August Is Here

The prolific Hippocampus Press has just released Lovecraft Annual No. 13 2019 containing this years’ latest Lovecraft scholarship including my article on Lovecraft and Stephen Crane: “Lovecraft’s Open Boat.”

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These last many weeks have been a blaze of activity.  My next poem for Spectral Realms will be out in issue #12, still laboring along with the last sourcebook for Mythopoeia Games Publications: Perils & Prowess.  In negotiations for a monthly streaming game with The Gamer’s Wharf.  Deeply at work on a few things hopefully for Robert M. Price and Necronomicon Press.

Bullets for Breakfast is no longer optioned and is free of all entanglements.  However, we have moved on to something new which hopefully I can announce later this fall…

As for the rest, last week we had a major heatwave followed by a 70 mph storm knocking out trees (and power — no AC) while helping move a good friend and family back to MI.  This month is starting of with a trip to visit another friend after a 24 year absence and a family gathering for burial services for my grand uncle in Mackinac.  Also wrapping up my summer course (July/Aug) in Film Studies: Popular and Unpopular Genres at KCAD.  (Great to see that Sunset Boulevard and 2001: A Space Odyssey are still resonating with first time young viewers…)

The remaining weeks before school have yet to be determined.

PS – 1,000 words a day – minimum – no matter what else!

M

 

Dead Reckonings #25 has arrived

Hippocampus Press has has released Dead Reckonings #25 featuring a number of engaging reviews and articles by S.T. Joshi, Ramsey Campbell, Darrel Schweitzer and others, including a tribute to the late Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire and my article, “A Look Behind the Challenge From Beyond” especially for Lovecraftians and Howardians. An impressive issue at a great price. Order and enjoy.

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https://www.hippocampuspress.com/journals/dead-reckonings/dead-reckonings-no.-25?zenid=dp60aumvv0gegf010grhntocr1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. A Look Behind “The Challenge from Beyond” ……….. Michael D. Miller
  2. Finding the Everything in Nothing ……….. Christopher Ropes
  3. Simon Strantzas, Nothing Is Everything.
  4. Weird Fiction and Decadence ……….. S. T. Joshi
  5. James Machin, Weird Fiction in Britain 1880–1939.
  6. That Is Not How the Story Goes ……….. Bev Vincent
  7. Theodora Goss, Snow White Learns Witchcraft: Stories and Poems.
  8. Sesqua Valley’s Weirdest Inhabitant, Wilum Pugmire ……….. David Barker
  9. Ramsey’s Rant: Horror versus Horror ……….. Ramsey Campbell
  10. Marvelous Milicent: The Rise and Removal of a Monster-Artist Maven ……….. Danel Olson
  11. Mallory O’Meara, The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick.
  12. Maybe Johnny is an Old One? The Room as Lovecraftian Pastiche ……….. Edward Guimont
  13. Weird Fiction in the 21st Century: A Conversation with S. T. Joshi ……….. Alex Houstoun
  14. Rediscovering Ken Greenhall ……….. Darrell Schweitzer
  15. Ken Greenhall, Elizabeth; Hell Hound; and Childgrave.
  16. Some Notes on Call of Cthulhu and Other Lovecraftian Video Games ……….. Géza A. G. Reilly
  17. Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game.
  18. Running Towards Nothing: B. Catling’s Vorrh Trilogy ……….. Daniel Pietersen
  19. B. Catling, The Vorrh; The Erstwhile; and The Cloven.
  20. The Horror of Mendacity ……….. Acep Hale
  21. Daniel Powell, Horror Culture in the New Millennium: Digital Dissonance and Technohorror.
  22. Marvelous Monsters ……….. Hank Wagner
  23. Anya Martin, Sleeping with the Monster.
  24. Men Kill Women Like Me ……….. Fiona Maeve Geist
  25. Farah Rose Smith, Anonyma.

Meditations on the Agnostic Gothic ……….. Karen Joan Kohoutek

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Lastly, there are so many other developments happening this month I cannot list them all now. On with June Gloom.

