Tag: Bella Cortez

Personal / Website News

Nylon Nightcap #1 Review

My first website content for 2025! I dig Bachelor Pad Magazine, and I love stockings and nylons, so I was totally excited when they announced they were going to start a new line called Nylon Nightcap. When announced, I pre-ordered a copy immediately, and it is a fantastic issue.

I’d like to do what I can to help get the word out about this issue, so I’ve done a write up about it and included quotations from Jason “Java” Croft, Miss Corsair Debonair, and Miss Penelope Pink. Check out my write up here!

Burroughs Bulletin #109

I have not one, not two, but three publication announcements!

Firstly, as part of Michele and my retrospective of the peplum work of Bella Cortez that we did in 2024, I conducted an interview with Cortez about her work on the Italian Tarzan knock off, Taur the Mighty (1963).

This interview has now been published in issue 109 of The Burroughs Bulletin, the journal of the Burroughs Bibliophiles. This is my first time being published in the journal and I am super excited.

Sincere appreciation to Cortez for her time in being part of this interview.

For more information on the Burroughs Bibliophiles, how to join, and how to get copies of the Bulletins, check out https://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com or contact editor Henry Franke III at BurroughsBibliophiles AT gmail.com.

Merry Creepsmas

I have a sword & sorcery dark comedy/horror short story appearance in the anthology Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book from Wicked Shadow Press. My story is called “There’s Always Room.”

This is actually a short story I wrote 8-9 years ago for a different Christmas themed anthology that didn’t get accepted. The story has been in my repertoire for all this time, and when I saw this call for story submissions, I thought why not dust off the story, spruce it up a bit, and submit. Chuffed that it was accepted!

The anthology is available as an ebook and a print-on-demand title.

Panthans Journal #333

The newest issue of the The National Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a re-print of my review of The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #3.

Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journal is a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.

Podcast Stuff

HP Lovecast Podcast is still going, we’re just a bit erratic about it. We will have an episode for The Prophecy up, and we’ll be exploring doing some shorter comic-book reviews in between bigger episodes, perhaps resurrect the old Fragments line.

BlogTalkRadio shut down in January. This means all the podcasts I appeared on (Voice of Olympus, Chatting with Sherri) are no longer available, which is unfortunately. However, I have saved all my appearances as mp3s. I’ll be looking into having them edits and published elsewhere (with permission), perhaps at Archive.org or another venue.

This past week I’ve been a guest on Fan2Fan and also on the Castle of Horror Podcast. Stay tuned for when those become published online.

Michele is also cranking out episode of her Ride the Stream vidcast with Travis Lakata. She’s also done an episode of Fan2Fan as well.

So, we are both still heavy in the world of vidcasting and podcasting. We are just kind of all over the map now. As always, if you’d like me a guest on your podcast or vidcast, do reach out! I love appearing on other folks’ shows.

ECOF 2025

In September of 2025 there will be an Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) event down in Willcox, AZ. This event is to celebrate the 150th birthday of Burroughs while also honoring him with a plaque in the town due to his stationing with there the 7th U.S. Calvary in the 1890s. (Note: another ERB convention was held in Willcox back in 2019 and an event recap of that can be read at ERBZine #7059).

Here is a flyer for the 2025 event:

I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. Michele and I will be in attendance for this convention, so I’ve added it to the appearances section of my website as well. 

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2025.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Horror Studies Now 2025

Horror Studies Now: A Two-Day Conference (29-30 May 2025, Northumbria University, UK)

Researchers working in the broad field of “Horror Studies”, are invited to submit abstracts about their research for an in-person conference, hosted by the Horror Studies Research Group at Northumbria University, on 29-30 May 2025. 

Speakers will each deliver a 15-minute talk about their research, followed by extended discussion and questions from the conference delegation. We welcome submissions from scholars at any career stage, but are particularly open to hearing from early career researchers and new voices in the field. The event is intended to provide a welcoming space in which to develop ideas, network, and forge collaborations with fellow Horror Studies researchers. 

