In honour of Halloween, I asked various film buffs, horror writers and editors to name their favourite horror film and explain why it's so good, in 100 words or less.
You can read the list at Articulate.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Horror fans rate their favourite films
In honour of Halloween, I asked various film buffs, horror writers and editors to name their favourite horror film and explain why it's so good, in 100 words or less.
You can read the list at Articulate.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Pop art Eamon!
Created this Warholesque take on Eamon using a fantastic, easy-to-understand Photoshop tutorial by Melissa Clifton.
(You can check out the large version here)
'Feast or Famine' podcast
Foreign correspondents Don and Rick are lured up Sikaram mountain, deep in Afghanistan’s badlands, by the promise of an exclusive interview with one of the nation’s most feared warlords. When an avalanche traps the two men in a bunker, their gruesome fight for survival begins.
Listen to the story and an interview with me at The Writing Show.
Listen to the story and an interview with me at The Writing Show.
Friday, October 27, 2006
The Writing Show Halloween special under way
Over at The Writing Show, the Halloween special is well under way.
Kaaron Warren reads her short story "The Gibbet Bell".
Robert Hood reads his short story "Peripheral Movement in the Leaves Under an Orange Tree".
Kaaron Warren reads her short story "The Gibbet Bell".
Robert Hood reads his short story "Peripheral Movement in the Leaves Under an Orange Tree".
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Comic of the Week: on hold
I'm having troubles keeping up with Comic of the Week, so I'm going to put it on hold for the moment.
Sorry for any inconvenience!
Sorry for any inconvenience!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Horror Day interview
On Friday I was interviewed by ABC 612's Steve Austin about Horror Day.
If you missed the interview, you can listen here.
[Listen - MP3] [Listen - Real] [Listen - WinMedia]
If you missed the interview, you can listen here.
[Listen - MP3] [Listen - Real] [Listen - WinMedia]
Comic of the Week: Miserable Mothers 2056
(Edit 21/10: the big version of this was screwing up my template, so I've shrunk it. However, you can view the big version here).
To learn more about the Miserable Motherf***ers, go here.
To learn more about the Miserable Motherf***ers, go here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Monday, October 16, 2006
'Ad Infinitum' all over again
My story "Ad Infinitum", which originally appeared in Shadowed Realms way back in September 2004, has been re-released.
Book of Shadows (vol 1) also features Poppy Z Brite, Terry Dowling, Robert Hood, Stephen Dedman, Kurt Newton, Greg Beatty, Martin Livings, Lee Battersby, Josh Rountree, Mikal Trimm, Melissa Marr.
I've got a soft spot for "Ad Infinitum" -- it was my first sale and gave me a lot of confidence to try and sell more stories -- so it's good to see it back in circulation.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Happy Horror Day!
In honour of the occasion, I thought I'd throw some horror-related stuff together.
For a start, head over to Articulate, where I've done a bit of a Horror Day wrap.
Interviews with Australian horror Writers
Q & A: An Australian werewolf (lover) in London (June 2006)
Q & A: The three personalities of Edwina Grey (June 2006)
Rocky Wood: getting stuck into Stephen King (June 2006)
Other horror-related features
Q&A: 'Goosebumps' creator R L Stine (September 2006)
And the lurch goes on... (May 2006)
At work with Ellen Datlow (May 2006)
When Evil Reigns: horror on a budget (May 2006)
Horror re-makes: one more for the road (April 2006)
The life and deaths of Jason Voorhees (January 2006)
Horror-themed comics
An Interview With Stephen King
An Interview With David Malouf (The link is tenuous, but it's there!)
Bob the 'Postal' Worker (And even more tenuous)
Some of my horror fiction
To The Gates of Hell (Aug 2006): The rich will live forever: that was the promise. But Roy's attempt to escape a dying planet is complicated by a violent rebellion.
Black (Apr 2006): A scientist discovers the ultimate shade of black, with horrifying results.
No Man's Land (Dec 2004): A World War I veteran reflects on a harrowing Christmas on the front line.
For a start, head over to Articulate, where I've done a bit of a Horror Day wrap.
Interviews with Australian horror Writers
Q & A: An Australian werewolf (lover) in London (June 2006)
Q & A: The three personalities of Edwina Grey (June 2006)
Rocky Wood: getting stuck into Stephen King (June 2006)
Other horror-related features
Q&A: 'Goosebumps' creator R L Stine (September 2006)
And the lurch goes on... (May 2006)
At work with Ellen Datlow (May 2006)
When Evil Reigns: horror on a budget (May 2006)
Horror re-makes: one more for the road (April 2006)
The life and deaths of Jason Voorhees (January 2006)
Horror-themed comics
An Interview With Stephen King
An Interview With David Malouf (The link is tenuous, but it's there!)
Bob the 'Postal' Worker (And even more tenuous)
Some of my horror fiction
To The Gates of Hell (Aug 2006): The rich will live forever: that was the promise. But Roy's attempt to escape a dying planet is complicated by a violent rebellion.
Black (Apr 2006): A scientist discovers the ultimate shade of black, with horrifying results.
No Man's Land (Dec 2004): A World War I veteran reflects on a harrowing Christmas on the front line.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Comic of the Week: Say 'No' to Gene Splicing
By Gary Kemble and Amelia Hutchison
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Friday, October 06, 2006
'Satan's Scribe' out now
Issue 6 of Ripples Magazine is out now, featuring my apocalyptic short "Satan's Scribe".
For more, see Credits.
