James Dorr's Blog, page 44

Friday Night At the Movies: Une Vie de Chat

So it’s not really “at the movies” as such, but rather the movie came to me — all the way from Paris. That is . . . sort of.

It’s something the local library seems to have been doing for just the last weekend or two, but a neat idea. With COVID we still can’t go out the the theater, but the library has movies it can lend, so why not offer a catalog of selected films to email out Fridays in such a way that recipients, attachment-like, can select ones for single viewings on the old home computer? Sort of like Youtube.

And so this evening as I perused the choices, one caught my eye, a mildly shortish at about an hour and ten minutes, French cartoon titled (English version) A CAT IN PARIS. Or, choosing the French version with English subtitles, UNE VIE DE CHAT which, yes, like the some of the subtitles too is not exactly a literal translation but still gets the job done. And much of the film is unspoken anyway (though with some interesting jazzy musical backgrounds here and there) in that there’s, well, a cat burglar in it.

That is to say, Dino the cat leads a double life, by day the pet of a troubled girl whose mother is a policewoman whose husband, also an officer, had been killed by a notorious gangster; by night the companion of Nico, the aforementioned burglar with, as it happens, a heart of gold. Or at least, like the cat, with a way with kids. But the gangster, meanwhile, has a major crime planned and one of his gang members happens to be the maid/babysitter of the policewoman/mom.

The film is not recommended for very young children as the coming together of elements leads to a very scary kidnapping, not to mention aerial journeys across Parisian roofs, clinging to would-be rescuer Nico’s back. But that’s part of the charm — for portraits of characters the hand-drawn art is fairly simple and even perhaps crude, but the nighttime rooftop backgrounds are hypnotically lovely, with sometime glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and (Quasimodo, stand aside!) a climactic fight atop Notre Dame. And, oh yes, the “Colossus of Nairobi,” the object of the gang leader’s desire, Godzilla-like walking through the streets of Paris . . . or does it, exactly?

In short, a lot of fun, not to mention being an Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature. Or, swiping a quote from Rotten Tomatoes: A CAT IN PARIS depicts a stylish, imaginative world with a wonderful soundtrack and Hitchcockian overtones.

The Goth Cat Triana Wishes to All A Happy Easter!

(Triana herself prefers meat bunnies to the chocolate ones)

Murder and Machinery Now in Paperback, Kindle

Actually Amazon claims it’s been out in paper for some time, but now at least presumably with an up-to-date cover. The book, MURDER AND MACHINERY: TALES OF TECHNOLOGICAL TERROR AND MECHANICAL MADNESS (cf. March 21, January 26, et al.) to give its complete title, and today it’s officially out on Kindle as well.

Or as Amazon puts it: Lock the doors and switch the power off at the mains!

Tales of deadly machinery have long fascinated us, from Edgar Allan Poe’s classic pendulum to the Terminator films.

Murder and Machinery pays homage to this tradition, offering you gripping tales following this theme but set in different times and places, from colonial America and London during the First World War to dystopian futures on this planet and beyond. Never before has an anthology brought tales of science fiction and suspense together in such a terrifying way, showcasing the nightmarish imagination of authors who know how to play on the reader’s fears and who share those fears of uncontrollable machines, or perhaps even more frightening, of fellow humans mastering technology for their own evil purposes. A word of advice before you start. By all means, settle down in your living room and let this anthology of technological terror and mechanical madness enthral you, but first, you might want to lock your doors and switch the power off at the mains. Best keep it low-tech tonight. Trust me. I hope you have candles?

My monkey wrench in the mechanism is a tale called “Vanitas,” originally published in ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, January 1996, as well as my 2001 collection STRANGE MISTRESSES (for more on which one may click on its picture in the center column), a steampunky conglomeration of circuses, churches, and sweet organ music set in 1850s New England. And horror too, of course — or at least crime.

Or for more information and/or ordering, its Amazon listing can be found here.

Westfarer and Worm, Alliterative Agreement Received, Returned

Sorry about that headline — but who could resist? That said, time marches on and one may recall that two poems of mine from about a fifth and a quarter century back had been tagged for reprinting (see February 5). Today the contract came from Editor Dennis Wilson Wise for “The Worm in the Wood” and “The Westfarer” to be included in SPECULATIVE POETRY AND THE MODERN ALLITERATIVE REVIVAL and, with one minor change (which I only discovered after already signing a first time — oops!) has been signed (and, yes, re-signed) and sent back this afternoon.

The poems themselves were originally published in STAR*LINE, May/June 2001, and DARK DESTINY: PROPRIETORS OF FATE (White Wolf, 1995), respectively, while their new home will be in a scholarly volume from Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, co-published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, with a tentative publication date of July 2022.

Flowery 3rd Sunday Prompt Yields Double Essay

So continues “Third Sunday Write” (cf. February 22, et al.), the Bloomington Writers Guild’s monthly prompt session, not always responded to exactly on time in these days of COVID-19-forced Facebook manifestation. But my two-days-late Tuesday (yesterday evening) response may be the first one posted. Or maybe that’s two.

The first topic for March, in honor of spring. (1) What is your favorite flower? Tell us why.

Thus my response: Ah, the orchid. Delicate, beautiful, devious. Cheating. You don’t think of orchid fronds, lushness of their leaves — only their flowers. Deceivers of bees. The scent’s not on your mind when you buy a corsage, but some orchids mimic that of female insects, duping males that way to carry their pollen. Themselves not living on photosynthesis as honest plants do, but some of them attaching on branches of trees, with meters-long roots dragging into the air, never reaching the ground. Gaining water from rain. Other nutrients from debris falling on their hosts’ bark. More species more ground-borne, wrapping around the roots of mature trees, leeching food that way. Their very seeds living on parasitism, latching onto receptive fungi to feed on their nutrients for germination.