Summer Begins with Stoker Con

Guilty as charged — broke the posting twice a month goal.  This April was an extreme wearing on the soul as teaching took every particle of concentration I could muster but that is done, grades are in, the semester is over.  Biggest achievement on the academic level was a great success with my KCHU 330: Genre Studies — Weird Fiction. We now have 28 more devotees to Lord Dunsay and Clark Ashton Smith!

Now StokerCon19 — sending this summary out today as tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I do not want to compete with their honor on social media.

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Thursday started with “Whatever Walked There, Walked Alone”: Bad Places in Contemporary Horror.  As I teach “Hill House” every year this was a must and featured a great panel of writers including Nicole Cushing.

Friday had more excitement — Turn Your Fiction World into an RPG, Beyond the Sale: Working with Editors (with Ellen Datlow on the panel), Exit Stage Death: Writing Horror for the Stage.  This was an unforgettable treat and I encountered the thoroughly convincing Kyla Lee Ward for the first time. (I also scored a copy of The Land of Bad Dreams after and am now totally converted to her mastery of the strange.)

Today, last day — Weird Poetry panel, Going Wide — How to Reach an International Audience with E-Books by PublishDrive (awesome), 100 Years of Horror Movies: The Legacy of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Darce Stoker’s 120 Years of Dracula.  Excellent presentation, amazing depth of knowledge & research, and he (and J. D. Barker) signed my copy of Dracul.

As for the rest of April (and May), have many submissions out and more to go.  This month also… the pending release of Realms of Fantasy SIII: Perils & Prowess (meanwhile enjoy Mythopoeia’s May D&D Sale).

P.S. — remember Wilum Hopfrog. Pugmyr (1951 – 2019).

Bela Lugosi’s Dead staked during release of Mueller Report

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The run of my essay for Bauhaus “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” has reached it’s end, getting “staked” by The Creatures’ “Exterminating Angel” during the Elite 8 round. Can’t help but think the voting for this round got lost during the hype over the release of Mueller report but the fans have spoken. The Tournament of Goth (Vladness) was by far more enjoyable than any basketball tournament so I implore you to still follow the tournament at marchvladness.com. Here’s the story of Bela’s demise by 5 votes:

http://marchvladness.com/#/elite8-bauhausvscreatures/

What remains for March? My published work in Lovecraft Annual No. 12 and Spectral Realms No. 9 will be part of an author celebration along with other fellow faculty members/authors.

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I’ve been informed my article “A Look Behind the Challenge from Beyond” (final proof approved) will be out in Dead Reckonings #25.  My chapter in The Guide to Teaching Beowulf in the 21st Century will be out from DeGruyter in September.  Quite ironic too as they published the 100 Years of Bauhaus (the school) celebration book.

And… I’m still working to finish Perils & Prowess for Mythopoeia Games Publications RPG (with legbreakers from the editor and fans on my doorstep), and prepping submission for Spectral Realms No.11 , Lovecraft Annual No. 13, with a short story in the weird/parody tradition that might bear some fruit making the rounds… Don’t forget:

StokerCon19 in May!

Best, M.

Post Polar Vortex

First time I’ve ever had to deal with a solid week of classes cancelled at every institution of higher learning I teach at. Fortunately I was able to use to time to finish and submit my essay of Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” for March Vladness which will be upon us soon (starting March 1st). I never ask for anything on social media, not even a like or a share, but in March I will be asking to get out the vote for Bauhaus. You can get all the details at the March Vladness website including a download of the tournament of Goth sheet where you can place all your picks and perhaps win as well. So many great bands. It will be an interesting month.

With regret we lost that last of our two cat brothers, Leo (King Leonidas) since my last update so it has put a somber pall on February. Also a quick remembrance to the recent of passing of actor Dick Miller — among many roles he was the coolest bookstore owner ever.

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PS… Realms of Fantasy SIII is on it’s way to completion, new release date is the Ides of March, and hopefully will receive word soon about a poem for Spectral Realms #11. Will also be rolling dice the first time since December in the ongoing Mythopoeia Games Publication’s Realms of Fantasy meets Rappan Athuk podcast game for We Hate Bards this weekend.

