NaNoWriMo, 2008

NaNoWriMo, 2008! I've been waiting for this all year. I'm giving it a go this year with my already titled THE MOON OF LYKAIA. I believe my user name is CD Allen, so if your doing NaNoWriMo this year, feel free to add me as a buddy.

Here I go...

Writing & More Writing... And Old Friends

AJ Brown. A good guy with lots of heart. While I was a part of the HL's workshop office at Zoetrope.com, I read a lot of blogs about writers writing horror. Or merely, writers trying to figure out how to better write through blogging about it and conversing with one another about it. If you continue to read them I'm sure you'll learn a lot. I'd doubt I could believably say that I didn't learn anything from them. But after reading them for some time, they sort of start saying the same thing over and over again and after awhile you just want to shoot yourself. But, I would suggest reading this. I kind of like AJ's blog this time. It sums a lot of my own feelings up on the matter.

* * *

Never heard of them, but they are intriguing me: http://gravesidetales.com/. I have this old (and yet unfinished novel) called Grave October Moon. It's based off my feature-length screenplay, which is adapted from my story Jack Straw. I don't have the original story due to one of those crashes where you have realized that you (the complete moron that you are) have not backed up your hard work enough in the last year, or possibly even longer.

It might, however, be fun to see if I can use what I have (the novel and screenplay) and see if I can rewrite that original short story. Why not? Right?

* * *

Just talked to an old friend, who I used to go to grade school with. Haven't seen him in more than eighteen or nineteen years. It's funny how just a voice can reawaken so many details of a life that seemed to have been lived long ago.

Jennifer's going to be home soon. I guess I have things to do.

Nicotine Demons

Wretched, awful, hate my day... bad. Good grief. Every day I've been thinking: I need a cigarette. But never have I really wanted one this freaking bad. Of course, part of it is my fault. Sort of, anyhow. I had to stop taking the Chantix for awhile because I was getting very sick between that and the pain meds for the surgery.

Hm. Wow. Anyway. Point is, I don't need the pain meds and that fiend, the nicotine demons are making me a living asshole. I'm jumpy and crazy and I've offended just about everybody today. Well, almost everybody. My dentist's receptionist learned I was a writer and she was very happy to talk about reading good books with me while I waited on the Doc.

Anyway. I won't have that cigarette. I'll refuse. But tomorrow morning I'm back on the Chantix.

Hel Hounds & Halloween

Just found this article on Norse Hel Hounds and werewolves. It's a scholastic piece of work, so it might be slow for some, but I found it fascinating.

* * *

Halloween is just around the corner. Chase (not to be confused with me: Chas) wants to go as a Banana and Taylor's a Gothic Vampiress. I'm designing Taylor's costume for fun, a mishmash of makeup styles and a costume not meant for the normal vampiress. Jennifer trusts me, I think.

* * *

Oh! And before I forget . . .
PHIL RICKMAN'S TO DREAM OF THE DEAD!

It's on Amazon, and I'm so there.

Kicken Butt

Mike Wever won first place at The Middle of Nowhere Film Festival for the three minutes category (staring me . . . hahahahahaha!). We were all very excited for him and the festival was fun.

TRADITIONAL THREE MINUTES AND LESS CATEGORY:
1st Place- $150 prize
"Man and Monster" by Mike Wever

I'm currently on several meds after my oral surgery and I'm really not feeling well, and am very tired. However, the swelling has gone down and I'm finding enough energy to do some writing/editing today. It feels good.

I also finished Gaiman's American Gods. I have to say that it was probably my favorite read this year. That guy IS a master storyteller and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.

Ghoul Season Begins

Yes! It's October. The countdown to probably my most favorite holiday: Halloween, All Hallow's Eve, Samhain... Plus, don't you just love the smell of cooling air tinged with, on the best of days, a bit of rain? Everything becomes colorful and you're usually through feeling like a sweaty pig. Well, it makes me want to sing and dance.

I re-worked my website at http://www.freewebs.com/cdallen/
so, if you're interested in seeing what I've done, I'd stop by and have a look.

