PICKMAN'S GALLERY available now (print edition)

Today is the anniversary of the birth of H. P. Lovecraft.

I re-read "The Dunwich Horror" yesterday.

Also in celebration, Ulthar Press have released PICKMAN'S GALLERY in print. Ebook to follow. (EDIT: Kindle version is now available)

One of the most popular and enduring characters created by H. P. Lovecraft is the mad artist, Richard Upton Pickman. Introduced in the short story, “Pickman’s Model”, Pickman made another appearance in Lovecraft’s fantasy novel, THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH but was that the end of Pickman’s story? What untold horrors awaited? In this brand new collection of seventeen stories, some of weird fiction’s best authors present their versions of Pickman’s life and after-life. Join Peter Rawlik, Paul McNamee, Joshua Reynolds, Robert Price and more in this excursion into the dark side of art. Once you visit Pickman’s Gallery, you will never see the world the same way again!

Currently, the listing lacks a "Look Inside" preview. But thanks to having a proof copy, I can let you in on the table-of-contents.

• Introduction by Matthew Carpenter (editor)
• "One Night South of the Border" by Paul R. McNamee
• "The Studies of Dr. Reid" by Peter Rawlik
• "The Ghulistan Affair" by Sam Inabinet
• "Pigman" by Dave Haendler
• "A Creak in the Floor" by Victoria Dalpe
• "Pickman's Model" by Maurice Lane
• "For Susannah" by Tom Lynch
• "The Ghoul's Portrait" by Joshua Reynolds
• "A Pickman Original" by Logan Noble
• "Pickman's Muse" by Kenneth Heard
• "Eigenspace X" by Mike Chinn
• "The Medium and the Message" by LC Von Hessen
• "Beyond the Veil of Pretty Pink Lies" by Rebecca Allred
• "Pickman's Model Kit" by Cliff Biggers
• "The Pickman Revival" by Steven Vance
• "The Cleaner's Tale" by Tom Johnstone
• "A Photograph from Life" by Robert M. Price

Lovecraftian Tales, Volume One

Lovecraftian Tales, Volume One

A while ago, I submitted a story to Lovecraft eZine. It was accepted but reserved for a future issue. Since that time, Mike Davis (editor and creator of Lovecraft eZine) decided to place the story in a new project/title, Lovecraftian Tales.

I am not sure of Mike's plans on this new title versus the Lovecraft eZine. I'm just happy the story has come out.

My story is "The Innsmouth Run," where a pair of bootleggers take refuge from the law in the ruins of Innsmouth. The story is set a few months after the events of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."

It is available via Amazon for Kindle or also in a print edition.

A Lonely And Curious Country (Kindle edition)

Ulthar Press have been busy!

In addition to the newest tome, CARNACKI: THE LOST CASES, last year's Lovecraftian anthology, A LONELY AND CURIOUS COUNTRY has been given the Kindle treatment. If that is your preferred ebook platform $4 gets it on your device. Includes my story, "Down By The Highway Side."

recent read; Red Equinox

Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne

When some people ask or wonder if Lovecraftian fiction is played out and is not applicable to modern times, we now have an excellent example of where an author can take the genre.

Becca Philips is an adventurous photographer who explores urban decay of Boston when she is not combating her seasonal depression. One day, strange images appear through the lens of her camera. Soon, she is the epicenter of a coming apocalypse, hunted by both Starry Wisdom cultists and a government shadow police, SPECTRA. And, her own family ties back to Arkham might have far more to do with her involvement than she ever realized.

Douglas Wynne's Red Equinox is firmly set in the now, with well-done moments of updating the tropes - and here in this story they are the tropes, not the cliches. Wynne understands the alien blend of sorcery and technology at the heart of the horror in Lovecraft and does wonderful, twisted things with it. Wynne also hits many touchstones of Lovecraftian fiction. These "Easter eggs" should bring a grin to any Lovecraft Mythos fan as you come across them in the novel.

Wynne does well presenting real modern characters. Photographers, artists. Agent Brooks - a "cop" with a gambling problem - is the secondary major protagonist of the story and I enjoyed his character.

This story also drips with Boston locations which give the tale a strong veracity. Maybe if you're from out-of-town it might not work as well - or maybe, hopefully, it gives you a real feel for the city, further anchoring the novel along with its characters.

Red Equinox is a solid Lovecraftian novel for the early 21st century. If you are on the hunt for such a read, give this one a look.

NecronomiCon Providence 2015

On Saturday I attended NecronomiCon Providence for the day.

