Kenneth Atchity's Blog, page 117

New Poster for The Meg

Steve Alten Teases Seventh ‘Meg’ Franchise Novel, ‘Meg: Purgatory’!

Ahead of the release of The Meg in August, author Steve Alten is soon unleashing the sixth book in his mega shark series that inspired the Jon Turteltaub-directed film. It’s titled Meg: Generations, and pre-orders for that novel are ending today, May 31 at midnight; Generations is being sold exclusively through Alten’s website.

Pre-ordered books will be shipped in June, along with the eBook launch.

But Meg: Generations won’t be the final chapter in the saga, as previously suggested. Alten has revealed over on Facebook that a seventh book is rumbling around in his head!

“As I worked on [Generations], my imagination sparked an amazing alternative ending that will lead to a 7th novel called MEG: PURGATORY,” Alten announced.

In the meantime, Meg: Generations “picks up after MEG: Nightstalkers with David Taylor in the Salish sea attempting to locate and rescue any surviving Megalodon pups before a local fisherman slaughters them. Meanwhile, Jonas is coerced into joining an expedition into the Panthalassa sea in search of a prehistoric predatory species possessing liver enzymes that can cure cancer.”

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Elena Ferrante: ‘I insist on writing things I think I would never put in writing’

There’s nothing I wouldn’t write about. In fact, as soon as I realize that something has flashed through my mind that I would never put in writing, I insist on doing so. Some say that you have to be vigilant, that writers shouldn’t necessarily put everything into words. And part of me is absolutely in agreement. I like writing that adopts a sort of aesthetics of reticence, writing that suggests, writing that alludes.

Reticence is right and good, and certainly effective when what we are silent about is too well known to us and to our readers. It is the application of the old formula: “I leave the rest to your imagination.” And the skill of the writer is best displayed when what she suggests is much more than what she says.

But I have to say that I write with greater dedication when I start digging into common, I would almost say trite, situations and feelings, and insist on expressing everything that – out of habit, to keep the peace – we tend to be silent about. I’m not interested in writing something new. I’m interested in the ordinary or, rather, what we have forced inside the uniform of the ordinary. I’m interested in digging into that and causing confusion, pushing myself to go beyond appearances. In doing so, I sometimes make myself set aside discipline and taste, because those, too, seem like blinkers. Restraint is all wrong if the task of the writing is to sweep away the resistance of the ordinary and look for words that will pull out at least a little of the extraordinary that is concealed in it. What is not suitable to say should, within the limits of the possible, be said.
Elena Ferrante: ‘God didn’t make a good impression on my teenage self’
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I know this means that I end up writing stories that may irritate people, and in the past I was sorry about it. I like the stories that I decide to publish; I’m fond of the characters I’ve developed, and it makes me sad to hear someone say: “You should have stopped, but no, you continue, you go even deeper – enough.” I’m talking about someone warning me that the protagonist of a story should be nice, shouldn’t have terrible feelings, shouldn’t do unpleasant things.

Once, a book of mine, translated and ready to be printed, wasn’t even published, because – it was said – it might have a bad influence on mothers. Maybe so. We never really know what effect the stories we write have. And if we as writers make a mistake, readers have the right to punish us – by not reading our works.

But I still think that those who are more or less arbitrarily given the job of telling stories shouldn’t be concerned about the serenity of individual readers; rather, they should construct fictions that help seek the truth of the human condition.

The Meg TV Movie Trailer... Your Next Guilty Pleasure!

 After a deep-sea submersible is attacked by a massive shark, expert diver Jason Taylor teams up with an oceanographer and his daughter to rescue the crew trapped at the bottom of a Pacific trench. Taylor faces off against the perils of the ocean and the prehistoric 75-foot-long Megalodon, which was believed long-extinct. In a twist of fate, Taylor encountered the shark once before and must face his fears to stop the terrifying creature. "The Meg," rated PG-13 is in theaters August 10, 2018.

6 indie bookstores you’ll love, all thriving in Pittsburgh

Every independent bookshop, like a good novel, has its own story to tell.

As we explored six of Pittsburgh’s best, we set out to solve a mystery: How have these unique businesses, some nearly a century old and others much newer, escaped the fate of chain stores such as Waldenbooks and Borders?

A few years ago, independent bookstores nationwide were in peril. But instead of becoming anachronistic outposts of literacy, independent bookshops are now thriving.

According to the American Booksellers Association, approximately 570 independent bookstores have opened in the U.S. since 2009, bringing the total number of shops to a little over 2,200.

Author Dennis Palumbo visits Oakmont. Image courtesy of Mystery Lovers Bookshop.

Mystery Lovers Bookshop
Oakmont Opened: 1990

When Natalie Sacco and her husband Trevor Thomas bought Mystery Lovers Bookshop three years ago, they knew there was a tradition to uphold. The cozy shop in Oakmont’s business district has been the pulse of Western Pennsylvania’s mystery community for 28 years. Any attempts to deviate from the mystery genre would not only devastate devoted readers, but also be economically foolish.

 “Mystery Lovers has been able to weather all those storms because of that niche,” Sacco says. “The store has always held on to this very core customer base. You have these mystery fans who want to talk to people. They want to talk about mysteries and get recommendations.” Since it opened in 1990, Mystery Lovers has known how to pick winners: They’ve hosted numerous unknown writers who went on to huge careers, including Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane, Lisa Scottoline, Craig Johnson, and Ian Rankin.

