April Newsletter

NEHW Newsletter April 2014

Let’s start off with member news!

From Morgan Sylvia

My new short “Let Him Who Hath Understanding” is going to be in Axes of Evil .

From Dale Phillips and Vlad Vaslyn:

I'm featured at a high-profile place today. Have a co-written guest post on the influential blog of J A Konrath, the guru of self-publishing. Really great plug, and some useful information for writers.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2014/04/guest-post-by-dale-t-phillips-and-vlad-v.html

From John Grover:

John Grover is excited to announce the release of his new horror novel “The
Fetch.”

WAR OF WITCHES
From the author of Creatures and Crypts and Frozen Stiff comes an all new horror.
They are followers of a different path, a way of magic and mystery, of old customs and ancient knowledge. In their world appearances can mean so much but those appearances are not always what they seem.

Isabelle Thicket, a sorceress of the black arts is about to collide with Jacob Norsen, a sorcerer of white magic, and all Hell will break loose.  Isabelle will stop at nothing to get what she wants and Jacob will do anything to protect those he loves. Two of the most powerful forces of
nature will clash in a battle to the death and their power will unleash a greater evil...an old, hungering evil that will threaten the world.

There's no safe place to hide from... The Fetch.
Available on Kindle, Nook, Kobo or Paperback.

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00J6HJXMY,

B&N:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fetch-john-grover/1118954131?ean=2940149 309139

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-fetch-3

John will also have a story appear in the new upcoming anthology “The End is the Beginning” by Firbolg Publishing called “The Touch.” The anthology is due to make its premiere at the World Horror Convention.

From Tim Finn:

My story “Vengeance Stirred, Not on the Rocks” is slated to appear in the Angelic Knight Press anthology Demon Rum and Other Evil Spirits.  I have a piece of flash fiction entitled “A Winter's Wisp” in the upcoming Strange Musings Press collection Alternate Hilarities 2: Vampires Suck.

From Vlad Vaslyn:

New Release from Vlad V.

When Pete and Gary Godfrey stumble upon a skeleton in an ancient burial chamber, their lives are forever altered. They activate a bizarre crystal cube clasped in the skeleton's hand, and once its terrifying power has been awakened, things quickly spiral out of their control. The brothers have put themselves and the entire city of New York in danger, and soon they fall into the crosshairs of an NSA agent driven by a shadowy agenda. The deadly implications of their find could change the course of human history, and they have no choice but to solve the mystery of the cube before it annihilates them all.

The first in a two-part work, The Button is a Science Fiction/Thriller that asks if humanity is far older than we've been led to believe. Was our species more advanced in some distant past? Is there a conspiracy to hide a secret history from the public? Perhaps the answers lie in the Godfrey brother's accidental discovery, but they'd better work fast, because the countdown has begun ...

Available now: http://www.amazon.com/The-Button-Book-I-I/dp/1495321622/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397674014&sr=8-1&keywords=the+button+vlad

From Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert:

Two of Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert's horror-themed poems have been translated into Polish and are featured in the latest issue of Creatio Fantastica. The Lies Parents Tell is a zombie-themed poem that was first published by Tales of the Zombie War. Interview with the Faerie (Part One) is fantasy/horror and can be found in Suzanne's book of speculative poetry, Interview with the Faerie (Part One) and Other Tales of Darkness of Light. An interview with Suzanne is also featured in this issue.

Creatio Fantastica currently operates under the auspices of the Laboratory of Literature and Popular Culture and New Media at the Department of Modern Languages, University of Wroclaw, Poland.

From KH Vaughan:

K. H. Vaughan has new stories available in the following anthologies:

“Hell on Wheels” appears in “The Lost: A Kingdom of Nothing Anthology,” available from Galileo Games.
“Founding Fathers” appears in “Songs of the Satyrs,” available on Kindle and Smashwords.
“Zipperback” appears in the anthology “The Future Embodied,” available on Kindle.

More good news from Dale Phillips!

Made a story sale to Voluted Tales in Australia- my third published continent!
http://daletphillips.blogspot.com/2014/04/another-story-sale-our-view-confirmed.html

From Jan Kozlowski

Blight Digest, a new dark fiction & horror magazine debuting October 7, 2014 from One Eye Press is open for submissions until May 12, 2014. Featuring 10 harrowing stories from emerging & established writers, Blight Digest will be produced in both print & digital formats and will be available through Amazon and the Blight Digest website- http://oneeyepress.com/publication/magazines/blightdigest

Submission information can be found at http://oneeyepress.com/submissions

I'm also very proud to have a writing exercise included in the latest in the NOW WRITE! series edited by Laurie Lamson, NOW WRITE! Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today's Best Writers & Teachers. 

http://www.amazon.com/Write-Science-Fiction-Fantasy-Horror/dp/039916555X

From Scott T. Goudsward

Scott’s newest story “With Death Comes Life” is in the premier anthology from April Moon Books “The Dark Rites of Cthulhu.”

