In yesterday's edition of USAToday the following profile of Jeffrey Deaver was a highlight:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-11-01-deaver01_CV_N.htm
It was exciting for me to read because Jeffrey Deaver was one of our headliners for the 2009 Love is Murder CON. At Love is Murder we pride ourselves on being a close and exiciting CON where all of us can mingle up front and personal with New York Times best selling authors such as Jeffrey Deaver.
I have to say that he gave an extremely entertaining talk to our audience and afterwards he graciously waited around to talk with everyone who approached him, including me.
The article link above addresses his place as the author of the new Bond novel. A regular at Love is Murder is author Raymond Benson who has authored numerous Bond books.
http://www.raymondbenson.com/
So, come out to Love is Murder this Feb and rub elbows with some of the most amazing authors, readers and fans on the planet.
www.loveismurder.net
Showing posts with label LIM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LIM. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Namaste
I’m involved with a number of writing groups and events one of which is the Love is Murder Con (LIM CON) held during the first weekend in February. We’ve held it annually until now, taking a break in 2010 to reorganize and the decision was an appropriate one for the board, the conference and the attendees. Just wait until you see what we have planned for 2011.
We had our most recent board meeting last week to go over a variety of issues that conference boards usually discuss and I left the meeting feeling quite excited about the 2011 LIM CON. As we continue to hear of other CON’s folding or taking even longer breaks than just the one year we did, it’s becoming clearer that our 2011 LIM CON will be a well-attended and high-energy event.
We’re working on a new web page so check the website from time to time, especially in Jan 2010 for updates. The url is www.loveismurder.net.
In the meantime, I’ve been happily working and writing and cooking. I’m working on a cookbook that I’m very excited about and hope to have it available for the 2011 Holiday Season. I continue to plug away at my fiction and have started writing more poetry and short stories.
I say happily working because I do have a good job. It’s hard and challenging work, but I’m happily and gainfully employed with benefits and I have a job that is as about as guaranteed as they come. Given the cost of my daughter’s education, a recent divorce and so many other issues, I doubt I’ll retire anytime soon, but that’s okay since I do actually enjoy my work and I receive bi-annual feedback during reviews that my work is appreciated. I count my blessings each and everyday.
While I’ve hits some bumps in the road these past two years, 2010 and beyond is shaping up to be incredibly rewarding on all fronts and I have to say that I’m excited about it, especially the time I’ve been able to carve out for my writing. Interestingly enough my yoga practice has facilitated this more than anything else. I’m a yoga cheerleader these days because the yoga process and philosophy has provided me with a foundation to accomplish many things I only dreamed about, and more importantly, helped me through some difficult times.
So, as I continue to be busy with work, writing, and living my life, I’ve finally found a peacefulness that I’ve never known before and a sense of living consciously that has kept me safe from some very negative energy from people that have unpleasantly surprised me of late. To these individuals and everyone else out there I wish only good things and positive energy and will genuinely end this entry on a yoga note - Namaste.
We had our most recent board meeting last week to go over a variety of issues that conference boards usually discuss and I left the meeting feeling quite excited about the 2011 LIM CON. As we continue to hear of other CON’s folding or taking even longer breaks than just the one year we did, it’s becoming clearer that our 2011 LIM CON will be a well-attended and high-energy event.
We’re working on a new web page so check the website from time to time, especially in Jan 2010 for updates. The url is www.loveismurder.net.
In the meantime, I’ve been happily working and writing and cooking. I’m working on a cookbook that I’m very excited about and hope to have it available for the 2011 Holiday Season. I continue to plug away at my fiction and have started writing more poetry and short stories.
I say happily working because I do have a good job. It’s hard and challenging work, but I’m happily and gainfully employed with benefits and I have a job that is as about as guaranteed as they come. Given the cost of my daughter’s education, a recent divorce and so many other issues, I doubt I’ll retire anytime soon, but that’s okay since I do actually enjoy my work and I receive bi-annual feedback during reviews that my work is appreciated. I count my blessings each and everyday.
While I’ve hits some bumps in the road these past two years, 2010 and beyond is shaping up to be incredibly rewarding on all fronts and I have to say that I’m excited about it, especially the time I’ve been able to carve out for my writing. Interestingly enough my yoga practice has facilitated this more than anything else. I’m a yoga cheerleader these days because the yoga process and philosophy has provided me with a foundation to accomplish many things I only dreamed about, and more importantly, helped me through some difficult times.
