College Class Studies My Short Story: The Nubian Queen

Today was a very good day. I spoke to a college creative writing class who had read and studied my short story, The Nubian Queen featured in the DAW Books anthology, Steampunk'd edited by Jean Rabe and Martin Greenberg.

It's the first time a college class has ever studied my work, to my knowledge, and that was quite an honor. I was invited by professor Kent Bean of Snow College, who had heard me speak at Life The Universe and Everything (a writers conference in Utah), and he wanted me to speak to his students.

We spoke about the story and then about some nuts and bolts issues with creative writing and working as a full or part time writer. The whole thing was fun and I really enjoyed speaking to the students and hearing their questions about the story and writing itself.

Here's a quick description of the story: In The Nubian Queen, the last descendent of Cleopatra the Great must risk everything to save her country in an 1800’s alternate history Earth where Egypt is the center of the world.

Here's a link to a free podcast (34 minutes) of the first half of the story read by the awesome voice actress Annie O'Connel-Torgersen, and also a link to the book on Amazon.com.

I hope to someday write a novel about Queen Sahdi, but time will tell. If you've read the story, please write a review on Amazon.com and email me your thoughts, or post them here, about the story.

Best wishes,

Paul Genesse
Editor of The Crimson Pact anthology series and author of The Iron Dragon Series

Review of Voices: Tales of Horror

Voices: Tales of Horror by Stoker Award nominee Lawrence C. Connolly is a brilliant collection of short stories by a master writer. The thirteen stories are all memorable, and you can tell right from the start that you are in the hands of an exceptional writer. It’s easily understandable why so many horror and fantasy magazine editors bought these stories over the years, and why Connolly has received so much praise from the critics. I also very much enjoyed the short background essays/commentary on the stories that are interspersed between the tales. The illustrations by Jason Zerillo are also top notch, but the real gems are the stories themselves. I’ll mention several of them briefly in this review, and will leave you to peruse the reviews on Amazon for more, as they capture perfectly the essence of Connolly’s writing.

“Lesions” is a creepy story about a very bad man with a horrifying condition, tiny mouths with sharp teeth have appeared all over his body. He ends up looking for help and goes to a place where he thinks he can get it. Here’s the first line: Todd studied her, gauging the size of her head, breasts, and hands, imagining how they would look arranged in a crystal bowl.

Great opening line and the writing is impeccable. Connolly is a master of stripped down prose that is at the same time deep and emotional, but not cluttered, or overdone.

“Smuggling the Dead” is a fascinating story about an American hired to smuggle something very mysterious out of Russia, a small black cube made up of . . . well, you’ll have to read it to find out exactly what it is. The behind the scenes story about this one was also very intriguing and chronicles a trip Connolly made to Russia years ago.

“Decanting Oblivion” is about a bicycle messenger with a drug problem in a bizarre future Earth that has no-sleep factories where the workers go non-stop, as their need for sleep has been taken away. There’s a lot more to this story, and it’s very visceral and utterly fascinating. One of my favorites.

“Things” is about a gang of evil youngsters who tangle with the wrong old Italian lady. Sure, the young men had their fun breaking and entering old people’s houses and beating them up and stealing their stuff, but sometimes, you pick the wrong person to screw with.

“Flames” is one of my favorite stories in the anthology. It’s about three college students on their way home for Thanksgiving break, when their car breaks down and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned house during a snowstorm. This one will leave you shivering, and whatever you do, don’t get too close to the flames.

“The Death Lantern” is literally a Sherlock Holmes story, from a themed anthology about our favorite inspector, and it delivers a bullet to the face. Well, a bullet to the face of a famous illusionist of the day. But is the film footage real? Or is it an elaborate hoax? The story is quite interesting and the new technology of moving pictures is discussed with a rather interesting angle that we who have grown up watching movies may not have ever considered.

