Michael A. Arnzen's Blog: News from Gorelets.com, page 27

Dark Promptings: Alone in the Dark with Mary SanGiovanni

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"Dark Promptings" is a special series of guest-written creative writing prompts, aimed at sparking the imagination's gasoline for writers from any genre…but with a dark or devious discoloration, just like the Instigation department at Gorelets.com. The guest contributors are folks who wrote articles appearing in my fat new non-fiction book for fiction writers of all kinds, Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction, making a stop here at gorelets.com as part of their Virtual Book Tour across the web. (You can find my own VBT essays elsewhere).

Writers and creative people: drop on by our book's meaty weblog to learn more about the book, or order Many Genres today.

Our next "Dark Promptings" come from Mary SanGiovanni, author of the new novel, Thrall, from Thunderstorm Books. Mary's lesson in Many Genres, One Craft is called "Dark and Story Nights: Mood and Atmosphere in Horror Fiction" and in that vein she has provided some passages of text to help you get into a truly dark and unsettling mood. Use these passages of text as story starters or just mull over the ideas as inspiration for your own disturbing imaginings, while you sit "ALONE IN THE DARK"….

1.

      The media has dubbed us the Slaughterhouse 5. The FBI profile released to the public stated there were at least five of us, and that we hunt in a pack. Like wolves, our alpha once said with a laugh. But we are not animals. We don't kill for food, or to protect our territory. We kill for fun.

2.

      My grandfather once told me that there was no reason to be afraid of the dark. Wasn't nothin' there that wasn't there in the light, he'd said. But he was wrong, at least about this darkness. There are slick and dangerous things that form from shadows and move and kill in silence in this neighborhood. And once you've heard the screams of fear and pain from the illimitable and irretrievable black, you know that there is reason to be very much afraid.

3.

      Jerry was only four when the clown doll that his mother had stuffed on a back shelf of his closet crawled down and suffocated his infant sister with a baby blanket. He was nine years old when the large stuffed snake he'd won on the boardwalk one year slithered out of his room and into the 4 a.m. darkness of the house and ate his parents. He was eleven when the big stuffed bear that sat in the corner of his room devoured his stale and surly old grandparents. But it wasn't until he turned thirteen that he realized he'd issued the commands himself, and that the toys around him obeyed. And alone, in the darkness of the orphanage bedroom, years and miles from the fear of closets' and under-beds' black mystery, the thought made him smile.

Mary SanGiovanni is the author of the Bram Stoker-nominated novel The Hollower and its sequel Found You, both from Leisure Books, and more recently, Thrall from Thunderstorm Books. Over the last decade, various periodicals and anthologies have published her short fiction, some of which was collected in Under Cover of Night. She co-edited the GSHW anthology Dark Territories. Mary received a Master's in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She was a member of Horror Writers Association and the Garden State Horror Writers Association, and is currently a member of The Authors Guild and Pennwriters.

Read more "Dark Promptings"…

Podcast Interview with Author Magazine Online

Heidi Ruby Miller and I had a lot of fun in this chatty and informative 1/2 hour podcast interview for Author Magazine about our non-fiction book for authors, Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction. Click the typewriter logo to visit Author online:

 

 

The interview was conducted by Jeff Ayers, who also interviewed us for The Big Thrill journal last month.

[Cross-posted from the Social Network]

Fortune Cookie: A Parable

The waiter brought us our check on a little silver tray, bowing while politely setting it beside my plate. Atop the scribbled paper were two fortune cookies, wrapped in wax paper, which suggested they were homemade.

"Oooh," Paul said from across the table, reaching out.

I playfully slapped his hand away. "I already told you, Paul. Dinner's on me."

He kept his hand wavering in the air. "That doesn't mean you get all the cookies." He went for the tray again.

I moved it out of his reach — which was fairly easy because he was sloshed on pear wine. "It doesn't work that way," I said, waiting for him to put his hand back down.

He lifted a shoulder and sneered in a childish taunt, then picked up his glass instead, slurping down what remained in it. "Vine," he said, slurring the F.

"You have to follow protocols with these things. You're not supposed to just grab your own fortune like that. Fate is handed to you." I picked up the tray. "So I serve you yours, and you serve me mine." I slid the bill out from under the cookies the way a magician pulls the tablecloth out from under a dinner set. Then I presented him with the cookies on the platter. "Take."

He picked the cookie on the left — going for the bigger one — and immediately unwrapped its wax paper purse, not bothering to take the tray from my hand and serve me mine.

I set the platter down and slid it across the table, next to the black porcelain plates that had earlier cradled his meal.

"Oh, this is a big one," he said, holding the cookie in front of his face, and then pinching one end with his free hand. He snapped it crisply in half, with a few small pieces tinkling the porcelain below.

 

He read it aloud:  "There's nothing more dangerous than an idea if it's the only one you have."

