Nicky Peacock's Blog, page 51
January 5, 2013
My Top 20 Horror Films
You can’t beat a top 20 list! So here’s my top 20 horror films (in no particular order and with no spoilers)
1) Dog Soldiers – A very under rated British werewolf film set in the Scottish Highlands.
2) Cabin in the Woods – If I tell you about it, I’ll ruin it – just watch it with an open mind.
3) Pans Labyrinth – Spanish layered brilliance – I didn’t even mind the subtitles.
4) Fright Night (the original one) – when vampires were still scary and whistled ‘Strangers in the Night’.
5) Sinister – The imagery in this one is so horrifically soul-bending, it really should have been an 18 certificate.
6) Creep – Another un-sung British horror film set in the London Underground.
7) The Decent – British again, this one’s claustrophobic, dark and has very scary monsters (although if you get this on DVD you can check out the outtakes in which you see the monsters doing a body popping dance – kind of takes away some of the scare factor)
8) I Spit on your Grave (new one) Gross beyond belief and a very satisfying tale of revenge.
9) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (both new ones) does what it says on the tin, serrated gas-powered slasher-palooza.
10) Bram Stoker’s Dracula – this is a Marmite film (you either love it or hate it) I loved it, it’s dark, gothic and romantic – what more could you want (apart from better British accents!)
11) House of 1,000 Corpses – a Rob Zombie film that takes all the old video nasties you’ve ever seen through the fringe of your cushion, and mashes them all together into a big uncomfortable bloody pulp.
12) The Hills Have Eyes (new one) Cannibal mutant red-necks running amok.
13) Silver Bullet – a Stephen King werewolf movie from 1985. Might seem a bit tame now, but still worth a watch.
14) The Monster Club – another oldie but a goodie, it’s also suitable for the kiddies.
15) Jennifer’s Body – I’ll ruin it if I describe it – just watch it!
16) A Nightmare on Elm Street (old one) – Don’t fall asleep!
17) Jeepers Creepers – It’s got the scariest monster in I’d ever seen!
18) Lord of Illusion – based on a Clive Barker novel – magicians, cult leaders and damsels in distress – who could ask for more?
19) House on Haunted Hill (new one) – Very creepy ghosts and a great plot to this one – loved the opening sequence.
20) Dawn of the Dead (new one) – Zombies and shopping malls – killer combination in my eyes!
December 29, 2012
My Interviews
In the spirit of ‘getting about’, I’ve put myself forward for a few interviews. This isn’t as hard as it looks and can be quite a lot of fun. All you need to do is search online for ‘writer interviews’ or ‘author spotlights’ and contact the website owners to see if they would be interested in interviewing you. Most of them you’ll find are other writers with blogs, so its a great way to make contact with some like-minded people, and perhaps you can even return the favour for them at some point.
There are also plenty of online and printed magazines out there that might be interested in taking an interview. Contact them directly and make sure you tell them why their readers would be interested in you and your work. If they only take completed interviews, ask a fellow writer to ask you a few poignant questions – then return the favour. Some magazines will even pay for good interviews. Remember to keep the questions interesting though – don’t ask what’s someone’s favourite colour!
If you scroll back up, you’ll discover a page on my blog that is dedicated to my interviews, with links to each one. I’ll update this page with any new ones, so do a keep an eye on it.
Come into the spotlight… it’s warm and will help you promote yourself and your work.
December 23, 2012
Merry Xmas! The Krampus
Just a quick post to wish everyone a very merry Xmas!
And to introduce you to the Krampus… the evil anti-Santa of Alpine heritage. He’s the one who punishes naughty children, kidnapping them and taking them to his lair. So, tomorrow night, when you put your cookies out for Santa, you may want to keep an eye out. Here’s a link to some more detail:
December 16, 2012
10 Things you shouldn’t dwell on…
I do love a good list! Here’s my special top ten of things you really shouldn’t dwell on…
1. How frail the human body actually is:
There are 78 organs in the human body, out of those, 13 are major. Imagine, if you will, those organs mushed together, encased in breakable, chip-able, crack-able bone cages covered in thin squishy blood flushed skin. If just one of those major 13 shuts down, you’re toast. If any other minor ones decide to go on strike, well you’re one step from the toaster. Wherever you are now, stop and imagine all those organs nestled in your very breakable body – but of course, don’t dwell on it all too much.
