Loose Bits

Here are some loose bits of news that appear in the official e-mail edition of The Goreletter going out later this afternoon:

+++DOUBLY STOKED
Both this strange newsletter (The Goreletter) and my poetry chapbook from Fairwood Press last October (Gorelets: Unpleasant Poems) have received enough recommendations to appear on the “preliminary ballot” for the Bram Stoker Award (in Alternative Forms and Poetry, respectively). Cliche or not, it really is an honor to be recognized. It tells me I’m doing something right. Now it’s up to the professional members of the Horror Writers Association to whittle down their favorites through two rounds of voting. The competition is fiercer than a mongoose pit filled with snapping turtles. Wish me luck. And if you’re an HWA member, well, now’s your chance to say you actually voted for Gore in 2004!

+++A DECADE OF DECADENCE, DWINDLING
The leatherbound and/or hardcover editions of my novel, Grave Markings: The Tenth Anniversary Edition, are probably sold out by now, but there still might be a copy or two left if you write Delirium Books NOW with your inquiry. See http://www.deliriumbooks.com/essentials.htm for details asap.

+++DEAD AGAIN
I’ve acquired a batch of my chapbook — Michael Arnzen’s Dying — a quirky little poetic parody of Martha Stewart’s Living. Ed Bryant applauded this book in Locus magazine last year, writing: “”Arnzen’s a crackerjack poet of the dark fantastic…[his poetry] whipsaws the reader from giggling to guffawing to cringing, often all on the same page.” If you’d like to get your hands on a signed copy of this crazy collectable, it would be “a good thing.” Or maybe a very bad thing. Or, perhaps just a very, very sick thing. To get yours, signed, postage paid, just send me $8 via PayPal to arnzen@gorelets.com. Limited to my supply on hand. If you want to order without using online services, you must e-mail me first to make arrangements (and to see if I have any copies left!). Don’t worry — I’m not sending any of the proceeds to Martha’s attorneys.

+++FREAKCIDENTS
No, it’s not a new freakadelic denture adhesive paste in day-glo colors. As I’ve reported before, Freakcidents: A Surrealist Sideshow is a knock-out poetry book coming from Shocklines Press in March/April in a limited “remarqued” hardcover and standard trade edition. The “remarqued” edition is not only a signed collectable hardcover, but it gets customized by the book’s artist, the eponymous GAK — who is redesigning the cover for the book (that means it will be a little different than the b/w version you may have already seen). In his review at feoamante.com, Mikey Huyck called Freakcidents “one of the most bizarre collections of anything I’ve ever pawed through.” Wanna paw through it yourself? Preorder the mutancy here: http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/shpr.html

+++UNDERGROUND, ANYONE?
If you’ve never visited the small press catalogue at Project Pulp, you’ve missed out on a wonderful resource for fantasy, science-fiction, horror, music and underground publishing. They’ve got discounted copies of a number of small magazines and anthologies I’ve appeared in. In fact, my poetry book, Gorelets, is #5 on their “Most Overlooked Titles” charts…not sure what that means, but I like being charted. Anyway, check out Project Pulp…I’m sure you’ll find something good to read there, whether for yourself or as a gift to others. Creative searches recommended, but if you can’t make up your mind, consider Dark Animus, Sick: An Anthology of Illness, Yellow Bat Review or the latest issue of Talebones magazine, all of which I’ve contributed to.
http://projectpulp.com/frontpage.asp

+++HEY, BOO-BOO
Be sure to subscribe to the e-mail edition of the newsletter for exclusive coupons on horror-related merchandise from Hellnotes, Shocklines, Fictionwise, Fairwood Press, Dark Animus, and others!