Stephen Mark Rainey's Blog, page 41
May 28, 2022
Caching Kerr Lake
Despite having had mild to no symptoms, I was relieved to finally test negative this week for the covidz. Damn near three weeks it lingered, with occasional flareups of coughing and/or congestion. I’ve still got an annoying cough hanging on, but I think that’s because my throat remained somewhat irritated through that entire time period.
So, today, I joined friends Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom) and Old Rob (a.k.a. Old Rob) for boat outing on Kerr Lake, about 90 minutes northeast of here, along the border of NC and VA. Tom has occasionally hauled Ms. B. and me out in the boat for wine and caching, but this was a full-on geocaching trip sans muggles. And a big day on the lake it was, at least distance-wise. I imagine we covered a full 30 miles or so traveling from cache to cache. The weather was perfect for it — temps in the mid-70s and mostly sunny.
Most of the caches we targeted were pretty old, and some had not been found in several years. Unfortunately, a handful of these were clearly missing. On one venture ashore, we discovered an outhouse built for two, complete with facing latrines — a novel idea, I suppose, though none of us particularly cared to test the facility... at least not at the same time. Skyhawk did individually verify that at least one latrine was usable.
My favorite of the caches — a twelve-year-old hide called “ Spring Break at the Train Tressel ” (sic) GC26883 — required no small physical effort to reach, and we discovered it in a location not quite in keeping with the original hider’s intent. At one point, it had been on a trestle beam high up on the bridge foundations at one end, but the beam had since fallen and shattered the container. We replaced the container with a new one, but unfortunately, we couldn’t put the beam back up where it originally belonged. Still, it remains a fun, classic hide, and future hunters should be able to retrieve it.
Old dude on old foundation, pointing out location where old beam fell. By the end of the outing, we were pretty well pooped, a teeny bit sunburned, and shy of some blood, as each of us managed to lacerate ourselves to varying degrees in our numerous excursions into the woods. We did see lots of wildlife. In the plus column, Great Blue Herons, snakes, turtles, frogs, and toads; in the not-so-positive column, bugs of all varieties, many of which laughed off our layers of physical and chemical shields. Damned bugs. Anyway, this was another fine and fun outing, and thanks to Mr. Skyhawk63 for hauling our asses out on the lake. I hope to do this again soon — maybe next time with caches, muggles (well, at least Ms. B.), and wine.
L: A little frog; R: A little toad
Nesting platform for Great Blue Herons, this one with an occupant
Heading into a shady cove to hunt a cache 
May 27, 2022
The Horror Zine Review: Fugue Devil: Resurgence
Reviewer John W. Cozzoli takes on Fugue Devil: Resurgence at
The Horror Zine!
It’s a detailed and perceptive view, particularly at the pivotal, interconnected tales from the book (“Fugue Devil,” “Threnody,” and “The Devil’s Eye”). Please check it out here! ______________________________________________________________________
May 26, 2022
Old Dude at the NBC HOUSE OF MYSTERY Radio Show!
“At an early age, I discovered the only thing more exhilarating than being scared was scaring other people.”
Last week, NBC's House of Mystery host Alan Warren and I had a fun time talking about Dark Shadows, Ameri-Scares, Fugue Devil: Resurgence... and all kinds of other scary things. You can listen to the podcast here.