I headed out from home in the morning. Traffic was light and the drive only took an hour. The core event took place across three buildings downtown. With the light traffic, it was easy to follow the signs and I reached my destination without a problem.

The Rhode Island Convention Center housed the vendors' room, attached around the corner in the Omni Hotel, a couple of ballrooms were used for panels. A very short walk down the street brings you to the Biltmore Hotel, where other panels took place.

Rhode Island Convention Center

Biltmore Hotel

View from the 17th floor of the Biltmore

View from one of the Grand BallRoom windows, 17th floor, Biltmore

The Biltmore is a grand old hotel, opened in 1922. It's very wonderful, as you can see from the photos.

My first stop was Lois Gresh's reading/launch of her anthology Innsmouth Nightmares. Great lineup in that book, and some of the contributing writers were in attendance.

Right off the bat I was able to meet Sam Gafford and Matthew Carpenter, as they were both at the reading, too! (Sam is the publisher of Ulthar Press and Matthew was the editor of A Lonely & Curious Country.)

Secondhand Mythos

Next up, I dropped in on the Secondhand Mythos panel which discussed the iterations, peaks and valleys of quiet and resurgence of Lovecraftian/Mythos fiction. The panel consisted of Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Paul Di Filippo, Robert Price & Cody Goodfellow. Yeah - very cool!

After those talks, I headed back to explore the vendors' room. Oh. Shiny, shiny books. Art, too. I spent too much money and could have spent way too much money.

Once I finally reached the Robert E. Howard Foundation table, I was done. They brought books. Why'd they have to bring books?

Of course, once I introduced myself to Mark Finn, Rusty Burke and Jeff Shanks, I was invited to have a seat and we spent time chatting, hawking REH wares, and getting folks interested in the Foundation. (If you're not a member, there is now a free membership level which will at least keep you informed of all things REH by email. Hint, hint.)

After a lunch break, I briefly stopped in on the Forbidden Knowledge discussion about the fictional tomes of the Mythos. Some interesting ideas there. Squirreling away for future story ideas.

Then I was back at the REH table socializing. Hey - getting to meet these guys in person after all this time online was grand. (I probably should have spent more time with my editor and publisher. Bad writer!) This really was the highlight of the day for me, though I certainly enjoyed the merchandise & panels and seeing other people I knew.

There was a great talk on Chambers and "The King in Yellow." I learned a lot there, too. I need to read Joe Pulver - he is one knowledgeable guy. He cited Karl Wagner's "River of Night's Dreaming" during the talk, which I was really pleased to hear.

Finally, I attended "Two-Gun Bob Rides Again!" presented by Jeff Shanks, Rusty Burke, Scott Connors, Mark Finn and darn-it-missed-his-name-and-not-listed-in-program(Rick Lai.) It was a solid panel. I think the audience enjoyed it. I suspect anyone with little knowledge of REH and his ties to Lovecraft and the Mythos learned a lot.

Two-Gun Bob Rides Again!

We were all encouraged by the turnout for the panel as well as the traffic at the table in the vendors' room.

I ended my day at the Union Station brewhouse with Jeff, Mark, Rusty, and two other guys - Rick and Scott. Food and beer were top-notch! So was the company, of course!

Then I headed home.

The loot!

I really enjoyed my day. The next NecronomiCon Providence will be held in 2017, they are on an every-other-year schedule. I will seriously consider attending for a longer spell, next time. So many people to visit with!

Blog Tour Stop #2; Discovering H.P. Lovecraft

Out promoting A LONELY & CURIOUS COUNTRY again. This time I post about how I discovered H.P. Lovecraft's stories, and how they hooked me. Swing over to Adventures Fantastic, if you are so inclined.

DISCOVERING LOVECRAFT

(Thanks, Keith!)

Blog Tour

Hey, I'm on tour! Blog tour, that is. Promotional jaunt for A LONELY & CURIOUS COUNTRY.

I know - I've been promoting it a bit, but Ulthar Press is a small press and I want to help the book do well.

Thanks to Jim Cornelius for allowing me a guest spot at Frontier Partisans!

THE GHOST OF ROBERT JOHNSON

A LONELY & CURIOUS COUNTRY now available via Amazon

Wow!

Ulthar Press can sure turn around a book when they mean to! :)

A LONELY & CURIOUS COUNTRY is available via Amazon already, and will be debuting at NecronomiCON in Providence, RI in a couple of weeks.

