Who's On Your Bookshelf?

We've talked about scary movies the last two weeks, but what about books? After all, most of you reading this are writers.

I prefer my horror in short form these days, though it wasn't always that way. My first tastes of horror were in collections of urban myths and middle grade horror stories. I still remember a few of the stories in those first books.

After that, I quickly resorted to sneaking Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz books off my parents' bookshelves. Then I found more and more novels at the library. Ouida Sebestyen's The Girl in the Box has stuck with me since middle school. Given, this is likely considered suspense instead of horror, but as a pre-teen girl reading about a teenage girl being kidnapped and left in a dark hole with only a bottle of water and a typewriter, it was certainly frightening.

As a teenager, I returned to short stories, discovering the "Best of" collections. Ellen Datlow's name became synonymous with awesome horror short stories, followed closely by Stephen Jones. And roundabout I went. Novels to shorts to novels to shorts.

In reading through Nightmare Magazine's Best Horror list, I've come to discover that a lot of horror authors have a hard time keeping the suspense going enough to also keep the reader tense and on edge. With some of them, I've made it through three-quarters of the book before anything horror-related has happened. That's too long to set the scene before reaching the horror. Yet from this list, a book that isn't actually horror captured my attention and kept me riveted to the end, terrified at how it might end. The Handmaid's Tale appears to be listed as Literary (and Science Fiction, interestingly enough). But it's my #1 read on the Top 100 list, so far, and it has maintained that position for several months now. Given, I'm not counting the books from the list I'd already read, but I may reread those once I finish the ones I've never read before, and then we'll see where I rank them.

With short stories, the writer can pack a punch. There's just enough time to set the scene then wallop the reader with the horror. And it's possible to draw tension out without the in betweens getting dull.

Stephen King is, of course, a favorite author of mine, both in novels and short stories. I'm delighted that he's continued putting out short stories, despite having found success with his novels.

Stephen Graham Jones is a newer author, but one that puts out both novels and short stories. He's an excellent horror author with a very different voice, if you're looking for new authors. Zombie Bake-Off is a fun novel of his, and The Ones That Got Away is a great collection of short stories. Of those short stories, the one that will forever be in my head is "Father, Son, Holy Rabbit." The moment of realization is intense and heartbreaking.

And, of course, if it's short fiction you're looking for, who better than Edgar Allan Poe? It's been a long time since I read him, and I've been thinking about dusting off my big, fat collection of Poe's works. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is one of my favorites, and it's a piece I performed in high school.

Who are your favorite horror authors, both old and new? Your favorite novels? Short stories? Do you prefer short stories or novels when it comes to horror and suspense? Why?

May you find your Muse.

Writing Diverse Cultures

This is Part III of a three part (I think) series on diversity that occurred by happenstance. 

In Part I, I addressed Diversity vs. Exclusion. 

In Part II, I addressed Author Diversity vs. Character Diversity.

Today, I want to talk about whether we should write cultures and experiences that are not our own?

I have mixed feelings on this. I suppose it depends upon the way in which it is handled. My knee-jerk reaction was to say no, but then I thought about the books of Tony Hillerman. I enjoyed reading books about Native Americans as a teen. It was the only window I had into a world that was a distant element of my heritage. I discovered Hillerman long before I discovered Sherman Alexie. In turn, I discovered Alexie long before I discovered Stephen Graham Jones. Yet Hillerman led me to seek out Alexie. I realized there were books I could read about Natives, that there was something different out there, even though I'd been perfectly happy reading books full of the usual non-Native characters.

It took a white man writing about the Navajo people to open up a different world to me. But once I discovered it, I expanded my horizons. I was able to seek out Native authors and discover new voices, new ways to experience the world.

From what I know of Hillerman, he treated his characters and their culture with honesty and respect. Biographies and interviews I read said that he did tons of research, as well as having Navajo friends read the stories to give him feedback and insure what he wrote was accurate. There was even a story about him having an English class on the reservation discuss whether one of his stories would work. They said no, so he didn't write it. However, I can't say whether there were people that were bothered by his books, and whether everyone felt he was doing a good thing. I've seen the argument that "There are Natives who aren't offended by the Redskins" means it's okay. (And, no, I have no interest in discussing that topic on here.) My point is, because these thirty people say it's accurate and non-offensive, it doesn't mean those other thirty people aren't hurt by the depictions they see. There's no way for me to know that.