So, as I continue to be busy with work, writing, and living my life, I’ve finally found a peacefulness that I’ve never known before and a sense of living consciously that has kept me safe from some very negative energy from people that have unpleasantly surprised me of late. To these individuals and everyone else out there I wish only good things and positive energy and will genuinely end this entry on a yoga note - Namaste.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Subject: Re: Ghost Stories and Umbrellas - the Horror of It All at LIM & Beyond
Guess what -- Love is Murder (www.loveISmurder.net) has Mystery
Writers of America's Of Dark & Stormy Nights as a parter, which
means plenty of thriller, mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance
talk, but LIM also has the fearful Twilight Tales as a partner,
and Twilight Tales is about ghosts and goblins both horrendous
and slapstick. Horror and humor often combine with the
supernatural, and I'd like to go deep into the horror and the
humor of it all at LIM in its 10th year at Chicago, first weekend
of February, for Love is Murder is also presenting an Edgar Allan
Poe Book Discussion with excerpts read live (hopefully live)
authors William Kent Kruger, Tess Gerritsen, and Barry Eisler.
But there will be a lot of live authors on hand at LIM and LIM is
hosting the Horror Panel which I will be sharing with moderator
Scarlet Dean, Tracy Carbone, Marilyn Meredith, Wally Cwik, and
Michelle Gagnon--and we intend to blow open wide the preconceived
notions of what constitutes horror.
In addition at LIM there's a panel entitled Feel the Terror (JD
Webb, Darren Callahan, Wally Cwik, Sherry Scarpaci, moderated by
Jennifer Jordan of Crimespree Magazine. Another panel is on
Magic & Sex! This with Scarlet Dean again, Honora Finklestein,
Sue Smily, Rebecca Kholes, Jana Oliver and moderator Carren
Callahan. And interestingly enough one entited When You Know the
Moment is Right (I kid you not!) And of course Joe Konrath is a
one man "horror" show. Of course, Lee Child will be on hand for
the ladies who love suspense with a British accent. But you know
what? Not everyone understands the huge scope, sweep, and power
of ghost stories, supernatural tales of revenants, vaults,
disturbed graves, and horror or reality-based terror. Herein, I
hope to shed some light:
Ghost stories are a natural for the larger umbrella of horror.
Horror is not a genre first but first and foremost an emotiobn;
it is the only genre named for an emotion. Horror appeared on
stage in plays as far back as the Greeks, and I am sure it played
a large part in the gruntings of cavemen about the fire when they
retold the hunmt. It is not so much a category of fiction as it
is a fact of life and an emotion. The word romance is not an
emotion. Western is not an emotion, nor is mystery. Fear is
another word but so far we don't have a section in the bookstore
for Fear books. Under the large umbrella of what constitutes
fear and terror and horror in a reader\person certainly a serial
killer must fall, so the forensic-serial killer chase novel
certainly overlaps with horror. When I began writing the serial
killer series for Dr. Jessica Coran, my eleven book Instinct
series, it was a natural offshoot of having written books wherein
the central antagonist was a monster. It was not much of a
transition to work into human fiends.
The ghost road, ghost hotel, ghost house on haunted hill, the
modern day haunts like the underground parking lot, the
unfinished room, the local Starbucks, etc., all the supernatural
tales are, in my opinion, difficult to pull off. Creating this
niche of horror can go into what we call the psychological
chiller or the physiological chiller, that is a story hinges on
some psychological turn of the screw, or it can hinge upon an
actual, physical presence. There are legitimate ways to terrify
your reader, and there is "going for the gross out" to horrify
your reader. Or as in the best such horror, BOTH. It can be
taken on both levels, leaving it to the reader to decide how much
happened in the mind, how much in this world. And so often much
more reaction can be had from that which is offstage than on,
that which is subtle as opposed to a hammer over the head. Jay
Bonninsinga said of my City for Ransom that "this book will beat
the hell out of you." Music to my ears, and I trust he meant it
in the best most complimentary way but last time I saw Jay, he
was sporting a bandaged head (just kidding here).