“Die Angle” is a story inspired by a Bruce Springsteen song (for a themed collection that draws inspiration from Springsteen songs), and is about a man who returns to his hometown after being gone for many years. He’s going home because he’s been given a contract to kill someone. Chaos ensues and we get to meet some of our anti-hero’s old friends. The town is a really messed up place. The Boss would love this one, I think.

“Beneath Between” is a mind-bending story that seemed like it was one of those chapter interludes where Connolly told about his writing life. It felt so real and for a moment I forgot I was reading fiction. I think writers especially will love this story, as it’s about a frustrated writer who made the decision not to submit his work for too long, and sees how it could have been when he ends up in the most awesome and bizarre bookstore ever.

“Junk’d” is a horror story about a couple of low life a-holes who end up in a car wreck. One walks away, one doesn’t, but there is so much more and this story goes to a whole new level of depravity. It’s so sick and twisted.

“Shrines” is my favorite story in the whole collection. It’s a novella with fantastical and sci-fi elements, and is a magnificent character study of a man who has lost the two most important people in his life. He is tempted by a possible scam that offers to reunite him with his dead wife and child. This story is so expertly drawn that I found myself pulled through the narrative and immersed completely. Few stories are so good that I lose myself, and I found that happened with this one.

I look forward very much to reading Connolly’s novel, Veins, and his other collections of short fiction.

Voices: Tales of Horror is Highly recommended,

Paul Genesse
Editor of The Crimson Pact and Author of the Iron Dragon Series

Also, check out this book trailer, which is really awesome and features illustrations from the book.

Review of The Haunted by Michaelbrent Collings

The Haunted by Michaelbrent Collings is the creepiest book I’ve read in years. The writing is excellent and this short novel (273 pages, $4.99 eBook, $9.99 paperback) builds, and builds to a truly terrifying climax that takes up the last 170 pages. Pregnant Sarah and her husband, Cap move in to a remote old house surrounded by a sinister forest, and the haunting begins. Little things go on at first and the quiet opening made me wonder if this was going to be like the other haunted house books that I’ve read in the past. It definitely was not, as the ghosts in this novel don’t just make noises in the night, and hide in basements. They come after the main characters with knives that cut flesh. They are in your face and terrifying.

Cap and poor Sarah worry for their immortal souls and their unborn baby as a whole pack of murderous ghosts start a prolonged attack that takes up more than half the book. These are the most vicious ghosts I’ve ever read about, and Collings is a great writer who knows how to evoke a mood and pull you into the tight prose, that drips blood and terror.

If you’ve read a lot of haunted house books, this one may not seem to be much different at first, aside from the fantastic writing, but there is a twist at the end that most readers will not see coming—I admit that I didn’t—though I had suspicions whispering in the back of my mind. The ending really left me shivering and I love how well the twist was set up all through the book.

As a writer and editor myself, I really loved how Collings crafted his scenes, as the prose really punched me in the face, and made me cringe.

If you’re looking for a good scare and want a great read, The Haunted is an excellent book for you. I finally understand why Michaelbrent Collings has such a great reputation for being a really good writer, and he’s earned a lifelong fan. I will for sure be reading his other novels.

View the Haunted on Amazon.com

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon series
Editor of the Crimson Pact anthology series

Winter's Bone starring Jennifer Lawrence movie review

I just watched the award winning movie, Winter's Bone (2011) starring Jennifer Lawrence of The Hunger Games. See the movie that got her the role of a lifetime. This is a gritty and unflinching drama about a poor Ozark Mountain girl who has to keep her family going when her drug dealing father turns up missing. It won awards and I give it five stars. Jennifer was amazing.

This movie is a serious look at the casualties of the drug culture in the hinterlands of America. It's a powerful movie and shows the amazing courage of a seventeen year old girl, who has to take charge of her broken family, including two young kids and a mentally ill (clinically depressed and more) mother who can't function. Sound familiar?

This character (Ree Dolley) and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games share a lot of the same characteristics and I know in my gut that the producers of The Hunger Games saw her in this movie and knew she was the one.