2.The End of the world
We’re rapidly approaching Dec 21st 2012 – the day the Mayan calendar stops – could mean something, could mean nothing – but someday, somehow, the world will end – it’s inevitable. Whether the sun explodes and burns us in its death throes or some mad scientist lets loose a zombie apocalypse. No matter what you believe, the end, at some point, will be nigh. There’s just no sensible point in trying to predict it – if you’re wrong you look like a fool, and if you’re right, well you can’t exactly say “I told you so” to anyone.
3. How much you just ate
You’re feeling sated, you’re staring at the empty junk food packets splayed out in front of you like multi-coloured greasy confetti. Each packet’s calorie count begs to be read, but you can’t even be bothered to bend and retrieve them to add it all up. Don’t think too much about how you got to this overly full, satisfied state – just enjoy it. After all, it just might be a prelude to a major organ failure, or a hungry hoard of zombies could be pawing at your door!
4. Time wasted on TV
What might have been achieved if television had not be invented? What would the world be like now if all that time spent in front of the TV was allocated to something more productive? We’ll never know. God forbid we ever go back to having to simply listen to the radio for amusement. TV is great, it relieves stress, gives you information and keeps people off the streets; hopefully that mad scientist zombie creator is far too engrossed in watching ‘The Walking Dead’ to finish their undead research. So grab a bag of something salty and switch on your TV, just don’t think of what else you could have done with that time!
5. How much sleep you get
Apparently you can go without sleep for up to 8 days without causing irreparable bodily harm. Within that time though you’ll: lose your powers of concentration, start to shake, have memory lapses and probably vomit a lot. The average person needs at least 8 hours of sleep a day to function – however trying to fit in all that TV and snacking could mean that we’re all getting a lot less. Lying in bed at night worrying that you’re not getting enough sleep, could ironically lead you straight into the arms of insomnia!
6. What’s in a hotdog
I like hotdogs, so I’m not even going to look this up to give you the answer. I’m betting that all the rumours are probably true – but hey, as long as they’re not made from zombie meat – and they’re served in oblong buns (for some reason it just doesn’t feel right any other way) then eat away!
7. The Past
It’s said that those who do not learn from their past are doomed to repeat it. But dwelling on past mistakes and regrets can really mess with your mind. What’s happened can’t be changed now and so looking at your presence (the one thing you can change) has to be the way forward. If you’re one of those people who play out past events over and over in your head to examine what went wrong and what you could have done to change the outcome – then stop, reliving old miseries can give you a strange morbid sense of pleasure, but dwelling on the past will not help your present, and certainly not your future. Which brings us nicely onto…
8. The Future
If you can’t change it, then stop worrying. The future is always dancing just out of our reach – we never get there. The present is your only friend, embrace it. I always loved the saying in ‘How I Met Your Mother’ – “That’s future me’s problem” – words to live by, or an excuse to act like a ass-hat right now – you decide. However if you are that mad zombie creating scientist, then DO think of that undead future you’re about unleash on us all! As long as you’re not said scientist person, then only dwell on what you can change, not what is out of your reach.
9. What you haven’t got.
We all want something we don’t have. It can be as simple as money or even just more time (in front of, or away from the TV) I’ve never met a person yet who is just truly happy with what they have. It’s been drummed into our modern nature by clever evil marketing people – want, want, want; the latest gadgets, fashionably clothes, perfect body (women especially are never happy with their boobs, they’re either too big or too small – there is never just enough boob – in nature anyway) So dwelling too long on what you don’t have is a sure-fire way of demeaning what you do have.
10. Your exes.
The one that got away…how romantic. The hard truth is – you’re not with your ex because it didn’t work. For whatever reason they dumped you (isn’t it always the ones that dump you that end up on this list?) because your relationship wasn’t right. So, I give you this final piece of advice, dwell on the past with your ex and identify all the crappy things they made you feel. Dwell on the future you might have had with them and how awful it would be to be with someone who makes you feel so bad. Dwell on all the TV time and sleep you can do now, without them taking up your free time. And, above all – dwell on all their organs exploding at once and their juices being sucked up by a hungry hoard of zombies.
Have you got a top ten list you’d like to share?
December 10, 2012
Years End – 14 Tales of Holiday Horror
We’re approaching 2013 and Years- End – 14 Tales of Holiday Horror is out and ready to be downloaded to read for New Years Eve. It includes my story ‘Jack’s Month’ and 13 other stories from some fab authors.