When some of us horror authors insist that horror must have a
monster on stage, these folks are being narrow-minded and
somewhat bias as to what the category can and does aspire to in
its best moments. The Horror Writers of America not too many
years ago awarded their highest honor, the Stoker Award (Bram
Stoker, Dracula creator), to Thomas Harris for Silence of the
Lambs. Was that horror? In my and many an author's mind, the
answer must be a resounding yes. Horror is what makes the reader
jump and gasp and start and shakily go on to the next line. I
have had readers tell me they've thrown the book across the
room--my book! This delights me, and when the reader adds, "But
I crawled over there a little later and continued to read" --
well that is music to my ears. At an author's party in Chicago
an 8-year-old sauntered up to me and asked, "Are you the man who
scares my grandma?" I knew her grandma, wife to a writer friend
named Tom Keever, Aurelia. So I confessed up. Then the little
girl conspiratorially added, "And you know what, Mr. Walker?"
What? I asked. "Grandma, she reads your books, true, but each
night she puts them out on the porch. She can't sleep with them
in the house." More music to my ears. I created a sense of fear
and terror in the reader. No apologies.
A really truly wonderful ghost story can have that quality--that
it creates fear or a sense of wonder, or cause beads of sweat at
the back of the neck. Supernatural and ghost stories, I cut my
teeth on them with such shows as One Step Beyond, The Inner
Sanctum, Twilight Zone, and untold numbers of books, one fo the
best being the first Haunted Heartland. Ghost stories do indeed
fit snugly beneath the large, large umbrella of the horror
category in that they can and do induce terror from the reader.
Then again there are humorous ghost stories and inspirational
ghost stories that do not frighten but enlighten and touch upon
the endearing spirit of mankind and womankind. If you've ever
seen Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy in that wonderful Hallmark
tale wherein Hume's the ghost and Jessica can't leave the old
home because she fears he will really be gone and lost and unable
to find her...that is not terrifying yet it is about a ghost, and
of course you have the Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Disney's Bluebird
or was it Blackbird--comedy. These kinds of ghost stories fail
to horrify yet they do other things as important--maybe more
so--as in make us laugh. You might call these ghost stories
romances, or at east romantic and you could call this one
intrigue, and this one slapstick humor, and this other one
deviously clever literature.
Interestingly enough, just about every author considerd a classic
from Twain to the first novelist and back again has tried his
hand at the ghost story in one fashion or another. Frankenstein
began as telling tales in the dark, remember? So the ghost story
too is a large, large umbrella but most certainly the most
terrifying ghost stories fall into the horror category. In the
end, it is all to do with the author's skill and purpose.
For those looking for folks really into ghost stories go to
www.justghoststories@yahoogroups.com Tell 'em I sent ya!
Rob Walker
www.robertWWalkerBooks.com
Chicago Tribune calls Rob's Inspector Alastair Ransom Serues
"arguably the most underappreciated series in historical fiction."
Writers of America's Of Dark & Stormy Nights as a parter, which
means plenty of thriller, mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance
talk, but LIM also has the fearful Twilight Tales as a partner,
and Twilight Tales is about ghosts and goblins both horrendous
and slapstick. Horror and humor often combine with the
supernatural, and I'd like to go deep into the horror and the
humor of it all at LIM in its 10th year at Chicago, first weekend
of February, for Love is Murder is also presenting an Edgar Allan
Poe Book Discussion with excerpts read live (hopefully live)
authors William Kent Kruger, Tess Gerritsen, and Barry Eisler.
But there will be a lot of live authors on hand at LIM and LIM is
hosting the Horror Panel which I will be sharing with moderator
Scarlet Dean, Tracy Carbone, Marilyn Meredith, Wally Cwik, and
Michelle Gagnon--and we intend to blow open wide the preconceived
notions of what constitutes horror.
In addition at LIM there's a panel entitled Feel the Terror (JD
Webb, Darren Callahan, Wally Cwik, Sherry Scarpaci, moderated by
Jennifer Jordan of Crimespree Magazine. Another panel is on
Magic & Sex! This with Scarlet Dean again, Honora Finklestein,
Sue Smily, Rebecca Kholes, Jana Oliver and moderator Carren
Callahan. And interestingly enough one entited When You Know the
Moment is Right (I kid you not!) And of course Joe Konrath is a
one man "horror" show. Of course, Lee Child will be on hand for
the ladies who love suspense with a British accent. But you know
what? Not everyone understands the huge scope, sweep, and power
of ghost stories, supernatural tales of revenants, vaults,
disturbed graves, and horror or reality-based terror. Herein, I
hope to shed some light:
Ghost stories are a natural for the larger umbrella of horror.