All the actors in this movie, some were just locals recruited to be in the film, were amazing, especially Ree's little brother and sister, as well as her uncle.

Here's a link to a fantastic review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/sep/16/winters-bone-review

and

Here's the link to the IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/

In this scene Ree teaches her six year old sister and her little brother how to shoot squirrels, so they can feed themselves if something happens to her. In the next scene Jennifer Lawrence actually skins a squirrel on camera and guts it. PETA won't be happy, but I'm sure the squirrel was eaten, and it was a very important scene in the movie. This one isn't for the faint of heart, but it shows that Jennifer Lawrence is the real deal, a true actress who is destined to be a huge star.

WRITE FOR THE HEIGHTS KICKOFF EVENT!

WRITING PRESENTATION AND BOOK SIGNING TOMORROW, APRIL 14 AT THE WHITMORE LIBRARY IN COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS!

The Cottonwood Heights Arts Council presents "Write for the Heights," a six-month series of writing workshops and a writing contest open to all Salt Lake County residents. Whitmore Library will host the program's kickoff event on Saturday, April 14 at 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM The program will feature authors Owen Ashton, Helena Duncan, Paul Genesse, Amy Wadsworth, Jesse Parent, and Robison Wells. At the end of the event, authors will be available to autograph books. (20 minute presentations by each author, then a signing from 1-2PM.)

http://www.slcolibrary.org/le/lesp/

The long workshop I'm teaching by myself is Saturday June 16 on Creating
Conflict, but come tomorrow!

JUNE 16, 2012
Creating Conflict: Make war, not peace! Ruffle the feathers of your characters. Stir the pot of emotions. Add a fistfight or two. Craft a clever and entertaining argument among your heroes. Not all conflict has to be bloody or increase the body count, but it does have to keep the reader turning the pages. Author and editor, Paul Genesse (juh-NESS) will discuss the art of adding conflict to your stories, and will guide you through a hands-on workshop which will include creating, revising, and crafting fiction that will make your work stand out above the rest.

UGeek Interview

Video Table of Contents:
- 00:10 - Existing Projects
- 01:55 - About "The Crimson Pact" Authors & Content
- 02:25 - About "Flash Fiction"
- 03:20 - About Utah and Horror, and the Gross-out Contest
- 05:05 - Experience with Publishing
- 09:25 - The Future of Publishing
- 11:25 - Summary, Sign-Off, & the Next Anthology

This is a UGeekTV interview with Paul Genesse, author of "The Iron Dragon" novel series and editor of "The Crimson Pact" anthology series. This video was shot on location at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 31, 2012.

For more information please visit www.paulgenesse.com or www.thecrimsonpact.com

World Horror Crimson Pact Interview

Right after the awesome Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy was interviewed, I was interviewed by the Residual Hauntings Revived crew (Russ Cook, Jess the Ghost Girl--who had a broken mic, and Tom Carr). Patrick Tracy was also interviewed with me at the same time, and we had a lot of fun.

Here's the link to the 20 minute podcast interview. You can hear Mike Mignnola right before Pat and I go on. All of the interviews at World Horror are on the same podcast (cut together), which is really long, but you can easily skip around on it.

You can stream the podcast or download it.

To get to the Crimson Pact part, skip to the one hour and forty seven minute mark and 30 seconds, where Pat and I go on.

We discuss lots of stories, including: Don Darling's "The Ronin's Mark" in The Crimson Pact Volume 3, and Don's Volume 4 story, "Ronin's Resolve"; Larry Correia and Steven Diamond's "Son of Fire, Son of Thunder" (Crimson Pact Volume 2); and "That Which We Fear" (Crimson Pact Volume 3), Barbara Webb "Inquest" (Crimson Pact Volume 1) and "St. Petersburg" (Barbara's forthcoming novel featuring a character from "Inquest," and Kelly Swails horror story "The Last Breakfast" featured on the flash fiction website nbns.wordpress.com/.