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0993718000/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0WXXJFRFQYZJV7S0KFRJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

From Bracken MacLeod:

Bracken was interviewed from the good folks of Annie’s Book Stop in Worcester, MA

http://anniesbookstopworcester.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/author-spotlight-bracken-macleod-and-white-knight/

To read an excerpt, follow the link:

http://oneeyepress.com/publication/singles/white-knight

***

In October the latest EA Poe statue will be unveiled in Boston:

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2014/04/03/edgar-allan-poe-statue-will-unveiled-october/

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Events!

Coming up, the NEHW makes an appearance at the Newburyport Literary Festival.  This the first year that horror has been accepted to this event.  The panel we’re on is 10:30 Saturday morning.  Check out the schedule and stop by.

On the panel are: Gordon Bean, Rob Smales, Scott Goudsward and moderating is Bracken MacLeod.    

http://www.newburyportliteraryfestival.org/

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May10th we’ll be at the ROCK Comic Show in Salem, NH

http://www.therockcomicexpo.com/

Appearing will be Tracy Carbone, Rob Smales, Gordon Bean, Elizabeth Black, Dale Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn and Scott Goudsward

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June 7th & 8th the NEHW will be invading Rhode Island for Terror Con.

http://www.terrorcon.net/

On the bill are Jan Kozlowski, David Price, Gordon Bean, Bracken MacLeod and Scott Goudsward.

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In July we attack Rhode Island again at NECON.

http://campnecon.com/

Email Scott on Facebook or @ NEHWNEWS@GMAIL.COM if you want to sell books at the table, the costs will be minimal

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August 8 - 10 We’re at Boston Comic Com

http://www.bostoncomiccon.com/

This is a massive multi-media show which has brought in 25K people at past shows.

So far we have Erin Thorne, Chris Irvin, Mike Arruda and Scott Goudsward - still plenty of space for this show, email Scott for details.  The more people the lower the costs.

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September 13-14 NH Comic Con

http://www.granitecon.com/

We did this show last year and we did pretty good.  It’s a good “Low Key” show and they attract a good sized crowd.  We have two tables - Wristbands included for this one.  Signed up so far are Mike Arruda, Gordon Bean and Scott Goudsward - Email Scott for details - still plenty of room for more people.  And… the more people, the cheaper the costs.

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October 17-20

Rock and Shock - Need I say more.  I don’t have the details yet.  Will send them once I have them.

http://rockandshock.com/

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And those are the events so far - if you see something that the NEHW might do go at, please let us know!

Other shows which we’re looking at currently:

http://walkerstalkercon.com/boston/  6 people - $40 a person - the show is coming up quick, so we need to know ASAP.

http://www.southcoasttoyandcomic.com/ - we’ve been there before…

http://www.ricomiccon.com/ - amazingly stellar line up - should be mind-boggling busy.

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We’re going to be having an NEHW housewarming and BBQ at the MacLeod residence in Framingham, MA - all the details will be on the FB events page.  All we know so far, BYOB and its a potluck.

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Do you have news you want to share?  Blog Posts?  Interviews?  New releases? - Send it all to NEHWNEWS@GMAIL.COM

And per usual - the behind the scenes people.

David Price

Dan Keohane

Scott Goudsward

On the Web:

newenglandhorror.org

Twitter:

@NEhorror - the official Twitter account of the NEHW

Email:

nehw@hewenglandhorror.org

Peace!

Wicked Seasons

Another killer review of Wicked Seasons from the good folks at Hellnotes.

http://hellnotes.com/?s=wicked+seasons

A Tribute to Rick Hautala 3/27/2014

http://portlandme.ourcityradio.com/uncategorized/celebration-rick-hautala

Wicked Seasons Review

The review of Wicked Seasons from Hellnotes.

http://hellnotes.com/wicked-seasons-book-review

Wicked Seasons Review

Check out the review for Wicked Seasons over at Horrorworld.  Edited by Stacey Longo from NEHW Press.

http://horrorworld.org/hw/2014/02/wicked-seasons/

THE LES DANIELS BLOG TOUR: Location! Location! Location! Les Daniels’ Place as an Icon of New England Horror

THE LES DANIELS BLOG TOUR: Location! Location! Location! Les Daniels’ Place as an Icon of New England Horror

Guest Blog by Matt Bechtel of Necon E-Books

Essentially, Les Daniels went to Brown University and never left.

