Lawrence C. Connolly's Blog, page 39

Next Show: May 22 @ Riley’s

Ah, spring! Leaves on the trees, birds in the air, and the big tent opening at Riley’s Pour House. It’s that time of year when musicians look forward to moving out of the pub and onto the summer stage under the big top known as Riley’s Gardens.

It’s a great place to party, and I’m hoping the space will be ready when we return this Friday, May 22, with Duane Davis on bass and Lauren Connolly Moore on harmonies and mandolin. One way or the other — Pub or Gardens — we’re going to have a blast.

M...

The 21st-Century Scop in French? Sacré bleu!

Sacré bleu!

A new French translation of one of my growing-up-in-Levittownstories will soon appear in the French anthology Ténèbres 2015, edited by Benoît Domis and published by Dreampress.

The story, which originally appeared in Twilight Zone Magazine back in 1982, and has since been reprinted in Year’s Best Horror: Series XII and my collection This Way to Egress, is set on the outskirts of Philadelphia during the 1960’s. The story features a fewvintage Americanisms, not the last of which is...

Pennwriters: the place to be this weekend

Pennwriters—the New York style conference at a Pennsylvania cost.That’s how the promoters of this weekend’s Pennwriters Conference describe their annual eventat the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, and this year I’ll be joining them as one of their featured speakers. It’ll be my first year with them, and I’m looking forward to getting a firsthand look. . . .

[Read more at The 21st-Century Scop.]

Simon Kurt Unsworth’s debut novel The Devil’s Detective

I first met Simon Kurt Unsworth in 2008, at the World Fantasy Convention, held that year in Calgary.

While there, we did a reading together, during which Simon shared an excerpt of his story “Old Man’s Pantry” (from the Ash-Tree Press anthologyShades of Darkness, edited by Barbara and Christopher Roden).Spare, gripping, and imbued with a powerful sense of dread, the story convinced me that Simon was a writer to watch. I have been a fan ever since.

I should also mention that 2008 was the same...

Springtime Stories @ Riley’s

The Anglo-Saxon storytellers marked the ages of their characters in winters.

Consider, inBeowulf the hero is said to have lived fifty winters, not fifty years. Why? Because anyone can survive a summer, but if you live througha winter, it’s time to celebrate. And that’s exactly whatour band of 21st-century scopsdid Tuesday, April 28, when Story Night made its monthly return to Riley’s Pour House.

[Read and hear more at The 21st-Century Scop.]

Springtime Stories @ Riley’s

The Anglo-Saxon storytellers marked the ages of their characters in winters.

Consider, inBeowulf the hero is said to have lived fifty winters, not fifty years. Why? Because anyone can survive a summer, but if you live througha winter, it’s time to celebrate. And that’s exactly whatour band of 21st-century scopsdid Tuesday, April 28, when Story Night made its monthly return to Riley’s Pour House.

Havingsurvived the winter, we celebratedwith stories.

Marking his Story Night return after too man...

Who Says You Can’t Repeat the Past?

The good people at PARSEC, Pittsburgh premier science fiction organization, have posted the audio of my April 11 presentation “Dreams, Memory, and Time Travel.” It’s the first in what I understand will be a series of podcasts featuring speakers fromParsec’s monthly meetings.

Held in Squirrel Hill, the meeting gave me a chance to revisit my old neighborhood, the placeI livedwhilewriting some early stories that eventually soldto Amazing Stories and Twilight Zone. I talk about that and more in t...

Sinister Appetites & Dark Discoveries

I’ve been a fan of the stories of Robert Aickman since I first discovered themin the pages to F&SF in the 1976 and then went on to savorhis collections Cold Hand in Mine, The Wine Dark Sea, and others.

Strange, surreal, and imbued the essence of dreams — his tales helped kindle my interest in quiet horror.

Now, decades after I first discovered them, Aickman’s storiesremain among. . . [Read more at The 21st-Century Scop.]

Sinister Appetites & Dark Discoveries

I’ve been a fan of the stories of Robert Aickman since I first discovered themin the pages to F&SF in the 1976 and then went on to savorhis collections Cold Hand in Mine, The Wine Dark Sea, and others.

Strange, surreal, and imbued the essence of dreams — his tales helped kindle my interest in quiet horror.

Now, decades after I first discovered them, Aickman’s storiesremain among the most hauntingstories I have ever read.

Last November at the World Fantasy Convention, I had the opportunity to...

This Week at PARSEC: Dreams, Memory, & Time Travel

This week I’ll be appearing at PARSEC for a discussion of dreams, memories and aformof everyday time travel thatspeaks to something central to the human condition . . . and the nature of story.

PARSEC, an active contributor to Pittsburgh’s literary scene, is anon-profit organization promoting science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, media and music. They’ve been an active contributor to Pittsburgh’s literary scene for over 25 years, and I’m delighted to be presenting to them this m...