Well, it seems that despite the tribulations in other areas my life, I have had some good things happening in my creative world. I had my story “Mourning Mireille” accepted for Penumbra, although Mr. Joshi explained that, as the quota for fiction had already been met for issue #5, my story will be sitting in limbo till issue #6. I didn’t have any poetry or essays accepted for issue #5, so I won’t be appearing in that issue.
As I believe I have mentioned before, I have been participating in a group whose intention was to form an Arizona chapter of the HWA (Horror Writer’s Association). The group filed recently, once they had met the requirements, and were acknowledge by the parent group. As an official group, however, they must follow association rules and one of these rules is that in order to continue attending, one must become an official member of the association. I had intended to do this with my last paycheck, but my finances have been in the red for a little while and I hadn’t gotten around to it. This past weekend I received an email from the group leaders explaining that they gifted me a membership, so I could continue to attend the meetings. This is a very generous gift, and I am honored that they would bother to do this for me. I logged this morning to enter my particulars but am a little confused by the roundabout procedure. I am awaiting a response on how to proceed.
Speaking of proceeding, I also got an email this weekend from my friend and colleague Dan Sauer, of Jackanapes Press, stating that he has officially begun the process of laying out the text and images for my Helldorado book. He is also going to try to get a couple more blurbs together for it. Dan is also pulling together the King in Yellow collection by Galad Elflandsson, called The Exile, which I wrote an introduction for. I will of course keep you all update on both of these books, as I get more information.
I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find that two anticipated releases from Hippocampus Press, that feature some of my poetry, have finally become available! firstly, the latest edition of Spectral Realms (number 19, to be precise) is now available and it features my Arthurian love poem “Brocéliande”. also available is the poetical tribute to H. P. Lovecraft, “For the Outsider”, which features my poem “H. P. L.: R. I. P.” I am so excited for both of these collections, and as usual, I am joined by some of the best bards in Weird Poetry past and present! Here are the respective covers and blurbs. Note: once again, Dan Sauer outdoes himself with these glorious cover designs!
Spectral Realms #19 (Summer 2023) by Hippocampus Press, cover design by Dan Sauer.
This nineteenth issue of Spectral Realms contains the customary array of diverse and riveting poetry by today’s leading weird poets, including Ann K. Schwader, Wade German, Scott J. Couturier, Ian Futter, and Ngo Binh Anh Khoa.
David Barker contributes two more poems to his ongoing series of reimaginings of Lovecraft’s Fungi from Yuggoth. Oliver Smith looks at Frankenstein in an innovative way. Frank Coffman tells a miniature weird tale in a four-sonnet cycle, “A Cabin in the Wood.” Carl E. Reed, Andrew White, and Christian Dickinson draw upon ancient folklore for their brooding poems. Maxwell I. Gold contributes three of his cosmic prose poems, while Jay Sturner and Liam Garriock add their own distinctive prose poems.
Two classic reprints (by Erasmus Darwin and Thomas Hardy), along with S. T. Joshi’s review of a new edition of the obscure American Decadent poet Lee Roy J. Tappan, conclude the issue.
For the Outsider: Poems Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft (2023, Hippocampus Press, cover design by Dan Sauer).
H. P. Lovecraft is distinctive for having inspired a plethora of poetic tributes from friends, colleagues, and disciples. These tributes emerged surprisingly early; the first ones date to 1918, when several amateur writers took note of the unique characteristics of Lovecraft’s life and work. During his lifetime, Samuel Loveman, Frank Belknap Long, Robert E. Howard, Donald Wandrei, and others sought to portray Lovecraft’s inimitable personality and his innovative work in wide-ranging verse.
After Lovecraft’s early death in 1937, other writers—Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, R. H. Barlow, Joseph Payne Brennan, Lilith Lorraine—paid homage to him in odes, quatrains, and sonnets. The tradition has continued to the present day, with such contemporary writers as Ann K. Schwader, Leigh Blackmore, Wade German, W. H. Pugmire, Adam Bolivar, Fred Phillips, and countless others envisioning the myriad phases of Lovecraft’s creative work in poetry that itself evokes the terror and pathos of his writing.
This volume contains dozens of poems, written over a period of more than a century, in which a multitude of diverse authors use the medium of poetry to convey their devotion to Lovecraft the man and to his imperishable literary oeuvre.