Here's the thing. Characters are people. People are characters. He wrote people. He researched the culture, religion, and life of the Navajo and wrapped that around and into the people he created.

He also brought attention to the fact that Natives are people like you and me. They have the same kinds of problems. They aren't running around with feathers in their hair, saying, "How." They aren't savages or simpletons. They're just people, with everything that entails. Books like Hillerman's, Alexie's, Jones', and Margaret Coel's (white author of a series set on the Wind River reservation) remind us that there are as many different lifestyles and characters among Natives as there are among any other race.

If he'd done it differently, though, if he'd treated it with less respect and hadn't tried to get it as accurate as possible, I'd be singing a different tune, yes?

This is a subject I personally struggle with. I may have Native blood, but I haven't lived in that culture. I've never lived on a reservation. I have family on various reservations, some that I've visited, but none of them are a large part of my life. I don't know the languages and I wasn't brought up in those cultures. So do I have a right to write Native characters? Is there a blood quantum that has to be met? And what if someone has less Native blood than me, but has grown up on a reservation? Who gets to dictate who's qualified and who isn't?

Authors are sometimes told to write what they know, but if we followed that to the letter, fantasy wouldn't exist. No form of speculative fiction would exist. And how interesting would that be? Our job is to extract those things we know and fill in the blanks that surround them. We take those seeds and lovingly grow them into larger stories. In short, we make stuff up. So how does diversity play into that?

I agree with folks who responded to the last post saying you write the characters as they come to you, and you don't write diverse characters just to do so. The stories lead me; the characters are who they were born to be. I think it would be dishonest for me to do it any other way.

Thanks for the great comments you guys have left in this discussion! I still need to catch up from last week, but I've read the comments, and just haven't had the chance to respond. You'll hear from me soon. I've enjoyed the conversation, and the fact that it has stayed positive and thoughtful, despite what could be touchy subject matter (I didn't sleep the night I wrote the first post, and checked my comments in a panic the next morning.)

What are your thoughts on this topic? Is it okay to write a different culture? If so, are there limits or rules that you think apply? What would those be? If the answer is "it depends," what does it depend on? Have you written a different race, culture, lifestyle, nationality, etc.? Would you?

May you find your Muse.

*Community by OCAL, clker.com

Why Horror?

I've just come off a busy weekend with two great events, both horror related. We don't do a lot of those, because the horror writer population seems to be smaller than, say, YA or mystery or romance or any number of other genres, all seemingly more fleshed out than that of horror writers, at least here in Colorado Springs. Perhaps my fellow horror writers are just underground? Who knows?

On Friday, we showed Cabin in the Woods, with commentary by Stephen Graham Jones. In fact, you can read his intro and outro HERE. Cabin in the Woods has become one of my favorite movies. I've watched it over and over, yet I still get that gleeful thrill when the elevators ding. I remember an MTV Movie Awards I watched one year where they gave an award out for the best tool used to scare. I don't remember the exact terminology of it, but it was things like the cat that jumps out at the guy roaming through the haunted house, or the phone that lets out a shrill ring and makes the girl scream. In my opinion, the ding of the elevators wins, hands down. The first time I heard that ding, a huge grin spread across my face. I knew something good was coming.

But why the grin? Why the thrill? Why is it that horror is something I react to in that way? I'm not the only one, so why do people want that scare? I definitely want the scare. If I don't give away a cheap jump, I'm disappointed. If I crawl into bed that night and don't have that moment where I consider leaving the lights on, I feel let down. And I think people who don't feel the same misunderstand. They think I'm not afraid of the movies or the books, when I AM. I WANT to be scared. I want to spend the rest of the night running through the possible scenarios in my head, looking behind my chair as I sit alone in the dark.

It's an escape, certainly. For me, I think that when I'm most drawn to horror is when I have something I need to get away from. The real horrors in this world aren't bogey monsters, werewolves, zombies, angry molesting trees (my favorite on "the board..." what's yours?). The real horrors are sickness, violence against others, war, death, heart ache. These horrors become too much, but a safe scare pushes them into the dusty corners for just a little while. A good horror movie makes those real horrors hide in shame, shove their faces down into shadows.

A horror movie/book scare has no real consequences. My heart pounds, my breathing quickens, and for that moment I feel alive, more alive than I was while sitting at my computer, while grocery shopping, while running errands. It makes me feel happy to be alive, happy to be living in my [mostly] safe little world.

