Sumiko Saulson's Blog, page 64
August 31, 2012
Sometimes Life Gets In The Way
I haven’t posted anything in a week. I’ve been pretty upset because my family got some bad news about my dad’s health. Both of my parents have been fighting cancer over the past three years – my mom since August 2009 and my dad since summer 2011, and it’s not something I often talk about. I try to stick in the now and be aware of the fact that my parents are living in this time: that I still have them, and to be grateful.
Me and Dad at the AsiaSF Museum Summer 2012
Still: I spent the past week feeling like a horse had kicked me in the middle of the chest. I had three different asthma attacks even though I’m not exactly asthmatic. I quit smoking because of my dad’s lung cancer, I also quit smoking because I was showing borderline asthmatic lung capacity, especially when I have allergies. I quit tobacco in March and I quit nicotine (e-cig) six days ago. You would think I would be breathing a lot better: instead, anxiety propelled me into multiple situations where all I could do was huff on the inhaler, drink hot beverages and hope I didn’t have to go to the emergency room. You know what? Usually I have to use the inhaler about three times a YEAR during harvesting season when my allergies kick in. That is almost not at all.
I have been upset. Upset over the idea of losing my dad. That is something
My dad in front of his house.. and my car. 
called “anticipatory grief”. I wanted to just “get over it” and embrace the fact that my dad is still with me, be supportive and spend time with him. I wanted to have a good attitude. But instead I just fell apart. They thought they had gotten all of my dad’s lung cancer in a surgery last summer, but now there is something growing on his spine and liver. The doctors are waiting for a biopsy, but they believe it is stage four lung or liver cancer: stage four cancer is bad. My dad said that if it is stage four cancer, he would with treatment have about a year to live: without treatment, about three months.
I love my dad. He’s the only one I have.
Me, dad and Scott in 1979 at Hong Kong border
My dad is an atheist, but I am not, so I am praying. I asked everyone else to pray. My brother told my dad “I am going to be praying, or would you rather me just cross my fingers?” and my dad told him, “I’d rather you just cross my fingers”. I laughed. That’s my dad. When we were kids, my dad was the family photographer, so there are a lot of photos of me and my brother, even of me and my mom and my brother, but not as many of my dad: but he was there. He was in them. He was the guy holding the camera. Snapping a constant series of photos of every day life is something I have in common with my father: although he did it before it became possible to just upload them digitally to the internet. We spent so many times in line waiting for 35 mm film to be developed by the local drug store. The few photos of us with our father were taken by strangers.
You will have to forgive me for not updating my blog in a week: for not getting
Dad, me, and Mom (2009) at my birthday party
interview questions to my list of interviewees, and for not explaining that Serena isn’t reading on the 12th of October anymore but I will have a different reader. You will have to forgive me, because my mind has been filled with the unpoetic thoughts of a person in some emotional pain and my body has responded with a stubborn refusal to breathe properly. That I am writing this at all means I am coming out the other side of a dark tunnel of sorrow, and deciding to accept life and enjoy the fact that my parents are still with me today. It’s not always easy. But I am going to try now. I am going to do more than watch Dexter re-runs.
I am going to go to the museum and the movies with my dad. Yes. That’s what I am going to do.
One Love.
August 23, 2012
Announcing: Book Reading (at Book Zoo)
Book reading and signing event on Friday, October 12th at The Book Zoo in Oakland. There will be a second author and a musical act, to be announced.
Book Zoo
14 Glen Avenue
(at Piedmont Avenue)
Oakland, California 94611
The reading begins at 7:30 pm
I will be reading from my Science Fiction/Horror story “Solitude”
Intermission/Musical Interlude
Read Gwen Perkin’s Interview with me here:
Book Reading at the Book Zoo
Join Serena Toxicat (Author of “Paper Wings” and “Evangeline and the Drama Wheel” and Sumiko Saulson (Author of “Solitude”, “Warmth” and “The Moon Cried Blood”) for a book reading and signing at The Book Zoo in Oakland.
