 5 and 9 2012, et al.), would be one of the ones included.   This is a tale about ancient Egypt and modern-day Memphis Tennessee and Y2K fears as the year 1999 draws to a close — and what might have happened.  So today I sent the contract back and, as for what comes next, you’ll see it here as soon as I know myself.

Also yesterday, or more properly speaking beginning after dark on Wednesday, New Year’s Day, the Snow Queen came back.  This wasn’t a blizzard as happened beginning the night of Christmas 2012 (cf. December 26 that year), amounting this time to only perhaps about four inches, but Thursday as I crossed the university campus, the snow continuing to fall as I walked downtown, there was still an air of unearthly beauty.  Buildings loomed suddenly through the whiteness as one passed between snow-encrusted trees.  Sure, one’s feet also get wet and cold, but isn’t it worth it?

Well . . . maybe.  According to the newspaper more snow should start to fall late Saturday evening, continuing on through Sunday and followed by an intense cold spell with a low as much as nine below zero on Monday and Tuesday.  Accumulation could come to six or seven inches and Sunday I’ll be crossing the campus again, this time to attend the Bloomington Writers Guild’s first 2014 “First Sundays” reading (see December 1, et al.) — or at least so I plan.

Monday and Tuesday, however, I plan to be holed up at home.

First New Year Interview Scheduled Next Week; Writers’ Lens Guest Post Among 2013’s “Top Stories”

My first interview for 2014 has been set for next Monday, according to blogger Susan Whitfield this morning.  Or, in her own words, “James, I have scheduled your blog interview for the week of January 6th.  It’ll be up all week and then move to second position.  At some point, it will be moved to the archives.”  It won’t be the first one I’ve done with Susan, having been interviewed by her back in 2011 (see August 9 of that year or, to go to the post directly, click here and scroll way down to the second interview) on vampires and my then new book, VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE).  This new one will cover my latest collection, THE TEARS OF ISIS, among other items so please come back next week for more information, including a link.

In the meantime, Teresa Schnellmann has announced that my guest blog with her last July, “The Marketing Game” (see July 10) is among the “Big Stories of 2013” on THE WRITERS’ LENS.  For more on that, including links to the other stories on Teresa’s list, press here.

Kobo Coupon Sale Good Through New Year’s Eve

There’s a 50 percent off sale at Kobo for electronic books that includes several titles of mine, including two seasonal items, Christmas horror short story I’M DREAMING OF A. . . . and the New Year’s anthology YEAR’S END:  14 TALES OF HOLIDAY HORROR with my lead story “Appointment in Time,” both published by Untreed Reads.  Books purchased through Kobo are in EPUB format, good for virtually every electronic device including Nook, except for Kindle or the Kindle app.  (Kobo also has its own free app — and readers throughout the world can buy books from Kobo.)

To take advantage of this sale, Kobo’s store can be reached by pressing here, then if interested in my titles, enter James Dorr in the search bar at the top (weirdly, you’ll find some titles not by me, too, generally on history topics, but you’ll be able to spot them).  Then for the discount, use the coupon code 50DEC

New 5-Star Tears of Isis Review on Amazon; Bizarro Bizarro Is Published in Print

Two items for Christmas week to report, both of them good.  Nice, not naughty — though maybe the second is a little bit naughty as well.  But in a good way.

The first:  THE TEARS OF ISIS has garnered a new review on Amazon, the seventh I think, and this one by US author Rena Mason (THE EVOLUTIONIST, novella “East End Girls”) with five stars!  “THE TEARS OF ISIS is a well-written collection of stories that transcend time, places, and events . . . dark fantasy/horror stories that are both intense and thought-provoking. . . .”  To see for yourself, press here, but one word of warning.  Not every review is necessarily as nice as this one.

