Michael A. Arnzen's Blog: News from Gorelets.com, page 19

24 Hour Contest on Facebook – Ends 11/27 at 8pm eastern

Click F for My Facebook Page

If you own The Gorelets Omnibus in ebook format and want a chance to win a collectible broadside for free, jump on over to the gorelets facebook page and check out the details: http://www.facebook.com/gorelets.

That’s right…you could even buy a copy from amazon in two seconds (currently just $4.99), snap a picture, and win!

Frankenwinnie

MAD magazine has been adapting its trademarked parody to skits on Cartoon Network. Here’s a pretty good one — “Frankenwinnie” — mashing Winnie the Pooh with Tim Burton’s film, Frankenweenie, to some crazy results…

“It’s pronounced Eeyore, but everybody gets it wrong…”

Author information Michael Arnzen Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

FEAR THE ABYSS — a hot new science-fiction/horror anthology from Post-Mortem Press

Post-Mortem Press presents FEAR THE ABYSS: An exciting new anthology of science-fictional horror tales.

I’ve been pretty impressed with what Post-Mortem Press has been publishing this year, from Adam Nienaber’s Dexteresque novel, Truly Deeply Disturbed, to Jessica McHugh’s subversively funny bowling stripper story, Pins to Paul Anderson’s anthology, Uncanny Allegories. These are no-nonsense, entertaining books, edited with a gleeful love of the horror genre. So when I heard they were putting together a collection of science-fiction stories by writers primarily known for their horror fiction, I was very happy to join the party.

And what a grand party it is! Here’s the full Table of Contents. It’s a pretty impressive roster, and I trust you’ll recognize many of these writers — along with a cadre of relatively new authors making long strides in the genre…folks you’ll want to keep an eye on. Click on their names to learn more about their work:

• “Cutting the Cord” – Joseph Williams

• “Extraction” – Jessica McHugh

• “Amid the Walking Wounded” – Jack Ketchum

• “A Box of Candy” – Nelson W. Pyles

• “That Which Does Not Kill You” – Matt Moore

• “Human Caverns” – Lawrence C. Connolly

• “The American” – S.C. Hayden

• “What’s Left Behind” – C. Bryan Brown

• “Always Something There To Remind Me” – Gary Braunbeck

• “Neptune Dreams” – Rose Blackthorn

• “Broken Promises” – Jamie Lackey

• “The Great Ocean of Truth” – Tim Waggoner

• “Graphic Violence Equalizer” – Michael Arnzen

• “Parasite” – Kenneth W. Cain

• “If Thine Eye Offend Thee” – Thomas Malafarina

• “Seeing” – Harlan Ellison®

• “A Nice Town With Very Clean Streets” – Paul Anderson

• “The Nostalgiac” – Robert Essig

• “Life After Dead” – Jeyn Roberts

• “Andrew and the Better Mouse Trap” – KT Jayne

• “They Still Sing Beautifully” – Brad Carter

• “What We Found” – Andrew Nienaber

My story, “Graphic Violence Equalizer,” is a brand new story about a new “parental control” device for cable television, that pulls images off “the cloud” in order to creatively censor TV shows and “tame” them for family viewing. It allows parents to adjust various levels of sexual and violent content in their TV shows (sort of like how you can change the frequency levels using an audio EQ)…until things, as you might expect, go horribly wrong.

Where can you get a copy? On Tuesday 11/20, Post-Mortem Press will open up for pre-orders, with a targeted wide release date of November 27th, in ebook and paperback format.

Fear the Abyss — sounds like what I’ll be doing for Thanksgiving as I look deep into the emptied carcass on the dining room table.

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

Mark Twain’s “Mysterious Stranger” — a Claymation Terror

Still in your jammies and slurping cereal in front of the tube? Then click through to this week’s Saturday Morning Cartoon…

“The Mysterious Stranger” was a scene in the 1985 film The Adventures of Mark Twain, in which Tom, Huck, and Becky get a visit from a very familiar character…who teaches his lesson through an apocalyptic nightmare.

