Arnzen News – Page 4

New Online Course: Treacherous Settings

"Treacherous Settings": Live Monday, Jan 31st 2022, 8 P.M. EST -- Horror University Online Also Available Asynchronously Following the Event! DESCRIPTION: In space, no one can hear you scream. Here there be monsters. Who’s behind the door? Settings can be as scary and surprisingly deadly as the creatures and killers who populate our books. From craggy caverns to undersea cities, haunted houses to alien landscapes, they can threaten characters with their very lives, and their inherent fear factor always offers a potential stage for delightfully dangerous action, creative conflict, and shocking surprise. In this 2-hour session we'll discover different methods…

By Michael Arnzen December 24, 2021Arnzen News

Arnzen News

This Holiday Season Enjoy…The Filling

Happy Holidays to all my friends! I've got a new audio story out in a special Thanksgiving issue of The Wicked Library, called "The Filling." It should carry you over till the New Year. Enjoy all the pie. The Wicked Library is a professional podcast run out of Pittsburgh by Daniel Foytik of 9th Story Studios (producers of The Lift), and I'm proud to appear in their dark archives. This episode features Jeanette Andromeda as guest host, the story is read by the amazing actor and voice performer Graham Rowat, and there's also a musical score by Nico Vettese. While…

By Michael Arnzen November 22, 2021Arnzen News

Arnzen News

Halloween Season 2021

Image by Jeff C. Carter Happy harvest time, loyal readers, old friends and new visitors! October is always the busiest month of the year for horror fiends, and my Halloween season this year is no exception. If you've seen my events page, you know I'll be reading at such places as the Chatham University library and a PARSEC panel of horror writers, along with an outdoor session by the fire at the annual Seton Hill University English Club spooky story night. I'll be co-organizing a meeting of the Pittsburgh chapter of the HWA at the Horror Studies archive at U…

By Michael Arnzen October 12, 2021Arnzen News

Arnzen News Instigation

Creating Something From Nothing

At the heart of creativity is innovation -- that is, the ability to originate, or to act on the impulse to make something new. I recently was interviewed by my friend in the creativity business, author Matt Betts, who I think of as an innovative writer because he channels his fannish glee for genre literature and movies into some very fresh takes on familiar tropes, often by mashing them together and seeing what happens. He's written some wildly imaginative novels for Raw Dog Screaming Press, is authoring a sasquatch series, and is continuing the saga of Carson of Venus from…

By Michael Arnzen July 22, 2021Arnzen News, Instigation

Arnzen News

The Uncanny & The Abject: Open for Enrollment!

I'll be offering a new (virtual) course for horror writers at StokerCon 2021! (Yes, even if you are not attending StokerCon, you can still enroll in the course -- see the end of this message!) "The Uncanny and The Abject": Applying Psychology to Disturb the Reader Saturday, May 22, 5 P.M. EST -- StokerCon 2021 Online DESCRIPTION: This two hour online workshop will unravel the psychological theories of the Uncanny and the Abject. Together, we will explore how they pertain to crafting tales of terror and shock through discussion of published horror fiction and live short writing activities that explore…

By Michael Arnzen April 13, 2021Arnzen News