I take off for World Horror, Odysseycon,Wales, and London in between until April 6th. I've no idea how often I'll be online --it depends on time and access to wifi.

When I get back I'll post the 50 Honorable Mentions that made it into the print Best Horror of the Year, volume 2 and see if I can post the rest of them in sections (so that they don't blow up my facebook page, which is where these posts end up).

A few movies: Friday night I watched Bridget Bardot in And God Created Woman, with Curt Jurgens, who I had a crush on, growing up and a very young Jean-Louis Trintignant. I didn't remember that I'd seen it until the penultimate scene, (spoiler alert)
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where Jean-Louis slaps the Bardot character a few times and then they go home all lovey-dovey--proving all a "loose" woman needs is a loving man to smack her around so that she knows he really cares for her. Oh well. But Bardot was sure hot!

Caught up with Crazy Heart Saturday and like it a lot. Jeff Bridges was fantastic, as was Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Colin Farrell. I liked it better than I remember liking Tender Mercies to which it's been compared. Loved the soundtrack.

Started last season of Monk--which is ok so far --I'm glad it's ending. It's getting tired.

Tried to watch Sylvia (about Plath) but the disc wouldn't play so watched the rest of the fourth season of Angel. Some of the fourth season was awful but some pretty good and I'm really glad Lila is back, even if only temporarily.

Interested to see that three of my anthos made the long list (alas, poor Lovecraft didn't) but no stories from my one original antho that made it --Poe-- are on the long list

British Fantasy Awards 2010: the Longlist

Friday
VAMPIRE CAT ANGELS: HOW TO SELL A NEW ANTHOLOGY Russell 11-12pm
P Crowther (mod.), E Datlow, N Kilpatrick, C Prepolec,I Whates

KAFFEEKLATSCHE (Sussex Room, Radisson Blu) 04:00-05:00pm

MASS AUTOGRAPHING Lounge-7:00-9:00pm,


Saturday
FEMME FATALES-HOW CAN WE GET MORE WOMEN IN HORROR?Russell-noon -1pm
A Bird, E Datlow, T Lee M McHugh (mod.), S McLeod, S Pinbourgh

Stoker Awards Banquet at The Pier 7-9pm

Sunday
I CAN BARELY REMEMBER THIS WEEKEND:THE YEAR IN REVIEW Lounge -3-4pm
A Billson, E Datlow,D J Howe, J Jenkins (mod.),M Kuebler, Tony Lee

(uncorrected review, forthcoming) Booklist Issue: April 1, 2010

Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror.

Datlow, Ellen (Editor)
Apr 2010. 480 p. Tachyon, paperback, $15.95. (9781892391957).
With several acclaimed horror anthologies to her credit already, including the first volume of the recently inaugurated Best Horror of the Year series, Datlow eschews “best of” labels for her new gathering, instead selecting favorites from her last 20 years of editing. With her only criterion being lasting thrills, the selection favors such familiar genre masters as Peter Straub, Stephen King, and Clive Barker. It also includes a few surprise contributions from such non-horror-genre writers as Joyce Carol Oates and sf master Gene Wolfe. Twenty-five stories in all embrace a wide spectrum of styles, from gore-laced splatterpunk to subtler, psychological horror. A suicidal woman exults in her newfound ability to bump off male tormentors by the power of thought alone. Invading aliens wait for the perfect amusing opportunity to take control of humanity. An engineer tired of his fear of heights devises his own death on a business flight. Datlow’s keen eye for narrative zest makes this one of her most entertaining compilations to date.

— Carl Hays

As you all know I've been in Florida visiting my parents for what was supposed to be a week.

I was supposed to fly home yesterday, but all flights into NY
were canceled because of the weather and I couldn't get another flight out
till tomorrow evening (and I think I got the last seat on that) so I've
been down here an extra two days--saw my dad today again in the nursing
home, which I hadn't planned on so it was nice.

The "and..." is that my cat/house sitter called to tell me that Dinah, my 17
year old ailing cat (she's been ailing for a year), died this morning.
Peacefully, in the bathroom. He found her there. If I'd gotten home last
night I would have been home when this happened--although possibly not
awake.

I've posted about her on here and there are plenty of photos of her (the orange calico) on my flickr account. She was a bitch, but she was MY bitch.

She's had health problems for awhile and I stopped taking her to the vet
over a year ago, when he said there wasn't much to be done for her except
hydration, which was NOT going to happen--she's never stand for it; she
hated going to the vet, puking coming and going and doing worse at times.
I saw no purpose in torturing her and am glad she's gone quickly and (I
hope) painlessly. That's what I'd hoped for. Poor Gordon L will be
kindly taking the body to the vet around the corner first thing in the
morning to have her cremated for me. I owe him a big one. I think he was
more upset than I am.

RIP my sweet, monstrous Dinah.

I'm down here again, not for fun but to check in with my parents. Also, my mom is having an endoscopy/biopsy Monday and asked my sister and me to come down because she's nervous. I just hope she gets the results before we both leave. Lori has been here since Wed and leaves Wed. I leave next Saturday.

The flight was surprise surprise! in to West Palm an hour early, so my sister and mom hadn't left the house yet. But the wait was pretty short. We stopped in at a horrible sports bar for dinner on the way home.