The vampires of plantdom, alluring. Conniving. Their lives themselves stolen from other plants’ strength — but at least giving beauty back. Sophisticated, the Lady Carmillas. The Bela Lugosis, all suaveness and charm. In corsages, the symbols of high school dances, to teach us the disappointments of young love.

The vampires of plantdom, yes, but it occurred then that there is one flower even worse. That murders its victims, and not for need. So. . . .

(A second take)

But consider then the ugly vampire, the ones stoked by their meanness. Deceivers still, yes, but without the allure. The Max Schrecks, if one will, of a nightmare botanical NOSFERATU. The mistletoe, parasitic as well, but this one, left unchecked, not content merely to mooch off its host plant, but strangling its life away.

These worm themselves into our celebrations, hung from ceilings, a lure for young couples. Demanding a kiss. A Christmas pledge of one’s unending devotion.

We’ll see how long that lasts!

And that’s what I wrote.

Black Infinity, Renegade Robots Available Now

7th volume of the creepy science fiction adventure anthology, featuring fantastic tales of robots, androids and mechanical men gone wild. Unforgettable tales by Philip K. Dick, James Dorr, Rog Phillips, Gregory L. Norris, Robert Sheckley, Jason McCuiston, Michael Shaara, Vonnie Winslow Crist and many others. Special features include: an illustrated tribute to Robby the Robot; a vintage robot cover gallery; cool art by Allen Koszowski and others; a weird science article; retro movie reviews; and a classic comics reprint.

Such is the blurb on Amazon’s site. Seventh volume of what? The practically book-sized magazine BLACK INFINITY, which we’ve met before with publication in past volumes of my stories “Waxworms” (for INSIDIOUS INSECTS) and “Ghostship” (DERELICT). The matter at present is RENEGADE ROBOTS, albeit with (from the original call) a broad interpretation of “renegade”: a deserter from one faith, cause, or allegiance to another; an individual who rejects lawful or conventional behavior or tradition. Since all robots, by their very nature, are unconventional, the robot(s) in your story can be good, bad, or indifferent; protagonist, villain, or innocent bystander. So my story in this one is titled “Scavenger” (see March 9, et al.), originally published in FANTASTIC COLLECTIBLES in November 1994, about not so much a deserting robot as the society which has deserted it.

And that’s just one, as the cover suggests, of a number of entries from authors both old and new. Further description/ordering info can be found here.

Friday Interview Up On Black Beacon Blog; New Cover Unconcealed

This comes two days late (the word travels slowly, sometimes, to the cave computer) but my author’s MURDER AND MACHINERY interview is up now on the Black Beacon Books blog. Go to it quickly, though, and be prepared to scroll a few entries down to get to it since it’s already Sunday.

With full title MURDER AND MACHINERY: TALES OF TECHNOLOGICAL TERROR AND MECHANICAL MADNESS (cf. January 26, 4, et al.), the anthology has been graced with a new, more simplified cover as well. One that gets directly to the point. The point being, in this case (to quote from the original guidelines), suspense, technological horror, even a little sci-fi or steampunk. My own tool in this toolbox is called “Vanitas,” originally published in ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE for January 1996, a steampunky, gothicy saga of 1850s New England and the construction of what it is hoped will be the area’s loudest church organ.

Publication of MURDER AND MACHINERY is currently set for April 3, in just under two weeks, with the book already up for pre-order on Amazon, et al. And for a preview of sorts from some of the authors, as noted above, one need merely press here (but, again, then scroll down to get to mine).

Triana Wishes To All A Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

(She adds: But be sure to spend it wisely)

Another Round of Royalties to Start 2021

‘Tis that time again, the gathering of royalties for another reporting period, in this case the end of 2020. And as is traditional in that most will be from anthologies, where whatever the take it will have to be split between twenty or so separate writers, amounts are usually somewhat short of awe inspiring — in fact, as is my custom, publishers and exact amounts will be omitted to avoid embarrassment all around. So that said, in fact there are two that have been reported as of yesterday, Friday, one smallish and the other minuscule. The latter of these is from a publisher whose anthologies have kept chugging along for, literally, decades, and the former from a more recent one — and enough to cover perhaps a small lunch! — from a newer anthology but one that nevertheless has been showing surprisingly good staying power.

Scavenger Proof Arrives, Okayed and Sent Back

Another quick note for “The Writing Life.” Tuesday afternoon saw the arrival of a proof copy from BLACK INFINITY for my story “Scavenger” (see January 13, et al.). Read over it if you have time, and let me know if anything looks amiss. (There were no editorial changes.)

So early this evening I gave it a look, finding no problems, and sent the word back. We may recall that I’ve had stories in previous issues as well, specifically “Ghost Ship” and “Waxworms” (cf. October 21 2019 and August 8 2020, respectively), in an extremely classy, book-sized magazine specializing in reprints as well as new stories, with an ambiance recalling the darker SF of the 1950s and ’60s. And according to Editor Tom English, the issue to come, on the theme of “Renegade Robots,” may be the best yet: More pages, more art, more photos, more special features, more blood, sweat and tears.

For reasons including coronavirus (surprise!) it has been running late, but, from Editor English, [i]f possible, I’ll try to finalize and publish this monster by the weekend. If so, see you there?