The event seeks to explore areas and approaches that have not yet been adequately accounted for or represented in the field, encompassing (but not limited to): 

• The diversity of perspectives, identities, and voices that comprise Horror Studies and horror production 
• Independent horror production, alternative histories, and horror produced outside of Europe and North America  
• The field’s methodological richness, including archival approaches, audience research, practice-based research, and new theoretical perspectives 
• The breadth of cultural perspectives that inform Horror Studies and horror media 
• Papers that address horror in all its media forms including games, film, comics, music, social media, television, literature, art, and so forth 

We seek to foreground scholarly excellence within the field by embracing a wide range of approaches, confronting representational biases within the canon, highlighting strategies to counter these biases, and contributing to a more diverse and inclusive academic landscape. We encourage and welcome expressions of interest from members of the global majority and people from underrepresented or marginalised groups. 

Special guests include: 

• Dr Cüneyt Çakırlar (Nottingham Trent University; editor of Transnational Horror: Folklore, Genre and Cultural Politics [Liverpool University Press, 2025]) 
• Dr Maxine Gee (Bournemouth University; screenwriter of short film Standing Woman [2020] and web series Tales of Bacon [2018]) 
• Professor Maisha L Wester (University of Sheffield/Indiana University, Bloomington; author of African American Gothic in the Era of Black Lives Matter [Cambridge University Press, 2025]) 

The deadline for abstracts (of 250 words) is 23:59 (GMT) Friday 14 March 2025. Abstracts should be accompanied by a biographical statement (of 50-100 words) and submitted at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/FgdAxxxWxy.  

A small fee will be required to attend to cover catering expenses; however, we are striving to keep this cost as low as possible. All speakers, unless they choose to decline, will have their work considered for the new Peter Hutchings Award for Outstanding Contribution to Horror Studies. The award includes a certificate for the winner and a publication (subject to revision) in Studies in the Fantastic. 

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their proposal within 14 days of the deadline. Any questions should be directed to horrorstudies@northumbria.ac.uk 

The Horror Studies Research Group at Northumbria: Northumbria University is internationally renowned as the home of horror scholarship. This research specialism was founded by our late Professor Peter Hutchings, and the Horror Studies Research Group formalises Northumbria’s concentration of experts in this area. Our core team are widely recognised as leaders in this area, publishing field-defining monographs, presenting keynote lectures at major conferences, delivering talks at numerous European film festivals, holding positions on the editorial boards of the field’s primary book series and winning major research grants. Our global reputation for research excellence in Horror Studies is further proliferated by our many genre-based PhDs and alumni.  

Dracula: A Companion

Dracula: A Companion is intended to both be an essential guide to interpreting Bram Stoker’s Dracula and a collection of new perspectives supporting a reshaping of the way the text is taught and engaged with by students.

Fundamental to the approach of this companion is placing the text at the epicentre of its own cultural afterlife and pop culture status. Beginning with the novel’s inception and influences, Dracula is positioned as a ‘spark’ that ignited the character’s enduring popularity and presence across the globe. From here, the familiar topics the novel is understood through will see novel perspectives, accounting not only for new and exciting research, but exploring how Dracula’s immortality stems from how it can be subjected to new approaches, showcasing the versatility of the book, and its continued capacity to lend itself to readings that speak of topical cultural concerns.

The final sections prioritise the way the text has been reshaped to suit contemporary audiences, distanced from the ‘original’ novel through adaptation and literary pastiche. Every ‘version’ of Dracula has the potential to be someone’s first encounter with the character, and may be what they think of when hearing the name. By giving this aspect a clear focus it establishes to students and readers alike that ‘Dracula’ is not contained within the novel, but has become a myth recognised across the globe.

We kindly request abstracts of no more than 250 words for either full essay style chapters of 4,500 words or shorter case studies focusing on individual texts of approx 2000 words. We are also open to further ideas, suggestions, and questions. The deadline for abstracts is Monday March 31st 2025. Full contributions are expected to be due at the end of Summer 2025.

