Wow. It's been a while hasn't it? What's on the plate today...
1. THE END
2. "Marginal Way"
3. Attack of the Clampires?
4. The Best Book You're Not Reading
5. Winner, Winner, Who's the Latest Winner?
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1. THE END
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A couple of weeks ago I type THE END on the new novel, PLAGUE OF DARKNESS. I
love that moment, knowing the story is finally down on paper (at least, it
would be once I hit PRINT). I'm still thinking of changing the name to
DARKNESS, but that's not something I need to decide just yet. I have a long
way to go, still, with all the revisions. I tend to write the first draft
straight out, without looking back at all the Plot Holes and Misspellings,
Funky Grammar, etc. Just get the story out. Now comes the long process of
redrafting, but I'm hoping this will be done and ready for my Beloved
Proofreaders by the end of next month. I like this story a really whole lot.
The previous sentence is an example of what I mean by "First Draft". :-)
No word yet on PLAGUE's predecessor (aka the last book I finished -- no
relation between the two) SOLOMON'S GRAVE. It's been sitting on the desk of
the editor of a major publisher since June. She hasn't said she wants it
yet, but I suppose she hasn't sent it back covered in spit. If any of this
is good or bad depends on if you're a half-full or half-empty Glass Person.
2. "Marginal Way"
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I have a dwindling repository of stories left looking for a home, and 2 and
a half have found one. "Marginal Way" is a story I thought of years ago when
Janet and I were in Ogunquit strolling along the cliff walk, which happens
to be the title of the story ("Marginal Way" I mean, not "Cliff Walk"). It's
now appearing in a webzine called "Dawn Sky" - you can find it, and read my
story, at www.dawnsky.com . On the menu, click "Holograph" and you'll find
"Marginal Way" about half-way down. The stories are in individual PDF files,
which means when you click on it Adobe Acrobat will get launched. Don't
panic, standard stuff for browsers these days.
Let me know what you think. And after reading it you'll probably say, "Hey,
Joe Christian, what's with this reincarnation stuff?" I personally don't
believe in reincarnation (documented past life experiences are nothing more
than a connection people make with racial memories encoded in their DNA, a
recorded history of all of our ancestors' memories up until the moment of
conception) but the Hindi concept of reincarnation worked better with oceans
and souls and, well, stuff. To be honest, I kind of lost my train of thought
just now. Better move on to...
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3. Attack of the Clampires?
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Another very cool story I'm glad to see has quite possibly found a home
maybe is the story "I Am The Ocean", written by me and the uber-talented
Stephen Dorato. It's been accepted for publication in another webzine called
Feral Fiction (www.feralfiction.com) Not Yet though, just accepted. Not
officially-official yet, no contract or anything yet. I'll let you know when
it's official and up on the site.
On to... what? Oh, sorry. Clampires, in the title of this bullet, refer
to... well, when the story comes out you'll see for yourself.
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4. The Best Book You're Not Reading
================================
The title above was used by Stephen King recently in his Entertainment
Weekly column, discussing a book he liked which had not yet found a print
publisher (it was only an audio book). Said book quickly became the Next Big
Thing in the publishing world. The recommendation I'm about to give you --
and this is going to be a VERY RARE event -- is likely going to achieve for
the book the same level of fame. Well, maybe not QUITE the same level,
but...
The point is, there are some books that only 3 people in the world know
about, and in the case of FOOT ART IS GOOD ART, that's really too bad.
Because this is a wicked fun, cool, hip novel that doesn't care one iota
about self-restraint or political correctness. And it's very funny. It's
self published, put out by a woman I work with who's one funky chick. She's
permanently stuck somewhere between the Fabulous 70's and serious mental
illness (and I mean that with all affection, Deb
Valerie F. De Daulles, and as mentioned above the book is titled FOOT ART IS
GOOD ART. And no, this isn't something I wrote and just pretending to
promote, I'm not that creative.
I had the pleasure of reading a post-pub copy. I find it pretty rare to
laugh out loud when reading anything (except my U-Promise credit card
statement), but I did so reading this. She's got a very unique and
approachable style of writing. Writing that screams, "I'm having a ball
writing this sentence. And this one! Ooh, and this..." I think the best way
to describe the book is from the Amazon review I did for it way back:
"Valerie F. de Daulles is One Groovy Chick. She seems like someone who
swings through the world with mischief in her eye and sass at the edge of
her grin. Ms. DeDaulles' novel Foot Art Is Good Art is a bizarre and
humorous romp through a 70's ... at least a 70's which *might* have happened
had the world become obsessed with feet and twins aren't necessarily limited
to two, as in the case of the main character Thelma and her twin sister
Velma and her other twin Selma. Filled with the most amazing and off-beat
characters I've ever come across in a novel, from a woman with Soft Drink
Tourette Syndrome, cross-dressers, Fookers, Sammy Davis Jr and even a
sexless (or sex-ambiguous) swinger, Foot Art had me cracking me up (in all
senses of the word) from beginning to end. On top of all this, there's a
murder mystery to be solved before the day of the Big Dance Number. Valerie
has a hip, catchy writing style. You'll find yourself eagerly letting her
take you along one of the most left-field but enjoyable takes on a "Swingin'
70's which could have been" in a long time."
If you're tired of reading the same old/same old, get a copy of FOOT ART IS
GOOD ART from your favorite online bookstore. Trust me... truuust me.
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5. Winner, Winner, Who's the Latest Winner?
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A BIG HEYDIE HO to our Most Recent Winner of a deluxe, spinny and twirly VHS
wonder - Mark Lowell! Mark walked away with the classic Heston flic, SOYLENT
GREEN. Fine choice, Mark!
And yes, this newsletter arriving at your virtual doorstep means I'll be
making a new drawing soon. Now that Christmas has come and gone, I'm left
with quite an overstock on upgraded-to-DVD movies, so this time I'll be
picking THREE winners! That's right. THR3E! Keep your eyes peeled to this
screen, because one of them... might... be... YOU! or YOU!
or YOU.
PoCBWY,
Dan Keohane
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