PEOPLE ARE STRANGE Now Available In All E-Book Formats

For your Kindle, Nook, whatever . . . the e-book edition of my short-story collection PEOPLE ARE STRANGE (featuring the fan favorite "Holy Rollers"), is now available:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116032

A Twisted Lil' Short-Short For the Holidays: "Bless This Meal, O Lord"

 
   Appearances on the Maury show ("My Teen's Out of Control!!!") hadn't helped.  Neither had the meds, a last resort.
     Billy, just thirteen, was tearing their family apart.
     He threatened to stab Mother while she slept.  Sprayed Mace in Father's eyes when Father tried to spank him. 
     His parents worked so hard to feed eight kids.
     In the end, he gave them no choice . . . .

***

     They cried as they held him down, shaved every hair from his body.
     Wept as they broke his arms, legs, folded him onto that platter . . .
     Mother stumbled when they slid him into the oven.  Father caught her, kissed her, promised everything'll be okay.
     He cranked the dial to 350.
     They held one another tightly, watched Billy through the little window.
    
***

     Father said Grace.  His voice was hoarse, but sincere.
     He thanked God for Billy's brothers and sisters.  For the good children.
     Then, he began to carve.
     Mother passed portions 'round the table.
     They ate:  licking, chomping, slurping.
     Wished one another, "Happy Thanksgiving."
     . . . until Father pointed his knife at the youngest, said, "Don't talk with your mouth full, dear."

     HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

New Review of ANIMOSITY

Check out these kind words about my latest novel, Animosity, courtesy of Jim McLeod (whose blog you should already be reading if you're a lover of horror fiction):

http://thegingernutcase.blogspot.com/2011/12/animosity-by-james-newman.html?spref=fb


And then buy Animosity here  :)

http://www.necessaryevilpress.net

RANDOM MOVIE REC#2: "The Disappearance of Alice Creed"

Just a quick post to recommend a cool movie I saw recently.  Like quirky lil' crime films with lots of twists and turns?

Me too. 

Check this one out:

Ever Noticed a Common Theme Running Through Your Favorite Movies?

Ever noticed a common theme running through your favorite movies?

I did.  Not too long ago.  Turns out this realization told me something about myself that I've never known before. 

A quick list of my all-time favorite horror films:  John Carpenter's The Thing.  David Cronenberg's The Fly.  The 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  And, to a lesser extent, one could argue that Return of the Living Dead fits into where I'm going with this as well (I'm thinking specifically of the fates of poor Frank and Freddy -- yep, fellas, those things do leak and the movie did lie) . . . .

Notice a recurring theme? 

Sickness.  Disease.  Infection.  Poison.  Parasites.  The gradual wasting-away of the body due to forces beyond one's control.  Or, worse yet, because of something inside.  An alien invader that slowly turns the flesh against itself, until death is the only escape.

I always thought my number one fear was spiders.  Oh, they're still at the top of the list and always will be, no doubt about that.  But after stepping back and taking a look at my all-time favorite horror films -- I'm talking about those that really work for me on some deeper, more primal level, those that are effective as much more than just fun, brainless entertainment -- I see that maybe I have a deep-rooted fear of chronic illness as well.  A fear of losing my body and my mind, or losing a cherished friend or family member, to something inside that cannot be stopped.

Terrifying.

Yep . . . even more than spiders. 

At least until somebody goes and makes a movie about eight-legged horrors that thrive in the bloodstream, I guess. 

What say you?  Got a "common theme" to share about your own favorite horror films? 
Gimme a shout.  I'd love to hear about it.




*** This post is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Rene, who is currently undergoing treatments for cervical cancer.  Love you, Rene.  Thank God things are going so well.  You're gonna get through this, and soon. ***

Local? Gonna Be In Western NC Later This Month? Please Come See My -- Gasp! -- Acting Debut

November 17-20, the Drama Department at Blue Ridge Community College is thrilled to offer the community a chance to see its production of Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, a play the New York Times called in 2007, “flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years.”  From that auspicious beginning the play has gone on to garner numerous Tony Awards and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Although the central plot of a dysfunctional family falling apart in contemporary Oklahoma may sound depressingly familiar, Letts’ authentic characters and laugh-out-loud humor creates a play with the perfect blend of comedy and drama.
Neela Muñoz, frequent actor and director at Flat Rock Playhouse and North Carolina Stage Company, directs at BRCC for the first time, while local community theater actress Nancy Colangione plays the pill-popping matriarch, Violet Weston. BRCC’s drama director Jennifer Treadway, gracing the BRCC stage for the first time since starring in The Crucible in 2003,  plays Violet’s oldest daughter Barbara, joined by other prominent community and student actors.

The play will be presented in the Patton Auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m., November 17-19, and 2:00 p.m. on November 20. Cost is $5.00 for BRCC students, faculty and staff, and $7.00 for general admission.
Due to mature subject matter this play is not recommended for younger or more sensitive viewers.

To reserve tickets or get more info call 694-1849.

Checking In Briefly With a Movie Recommendation . . . .

A few days ago I caught Kevin Smith's Red State, and I loved it.  This is coming from someone who's not really a fan of Smith's work -- I certainly don't hate what I've seen by any means, but most of his movies leave me with no desire to see them more than once.  The only one to date that I liked enough to buy was Zach & Miri Make a Porno. 

That said, I really had no preconceived notions about what Red State would be.  I was excited to hear he was making a horror film, but wouldn't go so far as to say I was awaiting it with bated breath.  Then I saw the trailers, and my curiosity was piqued for sure.  This was like a whole family of my own Holy Rollers!  After folks finally got the chance to see Smith's much-talked-about first foray into the horror genre, the reviews started hitting the usual blog and review sites fast and furious.  And they were very mixed reviews, overall.  Most of them, I'd say, leaned toward the negative side*, or were at best lukewarm.  So I decided I'd see Red State when it was finally released on DVD, but this was one that could go either way.  I wasn't in any big hurry to check it out.

But check it out I did, earlier this week when I happened to be walking by a Redbox and saw that Red State was available for rental.  I had no clue it had been released already.  I immediately stepped up to the machine, slid my debit card, and carried the disc home.

And I loved it!


I'm not even gonna tell you any more about it.  Just give it a look.  If you're into horror films with an original premise and characters that aren't all black-and-white (because how many real people do you know who are all good or all bad?), I doubt you'll be disappointed.  Red State is a dark, violent tale about people from all walks of life on different sides of a very timely conflict.

* (more often than not, the negative reviews mentioned how the film's narrative comes to a screeching stop at one point, as we are forced to listen to a long sermon from the demented Fred Phelps-like preacher at the heart of the story -- I disagree with the opinion that Smith's decision to do this is detrimental to the film, as I would have gladly sat through a monologue twice as long from a wonderful actor like Michael Parks!  This is truly scary stuff, folks, and maybe it's just me but I found myself so enchanted by his calm, calculated delivery I could almost understand how some people allow themselves to be so easily brainwashed by these charismatic types)