Shanna Wynne

Vampire Skeleton Found! (click to read the actual article)

Looky here! A second blog in March. Maybe I’ll get back into the habit of writing 3 or more a week.

As is, a friend in the Horror Library office on Zoetrope turned me to this article about archaeologists digging up a mass grave in Italy. The grave was a dumping place for people who died of the plague. Along with some other interesting pictures, there was this.

Since people back in the day didn’t understand the decomposition process, they believe a body that had black, viscous fluids dripping from its mouth was a vampire, resting after a night of feeding. Especially when the shroud covering the body was torn around the teeth. It was sign the vampire had been “chewing” on its shroud. They also believed this was how the plague spread. To prevent this, they shoved a rock into the mouth of bodies believed to be that of the Undead.

Interesting, huh? Go ahead and click the picture to read more.

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Right now, on the writing front, I’m working on a new project to help me finish my novel. A story that was supposed to be 5 or 6 thousand words is turning into a novel. The story in my head has grown too big for its britches and needs the space to grow. So, first novel it will be.

Also I’ve got some stories I’m looking for places to sub–as we speak, in another tab.

And I still need to buy my hard copy of Darkened Horizons. There can’t be anything better for a writer’s confidence than holding a hard copy of their work. I can’t wait to put it on my bookshelf so I can point it out to friends and family and say, “See? I have been put in a book!”

I’m still figuring how to set up my “writing zone.” I’m debating on whether or not to really take that spot in the garage or just settle for turning the computer desk in my station, and use the hallway closet for my office stuff. But really, is there enough room on this desk for all my office supplies? No. My habit needs space. So soon enough, when the pictures are on the wall and everything really is put away I’ll have time to set up my office in the garage. Either way, I’m happy.

***

Spring Break is coming up. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the boy at home for a week. I’m kind of terrified of summer now.

Just this Sunday, we had a friend and her daughter over for dinner. After we’d eaten and were just chit-chatting, my son stands up–finds the missing new pair of underwear I couldn’t find earlier, still taped into a tube shape, and says, “I’m going to put my underwear on!”

We all laughed a little and I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you wearing underwear now?”

He nodded in the affirmative, turned around and pull down his pants to show us his Scooby Doo undies.

Can you see why I fear the coming week? That boy is crazy!

I wonder who he gets that from….

***

I haven’t a clue what else to put here. I’ve got laundry to put away. So technically, it’s not Laundry Day, but a continuation of Laundry Day. Either way, it’s still a dangerous day.

Not to say I’m not writing. Really I’m just not putting anything down on paper. There’s a couple of cool stories brewing in my brain, some already half-written down stuff that’s brewing to a nice finish. I just haven’t had the energy or the motivation to sit down and get it all out. Partly because with the MOVE just last week, I still have a ton of unpacking to do. (I’ll post pictures of the garage filled with boxes later today.)

I’ll be honest. One of the percolating stories is about a gas stove. I am terrified of my new (as in new to me) gas stove. Cooking on it is a heart attack. I’ve made 3 meals on it. Sausage and cheesy shells (1 pot), tacos (1 pan and 1 baking pan), and breakfast for dinner (2 pans and 1 baking pan). We invited a friend and her daughter over for dinner this weekend. I’m making chicken fried steak. (Also known as country fried steak to the Yanks, but down here it’s chicken fried.) To make said meal requires 1 pan, 2 pots and a baking pan for biscuits.

I have until Sunday to conquer my fear or die a slow, embarrassing death.

Thankfully, our new landlords are cool people and when I expressed fear and concern over the gas stove when we looked at the house, they told us they’d be more than happy to try and find an electric stove if I can’t handle the gas.

So there is that. If I completely freak out, I can be saved. But I’m not willing to give up yet. If I can learn to drive a stick, I can learn to cook on a gas stove. At least I don’t have to light the thing every time I use it. That really freaked me out.

See, this all stems from a bad experience when I was about 6 or 7, at the oldest. I was visiting my aunt for a couple weeks in the summer and she had an old timey gas stove–the kind you need to light each time.

Well, my Aunt was always big about encouraging us to try new things–especially when it came to house wife type stuff, so she asked me one night to light the burner. I had the match lit, came close to the burner and it went right up in flames like it’s supposed to. But it still scared the shit out of me.

