Paul Tremblay's Blog, page 16
January 3, 2011
Joyce Carol Oates Essay and my 2010 Hate List
I wrote an essay about Joyce Carol Oates's brilliant "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" for Beatrice.com's selling shorts feature.
Read "Man the Flying Saucers" here.
Hipster Bookclub posted their 2010 top 5 lists from a bunch of cool authors. And me! I was encouraged to be creative, so despite my generally sunny disposition I gave them my list of TOP 5 THINGS I HATED IN 2010. Number 1 won't be a surprise to those of you who know me.
January 2, 2011
2010 in review (blog stats!)
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,500 times in 2010. That's about 13 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 102 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 243 posts. There were 24 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 16mb. That's about 2 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was December 14th with 112 views. The most popular post that day was (top) 10 (or 11, and more, plus grousing and ramblings) in 2010.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were paulgtremblay.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, mail.yahoo.com, and paultremblay.net.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for john paul tremblay, creative commons, the little sleep, paul tremblay, and chastity lovely.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
1
(top) 10 (or 11, and more, plus grousing and ramblings) in 2010 December 2010
3 comments and 2 Likes on WordPress.com
2
Paul Tremblay December 2008
3
Free Fiction July 2009
1 comment
4
Summer reading July 2010
2 comments
5
74 (huh?) top Horror Movies October 2010
2 comments
December 27, 2010
Holiday viewing/reading so far
So, Mr. Tremblay, what have you done with your first half of xmas vacation? Besides just about finish your collab novel (more on that later)?
I've sat on my butt quite a bit, actually!
Movies:
the new: Black Swan:
Finally, a horror movie about ballet! Very good, not quite great. Natalie Portman is certainly great in what becomes dual roles that mirror the story of Swan Lake. I would've liked more story-within-a-story, actually. I would've liked less cheap jump scares and more of the lingering camera on the gruesome bits. Not that I enjoy gruesome bits, but it was the scratches, the clipping and breaking of nails and what was going on in the story at those times that was the most effective (horror-wise).
the old: Quatermass and the Pit
An old Hammer flick, and the third movie featuring professor know-it-all Quatermass. The Brits are digging/expanding their subway system, find misshapen skulls, and eventually an unexploded bomb (from WWII)…oh wait, it's a space ship that's 5 million years old. This movie freaked me out as a kid, and despite the laughable effects, I thought the story held up quite well. Seeing it now, I'm convinced that John Carpenter had seen this film. Bits of the alien autopsy scene are in The Thing. And you can see bits of The Prince of Darkness in there too. And Lifeforce (not Carpenter, but an 80s space vampire movie with lots of naked people and the dude who played Charlie Manson in Helter Skelter. Love that guy).
Books:
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead, by Barbara Comyns
Loved this book. The Dorothy Project re-issued this 1950s British novel about a rural town that gets flooded and then overrun by a strange illness that drives its victims stark raving mad before they die. Weirdness and family dysfunction abounds in this amazingly well-written whimsical penny dreadful.
Husker Du: The Story of the Noise-Pop Pioneers Who Launched Modern Rock, by Andrew Earles
I'm a big Husker Du/Bob Mould fan, so yeah, I couldn't wait to read this book. I was mostly satisfied. One major disgruntlement for me was that of the three band members, Bob Mould was the only one who declined to participate in interviews. That sucks for Earles, but man, to me, that's kind of a gaping hole, given how much ink Grant Hart gets. And that's the husker du story in a nutshell, sort of. Are you for Mould or Hart? Seems to me the story was most certainly slanted toward Hart's POV.
The detailed discography and history of indie labels is amazingly well done. Earles's ranting against music journalism is not. But hey, I'm happy he got the book published. More of you kids out there need to read and know about Husker Du.
December 15, 2010
Interview up at Mourning Goats
I discuss goats, a failed novel, the pyshical pain a co-writer is putting me through, and why I love my online friends.