And that's why I enjoy scaring other people so much, giving them a glimpse into the twisted maze that is my mind. I write horror, because I want others to feel the pleasure of the scare if, in fact, they like it as much as I do. Even a portion as much as I do. I want them to feel as alive and energized as I do when I've gotten a good scare. I want them to get goosebumps, feel their scalps shrink up in terror. When I write a story in the middle of the night that has me backing up against a wall with my laptop just to keep going and to kill my spine's urge to crawl up into my brain, I can hope at least one other person feels the same way when they read it.

I guess that's why horror...

What's your favorite moment in Cabin in the Woods? Your favorite monster from the movie (see the board above)? What's your favorite monster ever? Do you like to be scared? Why or why not?

May you find your Muse.

Fraterfest Read-A-Thon!

I'm posting off-date today because it's time for Fraterfest!  Hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the goal is to read as many horror-based books between the 5th and the 8th as you can (or wish to, anyway).  You can still sign up, so make haste to the link above and check it out if you're interested.

Realistically, my only reading time tends to be at bedtime, so my list won't be too long.  Still, I've been saving several horror books on my TBR pile since I saw this read-a-thon was going on, so I'm excited to dive in.

This weekend, I hope to read:

The Ones That Got Away, by Stephen Graham Jones
A Perfect Blood, by Kim Harrison

I have two backups in case I get a shocking amount of reading time this weekend, but I'll post those if I finish these two.

Do you like to read scary book and/or watch scary movies to celebrate Halloween month, er, I mean October?  Are you participating in Fraterfest?

May you find your Muse.

I Survived! & NaNoEdMo

Hello!  This weekend's Author Fest in Manitou Springs was great!  Not only did I survive moderating, being on a Young Adult panel and presenting my stand alone presentation on Making Personal Connections Through Blogging, but I had a great time doing so.  The crowds were small enough that it felt more comfortable, more intimate.  My poor husband got his ears babbled off because I was on such an adrenaline high when I got home Friday evening (the day of my presentation/panel).

It all started Thursday night with a VIP reception, which I was invited to, as I was faculty.  It was held in a stunning old bed and breakfast in Manitou (the Avenue Hotel Bed & Breakfast...highly recommend if you're ever in town).  I chatted with a super nice lady who turned out to be the Manitou mayor's wife.  She was delightful and worked the entire weekend.  Very engaging person.  Those of you on my Facebook possibly already know my big squee moment of the night, which was that Stephen Coonts sat down next to me and we chatted.  He's a really nice guy, but also possesses a sense of humor.  As he lives here in Colorado Springs, we ended up discussing the Waldo Canyon fire a bit (you can't talk to anyone for long without it coming up right now, not locally).

At the VIP reception; I'm on the left.

Friday morning we had a lovely breakfast and listened to Barbara Wright, our morning keynote speaker.  She was a quiet, but pleasant woman who talked about bouncing around in the beginning of her writing career.  She lived in South America and New York City, to name two places, and was an editor (I believe) at Esquire for a time until she realized she was spending all her time doing that and fact checking, and no time doing her own writing.  I had spoken to her and her husband at the VIP reception, as well, and liked them.  One thing about this small conference was that three of the keynotes brought their spouses with them, and it was lovely to get to meet and chat with them, as well.  I think you see a whole new side of a person when you see them with their loved ones.

Our lunch speaker was Barbara Samuel/O'Neal (she's written under both those last names).  She was eloquent and stirred our emotions as she spoke about the things that moved and inspired us.  From comments around me, her speeches are always equally rousing.  This was doubly impressive, considering she was a last minute replacement for a keynote who had a family emergency.

My YA panel was after lunch.  My partners on the panel were Ron Cree and Robert Spiller, both mystery authors.  My goal going into it was just to be sure I did actually say anything helpful during the panel, as these two frequently work together and are good friends, and neither of them are shy or uncomfortable about speaking in front of people.  To my credit, I did, in fact, get a few things in.  Haha!  But it was a good panel, with a great response from those listening, and attendance was encouraging.

Ron Cree, Bob Spiller and myself at the YA Panel.

