WHC2012 Salt Lake City, Utah

I'm still recovering from World Horror Convention 2012. Although the bar closes early everywhere there, small parties and room gatherings were plentiful if you looked. I had a fantastic time and made many new friends including Nicholas Grabowsky with Black Bed Sheet Books, and two of his authors, Alexander Beresford and Sean Hayden. All really nice guys and talented writers. I also spent some quality time speaking with and listening to Mr. Frank Hutton, one of the final nominees for best anthology. A real class act all the way. It was a pleasure meeting Robert Shane Wilson, Jennifer Wilson and Mark Scioneaux of Nightscape Press and co-editors of Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology for which my first published short story is in among an amazing TOC (Table of Contents). And I'm still pinching myself about it. The anthology can be purchased here. https://www.createspace.com/3829545 Soon, it will also be available on Amazon, and I will post a link for the Kindle version and hard copy of the book.

The Stoker Award Banquet was nice and I really liked the potatoes Au Gratin. Jeff Strand did a marvelous job as always MC'ing the event. And he brought me a copy of Fangboy for my son, which I was tremendously grateful for. It's a wonderful thing to see everyone dressed up. If it weren't for the zombies they hired to hand out the awards, it could have been a computer software event and no one would've known the difference. Here is the list of Stoker Award winners. http://www.stokers2012.org/

The after parties were fantastic, and I really appreciate everyone not giving me any crap for wearing my fuzzy Cheetah flip-flop slippers to the parties. By the end of WHC my feet were in need of a heel hiatus and that was with comfortable shoes that I brought with me. At this party I was able to speak with Jason and Sunni Brock, whom I both adore, Gene O'Neill, he's just wonderful, and Rocky Wood, the HWA President. There were so many more people I can't list them all. I had planned on taking a lot of pictures, but that quickly fell by the wayside with my shoulder aching from just carrying my purse all day. I did take a few panel photos which I will post in the gallery on my website. http://www.renamasonwrites.com/

A special shout out to friend and author Jason Reinhardt for winning the Gross-Out Contest with a story I got to pre-read months ago, and just hanging out with me in general. We spent a few nights closing the bar with Mark Scioneaux and Andy Theundeadreview Taylor, watching the Hellraiser series with the TV on mute, which made the movies even better with our added drunken commentary.

Overall it was a fantastic experience, and has energized me to move forward. Since I've been back, I started working on critiquing stories for a workshop I will be attending at the Saints & Sinners Festival 9.5 in May. http://sasfest.org/ I've also finished a short story for it, am working on another two short stories, and am supposed to be rewriting my next novel from 1st person to 3rd. I'm definitely busy, but it's a kind of busy that I enjoy.

This will be my third May in New Orleans in a row, for the Saints & Sinners LitFest, and I have encountered heat, humidity, and extreme humidity in the form of rain and thunderstorms. I've learned to dress "accordingly." One of this year's "hot" runway looks is the Maxi Dress. A long dress that is usually made of thin, cotton, jersey. Very comfortable and versatile. I actually wore one to last year's Stoker Awards ceremony, but opted for a more traditional "cocktail" look this year. I've recently purchased one to bring along to NOLA again this year. I love the look and versality. Can be worn with a T-shirt underneath and belt. A summer tote, sun hat and sunglasses would complete the look.

One Week 'Til World Horror Convention 2012

There's only one more week until World Horror Convention 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah happens. I'm very much looking forward to this, and have already been told to get ready to sign some books.

A few weeks ago I finished Empire of Salt by Weston Ochse. It's a zombie novel that takes place in an area called the Salton Sea. Even though there were several typos in the beginning quarter of the story that threw me off, I continued to read, and have to say that I enjoyed it overall. The teenage, female protagonist was easy to relate to, as were most of the characters in the story. I believe the ending was left the way it was to make way for a sequel.

This past week I finished The Devil's Coattails anthology edited by Jason V. Brock and William F. Nolan. I have to say that I enjoyed this book and its stories very much. Not all of it was straight up horror, and every story had a nice literary bent that I really enjoyed reading. I highly recommend this book, and the artwork and hardcover book itself are exquisite.

Connected with the World Horror Convention this year is the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet. I have tickets to attend this. Last year it was in Long Island, New York and I had a great time. It's an opportunity to see all of the horror peeps dressed up. Which brings me to my next discussion. What to do if you had a dress you were planning to wear, but have gained some weight since then.

I generally run between a size 10 and a 12. So throughout the year, I purchase dresses in both of these sizes. My two favorite gown/dress designers are David Meister and Tadashi Shoji. Their dresses are generous and can usually "stretch" if need be. If I order a 10 I'm usually safe, and same way with a 12. The ruching techniques they use really give you a lot of flexibility. For the Stoker Banquet I am planning to wear a navy blue Tadashi Shoji dress with beadwork in the midsection. My shoes are navy blue Kate Spades with a black, sequined bow in the back which makes it easier to wear with sheer, black stockings. I just have to remember to walk slow and "dainty." During the day, I will be wearing cowboy boots, so the transition will take a little practice while I'm getting dressed.

I wish all of the Bram Stoker finalists the best of luck, and I can't wait to post all of the winners!