"So true…"

"In bed!" he shouted, then laughed in a way that was clearly intended to get the other patrons in the restaurant to join in on the joke.

They uncomfortably tried to ignore him.

I didn't have that luxury.  "Okay, my turn…" I signaled at the remaining cookie by his dinner plate.

Paul was clueless.  "Wait, I don't get it.  I thought fortunes were supposed to predict the future."  He scrutinized the tiny ribbon of paper, his lips moving as he whispered it over again to himself, as if double-checking the message.  Then he lifted an eyebrow as he repeated it again, as loud as a patron complaining about the food.  "This just insults me with a platitude."  He looked at me.  "I want to know what the future holds.  Give me a new one."

He moved to pick up the cookie I was waiting on.  I lunged and saved it from his grasp.  He frowned.

"Paul," I said with a smile, enjoying the fact that he wasn't getting what he wanted.  "Every fortune cookie does tell the future in its own way.  Maybe it's a warning about some idea you will have in the future…or a mystical comment from the beyond about something you're working on right now."  I leaned over my own cookie and decided that I might as well just eat it, fate or not.

He frowned, unable to shake his frustration.  He looked around the room as if to summon the waiter, then his gaze fell on me, fondling the free cookie.  "I feel cheated!"

"Just think about it," I said, unwrapping the wax paper, eager to get a sugar boost.

Then he gurgled.  I looked up.

His chest cavity pushed forward like a rooster's as his neck went limp.  I thought he might be having a heart attack, but then there was an unholy sound of bones popping skin as his ribcage buckled. It was as if his body had been snapped in half, clutched in the fist of an unseen giant.

I shot out of my chair, moving to help him — but it was too late. He fell to the floor.

In halves.  Impossibly, one side of Paul's body slumped to the left and the other fell to the right at exactly the same time.  It wasn't until the place where his shoulders should have been fell to the chair seat and his clothes spilled open that I realized: he had somehow broken in half.

Just like his fortune cookie.

I dropped the cookie I was clutching.

And then I, too, fell to the floor.

–

 

Book Signing and Events at Confluence SF Conference (Pittsburgh, 7/22-23)

This weekend (July 22-23rd, 2011) I'll be attending Pittsburgh's annual Literary Science Fiction convention, Confluence. Here's my schedule of events:

Friday July 22, 5:30pm Jr Suite

Michael Arnzen Fiction Reading



Friday 6pm Jr Suite

Literary Beer: informal chat about the book, MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT: LESSONS IN WRITING POPULAR FICTION with editors Heidi Ruby Miller & Michael Arnzen

Friday 10pm Willow Room

HORROR PANEL: "Growing up Scared: How What Scares us Changes as We Age"

Michael Arnzen (Moderator); Paul Anderson; John Alfred Taylor; Lawrence Connolly

Description: "From monsters and gore to conspiracy and untrustworthy senses, the things that scared us as children may not have the same impact the older we get. We take a look at the changing items and ideas that frighten us as our lives evolve."

Saturday July 23, 2pm Willow Room

HORROR PANEL: "Poe, Bierce and Saki: The Flavor of Gothic Horror"

Paul Anderson (Moderator); Michael Arnzen; Eric Beebe; Chris Pisano; KT Pinto

Description: "Time was, horror was more about the state of mind, or maybe the lack of mind to have a state. Are the writers still as scary as they used to be and what do they have to do with what is scary today?"

Saturday 4pm Oak Room

LITERARY PANEL: "I Know The Cat Who…"

Mary Turzillo (Moderator); Paul Anderson; Michael Arnzen; Brea Ludwigson

Description: "Cats in various genres of literature. Cats have been well represented in Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy and even mystery. Catlike aliens are a staple of SF. I even heard a theory about dragons – that our distant ancestors feared three things most: snakes, large birds, and big cats, and that the dragon is a chimera of these three. Sacred Cats and why people idolized, venerated, and deified cats."

Saturday 7pm MF Room

Book Signing (for MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT and others) with Michael Arnzen & Heidi Ruby Miller

***

Participants at Confluence this year include: Guest of Honor Robert J. Sawyer and Featured Filk guest Alexa Klettner along with: Paul Anderson, Andina & Rich, John Anealio, Michael Arnzen, Bonfire Night, Ed Chamberlain, Ken Chiacchia, Brenda Clough, Lawrence C. Connolly, Kathryn Cramer, John DeChancie, Devo Spice, Richard Errington, Tim Esaias, Charles Gannon, Max de Groot, Pete Grubbs, David Hartwell, Bruce Hoffman, Alan Irvine, Alan A. Katerinsky, Herb Kauderer, William H. Keith, Jr, David Barr Kirtley, Fruma Klass, Brian Koscienski, Josh Kronengold, Lackzoom Acidophilus, Geoffrey Landis, Timothy E. Liebe, Gary McGath, Heidi Ruby Miller, Judi Miller, Robin Nakkula, Lisa Padol, KT Pinto, Chris Pisano, Michelle Sagara, Kathy Sands, Bud Sparhawk, S. Andrew Swann, Michael Swanwick, Jon Sprunk, John Alfred Taylor, Mary Turzillo, Patricia Wake, Michelle Sagara West and Wild Mercy.