Greetings! I am so happy that October is finally here! This is the time of year when my macabre leanings don’t get as much scrutiny and the weather is slightly less oppressive in this desert hell in which I reside. To catch up, the new issue of Penumbra is available from Hippocampus Press and contains not one, but two of my pieces in its hallowed pages: my essay “The Many Lives of Carmilla Karnstein”, and the story “The Hearse and the Highwaymen“, which is the fourth installment in the Sanguinary Saga of Morbidezza Vespertilio, Vampiress.
Cover art by Dan Sauer Design for Penumbra #3, from Hippocampus Press
Also, I recently recorded a voiceover with the intention of using it for a trailer for my upcoming chapbook, The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado. My friend Peter did the recording in his home and is currently working on some atmospheric music to put in the background. Once that is done, it will be sent to my friend Mutartis Boswell, who will then add some images of his own creation, some of which may appear in the actual book. I have seen some of these and they are amazing! I will of course keep you all in the loop as things develop.
Lastly, I have done some significant revisions on the manuscript for Magic Lantern. Firstly, I have pulled the black humor piece, Tabula Culus and replaced it with Night Hag. The former was a bit too crass for the feel of the book, and the latter fits perfectly in the Phantasmagory section. I had been hemming and hawing over this for some time, but when my dear friend and colleague Scott J. Couturier brought it up, I knew the swap was the right thing to do.
Also, on my mind for some time was a line that I have been meaning to put into my tribute to Robert W. Chambers, Yellow Tale. I have inserted an extra scene near the beginning of the story which I feel is appropriate for the material. It has been bugging me for a while, so I think it is the right course to take. For continuity’s sake, I have gone through and tried to insert brief references to the change in a few relevant scenes. I don’t think that I missed anything. I have sent that along to Mr. Couturier for a quick beta read to see what he thinks. If he thinks it feels right, I will send it along to Mr. Sauer.
On a personal note, I recently went to L. A. to see my dear friend Phil, whom I haven’t seen since I was best man at his wedding some 17 years ago! He had purchased tickets for our birthday (same day, different year) to see Iron Maiden and we had a ball! On the trip, I also got to check out a few of our old haunts as well as a couple of new places. I got to see Amoeba Records for the first time, which was cool. I saw a lot of cool stuff but wanted to watch my cash, so I just picked up a couple of blu-rays: The Crimson Cult (a/k/a Curse of the Crimson Altar,1968), and the Italian cut of Mario Bava‘s I tre volti della paura (a/k/a Black Sabbath, 1963) both on Kino Lorber.
We also went to Dark Delicacies, where I spoke to Sue Howison about the possibility of getting my Book of Shadows, and possibly other Jackanapes Press titles on the shelves. The short answer is not unless they come through Ingram, but she did talk at length about the business and stressed that I should look into joining the Horror Writer’s Association (sort of like the Screen Actors Guild, but for Horror Writers), which she felt would open a lot of doors for me. I had considered this in the past but held off because I didn’t have the money for the dues and not much published work under my belt to warrant the expense. Now, however, it might be worth a look, although there is no chapter in Phoenix at the moment. For more information on the store go to darkdel.com
She also recommended I talk to author / screenwriter and erstwhile H. W. A. president Lisa Morton down at the Iliad Bookshop for more insight on the subject. Well, since I was already acquainted with Ms. Morton via social media, I decided it might be a good way to introduce myself in person to put a face to the name, so to speak. So, we went there next and while Phil browsed the bookshelves, I introduced myself to her. She recognized me from social media and liked my t-shirt of the Weird Shadow Over Innsmouth. She was very approachable, however, as she was at work, I did not engage her in any lengthy conversation. For more information on the bookshop, go to Iliadbooks.com
It has been a while since my last post, so I figured I would check in. I haven’t written anything new in a while, but I have been working on writing projects. For starters, I have completed and submitted the manuscripts for both my sophomore collection, Magic Lantern, and my chapbook, the Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado. The former probably won’t see publication till next year sometime, but I am hopeful the chapbook might be completed by the end of the year. I am very excited about both but must keep mum about details until the parties involved are prepared to make official announcements.
