Michael A. Arnzen's Blog: News from Gorelets.com, page 7

Proverbs for Monsters — A Halloween Special from Dark Regions Press

ALERT! Get my huge Bram Stoker Award-winning story collection, Proverbs for Monsters, for just $.99 from Amazon in the week leading up to Halloween! Dark Regions Press has set this title on a “Kindle Countdown” and this limited offer runs from 10/25-10/31.

Read the full book description and contents listing here on gorelets.com

On amazon.

Happy Halloweeen, everyone.

Snapshots from DogCon 5 at the Broadkill Writer’s Resort

DogCon is the annual gathering of writers, readers and fans of Raw Dog Screaming Press. This year’s DogCon5, held in the new RDSP-owned beach house — the Broadkill Writer’s Resort — focused on writers who wanted to relax, learn, practice, and mingle together in a kind of bizarro sci-fi literary retreat. While the programming was professional, it was relaxed, and the whole experience had the vibe of a 48-hour con suite at a genre convention, with occasional excursions to the beach and many spontaneous acts of chatting, gaming and writing.

At the event, I ran a “Live Instigation” activity, which involved walking through ways of unfolding a subject to “milk the madness” out of it. You can see both the presentation slides and the live video capture over on the Mastication Publications blog.

I also sponsored a Fridge of the Damned poetry contest. Janice Leach (dailynightmare.com) won it with her magnetic poem, “Memory Box” and took home a HUGE poetry and audiobook bundle as the grand prize. You can see all the entries at the top of the album at https://flic.kr/s/aHsjDpPaRv

The headline act was Beverly Bambury, who ran two rock solid publicity-oriented workshops, and other events included a “story swap” reading of a partner’s fiction, the RDSP Reader’s Award (winner: Matt Betts, for Indelible Ink), online interviews with some of the writers who couldn’t attend, new book releases from Cina Pelayo and Laurel Myler, and the always-intriguing “State of the Dog” speech. Joseph Bouthiette Jr., the publisher of Carrion Blue 555, also was in attendance, sharing an early release of the exciting new 555 flash fiction anthology, along with other titles. All the writers had new work to share and talk about, but the focus was really on hanging out, thinking about the “next step” in our careers, and conjuring good spirits between us. Raw Doggers are genuinely good people.

The beach house, Broadkill Writer’s Resort, is a pretty amazing place, and certainly worth looking into if you’re ever seeking a place on the eastern seaboard to get away from it all and write. The publishers, John Edward Lawson and Jennifer Barnes, did an outstanding job organizing and hosting the entire weekend, and everyone departed with smiles, renewed by the experience, and eager to continue following this unique publisher as they pursue some exciting plans for the future. In a nutshell: RDSP plans to increase its investment in the community it has built, and DogCon is but one of many such communal gatherings to come! Keep your eyes on their events page to see if any of their authors are reading in your neck of the proverbial woods.

Here’s a collection of photos I took across the weekend that speak for themselves. Attendees you might spot in the images include: John Edward Lawson & Jennifer Barnes, Beverly Bambury, Stephanie Wytovich, Jason Jack Miller & Heidi Ruby Miller, William Hamilton, K. Ceres Wright, JL Gribble, Kaylee Stebbins, Joseph Bouthiette Jr., Blake & Laura Burkhead, Nathan Rosen, Jessica McHugh, James & Janice Leach, Daniel Haeusser and others.

Goreletter 11.2 Mailed

The Goreletter Vol. 11, #2 was delivered to mailing list subscribers on 9/24/16 @ 10pm est. If you didn’t get yours, check your spam folder — or re-enter your email address in the subscription page, or contact me.

It contains extra material not available here on the weblog, including a funny “Craft Brew Calendar,” a new gorelets poem, information about my latest books — Murrmann: A Tale of Van Helsing and Proverbs for Monsters re-release — news about upcoming appearances (Transylvania next year!) and a discount code for subscribers only on any of my new audio albums now streaming at Bandcamp!

Don’t subscribe? Check out the most recent back issues online, or jump straight to the form to subscribe today.

HWA Presents: Horror Poetry Showcase III

The Horror Writers Association has recently released the latest entries in their neat series of horror poetry volumes, Horror Poetry Showcase, Volume III, edited by David Cowen.

The book is a trove of the weird and thrilling, written exclusively by authors well-versed on the dark side. All the contributors are HWA members, including myself, Lucy A. Snyder, Rose Blackthorn, Peter Adam Salomon, G.O. Clark, Chad Hensley, E.F. Schrader, Denise Dumars, Alessandro Manzetti, Kathryn Ptacek, Corrine De Winter, Bruce Boston… about 50 all totalled…just too many more to list! See for yourself. It is available in ebook and paperback editions from amazon.com.