***

I'll post photos at the Michael Arnzen Social Network page. Keep up with my author apperances at booktour.com

New Blog Design in Progress

I'm updating the site design and this requires some changes to the structure of the blog among other things. Ideally, blog posts will now appear on the front page of the website, with other pages (the Goreletter newsletter, the creations bibliography, etc.) available through menus.

Expect to hit roadblocks and dead links and error messages here and there. There will no doubt be a few changes that might require changing any bookmarks or links you might have out there. I'll note what I think are major changes here:

+ the "blog" subdirectory of gorelets.com is no longer present in category (or department) pages or tag archives. e.g. what once was located at http://gorelets.com/blog/dept/blather is now just at http://gorelets.com/dept/blather The "blog/" directory is solely for entries/posts.

+ others as I find them.

More to come…

Google Plus added to the Arnzen Social Network

Quick note: I've added Google+ to the Michael Arnzen Social Network.

A few folks have asked me: How do I "follow" or "join" your ostentatious-sounding "network"?

Simple answer: If you just want to follow me on the MASN, click on the "Get Updates" link on the left hand side of the page at michaelarnzen.com. [Or better yet: sign up for a posterous.com account (which is a free web blog you can create via email (!) that also autoposts to various social networks...highly recommended!) and "subscribe" that way to michaelarnzen.com.]

Or if you're on any of the other social networks (twitter, facebook, etc.) you can "follow" me by finding my profiles, linked at the top of the michaelarnzen.com front page. I would love to follow goreletter readers and see what sorts of things you're up to.

Of course, The Goreletter is still the best way to keep up with me. Subscription always free.

Kindle Experiments

Kindle Experiments on Flickr

I've begun another series of weird photos — "Kindle Experiments" — over on my flickr gallery. Just having fun messing around with shots of my amazon kindle. Let me know what you think.

Plans are afoot with publishers of my backlist to produce ebook versions of my novels and collections in the year to come. Keep an eye on my Amazon profile if you're looking for something new for your kindle, nook, kanookiedindle, et cetera.

Instigation Parody at the Stoker Award Banquet

At the recent Bram Stoker Awards ceremony in New York, the banquet's emcee, author Jeff Strand, plotted the following little skit which we delivered to everyone's surprise, shortly before he introduced the presenters of the award for Outstanding Achievement in Long Fiction. I was honored to be a part of the joke in this parody of the goreletter's Instigation column, which features "twisted prompts for sicko writers." Here's the script from our skit. Although I wrote the prompts below, the idea was all Jeff's and he did a fantastic job all night long. Be sure to drop by his website and pick up a copy of his latest book, Fangboy (which I'm currently reading and loving). To read more about the 2011 Stoker Weekend see my con report.

–

Jeff Strand: Why is the word "novella" longer than the word "novel?" And why is the word "novelette" longer than the word "novella?" [Uncomfortable pause.] I'm sorry, that was awful. Is there a writing instructor in the room?

Mike Arnzen: Right here! [Mike runs up to stage.] You look like a man who needs help writing an introduction to the Long Fiction category.

Jeff: Desperately!

Mike: Well, I'm a tenured Professor of English at Seton Hill University, where I teach in an innovative Master's degree program in Writing Popular Fiction. What you need is a prompt to spark your creativity. I'll give you the prompt, and your imagination will do the rest. Ready?

Jeff: Ready.

Mike: "Close your eyes. Imagine the longest sword in the universe. Now — taking the point of view of the sword — describe the worst sword swallowing accident imaginable! Anything?"

[Jeff stares at Mike.]

Jeff: Give me another one.

Mike: "Pretend you had a set of characters named 'Mr. Novel' and 'Mrs. Novella' who had a monstrous offspring named 'Little Novellette.' What method would the sweet little girl choose to murder the entire family?"

[Jeff stares at Mike again.]

Jeff: What else?

Mike: "If you were to murder a man with the world's longest book…what do you think your victim's brains would taste like?"

Jeff: You know what, I think I've got it.

Mike: "Godspeed." [Mike leaves.]

Jeff: Why is the word "novella" longer than the word "novel?"

–

Photos from the Many Genres book launch party, 6/24/11

We had a phenomenal book launch party at Seton Hill U for our new instructional book. Drop by the Many Genres One Craft weblog for some great photos from the event, which was held during the writers residency for our MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction. Horror writers in attendance included Gary Braunbeck, Tim Waggoner, Scott Johnson, Lawrence Connolly, Jean-Loup Benet, Lucy Snyder, Kristin Dearborn, Paul Popiel, David Corwell, Sheldon Higdon and many many more.