There should be a ebook version in the near future, too.

Very excited to be in this anthology and I'm looking forward to reading all the other stories!

A LONELY AND CURIOUS COUNTRY by Ulthar Press

(I imagine) Because they are feverishly attempting to turn around this anthology for NecronomiCON in August, no one has time to update the Ulthar Press web page.

But, yesterday on their Facebook page, they announced their upcoming Lovecraftian anthology, A LONELY AND CURIOUS COUNTRY.

I have a story in the anthology!

As explained on their submission page, the title comes from "The Dunwich Horror";

 “When a traveler in north central Massachusetts takes the wrong fork at the junction of Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean's Corners he comes upon a lonely and curious country."

This is a general Lovecraftian anthology as opposed to something specific, like say, an Innsmouth anthology. I look forward to reading all the tales.

I'm very excited to be in some great company in this table-of-contents!

ANNOUNCING the contents for the upcoming Lovecraftian anthology, A LONELY AND CURIOUS COUNTRY:

The Dreamer of Nothingness Steven Prizeman
Paudie O'Brien and the Bogman Sean Farrell
Turn on, Tune in, Infiltrate, Disrupt Kenneth Heard
Down Through Black Abysses Peter Rawlik
Project Handbasket Rebecca Allred
Incense and Insensibilty Christine Morgan
Salt Water Bodies Susan Wong
Interrogation Damir Salkovic
Radical Division Jonathan Titchenal
Igawesdi Cliff Biggers
After Birth Sammons/Jenkins
Rehab Kevin Wetmore
Unsung Heroes Don Webb
The Litany of Yith Brett Davidson
The Third Oath of Dagon Robert Price
Down By the Highway Side Paul McNamee
In the Forest, with the Night Aaron French

Narragansett's Lovecraft Beers

Long time since I posted about beer.

Narragansett Beer - they of the infamous JAWS can crushing scene - are undergoing a renaissance. In addition to their regional staple of fisherman/working-class brew, they have been doing some interesting craft brews. (which are actually brewed in Rochester, NY, but whatever.)

Being a fixture of Rhode Island, they finally got around to H. P. Lovecraft.  This honey ale is their first offering to the Old Ones.

I bought a six-pack last week. It's okay. There is a touch of extra hops and a higher alcohol content so it's a bit on the bitter side. And that makes for an odd mix with the slight sweetness from the honey malt. It might be an ale better consumed with a meal than to drink stand-alone.

Later in the year (May, I think) they will rollout out an offering to the Deep Ones, an Innsmouth Ale, which will be some kind of dark variety (Porter? Stout? They haven't said yet.)

p.s. - speaking of dark, their Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout was fantastic. But, it was also seasonal. I think it's all done for this year.

recent read; The Color Out of Time

Michael Shea, creator of Nifft the Lean, among other great writings, sadly passed away in March (2014.) Shea's books were already hard enough to come by, and predictably the prices at eBay nudged up after his death. Fortunately for those seeking out Shea's Lovecraft pastiche, The Color Out of Time, it was made available as an ebook earlier this year, shortly before his death.

The novel is a direct sequel to the H. P. Lovecraft story, "The Colour Out of Space."

At an idyllic New England lake in summertime, two older college professors, Gerald and Ernst, notice a strange, disturbingly colored halo about the lake one dusk. Later they find twisted, stunted trees and giant insects in an isolated tract of the woods. They also feel depression and dread for no seeming reason. Eventually the horror grows as the strange color exhibits and manifests a malevolent nature - poisoning spirit and body alike.

Things only grow worse, as afflicted and endangered vacationers ignore the warnings - perhaps due to the psychic influence of the entity.  The protagonists come to refer to the alien entity as simply, the Enemy. Murders by physical manifestation of the Enemy, along with madness-inflicted deaths, spread. Eventually our heroes take it upon themselves to solve the mystery and destroy the evil. Along the way they meet an older woman, too, who knows the truth of the Enemy - having seen it kill a family when she was a child - before the area was flooded to make the lake. Before H. P. Lovecraft heard the story and rewrote the details into 'fiction'...

Yes, there is a direct, open link to Lovecraft in the narrative. So, I'll stop there to avoid any further spoilers. As for Lovecraft's inclusion in the narrative, albeit as a person dead and in the past, I'm still not sure it works favorably or not. It did put me out of the tale a little, but as the post-climax tension and stakes rose rapidly, I let the story take me along.

