Columns

22 of the Best And Worst Promotional Products For Your Book Release

October 18th, 2016

I played in a golf tournament recently (or, I should say I was very drunk for several hours and there was golf happening around me), and was given the customary goodie bag. Golf tees, coupons, and, of course, a stress ball that was made to look like what I assume is part of a human spine.

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Horror While Black: Race in Matt Ruff's 'Lovecraft Country'

October 17th, 2016

H.P. Lovecraft, along with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, is one of the most chilling horror writers in history. He also was a raging racist. Although obscure within his lifetime, the last few decades has seen the Rhode Island native receive a critical re-appraisal, and with that comes the perspective of modern eyes.

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Library Love: Where Do Books Go When They Die?

October 17th, 2016

Image via UBC Library You may have heard about the Shakespeare First Folio that is visiting each of the 50 states this year. It’s a timeless relic that brought together 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, 18 of which had never been published before. The First Folio ensured Shakespeare’s place in a narrow canon of works that continue to have meaning centuries after their conception, thousands of miles outside their place of origin.

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What Works & What Doesn't: 'Halloween'

October 13th, 2016

Welcome once again to What Works & What Doesn't, whereby we take a classic or notable film and explore its effective and weak aspects in kind, determining what exactly works about the film and what doesn't (as the title of this series indicates). And as we are now firmly planted in the month of October, what better film to analyze than John Carpenter's breakout hit Halloween, featuring the now iconic characters Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), Michael Myers AKA The Shape (Nick Castle) and Dr.

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A Book Reviewer's Bill Of Rights

October 12th, 2016

I'm guessing most of us are familiar with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which give us the right to be harassed by journalists, the right to be terrified by the presence of firearms, and then a bunch of other stuff about quartering soldiers, excessive bail, and stuff that's not exciting because none of it involves using swear words or shooting stuff.

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The Story Behind Kafka's Insect Infestation

October 12th, 2016

The premise of Kafka's The Metamorphosis is well known. After waking one morning from uneasy dreams, traveling salesman Gregor Samsa found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

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The 10 Types of Horror Stories I’d Love To Read

October 11th, 2016

A few weeks ago Max Booth wrote a column about the Ten Horror Stories Nobody Wants to Read. So, I thought I’d follow up on this with a column about the Ten Horror Stories I’d LOVE to read. Not only have I been an author for the past nine years, with three novels, three short story collections, and over 100 stories in print, but I’ve also edited four anthologies (The New Black, Burnt Tongues, The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, and Exigencies).

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On The Rituals Of Writers: New Books, Burnt Offerings, and Fried Zucchini

October 11th, 2016

Twelve years ago, I visited a hostel in the Georgia woods. It's so remote that, when you arrive, you feel like you got lost on your way to the middle of nowhere. Guests stayed in tree houses and everyone contributed to the chores and all the main buildings of the camp—the kitchen, the main office, the library—were geodesic domes that looked like mushrooms sprung out of the forest floor. 

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8 Ways To Salvage Your Yearly Writing Goals

October 10th, 2016

I definitely don’t want to alarm anyone, but I’m here to tell you that there are twelve weeks left in 2016. That’s right, twelve weeks. Until 2017. (Cue frantic flailing and musings on where the year has gone). Surely it was just yesterday that we were setting New Year’s Resolutions and laying out our lofty plans for a prolific year of writing, right?

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Why Luke Cage is the Superhero We Need

October 10th, 2016

The first time Luke Cage came to my notice was in the pages of 2004’s Secret War. Cage was among the heroes recruited by Nick Fury for an unsanctioned covert regime-change operation in Latveria, and was also the first to suffer retaliation for it in the form of an explosion that leaves him comatose. In the hospital we learn that his unbreakable skin does not negate internal damage, but it does keep doctors from operating on him.

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