We also talk about my Iron Dragon Series and my short story, "No-Tusks" set in Shane Moore's Abyss Walker world.

Live shows are tough, and I'm sorry if I offended any of the newer writers out there. It's tough when you're new, especially when your story is compared to established professionals, but you have to start somewhere. I found a lot of great stories by new writers in The Crimson Pact volumes 1 and 2, and am glad I chose them.

Listen at the 1:47 and 30 second mark. Here's the link:

http://residualhauntings.podomatic.com/entry/2012-04-02T19_41_35-07_00


Best wishes and Humble apologies,

Paul Genesse
Editor of The Crimson Pact Volumes 1, 2, 3.
www.thecrimsonpact.com

The Crimson Pact Volume 3

We set them free, now we have to take them down.

The battle against the demonic horde rages on with fifteen blistering new stories from all across the multiverse. Make your mark in blood and join the Crimson Pact!


The Crimson Pact Volume 3 features fifteen action packed and frightening short stories, including, “That Which We Fear” by New York Times bestselling author Larry Correia, and Steven Diamond, which features Diego Santos, a bad ass marine who knows the exact time of his death, and Jarvis “Lazarus” Tombs, a federal agent who investigates the paranormal, and has the strange habit of coming come back from the dead. “The Ronin’s Mark” by Donald Darling is a story from an arch demon’s point of view and provides a fascinating study of what happens when a demon becomes too close to the world he is trying to destroy. “Whispers in the Code” by Patrick M. Tracy uncovers the sinister truth about the secrets found inside the internet, and those trying to stop the end of days.

“Stumble and Fall” by Isaac Bell tells a tale of his famous character, John Olshoe, who recalls a time when he failed to be the hero. “Singe, Smolder, Torch, Whither” by Eric M. Bosarge is a creepy tale Stephen King could have written if he decided to write a story with a more literary style. “The Jar of Needs” by Patrick M. Tracy is about a depraved customer who will do anything for the sullen barrista he’s fallen in lust with. “Monsters on the Trail” by Patrick S. Tomlinson shows us what happens when investigators find out a demon may be involved with a political campaign. “David in Disguise” by Kelly Swails takes us to a 1960’s Chicago protest march where a young woman, who wants to be a journalist, finds out she may have to join the family business after all . . . and hunt demons. “Fallout from My Former Life” by Valerie Dircks proves that a young woman can never escape her past, especially at her high school prom.

“The Recruit” by Craig Nybo profiles the boxing champion, Micky Atlas, in what may be his last fight . . . on Earth. EA Younker gives us a steampunk apocalypse story, “Fight” where the rebels steal an airship and take the battle to the demon-possessed bots who have destroyed their world. “The Third Eye” by Chanté McCoy tells the tragic story of a failed Greek Orthodox priest in the early 1900’s, who is unable to convince his countrymen that the demons are indeed coming. “A Contract Between Thieves” by Stephanie M. Lorée is one of the most entertaining stories in the anthology and is set in a “Italian Renaissance steampunk meets traditional sword & sorcery world” and features a rogue named Feni, and her lover, Raf, and their travails after Feni accepts the absolutely wrong job—that feels so right.

“Shen Llamo’s Daughters,” takes us on a trip to Tibet in a time when the old customs of the mountain people, typified by pragmatic Yumi, battle with the new religion of Buddhism, and demonic spirits roam a haunted valley in the Himalayas. “The Scarlet Cloak” by Karen Bovenmyer, which book-ends this collection and will not soon be forgotten, is about a young woman who takes revenge on her enemies by using an artifact of terrible power that may consume her in the end, or perhaps it will set her true self free.