My sister and I caught up on my dad's condition/progress/treatment in Whitehall --my sister has been fantastic--it's been awful and frustrating dealing with this stuff from up north. ( Read more... )

Last week was very busy, with several friends from out of town and much socializing. Tuesday afternoon Jeremy, Amelia, and Joe Monti came over for vodka shots until we went to meet several other NY publishing folk at Hill Country barbecue. I tried desperately not to over-order, having been there once when they first opened. But despite sharing meats and sides with Stefan D, I ended up taking home some bourbon mashed sweet potatoes (too thin), baked beans with port butts (not sweet enough for my taste), and string bean casserole with mushroom soup and fried onions (still a favorite from my childhood). The corn pudding --which we gobbled up--was delicious. They sell the meats by the pound but you can ask for a slice of this or a couple of pork ribs, etc, which is the best way to order. ( Read more... )

Caught up on DVD movies, some Angel, and movies in theaters.

Friday night Swimming Pool with Charlotte Rampling as a relatively successful yet insecure and tightly wound British mystery writer, whose long term publisher (and it is hinted, lover)lets her stay in his French vacation house in order to get inspiration for her next novel. After a few peaceful, idyllic days, the publisher's French, illegitimate daughter moves in, plays loud music, lays about the swimming pool, and brings home a string of men with whom she has loud unrestrained sex. The tension between the two woman increases and their relationship evolves into an emotional kind of playing chicken. The ending is intriguing. I don't want to say more but it sent me to imdb to see what other viewers thought of it.

Saturday a friend came to NYC from out of town and we saw the new Roman Polanski (which I forgot was by him till the credits), Ghost Writer with Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan in a really well done political thriller. Good show. Saturday night (after Helen left town( I watched I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, totally synchronistically with Charlotte Rampling and from 2003 (as was Swimming Pool. She's not the main character in this one -directed by Mike Hodge). Clive Owen plays a gang leader who left London suddenly several years before the movie begins. He returns when his brother commits suicide and investigating his old haunts to try to find out why the brother would do that...disturbing the thugs he left behind (they think he may be trying to horn back into the biz). Another very mysterious ending that had be checking out responses on ibdb. Another very good movie.

Sunday I finally saw Avatar and yes, it's pretty gorgeous to look at, enjoyable, (too long), and has the plot of Dancing with Wolves. As Rick Bowes remarked, they could have easily used an African American or Asian American in the role of Jake and one accusation (the white man saving the day for the natives) would have been kiboshed in one fell swoop --not only that, but casting the character as anything other than white would have brought more depth to the whole movie.

Today I went to the dentist to have a filling that was not solidly on, replaced. I grew up with no fear of the dentist for my childhood and teenage years--because I never had cavities. I did have braces for years and years and years. It wasn't until my twenties that I discovered gum problems and the House of Pain.

My current dentist works across the street from Grand Central Station, which just happens to have a wonderful food market on the main floor--which also just happens to have a Murray's Cheese store. There I discovered something that might almost have made the visit to the dentist worth it: on sale was something called Harvest Song's Tea Rose Petal Preserve, made in Armenia. I tried some on fresh rye bread and it was ok. Then I tried it on Ritz crackers (once my numbness passed)and ohmigod. Ecstasy. The combo of sweet and salt is perfect. The preserves are brownish and the tea rose petals are in little bits and pieces. This stuff is gold.

Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since 1987, the approximately 500 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Stokers the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

Currently the awards are presented in eight categories: Novel, First Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The organization's Active members will select the winners from this ballot; voting will close on March 3rd, and the awards will be presented this year at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 27, at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, UK.

This year’s nominees in each category are:

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan (Harper)
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin's Griffin)
Quarantined by Joe McKinney (Lachesis Publishing)
Cursed by Jeremy Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

Breathers by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)
Solomon’s Grave by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)
Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)
The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION

“Dreaming Robot Monster” by Mort Castle (Mighty Unclean)
The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
Doc Good’s Traveling Show by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

"Keeping Watch" by Nate Kenyon (Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror)
“The Crossing of Aldo Ray” by Weston Ochse (The Dead That Walk)
"In the Porches of My Ears" by Norman Prentiss (Postscripts #1
"The Night Nurse" by Harry Shannon (Horror Drive-in)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN FICTION COLLECTION

Martyrs and Monsters by Robert Dunbar (DarkHart Press)
Got to Kill Them All and Other Stories by Dennis Etchison (Cemetery Dance)
A Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O'Neill (Apex Book Company)
In the Closet, Under the Bed by Lee Thomas (Dark Scribe Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson edited by Christopher Conlon (Gauntlet Press)
Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books)
Poe edited by Ellen Datlow (Solaris)
Midnight Walk edited by Lisa Morton (Darkhouse Publishing)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION

Writers Workshop of Horror by Michael Knost (Woodland Press)
Cinema Knife Fight by L. L. Soares and Michael Arruda (Fearzone)
The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent (Fall River Press)
Stephen King: The Non-fiction by Rocky Wood and Justin Brook (Cemetery Dance)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN POETRY COLLECTION

Double Visions by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions)
North Left of Earth by Bruce Boston (Sam's Dot)
Barfodder by Rain Graves (Cemetery Dance)
Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder (Creative Guy Publishing)


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More information on the Horror Writers Association is at www.horror.org. More information on the World Horror Convention is at http://www.whc2010.org.