I guess that doesn’t really qualify as a bad experience then, huh? It’s more like a lingering childhood superstition. Fire + gas stove = BAD.

***

Aside from the inspiration in the kitchen, I’ve had to make some sacrifices in the new house. The bedrooms aren’t as big as the trailer’s bedrooms, so there’s no room in our new bedroom for either desk. The computer desk is now in the living room–which is fine–except that it doesn’t really afford me the privacy to write in peace like my old desk did. Much less find tranquility and peace by playing with my office supplies. (Office supplies are like catnip to me.)

Besides all that, I’ve grown used to having a space of my own. It’s something I need. Just a little corner of my own to go to when I need to reclaim a bit of the old me.

But, as there always is, the garage is pretty big. It might be one car, but we’ve never had a garage before. The hubby already set up his drums. (The very first thing he unpacked–and about the only thing so far he’s unpacked.) There is a little rectangular nook in the back of the garage, just a hide away for the washer and dryer. But since we have neither (and don’t plan to get either any time soon), it would just go to waste. So I’m going to do a minor bit of remodeling (as in hang some nice fabric on the wall to make it pretty, throw in a rug or some left over carpet on the floor, and find a cheap set of decent curtains that I can put up to cover up the fact that I use the space set aside for the washer/dryer as a desk area) and take that spot for my own. I’ll have to share the garage with the drums, but that’s okay.

My sister in law had to buy a new laptop since hers went kaput, but it’s a kaput the hubby thinks he can fix, so the sister in law offered to give it to him/us so that I can use it for my own nefarious writing purposes. (Insert big smile here.) So I will soon enough have a mobile computer of my own again.

***

None of this will come about until I finish unpacking. *sigh* I’m down a bookshelf–one broke on the moving truck, but I figured it would. It had reached the end of it’s life. The nicer of the bookshelves is in my bedroom operating as a vcr/dvd player, satellite receiver, night stand right now. But it will fill most of the way up with books again later today. The other is in the living room. I’m torn now with how to arrange the books, where to put my Top Shelf picks, etc.

Either way, I have to either store away a bunch of books, give them away, or trade them for credit at the used book store. I mean, I have room for storage now… but I hate keeping books in a box. They deserve better, they really do.

It doesn’t help that I’ve made 2 trips to the used book store recently and now have about 10 more books to find places for, does it?

***

Keep an eye out for pictures later today. I am not even going to try to find a funny cat picture right now. Besides, y’all don’t much seem to care about funny lolcat pictures anyway.

Wish I had something funny to say though. I prefer to end on some kind of humorous note… I’ve got nothing. Alas, that’s how it is at 7 am.

Heart Shaped Box filled with Chocolate (*covered body parts) Disclaimer: Body parts aren't guaranteed to an organ. Beware the sharp pieces.

So, minions, how was your VD Day? (Check that out, a pun!) I got a stuffed puppy and a box of Dove chocolate (covered body parts–I like the sweetbread pieces myself. Goes good with a… well, I was going to say Chianti and Fava beans, but that’s been cooked to a crispy burnt edge.)

Oddly enough, since the hubby had to work on VD Day, we chose to celebrate the holiday on Friday–the 13th. I hadn’t been expecting that. I felt sure he’d choose to put off our commercially promoted day for LOVE until his next day off. While he doesn’t think the day is unlucky or anything, he hates to do anything on those rare occurrences because I usually spend the day reminding him it is a Friday the 13th.

We enjoyed a nice dinner together, walked the mall for a while and found that every store was having clearance sales and ended up buying clothes for the munchkins. But it was still fun.

And before you ask, no, we didn’t go see the reboot of Friday the 13th, or whatever they call it. I mean, it’s not really a reboot or remake or anything. Technically speaking, it’s a sequel–another sequel in a long line of sequels. I’m not a fan of Jason. Just, sorry, even as a kid I felt Jason was little more than a ripoff of Micheal and while I do enjoy a good slash and hack film, I never got into Jason’s. The only Jason film I’ve ever seen in its entirety was Jason X. I thought it was kind of funny as a “look how crappy we can be!” movie, but aside from that, there ain’t much in the series that’s worth viewing.

I know, I know. A horror writer that doesn’t like a horror icon. Well, sue me.