Horror is not a genre first but first and foremost an emotiobn;
it is the only genre named for an emotion. Horror appeared on
stage in plays as far back as the Greeks, and I am sure it played
a large part in the gruntings of cavemen about the fire when they
retold the hunmt. It is not so much a category of fiction as it
is a fact of life and an emotion. The word romance is not an
emotion. Western is not an emotion, nor is mystery. Fear is
another word but so far we don't have a section in the bookstore
for Fear books. Under the large umbrella of what constitutes
fear and terror and horror in a reader\person certainly a serial
killer must fall, so the forensic-serial killer chase novel
certainly overlaps with horror. When I began writing the serial
killer series for Dr. Jessica Coran, my eleven book Instinct
series, it was a natural offshoot of having written books wherein
the central antagonist was a monster. It was not much of a
transition to work into human fiends.
The ghost road, ghost hotel, ghost house on haunted hill, the
modern day haunts like the underground parking lot, the
unfinished room, the local Starbucks, etc., all the supernatural
tales are, in my opinion, difficult to pull off. Creating this
niche of horror can go into what we call the psychological
chiller or the physiological chiller, that is a story hinges on
some psychological turn of the screw, or it can hinge upon an
actual, physical presence. There are legitimate ways to terrify
your reader, and there is "going for the gross out" to horrify
your reader. Or as in the best such horror, BOTH. It can be
taken on both levels, leaving it to the reader to decide how much
happened in the mind, how much in this world. And so often much
more reaction can be had from that which is offstage than on,
that which is subtle as opposed to a hammer over the head. Jay
Bonninsinga said of my City for Ransom that "this book will beat
the hell out of you." Music to my ears, and I trust he meant it
in the best most complimentary way but last time I saw Jay, he
was sporting a bandaged head (just kidding here).
When some of us horror authors insist that horror must have a
monster on stage, these folks are being narrow-minded and
somewhat bias as to what the category can and does aspire to in
its best moments. The Horror Writers of America not too many
years ago awarded their highest honor, the Stoker Award (Bram
Stoker, Dracula creator), to Thomas Harris for Silence of the
Lambs. Was that horror? In my and many an author's mind, the
answer must be a resounding yes. Horror is what makes the reader
jump and gasp and start and shakily go on to the next line. I
have had readers tell me they've thrown the book across the
room--my book! This delights me, and when the reader adds, "But
I crawled over there a little later and continued to read" --
well that is music to my ears. At an author's party in Chicago
an 8-year-old sauntered up to me and asked, "Are you the man who
scares my grandma?" I knew her grandma, wife to a writer friend
named Tom Keever, Aurelia. So I confessed up. Then the little
girl conspiratorially added, "And you know what, Mr. Walker?"
What? I asked. "Grandma, she reads your books, true, but each
night she puts them out on the porch. She can't sleep with them
in the house." More music to my ears. I created a sense of fear
and terror in the reader. No apologies.
A really truly wonderful ghost story can have that quality--that
it creates fear or a sense of wonder, or cause beads of sweat at
the back of the neck. Supernatural and ghost stories, I cut my
teeth on them with such shows as One Step Beyond, The Inner
Sanctum, Twilight Zone, and untold numbers of books, one fo the
best being the first Haunted Heartland. Ghost stories do indeed
fit snugly beneath the large, large umbrella of the horror
category in that they can and do induce terror from the reader.
Then again there are humorous ghost stories and inspirational
ghost stories that do not frighten but enlighten and touch upon
the endearing spirit of mankind and womankind. If you've ever
seen Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy in that wonderful Hallmark
tale wherein Hume's the ghost and Jessica can't leave the old
home because she fears he will really be gone and lost and unable
to find her...that is not terrifying yet it is about a ghost, and
of course you have the Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Disney's Bluebird
or was it Blackbird--comedy. These kinds of ghost stories fail
to horrify yet they do other things as important--maybe more
so--as in make us laugh. You might call these ghost stories
romances, or at east romantic and you could call this one
intrigue, and this one slapstick humor, and this other one
deviously clever literature.
Interestingly enough, just about every author considerd a classic
from Twain to the first novelist and back again has tried his
hand at the ghost story in one fashion or another. Frankenstein
began as telling tales in the dark, remember? So the ghost story
too is a large, large umbrella but most certainly the most
terrifying ghost stories fall into the horror category. In the
end, it is all to do with the author's skill and purpose.
For those looking for folks really into ghost stories go to
www.justghoststories@yahoogroups.com Tell 'em I sent ya!
Rob Walker
www.robertWWalkerBooks.com
Chicago Tribune calls Rob's Inspector Alastair Ransom Serues
"arguably the most underappreciated series in historical fiction."
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