We interupt this blog to bring you...

30 Second Tales of Terror (by famous writers no less)

Only a good writer can tell a 30 second scary story. So, for Halloween, listen to the petite tales in a darkened room with only the monitor's light for comfort.

Here's my contribution to really short scary stories:
It was a dark and stormy night as Mr. Collinsworth signed and concluded his will. He thought he heard the floor squeak but decided it was his over active imagination. Suddenly a quick and decisive blow to the head ended Mr. Collinsworth's life prematurely.
When I arrived at the Estate the next morning I felt a cold chill run down my spine. This was the room my unsuspecting Uncle had drew his last breath. There were still spots of blood on his desk. The butler was being interrogated by the police as I walked about the gloomy study. Just then a blood curdling scream came from the kitchen where the maid was found lying in a pool of blood. I ran back to the study only to find the, now murdered, butler lying limply across a divan. Being terrified by the sudden deaths, I began to panic. The detective told me, as I stood shaking in my shoes, that the maid and butler had been listed in the will my Uncle had just completed. The only other names listed were me and a long lost cousin! I had been studying my shoes in order to avoid the detective's insinuating glare. To my shock, when I looked up, no one was there. Where had the detective gone? For that matter where is everyone else? They had just been here. I could hear the floor squeak behind me and I ran to the now locked front door.

Guides for everything.

Crazy furniture, I like it.
Thanks, Robin!


Bizarre collections, yes there are.
Thanks, Mary!

We're filling in the literary void.
By the way, has anyone noticed how the publishing industry is cashing in on the "spawned from a blog" books?
Disapproving Rabbits, MySpace/Our Planet,
Post Secret
Hey, there's hope for the rest of us.

National Novel Writing Month

We still cover the latest in the written word whether it be fictional or non. This is a reminder that November is National Novel Writing Month. Check it out.
On November 1st you begin your novel and it must be finished by November 30th at midnight. You can submit it for recognition to NaNoWriMo . If you don't want to write they have NoNoWriMo celebrations all over or you can start one. Here's an excerpt from their site:

"National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down."

So, they are looking for quantity vs quality huh? Looks like a chance for our submitted book ideas to get to work. Now we can make some of our best submitted ideas into real books. Let's get started! I eagerly await some of the best ideas to be put to paper in the form of real paragraphs. If you don't want to write your idea, let me know, I might make a go at it. I can just see it now, a real work about stick figure dancing or the secret life of gnomes. I challenge you all to contribute to this worthy cause.

Dancing with the sticks.

Thanks, Julie!

...and now on TV, Dancing with the Sticks! a
great new animated show featuring all your
favorite stick figures competing for the top
dance team. See Marie Stick faint on live TV.

Gnomes

Thanks Bob!

I've always wondered...

Don't get caught reading this at work.

Thanks, David!

If only.....

Who doesn't love sock monkeys?

I'm starting to see a pattern here.


Thanks Jeff!

Armadillos, oh my!

The book ideas are coming in!

Sounds like a conspiracy to me.









Thanks Jen!

Words from YOU!

OK, I know about the interesting literary items from the past and present. At least I know what I find interesting. Now here's the thing. What do you find interesting? What would you like to see as a book? See the link to my email? It's over there in the upper right hand corner. Yeah, that's it. Click on it and tell me what you want to see. I mean, what kind of book would you run out and buy? Maybe a picture book of people in strange places? No, how about a book about Pygmy Eskimos who emigrated to Australia? Well, whatever that secret dream book is, let me know about it and I will post it here. No pornography or illegal stuff...that's not my style, plus, its a cop out. That stuff is way too simple and crude. I'm talking about the creative, odd, unusual, fresh or unique books that would fill a hole in the literary world. It may take a bit to draw in the ideas. I will keep it all anonymous, I will post a first name if you give it to me. If you worry about your email address (don't worry I won't keep it) you can make a temporary one through mail.com or Yahoo. Now that you're off the hook I know you'll come up with some great ideas. If you want credit, that's ok too. Just create a mock up of your book cover. Use any simple graphic program. (you can download free ones like PhotoFiltre which is easy to use) Like its been said before, if you ask they will come....or was that build? Whatever it was, they shall come.

I'll start it off with my idea. How about a book about disgruntled kittens? It could be a nice coffee table book full of fluffy little disgruntled kittens. You say the idea's been taken by other animals? Do rabbits and bull dogs hold the license to bad moods? So what, kittens make great subject matter, so there!

October and the frightful tale

Macabre and dark literature reigns the month of October. Edward Gorey is right up there when it comes to the deep, soulful tale of gloom and doom. His house is open to the public as a shrine to his time on Earth. He wove his words into a poetic stance and paired them with his dreary inspired illustrations. Gorey was a master at depicting pessimistic fables with a hint of sarcastic humor. Like Poe, Gorey saw life's darker side and did not hesitate to utilize it in his writing. There's a difference between a pessimist and a misanthropist (one who hates humankind). Gorey was a bit of both and none. He put all the negative thoughts that whirled around in his head onto paper. Yet he lived his life in the public eye. He wrote and illustrated many books. His illustrations were also used for he PBS Mystery series.
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925-April 15, 2000) was a writer and artist noted for his wry, macabre illustrated books. Born in Chicago, he attended Harvard University from 1946 to 1950, where he studied French and roomed with future poet Frank O'Hara.
Although Gorey was not into television himself, he did become a Star Trek fan. As a result a fan gave tribute, in Gorey style, to the episode "Trouble With Tribbles", which can be seen here. Or Here
Its always interesting when you find out that an enigmatic icon, such as Gorey, turns out to be, well, dare I say it...human. So, he wasn't a minion of Mephistopheles portraying his master's deep philosophies. He was a man, like many, who had a passion and acted on it. He used his creative forces as an outlet for his inner cynic. Its a good thing too. Just think what might have become of him had he buried it inside?