I got some very nice news myself today from Editor Gayle Towell at Microfiction Monday Magazine — they will be publishing another piece of my flash fiction in tomorrow’s edition. Its title is “I bring her diamonds. My hands are full of them.”
MMM’s challenge to writers this October was to tell a horror story in 100 words or less. This is the second entry of mine to be selected; MMM featured “Girl’s Best Friend” last week.
When my second piece appears tomorrow, I’ll be sure to post a link!
Today was the cover reveal for poet Dennis Villelmi’s first book — and it is both frightening and gorgeous. It was created by Matt Davis, the same talented artist who created the cover for J. S. Collyer’s recent “Zero.”
“Fretensis, In the Image of a Blind God, vol. 1” is a book of horror poetry that promises to be unique. I have been following Dennis’ published poetry for years, and I envy his combination of abilities. He writes the darkest verses out there, combining gut-wrenching imagery with a impressive and esoteric knowledge of classical, biblical and ancient themes. His writing is actually a little difficult to describe. I was having coffee with another writer just a month ago, and had advised her to read the pieces he’s already published at Dagda’s website — but you really do have to read Dennis’ work to see exactly what he does.
The release date is Halloween.
See Dagda Publishing’s Facebook page for its announcement about the cover reveal and the Oct. 31st release.
I’m blogging some of my earlier reviews from Facebook:
*****
“Family Guy: It’s a Trap” (2010) is funny as hell and lampoons “Return of the Jedi” (1983) perfectly; I’d give it a 9 out of 10. This is right up there with a decent episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in terms of how much it made me laugh. As with the other “Family Guy” satires of “Star Wars,” I was also impressed with how it used conventional animation and CGI to seemingly reproduce scenes shot for shot.
The only thing the detracted from this was the consistent potty humor (not really my thing) and one apparent joke that is too tasteless even to describe.
My pleasure, William! Your friendship and encouragement have been invaluable to me — not to mention your very identifiable insights into the creative process. (Hence how much I enjoyed your interview.) And thanks for the kind words!
My flash fiction horror story, “Girl’s Best Friend,” appeared today at Microfiction Monday Magazine!
The challenge was to write a horror story in 100 words or less. I had great fun with this, and I am grateful to Editor Gayle Towell for allowing my work to appear in this really cool online magazine!
Check it out here:
I am blogging some of my past movie reviews from Facebook.
*****
Allow me to summarize those portions of “The Exorcist II: The Heretic” that I was able to watch before needing to turn it off:
WHY did I not just turn it off?! WHY DID I NOT JUST TURN THE MOVIE OFF?!?!
(Perhaps I was possessed.)
I am honored to have my latest poem published by Dagda Publishing!
Enjoy “A Muted Iris.”
I received some great news today from Editor Gayle Towell over at the online Microfiction Monday Magazine — they will be publishing my flash fiction horror story, “Girl’s Best Friend,” on October 20th.
In advance of Halloween, the magazine was seeking horror stories of 100 words or less. It sounded like a fun challenge, so I gave it a shot.
Microfiction Monday Magazine is a great online publication that specializes in bringing busy readers brief narratives that nevertheless tell a compelling story.
Check it out here:
I am blogging some of my past film reviews from Facebook. Bill Mosely is a damn good actor who needs his own major feature film to star as the bad guy; I am also becoming a Stephen McHattie fan.
*****
“Exit Humanity” (2011) might not have been as great as I’d hoped. (The trailer made it look amazing.) But it was still a good and creative independent zombie film; I’d give it an 8 out of 10.
It’s a genre-buster that posits a zombie epidemic just after the Civil War, but that isn’t a gimmick. There’s a complete absence of camp that makes this a “straight horror movie” and a hell of a lot more fun. It’s got a great script, beautiful locations, two great leads, and a couple of great “that guy” actors in supporting roles — the incredibly underrated Bill Mosely (Otis Driftwood in “House of 1000 Corpses”) and the also-underrated Stephen McHattie.
The directing is very spotty, the pacing is way off, and the “book chapter” structure makes this feel less like a movie and more like a series of well-made webisodes. (I’m starting to understand why many movies adhere to that “three-act” structure that critics refer to.) The limited budget also shows — there’s a dearth off special effects and some of the zombies look remarkably like actors in white facepaint. (Is this a kabuki zombie epidemic?)
One of the things that surprised me about this movie is how terrific Brian Cox’ voice is. He narrates the entire tale retrospectively as an older version of the main protagonist. I can’t believe I never noticed this before. I think he’s better than Morgan Freeman or David Prowse. Check him out in the trailer.
All in all, this was a good movie. I’d recommend it to any zombie horror fan.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 