Paul Genesse
Editor of The Crimson Pact Volume 3
www.thecrimsonpact.com

Review of Spellbound by Larry Correia

This is part of the review I wrote about Hard Magic, book one in the Grimnoir Chronicles by New York Times bestseller, Larry Correia:

“Imagine X-Men crossed with the 1920’s period show by HBO, Boardwalk Empire . . . The world building is top notch and well researched . . . the alternate history alone makes this worth the read . . . . There’s airships, superhero smack downs, lots of guns, and great writing. If you enjoy lots of action and have a special place in your heart for super heroes, this is the book for you.”

Now onto the review of the even more awesome book two, Spellbound.

I just finished reading Spellbound, book two in the Grimnoir Chronicles, and loved it even more than the first one. The series is so much fun. In Spellbound the heroes from Hard Magic, mostly Grimnoir Knights, are put in serious danger as they are blamed for an assassination attempt on the president—Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those with magic, (called Actives) are then targeted by the government, mostly by the ‘F’ BI, and a secret government organization called the OCI, and soon Jake Sullivan, a kick ass Grimnoir Knight, is public enemy number one.

The opening of this book, and the first few chapters are so entertaining. I particularly loved the scene with the machine that Thomas Edison invented—a telephone that can contact the dead. The man on the other side wants to talk to Jake Sullivan—the man who killed him—and the message he gives Jake is bad, bad news. Something is coming to devour the Earth, and without certain preparations, there is no hope for the world. The hints of this were in book one and now it’s all put on the table.

We knew that Jake was a bad ass. He’s called a “Heavy” and can spike gravity all around him, and ruin anyone’s day, but the big news is that we learn why the teenage girl from Oklahoma, Faye, is so powerful. She’s a “Traveler” who can teleport at will and is the most powerful “Active” on the planet, which we knew because of what she did at the end of book one, a truly spectacular feat that amazed and terrified everyone. I think of Faye as the “Ninja Assassin Queen.” You do not want to mess with her. Ever. She will teleport behind you and put a bullet in your head before you can blink once. Seriously.

The characters are great, and Spellbound is an epic story, and has so much action and lots of fascinating alternate history world building. It’s actually 1933 in book two, and one of my favorite parts of world building was a letter posted at the beginning of a chapter that was from Robert E. Howard to H.P. Lovecraft. I was in Nerdvanna after I read that. Robert E. Howard wrote the Conan stories and Lovecraft invented the Cthulhu mythos.

It’s worth noting that the year 1933 was the year that King Kong (the original movie) came out and Larry Correia’s love of monster movies carries over into this book in a pretty spectacular way at the end of the book. The King Kong parallel was awesome, and all the historical details, small and large, were so great.

The Grimnoir series is the real deal. Hard Magic was no fluke. Spellbound ups the ante with dangerous villains, fantastic characterization, brilliant world building, intense action, and a great story that will enthrall you from beginning to end.

Here’s a link to a fabulous review on Amazon that spells out this book in more detail if you want to learn more about the specifics of the plot.

I highly recommend The Grimnoir Chronicles. Five Stars.

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon Series
Editor of the Crimson Pact anthology Series

Hunger Games Movie Review

Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth
as Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne

I just watched The Hunger Games movie with some friends. I enjoyed the movie very much and think it was an excellent adaptation from the novel.

The only negatives for me were because of the director, Gary Ross. I assume that it was his idea to have the "shaky cam" for no good reason at random times, and do all the jump cuts every three mili seconds in some scenes.

Some of the cutting was to keep the movie tame so it would have a PG-13 rating. I'm okay with soft-pedaling the violence, which is a business decision, and kids are going to watch this even if it is PG-13. But it was not good filmmaking to do shaky cam shots and confuse and annoy the audience who could not see what the heck was going on at times. Why do shaky cam when she's getting on the train, or moving through the woods? Some of those shots were ruined for no good reason.

Did this issue "ruin" the movie for me? No, but if not for the shaky cam and ridiculous editing in some key scenes, (the finale and Rue's final scene were cut badly) it would have made a good movie, great.