I had the good fortune of being one the featured poets from this volume (there’s a sampler of these online at the HWA website), and was interviewed by one of the jurors of the volume, Stephanie Wytovich, about poetry last month (read it here).

Co-contributor Pete Mesling recently performed his favorites from the book in an excellent recitation for his “Bare Knuckle Podcast” and you can listen to it on Soundcloud (an embedded version appears below).

Although the new one is the only one available in paperback, if you enjoy this sort of thing, collect all three volumes in ebook: Vol 1. | Vol 2. | Vol 3.

Complete your collection!

These are good books. I’m proud to belong to a genre writer’s organization that supports poetry as much as it does fiction, screenwriting and all the many forms that give shape to the darkness. These are the guys who give the Stoker Award each year and host the new StokerCon conventions. If you’re a scary writer of any kind, consider joining the Horror Writers Association. They’re currently running a membership drive at a discount.

Freakcidents Returns!

Here’s the new book trailer for Freakcidents — now available in ebook and audiobook for the first time…

Read the full report, with sample audio and photos over on the Mastication Publications announcement for the book.

Here’s the write-up I sent out to subscribers to The Goreletter:

Longtime readers probably have heard of Freakcidents — my collection of impossible mutants and truly freaky freaks. It’s like American Horror Story, only weirder, and in poetic form. Originally published in a very limited run of hardcovers and chapbooks by the now-defunct but still-awesome Shocklines Press, the book won a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection before it went out of print and disappeared into the velvet-lined coffins of collectors. Well, now it’s available for everyone in two new formats: an ebook exclusively on amazon kindle, and a brand new audiobook version, where you can hear me recite the poems as you read along.

Can’t wait? ORDER THIS MINUTE!

$3.99 ebook from Amazon.com

$3.95 audiobook from Audible.com

[You can also get the audiobook via amazon.com for your kindle or iTunes for your Music player, but if you join Audible you can get it free (or at a healthy discount if you’re already a member); same goes for the ebook on Kindle Unlimited!]

You can learn more about the book and listen to three sample poems over on the Mastication Publications website.

“Freakcidents is fun, tight, thought-provoking and challenging with each ooze and scream. This volume should very much be looked upon as the watershed moment for modern horror poetry. Buy it.” — Lurid Lit

“Michael A. Arnzen, award winning poet and fiction writer, can always be counted on to approach the grotesque and the visceral with wit and, often, compassion….but be prepared: Arnzen doesn’t hold back, and his imagery is both visceral and explicit. Freakcidents is smart, nasty, and very well-written – horror poetry doesn’t get much better than this.” — Tim Pratt, Star*line

[Freakcidents is the first professional audiobook from Mastication Publications. I’m pleased to also report that Audiovile is also available for listening on Audible. And if audiobooks are your bag, be sure to visit my new bandcamp page for others, along with “merch” for diehard collectors! More soon!]

Goreletter 11.1 Mailed

The Goreletter Vol. 11, #1 was delivered to mailing list subscribers on 8/2/16 @ 3am est. If you didn’t get yours, check your spam folder — or re-enter your email address in the subscription page, or contact me.

It contains extra material not available here on the weblog, including a new gorelets poem, information about upcoming books, prompts, and a discount code for subscribers only on any of my new audio albums now streaming at Bandcamp!

Astoundingly, this is the 14th year that I’ve been publishing The Goreletter, which won the Bram Stoker Award (in the now-defunct category of “Alternative Forms”) ten years ago, in 2004. Wow.

I don’t send them out as often as I used to (I think it was six months since the previous issue), but I truly thank all who continue to support my writing through a subscription. I still try to approach it as a creative playground, rather than just a mere tool for book publicity, and I plan to keep it going for as long as you keep reading them.

Don’t subscribe? Check out the most recent back issues online, or jump straight to the form to subscribe today.

Audiovile & Poedown – Now Streaming in Digital Audio!

I’ve been busy over the past few months with work for Mastication Publications. Finally, it’s time to dish out what’s been cooking all this time.

A lot of it has been on the AUDIOBOOK front. I’m happy to report that this weekend, you can stream the gore on the new page at bandcamp!

Just go to http://arnzen.bandcamp.com and click around — you can listen for free a few times, so sample widely. I’ll embed some players below so you can get a quick listen.

But I hope you’ll consider purchasing the full albums, with come with hidden bonus tracks, companion ebooks, and much more. I have also added very rare “merch” to the site: a limited number of signed CDs for each title!

AUDIOVILE: The Expanded Digital Edition

Audiovile: The Expanded Digital Edition by Michael Arnzen

Audiovile was originally released as a CD in 2007 by Raw Dog Screaming Press, breaking new ground in spoken word horror. Featuring musical renditions and remixes of the top stories from books like 100 Jolts, this “performance-art piece of manic Beatnik horror” (Dead Reckonings) is one-of-a-kind. Or is it? Now there are two! The newly “Expanded Digital Edition” includes high quality digital versions of all the tracks, and then DOUBLES the size of the original release, featuring performances you won’t hear anywhere else. And if you purchase the full album, you get access to BONUS FEATURES: notably — an ebook companion, a photograph gallery and a secret bonus track. Also, while supplies last, you can purchase a signed copy of the original CD along with your digital order of this edition. Act quick!