Of course, that’s an oversimplification; Les didn’t spend his entire life on campus, nor in the city of Providence (one of my favorite Les stories regards the circumstances around his trip to London to write a screenplay for Dino De Laurentis, but I’m saving that anecdote for our article on Michael Arruda’s blog). In spirit, however, it’s pretty close. Les definitely found more than just a geographic home on Benefit Street; in fact, it’s arguable that no writer ever embraced and lived the life of the intellectual Bohemian artist the way he did. As such, that influence became a two way street, with Les shaping the New England artistic community as much as it shaped him.

Les’ contributions to the local scene were as varied as his interests and talents. In print, he reviewed books for the Providence Journal and penned a regular film review / pop culture column titled “Mind Rot” in the Providence Eagle (keep in mind, this is years before web sites such as ESPN’s spin-off site “Grantland” would help turn writing about pop culture into a massive industry). On stage, he performed an act that can only be described as a live version of the iconic ‘90’s TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000, purposefully playing bad movies and skewering them with comedic commentary to his audience. Once again, this was years, literally decades, before MST3K became a smash, another example of just how far ahead of the curve Les was creatively.

It was another type of live performance, however, which allowed Les to share one of his other true passions and talents — music. Those who don’t know of Les’ musical background are probably (and understandably) jumping to the wrong conclusion right now; after all, we’ve all been to plenty of conventions where writers have broken into song for various reasons (including the dreaded practice of “filking”), and some of them are, admittedly, fairly talented. However, comparing those singers to Les as a musician is like comparing a talented high school writer to Les as an author. In short, they’re amateurs; Les was a pro. His band, The Double Standard String Band, featured himself on leads and banjo, TV and film star Martin Mull (before he was a famous actor), and bluegrass legend Sam Tidwell. Together, they played at the famous Club 47 in Cambridge; other acts to grace that stage during those years included Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Above all else, it’s Les’ ties to New England horror that establish him as a legend in the community. After all, as I mentioned, the man lived most of his adult life on Benefit Street in Providence, literally blocks away from 135 Benefit Street, a.k.a. “The Shunned House” which helped inspire H.P. Lovecraft’s short story of the same name. His contributions to and influence upon the Necon Convention would take pages upon pages to list, but he was Necon’s second Guest of Honor, its seventh roast victim (and the first author to be repeatedly tortured year after year as the “fake victim” until he thought he’d never actually land in the chair himself!), and an inductee into Necon’s Inaugural Hall of Fame Class in 2007. In short, Les was an unquestioned pillar of the community and greatly responsible for weaving the fabric which is New England horror. To this day, attend any NEHW event (or visit their table at a con) and you’ll be embraced, welcomed and encouraged; you can thank Les, amongst a host of others, for fostering that environment for decades. Heck, I’d even go so far as to say if there were a Mount Rushmore of New England Horror Writers, Les’ bust would belong upon it (probably squeezed between Lovecraft and a certain horror author from Maine who’s sold a few books over the years …).

Which brings me to the irony of all ironies regarding Les Daniels, his writing, and New England —when it came to his most famous works (The Don Sebastian Chronicles), the two never met! The only time Don Sebastian traveled to the New World, he found himself south of the border, embroiled in Hernan Cortez’ attack upon Tenochitlan (Book Two: The Silver Skull). As much as Les Daniels shaped the New England artistic scene and as much as it shaped him, he never brought his most iconic character to his beloved locale (in any timeframe). Honestly, can you imagine Faulkner setting his seminal works of fiction in the north, or Joyce setting his in London instead of on the Emerald Isle? This is certainly not a complaint, as I don’t feel The Don Sebastian Chronicles lack in the least from not visiting the shores of New England; it’s just an odd, quirky observation. But then again, maybe that’s a fitting observation about a banjo-playing-pop-culture-film-and-book-reviewing-stand-up-comedian … who, oh yeah, also wrote a little horror fiction, too.

Just a friendly reminder — The Complete Don Sebastian Chronicles are now available as e-books at Necon Ebooks, so please order your copies today!  And don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour!

Newburyport Literary Festival

The NEHW will be invading Newburyport this spring, in celebration of literary festival. The festival is to help support local bookstores in Newburyport. We will be doing a panel on horror / local horror. This is the first time a horror panel has been to this event. We'll be doing an hour long panel, moderated by our own Bracken MacLeod. Also on the panel will be Scott Goudsward, David Goudsward and Gordon Bean. There will be a Q&A after the panel and we'll be available after the panel to sign books etc. The Friday of the event there will be a "Meet the Authors" dinner where you're encouraged to grab some food and mingle with the authors. Saturday's panel hasn't been announced yet, we'll post that soon as it's known. Even though we're only there "formally" for 90 minutes do check out some of the other panels going on throughout the day. Panels will be at ten different venues running all day.

Newburyport Lit Festival