Happy Holidays
= The ForeWarner =
The Matthew Warner Newsletter
December 7, 2003
Contents:
1. News Round-Up: Wedding, Review, Short Stories, Appearances
2. Giveaway Winner Announced, New Contest
3. Recommended Reading
Opt-out instructions are at the bottom.
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NEWS ROUND-UP
Happy holidays! Here's what's going on in my world. Write
to me at matt@matthewwarner.com and tell me what's happening in yours:
--> On October 4, 2003, I married the love of my life, horror illustrator
Deena Holland (now Deena Warner), in Yadkinville, NC. It was a beautiful
outdoor ceremony complete with multiple Halloween-season garnishes: bales
of hay, ravens, Bach's "Toccata & Fugue in D Minor," hard
cider, and scarecrows to direct traffic. We then took a two-week
honeymoon tour through the spookiest locations of New England, such as
Salem, Boston, and Providence; the trip doubled as a research junket to
find archeological evidence of the Great Cthulhu (depicted in H.P. Lovecraft's
classic tale, "The Call of Cthulhu"). Photographic galleries
of our adventures are at http://www.matthewwarner.com/wedding/.
--> THE ORGAN DONOR continues its slow burn through the collective
unconscious. First up is a new book review in the next issue of
Blood Rose e-zine (http://www.bloodrosemag.com/),
which should be online this month.
Blood Rose will also feature a reprint of one of my favorite short stories,
which I originally wrote as a college assignment: "At Death We'll
Not Part," concerning love and crematories.
I'm also scheduled for two speaking engagements. The first is tomorrow
at the Thomas Jefferson Library, here in Falls Church, VA. I'll
be advising a writing workshop on "How to Get Published"--specifically,
how my novel got published. Depending on how frisky I'm feeling,
I'll include a special audio-visual demonstration on guerilla marketing
and the art of editorial blackmail. Seriously, though, I'm honored
to have been asked to speak.
The second engagement, on March 27, will be a bit more formal. The
librarians of Fairfax County Public Schools have asked me to address their
annual Literature Conference for teachers and librarians. I plan
to discuss how my investigation of a real-world topic, China's illegal
sale of the organs of its executed prisoners, led to the genesis of my
novel. I'll also analyze how real-life horrors such as the September
11 terrorist attacks have influenced the creation of fictional horror.
Speaking of libraries, the next time you're in one, please recommend THE
ORGAN DONOR as a worthy addition. The same for your local bookstore.
If you let me know what you're up to, I'll keep you in mind when I'm holding
special promotions and giveaways.
Christmas is coming, by the way. Contact me at matt@matthewwarner.com
if you'd like to purchase an autographed copy for that special someone.
--> THE DECAY WITHIN anthology, which was supposed to have been published
two months ago with a new story by me entitled "The Forgiving Type,"
has been cancelled due to 3F Publications's financial troubles.
If you pre-ordered a copy, hopefully you did so through Shocklines.com,
which has a buyer-friendly policy of not charging credit cards until books
actually ship.
--> I've signed the contract for Wild Roses Publications's forthcoming
FAMILY PLOTS anthology despite some misgivings about terms. The
book, which hopefully will be out next year, will contain a collaboration
with Wendy Brewer, "Blessed Among Women."
--> "Angel's Wings" will appear in TALES FROM THE GOREZONE,
an anthology benefiting the National Association to Protect Children (http://www.protect.org),
a social welfare political lobby. Editor Kealan Patrick-Burke is
keeping things in high gear, and I'm looking forward to seeing its debut
from Apartment 42 Publications. (http://webpages.charter.net/tftg/)
--> Many of you have asked what I'm writing now. Well, I've been
in Novel-Writing Hell for the past year, which scholars know was described
by Dante Alighieri (author of THE DIVINE COMEDY) as existing in the First
Circle of the Inferno. A sign there reads, "I endure eternally,"
in reference to creative struggles of authors, and has the cheering words,
"Abandon every hope, who enter here." As I've learned
my lesson about the danger of allowing yolk to leak from an egg before
its hatched, I've adopted the policy of not revealing what I'm composing
until the first draft's completion. I hope to be there by year's
end, spurred by my wife's encouraging application of red-hot pokers and
bullwhips. There's already some publisher interest, so hopefully
next year I'll have good news.
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GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED, NEW CONTEST
In the last newsletter, I promised to randomly give a $25 Shocklines.com
gift certificate to one person who posted a review--good or negative--of
THE ORGAN DONOR at Amazon.com.
This week, my cat Scotch selected a name out of a hat, and the winner
is . . . Ron Breznay! Happy holidays, Ron.
And in the spirit of giving, I'll send a copy of Brian Lumley's MAD MOON
OF DREAMS to the first person who writes me at contest@matthewwarner.com
with the correct answers to these questions:
1. In CSI: Miami's latest episode ("Bait"), what is the
name of the shooting suspect whose name matches a modern horror writer?
2. Two members of Butch Cassidy's Hole-in-the-Wall Gang shared names
with modern horror writers. One of them was Jack Ketchum.
Who was the other?
3. What horror writer's face is depicted in the drawing at http://www.deenawarner.net/angr.html,
which shows a man hammering a cover onto a well?
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RECOMMENDED READING
I only recommend titles I've read and which I think are worth your time.
Many don't make the cut. Contact
me if you need help locating these fine works:
--> THE MONK, a novel by Matthew Lewis (from multiple publishers, originally
published in 1796)
A sordid tale of a revered monk at the time of the Spanish Inquisition
who breaks his vows of chastity, practices sorcery, and commits rape and
murder. Written by a 19-year-old who would become a member of the
British Parliament, the book was decried in its day as "libidinous
and impious" but is now a revered classic of literature.
--> CURIOUS NEW ENGLAND, a guidebook by Joseph A. Citro and Diane E.
Foulds (University Press of New England, 2003)
A guide to New England's weirdest travel destinations, such as the Museum
of Bad Art, America's Stonehenge, and Magic Hill. My wife and I
structured our honeymoon around this book and had a terrific time.
--> SUCH STUFF AS SCREAMS ARE MADE OF, a collection by Robert Bloch
(Ballantine Books, 1979)
From the author of PSYCHO, this contains such Bloch classics as "The
Tunnel of Love" and "A Case of the Stubborns." Introduction
by Gahan Wilson.
--> THE BORDEN TRAGEDY, by Rick Geary (NBM, 1997)
A comic-book retelling of the trial of famous axe-murderess Lizzie Borden
(acquitted). I picked this up while visiting the actual Borden home
in Fall River, MA, now a bed & breakfast and museum (haunted, of course).
It's a great encapsulation of the O.J. Simpson trial of the 19th century.
****************************
"I've had the opportunity to meet Matthew a few times, and he's really
a great guy--despite his unique ability to piss everyone off."
--Wendy Brewer, in her August 2003 editorial for The Murder Hole e-zine.
Wendy is also the author of BEYOND DAMNATION: SEDUCTIONS OF MADNESS, a
collection for sale by Double Dragon eBooks at http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/Authors/brewer.html.
Matthew Warner
Falls Church, VA
www.MatthewWarner.com
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