POEDOWN: Wytovich vs. Arnzen – Live at DV8

POEDOWN: Wytovich vs. Arnzen – Live at DV8 (2012) by Michael Arnzen

POEDOWN is both a poetry slam inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and a live audio performance captured shortly before the release of both Stephanie Wytovich‘s breakout horror poetry collection, Hysteria, and Mike Arnzen’s Gorelets Omnibus. What makes this event special is not just the raw passion and combative energy of their reading (which is at times deeply hilarious and others truly disturbing) but also the way the event inaugurated a ritual that has continued over the past five years: whenever Arnzen and “Wyto” share the stage, they come ready to read a new horror piece on an agreed upon theme. Buy this album on bandcamp and you’ll not only get an exclusive companion ebook but also bonus tracks featuring an example of their recent “slam” on the topic of “scary clowns.” A few rare, signed double-live CDs are also available on the site.

Lots of fun surprises await those who order the full-length albums. And here’s some snapshots of the collectible horror merchandise I was talking about…

I’ll have more news to report soon about other audiobooks, ebooks, and anthologies coming soon. Subscribe to The Goreletter so you don’t miss a beat.

Joe-La Dowdy Wins the Instigation Marathon!

Imagine a red devil jumping for joy, wagging its deadly tail, and applauding with hooves ablaze — that’s me, cheering for writer Joe La Dowdy, who just published her 365th creative blog entry, marking a full year of dark flash fiction and devious poems inspired by the 365 prompts in my book, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side!

That’s right. She wrote 365 stories. Jealous? You should be. I am! READ THEM.

Visit The Petulant Muse — Joe-La’s weblog — to read her 365 story challenge marathon!

Joe-La’s accomplishment is not easy. It takes a tremendous amount of stamina and discipline to return to the computer, every single day, to do yet another exercise, stretch yet another creative muscle, break yet another block. It takes guts to turn away from household duties and shun beckoning friends just to get the next paragraph written. It takes fortitude to strive to improve, sharpening your axe, day after day after day, cutting down another story from the imagination forest. It takes drive to do this, and while many professional writers already know full well how this is the work that we do every day, when you’re getting started, it’s hard to know if it’s worth all that time and investment of energy just to train. You have to keep that dream on the horizon and keep running toward it, no matter what hurdles get in your way. There is not secret magic to this. It’s all work. All you can do is keep the faith, write every day, and PERSIST.

Joe-La is living proof of what happens when you do that. Sure, my prompts might have given her some starting blocks to kick free as she booked into a full-fledged run, but this marathon was won entirely on her own legs. She knows I’ve been applauding her from the bleachers. I featured her in my Instigation Showcase shortly after she began this journey. I’ve even prodded her to keep going through emails and tweets. But she’s written a year’s worth of stories that never existed before — adopting a range of moods and personae — and I couldn’t be prouder. It gives me the same feelings I have when I see a student I’ve known for years finally walk across the graduation stage.

“I have walked through the inferno with you as my Virgil, leading me until just when I thought I would never see the other side, I am there…Paradiso. Have I come out the same person who went in? Absolutely not. A small idea…turned out to be one of the most important decisions of my life. I AM a writer! All because I found this little gem of a book…” — Joe-la Dowdy

I never met Joe-La prior to accidentally stumbling upon her blog, but we’ve since become colleagues. When we finally met each other at StokerCon last April, it was as fellow sickos, writers of the strange, not as strangers. Her stories — always a hoot — speak for themselves… she has that bent outlook and impishly perverse sense of humor that — in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe — signifies a person who “gets” horror. Her “self-training” on her blog and in various publications has earned her some bones as an author, and she’s only getting started. At StokerCon she took courses in “Horror University” from several notable authors. She recently was accepted into the graduate school where I teach, as well, launching her work on a novel with the help of several acclaimed writers and other talented newcomers in the genre. Her “petulant muse” will no doubt serve her well as she continues to write; I look forward to watching her career take off.

There is no “prize” for this kind of work. As in all writing-related exercises, the writing IS the reward. You learn by doing in this industry, and you have to go through a lot of keyboards before you start getting traction on a career. But I wanted to give her a big pat on the back by writing this tribute to her achievement. I’m going to send her a gift anyway, too. And I hereby award her the first “#Instigation365” badge, pictured above. She is the only one in the world who has earned it! I dare the rest of you scallywags to try your hand at responding to an Instigation prompt a day for a full year, in an attempt to earn the next one.

