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Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
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November 2018 Group Read #1 with Guest Authors of the anthology, WELCOME TO THE SHOW
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Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single reader from all of us.
Matt wrote: "Elke wrote: "Finished, and with another two great stories! This is my very first anthology getting a five star rating, never would have guessed that after my first doubts about reading it at all - ..."I've always wondered about how stories are ordered in anthologies, and thanks to Elke for asking for specifics in this case.
Matt, was this your first time working as an editor instead of, or in combination with, being an author? Also, were there stories that didn't make the cut? And if so, why didn't they? (I'm not asking for author names or anything specific, just generalities.)
Lastly, congratulations on making the Bram Stoker Awards reading list! You must be stoked!
Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single reader from all of us."Congratulations!
Another question, though not related to the anthology, but asked to all contributing authors: which one of your other stories/books would you recommend to readers as a first read? While I am already familiar with several author's writings, there are some that I didn't have on my radar before reading the 'Show' but would like to read more from.
Matt wrote: "I have a question. I asked this on the launch panel, but for everyone who wasn't there: the only stipulation we had in our outline was not to destroy the Shantyman. But... if you *could* destroy the Shantyman, how would you do it?"How about some kind of music that brings the Shantyman down? Like exorcism by church choir, an opera singer smashing everything with a high C, or maybe a band thrashing the place with their (made of) steel guitars...
But the complete banning of music as in the last story also holds a strong appeal - the place withers away because it is no longer fed any music...
Elke wrote: "Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single reader from all of us."Co..."
Of my own fiction, I would recommend THE SURGEON'S MATE: A DISMEMOIR. It is by far the darkest and weirdest thing I've written, both memoir and horror fiction. The premise: What if the hallucinations I experience while in the hospital in 1989 with brain abscesses were not just hallucinations but a window onto true horror. My Jack the Ripper Victims Series is fun too.
Alan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single reader from al..."Thank you, I will check them out!
Alan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single reader from al..."I'm not sure what brain abscesses are but they sound scary as hell!
Rachel wrote: "Elke wrote: "which one of your other stories/books would you recommend to readers as a first read?"I would recommend my novella, HUSK. I have much more work coming next year, so keep an eye on my..."
I already own HUSK and I did add The Surgeon's Mate: A Dismemoir to my TBR.
I'm keeping an eye to see what the rest of the authors have to recommend. :)
Char wrote: "Alan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to every single r..."A brain abscess is an infection in the brain, very rare because the blood brain barrier normally keeps infectious material out of the brain. My abscesses were in the right temporal lobe, producing highly emotional, vivid, visual and olfactory hallucinations. If you are familiar with the creepy medical illustrations I've done, you will have some small sense of what I experienced. I could show you paintings, but there is no function for that here.
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Co..."
Great question! I have to update my status, but I am loving these individual stories--great way to find new-to-me authors...
Rachel wrote: "Elke wrote: "which one of your other stories/books would you recommend to readers as a first read?"I would recommend my novella, HUSK. I have much more work coming next year, so keep an eye on my..."
Thanks! Huh, actually that one already is one my 'squeeze-in' shelf, nice.
Alan wrote: "Char wrote: "Alan wrote: "Elke wrote: "Matt wrote: "Just a little note and thank you: WELCOME TO THE SHOW has just made the Bram Stoker Awards reading list -- A massive and heartfelt thank you to e..."Wow. That's scary as hell.
I've gotten confused as what response belongs with which thread, but if you're referring to my description of Brain Abscesses. Yes, the experience was among the most terrifying of my life!
Alan wrote: "I've gotten confused as what response belongs with which thread, but if you're referring to my description of Brain Abscesses. Yes, the experience was among the most terrifying of my life!"I was referring to your response. I can't imagine going through something like that.
If you read THE SURGEON'S MATE: A DISMEMOIR, you'll know just how I felt doing it. Do you know my paintings that were inspired by the hallucinations? Here's a link to view one of them (you may have to copy and past the url into your browser): https://ifdpublishing.com/shop?keywor...
Alan wrote: "If you read THE SURGEON'S MATE: A DISMEMOIR, you'll know just how I felt doing it. Do you know my paintings that were inspired by the hallucinations? Here's a link to view one of them (you may have..."Wow, you're an artist too? After checking out your paintings, I have to say they're kind of disturbing but beautiful all at once.
Do you think you would be writing the dark fiction that you do, or painting what you paint if you had never experienced the brain abscesses?
Yes, I have been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years, mostly book covers, many, many horror covers. And yes, I had a morbid bent long before the brain abscesses--I actually wrote a lot about it in THE SURGEON'S MATE: A DISMEMOIR. I come from a family of doctors that had a strange, dark sense of humor, a gallows humor. My father was a neurologist--helped me to understand what was going on with the brain abscesses. He loved to watch horror films with me, and read a lot of dark fiction. His father was head of anatomy at Vanderbilt University and a neuroanatomist. He had a mischievous sense of humor with the gruesomeness of his work. He was on the Tennessee Anatomical Board--called it the Board Stiff--in charge of making sure the schools of the State had enough cadavers. He employed a bodysnatcher back in the 30s to insure there were enough. I grew up around a lot of creepy stuff, found the skeletons of civil war dead as the bank of the creek across the street from my boyhood home eroded away the bank. Lots of weird adventures in childhood.
Alan wrote: "Yes, I have been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years, mostly book covers, many, many horror covers. And yes, I had a morbid bent long before the brain abscesses--I actually wrote a lot about ..."Oh my goodness! You found skeletons just across the street? That's definitely a weird adventure.