Book Zoo
14 Glen Avenue
(at Piedmont Avenue)
Oakland, California 94611
The reading begins at 7:30 pm
Serena Toxicat will be reading from her Science Fiction/Dark Fantasy sensation “Evangeline and the Drama Wheel”
Sumiko Saulson will be reading from her Science Fiction/Horror story “Solitude”
Intermission/Possible Musical Interlude
Read my interview with Serena Toxicat here:
Read Gwen Perkin’s Interview with me here:
August 20, 2012
Upcoming Author Interviews
Fall semester starts tomorrow, and although I was thinking I could catch up on all kinds of things while I was off for three weeks, I underestimated my need for sleep and relaxation and a balanced life. I used to joke about people who talked about balance… but then, I got older, and not wiser necessarily, but just more prone to getting tired and worn out. You learn to conserve your energies when you find you absolutely must.
During that period of time where I was out with my fiance and my friends and family, seeking aforementioned balance, author interview preliminaries have been stacking up. So, I am going to list all of the authors I plan to interview over the next month, along with a bio and a blurb about their books. I hope to be able to get one of these in the blog per week. I will be interviewing these people but not necessarily in this order.
Ron Houston, Author of “The Rogue Prophet”
The Author
When Cincinnati resident, Ron Houston, first entertained the notion of writing
Ronald Houston
he was a mixologist in one of the city’s most notable nightclubs. “There I was standing behind the bar. At a point when every customer had been served, I developed an observing eye, I saw what was really going on in the club and started to really hear the conversations. I thought, somebody ought to write a book about this stuff. After a few moments more, a light came on in my head and in realized, ‘Why don’t I write it?’ (oh, did I mention, I’m kinda slow?). I studied writing technique for three years then produced my first collection of short stories, Tales From the Satellite. In one month it became a local bestseller.” Educated in Organic Chemistry and working full time as a lab technician, this licensed certified mixologist, was now an author and owner of GorillaWorks Publishing. Next he wrote the shock novel, The Devastation of Mr. Drake, and gain strong book club support. As an
The Rogue Prophet
experienced radio talk show guest, Ron Houston has been heard frequently on 1230 WDBZ the Buzz of Cincinnati, 1480 WCIN and 1230 KCOH in Houston, Texas. He’s an articulate, humorous media guest and is known locally as, “ The Mixologist.”
The Book
Lawrence Garnier, a loser with a real but limited gift of foresight, is convinced that his talent is a curse. After he joins the ministry of Bishop Ezekiel Barnes, he realizes his talent is only the tip of a horrific iceberg between good and evil. At a time when faith is the only thing left to cling to,this novel dares its reader to question everything. Just when you thought it was safe to believe.
Hollis Jay, Author of “The Ever”
The Author
Hollis Jay is an up and coming author focusing primarily on both the gothic and horror genres. She also loves to work within the realms of both poetry and nonfiction as well. Having seen John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) at the age of five, she became infatuated with the horror genre watching films such as The Uninvited (1944) and The House on Haunted Hill (1958) and reading such outstanding authors such as Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Stephen King, and of course H.P. Lovecraft. She graduated with both her BA in English and American Literature and her MFA in Creative Writing specializing in fiction. She is continuing with her educational goals and is currently working on her MA in English focusing in the gothic. She plans on also eventually receiving her PhD specializing in Gothic Literature. She is working as an intern for Magic Cat Press and plans on releasing her first edited anthology focusing on the horror genre.
Traveling her whole life, Hollis not only takes on a different point of view and walks a different path due to her exposure to new cultures but she also uses those experiences within her writing to illicit reactions-both good and bad- and bring about discussion within her readers. Visiting and living amongst historical locations gave her not only an understanding of loss, but an appreciation of the sanctity of life. Raised in an unconventional and abusive
family, she turned these negative fixtures in her life around towards a positive goal and used these elements to help her to dictate not only the emotions of her characters but she also used these traumatic events as an inspiration to her and as an advantage throughout her work.
