Horror is a Worldview: Arnzen Interview at Zombie Mall

Brian "Brains" Hardin asks me some deep questions about my audio cd, Audiovile, on the blog for his neat horror shop, the Zombie Mall. Here's an excerpt: Q: How do you cope with those people in your life that just don’t get it? Truth is, most people CAN be persuaded. First I try appeal to their reason: since horror is about fear, it is about humanity. If that doesn’t work, I try to educate them: many classic works of literature are horror stories. If that doesn’t work, I go for the gross-out joke. But there’s always going to be somebody…

Interview with the Tombkeeper!

"Tombkeeper" JL Comeau interviewed me on video at the bleary-eyed end of this year's HorrorFind Convention, and our conversation is now available on the fabulous Count Gore de Vol website. Here's the interview, care of Vimeo: Meet Author Michael Arnzen from Gore De Vol on Vimeo. It was great getting to meet Judy and the Count Gore crew. (Judy also just posted a knockout review of Proverbs for Monsters on her section of the site, as well). Count Gore, if you didn't know it, is not only a staple of HorrorFind weekend, but also the vampiric host of the old…

Work is Having Fun

A profile on my writing and teaching career, called "Horror Writer Does his Best Work Having Fun" was just published in the newsletter of the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Their web site is for members only but they've kindly shared a .pdf file of the feature story that the public can read. Here's a short excerpt: Arnzen also credits his success with taking creative risks. “This is another way of saying I don’t mind embarrassing myself,” he said. “Genres rely on conventions and expectations, so many writers err on the side of repeating what’s been done before.” Arnzen said…

Horrorfind Moments

Last weekend, I attended HorrorFind Weekend 2008 held in the Mariott at the University of Maryland in Adelphi, along with my wife Renate and my friend from graduate school, Bill Hamilton. Though the new space thinned out the herd a bit too much for my taste, it was a decent convention with a great dealer's room and I had a generally good time hanging out with some old friends while making many new ones. My wife and I also took a break and drove into Baltimore to visit Poe's grave and one of the locations for the Homicide TV show…

Appearances in August 2008

Aug 15-16 | HorrorFind | Adelphi, MD Join us at Horrorfind for the FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY for Raw Dog Screaming Press! (See my tribute to the press if you don't know who they are). Arnzen will be reading with other RDSP authors throughout the day on Friday evening, 8/15, in Room 2112 at the UMUC Marriott, from 6pm - 10pm. Here's the schedule: 6:00-6:30 Ronald Damien Malfi 6:30-7:00 Adam Golaski 7:00-7:30 Donna Lynch 7:30-8:00 D. Harlan Wilson half hour buffer/break 8:30-9:00 Matthew Warner 9:00-9:30 John Edward Lawson 9:30-10:00 Michael A. Arnzen On Saturday morning, Aug 16th, the film Exquisite…