WHC Photo

As usual, it was Ms Tracy Jones who caught me with her camera:

Back from WHC

Good times. High points included:

-- At the mass autograph session on Friday night, met a lot of fans I only knew online. They seemed to be having a great time.

-- At the same session, sat next to the young folks of Eraserhead Press. They were all bizarro looking (since that's the name of their genre and all) but they were just the most polite, articulate young people you'd want to meet. It was fun.

-- One of the bizarro team was the elusive Gina Ranalli, another of the fine ladies of The Other Dark Place. Also finally met some others of that same persuasion - Deb, Christine and Liz. Nice gals.

-- Also met J. Paul Allen, that hippie long hair I've admired as one of the few sane people still on Shocklines. A very nice, humble man with interesting perspectives on life.

-- Gary Braunbeck's accpetance speech for the Long Fiction category of the Stoker Awards. Seldom can one find someone so brilliant, articulate, and passionate. He is an inspiration to us all and the image of classiness.

-- More class when I served on a panel with the famous Mort Castle. I've spoken to him before and he always makes a point of really listening to the other person and including them in the conversation. I thought we had a nice discussion of characterization in horror lit.

-- Less class in evidence of the couple people who needed to snub me. Nothing unexpected, but just kind of funny and junior-highish.

WHC Bound

Tidying up here, driving down to Newark (couldn't get an affordable flight from our local airport!), and flying out to Salt Lake City! Looking forward to meeting many of my horror friends for the first time in person, and reconnecting with old buddies, like the incomparable Drew!

Eco Zombie

I'm really not that "green" but sometimes you just have to speak up:

http://shocklinesforum.yuku.com/topic/3187

And I do believe that anyone who reads my prose would be able to figure out pretty quickly that I'm not enthralled by modern, American culture. My stories are full of people (and zombies) who look at a world of unfettered capitalism and unrepentant individualism and shrug at it as some oddity or monstrosity. So as I go forth to preach the Gospel of Sts. Romero and Augustine, I think I often come back to the evils of the City of Man, of which I see many in our contemporary world.

Easter Spike!

Like a zombie Jesus, the Amazon numbers are rising - rising, I say! We're at the one year anniversary of the release of D2L and it's the highest it's been since early last summer! And History Is Dead and Gospel are both along for the ride, too!

Great Review in Chizine

I don't remember when they got a copy, but thanks!!

http://www.chizine.com/dying_to_live.htm

Easter

I seldom get much out of sermons at church, but today's was even less than uninteresting - it was offensive. The priest said that last year he tried reading the Koran for penance. Offensive enough, but he followed it up by saying it was too boring for him to finish. All of this rendered worse by the fact that the anecdote had nothing to do with the point he was trying to make in his sermon, so it seemed purely spiteful and gratuitous, like Easter is supposed to be our chance to celebrate "winning" over other religions (whereas I would take it that the real point is to celebrate God's victories over death and over our own sinfulness). I'm sure the Prince of Peace likes his minions to mock the 1.2 billion people who revere him as "only" a Prophet.

But holidays, even religious ones, are really about food, aren't they? Oh, and booze. The ham, lamb, and chicken (since most of the family won't eat the first two) are all warming in the oven, just waiting for the boy child to return from wherever he's gotten to. And the $12 bottle of Shiraz is "breathing" and reaching room temperature, readying itself to tickle tastebuds and kill brain cells as God created it to.

A blessed day to you all.

DisneyWorld

Just got back, before another trip to the World Horror Convention! Made a brief visit to the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, where we had a fine discussion of vampires and zombies, after a lunch of surprisingly nasty pasta and amazingly good tiramisu. (At a Marriott, I would've guessed they'd be the other way around.)

Disney was the one corporate entity my father hated more than Ford automobiles, and I just can't get behind the animosity. (Flaming anti-Semite that Henry Ford was, I can certainly loathe his ideas, but I also don't see why that necessarily should spill over on to the present product that bears his name, unless the company were continuing his traditions. And even my father, it should be noted, had to make an exception for the Mustang [what male who's seen Bullitt could not?].) There were plenty of eye rolling moments for me when I looked around the Disney Pop Century Resort and saw how they had somehow constructed a "celebration" of the 20th century w/o mentioning or alluding to anything bad. The 60s, w/o any mention of drugs or race? The 70s, w/o any mention of Vietnam or Watergate? Every decade, w/o any mention of s-e-x? Apparently all we did for 20 years was wear funny clothes and go to the moon.

BUT, let's be fair - why exactly would I *want* to stay at a hotel w/ pictures of My Lai or the Zapruder film or the Manson family? A vacation is fantasy. And at building a very satisfying fantasy, Disney and his corporation are very skilled.

Between Cons!!

Only briefly! Just got back from LunaCon. High points:

Got an invite to the Arisia con from Jeff Warner, one of their organizers.