Char wrote: "Alan wrote: "Yes, I have been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years, mostly book covers, many, many horror covers. And yes, I had a morbid bent long before the brain abscesses--I actually wrote..."Yes. They are today still being exposed as the creek erodes the bank. The bank, held together with vegetation growth on it, is undercut in that area, the water of the creek when not in flood, about 4 feet below the level of the surrounding ground so the bones are difficult to make out. You have to know to look for them there. They look much like the exposed roots of the surrounding trees, the same color, covered with algae or moss, tangled with detritus carried downstream.
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Wow! I can't even imagine seeing that near my home...
Kimberly wrote: "Alan wrote: "Char wrote: "Alan wrote: "Yes, I have been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years, mostly book covers, many, many horror covers. And yes, I had a morbid bent long before the brain a..."You might be surprised by what's hidden in the soil near you. I grew up in Nashville, TN. The Battle of Nashville, a siege of sorts, occurred in the neighborhood where I grew up. The skeletons we--my brother and I--found, were probably killed in the siege, and hastily deposited in shallow graves--they were less than four feet down. we found lumps of brass corrosion, what appeared to be leather (badly decomposed), and cloth that probably survived because it was in part wool.
Before the city was established in 1780, that part of middle Tennessee was sacred hunting and burial grounds for 5 Indian tribes. Salt springs very near what is now Downtown Nashville drew animals to the area, making the hunting very good. Since the Indians wanted to bury their dead where the hunting was good, the city is full of old burials that go way back in time, into prehistory. When neighborhoods were being built there, bones turned up frequently. Farmers' fields turn up bones and Indian relics there to this day.
An interest in history has led me to my choice in subject matter when writing. Since I like the creepy side of fiction, I look into history and find dreadful events and flesh them out into dramas. My novels tend to be works of historical fiction. Not like documentaries, but character-driven dramas. I call it HISTORICAL TERROR: HORROR THAT HAPPENED.
Alan, I have learned so much from you this month! I would like to take the time to thank everyone that took the time to participate here, but especially you Alan! I look forward to reading more of your work next year and I appreciated your taking the time to answer everyone's questions and elaborate on some of your answers. It's been a real pleasure. :)
Char wrote: "Alan, I have learned so much from you this month! I would like to take the time to thank everyone that took the time to participate here, but especially you Alan! I look forward to reading more o..."
Thanks for your interest!
Really appreciate everyone taking the time to read our book. Thank you so much for having us
This was fun, and everyone’s thoughts and answers were wonderful. Thanks for doing this :)))
Kelli wrote: "This was fun, and everyone’s thoughts and answers were wonderful. Thanks for doing this :)))"Thank you, Matt and Kelli!
We try hard here at HA to do our best to help authors which is why we asked Ken on to help us. He has been wonderful in working with authors such as yourselves and putting together these group reads for us. It's truly something special.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!
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Just found out that WELCOME TO THE SHOW won Best Anthology at the Indie Horror Book Awards. A massive thank you everyone for reading our book
Matt wrote: "Just found out that WELCOME TO THE SHOW won Best Anthology at the Indie Horror Book Awards. A massive thank you everyone for reading our book"Congratulations everyone! I'm glad to be part of it. Thank you Matt!
Matt wrote: "Just found out that WELCOME TO THE SHOW won Best Anthology at the Indie Horror Book Awards. A massive thank you everyone for reading our book"Congratulations!
Thanks to everyone for joining us. Proud to be a part of this wonderful anthology with these fantastic writers.I'll be promoting The Window for the next couple months. Check it out if you haven't already. Paperback, e-Book, and FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
Have a great holiday season!
Matt wrote: "Just found out that WELCOME TO THE SHOW won Best Anthology at the Indie Horror Book Awards. A massive thank you everyone for reading our book"Congratulations, well deserved!
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I just finished your fantastic Open Mic Night. So far, this is my favorite story in the collection. I love the noir demon tied in with the trading your soul for fame tale. How did this story come about?
Ken wrote: "Kelli wrote: "This was fun, and everyone’s thoughts and answers were wonderful. Thanks for doing this :)))"I just finished your fantastic Open Mic Night. So far, this is my favorite story in the ..."
Wow, thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying the collection of stories and appreciate the kind words.
As far as the birth of my story: I've always been a fan of the 27 Club, and it just seemed to be the perfect topic when Matt explained the venue to me (I was actually stunned no one else had gone there). Twisting it from coincidence to supernatural (with a crossroads demon) seemed only natural and happened while I was researching the members, as they all really did have something happen about 10 years before their death. Making her live through the decades was just a fun way to nod at each of them and possibly crossed another storyline in the anthology. Plus I got to research, find, and fall in love with a classic cocktail from prohibition—gin rickey for everyone!
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http://intothemacabre.com/2018/12/13/...
Ken wrote: "A solid effort. I enjoyed the Shantyman as the backdrop. Here's my review:http://intothemacabre.com/2018/12/13/..."
Great review. Thanks for reading!
Kelli wrote: "Ken wrote: "Kelli wrote: "This was fun, and everyone’s thoughts and answers were wonderful. Thanks for doing this :)))"I just finished your fantastic Open Mic Night. So far, this is my favorite s..."
I thought everyone would be all over the 27 club as well. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard the premise.
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
The Window (other topics)The Surgeon's Mate: A Dismemoir (other topics)
Teeth (other topics)
When Darkness Loves Us (other topics)
Teeth (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jonathan Janz (other topics)Brian Keene (other topics)
Jonathan Janz (other topics)
Adam Cesare (other topics)
Jeff Strand (other topics)
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Really appreciate that. Yeah, we set the stories chronologically because we wanted to tell the complete history of the venue from construction to demise and everything in between. It was a tough decision - what if two stories were too similar and had to sit side-by-side? What if the 'flow' was off? Luckily, everything clicked naturally, extinguishing any and all doubts.