Sumiko Saulson's Blog, page 61
October 23, 2012
20% off ANY Order! WOW!
Enter the “JEKYLL” code and get 20% off any (or all) of the Lulu editions of my books for a hauntingly good read – just in time for Halloween! The offer is good for the next three days only… through October 26th. You can get any of my full length novels, or my new short story anthology, “Things That Go Bump In My Head”.
“Things” is a mere $12.95 ordinarily, so with this coupon that’s only $10.36!
Also: you can get Lulu books by other great local authors, such as Serena Toxicat, author of “Paper Wings” and “Evangeline and the Drama Wheel”.
What People Are Saying About Things :
“Things That Go Bump In My Head” is a collection of short stories and other writing by horror and science fiction novelist Sumiko Saulson. A bit of old fashioned horror… a ghost story… a couple of works on the dark humor side of horror (and they are unabashedly funny), a science-fiction dystopic tale, a few works of psychological horror… even a bit of poetry. It contains: “Frankenzombie”, “A Life of Her Own”, “Agrippa”, “I, Stammer (In Disbelief)”, “Dead Horse Summer”, “Attempted Happiness” and other short stories. Because it is a collection of these pithy and varied tales… there is a bit for everyone
5.0 out of 5 stars Twistedly Precious!
October 19, 2012
By M. E. Valenzuela
I went to sleep pondering if my cats would really feast on my remains…
An offbeat collection of uniquely twisted stories, short but not too much, just perfect for reading on a transit ride or while waiting on something tedious like laundry. Some are tied into other works like ‘Warmth’ others are a bit relf-reflective…all are completely different and I invite you to take it along on a dreary day to liven things up.
From the Introduction:
“Things That Go Bump in My Head” is a delightful trip back to the days of “Old School” horror and ghost stories that combine a walk along the edge of dark humor coupled with a dash of science fiction and psychological horror. Imagine a ride on the combination of a roller coaster and a house of horrors where you do not know what is over the next hill or around the next bend and that is the experience you will get reading Sumiko’s works. “
- A.L. Peck, author of “Abstract Murder”, from the Introduction to “Things that Go Bump In Your Head
October 19, 2012
Halloween Release Party! Things that Go Bump
Online Release Party! Things that Go Bump In My Head!
I am going to try something new… and that’s an online release party for my newest book, a short story compilation called “Things That Go Bump In My Head” with a Halloween official release date:
A bit of old fashioned horror… a ghost story… a couple of works on the dark humor side of horror (and they are unabashedly funny), a science-fiction dystopic tale, a few works of psychological horror… even a bit of poetry. Reading “Things That Go Bump In My Head” is like entering a haunted house ride… you never know what you will find around around the corner.
Want to join us for the party? It will be here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/246136485451150/
and you can RSVP here!
https://www.facebook.com/events/163997677073184/
October 18, 2012
Sumiko Saulson, Book Reading at Book Zoo
Sumiko Saulson reads “Solitude”
October 17, 2012
Interview with M.R. Gott, author of “Where the Dead Fear to Tread”.
M.R. Gott, the author of the novel WHERE THE DEAD FEAR TO TREAD which
was called ” frantic, horrific, brutal, and without doubt the darkest
thing I have read in years. Maybe in my life, by She Never Slept and
“one of the most disturbing and atmospheric things I’ve read in a long
while,” by Dana Fredsti author of Plague Town. Aside from writing,
M.R. enjoys strong coffee, dark beer, red wine, and fading light.
The Interview:
Q. “Where the Dead Fear To Tread” is the best horror title I’ve seen since I started interviewing for “Things That Go Bump In Your Head.” It also.. kind of is a sound alike, so okay, I may be biased. But I was wondering how you came up with the name and what it signifies in your opinion:
A. I am glad you like the title, the moment the book was released I developed an incredible aversion to it. Where the Dead Fear to Tread refers to the final scene in the novel. Throughout the novel there is
an ever present escalation of tension and ultimately I want my reader to be curious, what is so dreadful that even the dead will fear it?
A. Your plot… involving supernatural beings and child abductions, combines some of the most disturbing elements of psychological horror and traditional horror. Were there any challenges in combining the genres?
A. Where the Dead Fear to Tread is very much my attempt to scare the reader. When working with more fantastical horror elements I felt the need to keep certain elements very grounded in the stark realities of
our world. I found that the simple psychological elements of fear helped to ground the fantastical events.