March Madness

The end of the month holds World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah from the 29th to the 1st of April, along with the Stoker Awards Banquet on the night of the 31st. I'm looking forward to seeing all of my old friends and making some new ones. My first published short story will also be making its debut there in the book, Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology. I'm very excited and honored to be among the fantastic authors in the TOC including Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Jeff Strand, Wrath James White, and so many more from the horror genre. It will make this convention even more special for me.

I recently finished The German, by Lee Thomas. It's by far the best book I've read this year. There are many layers to it that build slowly, then come together for a well told and beautifully written story. It's about a German man who fled to the United States after nearly being gunned down in WWII. He moves to a small town in Texas, keeps to himself mostly, and makes furniture. Brutal murders begin to occur and there is no evidence except for a note taunting the law, scribbled in German. With the war in full swing and many men abroad, it doesn't take long before the townspeople begin to segregrate and torment the German population. The main character included. I think what I enjoyed so much about this book was that The German (main character,) knew who he was, wasn't ashamed of it, and never backed down. He had a simple philosophy and that was how he lived his life, yet he couldn't get away from discrimination and hate. I thought the story ended well. Overall, I was very pleased.

I am currently reading, Empire of Salt, by Weston Ochse. Review to come soon.

On a fashion note, I've been trying to lean my bad habit of designer bags that are made from leather. Not that I'm completely against leather now, but I am no longer buying any items using real fur, and have never purchased anything made from exotic skins. Particularly when there are designers such as Stella McCartney who makes cool bags from anything but leather and fur. I may also start following the example from her website http://www.stellamccartney.com, and opt for "Meat Free Mondays." Being that I grew up partly on a farm, this will be very difficult, but I'm going to try. One day a week couldn't hurt. We'll see.

Fat Tuesday

As I posted on my Facebook wall--- "It's Fat Tuesday Bedelia, and I WANT MY King CAKE!" It's one of those favorite lines from a movie that I still use today. The movie/graphic novel was Creepshow, by Stephen King. When I was around eleven or twelve years old (not all that long ago, HA!) it was one of the movies my family watched together when you were able to rent a VCR for the weekend and a bunch of movies. My parents were on a horror movie kick so most of the movies we watched were in that genre. Although my parents no longer enjoy watching horror movies, they sparked my love for it and I haven't stopped watching/loving them since. I think watching horror movies makes me feel like there are worse situations I could be in and that's what draws me to them. Then I think about movies or shows I've seen and books I've read and think, hmm...what if this happened instead? and the characters were switched around? and they were in a big city? And that's how some of my ideas for novels come to life.

I recently read an unpublished novel by friend and colleague, JG Faherty that I enjoyed a lot despite the fact I didn't think I would, only because the topic matter was something I wouldn't normally choose to read about. But it was no surprise I enjoyed it considering his YA novel, The Ghosts of Coronado Bay is nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in the YA/Horror category. Here is the link to the full list of final nominees. http://www.horror.org/ A big congratulations to all of them. JG Faherty also has a book out that I've recently preordered titled, The Cold Spot from Darkfuse Publications. I'm looking forward to reading it. http://www.darkfuse.com/the-cold-spot-by-jg-faherty.html

I'm also in the process of reading Lee Thomas', The German, which I will blurb about when I'm done. It's also a Bram Stoker Award nominee and has really good reviews posted everywhere.

In fashion news, (my other love), NY Fashion Week ended a few days ago and I've been busy shopping the sales from previous seasons/years. One item that stood out for this season were these cool Prada shoes that seemed so unlike the brand. (Their spring/summer purse line was very unimpressive.) But these shoes! They're like Batman shoes, and a couple of them even come equipped with rocket boosters in the back. Although Italian-made shoes don't fit my big American feet so well, I'd almost consider the torture of wearing them for a few hours.

CAKE

http://youtu.be/__PU5CVSegg

"Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse..."

Today this old CAKE song pretty much sums up how I'm feeling. It doesn't matter how many times I go over a piece of my work, there's always that feeling of I'm not so sure it's all that good milling around. Don't know if there's anyway to get over that, but tomorrow I'm leaving the house, maybe catch a movie. Then it's time to get back to work on my next novel, a fantasy/horror/romance (but not really, because the lovers die) story that was a lot of fun to write when I started it over a year ago. It needs a lot of work, but the different will be a good change for me, I hope.

New Website's DONE (for now)

YAY! I'm SO glad my website is done. And thank you to the host site for making it fairly easy. It only took me two and a half days. I just wish there was a quicker way to download photos. All of this came about by a recommendation from a friend/fellow author, Lincoln Crisler. He essentially told me it needed some work like, "just make a new one." I'm sure he said it more directly, however ;-) Here's some thanks to him for getting me started on it. http://lincolncrisler.info/  Check him out, he's got some great stuff in the works.

Alas! It is a cloudy day today in Vegas. Very rare, and good working weather for me, but since I've been stuck in the house for the last few days working on the website, I'm heading out to do some fun stuff.

New Year, New Stuff

Yes, it's been nearly a year, or over a year since I've blogged, but I was busy. Not only did I move back to Las Vegas, I finally finished editing my novel and have it out for submission. I also finished a short story that will soon be published in Horror For Good: A Charitable Anthology. YAY! This will be my first published piece of work.

I will be at the World Horror Convention 2012, in Salt Lake City, Utah from March 29 thru April 1. Very much looking forward to it, visiting with old friends, and making new ones.

I'm also revamping my website with a little help from a friend. http://renamasonwrites.com Hope to be keeping this blog up to date as well.