Also, I'm proud to say I'm on my second day of having not one smoke. It's very hard. Even as I write this, my fingers itch for putting one between them, so I'm making it through each minute by chanting, "You're not a smoker anymore. You have those who love you. You have those you love. And Jennifer would kick your ass." That usually does it for about three minutes and then I have to repeat. That, or I eat. Luckily, I have a very fast metabolism. Hopefully it can keep up with me.

The hardest part about quitting smoking, for me, is what the hell do I do with my hands if they're not working the cigarette from lap to mouth? My answer: read. More reading never hurts. So I subscribed to a couple more magazines and picked up Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

American Gods. You know, I have never read Neil Gaiman. Not really. I collected his Sandman comics, which I loved, but after comics Mr. Gaiman put out a collection of short stories. Mike, a friend of mine, picked up the collection and read through them. He said, "Charles. I'm not liking any of this. I think Neil's a great comic book writer, but I don't think he can write narrative very well. At least, I'm not liking his style." Apparently that had an affect on me, because I never did read his book or anything else he's ever written (save comics and watching movies based off his work). Flash forward, I pick up a copy of American Gods, thinking about how badly I needed a cigarette, and took it home with me, still needing a cigarette, and started reading it, still needing a cigarette. Three hours later I'm still turning pages and suddenly realizing, I forgot I needed a cigarette. That and Jennifer's pissed because I forgot to take some time to finish the dishes. But that's a small grief. I was still happy that I bought a good book and it was taking me away from thinking about something I don't really want.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman, his The Graveyard Book is turning out to be a very cool story, too. I've been listening to it for free on audio, as they are coming out in like a serial audio/video. Check it out!

QUITTING ZOETROPE

I received a few question regarding my withdrawl from www.zoetrope.com and +The Horror Library+. I just wanted to point out that my reasons for doing so have nothing to do with anything that happened on Zoetrope. I have a lot of friends there (or one would like to imagine, anyhow), and it is a great place to rework your stories and network friends and colleagues. But my time has become very active. I used to go from day job, to Zoetrope, to writing, to bed and started the whole thing over again the next day. I was single (mostly) and had no other expectations of me. Now, I've gotten engaged to a wonderful woman, Jennifer, who also happens to have two kids: ten and eight. Now my time runs more like this: day job, clean/errands, make and have dinner, clean/errands, and then go to bed. I read during my breaks at work and perhaps have time to write a few notes for a story, but otherwise, I'm hardly doing either. I decided that on my days off, I need every spare second I can get toward writing. And I only get the morning. Starting at 1:00pm I'm making sure the house looks good so Jennifer doesn't have to worry about anything when she gets home. Then we make dinner. And then we spend time with the kids or work on our wedding plans.

That's all there is, really. It's nothing more than that.

Getting Gory & Other Cultural Stuff

Right. So...

I've been a little ill the last few days, which has slowed me down, but I'm getting a lot of work done on DD2. That's made Molly very happy. I'm also back to writing again, working on Usher's Wake, so near our half-way point that I can almost taste it.

Well, to make things interesting, I received a call last night from Jennifer's aunt, Gail, who informed me that an EMT is instructing a crisis class and needs more "bodies" for the students to check out and use first aid and/or CPR on. So, though I should be writing and cleaning house, I told her I'd be one of the bodies. She told me to be there early and they'll "make me up".

That's the weird thing about my life. I'm surrounded by people in the medical field. My mother was a nurse. Jennifer's mother is a nurse. (Our mothers were best friends since high school). Her Aunt Gail and Uncle Mike are local EMT and Jennifer is an x-ray tech. It's not surprising, of course, to hear at supper, something like: "There she was, dripping blood all over my scrubs from the shattered jaw while her snot is dangling in strings..." or something equally macabre. I've learned to have a strong stomach and try to put these images out of my mind during supper, but I'd also have to confess that in real life: yeah, I'd be sick. I'm a writer. I can imagine the stuff just fine. But don't put it in front of me.

But, it should be fun to get dressed up like a crisis victim. Maybe I'll take a few pictures while I'm there. I do have a morbid sense of humor. These should make fun keep-sakes.

Okay, I better go and get ready.

UPDATE: Okay, I'm back and cleaning house. But while the dishwasher runs I thought I'd share a few pics from the C.E.R.T class, where I sported some very bad burns on my arms.

Beth had glass sticking out of her arm...

And a gash in the other...

Tom had a nail in his shoulder...

Jennifer's aunt, Gail, is having her face painted up to be the shock victim. Unfortunately, she looked dead. I covered her up with boxes and told her that when the C.E.R.T students came in, she should jump up from the pile and scream bloody murder...

Gail also suggested that I become an EMT and gave me a long talk about it. She convinced me after some time, so I'll begin training in October.

The Niobrara Ponca tribe is having a Pow Wow this weekend. Did I tell you Jennifer also works with the mentally challenged? Well, she does - and they asked her to take some of her clients to the festival. I wasn't able to go, or rather, didn't think I was able to go, so I wasn't there, but Jennifer brought back some pics and a video of some of the ceremony.

Last, but not least, the video... (if it doesn't appear, check back later... Utube is probably still processing the video).

Creating Memories

Somebody asked me awhile back about videographing weddings, and I did mention that I have two good friends in the business. Mike Wever, one of my long-time best friends, and his wife, Crystal, run a studio in Lincoln, NE and are one of the best in town (and with great rates). Creating Memories Photography is where you want to go, if you happen to be getting married in Lincoln. Trust me, folks.

I've only helped with a couple weddings, but it was fun. I had a lot of people really happy with the results of some of my camera work - a very good thing to hear from you audience, you know?

Has anybody been enojoying Stephan King's N.? An audio-book like comic? That's a freaking awesome idea.

I'm a little late getting this one out, but have you seen this? Arthur C. Clarke, huh? One of the facts of life, getting older and watching all your heros die.

I'm also almost done with Mark Deloy's Life Suspended. I have to fit reading in between reading for DD2, work and family life, but I'm getting there. So far, all I can say is, Wow. It's fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I think a lot of people are going to like it (if you're not reading it already). If you'd like to get yourself a copy click here!

Alright, I'm off to bed . . .

Gehenna

So I was working on my new novel, tentatively titled The Raven of Azazel, where my MC, James Devon comes across a man with ants crawling all over him (possibly a demon), an allusion to the weird behavior of ravens doing the same for reasons scientists have yet to discover. And then I was thinking about how cool this would be if minor demons were doing this to some great arch-devil in hell. Though I'm somebody who shoots for more realistic settings and events before using fantastical ones, a part of me really wanted to interject that scene.

How? I have no idea... Maybe in a vision? Nah, too boring. Looks like I have some thinking to do.

Jonathan Coulton

Jonathan Coulton. Freaking hilarious.

Life Suspended

20 Years ago a rash of murders in the Outskirt Woods
held a town in the grip of fear. The killer, known only
as the Hangman, stopped as suddenly as he started
after a brush with three of the town's children, an
encounter that forever altered their lives and their
friendship. Now the Hangman has come back, forcing
the community to relive the nightmare one body at a
time. The three estranged friends are reunited in a
twisted tale of murder and mysticism.

Friend of mine and author of the macabre, Mark E Deloy, wrote a story that has been anticipated by horror fans for about a year now. It's first release, hardback versions, was disseminated at the HWA convention, but its publisher, Dark Recesses Press, has finally released the book in paperback. I bought the book last night and once it gets here I'll give it a review. For now, think about picking up your own copy. It's only $12.95 (+$3 for shipping, USD).

(Click the Pic to Buy Now!)

Liquid Imagination

Folks over at Steel Moon Publishing have given my friend, John Arthur Miller, some space for his new e-zine, Liquid Imagination.

In his own words...

Every story is fantasy weaving truth into fiction. This ezine is
dedicated to the Fantasy Genre: modern day faerie tales where
mortals fall in love with Fey; sirens of the high seas whose songs
stir sailors’ hearts; mortals finding themselves becoming
vampires or werewolves, or finding themselves entering new
impossible worlds co-existing beside our own; worlds of fantastic
realities ripped open within characters’ minds. Intermingling
within Liquid Imagination is emotion with the target being awe—
and if we miss the target perhaps we may come close.

So far the team consists also of Kevin Wallis (another editor) and Chrissy Davis (poetry editor).

It looks to be fun. I am writing a story for it now, so, if you have the time, stop by and check it out!

Whistle of Death & Other News

So I read a lot of anthropology articles online, and recently came across this: Whistle of Death. It's creepy. I love it.

Well, tomorrow's the 4th of July, so I'm excited. It's actually about good memories for me. My dad might have been abusive and terrible, but his favorite holiday was the 4th of July. It was the one day where he'd be there with us, sharing the excitement. I'd go into more details, but suffice to say,even after his death, I still have these memories that makes this holiday very special for me.

Luckily, I'll be sharing them with Jennifer this year. More memories to take with me. It feels wonderful.

Jennifer Today

So, here's the thing . . . I met this incredible girl, who I've known since we were both very young children. Her mother's my mother's best friend from high school, if you can dig that. Of course, as kids, we used to have sort of crushers on one another and I tend to have very fond memories of her. She says I ignored her, and that might be partially be true. I mean, I was kind of shy toward girls in early junior high school. But I digress - I've recently run into her again and we've developed a very romantic life together so far.

Jennifer. Though she won't believe it, she was inspiration of Dr. James Devon's wife by the same name. Though Devon's wife dies (to her dismay), I wanted somebody who could really touch people before she went. Jennifer. That's who I chose.

Now I've chosen her as a friend, romantic and perhaps future . . . Well, we'll keep our secrets for now.

RECENT MOVIE

Stardust. ****1/2 The best film so far adapted by Neil Gaiman from his own work by the same name. Beautiful. Haunting. Pure Gaiman, at his best.

RECENT BOOK

I'm slowly making it through yet another textbook on archaeology. Can't help it.

"The Rector House" Reviews

Reviews for The Rector House, found in Dark Distortions.

The anthology, Dark Distortions, by Scotopia Press is already doing very well with critics from several sites, so it may come as no surprise that many of its stories are very good. Amongst them, my short novella, The Rector House, is getting some good praise, so I'm very happy about that (of course).

C.D. Allen's “The Rector House” is a truly powerful, Lovecraftian-influenced Victorian tale . . . Delightfully sinister and a touch maddening, as a classic tale should be.

~Michele Lee, The Fix (www.thefix-online.com)


The best of the bunch comes from C.D. Allen, who co-edited the entire volume with Molly Feese; his “The Rector House” is an old-school horror show in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft, with a man who has no family suddenly learns he does, and travels to the big, spooky manse in which they live to discover their secrets. They number quite a few, all of them repulsive. I’d deem it [nearly] flawless . . .

~Rodd Lott, Bookgasm (www.bookgasm.com)

FURTHER NEWS

~Untitled Film?~
It's funny, but I'll be working on a film this weekend that I don't know the title of. It's a two-day bit I've got to play, but I know it'll be directed by my good friend, Mike Wever, si I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it.

~Speaking of Films...~
The Middle of Nowhere Film Festival may seem far off for most people, but for filmmakers, it's just around the corner. While Mike is planning to produce and direct my short script, At God's Hand (though he won't be shooting this film for the festivals, as he hopes to spend more time in pre-production on it), I've been diligently working on a new script that I plan on producing and directing, The Devil's Nest. Last week my girlfriend, Jennifer, drove me out to this place with the same name and recounted a great ghost story that took place out there. Before we'd driven home, I had a whole new film wrapped up in my head. I typed the sucker out and hope to get Mike to edit it as soon as I can. Hopefully, with any luck, I'll be shooting it this summer at the real Devil's Nest.. But we'll see.

Dark Distortions Submissions Ending Soon

Just so you know, June 30^th, 2008 is when Scotopia Press is closing their submissions for Dark Distortions, volume 2. However, FrightScripts has one more spot for a novella.

If you'd like to submit to either of these anthologies visit out website at www.scotopiapress.com.

The Horror of It All

Here we go. I had to eventually get a blog going, which is a lot easier than maintaining a website anyhow. If you're interested in knowing who I am, I'm a suspense writer, sometimes horror writer, and an editor of Scotopia Press.

Our current book is being released, Dark Distortions, which is getting great reviews. We're now working on DD2 and are closing submissions at the end of this month.

Stop by www.scotopiapress.com to get your copy now!