Now on to the positives. The movie was tense, fascinating and extremely well acted. Stanley Tucci practically stole the show as Caesar Flickerman. Woody Harrelson was great as Hamitch, though I would have liked to see more of him. That'll have to wait for the director's cut, when they can really show how drunk and screwed up he was in the book. Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinkett was perfect. She's a very talented actress.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark was great. He sold me, and only faltered during one scene as an actor. The scene with Katniss in their room when he was saying he didn't want the games to change who he was, which is right out of the book. He couldn't quite handle the lines. Still, he's a good actor and was great for the rest of the movie.

Liam Hemsworth as Gale, wow, that guy has charisma. I loved him. Perfect casting. From now on, Liam Hemsworth is the actor I picture as Drake in my Iron Dragon Series. He's handsome, strong, has the dark features and the demeanor of Drake, a guardian and hunter with a big heart.

The other actors were fabulous, but shining above them all, as she should, was Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. She is a true star deserving all the fame and fortune this role will bring. She was nominated for an an Oscar and several other awards for her role in the film, Winter's Bone (2011), and that picture got her this job--in my opinion. She was spectacular in that movie, and triumphant in The Hunger Games. The strength and emotion she brought to this movie was palpable. Watching her take care of her sister and mother in the beginning, spend time with Gale, or cry for the loss of Rue was exceptional. I predict that she will get several Oscar nominations in her career and will win other major awards.

The Katniss on the screen was so strong, much stronger than in the book, because in the book we heard her doubts and fears more, as she thought to herself privately. Jennifer Lawrence portrayed some of that really well, but I found myself liking Katniss a lot more in the movie than I did in the book.

The movie delivered in the end because of what Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson brought to the table, which was magic. If you haven't read the books, and loved the movie, you should read the books, as you'll get a lot more out of it, and some of the blanks will be filled in for you.

Overall, four out of five stars, and I look forward to the next two films, as I thoroughly enjoyed and believed this world, and these characters. I bet Suzzanne Collins, the author of this series, is ecstatic with how this movie turned out.

Here's a link to my review of the novel, The Hunger Games by Suzzanne Collins.

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon Series
www.paulgenesse.com

The Straits of Galahesh

   

 


Today is a good day, as The Straits of Galahesh is out at last. I've read this book twice, (earlier drafts), and when my copies come, (one for reading), (one for being perfect on the shelf), I'm going to read it again. I loved The Winds of Khalakovo, and book two, The Straits of Galahesh is even better. So epic, beautiful, and awesome.

Visit Brad's webiste where whre you can check out an interactive map of the world that will blow you away. Check it out here on Amazon and watch this video. Brad is the man.

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon Series
www.paulgenesse.com

Game of Thrones Season Two

I just watched the first episode of season two of Game of Thrones on HBO. It was very powerful and awesome. I loved the writing and the acting. The cast is amazing and every performance is top notch. The first three books of George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series are awesome, and watching this show makes me want to read them all over again.

If you haven't read the books, or seen the show, I highly recommend you watch the show, and at least read book one.

Paul Genesse
Author of the Iron Dragon Series
Book 1: The Golden Cord
Book 2: The Dragon Hunters
Book 3: The Crystal Eye

Speculate Podcast Interview about eBooks and Independent Publishing

Speculate!
The podcast for Writers, Readers, and Fans

I was a guest of the Speculate podcast, and was interviewed by author Greg Wilson and Brad Beaulieu about the massive changes to the publishing world. The paradigm is shifting so fast and we discuss the new realities of being of writer.

Here's the description of Part 1 of the interview:

In this episode we take a step back from our usual blend of reader response and writer analysis to look at the state of the speculative fiction field more generally, enlisting friend and fellow speculative fiction author and editor (in both traditional and independent modes) Paul Genesse to broaden the discussion. Our conversation went so long that we decided to split the show into two parts (we think an eighty minute episode would be a little extreme); in part one, we focus most of our attention on E-books and self-publication, looking at trends in the field and where we think things may head next. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week for part two of our discussion with Paul. Until then, thanks as always for listening to the show, and please continue to spread the word!