December 9, 2012
Killing off your Characters
Killing off your characters.
As a writer, I find this surprisingly easy to do. I write horrors and paranormal romance, so a few deaths here and there are kind of expected. The real heartache is when you kill off your main characters…
If you’ve gone to the trouble of really creating your character: they have a back story, they have links to other characters, they have plot devices and really intriguing personalities – well obliterating all that work in a final death scene can take nerves of steel and a heart of ice. Sometimes though, it has to happen. The reasons to kill off a character are many, but here are just a few to think about:
1) To move the story on.
2) To cement the antagonists’ presence
3) To move the protagonist into action
4) To generally shock or move the reader
5) To get rid of a character you no longer need
6) The death could be the cataylst of the overall story
7) It could be a death that brings two main characters closer together
8) It incriminates another character – either justly or not
9) It ramps up the tension
10) It throws the safety of the other characters into question
11) They’re the antagonist and have to die to finish the story
Recently, I even created a complete character who is dead from the beginning of the story, he’s just referred to quite a bit by the other characters and is the reason for one of them to be bitchy to the protagonist – as she took over from him.
How you kill them is pretty important – a good character deserves a decent death. I found the death of Rue in the Suzanne Collins’ book The Hunger Games quite upsetting – when translated to film they changed her death scene somewhat (I presume to keep their 12 certificate) and I felt they robbed the character of her dramatic tear jerking final scene – which was far more graphic in the book.
Writing horror, the deaths are numerous but still must be honoured. Simply saying that ‘Bob was shot and died’ really degrades Bob’s existence as a character – even if there are a lot of death scenes in your piece, Bob should be allowed a decent farewell – ‘He fell back against Sharon, his hand feeling the new flesh rimmed hole that Todd’s bullet had created. Blood oozed between his fingers. He looked up, then slumped to the floor, dead.’ Poor Bob. Well, fortunately in my mind, Bob will come back as a zombie – but for characters that are staying dead – you really need to give them a good sending off.
I found a really interesting diagram online by Benjamin Star:
This shows all the major themes and plot points for the books nominated for the 2011 Man Booker prize – unsurprisingly, killing off a main characters is the most popular theme in all the books – I was surprised at the one cannibalism theme one though!
So why not kill off a few of your characters off – just make sure it’s a worthy death and that there’s a decent reason behind it. Unless you’re writing Grindhouse – then have at it!
Next Big Thing – Doug Kolacki
Another quick blog to introduce author Doug Kolacki’s next big thing:
Doug Kolacki’s Next Big Thing:
December 6, 2012
November 30, 2012
The Next Big Thing
What is the working title of your next book?
In the past I’ve mainly submitted manuscripts for joint author anthologies, but right now though I’m just in the final stages of editing my first lone author novella called ‘Bad Blood’ which will be published early next year by Noble Romance’s YA imprint Noble & Young.
Where did the idea for the book come from?
I read a lot of horror and love vampires and zombies, so I thought I’d mash them together in a big bloody mess! ‘Bad Blood’ sees two arch enemy vampires, Britannia and Nicholas having to work together to protect humans in the zombie apocalypse. I’ve always liked the idea of having two characters that hate one another, but are forced to work together to maintain their survival.
What genre does your book fall under?
It’s a YA horror, although could be enjoyed by adults too. I don’t believe in ‘dumbing it down’ for a YA audience or simply ramping up the sex and violence to keep it purely adult. There’s also quite a bit of paranormal romance in there too – I’m a sucker for that genre and just had to mix it in there for my own amusement. I’ve set it in London so it’s very English, although is easily relate-able to all English speaking countries.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooooo – well it’s a predominately British cast of characters with the exception of two American soldiers; so I’d really like to see Emma Watson as the main character Britannia and perhaps Andrew Garfield as her unwelcome ally Nicholas. For her lost love American solider Josh, I think Liam Hemsworth – although I realise he’s Australian!
What is the one-sentence synopsis of the book?
Survival instincts run deep, but bad blood runs deeper.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’ve already taken the book to a main stream publisher so it will be available through all the usual channels as well as promoted through their own website. Noble Romance are lovely and all their staff have been incredibly helpful.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your masterpiece?