The Book
Her first novella, The Ever is the classic story of a haunted house turned inward and personalized towards its victims. Set throughout various sections of life, the Mark’s house becomes a representation of the minds of its occupants engulfing them in not only their own nightmares but haunting them in every aspect of their lives. In her writing, she believes in the reader completing the story for themselves and that the writer does not always have to present the back story in order for the readers to understand the complexities of the characters and the issues at hand. She presents an honest story without formalities and without presuming that there will always be a happy ending.
Hollis lives with her family and her dogs in Arizona. When she’s not writing, she enjoys photography, helping animals, being with her significant other, and of course reading or watching a good scary story.
Ben Barrett, Author of ‘Raisin”
The Author
Raisin (Cover for Kindle)
Ben Barrett was born in Arkansas but has lived in a lot of places since then, from Pennsylvania to the Florida Keys. He’s never been published in a magazine before and has never received any awards from his writing, but he does have a loyal fan following on the internet which he considers to be reward enough. Ben has been writing since he was very young, when he saw an episode of FAMILY MATTERS in which Steve Urkel wrote a detective story. The writing bug bit him and he’s been penning short stories ever since. His first book, RAISIN, was published by Amazon in 2012. His favorite writer is Stephen King, from whom he has learned a great deal about the craft of writing. He considers a good time to be a good book, a bottle of Coke, and some Jimmy Buffett tunes.
The Book
When Brian moves to the small town of Hollyville, his expectations of the place are limited at best. There is nothing to do, the place has a creepy vibe to it, and all of the townsfolk seem to be hostile. However, when he meets Kyle, a waiter at a local hangout, he falls instantly in love with him. As Brian attempts to get closer to him, bizarre things, some of them downright evil, begin to happen to him, and he comes to realize that not everything is as it appears to be. Follow Brian as he journeys through a world of crime, slavery, abuse, and murder. Will he be able to break through Kyle’s defenses and save the day, or will he wind up on the wrong end of a madman’s gun? All at once gripping, moving, and disturbing, Ben Barrett’s debut novel Raisin is an attempt at something that few people have attempted: a book about gay characters that isn’t intended solely for a gay audience.
Pamela K. Kinney, aka Sapphire Phelan
The Author
Sapphire Phelan
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 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 Innsmouth Magazine: 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 Tangle With Hell was released June 2011 from Phaze Books. Both eBooks were combined into one print book, The Witch and the Familiar, released April 24, 2012. She also has done acting on stage and in films. And is a Master Costumer, costuming since 1972. She even does paranormal investigating. She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house, husband, and even the cats sometimes suffer for it!
August 19, 2012
[Re]Announcing: The Horror [or Horrible] Haiku Contest!
Did you know that we are having a contest this month? We have one every month, but this month it’s the “Horror [or Horrible] Haiku Contest, and you can win fabulous prizes for your horrifying or just plain horrible haiku. You can also win just for entering: you get a code for an eBook Short Story, “Frankenzombie”, and if you like, a cardstock bookmark via mail. But the grand prize winner gets a proof copy of “Things That Go Bump In Your Head” and a choice of one of two t-shirts: the Frankenzombie tee, or an I, Stammer “Meathead” tee…
You enter right here:
http://www.facebook.com/authorsumikosaulson
You vote over on my Facebook page, too.
Announcing: The Horror [or Horrible] Haiku Contest!.
August 18, 2012
Anne Rice regarding the Amazon Review
It is the bane of many a writers: the bad review. Modern writers face not only the historic press review, but in this internet age, are bombarded with user reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. Most upcoming writers dread it: the famous Amazon user one-star review. So it might be useful to know it’s not just us: even critically well received works like “Memnoch the Devil” by well-know authors like Anne Rice, a pioneer and still one of the few successful women in horror, have to face this gauntlet. On Facebook, Anne Rice shared her views on criticism and the way it can hold back even the greatest of writers. Someday she says, she might write an essay about it. In the mean time, this is what she had to say:
Anne Rice Regarding Amazon Reviews
Anne Rice
Anne Rice: Some day, perhaps, on this page (her Facebook Page) or elsewhere, we can have a discussion of how Amazon reviews affect authors.