It’s a great place to meet authors one-on-one. At the ongoing event series, Coffee & Crime, you won’t find “an author standing up there lecturing from a podium,” Sacco says. “They’re sitting down, at eye level with the audience,” as people drink coffee and dive deep into conversation about sleuths and villains.

Sacco credits Mary Alice Gorman and Richard Goldman, who owned Mystery Lovers from its opening until 2012, for creating a strong foundation and a loyal customer base. “They kept it going for 22 years,” Sacco says. “They continue to support us and be good advocates in the community. We’ve gotten a lot of goodwill from authors who know them and want to come to the store because they knew Richard and Mary Alice.”

“I think people want conversation, they want a human connection,” says Susan Hans O’Connor, owner of Sewickley’s Penguin Bookshop. “They want to talk about ideas; they want to talk about books they’ve already read or that they haven’t read that they should read.”

Stephanie Flom, executive director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, agrees that conversation and that the sharing of ideas are key.

“Independent bookstores are essential to the health of our community,” Flom says. “We say that the mission of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures is to create community, stimulate public discourse and inspire creativity and a passion for the literary arts. Isn’t that what happens in indie bookstores every day?”

Ready to go exploring? Here’s a guide to some of Pittsburgh’s coolest literary hangouts.   Read more!

A Good Story Is Unforgettable by Dr. Ken Atchity

HOW DID YOU LEARN TO TELL A GREAT STORY?

Nancy Nigrosh: An agent's perspective on diversity in Hollywood

Female directors are finding more opportunity in Hollywood, including on TV's "Jessica Jones." Zetna Fuentes, left, Mairzee Almas, Millicent Shelton, Liz Friedlander (seated), Rosemary Rodriguez, Jet Wilkinson. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Regarding "Things Are Getting Better for Women Behind the Camera in TV" [March 11]: Kudos to the current crop of prominent showrunners on their commitment "to break old habits" of gender-based bias by influencing their TV studio employers to hire more diverse directors. However, given my 23 years as a literary and talent agent, I was struck by the reference to industry gatekeepers as "typically agents with a tried-and-true Rolodex." Hardly. In my experience, agents have always pushed back on the institutionalized mind-set to exclude women and minority clients.

Without the agent perspective on how hard won the recently open climate truly is, the story is incomplete.

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Steve Alten's MEG Comics!

With a major motion picture coming out this Summer!  The best way to prepare yourself, is to make sure you pickup your copies of Steve Alten's The "MEG" comics.



The comics are currently available for order via comic book stores (www.comicshoplocator.com).


Issue #1 Rough Layouts


  



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Create Now, Critique Later by Dennis Palumbo

Suspense_Magazine_January_February_2018

Feathered Quill Reviews Larry D. Thompson's White Witch

Every country has their own legends they pass down through generations, and the original story that starts each legend probably has some truth to it, but over the years the stories change slightly. The country of Jamaica was no exception, and one of their most well known legends was that of the White Witch. The legend says that she was a ruthless sugar plantation owner who lived over 300 years ago.  This White Witch instilled fear in the slaves she owned through cruelty and dark magic. The story goes that she was a priestess who could wield dark magic, and possessed a snake dagger with ruby eyes that she used to kill slaves who disobeyed.  Finally, a brave slave decided it was time to rid the world of this terrible priestess, and he killed her. Unfortunately, he lost his life in the struggle as well, but gave specific instructions to four other slaves on how to bury her body so that her soul would never return from the grave. However, these men were spooked by the recent events and did not follow his instructions, and legend has it because of that the White Witch has been free to haunt the island ever since.

Meanwhile, the slaves began to create a community in the rainforest, calling themselves Maroons. Over the years they fought off the Spaniards and then later fought against the British. Using guerrilla warfare tactics, the Maroons were successful in their efforts and the British began to realize that fighting the Maroons in the jungle was a losing battle for them, and they were not truly interested in the rainforest anyway. A treaty was struck between the Maroons and the British saying that the Maroons owned the land, and they would have control of it for as long as they wish. Now, 300 years later a mining corporation is threatening to build a mine in the middle of this Maroon country, and it may be time to fight for their land once again.

When Will Taylor came to Jamaica he had no idea about the stories surrounding the White Witch legend - he was there to do his job and that was it. He was hired as head security for a large mining company call Global American Metals, and it was his job to make sure all employees of this company stayed safe. With the background of a Navy Seal, he was ideally suited for this job and did it well. However, when he arrived on the island he could not shake the feeling that this job would be much more difficult than originally thought.

His intuition turned out to be right as within a couple days of being there a Global employee was found dead, and it appeared to be no accident, it was murder. Whisperings that the White Witch has returned spread through the island, but Will did not believe in this superstitious talk. He knows there is a living, breathing human who is behind the murder and he plans to discover the truth. As he begins to look for clues, he realizes he is a little out of his element.  Soon another employee is found dead, but still there are no leads on the murderer. Before it is over Will gets some much needed help from a local Maroon and comes face to face with the dagger of the White Witch.

This book put together such a wonderfully entertaining array of characters that I found myself loving every page.  It was more than just a murder mystery - it also had action, superstition, and romance that were all beautifully combined to make a great read.  Author Larry D. Thompson did a wonderful job of bringing the emotions of each character to the forefront, and I felt as if I was right there beside them throughout this story.

Quill says: White Witch combines all of the best things I love about reading!

To learn more about White Witch, please visit the author's website at www.larrydthompson.com