Directly after the panel I had my presentation.  My fantastic moderator, heretofore known as Super Moderator, had checked in with me at breakfast to see what I'd need, and when I ran into him at lunch and voiced my fear that the cable in the room I'd be speaking in later wouldn't fit my laptop, he went to our tech guy and spoke to him to make sure he'd be there to help.  Hook up went seamlessly, and the cable did actually fit my laptop, though it couldn't screw in.  Just a little suggestion: Clear your desktop if you're going to give a presentation that involves your laptop being hooked up to a projector...  Luckily, there wasn't anyone other than the tech guy in the room at the time, but it was pretty funny to see all my documents, my games and folders splashed all over the screen.  In fact, I had a little sticky with a password on it up there.  It wasn't an important one, and I don't usually put notes on my computer with passwords, but it was intended to just be on there for the evening and I had forgotten to delete it.

Anyway, my presentation was well received.  The audience took notes and asked good questions, and I had a great turn out.  Not only that, but when I'd practiced Thursday night I was running about 15 minutes long.  I finished in time to take a few questions, so yay!  I did forget to ask one question I'd intended to ask and to give out my business card at the end, but those were two small errors, considering I didn't freeze up after I was introduced.

Funny story: I was doing a run through Thursday after the kids came home from school.  They'd finished their snack and homework, and I'd sent them to watch a movie in another room (something they're typically not allowed to do on school days, so they went quite happily).  My son came walking in while I was sitting in my chair talking to an empty room.  I looked up and he was looking at me like I was on drugs.  He finally asked, "What are you doing?"  That look on his face was well worth it.  You think he'd be used to my lunacy by now, but apparently not.

Friday night I attended an open mic reading.  I didn't take a piece (couldn't remember where my notebook with poetry in it was, and didn't have time to hunt it down), but I enjoyed listening to everyone else.  There were poems read, essays, and snippets of novels.  Each person had to give a fact and a fiction, and we guessed which was fact.  We won chocolate if we got it right.  Each person also had to answer a literary trivia question.  This is the first open mic of anything I've attended, and I had tons of fun!

Stephen Graham Jones giving his presentation.

Saturday, our morning keynote was Stephen Graham Jones.  He writes a variety of stuff, but I think mostly horror, in terms of what he's published.  His speech was great.  He first told us what not to do to get published.  He was a natural story teller and told us several interesting stories.  He also read us a piece he'd written, which I wish was published, but isn't.  We were all so fascinated with his speech that Natalie, the main person who puts these on (owner of Black Cat Books in Manitou Springs), told him to go ahead and run late.  Not one person complained.

Our lunch keynote was Stephen Coonts.  He told us how his fame was due to luck.  You see, the month his book was due to come out, a magazine (Forbes, maybe?) had done a spread on Ronald Reagan in the White House.  Coonts (and Clancy) had been published by a Navy-based company, and someone within that company had sent his book to Reagan with a note that he thought he'd enjoy it.  Well, he had just received it when the interview began, and when they took his photo at his desk, the book and a jar of jelly beans were all that sat on his desk.  The marketing folks loved that when one of them happened to discover it while thumbing through the magazine, and they promptly ran with the free publicity.

Stephen Coonts giving his presentation.

I was so exhausted that I skipped the last presentation and went book shopping instead.  I spent way more than I'd intended, and left with a big bag of signed books.  I was able to get my dad Flight of the Intruder, signed, so that was cool.  Hopefully he likes it.

So that was my experience at Author Fest.  It was my first time there, but I hope to go each year after this.  It's definitely different than a larger conference, like Pikes Peak Writers, but different isn't bad.

Having just bored you to tears with my rendition of "why I had a great weekend," I'll close with a reminder that I'm doing NaNoEdMo this month in order to do NaNoWriMo next month, guilt-free.  My hope is to get Lonely Hollow: Synthesis fully edited so I can start querying.  Whether that will happen or not is up in the air, but I plan to make a good attempt.  At some point this week I may get myself a ticker/status bar for the number of pages I edit, but we'll see what I find.  That will be in the sidebar if I locate one I like.

You're welcome to join me for NaNoEdMo.  It doesn't have to be a novel; it can be anything you need to edit.  If I get time or decide to take a break from novel editing, I intend to edit a couple short stories that need it.  My hope at the end of the month is to have material to submit, one way or the other.

I won't be doing a linky for NaNoEdMo or anything, but post in the comments or let me know if you plan on giving it a try, too.  Join me!  I feel like I'll be able to relax in November as long as I've gotten some editing completed.  That way, I get to just enjoy writing, which is always such a pleasure.

Planning on jumping into NaNoEdMo?  How about NaNoWriMo?  Ever been to a small conference?  Seen any of these keynotes?  Have you given a presentation at a conference?

May you find your Muse.

**All photos of the Author Fest were taken by Margaret Morris.