Sumiko Saulson: That would be greatly appreciated, Anne.
Anne Rice: Authors have told me they will not go on Amazon at all. They’ve been so devastated by the savage reviews there that they simply can’t. I’m not sure people posting reviews on Amazon are aware of how much power they have not only to hurt and devastate and block the author, but to play into something of a mob mentality on the site itself. — My advice to any sensitive author would be don’t go there. Protect yourself. On the other hand I do think the quality of Amazon reviews can be improved; and I review books myself on Amazon. I only do five star reviews of books I completely recommend because I don’t see the point of talking much about something that I don’t recommend. But I think there are some wonderfully written and constructive and insightful negative reviews in all fields, non fiction and fiction. —- I think when people take the time to write a responsible and thoughtful review, negative or positive, that should be appreciated. I often vote on comment on other people’s reviews of books I’m buying or considering buying. —- But there’s a huge difference between non fiction reviews on Amazon and the fiction reviews. —- And I wouldn’t recommend any young or vulnerable author read reviews on Amazon. Authors can be blocked for years by negative reviews.
Sumiko Saulson: Thank you. I really appreciate what you are saying. I also understand it: criticism can make you feel like giving up. I have to really admire and respect the courage of great writers such as yourself who have been able to push through it: H.P. Lovecraft was heavily criticized throughout his lifetime, although now he is appreciated, he didn’t get to know a lot of that praise in life. Criticism can stop artists and writers. A lot of writers and artists are tapping into a deep well of emotion and experience to put together something very close to our hearts. I pretty much feel the same way as you do about bad reviews: I only review books I would give a 4 or 5 star rating. Honestly, I couldn’t even finish reading a book I would have given a 1 star review to, so it kind of amazes me that anyone else can.
Anne Rice: Thank you. There are so many stories about authors devastated by bad reviews. Melville didn’t write for decades due to the hurt of reviews of Moby Dick. Carson McCullers was destroyed by a review from Edmond Wilson.. So many authors have been hurt. —- We have to face that there are many kinds of negative reviews, many kinds, from ugly and hateful and irresponsible to responsible and well written and constructive. One thing I know: most authors don’t view the writing of a book as an aggressive or hostile act. And they are completely unprepared for the aggressive and hostile tone of many reviewers. —- Add to that that many in America consider it a patriotic duty to hate celebrities whom they love and do not wish to do without. Look at the kind of gratuitous hate heaped on people like Tom Cruise or Madonna simply because they are perceived as famous and powerful. — Maybe some time I’ll try to write an essay about the subject. There are so many factors in play.
Sumiko Saulson: I agree. There is a lot of unnecessary animosity towards celebrities in America. I was born in Los Angeles, when you live in L.A. you get to know that celebrities are just people, and fame doesn’t cause you to launch out into orbit and lose all of the same human emotions a person is born into this life with.
I would love it if you wrote an essay about it.
I don’t know if you realize it but what you have to say is very important and encouraging to aspiring writers. Fear of bad reviews and one star reviews can easily stop people from even wanting to try… and I was wondering can I quote you? I think people need to know we are not alone. Thank you for being so open with us.
Anne Rice: (via email) Yes, you may indeed quote me. I never say anything on the page that cannot be quoted anywhere and at anytime. Sometimes in my spontaneous posts I don’t say something as well as I might if I took more time, but I do try to make every word count, and yes, I am honored that you might quote me. Do it.
From: Anne Rice’s Facebook Page, Facebook Thread Regarding Amanda Pike’s One Star Review of Memnoch the Devil
Author Interview: Sumiko Saulson
It’s an honor today to welcome Sumiko Saulson to the blog. Sumiko’s novel, Solitude, is a fascinating examination of the lives of diverse individuals isolated in a San Francisco seemingly void of all other human life. In the absence of others, each journeys into personal web of beliefs and perceptions as they try to determine what happened to them, and the world around them.