You can learn more about this story on Wikipedia or even read the complete (but I believe unfinished) novel on The University of Viriginia’s e-text server.

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

Attention Ebook Readers: Fictionwise.com to Close Shop

If you’ve been reading my ebooks since the early days (e.g., pre-Kindle), then there’s a good chance you got them through Fictionwise.com — one of the first successful ebook distributors, known for offering a wide array of genre fiction — especially individual short stories — for a very affordable price. You may have already known that they were “bought out” by Barnes and Noble a few years ago, to help support B&N’s offerings for the Nook e-reader.

Yesterday I was informed that I should backup all my own purchases and get ready for the site to close down. They have posted a FAQ page with instructions for both downloading your bookshelf to archive copies and to also automatically transfer your ebooks over to B&N’s site, for your Nook library. I recommend doing both, if you can, as I’ve heard rumors that not all ebooks convert over to the Nook bookstore — and if you don’t have a Nook, you still might want to set up an account anyway, because you CAN read Nook books on some other devices, in aps, and on computers for free. Or in case you ever buy one.

Let me say it again:

Bookshelves on fictionwise.com will be unavailable after December 21, 2012. ACT SOON.

I’ll try to keep the books page on gorelets.com updated to help fans of ebooks find my work. Not all of my titles are in ebook form (and I like that, because I think avid readers SHOULD have special and exclusive — if not collectable — versions of stories). But in the years ahead, you’ll be seeing a growing number of e-titles from me, like the re-release of my second novel, Play Dead in ebook form from Raw Dog Screaming Press in late 2013, and a project I am developing for my own line (Mastication Publications) that takes the “Instigation” section of this website to a new level.

Although the death of fictionwise.com not a major travesty — since most of the titles are really just moving over to the Nook — I’m a little saddened by this turn of events. I’m a “Kindle person” for the most part, but I liked being able to read fictionwise titles on the Kindle. But thinking more broadly, this is another sign of the volatility of the ebook publishing economy, which constantly seems to shake things up and disorient readers, while struggling to evolve into something stable. The thing I liked most about fictionwise was it’s short story offerings — you could easily build your own “anthology” (or mixed tape) of fiction, and find good short-shorts by your favorite authors that might have appeared in magazines and anthologies you missed. It allowed writers who had a modicum of success to self-publish, and it offered a distribution for indie publishers to sell their ways outside of the dominant agency model that circulates mass market presses. I also wonder if this is a sign of the waning of interest in the short-story form. As people can buy complete novels for a mere .99 cents, it seems hard to suggest they pay that much for a short story. Fictionwise had a micropayment system that seemed to solve that issue, and provided a really good niche market to find new genre fiction outside of the mainstream, but now we’ll likely have fewer options, as the dominant corporations have more control the e-publishing economy.

On a related note, Heidi Ruby Miller recently posted a video of our talk at the Western Maryland Indie Lit Book Festival back in 2011, that reveals some of my thoughts about how e-publishing is changing the way readers find books, and how publishers need to brand their lines as a signpost for navigating the disorienting, uncharted waters of electronic books.

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

Live from the “Poedown Throwdown” at DV8 11.10.2012

Stephanie Wytovich throws down the “Blackbird”. Photo by Nicole Peeler

Arnzen retaliates with “The Stuffed Black Cat” and others. Photo by Nicole Peeler.

I had a wonderful time reading poetry alongside Stephanie Wytovich (who read a battery of amazing “psycho ward” poetry) at DV8 Espresso Cafe & Gallery in Downtown Greensburg, PA, this past weekend. It was standing room only, there were a lot of laughs, and weirdness was definitely in high abundance. Among other things, I got to share my current Mutterverse experiment, which featured a slideshow of strange images…until the power went out on the projector, that is. But I just continued reading in the darkness, which was perfect.