Listen to Part 1 here.


Part 2: E-Books and Independent Publishing

The description:

In this episode we continue our look at the impact of E-books and independent publishing on the field of speculative fiction with part two of our talk with author and editor extraordinaire Paul Genesse, focusing here on what makes a book a book, what the kids must think of all of this, and what’s next for our genre.

Listen to Part 2 here.

You can download the podcast for your iPod and please let me know what you think. Speculate is pretty awesome and got right at the key issues of the changing paradigm in book publishing.

Paul Genesse
Author and Editor
www.paulgenesse.com

World Horror Convention 2012

I attended the 2012 World Horror Convention (and Stoker Awards) this past weekend. It's where the horror writers and publishers get together for some mayhem. I loved the convention, (it was the second time I've gone). I met some awesome people: writers, editors, publishers, poets, artists, and fans. I also recruited some horror writers to write Crimson Pact stories for me at some point in the future. I'd like to do a volume of The Crimson Pact where almost all of the stories were horror.

There were so many highlights, but I'm going to try and list a few below.



I got to hang out with artist John Picacio, who I've known for a while, (since 2002) and got some Song of Ice and Fire art from him. A limited edition print of Melisandre (the Lady of Fire) from George R.R. Martin's series, which will go in my basement gallery at some point. John is awesome and I heard him speak for an hour about his process and the creation of the GRRM 2012 calendar, which I love. I remember when John won his first World Fantasy Award, and I loved seeing him win as his friends and family surrounded him. Someday, he'll do a book cover for me. I don't know when, but someday. This is the future I see when I look into the flames . . .



I got to sit with Lawrence Connolly and his lovely wife Jenny at the Stoker awards, MC'd by the hilarious writer, Jeff Strand, who I sat beside at the mass autograph signing. Anyway, Lawrence was up for best short story collection for his awesome collection of short fiction, Voices: Tales of Horror. I heard him read from it and loved it--he's such a great reader. I've got my autographed copy of Visions and look forward to diving in. I also got his audio CD which has songs inspired by his novel, Veins, and has some snippets of him reading.

Another great moment was getting to talk with Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker's great grand nephew about the sequel to the sequel of Dracula. I read The Un-Dead, (the direct sequel to Dracula written from Bram's original notes, but written by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt) a few years ago and wondered what was going to happen next. They left it open for a sequel. Here's a link to my Amazon.com review. It was cool to have Dacre pick my brain about the possible plot of the next book, which is not written yet. Dacre (sounds like acre by the way) was there promoting his new non-fiction book, which is about Bram Stoker, and was written after the discovery of a lost journal written by Bram himself. The book will be out soon, check Amazon.com for it.

I met a ton of great people, one was Usman, a young doctor who has finally finished ten years of education and now has time to get back into writing. I read a short piece from him and it was fantastic.


Usman Malik and Paul Genesse at the 2012 Stoker Award Banquet

Getting to hang out with my friends, Patrick Tracy and Chante McCoy was great too. We had a lot of fun, and any excuse to hang with Pat is great. We're brothers from another mother. We also signed books together, which was lots of fun.

I chatted with so many awesome people and did a few media interviews, two film crews spoke with me, one podcast crew (Residual Hauntings Revived, and I spread the word about The Crimson Pact. I did a panel about Book Bombs (I like to call them Book Blasts), which is when you get the word out on your new book by posting a lot of stuff on the internet. Howard Tayler and Bob Defendi were on the panel with me, which was a hoot.

Overall, it's just great to meet the horror writers. They are so unpretentious and cool. If you ever get a chance to attend World Horror, or the Stoker Awards, please do. It's awesome.

The next one is 2013 in New Orleans.

Paul Genesse
Editor of The Crimson Pact anthology Series
www.thecrimsonpact.com