I also just submitted a blurb for the poetry collection, I Awaken in October, by Scott J. Couturier, which should be available very soon for pre-order from Jackanapes Press. I cannot wait for this book to come out! Mr. Couturier informs me that the artwork by Dan Sauer is truly exceptional on this one.
Update 10/05/2022:
Here is the gorgeous cover art by Dan Sauer Design for I Awaken in October:
I just got word that Spectral Reams #17 is now available for purchase at Hippocampus Press. This issue features a revised version of the old Dark Young lyric, “Flower of Evil”, as well as the prose tale, “Blackburn’s Bloom”. Here is the official blurb and cover art from Hippocampus Press:
“This issue of Spectral Realms is dedicated to the late Richard L. Tierney (1936–2022), one of the pioneering weird poets of our time. Included is an unpublished poem by Tierney and poetic tributes to him by Leigh Blackmore and Charles Lovecraft.
As always, the issue contains scintillating work by some of the leading weird versifiers of the present day, including Wade German, Frank Coffman, Ian Futter, and Scott J. Couturier. John Shirley, Darrell Schweitzer, Don Webb, and Geoffrey Reiter demonstrate that they are masters of terror in poetry as well as in prose fiction. Lori I. Lopez explores the strangeness of cats in “La Gata,” while LindaAnn LoSchiavo tells of the grim fate of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s wife. David Barker and Ngo Binh Anh Khoa write evocative poetry in the Lovecraftian mode, and Josh Maybrook contributes an acrostic sonnet on Poe. Adam Bolivar continues his work in Anglo-Saxon meter, while Carl E. Reed sends in a “ghoulish tale” in verse. Prose poems by Maxwell I. Gold and Manuel Arenas* also enliven the issue.
Among the classic reprints is a poem, “Vampire,” by Bertrande Harry Snell, from a 1929 issue of Weird Tales, as well as a poem by veteran fantasy poet Lilith Lorraine. Marcos Legaria contributes an essay on R. H. Barlow’s early poetry.”
Of course, there are also poems and prose and reviews by many other talented writers, many much more accomplished than myself. For instance, I am personally familiar with the poem Nachzehrer, by Scott J. Couturier, and it is a marvel of charnel versification. And that’s just one of the many talented poets featured in this issue.
By the way, Mr. Couturier has just put out his first collection of weird stories, The Box, which is now available from Hybrid Sequence Media. It can also be found on Amazon. I wrote the introduction for it and can attest that it is an excellent collection that is bound to rattle some cages.
And last, but not least, poet Adam Bolivar has just released a new collection of his weird ballads through Hippocampus Press entitled Ballads for the Witching Hour.
I have begun assembling a manuscript for my proximate collection of poetry & prose which I plan to call Magic Lantern. I am modeling it after my Book of Shadows, and have most of the parts in place. I have requested another introduction from my dear friend Scott J. Couturier, and he has agreed to comply. I don’t have a publisher yet, although I would love to have it come out under the JackanapesPress banner. That said, I don’t know if the lone man behind the company, graphic designer/illustrator Dan Sauer, will have room for it on his schedule in 2022. Still, I shall give him first dibs as he was such a pleasure to work with on Book of Shadows and continues to be accommodative and supportive.
I have come up with a plan for a Halloween event to promote it, or at least drum up support for its publication. For the show I was thinking of creating a macabre slide show to be projected on a screen behind me as I read the pieces, harking back to the magic lantern phantasmagoria shows of yore. I may use images from the Book of Shadows for anything I might read from it and perhaps some found images for the rest. I am also considering talking to an artist friend about creating original images for the show and possibly the book, if Mr. Sauer is unavailable.
Robert’s phantasmagoria at the Cour des Capucines in 1797 (image from Wikipedia).
My colleague, Dan Sauer has revealed the artwork for the cover of the latest anthology from the team that brought you A Walk in a Darker Wood. The new book, A Walk in a City of Shadows, focuses on urban legends and features tales and poetry from many of my colleagues and is illustrated by editor Sarah Walker. My poem “Beware the Slenderman” is featured. I shall post the table of contents once it is made available.