Please email abstracts or any other enquiries to madeline.potter@ed.ac.uk & m.crofts@hull.ac.uk

Potential topics (but by no means limited to):

• Theatrical Influences on the novel’s form Historical influences
• Transylvania as a mosaic (Hungarian and Irish Parallelism)
• Stoker: a biographical reading
• Global Dracula Stoker’s own travels
• Dracula in translation
• New perspectives on sexuality: LGBTQA+ readings/drag
• New scientific & medical readingsNew perspectives on race
• Romany enslavement
• Dracula as Sensation fiction/Victorian popular fiction
• Publishing practices
• Reception of Dracula
• Reading Dracula as a werewolf text
• Neo-Victorian readings
• Wider cultural understanding of Dracula [Intended as shorter chapters, akin to case studies of texts]
• Dracula adaptations, appropriations and pastiches
• Neglected adaptations (eg. The Claes Bang/Gatiss version, The 1977 Louis Jourdan version)
• Neglected adaptations from non-anglo/American countries
• Non-Western Draculas
• Dracula for children: eg. Hotel Transylvania eg. Count Duckula
• Dracula games (computer and table-top)
• Dracula in New Media & Fandom

Twenty-First Century Neo-Victorian Gothic: Deviance and Transgression on Page and Screen

For a volume in the Genre Fiction and Film Companion series published by Peter Lang Oxford, we solicit papers on the topic of Neo-Victorian Gothic literature and film adaptation in the twenty-first century.

Neo-Victorian Gothic represents a contemporary revival of Gothic themes, often exploring deviance and transgression in the context of Victorian society as a challenge to the rigid structures imposed by
Victorian society and a re-examination of marginalized voices and experiences. This genre not only revisits the aesthetic and narrative structures of the Gothic, but also critiques and reinterprets the
cultural anxieties of both the Victorian and modern societies. Neo-Victorian texts frequently engage with themes of sexual and social deviance thus reflecting on contemporary concerns about identity,
gender roles, and morality too.

The neo-Victorian Gothic critiques historical injustices, especially regarding gender inequality, violence, sexual transgression, and neurodiversity through intricately weaving together themes of
deviance and transgression, with a critical lens on both Victorian history and contemporary culture. By revisiting Gothic conventions such as encounters with the uncanny in all its manifestations, with
ghosts and the doppelgënger, neo-Victorian works illuminate the persistent shadows of social constraints and anxiety while advocating for a deeper understanding of identity and morality in both
past and present contexts. Moreover, the genre heavily relies on intertextual references to Victorian literature, thus drawing parallels between the past and the present and reflecting on the continuity of
certain social issues across time.

While aware of the many renowned masterpieces of neo-Victorian Gothic literature from the previous century, the proposed volume will explore how our twenty-first century engages with the topics of
deviance and transgression. Will Self’s Dorian, An Imitation (2002), Julian Barnes’ Arthur and George (2005), Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale (2006), John Harding’s Florence and Giles
(2010), Rosie Garland’s The Palace of Curiosities (2013), Gregory Blake Smith’s The Maze at Windermere (2018), Nell Stevens’ Briefly, A Delicious Life (2022) are some of the many novels published in the past twenty-odd years. What is more, neo-Victorian novels are frequently adapted for the screen: for example, the novels of Sarah Waters’ Tipping the Velvet (2002), Fingersmith (2005),
Affinity (2008) and Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White (2011) or more recent productions such as Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films, and TV series like Sherlock, Ripper Street,
Whitechapel, and Penny Dreadful. The Companion will therefore revisit the issues of deviance and transgression as embodied in literary texts and adaptations in the context of the challenges set by the contemporary reading audiences and viewers.

Please send abstracts of about 300 words and short bios for consideration by 1 April 2025 to Prof. Rossie Artemis at: artemis.r@unic.ac.cy

Authors will be notified about the status of their proposals by 1 May 2025, and the first drafts of essays (about 4500 words) will be expected by 1 November 2025.

For more information about Peter Lang’s Genre Fiction and Film Companion series, please visit: https://www.peterlang.com/series/gffc

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.

