Writer & Editor
Much is made of the differences in tone between J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and its eventual sequel, The Lord of the Rings. One was written for children, the other clearly was not. But what is the defining characteristic of Tolkien’s epic (and there may be more than one) that sets it apart from its child-friendly origins?
I’d venture to say it’s that Tolkien brings horror to Middle-earth.
There are some childhood fears we outgrow, but some still have the power to terrify us.
Terror through the eyes of a child is the focus of the first anthology of short stories from Sirens Call Publications, Childhood Nightmares: Under the Bed.
Included are stories by Julianne Snow, Colin F. Barnes, Nina D’Arcangela (who also worked on the production of the book), Phil Hickes, Amber Keller, Kim Krodel, Lisamarie Lamb, John McIlveen, Kate Monroe, Brandon Scott, Joshua Skye, and Jack Wallen. Roughly half had previously been published through Sirens Call.
Most are from the child’s perspective, though the fears of adults are woven into the stories as well. In Wallen’s “Forgotten,” parental guilt is inextricably linked to a child’s ghostly encounter. In Snow’s “Madeleine,” a child’s night terrors cause her mother increasing concern until a great-aunt provides an unorthodox solution.
Kalla Monahan and Nina D’Arcangela both read submissions and were involved in the editorial process behind the collection.
“No one experiences horror like a child,” says D’Arcangela.
Well, many of us predicted it: Rachel Deering managed to get to $20,000 in pledges for her Kickstarter campaign to fund the remaining five issues of her “lesbian werewolf epic,” Anathema. A huge and hearty congratulations to her.
Now comes the hard part. I don’t mean the writing, lettering and publishing, which Rachel will undertake (though the publishing duties have now been picked up by Comix Tribe — a huge coup for Rachel). No, the challenge now is to ensure the total stays above that mark until the campaign closes on April 30. If any pledges are reduced, bringing the total below $20,000, none of the money is collected.
That’s already happened once — for a very understandable reason. One prospective donor who had pledged $1,000 reduced it to $45 upon learning he would soon have a baby to support. Great news for the donor, on which Rachel and other pledgers offered congratulations; but a snag in the fundraising all the same.
I had no idea when I first wrote about Underworld during a stint as movie reviewer for Uptown Magazine that the movie would spawn a four-movie franchise, the latest of which, Underworld: Awakening, hit theatres in March this year.
I’m afraid I never got past the sequel. This first instalment had its moments (few and far between) but the second, despite Derek Jacobi doing his best Hunt For Red October riff as a sub captain hunting paranormals (if you’re saying “huh?” I say: exactly), was a hot mess. And that’s kind of unfair to words denoting temperature and chaos.
Creating your own comic book series can be an all-or-nothing endeavour. Just ask Rachel Deering, the woman behind Anathema.
Telling the story of Mercy Barlowe, a woman whose lover, Sarah, is burnt at the stake for being a lesbian, the first issue shows us how Mercy seeks out supernatural help to rescue Sarah’s soul from a sinister cult. (You can read the As You Were interview with Rachel on her career and her own experience with homophobia here.)
Hoo boy, it’s going to be a busy week here at As You Were. We will of course be celebrating Werewolf Wednesday on said day, but we have another guest post coming up, this time courtesy of prolific horror writer and editor (and metal fan) Armand Rosamilia.
On Wednesday, we’ll be looking at the top werewolf tunes out there. Yes, I know you all have your opinions and will be full of outrage that I gave your favourite short shrift.
Don’t worry, you can have your say, too! I’ll be posting my first-ever poll on Wednesday, so you can weigh in and vote (and, if I’ve done it correctly, add your own favourite) for the best werewolf song.
Despite what you might think, I was able to pull together a list BEYOND Ozzy’s “Bark At the Moon” — and turned up some selections that may surprise you.
Then, without even blinking, Thursday will feature Armand’s guest post as part of his Dying Days zombie blog tour. But since he knows of As You Were’s affinity for the heavier side of music, he’ll be devoting his post to the known and lesser-known hard-working women in metal, which is the subject of another of his book series, Metal Queens. Not enough, you say? Well Armand will also be giving away two ebook volumes of Metal Queens as part of the post — making this the first giveaway ever on As You Were. It’s a week of firsts!
So: don’t forget to stop back on Wednesday for some great (and diverse) lycanthropic music, and then return Thursday for some metal madness. Metal horns: m/