The HoM episode will air next week on 106.5 FM Los Angeles, 102.3 FM San Bernadino, 1050 AM Palm Springs at 9 p.m. Pacific Time or online at KCAA Live Stream. Listen to the House of Mystery Radio Show interviews at any time here:
May 21, 2022
A Nice Shout Out in This Week’s YES! Weekly
Local author, artist, and good friend Ian McDowell was kind enough to blurb Fugue Devil: Resurgence and the upcoming book release party at Rioja! A Wine Bar (June 4, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) in this week’s issue of YES! Weekly, our free alternative news publication here in Greensboro. Check it out:
May 18, 2022
Greensboro Urban Adventure
Just the ticket for when one is on the rebound from the covidz but can’t yet gather safely with others: a new, multi-stage, physically challenging geocache that one can hunt all by one’s lonesome, courtesy of Ranger Fox (a.k.a. Christopher). Happily, this one, called
Greensboro Urban Adventure
, lies just down the road a piece, with six stages at various locations within a couple of square miles of territory. Each stage offers its unique challenges, with most requiring some measure of physical strength and dexterity. Fortunately, I still have a modicum of each. Ranger Fox recently challenged us locals with
Nogitsune
, a novel hide that required a coordinated team effort to spy, retrieve, sign the log, and re-hide as found. This one turned out to be just as challenging, if in an altogether different way. Greensboro Urban Adventure posted on the geocaching website yesterday morning, and I set out shortly afterward to see if I might find at least the first stage, and more if time allowed. Stage 1 resides somewhere in the setting pictured above — a crumbling old railroad trestle over North Buffalo Creek. I’d have to classify it as moderately dangerous, as the structure is somewhat less than sound, and it’s a fairly long drop into the stream below (sure-footedness here is a virtue). I had no problem tackling the structure per se, but... holy cow... it’s one helluva target-rich location, and I spent a full hour getting to know every nook, cranny, crevice, bar, bolt, nut, beam, spike, and crosstie on the thing... except for the one that concealed the cache. Finally, I cried “uncle” and resolved to come back some other time.
Naturally, last night, friends Night-Hawk (a.k.a. Tom) and Cantergirl (a.k.a. Jeannie) went out there and not only found stage 1 but completed the entire multi. Well, two heads are better than one — or in my case, a half — but I figured that, this morning, I’d give it another shot on my own. So, bright and early, off I went, back to the trestle, where that distinctive sensation of deja-vu soon settled upon me. Where else could I possibly look that I hadn’t already? Well... hey... what do you know... HERE is the dad-blamed, bloody, ding-dong-blasted devious little stage... in a spot I had already searched with excruciating thoroughness, or so I thought. Apparently, not so much thoroughness.
At least I now had the coordinates to get to the next stage.
Stage 2 was a very traditional hide, easily located. But the coordinates I procured there led me to a location that had to be the one for which the cache description indicated a flashlight would come in handy. And did it ever. Fortunately, thanks to Sir Fox’s typically precise coordinates — even in a location where the sun never shines — I found the stage remarkably quickly. As in I walked... well, duck-walked, for the ceiling is low... straight to it. I took a few photos (below), recorded the next set of coordinates, and moved on.
I ended up taking a more roundabout route to the next stage than was really necessary, but I got myself where I needed to be with only a marginally taxing physical challenge or two. Here, I found myself peering up a steep, sheltered incline — (insert Red Hot Chili Peppers song title here). Quickly enough, way up yonder, I saw what I thought might be my quarry. Turns out it wasn’t, but it did put me right where I needed to be to spy my quarry lurking nearby. It also put me at eye level with a thing that, at first, caused me some confusion followed by consternation. It was about ten inches in diameter. Odd ceramic pot or bizarrely precise hornet nest? Before even stopping to think that, if it was the latter, the results might prove singularly nasty... I poked it. Yep. Hornet nest. Happily for all involved, no hornets came streaming out. This, I will add, might be called getting caught up in the heat of the moment, damning the torpedoes, allowing one’s enthusiasm for the hunt to overwhelm one’s good judgment. Or just plain dumb-assedness. Take your pick.
Okay, two stages left to go. It wasn’t far to the next, so I hoofed it to the location. Though much smaller in scale, this stage’s setting struck me as mighty reminiscent of the first stage’s. Well, yes and no. Spying and acquiring the necessary coordinates involved less actual danger but required far more agility to keep from tumbling into a creek and getting soaked. Happily, I ended up not soaked and in possession of the coordinates to the final stage. Reaching the final required a short drive to what is likely to become a future leg of the downtown Greensboro Greenway. As yet, it remains undeveloped. So much the better — just a deserted cut through a stand of woods where the old rail line used to run. An easy hike out to ground zero... and thar she be: a by-now familiar-looking structure, which I knew concealed, somewhere somehow, the final container, which was listed as “regular” size — something around the size of a typical .30 calibre ammo can. No direct spoilers, but I will say that acquiring that container required more acrobatics than I had yet performed at any previous stages. Not particularly dangerous, but — again — the result of carelessness or mishap would be a pretty thorough soaking, if not injury.
No soaking, no injury. And my signature on the log.
I think, after all this description, this caching experience can be summed up with just a great big “WHOA!” Sir Fox has indeed earned another favorite point with Greensboro Urban Adventure.