As they say in the biz (what biz?), a tease:
December 14, 2010
Mean Time podcast #5: John Langan
Staying with the duck theme, John Langan reads "It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks": GO HERE FOR A QUACKIN' GOOD PODCAST TIME.
"It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks:" A young family's New Hampshire vacation is interrupted by an event, and everyone starts disappearing, at least, that's that it seems like to five-year-old Danny. This story was published in Fantasy Magazine and reprinted in The Best of Fantasy Magazine.
John Langan is the critically acclaimed author of Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters and House of Windows, along with numerous short stories, many of which have been reprinted in Ellen Datlow's year's best anthos.
John can do just about anything he wants as a writer. He can channel MR James and other classic gothic writers of the 19th and early 20th century while–and sometimes within the same work–get as post-modern and zeitgeisty as you can handle. His work is expansive and terribly personal, and he's written more than a few stories I wish I was good enough to write. Huge thanks to one of my very beset friends for reading the Ducky story.
Like the other Langan, John is one of the original jurors and one of the co-founders of the Shirley Jackson Awards. He's not very good at Mafia.
December 13, 2010
(top) 10 (or 11, and more, plus grousing and ramblings) in 2010
So here it is: your obligatory best books of 2010 list. Lots of good reads this year, though, I feel like I've yet to read some very important novels that were published this year. I'll give them a I-will-read-you-some-day mention at then. But now: the wieners!
–Light Boxes, by Shane Jones: This dreamy little novel about a town that experiences permanent February and banned balloons and kites mixes light, dark, emotion, and imagination. Earnest without being twee or sentimental. Such a fun and twisted book.
–Two from Stephen Graham Jones: It Came from Del Rio and The Ones That Got Away: Del Rio is a short novel about a dude who becomes a zombie cupacabra, wearing a bunny head, and was caught doing some smuggling of space rocks over the Mexican border. Yeah, sounds nuts, but Stephen plays it straight and–as always–mines painful and authentic emotional territory. His short story collection is one of the must read collection of this or any year. Dark, funny, disturbing, and completely original.
–One Bloody Thing After Another, Joey Comeau: The first of our Canadian invaders! What's not to like when you mix a loyal dog, a basement kept zombie Mom, a ghost, and dysfunction galore. Witty, smart, and at times, genuinely creepy.
–Sarah Court, Craig Davidson/People Live Still in Cashtown Corners, Tony Burgess: More Canadians. Two from CZP. Davidson's novel in stories follows the intesecting lives of dreamers and losers in an Ontario neighborhood. Davidson shocks us with cruelty and honor among his hopeful damned. Tony's novella is a first person account of a mass murder that reads like a surrealist true crime book. Both books will stay with you, I promise.
– The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake , Aimee Bender: The novel of the year, says me. A girl wakes to find she can taste the food preparer's emotional state (when they made the food). Aimee explores the ramifications deftly and leaves the reader unsettled, informed, and exhilarated.
– Occultation , Laird Barron: Laird's second collection is as wonderful and scary as his first. Better, even. With Occultation, Laird's thematic vision expands, as does his willingness to explore characterization without skimping on the shocks and scares. One of the most important horror writers working today.
– The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ , Philip Pullman: Retelling of gospel events, with Jesus and Christ as twin brothers. Didactic, maybe, but it worked for as a powerful statement about organized religion and what it means to be human.
– Bury Me Deep , Megan Abbott: Compelling feminist-noir based on a real case from the 30s. Fantastic period piece with voice, style, and twists galore.
–The Caretaker of Lorne Field, Dave Zeltserman: Small New England town has hired a dude to weed this one field for generations. If he doesn't weed the field, the weeds grow into monsters and we're all dead in a week. Or the dude is nuts. Dave takes this twilight-zone set up, sprinkles noir, and plays the reader like a fiddle until the very last page. You can't help but love this book.
other musings:
Bonus non-fic pic: They Live, Jonathan Lethem.
Favorite Rediscoveries: The Cormorant, Stephen Gregory, The Tenant, Roland Torpor
Favorite books from first time novelists
Each of these were outstanding and could've easily made my top ten list.