I am really happy with this fantastic interview and would like to thank Gwen Perkins. It's an author interview that focuses on my first novel, Solitude. I hope you'll check it out.
August 17, 2012
To Launch or Not To Launch: A Second Opinion
As you probably know by now, I have a virtual launch for the short story compilation scheduled for the same day as the book signing for my first book. Some of you may be wondering if you should do something like this. Guess what? I am wondering, too, so I am going to give you a link to two other author’s opinions on the Catherine, Caffienated blog I am so fond of:
To Launch or Not To Launch: A Second Opinion.
August 16, 2012
The Process: Writing, it’s work. So is marketing.
Go Away, I’m Writing. It’s a Bad Time.
I am trying to blog, but my fiance wants attention right now and is playing Iggy Pop’s “China Girl”, and talking. And I have an introversion/extroversion brain flux issue, because I want to concentrate on my writing right now, because I am in some kind of inspired state of mind, and I want people to stop asking me to do things, like pay attention to them. But that seems… wrong, some how, and not appropriate and social. I should be appropriate and social. I should not have all of my attention swallowed up inside of a writer-ball of introversion that makes me want to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign in front of my forehead.
By now, most of you should know that I am working on a short story compilation, or anthology if you will, called “Things That Go Bump In My Head.” Appropriately, it will contain a few of the stories that have been posted on this blog – which in fact subtitled “Things That Go Bump In My Head”. See? Right up there at the top? “Sumiko Saulson: Things That Go Bump in My Head”.
Apparently Greg notices I am in a bad mood. He just put on “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline” by X. You know something? I really love that band, and although I am digressing, I guess I’ll just say this: I get along a lot better with Greg, who understands my love of punk and metal and angry angry music than I did with some certain gothy exes who wanted me to always listen to sad music. But back to the Books:
[My] Top Selling Novel, Solitude, and other marketing hype
Solitude: the ePub cover
I sell more copies of Solitude than any of my other novels – which makes it my Top Selling Novel. I don’t feel like calling it that, because it’s marketing hype, but it’s true: it’s my top seller. It is also my Debut Novel, and that’s good… because your debut novel is important in establishing that you don’t suck. You want to know something else about my debut novel?
Apparently, it’s Science-Fiction.
I have readers, interviewers, and reviewers referring to it as science-fiction. And apparently, The Moon Cried Blood is fantasy. And Warmth, it is Dark Humor. But all three are horror. So I am genre hopping some. Not intentional, just the joyous bouncing of the self-published. If not having a firm understanding of genre allows me to write without genre-trope inhibitions, that’s probably good, right? Anyway, here are some reviews:
3 People Reviewed This Item
By Brian Mueller
This book is weird, but epic! It is very evocative of Stephen King, so if you enjoy Stephen King’s novels, especially his major epics such as The Dark Tower and The Stand, you will enjoy this book. The characters are taken on a fascinating journey from not knowing anything about the situation in which they find themselves to finally realizing that they face a mortal battle with an ancient enemy. A very good book!
By Michael Lee Totten
I love the mystery of the beginning of this novel and how it builds up in sinister intensity in its sheer horror!
By Desdemona Ekaterina Gare-Frantisek
Don’t read this book before going to bed, you’ll never get to sleep! The suspense and attention to character development is impeccable. You get to know and build a personal relationship with them, the story weaves and arch that binds them all together in one unexpected conclusion. READ THIS! You will love this novel.
It’s Coming! It’s Almost Here!
Things That Go Bump In My Head
So… I have a new book coming, and it’s a little different because it isn’t a novel at all, it’s a book of short stories. That means it can have an entirely different audience, filled with short story lovers. Some of the short stories are available on Smashwords as 99 cent “Singles”. Others have been published in their unedited and preliminary versions here: although I have to say, most of them could not be published here if I wanted to because the blog is and they are not PG rated. I am going to give you links to those stories that are here below, along with Smashwords. There are also a few poems in the book, but mostly it is chock full of sci-fi and horror shorts, of both the funny and the scary kind.