Wait, don’t sue me. Well, no, go ahead and sue me now while I have no moneys to my name and you get nothing for your trouble. I’d hate it if you sue me later down the road when I’m making bucko bucks (*pause for laugh track*) as a writer.

On to the interesting part of the blog.

So I’ve been reading the books I got for Christmas. I just finished Iain Bank’s The Wasp Factory a couple weeks ago and picked up one of the other books my good friend Fran Friel sent me, a Douglas Clegg work called The Attraction. It’s a pretty good book, but turns out that the title novel is only half of the book, the rest is another novel/novella called The Harrow (or something). But I’m not here to talk about the book itself. What caught my eye and inspired me to blog was one of those testimonials they put on books by other authors who’ve read that book or the author’s other work. The one in particular is by Bentley Little, talking about Douglas Clegg’s status as the best writer of the post-Stephen King generation.

This got me thinking. The whole post-Stephen King generation thing, though I’d have to argue that Clegg isn’t necessarily THE best writer of said time period, but definitely one of many.

It struck me then that I’m included in that bunch. (Again, the post-S. K. generation, not the best of.) Since King hit the best seller list, there really hasn’t been any writer of horror or dark fiction that’s approached his level of fame. (You can argue Koontz all you want. Not that I don’t appreciate his work–Watchers and Twilight Eyes are two of my favorite books–but let me be honest here, he’s a King knock-off. Don’t like King, go for Koontz. I mean, hell, they share the shelves at your bookstore or library (King to Koontz–nothing in between) and his early writing was a generic brand of King’s. I personally think he’s starting to finally come into his own voice, especially with the Odd Thomas series, but again, this is all my personal opinion. I like Koontz a lot as a writer and I think he still has a lot left he can do. And he’s not really post-King generation, is he? He got started at basically the same time King did. Society has never really picked him up as they have King. Just looking over their Wiki pages–there’s been 17 adaptations of Koontz’s work into other media. I can’t even begin to count the number of adaptations of King’s. There’s just no comparison here. But.. moving on…)

So I started thinking about how the post-Stephen King generation is limitless. King revived horror in a way that I don’t think anyone that follows him could ever possibly do. He’s left MAJOR shoes to fill. Not that he’s left anything yet, but I have to admit that King’s recent work isn’t as great or ground-breaking as his other work. I bought Duma Key in January 2007, started reading it.. and still haven’t finished. I put it back on the shelf and haven’t picked it up yet. It’s a lot like most of his longer works–a little slow in starting. I don’t doubt it will finish pretty well, but I just haven’t had the motivation to finish it. (That and it’s difficult to get into novels nowadays when I’m trying to focus on my own writing. I’m reading a lot of short fiction these days.)

But again.. moving on… I get so easily distracted.

Look at the current trend of society. Back in the day, books/movies like Carrie, Cujo, Firestarter, The Shining, they were all considered horrifying and scary. But now that type of “horror in the shadows” stuff–or even in the open–isn’t quite as scary as it used to be. There’s scarier stuff on the nightly news than in those books/movies. The Saw franchise, the Hostel movies, this type of torture-porn (as every copy cat movie to follow has been) are the latest fad. Bentley Little, throughout all of his books, doesn’t pull any punches. His books are the literary equivalent of these type of gross-out, disgusting bloody gore films.

It made me wonder.. in today’s society, what kind of books will the future of horror hold? Will there be a return to the “horror in the shadows” type book, where the “camera” pulls away at the last second, leaving the reader/viewer to wonder at the extent of blood and gore? Or will the current trend continue until there’s no shock left in blood and gore? What will be scary once the blood is washed away?

Also, I felt a sense of awe at being part of the future of horror. You might think there’s not a lot left to be done in horror, but you’d be wrong. The road goes on and on, as long as someone is willing to keep bricking the path. Heck, even if the path doesn’t get bricked you can still traipse through the woods. Just beware the hungry wolf stalking there.

Does this post make any sense? Probably not. I tend to jump around in my thoughts. In fact, I wish I were a little more together so I could maybe take on some political blogging. The last election jump started my political engine and now I would like to take more part in the larger mechanism. But again, I’m not a great speaker in that vein, so I’ll leave that to the pros and semi-pros, or just wanking bloggers who think they’re pros.

But I will say this. Everyone needs to read their 1984. Beware, just.. beware.