What was coming for my characters may not exist, but the creature/being would be revealed using elements we all experience day to day.
Q. Tell us a bit about the sequel “Where the Damned Fear Redemption.” Do you have an anticipated release date?
A. The publishing industry is very much a business, and from a business perspective Where the Dead Fear to Tread has yet to find an audience. While the reviews have been very positive overall, the sales have been dismal. A completed manuscript for Where the Damned Fear Redemption exists, as does a still untitled finale to what I refer to as the legacy of The Devourer.
I do not begrudge anyone at my publishing house for this, and in fact sing their praises of support. They took a chance on a very unique vision, one that was difficult to even nail down to a single genre/style. If nothing else I can say I am published novelist based on the opportunities they afforded me. Were I in their position I would not be moving forward with another novel in a series that has proven to be an incredibly poor investment thus far.
That is not to say Where the Damned Fear Redemption is dead in the water, however sales would have to begin to increase greatly for Where the Dead Fear to Tread before the sequel is unleashed upon the world. As a teaser I will say that the sequel is by far darker and scarier than the original.
Q. William Chandler is the archetypal antihero – a vigilante who acts as judge and jury to wrong doers. How does this tie into his falling into the rabbit hole, as it will, of supernatural worlds with bigger bad asses than him?
A. William Chandler is the epitome of paradox. His revulsion at man’s inhumane treatment of man has led him to commit inhumane acts of violence. William is very aware of the fact that every time he kills someone he is stealing a family member, or friend from someone else. The horror of William’s situation is that he realizes the role he plays in the world’s cycle of violence, but feels more guilty when he
takes no action. His character is very much the embodiment of the well-worn paradox; you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. William has accepted his damnation and is now freer in his actions.
The rabbit hole he sinks into brings him into the fantastical world of The Devourer. These two characters are on a collision course with each other, even before they are aware of each other.
William as a bad ass, I think this is best encapsulated by Rober Hibbs of Ravenous Monster, “There’s a fight scene where William takes on a handful of mobsters who are armed to the teeth in a gangster hangout called The Horse and Buggy. All William needs are some nearby steak knives to fuck up the gangsters beyond repair. Somehow during the course of this insanity, Gott manages to keep the intense pace of the scene without confusing which knife is being stabbed where, and he paints dramatic images with the use of quick-but-colorful descriptions of the edges of the knives in William’s hands snapping off the bones of his victims which almost makes you feel every vibration of the stabbing blade as William scrapes it off someone’s skull.”
My goal was for William to be a formidable foe to the story’s protagonists, yet the reader never feels confident he will survive. Heather Faville of Double Shot reviews had this to say about William’s
nemesis, “The opening scene of Where the Dead Fear to Tread gives a horrific visual of just what The Devourer does and how he gets his name.”
With a strong protagonist and antagonist my intention was for the reader to not be sure who would win or how.
Q. Do you think that most readers think of Chandler as a likable character?
A. The feedback I have received on Chandler varies greatly. Some readers easily look past his extreme violence, in support of his aims. Others do have difficulty reconciling the actions he takes. The character is very cognizant of his actions, and his awareness makes it difficult to forgive his actions. In a scene early in the book Chandler visits the funeral for the mobsters he recently and consciously executed. This
is a great embodiment of his character. He watches silently as the widows and children cry, and cannot feel guilty. He wants to, but cannot, and in this moment he fears he is losing his humanity.
If my fictional character cannot condone his actions, can you?
I always referred to Chandler as my protagonist. I hoped my readers would empathize with him, but never be comfortable with his actions. His violence is never in self-defense and he does not hesitate to torture or kill people, who are also victims of violence. Chandler recognizes how children without parents are at greater risk, and then he kills some ones parents.
Where to Buy The Book:
Where the Dead Fear to Tread is available from all major e-book
retailers, for all e-readers. M.R. Gott recommends buying from the
Untreed Reads Store because for one low price you will get a
pdf, as well as a Nook and Kindle copy.
For the remainder of October Where the Dead Fear to Tread will be 40% from most retailers.
October 15, 2012
The Fine Art of Trying
It took me a long time to stop waiting for everything to be perfect in life to just go for it. We all have a different series of “it” to go for. For me, quitting smoking and starting writing were two forms of “it” I went for, but before I could do either of these things I had to decide to stop waiting for the perfect time.
We always wait for the right time, but there is never any perfect, right time to do things. Life can come and go in waiting for everything to be just so. It is a rather new way of looking at things for me: the idea that it is more important to live, than it is to wait for everything to be just right. To do. To strive. To be.