During my trip to Portland I had the pleasure to meet some of my Jackanapes Press stablemates, one of whom is Peter Rawlik. Pete, as he was introduced to me, is a big amiable fellow full of good cheer and great stories. I really enjoyed meeting him and I was told by everyone who had read it that his latest novelette, The Miskatonic University Spiritualism Club (2021, Jackanapes Press) was a quick but very enjoyable read. Jackanapes Press founder Dan Sauer described it as if Nick and Nora from mystery scribe Dashiell Hammett‘s the Thin Man series go Lovecraftian. I had seen the movie adaptations from the 1940s as a boy so I vaguely understood the reference. I was intrigued but was limited in my funds so I didn’t pick up a copy at the time, which I immediately regretted.
Fortunately, Mr. Sauer in a very generous gesture, as a thank you for coming out to lend a hand during the HPLFF, added some treats with my order of Adam Bolivar’s Ettinfell of Beacon Hill, one of them being Mr. Rawlik’s book. I decided to get on it right away as it is a smaller book than Mr. Bolivar’s short story collection, which I wished to take my time to savor.
I heard Mr. Rawlik’s book could be read in one sitting, but it took me a week since I had other distractions. I will say that whenever I finished a chapter I did feel compelled to press on. I found it to be a very engaging mixture of science fiction, mystery, action and Lovecraftiana with enough humor and humanity to make it more appealing to a wider audience and I actually got a bit verklempt at the end, which I won’t spoil for you here! Robert Peaslee and Megan Halsey are charming duo and I look forward to reading their further adventures!
Reanimatrix (2016, Nightshade) The book that introduced this dynamic duo.
Well, this weekend was busy to say the least! For starters, I went home a little early from work because I was feeling woozy and almost almost keeled over in my cubicle. I felt better after I got home and cooked up a quick lunch, so it might have been just a low blood sugar thing, although I had eaten my usual light breakfast in the morning, so I am not entirely sure why that day I was low as opposed to any other day. I have been craving sugary items of late so maybe I need to adjust something regarding my pre-diabetic status.
Anyway, on Saturday I went to see a double feature of Universal’s The Invisible Man (1933), and The Wolfman (1941), which was fun. I had seen a similar show a few years ago with Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), which was a revelation because of all the detail which had been lost in translation until I saw it on the big screen. I didn’t have that experience this time around as both films tend to take place in relatively ho-hum environments. The only difference for me was seeing actress Gloria Stuart up close for the first time I realized what a beauty she was.
The following day I visited my parents after which I went to see Last Night in Soho (2021), featuring Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, and co-starring British 1960s icons Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg.
Last Night in Soho (2021) vintage style poster.
I loved it! The scenes in swinging 60s London were a lot of fun, till things got dark. The scenes in modern day were tough to watch as the protagonist goes through so much turmoil. Her escape into the life of Anya Taylor-Joy’s character were a colorful and amusing respite until that until the truth of that situation was revealed. It all comes to head in the third act and I won’t say anything more so as not to spoil it, but it is definitely worth check out!
When I got home Sunday evening I had a light supper made a little Halloween recital on Facebook then watched the movie Trick ‘rTreat (2007) then read from Pete Rawlik‘s latest book, which I got from Dan Sauer over the weekend, along with John Shirley‘s book of poetry and Adam Bolivar‘s story collection.
Today, the first day of the Dia de los Muertos celebration, I got news that the Ev0ke interview has posted which can be found here:
Well, it seems that pre-orders of my Book of Shadows are starting to darken mailboxes across the land. I have gotten text messages and notices on Facebook from folks who ordered it and reviews thus far have been favorable. I am, however, waiting for an official review which I can post a link to. Speaking of links, I should be receiving one soon for an interview I just did, via email, for Ev0ke, a website that specializes in witchcraft / paganism / lifestyle. I was sent 7 questions by author / editor Rebecca Buchanan (who also works behind the scenes at the site Endless Haunted Summer) which I answered and sent back. If all goes well, the interview should appear on their site in November, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If you’d like to take a look around the site and read the other articles and interviews (they have enlightening interviews with poets Adam Bolivar, Scott J. Couturier, Ashley Dioses, K. A. Opperman and the man behind the curtain at Jackanapes Press: Dan Sauer), you may do so at ev0ke – witchcraft + paganism + lifestyle (ev0kepublication.com)
manny's book of shadows 