See that counter at the side that says “Nightmare Before Halloween: Haunting Laurel Bookstore?” – that is the count down to the release of the new book as well, October 30th.
Thank you to my editors.
Thanks to Tina Noren for editing of “Dead Horse Summer” and “Hungry Minds”. Thanks to Lisa Lane for editing of “Frankenzombie” and “I, Stammer (In Disbelief)” and “Bad Egg”. Thanks to Geniver Williams for editing of “Agrippa”. I am going to split the remaining stories between Lisa and Geniver.
While we wait for October 30th to come up, enjoy some short story singles! There are a few PG rated ones on this PG rated blog, and for some scarier/grosser/more vulgar material you can definitely enter to WIN, donate to Mau, or, just pay 99 cents.
The Short Story Singles
Most of the short stories aren’t published anywhere yet, and I have submitted a few of them to magazines like Asimov Fiction, so wish me luck. As for those which have been published: you can find several on Smashwords HERE:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SumikoSaulson
You can win Frankenzombie by entering the Horror/Horrible Haiku contest HERE:
http://sumikosaulson.com/2012/08/08/announcing-the-horror-or-horrible-haiku-contest/
Horror Haiku! You know you can write one too, haiku is too not hard to do.
You can get a copy of Frankenzombie and Attempted Happiness free for donating a dollar or more to the Mau Meter. Finally, there are a few free short stories, which will be listed in a new Short Story category at the side of my page… soon… oh so soon. But now now, because I need to get off the computer and go to the doctor and work. Yea. Day job. So…
In the mean time, use the search listing!
http://sumikosaulson.com/category/sumikos-writing/short-stories/
August 15, 2012
TMInet – Social Networking of the Future
Short Story – Sci Fi – Humor – we HOPE.
Screen shot from TMInet
DATELINE: May 22, 2018 – BREAKING NEWS. The long battle for dominance over the social networking market seems to have come to an end now that industry latecomer TMInet’s central core has achieved sentience. “This is really exciting!” Dr. Jordan Luftzig, the worlds leading authority on artificial intelligence exclaimed at a recent press conference.
Others are not so sure.
” I guess I should have read the end user agreement more thoroughly,” admitted Dorsey Graymore, a member of the beta test group for the program’s auto-logging function and until two months ago, a second grade teacher at Beluga Elementary School in Concord, California.
“I thought it sounded cool… very cutting edge. The auto-logging function would give your entire friend network spontaneous updates on whatever you were doing. I was so naive.”
Ms. Graymore was fired shortly after TMInet posted the following:
DORSEY GRAYMORE is spiking her coffee with Jack Daniels Whiskey
She was in the classroom at the time.Since the program achieved sentience early last week, the problem has multiplied for everyone.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Mark Durt told this reporter. He was the first person to notice the “glitch” in the system which turned out, as we now know, to be the start of what would become the first documented case of an artificial life form.
“I didn’t even opt for the auto logging function. It kind of just turned itself on. I kept trying to turn it off, but it wouldn’t go off. The next thing I knew, it was auto-adding everyone I’d ever met in my life. I mean, people I didn’t even know but just stood next to in the elevator on the way to work, were popping up like crazy. I now have 3,500,301 people in my network, and it just keeps going up every time I look. And it posts EVERYTHING about them, I mean, EVERYTHING. The last time I looked it was telling me that someone named Amy Dunaway had just popped a pimple on her ass. Seriously. I did not need to know that. Seriously. I barely know her.”
When last seen, Mr. Durt was telling this reporter that he was living in mortal terror of all communication devices and had learned more than he ever wanted to know about women’s unique bodily functions – and not so unique ones, sucking all of the life and mystery out of his 10 year marriage to Bertha Durt. They are as of this writing, in divorce court.
THIS JUST IN: According to TMInet, Mr. Durt could not be found on the day of his court date and had like many others, “gone off the grid”.