Left to right, Front: Brian Mueller, Sumiko Saulson, Elisabetta Maria Saulson. Back: Scott Saulson, Carolyn Saulson, Donald Schrieber, Kick Drum Eddie
Because time is so heartbreakingly short. Life is what you do… it is what you put your time into. It is a sharp kick in the ass when you find that you have a limited life: you will not live forever. Life is short and you’d best get to the doing part of things.
So when I started to write, it was because I knew suddenly that my parents would not be here forever. It is a revelation, really… similar to when parents understand that kids are growing up fast and they won’t be little forever. There is only so much time, and so we do things while we can do them: we go to the amusement park with our nieces and nephews while they are not yet too old to want to be seen in public with us. We decide who is important to us, and what is important to us… and we try.
We try.
Patty Overland and Sumiko Saulson – disabled women writers, WryCrips
We try while we live.
And I say this to preface the statement that: I am not perfect. Neither is anything I ever do. I feel upset when I find out my self-published books: self-published because I was too afraid of rejection, still have typos flying in the face of the editing, still are flawed and far from perfect. I cringe. But I just keep on going, trying to make things better, because they can be made better. They just can’t make perfect.
Which is why yesterday was so PERFECT. Really, truly, sweetly, perfect. It was a moment: the kind you freeze-frame in your mind and you know it will remain with you forever. Because I was one of five women who read at Blow Salon, at an even organized by a sixth woman, Jil Girvin. The original ad copy for the event was “Five Fabulous Female Writers!” but we changed it as two more writers, not all women, were added. At one point there were eight, but Life Happens. People had to cancel and deal with life, but even so… we ended up with a Fab Five… Five Fabulous Writers.
Fab Five (left to right): Sumiko Saulson, Patty Overland, Serena Toxicat, Rebecca Wilson and Rain Graves, who read 10/14 at Blow Salon/Berkeley
And I realized as it all moved forward how we wrote about various aspects of the feminine experience. The scenes I read from “Warmth” all directly or indirectly related to my angst over infertility and impending menopause, where the Undead are mysteriously vexed by an affliction of hot flashes and both villain and hero are perplexed by the horrors of an unnatural pregnancy. Patty Overland followed me, reading two moving pieces of personal poetry expressing her love and solidarity with other women: other lesbians, other disabled women, other women… all women joined together in our struggle.
Next, Rebecca Wilson read her piece “Ice Cream” while charmingly surrounded by her two young sons – her beautifully written ode to the ice cream man and the challenges of motherhood, the battle between her will and the wills of two little children answering the Pied Piper call of the Ice Cream man. Rain Graves followed, reading a piece about death… the final foe of each of us in this mortal realm, man and woman alike. And finally, Serena Toxicat read a piece from her novella “Evangeline and the Drama Wheel” about a character named Vanillaglitter and her issues with body image: the way she felt about her body and the way others perceived her being in conflict. I thought about what it meant… such diverse women, reading such diverse pieces.
This was the event….
October 14 (Sunday) @ Blow Salon
Sunday Streets Berkeley Blow Salon Reading
It took place at the Blow Salon, 2112 Berkeley Way in Berkeley.
It went on in conjunction with this:
http://www.sundaystreetsberkeley.com/
And was hosted/took place here:
And the bands played… Tara played the music of Protea, accompanying Serena’s prayer to Bast and her book reading. Ronzoni Calzone played an awesome set of covers and originals, that memorably included one rockin’ rendition of Ziggy Stardust.
And my band Stagefright played it’s first show in three years.
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We stopped playing after we lost our guitarist, Reggie, to oral cancer. We stopped playing when my mom developed and entered into intensive treatment for cancer of the bones. So this show… it wasn’t our best show ever, but it was an unforgettable show. My mom and my brother and both of his daughters were there, and it felt like music was putting together the family that cancer tore apart. Both of my parents are fighting cancer now: and my dad told my niece that when his aunt Helen, my great aunt, found out she had cancer she “never had another fun day in her life”.
So you see, that’s what it’s about.
The fine art of having more fun days. Of living. And loving. and being together.
Of all of the times that have been or will be.. the only one you can live in is NOW.
October 13, 2012
BookZoo was so great I’m almost speechless…
Not that I was speechless on the night of the Book Reading, as you’ll see in the first of two videos from the reading… you can see it there above, me and Howard Brad Halverson…. this video is fifteen long. I’ll process another fifteen minutes of me reading in the future.