It came out pretty quickly, probably in about 4 months. It’s written first person from Britannia’s POV and she’s a really strong willed character – even me as her creator couldn’t bend her to my will – so she kind of led the way.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I guess you could call it an Urban Fantasy / Horror and to be fair, there are lots of both vampire and zombie books out there in the same genre – however not that many that throw both monsters into the mix together. I do play with the vampire mythos quite a bit too to serve the story line, and there’s definitely a patriotic theme running through it.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Would it be really narcissistic to say me? I read a lot – and I mean a lot! And I really wanted to read this kind of book. I couldn’t find it out there already, so I thought I’d have at it!
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Britannia has a dry sense of humour and really comes up with some funny one liners. Nicholas gives as good as he gets too. The romance aspect is steady, but doesn’t over power the action. It’s also going to be set as a trilogy (if all goes well)
*****
So that’s My Next Big Thing. Thanks for Rebecca Giltrow for tagging me and I’m going to pass the blog baton onto to these gorgeous literary lovelies:
Julie R Kendrick (@Willow573)
Daphne Shadows (@Daphneshadows )
Rayne Hall (@Raynehall) – who I’ll be hosting here on my blog
Rebecca Besser (@beccabesser)
November 24, 2012
The magic formula?
The Magic Formula?
In life, there are very few magic formulas that work for everyone, all the time. This is because there’s usually far too many variables involved – however, when it comes to writing, I think I’ve identified a four step magic formula that will help most along their way to becoming a published writer.
The Good Idea
I don’t think there’s enough emphasis put on having that ‘good idea’. You can take a million writing classes but if you do not cultivate your imagination and sow the seeds of creativity, then you’ll have nothing to reap when you come to write. I have written a blog on inspiration, so if you’re struggling then have a look through my archive and have a go at some of the exercises there. But the ‘good idea’ is really where it all begins. Don’t just re-hash someone else’s story and please do not fall into fan fiction that is confined to live in another author’s shadow. Break out and come up with something amazing – a story that would just burst your brain if it is not told. An idea so thoroughly wonderful it has to be shared with the unsuspecting world!
The Skill of Writing
Sadly, a skill that can be taught, but is often neglected. Let’s put this in perspective, we have universal languages for a reason –so we can all communicate with one another in a mutually accepted format. Grammar and sentence structure is paramount. How can anyone understand your work if its unreadable or comes across child-like in its structure. Your ‘good idea’ deserves better, it deserves to be constructed out of quality words and perfect punctuation. It’s fun to write, it’s even more fun for others to be able to read what you write. Take some time and brush up on your English Language skills; it could be as simple as examining your favourite book to see how sentences are structured, and their use of commas and the like. Ask people too; if you’re not sure, ask a writing buddy, ask an editor, or even just type in ‘punctuation’ into Google – only your internet browser then need know that you’ve never used a semi colon before.
I must admit that, at school, I glazed over every time the English teacher started talking about grammar; but I have learnt the hard way that ‘good ideas’ can wither and die on the vine if you don’t know how to put them across. This part of the formula is important guys – I know it’s boring, but please take the time to get it right.
Like-minded people
Surrounding yourself with like-minded people is essential. Writing can be very lonely, it’s hard to keep excited over a secret project that you don’t talk about or share with anyone. Family and friends are great, but they won’t understand (unless they’re writers too) your efforts, and even why you’re trying at all. Finding a community of fellow writers makes a big difference. If you can’t physically do that, then join an online group through Facebook or even seek out fellow writers and connect with them on Twitter. It’s all too easy to give up on your manuscript if no one is there motivating and inspiring you to get it done.
Publishers
OK so you’ve been motivated by your fellow writing buddies, to weave that good idea into a universally accepted format – now what? Well, you pitch it. You send it out. You take the plunge. You put yourself out there – you… well you get the idea! That manuscript isn’t doing you any favours sat on your computer mocking you with its little Word icon. The last step is to research publishers and send it to the right ones in the format that they ask for. Now remember, you can’t please everyone – they’ll be publishers who hate your work and equally those who love it. Embrace the love – forget the hate. Do not let rejections get you down. Remember what Thomas Edison said to that reporter who sarcastically asked what it was like to fail so many times at creating the light bulb, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” Thomas A. Edison, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you from moving forward. If someone rejects your work then mentally keep them as a character to kill off in a later manuscript – Wha ha ha!
