You'll have to buy the Ellen Datlow edited anthology Poe  for it, but "Technicolor" is my favorite story of the last couple years.  Langan's brilliantly conceived fictional lecture on the explanation of color symbolism in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" is everything a story should be - intelligent, genre-expanding, and entertaining.

Today I received a mystery package in the mail.  I order so many books from Amazon Used that at first I thought I'd lost track of books on the way.  However, when I opened it and saw the dragon (yes, the dragon!) I knew what it was - an unsolicited freebie sent to voting members of the HWA.  Other HWA members have told me these will show up from time to time.  It seems like such a waste, such a shot in the dark.  Does anyone read these freebies?  And if so, have any of them been any good?  Truth be told, I read through ten pages of the thing.  Not for me.  At all.  Anyone want a free book, let me know.  (Nope, you don't get a title or author/editor.  Sight unseen is the only way to go)

In Steve Hely's How I Became a Famous Novelist, Pete Tarslaw, a guy stuck in a dead end job, decides the best way to humiliate his ex-girlfriend at her wedding is to write a best selling novel.  Tarslaw studies the NYT Best Sellers list and proceeds to write a novel that includes everything the public likes - old people, road trips, secret societies, singalongs, murder, finding love, and terrible prose that passes for depth.  Tarslaw used to write for Letterman, so the novel is pretty funny, but what was more entertaining was how he nailed the seemingly calculated approach some writers take, how snobbery plays a part in all writer's lives, and questions the buying choices of the pubilc.  All in all, damn entertaining and the first novel in years I finished in one day. 

My pal, John Mantooth, has a new story up at Fantasy Magazine.  Go read "The Water Tower" and leave a comment.

www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/

I leave tomorrow morning for Readercon in Boston.  Am looking forward to finally meeting some people I've talked to countless times online but never in person - Paul Tremblay, Laird Baron, Ian Rogers, and some others.  Who else will be there?  Peter Straub, Liz Hand, Kit Reed, Ellen Datlow...can't beat that lineup, right?  As obnoxiously outgoing as I can be, the whole thing has me somewhat freaked-out, like when as a freshmen I sat with my friend Ted at a seniors table.  Hopefully this weekend won't end with me being stuffed in a locker again.

                               

I have a confession – a good bit of literary horror bugs me.  Too many of its authors spend so much time stylizing that they forget to tell a compelling and interesting story.  Maybe it’s lowbrow of me to admit, but I want to be entertained.  I enjoy strong writing as much as the next person, but I prefer my workouts at the Y, not on the page, thank you very much.  So tell me an enjoyable, well-written story that leaves me gut shot and you’ll have me shouting about it from the mountaintops.

 So here I am at the mountain's peak with shouting in mind - Go read Paul Tremblay’s novella The Harlequin and The Train.  Right now.

 Let’s get it out the way first.  This novella is a stylized piece or literary horror, a description that might scare off some readers.  It's even experimental in that Tremblay asks you to highlight certain words to deepen the reading experience, making the reader a participant in the process and story.  But beyond Tremblay’s gutsy stylistic choices, The Harlequin and The Train is a horrific and powerful story.  Without giving too much away, the plot centers around Rudy, an engineer who is at the controls when his train strikes a harlequin placed on the tracks.  What happens immediately afterward is revolting to say the least, but not nearly as shocking as Rudy’s descent in the weeks following the collision.  Mysterious phone calls lead Rudy to a bizarre subculture forcing him to choose between acting versus being acted upon, and being the victim versus being the victim-maker – if there’s any real difference in the choices.

Tremblay’s gifted storytelling makes this one of the most enjoyable and powerful reading experiences I’ve had in a long time.  The prose is razor sharp, cutting out all bullshit, but Tremblay remains focused on what is most important, the story itself.  Tremblay makes tough, unflinching choices in the narrative that infuriated and surprised me.  I mean, Jesus, the last chapter is probably the most brutal thing I’ve read in years.  And I say that with the utmost respect and jealousy.  I finished the novella and immediately started it again knowing the overall effect would only deepen on second reading.  How many works can you say that about?

I’d be remiss if I also didn’t acknowledge the fantastic look of the novella.  Designed by Nick Curtis, the cover looks like a battered composition notebook complete with duct-taped binding.  This novella represents Necropolitan Press’ return, and they’re re-entering the publishing world with the right author.  I have no doubt Tremblay’s work will be recognized next year come Stoker time.  Fingers crossed, because this novella is that damn good.

Admittedly, over the last couple of years, Tremblay’s become a friend, mentor, and role model to me.  I suppose that doesn’t make me the most unbiased reviewer.  I like to think, however, that I can be objective when it comes to someone’s work.  If you’ll allow me that, then believe me when I say Tremblay’s The Harlequin and The Train is unforgettable, and only validates my admiration for him.  Go buy a copy right now.

