“Scary Things”: An Address to the Class of 2011

[Here's a video of the speech cited below, posted by my friend, photographer/designer Bruce Siskawicz] "Scary Things" Professor of the Year Acceptance Speech by Michael A. Arnzen Seton Hill University Honor's Convocation Friday, May 13, 2011 President Boyle, Provost Gawelek, distinguished members of the stage, cherished faculty colleagues, dear staff, close friends and -- most importantly -- future alumnae of Seton Hill University…I thank you all for this dubious honor. I also want to thank two other major figures in my life, without whom I would not be here today: first, my wife, Renate, who chose to move from Germany…

On the Virtual Book Tour for Many Genres

My latest book (co-edited with Heidi Ruby Miller) is Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction. It is a huge compendium of advice for people who write genre fiction, from horror and sf/f to suspense, mystery, romance and more -- with over 60 amazing contributors. Many of the writers are participating in a "Virtual Book Tour" which essentially means they're writing guest blogs at various places all over the internet, sharing even more advice and opinions that aspiring authors will want to check out. Visit our weblog to explore all this. For my part, soon guests will be…

Preorder: MANY GENRES, ONE CRAFT

Readers of this blog who have the writing bug might want to hop on over to Amazon.com and put in an order for my latest book (co-edited with Heidi Ruby Miller), called Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction. Modeled after the graduate program where I teach -- the MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University -- Many Genres is a thick hardcover collection of over sixty essays by prominent writers who look under the hood of both the craft of writing for a genre audience and the business of penning novels in today's publishing world.…

Making Readers Squirm: Sensory Immersion Podcast

Last June, I went on a Summer Teaching Tour at various writer's workshops, and one of the highlights was my return as guest lecturer to the Odyssey, The Fantasy Workshop, run by Jeanne Cavelos annually at St Anselm College, in New Hampshire. My guest lecture topic at Odyssey was "Making the Reader Squirm: Sensory Immersion," which they have just released as a podcast on the Odyssey Podcast page (it is also available through iTunes). In this lecture, I discuss ways that science fiction/fantasy and horror writers appeal to the reader's "sensorium" to generate a visceral effect. The class analyzed examples…

Alternative Rorschach

Encouraged by early feedback, I'm starting a new digital art series on my flickr gallery called "Alternative Rorschach." Check it out, free associate, and tell me what you see in the comments section on flickr or on facebook. I've only done three "cards" so far; and if feedback keeps coming I will do the entire deck of psychologist inkstains in my own weird way in the weeks to come, so keep coming back (see Rorschach Inkblots page on wikipedia to learn more about the source of this stuff).