MDM

January Blizzardness

Everything has been shut down since Monday (yesterday) and will be until Thursday.  State of emergency here in Michigan with -30 wind chill tomorrow.  Great atmosphere for a game of The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31…

I can confirm from that my article “A Look Behind The Challenge from Beyond” will be in Dead Reckonings #24 Spring 2019 from Hippocampus Press. Major change on the The 21st Century Teaching Guide to Beowulf.  The publisher will be De Gruyter Press, contracts signed.  Late Spring/early Summer release.  I have written Chapter 10: “Heroism & Beowulf.”  In the midst of this blizzard sequester I will be finishing my essay for March Vladness (the line up is attached – competition begins March 1st) then moving to finish Perils & Prowess for Mythopoeia Games Publications.

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First convention of the year already — will be at the Byron Center Comic Con on Saturday Feb 2nd with We Hate Bards autographing Realms of Fantasy RPG sourcebooks plus selling some classic out-of-print Vampire the Masquerade from White Wolf and Warhammer 2nd Edition books (from the now defunct Black Industries) which are likely to go quick.

Some real cool news — Centipede Press is going to re-release Studies in the Horror Film: Salem’s Lot for the 40th anniversary.

On to February!

2019 – The Year of Blade Runner

Many of you might know that already, still it has been a date in mind since the film’s release in 1982 and we are perhaps closer to that world than we were then.  Anyway that is not what this post is about but it does make for a good attention grabber.

Summation of publications for 2018 were two: Spectral Realms No. 9 and Lovecraft Annual 2018 from Hippocampus Press – although I was hoping to add Dead Reckonings 24 as well (more on that below).  Outright one of the highlights was designing Genre Studies: Weird Fiction (with critical input from S. T. Joshi) for KCAD which I will be teaching this semester.  A great prelude for StokerCon which will follow right after in May.  Lastly I was selected to write an essay for March Vladness 2019 and in a surprising assignment by lottery, I was given the celebrated classic, Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus.  Essay will be posted in Feb 2019 for voting and I’ll be asking for support once that happens.

2019 will see an article for Dead Reckonings 25 (April 2019) and a chapter in Teaching Beowulf in the 21st Century (May 2019) from MIP.  There many other works happening in fiction, poetry, theatre and screenwriting, including the long delayed Realms of Fantasy SIII: Perils & Prowess for Mythopoeia Games Publications.

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Lastly, a resolution will be having this blog updated twice a month and sharing many more Writers Wanted posts.

Enjoy 2019.

Unveiled at last!  Spectral Realms No. 9 which includes my poem “Cat Girl Cantata” and the poetry of the best Weird poets of our time (John Shirely, Ashley Dioses, Christine Sng, Darrell Schweitzer, Adam Bolivar, K. A. Opperman, Leigh Blackmoore, Ann. K Schwader, and more) is now available from Hippocampus Press.  $10 and free shipping with wonder and awe wrap-around cover art by Dan Sauer.

specrealms9

 

LOVECRAFT ANNUAL NO. 12

Finally able to announce the extraordinary Hippocampus Press has published Lovecraft Annual No. 12 which contains my essay “2001: A Lovecraft Odyssey” as well as the work of a dozen luminaries in the field (Robert Waugh, David E Schultz, S. T. Joshi, Kenneth W. Faig Jr., Darrell Schweitzer, and others).  Orders include free shipping with the U.S.A.

Lovecraft Annual No. 12

Lovecraft’s influence in Science-Fiction is often overlooked, and rarely do we discuss Lovecraft’s influence beyond the grave on visual story-telling and my work aims to examine the cosmic grandeur of Lovecraft and Kubrick’s film just in time for the 2001: A Space Odyssey 50th Anniversary Screenings.  I’ve seen the IMAX screening and it is worth every single dollar.

Also, how cool is this — Necronomicon Press is back!

Remember September.