Simply put, this was an enjoyable pastiche. Shea was able to imitate and modernize and put his own unique twists on the Lovecraft tropes. While not delving into purple prose, there is an intentional erudite hand in his word choice, which reminds of Lovecraft without falling into parroted imitation. Instead of an unlikely fainting blueblood protagonist, we get unexpected heroes in a trio of savvy, vigorous, whisky-drinking seniors. Instead of pontifications on race and heritage, we get interesting examination of tribal and mob behavior, and how something from Outside can exploit it.

Shea also includes some absolutely horrific moments along the way - shocking the reader out of the cosmic horror, back into grounded terror.

Having the novel on Kindle is convenient, and it was bittersweet to read the fresh introduction from Shea. But I will keep an eye out for a paperback copy. Especially because of this Ken Kelly cover!

Return to Lovecraft Country

Well, not so much of a return as a drive-by.

When it comes to Lovecraft Country, there are different regions. The most famous, perhaps, is the northeast coast of Massachusetts, with its fictional Kingsport, Arkham and Innsmouth. Central-western Massachusetts is another area where at least two of his more famous tales were set - "The Colour Out Of Space" and "The Dunwich Horror."

Supposedly, the events of "The Colour Out Of Space" took place in an area that was destined to be forgotten under the waters of the new reservoir for Boston. Though he died before it was completed, Lovecraft cleverly worked the Quabbin Reservoir into "The Colour Out of Space";

Traces...will doubtless linger...even when half the hollows are flooded for the new reservoir. Then the dark woods will be cut down and the blasted heath will slumber...the secrets of the strange days will be one with the deep’s secrets; one with the hidden lore of old ocean, and all mystery of primal earth.

This weekend we attended a picnic in Amherst, MA. Our drive took us past one lookout area over a small portion of the reservoir along Route 202. We didn't have time to stop - the lookout was across the opposite lane anyway. And we took a different way out. So, I had to settle for a drive-by photo op.

(If you zoom on the sign, you will see that it reads, "Quabbin Reservoir - Pelham Lookout." And you can see a bit of water in the far background.)

But, the way out was interesting, too. I forewent the GPS's suggested route on the way to the picnic - mostly for the Quabbin photo op. On the way back, the GPS took us through even deeper backroads, which are also Lovecraft related. I vaguely recognized some of the buildings and crossroads. I had explored around the area in my Lovecraft reading heyday. I had used "Lovecraft and the New England Megaliths" by Andrew E. Rothovius from The Dark Brotherhood and Other Pieces as my guide back then - referred to many USGS maps, too, before Google and Yahoo maps existed.

I sometimes forget how lucky I am to live in such a historical region - fictional history or otherwise. It was nice to drive through there with Lovecraftian fiction in mind, even if it was a brief passing by.

The nights here are already growing colder. It might be time to reread "The Colour Out of Space" and perhaps follow it up with a read of Michael Shea's The Color Out of Time, which is in my to-be-read queue.

Return to Lovecraft Country

When the first cool, post-August day breezed in, I began to turn my attention to thoughts of Autumn reading, which of course means Halloween and horror stories.  I have a hankering to return to the Cthulthu mythos, which I haven't read deeply for some years.  I am hoping to get through one if not two of Brian Lumley's Titus Crow novels, as I enjoyed his stories last year - one of which was a Crow tale.

I saw mention of some of Lumley's potential influences on the character of Titus Crow, including H. P. Lovecraft's character of Randolph Carter.  The Clock of Dreams, in fact, is the same strange clock featured in "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."  That spurred me to re-read the Randolph Carter tales before October arrives.  I'm through "The Unnamable", "The Silver Key", and "Through the Gates of the Silver Key."  I still have "The Statement of Randolph Carter" and "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" to read.

Being on a Mythos kick lately, I investigated the availability of the Chaosium Call of Cthulhu Fiction series, which I missed the first time around.  The first entries in the series are long out-of-print, of course, and I'll need to monitor eBay and ABEBooks.  But, it turns out that Chaosium have a large selection of "Boo-boo Books" - books that have wandered between stores and warehouses and have some scuffing or slight crumpling of cover corners - and they sell them at half-price.  While none of the classic ones seem available (shopworn or not) - e.g.; The Book of Iod - I couldn't resist expanding my Mythos library a little.

I could have gotten some e'books, but sometimes you just want print.  Plus, I have some new bookcases on order.  :)   (Hey, I am also moving some books along, really I am.)

It feels creepily good to wander the haunted hills of the surrounding countryside and walk through the darkened streets of gambrel-roofed houses of timeworn Arkham again.