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, Jesse Bullington
Transubstantiate, Richard Thomas
The Orange Eats the Creeps, Grace Krilanovich
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu
Most disappointing:
The Unnamed, Joshua Ferris
The Great House, Nicole Krauss
Our Tragic Universe, Scarlett Thomas
Books from 2010 I will read at some point:
Working Backwards from the Worst Moment of My Life, Rob Roberge
If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, Robin Black
You Were Wrong, Matthew Sharpe
Next, James Hynes
The Physics of Imaginary Objects, Tina May Hall
Room, Emma Donoghue
The Thirteen days of CZP Xmas giveaways–It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks
Getting into the holiday spirit, CZP is offering thirteen days of freebies and assorted discounts for most of their titles. They're kicking it off today with a free read of my MEAN TIME story "It's Against the Law to Feed the Ducks." Frankly, I can't think of a more cheery holiday story to share with the masses.
The story will be live on the web for only 24 hours. December 13, 12pm through December 14, 12pm.
The story will be posted HERE.
December 7, 2010
Mean Time Podcast #4: Sarah Langan
Sarah Langan reads "The Two-Headed Girl": GO HERE FOR THE PODCASTNESS OF A LIFETIME.
"The Two-Headed Girl": A girl with a second head that changes into different historical and fictional identities tries to find her father while figuring out how to handle Mom and the book club. This story was published in Interzone, Fivechapters.com, and reprinted in Year's Best American Fantasy 3.
Next week author John "I'm not the other" Langan reads!
Sarah Langan is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Missing, The Keeper, and Audrey's Door, along with numerous short stories. In addition to writing novels, she is also pursuing her Master's in Environmental Health Science/Toxicology at New York University.
Sarah's novels are prime examples of what a smart, literate, contemporary horror novel should be. And I'm forever grateful that she took the time out of her crazy-busy schedule to read "The Two-Headed Girl."
Sarah is one of the original jurors and one of the co-founders of the Shirley Jackson Awards. Not only is she a top-notch writer, but is fiercely intelligent and extremely hard-working, and her genuine passion for dark/horrific literature is inspiring. That and she gets along with my sis-cuz Jennifer at parties, so she's all right by me!
December 3, 2010
The Black Quill Awards Nomination for Mean Time
IN THE MEAN TIME is a nominee for Best Genre Fiction Collection.
Yay! Many, many thank yous for the kudos/nomination. The kind folks at Dark Scribe have nominated me before, and I must say, it doesn't get old. Not at all. I'm honored and humbled by the nomination. And it'll be an honor when I lose to Laird Barron and Occultation…
Hey, Laird: Let's settle this like men. We'll play a game of Horse to determine the winner! Or maybe we can leg wrestle at Boskone, charge two bucks. My leg-wrestling nickname: The Boston Mangler.
Readers vote for the winner (there's an editor's choice component to the award as well). To vote, do the clicky!
December 2, 2010
More Mean Time love: Piccirilli, Zeltersman, Hipster Bookclub
Tom Piccirilli: "Paul Tremblay's collection IN THE MEAN TIME. I've been a big fan of Paul's since reading his novels THE LITTLE SLEEP andNO SLEEP TILL WONDERLAND, which follow dubious investigations of a narcoleptic PI. Now he tears up the scene with short fiction is striking, original, enigmatic, surreal, and horrific in all the best ways. If you're a fan of the likes of Dennis Etchison, Donald Barthelme, Thomas Ligotti, or Kelly Link, you'll love Paul's work. In any case, scarf up his books, you can't go wrong."
Dave Zeltserman: "Paul Tremblay's short story collection, In The Mean Time, which I absolutely love. Few writers do unease and disquiet as well in the short form as Paul does in this wonderful collection."
And a very thoughtful (and positive!) review from Jessica Sycz Blanchard at the Hipster Bookclub:
"In the Mean Time is at once eerie, disturbing, challenging, and wonderful. Tremblay challenges readers' sense of security and may not leave any parting consolation—except perhaps to say that we're all in this together."