Then for the second, word didn’t get to me until late Christmas Eve, but BIZARRO BIZARRO (cf. October 12, 7) is now available via Amazon in paperback form as of the beginning of this week.  To quote from the guidelines from a while back, “Yup . . . it’s a bizarro anthology . . . but what the heck is bizarro?  To us, it’s intellectual and poetic freedom.  It’s about exploring the limits of literature and creativity.  It can be argued that many classics are bizarro.  George Orwall’s ANMAL FARM has talking animals that take over a farm, and Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ features a suffering protagonist who has spontaneously become a cockroach.”  Be that as it may, my bug in this bughouse is called “Mr. Happy Head,” originally published in WICKED MYSTIC, and is about . . . well . . . it’s kind of bizarre. . . .

But to check BIZARRO BIZARRO out for yourself, press here.

MAY ALL GOOD THINGS COME IN THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON

Gustave Doré (1832-1883) – via Facebook, courtesy of VictorianVampire Society UK

Cindy, A Christmas Lagniappe (Also a Preview of The Tears of Isis?)

THE TEARS OF ISIS is not a book of fairy tales, but fairy tales may have been the inspiration for some stories in it.  One of these is “Cindy,” about you-know-who, and originally written for Dean Wesley Smith for an anthology to be called SPLATTERFAIRIES.  The anthology never was published, but “Cindy” went on to FANTASTIC in Spring 2001, and possibly one or two places more (promiscuous, our Cindy is) before ending up as one of the offerings in THE TEARS OF ISIS.

So enjoy it now, courtesy of WILY WRITERS (cf. August 4, February 19 2012) as a dark-complexioned holiday e-story for reading or in audio form by pressing here.  If you enjoy it, perhaps you’d like also to check out THE TEARS OF ISIS, available on Amazon, B&N, and Amazon UK, or directly orderable from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing by clicking its picture in the center column.

New URLs for Center Column Chapbooks

People who’ve recently clicked on some of the book covers toward the bottom of the center column may have been receiving error messages.  This was due to a redesign of the Untreed Reads Publishing store website, including pages for the electronic chapbooks PEDS, I’M DREAMING OF A . . ., and VANITAS,  along with similar changes by Chamberton Books affecting the chapbook POLUDNITSA.  So, in a  pre-Christmas cleanup, I’ve made appropriate changes at this end — including adding the title CHAPBOOKS to separate those titles from the four full length collections that are displayed above them.

Now pressing either PEDS, I’M DREAMING OF A . . ., or VANITAS will take you to the Untreed Reads “Author Page” for James S. Dorr which lists all three displayed short story/novelette chapbooks plus the 2012 anthology YEAR’S END:  14 TALES OF HOLIDAY HORROR that includes my lead story “Appointment in Time.”  Thus you can click again on the title you were originally looking for as well as, if interested, browsing one or more of the other titles – noting, for instance, that YEAR’S END may be of special interest at this time of year with Christmas and New Year’s nearly on us.  And noting also that I’M DREAMING OF A . . . is a Christmas story, its title referring to the Irving Berlin song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.”  Of course, like the New Year’s “Appointment in Time,” its interpretation is one of horror.

And then, finally, POLUDNITSA will take you to Chamberton’s newly revamped page  for ordering it as an electronic chapbook, along with a listing of five other titles by different authors in Chamberton’s “Chimera” short fantasy series.

Until the End, Post-Apocalypse Antho Is Here

As promised, in time for Christmas (see post just below):  “On the last day of planet Earth, a love-struck couple cling to each other as the world burns.  They survive only to greet a new dawn — one filled with violent mutations and terrifying consequences — conceived from the ashes of humanity’s defeat.  Can our heartfelt protagonists stay together UNTIL THE END, or will the harsh realities of a new world tear them apart?  Join over 20 authors from around the world as they lay down for us a truly frightening universe — one that, after reading, Romeo could end up eating Juliette’s heart out over instead of his own.”  So goes the blurb, and there’s sure to be a zombie or two there, although my story, “Tunnels,” depicts a world in which perhaps even zombies have perished.  But then there will always be some people left, yes?

Be that as it may, UNTIL THE END is available in print from Lulu, for which press here.