A rickety road ahead!
Where the heck am I?
WHOA!
May 15, 2022
Fugue Devil: Resurgence at Uncomfortably Dark Horror/Red Rose Reviews
Hey! A nice review of Fugue Devil: Resurgence at Uncomfortably Dark / Red Rose Reviews (from the link, scroll down to the April 30 review).
“The pacing of these stories is damn near perfect – not too slow and not too fast, the author takes a good amount of time setting up his characters and their environments before bringing in the supernatural.... It works to connect the reader to both the story and the main character.”—Dark Rose Reviews
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Hey! A nice review of Fugue Devil: Resurgence at Unco...
Hey! A nice review of Fugue Devil: Resurgence at Uncomfortably Dark / Red Rose Reviews (from the link, scroll down to the April 30 review).
“The pacing of these stories is damn near perfect – not too slow and not too fast, the author takes a good amount of time setting up his characters and their environments before bringing in the supernatural & it works to connect the reader to both the story and the main character.”—Dark Rose Reviews
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/bla...
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A Graveside Chat with Glynn Owen Barrass
Glynn Owen Barrass is a hugely prolific writer and editor, particularly in the field of Lovecraftian literature and gaming. He graciously agreed to share some of his wit, wisdom, experience, and news with A Graveside Chat. Buckle up!
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GC: You have an impressive body of work and have worn numerous hats — from writer of short stories to editor/co-editor of anthologies, to author of role-playing games. Do you enjoy any of these particular disciplines more than the other? Have you written any novels? Is novel writing an endeavor that appeals to you?
GOB: Why thank you! Many people don’t know that I’ve also written poetry. This was early in my career, and I found short story writing more enjoyable. In answer to your question, short story writing will always be my greatest love. The satisfaction of putting word to page, the completion of a story and seeing it published, it’s second to none. Not that I don’t love the other two mediums. Working on role-playing games is similar to story writing, but is a different kind of challenge. When writing gaming material, you have to consider what your protagonists will do, unlike with fiction where they have a clear path. And as they’re given life to by your players, they quite often do the unexpected! It’s great fun creating a world that players will experience, interact with, and quite possibly get killed by!
With the editorial side of things, there’s the excitement of seeing what the authors create from the anthology theme, the pleasure of reading their story, and in the case of an open call anthology (rather than closed), getting to choose the stories that fit the theme best, which stories complement one-another in the anthology as a whole. I’ve written some novellas, but nothing nearing novel length (yet). I guess one day a short story or novella will keep on going till I have to accept it’s going to become a novel!
GC: Much of your work either ties into or is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s work. What draws you to this particular sub-genre, if we should call it that? Do you tend to write tales that fit into specific Lovecraftian lore — i.e., the myriad conventions of the Cthulhu Mythos — or are you more inclined to draw on the concepts that inspired those conventions and veer off into your own territory? (Or both, perhaps?)
GOB: When I discovered Lovecraft’s fiction in my early teens, it was a style of writing and imaginative fiction the likes of which I’d never encountered. His fiction stuck with me as a reader, and years later, as a writer. I guess what really attracts me to the Cthulhu Mythos is the pantheon of strange and dreadful entities, the intricate, hidden web they created throughout the history of humanity and the aeons before that. I write a mixture of traditional lore and my own writing conventions, with primarily modern day Cthulhu Mythos tales, and some set in the Cyberpunk sub-genre. One creation I should mention is my female Occult Detective Cassandra Bane. Her tales are certainly a hybrid of the traditional and my own fictional territory. Noir-style adventures in contemporary, crime-infested cities, including of course, the eldritch horrors from beyond.
GC: You have collaborated with author/editor Brian Sammons on numerous occasions. Do you have a favorite project that you both worked on? What drew you into this collaborative relationship? Do you have more projects on the drawing board together?
GOB: Yes, Brian and I have done a lot together! We’ve co-edited anthologies, co-written short stories, and also worked together on the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. As for a favourite project, that may be the most difficult question so far! We’ve co-edited nine anthologies together, soon to be ten, and written two large campaigns for Call of Cthulhu. My favourite anthology is either Steampunk Cthulhu or Eldritch Chrome. It’s difficult to choose! Both books were entirely unique at the time of release, the subgenres of Cthulhu Mythos/Steampunk, and Cyberpunk Cthulhu, untouched as anthologies. We put a lot of love into both, as did our amazing and talented authors.