From Necropolitan Press:  http://www.necropolitan-press.com/biblio/Harlequin.php

From Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Harlequin-Train-Novella-Paul-Tremblay/dp/0981832008

Free Digital Version for you Cheap Asses - http://issuu.com/necropolitan-press/docs/9780981832005

Can't give specifics, but I might as well share good news while I have it - had two sales in two days.  One, a short story, "Into The After", and two, a poem (Yes, it's okay to ask 'WTF?') once titled "Some of Us Have Been Talking and Think You Should Know", but was changed to "Paranoia".  

Here are three recs for the month, one free, one cheap, and one interactive!

1.  "Halloween Comes to County Road Seven" by John Mantooth
Mantooth's gritty, southern gothic tale deserves to be read.  Now.  And it's free, so no excuses.  It's up here at ThugLit - http://www.thuglit.com/zine/thug31/thuglit31.html

2.  Gone, the Day by Erik Williams.  Available as a Kindle download (for .80!), this novella explores what happens when darkness consumes the world. No sun. No sky. No stars. Only blackness. Before anyone can question what has happened, or even their own sanity, great beasts swarm out of the void and begin a lethal assault on mankind. You'll rip through this in one sitting.   Get it for your Kindle here - http://www.amazon.com/Gone-the-Day-ebook/dp/B002D48LGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1245715635&sr=1-1

3.  The Harlequin and the Train by Paul G. Tremblay
This experimental fiction narrative about paranoia, choice, and the horror of individual and collective consequence requires interaction with the text through the use of a highlighter.  (Yes, you'll be forced to write in that new book, pal!)  Rudy has only been on the job as a train engineer for a few months. While at the helm of a commuter train headed to Boston, Massachusetts, it hits a harlequin clown, and in the chaotic aftermath, he witnesses the horrific and inexplicable actions of a group of people who were seemingly laying in wait for the accident. There are other accidents and as the group infiltrates his life (present and past), and as random global acts of violence and suffering seem to be connected, what Rudy believes about others and himself will be forever warped as he makes his final choice.  Order it here - www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981832008

Here a couple of things I've learned in the last week:

1.  I am terrible at signing my name.  You'd think I'd be thrilled to be signing my first signature sheets, but I felt nothing but stress the moment the sheets for Darkness on the Edge: Tales Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen arrived.  While my last name has fared okay in signature form, I always butcher my first name.  Go and try it.  It's impossible to do with a flourish.  That damn "r" into the "t" kills me everytime.  Most times it looks like I've written 'Kut".  Or the "t" is so loopy it appears a third grader wrote it.  Then there's the unfortunate times the "r" looks like an "n" and, well, you get the point.  To make matters worse, Gary A. Braunbeck signed before me.  You should see his signature.  It's artistry.  I felt like I was dropping a turd on the sheet each time I signed.  Still, it was fun, and the vain part of me had my wife take a picture of the event.  The box now goes on to Lorne Dixon who will see my signature and no doubt wonder, "Who's this grade schooler who made it into the anthology?"

2.  I am terrible  at reading off a Kindle.  God bless my yearbook students.  After a year of dealing with my stress attacks on being behind deadline, and after constantly yelling at them for prom dress shopping and watching Lil' Wayne videos on Youtube instead of doing their work, they went out and bought me a Kindle.  I was speechless, of course.  Usually the end of the year brings a gift card to Barnes and Noble, or one year, a box of Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup, but a Kindle?  Really?  I brought it home, and after deleting the Bill O'Reilly book that was on there for some reason, bought a Robert B. Parker novel.  It was hard to read in the new medium, but I fought through it.  The difficulty, I think, is that I don't feel like I'm making progress.  There's a % complete indicator at the bottom of the screen, but reading is like being on a treadmill.  Still, I will forge ahead.  I did read Stephen King's "Ur", a story only for the Kindle, which was fun, and am committed to making this relationship work, but it's a struggle at the moment.

3.  I am terrible at self-motivation.  I've done a pretty good job over the last month construction self-imposed obstacles to writing a novel.  I won't go into all of the mania I've put myself through, but it's really time to stop complaining and start writing.  John Langan told me the other night he sold four short stories in his first year of writing, then published nothing for the next three years while he wrote a novel and a half.  That made me feel much better about disappearing while as I write a novel.  So time to get to work, right?  Right.