Met a charming fellow-academic and Christian from Nyack College. Always nice not to have to answer the "You're a Christian? And you watch zombie movies?!" question.

Had a great zombie panel with Jonathan Maberry and others.

Had lots of my promo materials snatched up from the freebies table.

Signed an ARC of Dying to Live, one of only a handful in existence. (I don't have one, since authors now usually work from PDF files for the final proofread.)

But only back here for a day and a half, and it's off to ICFA. Wish me luck!

Welcomed to the League!

Zombos kindly admitted me to the League of Tana Tea Drinkers!

When do we get costumes? And fight the Legion of Nitwits?!

T-Shirts!!!

From our good friends at Permuted:

http://www.printfection.com/permutedpress

Nice designs - straightforward and stark and they should look good on the shirts.

But do not fret, gentle readers: Dr. P has some tshirt designs in mind that will highlight just his books. They will be "gimmes" at cons this year, so you can show your pride that you're part of the Kim-pocalypse and have met me in person at ZombieFest or Horrorfind or wherever my preaching of the Gospel of the Undead takes me!!!

Signature Sheets

Just did them for the limited edition of Orpheus and the Pearl. Weird writing your signature all those times. But here's to doing it for many more titles!!

Review and Pre-Order!

My old book gets a lovely review by the fine folks at Bloodtypeonline:

http://www.bloodtypeonline.com/bookreviews.htm

And my new is now available for pre-order at the new and improved Horror Mall:

https://www.horror-mall.com/ORPHEUS-AND-THE-PEARL-by-Kim-Paffenroth-limited-Edition-p-17567.html

On the Other Hand... (Cars part II)

I was trying to park in the three-level parking structure at work today. The lines are painted close enough that the PT Cruiser is a tight fit. You are warned there is only 6'8" clearance. But for some reason this morning there was a noticeable number of REALLY BIG pickup trucks. (I'm 5'10" and they towered above me, so they were really pushing the height limit, and both tires were on the yellow lines.) I had to wonder what is the rationale? Up where I live (50 miles north of here), it might make slightly more sense: a lot of people do haul a load of firewood, or a boat, or a deer they've just shot, at least a couple times a year. But in Westchester? Just sounds like a bear to park and maneuver, never mind the gas.

For Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy...

Well, I don't think there were too many shepherds in Syosset, NY, 42 years ago to get such a message. They probably would've had trouble scrounging up three wise men, too. But there was a humble birth there back then, and the result is still stomping around.

And look, everyone chipped in and got me this awesome CGI extravaganza for the anniversary of my nativity!!

http://www.10000bcmovie.com/

That's so sweet! And I even hear rumors that you're going to try to top it next year with the release of The Watchmen movie on my birthday! You guys are the best!!!

80s Comics are COOL

And looking good again:

http://rss.warnerbros.com/watchmen/2008/03/one_year_to_go_1.html

Goggles are cool
40mm grenade launchers are cool
Not having a face is cool
Thigh-high boots on skinny chicks are cool

Of course, it could all be a disaster, but after the decent (I thought decent, not great, but decent) V for Vendetta movie, I can hopefully be forgiven for some optimism.

Orpheus and the Platonist Proofread

Yes, just finishing the final proofread. And it is a Platonist horror/love story, I'm tellin' ya!! And man is it HAWT! I mean, all weepy and erotic HAWT!!

For What Is This "Carness," of Which You Speak, O Socrates?

I saw something on MSN about "New Volvo [number whatever] - safest car ever." And I thought "Who buys a car because it's 'safe'?" I don't see strippers or bottles of vodka or assault rifles or stereo receivers advertising themselves as "safe" - they all want to be known as fast, furious, big, loud, and dangerous. Yes, I was able to answer my rhetorical question myself with the obvious answer, "Middle aged people with kids." But really, isn't the Platonic ideal of "car" come out to "something that combines in perfect balance the qualities of going fast and looking good." No room for "safe" there in the definition, my Swedish friends. Add "safe" and you've changed the definition to "portable waiting room for watching my life and potency slowly slip away."

Creator of an Icon

If not an icon himself:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_en_ot/obit_gygax

Spent lots of time playing in high school. Not much since, but I mean A LOT of time in high school.

Spring!!

It's official - just saw the first robin. Definitely a robin and not some other avian life form.

Another sure sign: I was getting passport photos the other day. The lady photographer said, "You have the prettiest eyes." As I told her, I don't think I've gotten a compliment on my appearance in nigh on 20 years. I didn't tell her, but it seems confirmed today by Mr. Robin, that if ladies are randy enough to flirt with my fat, lazy, lard-ass self, then it must be spring, when "a young man’s [and, I assume, lady's] fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love" (Tennyson, as I just googled it).

So, let's wrap up this school year and get to my sabbatical and loads of horror-writing goodness!!

A New Fan

With a great blog!

http://www.evilbastard.net/bastardblog/