Laird Barron's Blog, page 31

Coyote from Hell

Here is a creepy and beautiful piece of art depicting a scene from “–30–.” I wrote this story as a donation for a Shirley Jackson Awards fundraiser back in 2009 and it was first published in my Occultation collection. The artist is Ten Wendlant . Please, go visit Ten’s site.

 Image courtesy Ten Wendlandt

Ellen Datlow

Michael Swanwick talks about Ellen Datlow’s impact on the fields of science fiction, fantasy & horror. 

I’ve worked with Ellen for ten years. That’s a lot of red ink. A lot of, “Oh, one more thing…” after I thought the beating was over and I could safely uncurl from a ball. Ellen is tough, relentless, and sharp. She’s saved my hide many, many times. But in my estimation, her greatest gift as an editor is knowing when to just smile her inscrutable smile and pay out more rope for her authors. I love her for that.

Ellen won her fifth Hugo Award the other day for best editor, short form. Congratulations, Ellen!

photo courtesy Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Athena Eyes Danger

This from my friend, Lena Griffin (the Secret Adventures  of Athena & Laird):

image courtesy Lena Griffin

The Black Guide courtesy of Jason McKittrick

The Black Guide manifests in various forms–almanacs, pocket books, digests, Jack Chick pamphlets…and sometimes it’s not even black…

 

image courtesy of Jason McKittrick

On Writing: Agents

Do you need an agent? It’s not a trick question. The answer is yes, yes you do. Just ask any unagented author whose novel or collection was sucked into a publisher’s recent bankruptcy implosion. When it hit the fan those guys were utterly at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. Don’t be one of those guys.

How do you know if an agent is the right one for you? Due diligence. 90 percent of writing has nothing to do with actually writing. Due diligence is a great big chunk of the something that has nothing, and yet everything, to do with making it as a pro.

Rocky Raccoon hearts Lil

The song that should be on the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.

 

Occultation out in Trade Paperback

Like it says on the tin. Occultation & Other Stories has been reissued in paperback. The audio version is scheduled for August 5th.

 

cover art by Matthew Jaffe; design by Claudia Noble

Mike Allen Reading

Just returned from Mike Allen’s reading at Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz. He read stories from his upcoming collection Unseaming. He did a terrific job–Unseaming is an excellent horror collection. Go pick it up.

Thanks to Jessica M. and Inquiring Minds for putting the show together.

 

photo courtesy Anita Allen

Watch This: Beyond the Black Rainbow

A creepy and ambiguous film and one that requires a certain amount of patience. This isn’t fast-twitch filmmaking; it’s measured and nuanced in the manner of the eras it emulates. Reviews make much of the 2001 aesthetic, but I see an equal measure of Phase IV and even a hint of Logan’s Run. It hits the sweet spot between nostalgia and craft. Disturbing as hell–two scenes made me flinch–BTBR is one of the best horror films in recent memory.

 

 

 

Jim Harrison in Esquire

“Given free rein, our imagination can get infinite.” Jim Harrison

Here’s the interview.