Many Genres Book Signing Friday 6/23 7-9pm at Seton Hill U.

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The new instructional guide for writers that I co-edited, Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction will have a massive book signing at Seton Hill University — a great opportunity for people in the area to not only buy the book, but get it signed by the many contributors in attendance. The launch will be part of a wine reception and book signing by Writing Popular Fiction alumni at the college. The event runs this Friday (6/23) from 7-9pm in the McKenna Center (look for the gymnasium) on the Seton Hill University campus on the hilltop in Greensburg, PA. Below you'll find the official press release from Seton Hill University for more details.

This week I've been teaching heavily in our MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction, and tweeting lots of photos on my new "social networking" page. Drop by http://michaelarnzen.com to see some neat photos.

***

June 20, 2011

News Release

Media contact:

Kary Coleman Hazen, Director of Media Relations 724-830-1069 (work) 724-825-8505 (cell) / coleman@setonhill.edu

Seton Hill U. Fiction Authors Sign Books at Wine Reception 6/24

Celebration Launch of WPF Alumni "Many Genres, One Craft"

GREENSBURG, Pa. –More than 50 authors associated with the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University will participate in a joint book signing and wine reception on Friday, June 24, from 7-9 p.m. in Seton Hill University's Katherine Mabis McKenna Center lounge located on the University's hilltop campus in Greensburg, Pa. The event will launch "Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction," a writing guide featuring contributions from Seton Hill University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction Program faculty and alumni. This book signing event is sponsored by the Writing Popular Fiction Alumni Group. Both the book signing and wine reception are open to the public; the cost of the wine reception is $10 per person. For more information, contact Emily Heinicka at 724-830-1005.

"Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction" is an anthology of more than 60 instructional articles for fiction writers seeking advice on how to improve their writing and navigate the mass market for genre novels. The collection of articles is divided into three parts, craft, genre and the writer's life. Each of the 60 contributors of "Many Genres, One Craft" is a faculty member, visiting author or published graduate from the Seton Hill University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction Program.

Contributors to "Many Genres, One Craft" include Michael Arnzen, Rebecca Baker, Shelley Bates, Michael Bracken, Gary A. Braunbeck, Jennifer Brisendine, Crystal B. Bright, Sally Bosco, Christopher Paul Carey, Ginger Clark, Lawrence C. Connolly, David J. Corwell, Susan Crandall, Kaye Dacus, Penny Dawn, John DeChancie, C. Coco DeYoung, Matt Duvall, Natalie Duvall, Ron Edison, Elaine Ervin, Timons Esaias, Tess Gerritsen, Venessa Giunta, Leslie Davis Guccione, Anne Harris, W.H. Horner, Lee Allen Howard, KJ Howe, Russ Howe, Scott A. Johnson, Nancy Kress, Chun Lee, Patrice Lyle, Susan Mallery, Dana Marton, Lee McClain, Mike Mehalek, Sharon Mignerey, Barbara J. Miller, Heidi Ruby Miller, Jason Jack Miller, M.A. Mogus, Thomas F. Monteleone, David Morrell, Catherine Mulvany, Nicole Peeler, Adrea L. Peters, Patrick Picciarelli, Steven Piziks, Rachael Pruitt, Lynn Salsi, Mary SanGiovanni, David Shifren, Randall Silvis, Lucy A. Snyder, Maria V. Snyder, Victoria Thompson, Diane Turnshek, Tim Waggoner, Albert Wendland, Teffanie Thompson White, Karen Lynn Williams, Ryan M. Williams and K. Ceres Wright.

Additional authors featuring their work at the book signing include Diana Botsford, Marge Burke, Judi Fleming, Alexis Graves, Meg Mims and Linda Rodkey Ciletti.

Seton Hill's unique Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program teaches students to write marketable novels in popular genres like mystery, romance, science fiction, horror and fantasy. Additional specialties include literature for children and adolescents, and cross-genre blends like romantic suspense or young adult mysteries. Students attend two weeklong, on-campus residencies each year to master the core elements of fiction writing and effective marketing and to gain inspiration from faculty mentors and special guests, all published authors in genre fiction. Established authors mentor students one-on-one as they work toward completing a market-ready manuscript from home. Readings, classes and online discussion about the history, trends and techniques of genre fiction add depth to the student's experience. For more information about the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill, visit http://fiction.setonhill.edu or contact Seton Hill's Office of Graduate and Adult Studies at 724-838-4209.

Seton Hill University, founded in 1885 by the Sisters of Charity, is a coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pa. Seton Hill offers more than 30 undergraduate programs, eight graduate programs, and four graduate certificate programs. For more information on Seton Hill please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.