I get a lot of questions on what it takes to write a good piece of horror fiction.
I found the following short list on the Horror Factor that I believe sums it up nicely.
From Me, To You
I mentioned here that I was going to write a story specifically for you, my fans, for your dedication for reading my work and coming back to this site over and over again. Originally, I was going to wait until the ticker at the bottom read 10,000 visitors, but I think 9,800+ is plenty close enough.
So without further ado, here it is…my 3,300 word short story (I did a little experiment with a different kind of format of the story itself…hopefully it works – you’ll see what I mean soon enough), ‘The Legend of Johnston’s Creek’.
Thanks again for all your support!
Enjoy!
Marcon 45 in 2010
I was recently invited (by the same people that put on Context 22 that I was just at last weekend) to be an author guest at Marcon 45. The fantasy/science fiction/horror convention will be held on Memorial Day weekend in 2010 (May 28 – 30th). The theme of Marcon 45 will be ‘A Year of Horror’.
More details will follow as the event gets closer!
Book Review Published
The latest book review that I wrote for Withersin Magazine has been published. The review was of Dora Machado’s – Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone.
After reading the completed review, Robyn Schechter of Carol Fass Publicity & Public Relations, Inc. (Dora’s PR person), wrote to me and stated, “Thank you, Ty! This is a great review and I am so glad that you enjoyed the books!”
Thanks, Robyn for the kind words!
You can click here to read the review.
Contest Winner Announced!
From the 43 entries received from ALL around the globe…Dana Oswald of Wesley, Arkansas, was chosen from a random drawl of all names received to win a copy of my novel, Night School.
Thank you to ALL who entered! And Congrats, Dana…you’ve got mail!
As a side note, I have something of a grab bag of sorts for the next contest. It may or may not contain my novel, but all five (5) of the books will come from my personal library (bookshelf). So be on the lookout for the annoucement of the new contest in the coming days!
Reminders…
There are a few things that are coming up that I wanted to remind you about.
Night School Book Giveaway – ends Sept. 4th – so enter today! (32 entries so far from ALL around the world)!
YOU choose what story you would like me to write next
LIVE Chat on Facebook – Wednesday, Sept. 2nd at 8:00pm (in the US it would be in Eastern Time – for those around the globe, check a global time zone map to determine what time this will take place where you live)
Context 22 – A Weekend in Review
Context 22 was a great time. I got to sit on one panel (the other was cancelled) and got to meet; Tim Deal from Shroud Publishing, Michael Knost, Gord Rollo, Scott Sandridge, Michael D’Ambrosio, Holly Sullivan McClure and Jason Sanford. I also got to reconnect with Jason Sizemore of Apex Book Company and Maurice Broaddus. Overall, it was a great time being able to hang out and party with a bunch of other people as well.
Besides partying and hanging out with all the above, I also got to ‘talk shop’ with Gord Rollo and Michael Knost on Saturday. Gord and I spoke about our current and future projects. Michael shared a wealth of knowledge of the business on writing and ‘how to’ become a successuful writer, to which I am eternally greatful. Thanks, Michael.
Below are some pictures from the event, courtesy of Sheryl Scanlon.
Context 22 is in sight…
Tomorrow, Friday, August 28th, I will be heading to Columbus, Ohio to be an author guest/panelist at Context 22. This is a speculative fiction and literature convention and will run from 7:00pm on Friday (8/28) through 2:00pm on Sunday (8/30). Participating Guests, include: Gary Braunbeck, Maurice Broaddus, Jason Sizemore, Timothy Deal, Michael Knost, Gord Rollo and many many more. You can view a full list of all the attendees by visiting the Context site.
During the convention I will be on the following panels:
Trusting Your Reader on Friday at 9:00pm
Humor To Horror on Saturday at 10:00am
As I did while in Nashville, TN for Hypericon 5, I will be making daily updates to this site regarding the day’s events. You can also follow me throughout the day and night (parties) on my Facebook page.
If you have a copy of Night School or a magazine one of my short stories appeared in, free free to bring it and I’ll sign it for you. This should be a fun event and I hope to see some of you there!
An Artist with a Vision
I recently came across the work of a fantastic artist/illustrator. Her name is Candice Joy Wright and her medium(s) of choice are; charcoal & graphite, paint and pastels. She enjoys doing people, flowers and animals, often with a very dark personality.
About Candice (used with permission from her website) :
Having an appreciation for art at an early age, I started to take private art lessons. My most loved medium to work with is soft pastels. Using pastels and blending them with my fingers adds softness, and puts a piece of me in all my pictures. Being versatile with my subject matter, I like to work from life, my own photography, other reference photos, and my imagination. My favorite subjects are self portraits, portraits of other people and animals.
Some artwork I love to create displays a mood and brings out different emotions. A painting can open people’s minds to new experiences and ideas which allows them to see things that they would not normally see. Creating art is both relaxing and pleasurable for me. It allows to me visualize images and ideas and then put them on paper. Producing art work that I genuinely love allows me to continue to amaze myself each time I stand at my easel.
When I asked Candice to give a name for her art, she replied, “I have no idea really…disasterpieces, but that would be stealing from Slipknot…but they aren’t really disasters.”
You can check out Candice’s website and work by clicking here.
LIVE Chat Scheduled
As you know, this coming weekend I will be an author guest/panelist at Context 22 in Columbus, Ohio. I hope to meet a lot of other authors and fans. After this event, I think I’ll be more energized than ever to really buckle down and start turning out new material.
On a different note…
I’ve toyed with the idea awhile on doing an online Live Chat of sorts. Basically, it would work like this. If you’re not already one of my friends on Facebook (or don’t even have an account yet – in which case you really need to get with the times and sign up), you would add me. Next, you would go to my Facebook Fan Club page (which was set up by a great fan in the UK) and Join the Group. My regular page is a great place to read the daily ins and outs of my life and the fan club page, well, that’s just plain cool!
After you have added me as a friend on my regular Facebook page, you then come online on Wednesday, September 2nd @ 8:00pm. I will make a Wall Post at that time when the ‘chat lines are open’ and you can begin to ask me whatever questions (writing related or not) you would like to know. I will do my best to answer each and every question to the best of my abilities. As far as how long the chat lasts, that either depends on when you get tired of reading what I’ve gotta say or I’ve had one beer too many and I say the hell with it…
That’s the scoop for now. Hope to see some new faces on both of my pages and to talk with a bunch of you on Sept. 2nd at 8:00! I’ll be posting a reminder on this site and both of my pages a day or two before the event.
Ty Schwamberger 