Joe-la and Steve Dowdy at StokerCon 2016.

Snapshots of StokerCon 2016

StokerCon 2016 was the inaugural convention sponsored by the Horror Writers Association, highlighting the genre with panel discussions, readings, writing workshops, booksignings and presentations… culminating in the Bram Stoker Award banquet, awarding the genre’s top practitioners with the coolest trophy in the world.

It was a blast. Lots of great writers were up for and won the trophy, including some of my closest friends in the business from Raw Dog Screaming Press and Seton Hill U’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. My workshop on “Making the Reader Squirm” went very well, engendering plenty of squirmy moments and good writing by the class. I (somehow) did a 9am poetry panel the next day too. As always, there’s too much to remember, too many good things to recount, and many things forgotten until someone reminds me later on. Instead, I’ll just share some photos I managed to take that weren’t too blurry or incriminating, and share them below with some sloppy captions.

Look fun? You should come to the next one, to be held in Long Beach on the Queen Mary, with George R.R. Martin headlining. Better yet, join the Horror Writers Association.

It awakens. Arrival in Vegas.

Chatting with Jeff Strand, Patrick Freivald and Kya Aliana at the registration table. Great people.

Jimmy Z Johnston and his son had lots of StokerCon gear in a stock. I said I’d buy a hoodie if I won at the tables. I lost.

I appreciated the dark way they used flamingos in the pocket program.

Kristin Dearborn has a cool tattoo.

John Palisano at the Madhouse signing with John Skipp… photobombed!

Dark Regions sponsored a signing of the Madhouse book. It was… well you know… a Madhouse.

Roy Robbins gave me these rare galleys of The Bitchfight. I held a giveaway (“find me and tell me the code”) on twitter — and Stephanie Wytovich won!

A great gang to chat with at the after party.

Lunch with Bill Nolan, Steve Tem, Jason Brock…and everyone else not pictured here…at Margaritaville. It was fun until it was too much fun.

Catching up with Bitchfight publisher, Roy Robbins.

There really are flamingos at the Flamingo. They are all pathological gamblers.

I taught a workshop in “Making the Reader Squirm.” It started by making THEM squirm into the corner of the room.

Notes from “Squirm Theory” at the “Making the Reader Squirm” workshop.

A clip from my interview on the StokerCon blog about the workshop.

Cousteau Christopher reads a sick scene he wrote involving a squid in the Squirm class.

What happened in this conference room will not stay in this conference room.

Oh, and yes people actually worked in my workshop on “Making the Reader Squirm.” They read these stories… great stuff.

Tim Waggoner, Jonathan Maberry, Steve Rasnic Tem at the “Scary Out There” book signing.

A funny selfie at Caeser’s with Raw Doggers Jen Barnes and Stephanie Wytovich. I spent a lot of time with these guys, and enjoyed every second.

Spotted this postcard on the registration table. I wonder what this coloring book is about? Oh! Back it.

Joe Borelli meets the awesome Nikki Guerlain outside the Stoker Banquet.

Publisher Jennifer Barnes and future Raw Dog Screaming writer Kristin Dearborn.

Jason Brock was a rockstar in this jacket.

RDSP at the Stoker Banquet: Maria Alexander, Jennifer Barnes, Michael Arnzen, Stephanie Wytovich, Lucy Snyder.

Lucy Snyder and Nicole Cushing with their Stoker trophies from the night! Hurrah!

Visiting the poet’s table: Mary Turzillo, David Cowen, Arnzen, and guest of honor Marge Simon.

Michael Bailey won a Stoker and then sealed it in this nifty golden box!

A stolen shot of Maria’s notes for the First Novel award presentation. (Amen, it speaks the truth!)

Mentor of the year, Tim Waggoner

R.L. Stine shakes John Dixon’s hand for winning the YA Stoker award.

Jeff Strand and Kelly Laymon … and Richard Laymon’s ashes.

Lucy Snyder with her SECOND trophy for Fiction Collection.

Venessa, Joe and Wyto… a formidably fun gang of writers.

The Dowdys! What a great time I had, getting to meet Joe-la and her husband Steve.

John Palisano with his freshly minted Stoker trophy for Short Fiction.

Winner of the Poetry Stoker: Alessandro Manzetti, from Italy!

Stephen Jones, Jason & Sunni Brock, and Arnzen at the afterparty.

Great people: Matt Schwartz, Lynne Hansen, John Urbancik

Etc.

Life is a Poem

This poem got a lot of attention on twitter today, so I thought I’d embed it here for posterity.

#PoemYourLife
life is a poem
that does not rhyme;
so poems exist
to organize time–
free verse wants to be free
& death has its own poetry

— Michael Arnzen (@MikeArnzen) May 11, 2016

Follow me on twitter at @MikeArnzen or browse my past tweets here on gorelets.