Another project we worked on, for Call of Cthulhu, is A Time to Harvest. Brian created this huge campaign with in-depth information regarding one of the Cthulhu Mythos’s most sinister races, (the Mi-go) and asked me to help complete it. The publisher liked the campaign so much, they used it as an organized play campaign for Call of Cthulhu.
We met on social media, me being a fan of his gaming and anthology work. We began talking about themed anthologies we’d like to see, and our first book, Eldritch Chrome, was born. We are currently working on a Murder Mystery/Cthulhu Mythos anthology for PS Publishing, and also a new book, the details of which we’re keeping quiet, for now!
GC: Do you enjoy role-playing games yourself? Any particular favorite games?
GOB: I played a lot more games when I was younger, such as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest, and Traveller. My favourite back then, and now, and this may come as no surprise, is Call of Cthulhu. When Call of Cthulhu first appeared in the game shops it was something else, so different from the fantasy and sci-fi games we were playing. Gangsters, molls, professors, and dilettantes battling alien god and monsters. It was amazing.
GC: Insert your own question here. Whatever topic, have your say. Anything you want — or have wanted — to share, go for it!
GOB: The Cthulhu Mythos has brought so many writers together, and we’ve formed grand friendships as a result. Cthulhu is everywhere now, in books and games, toys and TV and movies... I couldn’t be happier. In some ways, I guess Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Cult managed to take over the world just as he envisioned, with just a little less howling and madness!
GC: Thanks so much for sharing your time and news. Most appreciated!
May 14, 2022
2021 HWA Bram Stoker Award Winners
Congarters to the 2021 HWA Bram Stoker Award winners!
SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL: Piper, Hailey – Queen of Teeth (Strangehouse Books) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL: Manzetti, Alessandro (author) and Cardoselli, Stefano (artist) – The Inhabitant of the Lake (Independent Legions Publishing) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL: Waters, Erica – The River Has Teeth (HarperTeen) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION: Strand, Jeff – “Twentieth Anniversary Screening” (Slice and Dice) (Independently published) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION: Murray, Lee – “Permanent Damage” (Attack From the ’80s) (Raw Dog Screaming Press) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FICTION COLLECTION: Files, Gemma – In That Endlessness, Our End (Grimscribe Press) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A SCREENPLAY: Flanagan, Mike; Flanagan, James; and Howard, Jeff – Midnight Mass, Season 1, Episode 6: “Book VI: Acts of the Apostles” (Intrepid Pictures) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A POETRY COLLECTION: Sng, Christina; Yuriko Smith, Angela; Murray, Lee; and Flynn, Geneve – Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken. (Yuriko Publishing) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ANTHOLOGY: Datlow, Ellen – When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (Titan Books) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NON-FICTION: Knost, Michael – Writers Workshop of Horror 2 (Hydra Publications) SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT NON-FICTION: Yuriko Smith, Angela – “Horror Writers: Architects of Hope” (The Sirens Call, Halloween 2021, Issue 55) (Sirens Call Publications) LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Fletcher, Jo; Holder, Nancy; Suzuki, KojiSPECIALTY PRESS: Valancourt BooksTHE RICHARD LAYMON PRESIDENT’S AWARD: Saulson, SumikoTHE SILVER HAMMER AWARD: Wetmore, Kevin J.MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Knost, MichaelMay 13, 2022
Fugue Devil: Resurgence Book Release Party:June 4, 2022, 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.
Folks in GREENSBORO, NC, & Surrounding Areas...
For my latest scary offering — Fugue Devil: Resurgence — there will be a book release party at Rioja! A Wine Bar (1603 Battleground, Greensboro, NC), on Saturday, June 4, 2022,from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Rioja! has a fine selection of both wine and beer, and a small but excellent food menu. I’ll be doing a short reading from the book about 4:30 p.m. Copies of the paperback — and possibly the hardback — will be available, and I’ll happily autograph them (if you don’t mind your books being devalued).
This is not necessarily a full two-hour sit-on-your-ass-and-drink event (unless you want it to be). Jake, the owner, is making this a private event, and just hopes for folks to stop in to enjoy a friendly gathering and some lovely refreshments.
I'd be honored if y’all can make it. Mark your calendars!