Rest in peplum David Lynch

David Lynch passed away last month, and he deserves as rest in peplum (Dune is sword and planet enough for me!). Lynch is one of my all time favorite directors, and many of his films, especially Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, had a huge impact on my and my appreciation of cinema as a whole. I’d like to recap some of my Lynch thoughts, my exposure to his work, and share some of my Lynch treasures.

The first David Lynch movie I ever saw was Lost Highway. This was in the late 90s and I checked it out because I was a hardcore Rammstein fan at the time and Rammstein was in the soundtrack.

I recall renting the movie on VHS and watching it, and my dad walked in and decided to sit down and give it a watch too. And then Patricia Arquette pops on screen and does a striptease. Awkward!

It was a surreal movie, and I didn’t know too much about film noir at the time, but I remember enjoying it! The soundtrack was rocking, Bill Pullman was fresh of ID4 and he ruled, and the movie was mysterious and interesting. I was a fan!

Years later Michele and I would meet actor Greg Travis, who played the aggressive motorist who gets beat up, at a convention were he autographed my DVD of Lost Highway (and Michele’s copy of Starship Troopers).

Years later Mulholland Drive came out. I was a student working on my bachelors and I was hyped about this film. This was the agonizing days of waiting months and months for a film to be released on DVD after it had been released in theaters.

I watched Mulholland Drive and it was basically Lost Highway done even better. The noir elements, the erotic elements, the recreation of people into other people. While Lost Highway had a “distance” to it, Mulholland Drive was more emotional. I was a super fan of it immediately.

At a different convention Michele and I met Rena Riffel, perhaps better known for her appearance in Showgirls and various women-in-prison films by Lloyd A. Simandl. She had a small part in Mulholland Drive where she is under the employ of the seedy Mark Pellegrino. I was so happy we got to meet her and she signed my Mulholland Drive DVD.

After Mulholland Drive I was pretty much a Lynch convert and watched nearly all of his movies. I dug Elephant Man. I could never get through Dune. I don’t recall Wild at Heart too well unfortunately. Blue Velvet was amazing. I have a Twin Peaks boxset, but have been afraid to dive into it unfortunately.

In the late 2000s there was a Twin Peaks anniversary convention at the Hollywood Collectors show that Michele and I went to and met lots of awesome actors and actresses.

I met Jennifer Lynch who signed the documentary she did about her father’s painting, Pretty as a Picture.

Jennifer, Charlotte Stewart, and Catherine E. Coulson all signed my Eraserhead boxset. This boxset I purchased from Scarecrow Video up in Seattle. Eraserhead is, well, it’s an odd film. It’s surreal, and I dug it, but nowhere near the level of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. But I appreciate the hell out of it.

Notice the little squiggly face by the vertical 2000 on the right side? That’s Jack Nance. When Coulson signed my DVD, she closed her eyes and reached out to the long departed Nance, who guided her to draw his face. I was so flattered she did that. RIP to Coulson who sadly passed away 10 years ago.

One other artifact I was to share is this boxset of Dumbland. It’s in the same dimensions as the Eraserhead boxset, so I believe it was put out by the same company. This boxset I also bought at Scarecrow (plug: hear me talk about Scarecrow Video at the Fan2Fan podcast!)

I remember watching this and thinking… well.. that’s David Lynch for you!

One last note, my friends over at the Fan2Fan Podcast have dropped a new episode, and it is on Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Give it a listen!

Ride the Stream Vidcast Episodes

Michele and Travis have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream vidcast online at YouTube. They dive into the next few episodes of Lost.

Here is their discussion of episode five of season 1:

And their discussion of episode 6:

Ride the Stream can be followed on Bluesky.

Jungle Scandals Kickstarter

J. Manfred Weichsel (whom I interviewed about their anthology, Sword & Scandal, which can be read here) has a new Kickstarter up.

This campaign is to finance the second book in his Scandal line, Jungle Scandals. Check out the campaign here and consider supporting!