This is one of the best books ever written.

How has the last week of January treated you? I have to admit, our week has been both a blessing and a curse. On Monday the clouds were gray, it was 31 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 a.m. when I took Mikey to school, and there was ice on the windshield and roads. By 3 p.m. when I’m heading back out to get Mike there was more ice on the windshield and it was down to 21 degrees Fahrenheit. Over night freezing rain led to around 4 inches of small, pellet shaped pieces of ice on the ground. School was cancelled (though I didn’t have the presence of mind to watch the news to find that out and instead listened to 20 minutes of radio where it wasn’t mentioned and ended up driving out into that awful weather to find a completely dark Pre-K and daycare), Marquis (the husband) is on vacation this week and we had a lazy day.

That turned into TWO lazy days when school was again canceled on Wednesday. I barely got out of bed. Slept a lot yesterday. Feel kind of achy and stiff from it, actually.

I was rather shocked when watching the news last night and found out school was canceled again! 3 days in a row! I’ve seen worse weather in my school days and our school was never canceled 3 days in a row. I suppose it’s a testament to the hard times that it’s cheaper for the school to close for almost a week rather than use buses, lights, salaries, etc. to run school in a semi-bad weather day. I mean, yesterday the roads were clear. Almost entirely. The only snow/ice was on the middle lanes and only at most 3 inches of it. Lots of cars were driving around. It was a fairly normal day and school got closed for another day? I’m wondering if school will be open tomorrow.

Suffice it to say, it’s been kind of cool. The kids are getting a mini-vacation, the hubby is getting a vacation and I’m being driven out of my mind. I’ve got cabin fever like mad and I would run away and escape–but the little hill in front of our “community” is rather steep, still covered with ice and in front of it there’s little mounds of snow/ice to get over in order to get in or out. It was hell driving on Tuesday morning before I knew school was canceled and now I’m kind of terrified of going out again. I might–just to get some fresh air–but not until noon when the sun is shining its brightest.

But most of all, our blessing is that the power has remained on, the ice didn’t knock anything down and everyone is healthy. We had a rather close scare last week when my daughter came down ill with a high fever that Tylenol didn’t work on. In fact, it seemed to make her worse. I stopped giving her the tylenol and instead tried some Motrin and now she’s as good as can be. I haven’t a single allergy in my body, but my daughter seems to be allergic (to some extent) to Tylenol. (Her skin turned red and rashy in places right after her last 2 doses–hence why I stopped giving it to her.) Thankfully, she’s young and her allergy hasn’t fully developed yet, otherwise it could’ve been bad. I’m grateful she’s okay, very grateful.
Well, except my Mom. She’s sick and I’m hoping she’ll pull through okay. No, I’m not just hoping, I’m praying. She gets sick easily and it’s a rare winter when she doesn’t get pneumonia. My prayer is that she won’t get pneumonia this winter and that her cold will stay just that– a quick chest cold, nothing more. I’d appreciate it if you whispered a small prayer for my mother as well. A little extra doesn’t hurt.

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On to the NEW PUBS! Well, new PUB.

Issue 6 of Darkened Horizons has finally released. You can purchase it as an e-book download, hardcover copy or paper back copy through the store here: http://stores.lulu.com/darkenedhorizons.

As it is, there’s an impressive Table of Contents. Besides myself, fellow authors include: Benjamin Bussey, Seb Naylor, R. Scott McCoy, Arthur C. Carey, Matthew Pierce, Robert T. Daniel, Dave Fragments, and Brandon Layng. (Truth be told, I only know two of these guys–Benjamin and Brandon. But from reading through my copy, there are some great stories in here. Well worth your time and money.) My name tops the Table of Contents. That’s pretty cool.

***

I guess, on the Laziness, which isn’t really Laziness but rather a mild Stress that makes me incapable of anything beyond the basics, I’m sort of catching up on some stuff. I’m editing some stuff to sub and I’m determined to get some more pubs under my belt. I’ve gotten two in the last 3 months, so that’s not a bad start on getting things rolling again.

***
I’ve realized I start too many sentences with “and.” And I’m determined to stop doing that. (Even though I went through and edited most of the “ands” out of the above, I’m sure you’ll find a few.) My inner teenage yak-box must be showing.

Funny Picture Time: