Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot Listing
My essay, “Cullzathro Fhtagn! Magnifying the Carnivalesque in Lovecraft Through the Comic Book Series Vinegar Teeth,” has made the preliminary Bram Stoker Award ballot in the short non-fiction category. Note: this does not denote I am nominated or a finalist. It simply means I am on the preliminary ballot and have a 50% chance to advance to the final ballot.
Active and Lifetime members of the Horror Writers Association who would like to read my essay for final ballot consideration (which closes February 15th) you can find it online at Academia.edu. Note: if there is a big ad in the way taking up the screen, just hit the X at the top right. Academia.edu is silly that way.
New Issue of Exotica Moderne
Issue fourteen of Exotica Moderne is now out!
This issue contains my interview with New Zealand stockings/pinup model Miss Corsair Debonair and it can be purchased at the House of Tabu website.
Things in the Well Closing Shop
Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:
- Trickster’s Treats #3: The Seven Deadly Sins which contains my story “Journey to Agharti”
- Guilty Pleasures and Other Dark Delights which contains my story “Seamed Stocking Summoning Circle”
Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.
Highlander Call for Papers
Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.
If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of.
Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP
Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.
Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.
General Neo-Peplum News
Rest in Peplum
Monica Vitti, who stared in many, many Italian auteur films, passed away at the age of 90 (article at CNN.com).
She starred in the Medieval peplum/comedy film On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who… which is also known as The Chastity Belt.
The Sword and the Sorcerer Release
Shout Factory announced they are doing a 4K/Blu-ray release of the Albert Pyun sword and sorcery film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, which is slated for a March 15th release.
I actually have not seen this film since most older releases are way OOP so you better believe I pre-ordered this. Side note: I dig Albert Pyun films, with Cyborg and Nemesis being my favorites.
Zeus Super Bowl Commerical
I’m always down for some neo-peplum commercials (anyone remember the Gladiator/Jif one from last year?)
Per Cinema Blend, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek will star as Zeus and Hera respectively in a series of Super Bowl ads for BMW.
Recent Acquisitions
I love buying art prints and getting commissions done when at comic books cons. I’ve made lots of friends over the years going to cons and I’ve accumulated quite a bit of art!
I was only passingly familiar with Les Edwards, due to him doing the cover art of Hero Quest, but I am certain I’ve seen his sword and sorcery artwork in other places. Recently, I am not sure where, but I saw his art piece, The Invocation, and I was just mesmerized by it. Simply a beautiful piece. Yes, there is a naked lady featured prominently, but the sky in the background – I am always in awe in powerful skies. When I see a cloud filled sky, be it ominous with storm clouds or full of huge, puffy white ones, I get that feeling of “something big is coming.” The Invocation does that.
Anywho, turns out Edwards has a website and sells prints of his work. So, I ordered a print of The Invocation.
Even autographed to me. I love it.
On Sunday Michele and I went to Half Price Books (we had not been in a while) to scour material for some of our respective projects.
I may double dipped on that Historic Epics boxset, but if I did, it’s in an inaccessible box. For sure though I didn’t have that Hail, Caesar! soundtrack. Coen Brothers films usually have fantastic soundtracks, and since Hail, Caesar! is a fantastic neo-peplum and one of the source films that launched The New Peplum, I had to pluck it up.