A couple of recommendations of things I should have known about awhile ago:

1.  Laird Barron's The Imago Sequence.  Brilliantly written, atmospheric stories that will change the way you perceive short stories and what they can accomplish.  Barron dreams big, and this Shirley Jackson award-winning collection deserves all of the attention it's received.
Great stuff.  Buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/Imago-Sequence-Other-Stories/dp/1597800880

2.  Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.  How in the hell did I not know about this?  I'm fairly certain all knowledge of cool music died in me the day I graduated college, so it's understandable this cd, over ten years old now, passed me by.  "Holland, 1945" has some of the best lyrics I've heard in years.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCjpbjCH5L0

3.  Let the Right One In.  Seen this?  Great vampire movie.  This movie has scenes in it I will never forget.  Quiet, understated, and damn effective.  And that swimming pool scene?  Wow.

My writing group, Snutch Labs, had the pleasure of participating in a web chat with overly tall author and basketball smack talker Paul Tremblay last night.  He talks about the writing of his great novel, The Little Sleep, how he approaches the craft, and how he's the best spec fiction athlete on the planet.  Great stuff.  The transcript of the chat is available here- http://snutchlabs.wordpress.com/chat-with-paul-tremblay/

I can't say enough good things about Nick Mamatas's You Might Sleep.  Mamatas never dumbs down his stories or his writing, and when I was finished, I felt smarter.  How many books can you say that about?  I won't pretend that I fully understood every story in this collection, but I enjoyed the hell out of the ride.  Inside these stories you'll learn how building a trebuchet can be the solution to all of your problems, why you should put a $50 in a copy of Jung's The Undiscovered Self at your local library, what Joan of Arc's favorite "weepy" movie is, and just where in the hell all of the bees have gone.  It's the last piece though - the novella "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" that really murdered me.  It's a perfect mix of Mamatas' political sensibilities and damn fine storytelling.  Go get a copy of this right now.



                       

Read a couple of great YA novels this week:

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher.  Crutcher is my favorite YA author.  He's unflinching in what he writes about, and my students love him.  AS is a collection of short stories, and "The Pin", about a boy challenging his father to a wrestling match in front of the school, is brilliant.  His novels are just fantastic.  Go read him.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  At one point I taught part of Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven to my seniors.  They loved it like I knew they would.  Alexie's most recent book, written specifically for a younger audience, has all of the humor, emotion, and depth of his more adult works.  This is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Go buy a copy of John Langan's Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters.  It's smart, layered, and downright startling at times.  Langan's collection is up for a Bram Stoker award this year.  Fingers crossed.  Toes, too.
                                             

Every so often I run across something by a writer that makes me feel a whole lot better about things.  Tom Piccirilli's blog did that today: www.thecoldspot.blogspot.com/

I’m curious to know when people find the time to write, and how once they get that time, they actually use it instead of falling prey to the great Satan known as the internet.  At school I get seventy-four minutes of planning time each day.  Most days I hibernate in a storage closet of sorts and knock out some words.  (Yes, it’s a bit creepy, I understand that.)  I have no internet access on my laptop at school, so I’m usually quite productive.  Once I get home and my son is in bed, I also have a couple of hours to write.  Sometimes I write, but a good deal of time is wasted by checking damn sports scores, buying used books of Amazon, etc.  I know other people struggle with willpower as well.  I’d love to hear how others overcome great time sucks and actually get words down.

Paul Tremblay's debut novel, The Little Sleep, arrives in bookstores today.  TLS is the story of a narcoleptic detective working a case in Boston.  Not only has TLS gotten great reviews, but Paul is a hell of a good guy; he deserves all of the success that comes his way.  Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.  Go to the local bookstore of your choosing and pick up a copy.

Seems I'm always playing catch-up on movies, books, cds, etc.  Here are some things lately that have struck the right chord in me:

Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter.  The fallout from a devastating bus crash in a small town told from the viewpoint of four characters.  Banks and Stewart O'Nan share a lot in common with their voice, tone, and depth.  And like O'Nan's books, this one hit me hard.

Man on Wire.  This Academy Award winning documentary tells the story of Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the World Trade Center.  Petit is crazy in the best way, and this movie is suspenseful and inspiring.  I'm going to start wearing more tights.

Tom Piccirilli's "The Misfit Child Grows Fat on Despair".  Pic won the 2002 Stoker for this story, and I had to hunt it down after reading his entry in On Writing Horror where he discussed the writing of the piece.  Great, great, great, and with an absolutely brutal last line.

Today I bought Mike Ness' Cheating at Solitaire.  For the uninitiated, Ness is the lead singer for Social Distortion, and has a growl that scares the hell out of me.  Just listening to this cd makes me want to light a cigarette and get in a fight in some dive bar.  I'm not a big fan of cover songs, but this version of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" is great.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16GDt2XHESw

I'm happy to be sharing the most recent issue of Chizine with Shira Lipkin's "The Angel of Fremont Street".  I love this story.  She has a poet's touch and sensitivity that's going to take her far.  http://chizine.com/angel_of_fremont_street.htm