August 21.. or 22, too lazy to turn around and look, 2003

Hi, everyone. Some quick bullets on my sporadic, manic-depressive writing world. Only this time, I'm giving away STUFF!

The bullets:

* Book Signing at Tatnuck Booksellers September 13th
* Artist for "Mermaids"
* "Selection" soon to see print in...
* Honorable mention
* Shocklines
* and the start of the VALUABLE PRIZES giveaway...

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Book Signing at Tatnuck Booksellers, Worcester MA
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On Saturday, September 13th, I'm going to need to sneak away from the Blain family reunion just a wee bit early to attend a panel/signing for the New England Horror Writers Association (www.horror.org/ne/) at 3:00 PM in the afternoon. Not sure how long it runs, I believe it's 3:00 - 5:00 but could go later. Along with me, other authors attending are: John D. Harvey ("The Cleansing"), Jon Merz (Lawson Vampire Series), Jeffrey Thomas ("Letters From Hades", "Monstrocity"), Stanley Wiater ("The Stephen King Universe", "Dark Thoughts on Writing"), Morven Westfield ("Darksome Thirst"), Victor Infante ("Learning to Speak"), Michael Arruda ("Be Very Afraid!", "The Darkest Thirst") and Sandy Deluca ("Settling in Nazareth"). There will be a panel discussion to open, moderated by Stanley, then all authors will begin signing their work. Special thanks to Morven Westfield for organizing this event.

The NE HWA is on tour this summer into Fall, with a signing in Portland ME this weekend and about a dozen (at least) slated for October alone. Check out the website above to find out the who's and where's of it all.

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Glenn Chadbourne is artist for "Mermaids"
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I recently returned (in July) from my annual jaunt to Necon, a horror writers conference in RI. Always a great time, and a bunch of us took the Audience Appreciation award for our Sleepy Hollow Jug Band during the talent show (too long a story for here, though it was a blast ). Anyhow... got talking with Glenn Chadbourne, a tremendous guy and one of the leading illustrators and cover artists in the industry. Come to find out, he is the artist for the illustration of "Mermaids", L.L. Soares' and my story appearing in the October Cemetery Dance. I haven't seen it yet, but this is wicked cool news. This is one thrill a writer doesn't experience often enough - seeing an artist's interpretation of something the author has seen ONLY in their head until that moment. It's like seeing into someone else's mind for a moment.... and if you know Glenn, that's a scary thought. (Just kidding, sir... )

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"Selection" will be seeing print in Cemetery Dance
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Yep, you read write. Just coming off the high of selling Mermaids to CD, editor Bob Morrish has accepted "Selection" for early next year. "Selection" is currently appearing in the e-anthology Of Flesh and Hunger. "Selection" is a Science Fiction Horror Cannibalism story. Something for everyone. :-)

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"Redemption" receives Honorable Mention in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror
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Everyone in the industry always runs to the bookstores in August to grab the newest Year's Best Fantasy And Horror. It's a huge tome which re-publishes what -- according to horror editor Ellen Datlow -- are the best horror stories of the past year. As well, there is summation of who published what, and a list of Honorable Mentions - stories which did not make the actual book but with Ellen liked enough to mention. Anyhow, my hapless story "Redemption" from Christmas Trees and Monkeys received one of those. Always nice, though if you read the story's introduction in CT&M you'll know why I assume this particular nod is more tongue and cheek on Ellen's part than anything else.

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CT&M now available at Shocklines
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Just a quick note to let you know that Matt Schwartz over at the blazingly-popular online horror bookstore Shocklines is now carrying Christmas Trees and Monkeys. So if you're there and have stuff in your cart, consider dropping a CT&M in beside the Corn Flakes. Shocklines is at www.shocklines.com (they also sell artwork, magazines, etc. Shipping is 5.00 regardless of order size)

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Valuable Prizes!
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What's this?? Valuable Prizes? Tell me more!

Yep, I'm going to begin giving fascinating and wonderful gifts to those of you who are putting up with my little news thing. Every time I send a note like this out, I will grab a name (actually an email, so I might not know the name!) and that person will win... as they like to say at Necon... a VALUABLE PRIZE.

OK, so basically I've been upgrading my video collection little by little to DVD, and I have these videos, see, and like I'm not DOING anything with them, and so, well, here we are.

Today's Prize: You're choice of any movies from a list I will provide (once I write the titles down) on Sparkling VHS! I'll pick the name, contact that person, and if they reply the Sparkling VHS Science Fiction Movie is all theirs. If not, I'll try another.

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That's it.
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Well, that's about it. Thanks for following along. Solomon's Grave is coming along nicely, in rewrite mode now. Should be ready to start making its rounds to the publishers by this Fall. No word yet on Margaret's Ark (I assume Barbour Books is Christian Publishing's version of Leisure Books, response time-wise ). This might be a good thing, though, because I already have a rough map in my head of two sequels to Solomon's Grave, the final being tentatively called Solomon's Ark... that being the case, I might want to think of another name for M's Ark (which would be it's 4th title). I can't win. :-)

Thanks
Dan Keohane