Weird Tales originals

At one of my area comic shops this weekend, I noticed they had a cache of original Weird Tales by the register. I hadn't seen them there before, and as soon as the shop owner noticed I was buying Boom Studios' graphic novel of Hawks of Outremer, he pointed them out to me. (Of course, I had already thumbed through them!)

They had some with Robert E. Howard content and some with H. P. Lovecraft though I don't remember exactly what.

So tempting. But at $90~100 per issue I couldn't personally justify a purchase.

Two of the issues they had;

"The Sea-Witch" by Nictzin Dyalhis wound up in Echoes of Valor III thanks to Karl Edward Wagner.

recent read; Space Eldritch

For various reasons, I figured this anthology of space opera meets Cthulhu mythos was worth a deeper review.  Here's a look at all the stories.

Foreword, by Larry Correia

Correia provides a fun introduction here, answering the question "Lovecraft in space?" with a resounding "Yes!"

“Arise Thou Niarlat From Thy Rest” by D. J. Butler

This story requires the reader to pay attention, but the rewards are worth it.  Butler explores a mythos angle I have not read very often - not only are the Old Ones ancient, but in the case of this story, they exist simultaneously across space and time.  Butler weaves three points in time, and three disparate threads into a cohesive tale as a priest of ancient times attempts to manifest the Old Ones by way of a future colonizing spaceship and a 1930s private investigator's case gets caught in the middle.

“Space Opera” by Michael R. Collings

Collings gives us a nice twist, too, as alien invaders bring worlds to their heels until they tackle the wrong world.  The insect nature and alienness of the protagonists is wonderfully realized throughout this tale.  And in the end, just when you might think the aliens are Lovecratian, the aliens themselves are caught in the dead center of a new Dunwich Horror.

“The Menace Under Mars” by Nathan Shumate

A terraforming team on Mars discovers underground evidence of a previous civilization.  A good atmosphere of tension building runs through this story.  We all know what a "rock that just appears to be an artifact" on the Martian moon Demios really means. Broken minds and alien possessions soon follow.

“Gods in Darkness” by David J. West

David J. West turns the Cold War space race on its ear in this tale.  Rather than jumping into the future with far flung worlds, West keeps us in the past with clandestine space flights between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as cosmonauts and astronauts are tangled by a Jack Parsons inspired character and his sorcerous, nefarious plans.  In orbit, no one can hear you scream.  It's been mentioned elsewhere and I agree - pulpiest tale of the group and this is a good thing.

“The Shadows of Titan” by Carter Reid and Brad R. Torgersen

On Titan, a crew discovers an ancient pyramid and a creature in suspended animation.  The hot-shot captain puts everyone in danger as the alien presence enters her body and mind.  The survivors must battle to keep the aliens from gaining passage to Earth.

“The Fury in the Void” by Robert J. Defendi

Somewhere in the far future and far reaches of outer space, two spaceships - one Russian and one Greek, battle out old heresies and wars.  But something is toying with their minds, driving them to rage and madness.  This story was appropriately violent, and had echoes of Warhammer 40K to me, in a good way.

“Flight of the Runewright” by Howard Tayler

This was a highly original tale.  Having read some Brian Lumley mythos stories lately, I would say this ranks right up with those.  A cruise ship laden with Necronomical symbols offers the faster, surest way to escape the Earth and travel further through the spheres than mere atomic drives or faster-than-light or rockets could ever provide.  As the protagonist takes his insane twin brother's place on the lottery for the voyage, things are not what they seem.

---

I really enjoyed this entire anthology.  The only weak spot was that the plots felt too similar between "The Menace Under Mars" and "The Shadows of Titan."  I've seen some reviews exaggerate this and state you can't read all these in one pass due to similarity.  I disagree.  All together, this is an exceptional, original anthology with distinctive entries.  It was a welcome change on mythos stories.  Very enjoyable and worth reading.

You can get the e'book through usual channels, and a print edition is now also available.

The Call of Cthulhu; the (silent) movie

I finally bought and watched 2005's The Call of Cthulhu silent movie.

H. P. Lovecraft's stories' phantasmagoric aspects have always made them hard to capture on film.  After years of producers trying with modern filmmaking, Sean Branney and Andrew Leman decided to go retro.  Why not make the movie as it would have been adapted when it was written - in the 1920s?  Silent movie, stop motion effects, models, etc.

It's a fun idea.  So, does it work?

Yes & no.