Thoughts, essays, miscellaneous amalgams of interestingness.
About two years ago, I discovered Valancourt Books, which reissues out-of-print horror, generally from the 1970s and early 1980s, in really attractive slim trade paperbacks. My latest read from them was Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall (originally published under the pseudonym Jessica Hamilton). What a disturbing little book about a 14-year-girl who seems to be a complete sociopath … Continue reading Golden Ages of Horror: Reading Elizabeth
This year is the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, and today is also Mary Shelley's birthday. So let's celebrate this great novel and author with ten facts about Frankenstein. Mary Shelley's lover (later husband), the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was friends with the poet Lord Byron (who both were not nearly as badass … Continue reading Happy birthday, Mary Shelley and Frankenstein!
“I have lived with that anger, on that anger, beneath that anger, on top of that anger ... for most of my life.” – Audre Lord “Once upon a time / I had enough anger in me to crack crystal” – Kiki Petrosino “Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / … Continue reading Reading angry women
Beautiful books, but beware what lies within... I just finished reading The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, which reminded me strongly of another lesser known classic novel I read last year, Black Sun by Edward Abbey. Both novels were considered minor classics by authors I had heard of and wanted to read. I bought both books because they came in … Continue reading Why I’m Done with “Classics” Written by Men
Y'all may not have noticed, but I truly love Margaret Atwood. Living The Handmaid's Tale: a real-life horror story. And, in case you didn't realize, The Handmaid's Tale is feminist. Margaret Atwood--high priestess of fiction, yes.
Classic story structures and what they can teach us about novel plotting. Infographic: The key book publishing paths. How writer's workshops can be hostile, by Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen. From Chuck Wendig, a "hot steaming sack of business advice" for writers. John Scalzi explains the concept of the "brain eater," a danger lurking … Continue reading For all the writers out there… Links!
Stephen King is one of my favorite writers, so here's a little thing he wrote about Donald Trump. Here's the trailer for The Dark Tower, because we need that now. And just for fun, here are pop songs reimagined as Stephen King book covers.
I've been reading a lot of horror this year. More than I usually do, which was already a large amount. I've been feeling the need for extreme escapism. And despite the truism that good horror reflects current societal fears, I still find it very escapist. Recently, I shared this article from Tor about women characters in … Continue reading Why read horror?
I used to cook quite avidly, but interests wax and wane, and lately cooking has seemed like more of a chore than a joy. Or perhaps with the coming of spring, I feel myself coming to life again, and that has rejuvenated an interest in the basic pleasures of life. Whatever the reason, last night … Continue reading Cooking again: Classic Southern slaw
I'm starting a new occasional feature where I highlight words I've recently spotted in the wild that are useful to know. Today's word is cavil. Cavil (caviling, caviler), a verb, means "to complain about things that are not important" or "to raise trivial and frivolous objections." Synonyms: carp, quibble, fuss, niggle, nitpick. Cavil is a very useful word because … Continue reading Very useful words: Cavil