For more, see Credits.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Comic of the Week back catalogue
No comic this week - trying to cope with the harsh reality of my return to work after a two-week break!
But here's the back catalogue...
The 'Interview' series...
Interview with David Malouf
Interview With Stephen King
Interview With Wraith Picket
Interview With an Up-and-Coming Author
Interview With a Generic Australian Widow
...'Literal Man'...
Literal Man = Florence Nightingale
Literal Man Finds God
...'God Lovers'...
God Lovers #1
God Lovers #2
...and flotsam and jetsam
Bob the Postal Worker
Adults Say The Darndest Things
The Code
Hair
Three Perspectives
But here's the back catalogue...
The 'Interview' series...
...'Literal Man'...
...'God Lovers'...
...and flotsam and jetsam
Monday, October 02, 2006
Fear of losing it
This month's Writing Queensland is quite down-beat (which I wouldn't dare complain about after my rant a couple of months ago).
There's my aforesaid rant in the letters section, there's a horrifying article by an anonymous writer who, despite a $20,000 advance and a $10,000 writers' grant was almost edited out of existence, and then Adair Jones takes a look at the Kaavya Viswanathan saga.
It got me thinking again about why we write.
I still think there's a bit of an ego aspect there -- having people validate your mode of expression.
There's also the sheer joy of immersing yourself in a world of your own creation. It's like reading, but even more fun.
And then there's the satisfaction of getting better at it (but I think this goes back to the ego thing).
But what I've been thinking about lately is fear of losing the story.
Before my son was born I had ideas for stories and I did some writing, but I think I was scared of fucking it up, of not being able to properly communicate the vision that was so clear in my mind.
(This, coupled with the fact that I never had an Amiga as a kid, manifested itself as many wasted hours playing Ghost Recon and Fifa 2003).
Now, however, with so little time to write, it's the fear of losing the story.
You can jot down the ideas, but I don't think that's enough. For me at least, I feel if I don't start writing when the idea is burning brightly, I'll lose the feel of the story. And once it's gone, it's never really the same.
(Although, given that I could be writing the story right now instead of crapping on here, maybe I'm still scared of fucking it up!)
There's my aforesaid rant in the letters section, there's a horrifying article by an anonymous writer who, despite a $20,000 advance and a $10,000 writers' grant was almost edited out of existence, and then Adair Jones takes a look at the Kaavya Viswanathan saga.
It got me thinking again about why we write.
I still think there's a bit of an ego aspect there -- having people validate your mode of expression.
There's also the sheer joy of immersing yourself in a world of your own creation. It's like reading, but even more fun.
And then there's the satisfaction of getting better at it (but I think this goes back to the ego thing).
But what I've been thinking about lately is fear of losing the story.
Before my son was born I had ideas for stories and I did some writing, but I think I was scared of fucking it up, of not being able to properly communicate the vision that was so clear in my mind.
(This, coupled with the fact that I never had an Amiga as a kid, manifested itself as many wasted hours playing Ghost Recon and Fifa 2003).
Now, however, with so little time to write, it's the fear of losing the story.
You can jot down the ideas, but I don't think that's enough. For me at least, I feel if I don't start writing when the idea is burning brightly, I'll lose the feel of the story. And once it's gone, it's never really the same.
(Although, given that I could be writing the story right now instead of crapping on here, maybe I'm still scared of fucking it up!)
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Talking cats
This has nothing to do with writing but is just hilarious (and the last one is a bit freaky).
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Comic of the Week: Interview With a Generic Australian Widow
If you enjoyed this comic, you may also like Interview With an Up-and-Coming Australian author and 'An Interview With Wraith Picket'.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Halloween special: tentative running order
Paula Berinstein from The Writing Show emailed with a tentative running order for the Halloween special:
Day 1, October 25th: Rob Hood
Day 2, October 26th: Kaaron Warren
Day 3, October 27th: Gary Kemble
Day 4, October 28th: Jason Nahrung
Day 5, October 29th: Chuck McKenzie
Day 6, October 30th: Leigh Blackmore
Day 7, October 31st: Stephen Studach
Because The Writing Show is based in the US, the dates are +1 where we are.
Paula says she has selected the music for all the readings and has begun integrating it and the effects into the audio.
Can't wait to hear the readings.
Day 1, October 25th: Rob Hood
Day 2, October 26th: Kaaron Warren
Day 3, October 27th: Gary Kemble
Day 4, October 28th: Jason Nahrung
Day 5, October 29th: Chuck McKenzie
Day 6, October 30th: Leigh Blackmore
Day 7, October 31st: Stephen Studach
Because The Writing Show is based in the US, the dates are +1 where we are.
Paula says she has selected the music for all the readings and has begun integrating it and the effects into the audio.
Can't wait to hear the readings.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Comic of the Week: Interview with an up-and-coming Australian author
If you enjoyed this comic, you may also like 'An Interview With Wraith Picket'.
To find out more about Fair Trade products, go here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Jasper Fforde and R L Stine
My interviews with Jasper Fforde and R L Stine are both now available over at Articulate.
They were both really good to talk to -- and both clearly revelling in their lives as professional writers.
This quote from Fforde really struck a chord with me:
They were both really good to talk to -- and both clearly revelling in their lives as professional writers.
This quote from Fforde really struck a chord with me:
"You write and you want to be published but I think if you write only wanting to be published you're doing it for entirely the wrong reason and it will probably show. I think the thing about writing is to perhaps assume that you won't be published, that there's a strong possibility you will never be published, and if you can carry on writing with that in mind then you're clearly doing it for the right sort of reasons."
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
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