Perhaps the highlight of the night was a “Poedown Throwdown” slam poetry challenge between Stephanie and I, where we tasked one another to write a new poem inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe story and then read it live at the event. She did “The Raven” and I took on “The Black Cat.” Here are the results. I cheated a little by reading three pieces. But ultimately, she may have won. You be the judge!

Poedown with Michael Arnzen and Stephanie Wytovich, Live at DV8 Greensburg (8 mins.):

includes: “Blackbird” by Stephanie Wytovich &

“The Stuffed Black Cat,” “Burning the Witch” and “Poe’s Growth” by Michael Arnzen

Download (12.2 mb)

And I just HAVE to also share the following clip from one of my favorite parts of the night: a reading of “The Seven-Headed Beast” (from my book, 100 Jolts)…that includes creepy audience accompaniment! [Those readers who know my CD, Audiovile, will likely find this "unplugged" version even more disturbing than the original! I know I do....]

“The Seven-Headed Beast” Live at DV8 Cafe, Greensburg PA 11/10/2012

by Michael A. Arnzen (2.32 mins)

DOWNLOAD .mp3 (3.8 mb)

p.s. You can find other audio streams here on gorelets.com, via the “audio” tag. Or check out my cd, Audiovile, available on iTunes, CD Baby, or direct from Raw Dog Screaming Press.

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

Horror Poetry Reading on 11.10.12 at DV8 Downtown Greensburg

Join our Halloween Resurrection: Free and Open to the Public

If you live in the Pittsburgh/Greensburg area, join me for a horror poetry reading alongside writer Stephanie Wytovich at DV8 Espresso Gallery and Cafe in Downtown Greensburg, 7pm, on Nov 10th. We’re informally calling it “Halloween Resurrection.” Come on by; it’s free and freaky. I’ll have my latest books in hand if you’d like to pick up a signed copy, too.

(DV8 is located on 208 S. Pennsylvania Avenue, Greensburg, PA 15601. Phone: 724-219-0804. More venue information on Facebook) or their website).

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

MUTTERVERSE: All Halloween Day and Night Long!

Throughout #Halloween day I will tweet new poems inspired by my recent trip to @muttermuseum #MutterMuseum with hashtag #MUTTERVERSE

— Michael Arnzen (@MikeArnzen) October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

I enjoyed the Zombie Haiku tweet marathon on Halloween last year (which later was printed in The Gorelets Omnibus) so much that I am doing it again — but it will be a little more somber and diverse this time with short free verse pieces about disease, deformity, body horror and medical freakitude, all inspired by my recent trip to the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (and based on photographs in former curator Gretchen Worden’s phenomenal book by the same title). These poems will be live tweeted throughout the day with the hashtag #MUTTERVERSE on twitter.

Here’s a quick roundup of recently shared Halloween tricks and treats for you, all waiting in the bottom of your goodie bag:

If you’re not following me on Twitter, you can track the #MUTTERVERSE in the archive here on gorelets.com, called The Nest.
You can download “scatterscream” — the latest entry in my annual free exclusive Halloween Desktop Background art series, posted to my flickr gallery.

Drop by the Halloween Poetry Readings at the Science Fiction Poetry Association website, where you can hear a live recording of my poem, Attack of the Bleu Man Group (here’s the original studio recording with musical enhancement, ala Audiovile, if you prefer that). The poem appears in The Gorelets Omnibus (which the SFPA recently gave an excellent review).
I’ll also be featured as part of a marathon Halloween session on Inveterate Media Junkies related to the Hazard Yet Forward charity anthology. Look for it as part of Jason Jack Miller‘s SOUND CHECK column.
I’m also bound to do a giveaway of some kind during the day via @MikeArnzen on twitter. So do pop by — you might luckily stumble on a prize opportunity!

If you live in the Pittsburgh/Greensburg area, don’t forget that I’ll be doing a horror poetry reading alongside Stephanie Wytovich at DV8 Espresso Gallery and Cafe in Downtown Greensburg, 7pm, on Nov 10th. We’re calling it “Halloween Resurrection.” Come on by; it’s free and freaky. (More about DV8 on Facebook).