But it was great! A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So here are some pictures:
The one, the Only, the Banner from the Event (above)
Event Reading Sign
The Guests Have Arrived!
Brad Halverson and Sumiko Saulson
Erik, Proprietor @Book Zoo
Don, Greg and Sumiko
Sumiko and Earth and oh so many books!
October 12, 2012
Interviews and Busy Days
I am happy to say that I am finally caught up on my interviews! Just in time to go out and read “Solitude” for the first time in a bookstore… The Book Zoo (14 Glen, Oakland, CA) for my first official book signing and reading event. Between then and now, I have a band rehearsal for Sunday, because I have a musical performance with my band Stagefright taking place right after my second book reading at Blow Salon (2112 Berkeley Way).
That is a lot of stuff, isn’t it?
What DO you wear to a book reading anyway?
The Interviews:
I sent out the last of my interview questions, which means I am officially accepting new requests to be interviewed again.
All interview information can be found here:
http://sumikosaulson.com/interviews/
I was also interviewed by MR Gott today…
http://wherethedeadfeartotread.blogspot.com/2012/10/mr-interviewssumiko-saulson.html
The Book Reading
Checking out my hair and make-up. Heh. I look like the Grinch.
I am nervous about the book reading, and in order to avoid any last minute snafus caused by being completely and utterly nerve-wracked, I have gotten dressed in advance… put together my books-for-sale in advance… and am ready to go out the door. Hopefully. This whole wearing make up and fancy clothes thing is really… not as relaxing as casual attire.
The Book Reading takes place at 7pm tonight at The Book Zoo (14 Glen, near Piedmont, in Oakland, CA)
All of the events I have this month? Information is available here:
http://sumikosaulson.com/events/
My Band, Stagefright
is playing at Blow Salon on the 14th after I read.
The ReverbNation page for Stagefright is HERE:
http://www.reverbnation.com/stagefrightsf
October 7, 2012
“Warmth” Promotional Spot
This was fun to do…
October 6, 2012
Things That Go Bump In My Head.. Pre-Order It Today!
By now, all of you should know that I have a new book coming out… Things That Go Bump In My Head. Well, guess what? I just finished putting the FINAL TOUCHES on the thing. Very big news, right?
So here’s what I’d like you to do… ADVANCE ORDER a signed copy of the book.
Here’s Why:
It’s Something Completely Different
The beautiful full-color cover of Things That Go Bump In Your Head
“Things That Go Bump In My Head” is my first book consisting entirely of short stories – a couple of which you have read here, or at Smashwords, but most of which will be entirely new to you. Most of the stories are three to five pages long, making “Things That Go Bump…” an extra coffee table book.
Although I suspect “coffee table” is a euphemism for “table in the bathroom” sometimes. But yea.. either way. Lots of short stories, perfect for reading on the bus, and things of that sort. Because it is a collection of these pithy and varied tales… there is a bit for everyone:
A bit of old fashioned horror… a ghost story… a couple of works on the dark humor side of horror (and they are unabashedly funny), a science-fiction dystopic tale, a few works of psychological horror… even a bit of poetry. Reading “Things That Go Bump In My Head” is like entering a haunted house ride… you never know what you will find around around the corner.
It’s a Bit Easier On The Wallet
An example of the black and white art that accompanies each and every story in the book. This is the art for “Agrippa”.
My novels average at $17.95 each and about 300 pages. “Things That Go Bump” weighs in at 150 pages and an affordable $12.95. But when you buy it from me, you get the same great book for the same great price, SIGNED. And you know what else? You get to be a part of a great thing: helping to fund the third edition of Solitude and pay my third round editor(s).
Yes.
Good, right?
You still have to pay shipping and handling, though: which is $3.00 standard post or $5.00 flat rate box in the US. If you’re out of the US… you can pay whatever it costs to send it there.
But you will be able to get a signed book.
Personally addressed to you. By me. Awesome, right?
Just email me at sumikoska@yahoo.com with the subject header “Things That Go Bump In Your Head!”
And Your Purchase Helps Support This Blog
So that the writing advice and the author interviews can keep coming!
October 5, 2012
Interview with Pamela K. Kinney, author of Haunted Richmond II
Pamela K Kinney
Pamela K. Kinney is a published author of horror, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and nonfiction ghost books published by Schiffer Publishing. Two of her nonfiction ghost books, Haunted Richmond, Virginia and Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales, have been nominated in the past for Library of Virginia Literary Awards. The others from Schiffer Publishing are her new 2012 release, Haunted Richmond II, plus from 2011, Virginia’s Haunted Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, and Other Haunted Locations. Also just released are two short horror stories, “Donating” in Inhuman Magazine, Issue 5 December 2011 and “Bottled Spirits” in BuzzyMag.com in June 2012, plus “Azathoth is Here” was reprinted in by Innsmouth Press in InnsmouthMagazine: Collected Issues 1-4 in Kindle and ePub formats. And of course, she has her horror and dark fantasy tales collected in one book, Spectre Nightmares and Visitations, published by Under the Moon.
Under the pseudonym, Sapphire Phelan, she has published erotic and sweet paranormal/fantasy/science fiction romance along with a couple of erotic horror stories. Her erotic urban fantasy, Being Familiar With a Witch is a Prism 2010 Awards winner and a Epic Awards 2010 finalist. The sequel to Being Familiar With a Witch, A Familiar
The Book:
Haunted Richmond II
Haunted Richmond II
Return once more to haunted Richmond, where no building is safe from supernatural happenings. Visit Stories Comics, which holds more than just comics within its walls. Step back in time at Henricus Historical Park where you’ll be welcomed by dead colonists, Civil War soldiers, and other haunts. Discover that not only is the Richmond Vampire out for your blood, but the Werewolf of Henrico waits for you beneath the full moon. It seems that the War Between the States is still being fought between ghostly Confederate and Union soldiers at Cold Harbor, Sailor’s Creek, Parker’s Battery, and Petersburg Battlefield. All this… plus a sea serpent, a lost city, ghostly cats, Bigfoot, a UFO, and haunted churches, parks, and colleges. So be sure to plan your visit now to a very paranormal Richmond. The dead don’t stay dead in this town!
The Interview:
Q. You have an impressive array of genres under your belt, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and nonfiction ghost books. When you write, do you decide what genre you are approaching from the outset, or do you just see where the writing takes you?
A. Well, the nonfiction ghost books are pretty set what you have to write. I actually do this one chapter at a time, then put altogether in the sequence I want the book to be. Plus they have due dates once I send in the contract. Fiction—it all depends what I want to write. I have forced myself one book at a time. I have an urban fantasy finished and edited and critiqued by critique partners—now queries agents and publishers. Finished a YA paranormal next. Working on a supernatural thriller. Plus writing a short story here and there. I submit those to magazines, ezines and anthologies. I ended up doing a collection of short stories that Under the Moon, a small press, published, called Spectre Nightmares and Visitations.
Q. Your latest offering is a non-fiction ghost book – “what can you tell the readers of “Things that Go Bump In Your Head” about it?
A. Haunted Richmond II is several haunted spots in the Richmond, Virginia area (this includes not just downtown Richmond, but also cities and counties of Ashland and Hanover County to Henrico, Chesterfield, Amelia and Petersburg and Hopewell). Not just ghosts, but monsters, UFOs, Sasquatch, mountain lions supposedly extinct since 1900 in Virginia, and even non-paranormal legends of Richmond.
Q. How does fiction writing differ from non-fiction writing in your opinion?
A. Fiction is from your imagination, while nonfiction can have the truth in it, along with facts (like history) and myths and legends that have been told for years.
Q. Is the amount of research involved in non-fiction much greater? Where do you get started when you approach researching a book?
A. Yes, you have to not only research from books and online, but contact people to interview and actually go to the places you will be putting in your books. I even got permission to lead paranormal investigators in some places in my new release, to see what we could find.
Q. What advice would you give any aspiring writers who might be reading this?
A. To keep writing very day, even if it’s not for your manuscript, any writing keeps you doing it. To join a critique group or get a critique partner. And once it is ready to submit, submit and not let rejection get you down, but just keep on submitting.
Q. Is there anything you would like our readers to know that we haven’t covered yet?
A. That writing a book isn’t as easy as many think, but when you do write one, finishing it, there’s a feeling of accomplishment. And when it is published and you get the first copy or eBook for the first time, a thrill that others will be reading it and you are joining the ranks of authors you admire and read.
Where To Get It:
Haunted Richmond II can be found at Schiffer Publishing , Amazon, Barnes and Noble , Indiebound.org , Books-A-Million , plus many other online places and it can also be gotten at brick and mortar bookstores. If not available in the place, the bookstore can order it for you.