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

COG cover art for Dog Star Books

Earlier I announced new things are coming for Raw Dog Screaming Press — not the least of which is the rerelease of my novel Play Dead in paperback and ebook in the year to come. As proof of their new energy, here’s a sneak graphic that you can dig: the bold cover art by Bradley Sharp for the book, COG by K. Ceres Wright, a cyberpunk title coming in Summer 2013 — debuting the new science-fiction line, Dog Star Books. Ceres was a great student in the MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program where I teach, and contributed an essay on cyberpunk to Many Genres, One Craft. Right on, dawg.

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+

“Dog Con” Launches a Yearlong Anniversary Party for Raw Dog Screaming Press

Welp, the very first ever “Dog Con” has come and gone, and as you’ll see below, while I didn’t go, I still went.

The good folks at Raw Dog Screaming Press hosted a semi-private party-slash-convention to launch the celebration of their ten year anniversary, and from all reports, the festivities were nothing short of transformational. The press is renewed, launching a brand new science fiction imprint called Dog Star Books — with Heidi Ruby Miller (co-editor of Many Genres One Craft) at the editorial helm. There will be a new website, a new focus on community, and pack of new books to come in the years ahead. In fact, I think this is going to be the Year of the Dog and I’m proud to be a part of the year-long ten year anniversary party.

For full coverage of the event, drop by the Raw Dog Screaming Dog Con report on livejournal or facebook. The real gem of it all is editor/publisher/designer Jennifer Barnes’ “State of the Dog” Speech, which can be seen on YouTube.

I said “I didn’t go but I still went” to DogCon. This was because I performed a reading over the internet airwaves (via “FaceTime”) which was projected on a TV at DogCon, and which involved all sorts of funky interactive hijinx (even prizes!). Here’s a cool photo from the other side of the TV, from Mike “Tricky” Mehalek, taken during my reading:

Arnzen FaceTime Reading at DogCon

And the hosts even posted a videotape of my reading over the television on youtube:

And if you want more video action, take a look at this video — they’ve also shared snippets of my dramatic reading of the original source material from which the publishers drew the name for their press, “Raw Dog Screaming.” If stick around till the end, you’ll see a funny snippet of the quiz show I ran over the air, with rare prizes involved. (“Winners have to have courage.”) I’m sure there will be more videos to come on the RDSP YouTube Channel.

I saved a high quality audio file of the reading, which you can listen to or even download below. It includes a few new and unpublished poems (as heard on the video), followed by a recitation of my flash fiction piece from the Hazard Yet Forward charity anthology, called “The Scraper” (not on the video).

[download "The Scraper (Live)" - 15.7mb mp3 file]

Keep your eyes on Raw Dog Screaming Press as their website evolves in the year ahead. There are a ton of great books to come from RDSP, including — drum roll — the re-release of my novel, Play Dead, in 2013.



While a new edition of an old book might not seem like much to those of you who already read it, it’s a little shocking to realize that this novel is currently only available in a long out-of-print and sold out fine hardcover or sculpture-bound edition. SO a far more accessible paperback and ebook edition will be published by Raw Dog in the year to come. Woot! Perhaps it will even feature a new cover and other fun elements. In fact, I’m working with Raw Dog on a couple of other fun things, which I know will surprise some of you. I look forward to announcing these in the year to come, too. The horror never ends here on gorelets.com. Thanks for sticking with me, and for supporting the indie publishers I’ve worked with over the years like Raw Dog Screaming Press. Here’s to their next ten years!

Author information Michael Arnzen Writer. Professor. Wroffester.Michael Arnzen is an award-winning author of horror fiction and an English professor at Seton Hill University, where he has taught writing since 1999. His trophy case includes four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his often funny, always disturbing stories. Join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.TwitterFacebookGoogle+