FEED BACK?
Write Us:

Feo Amante
Be sure to write:
Feo Reader
in the subject line else you may be bounced like JunkeMail

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER 28

Only a few days left in the month, but why stop putting up new stuff now? Read our reviews of MARILYN MANSON: OMEGA AND THE MECHANICAL ANIMALS and LAST TOUR ON EARTH. Then check out our reviews of MARDUK: PANZER DIVISION and their OBEDIENCE ep.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 25

Report by E.C.McMullen Jr.
BRIAN KEENE SELLS JOBS IN HELL
Welp, Brian told me he was going to sell it - Kelly Laymon told me she was going to buy it, and now the deed's been done!

In issue #99 of JOBS IN HELL, Brian "Saten" Keene offically announces his "turning over of the reigns to Kelly Laymon.

"The new owner is exactly what I was looking for," says Brian.

Notice he said "what I was looking for" and not "who I was looking for"?

Brian is doing this because, like Brett Savory retiring from CHIAROSCURO in 2000, he needs to spend more time writing and less time running the wildly popular newsletter.

Come October, Jobs In Hell will be celebrating its 3 year anniversary. Jobs In Hell is a profitable e-mail newsletter and one of the very few successful ones in the market.

Kelly Laymon will take over this run away train come JIH #138.

I spoke to Kelly Laymon who had this to say:

"Well, yeah, I'm gonna take it over."

We can all only speculate as to what that horrid little twist will do once she is in charge!

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY PICKS PICCIRILLI
Tom Piccirilli wrote to tell us that Publisher's Weekly gave his new novel, A LOWER DEEP (Leisure) a rave review. Publisher's Weekly almost never review a paperback - they must have been fooled by the unbound galleys they received into thinking that the new novel would be a hardcover.

HA! Neat trick!

How many times will it work?

Tom's book won't be ready for purchase until mid-October, but P.W. says: "This tale is not for the fainthearted; there's enough bloodletting and hellish savagery here to give even the most hardened horror fans the creeps."

If that's what blows yer skirt up, fine! But don't go and blame us for yer nightmares! You was warned!

Winners of this year's awards were as follows:
THE AUGUST DERLETH AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
Perdido Street Station, China Miéville (Macmillan)
ANTHOLOGY
Hideous Progeny, Brian Willis, ed. (Razorblade Press)
COLLECTION
Where the Bodies Are Buried, Kim Newman (Alchemy Press/Airgedlámh Publications)
SHORT FICTION
"Naming of Parts," Tim Lebbon (PS Publishing)
ARTIST
Jim Burns
SMALL PRESS
PS Publishing
KARL EDWARD WAGNER AWARD
Peter Haining

Congratulations to all!

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 24

Report by Judi Rohrig
GORMAN GETS HIS STICK OUT OF THE MUD
Author Ed Gorman has finally taken the plunge with his own website! Brand spanking new on the Internet is Ed's new home (which, of course, he shares with Mystery Scene Magazine!) edgormanonline.com.

Ed's just finished writing his fourth offering in the Sam McCain mystery series with SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME. Says Ed about the new book (this time named for the old Connie Francis tune): "As usual there's a two-track plot, the A story involving (there was such a sect in Iowa at one time) a religion that incorporated rattlesnakes in their ceremonies - if the rattlers didn't bite you, you were free of sin - while the B plot involves the anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic feelings John Kennedy's run for office evoked in both the South and the Midwest (the far-right saw Kennedy has a stalking horse for the Jewish Conspiracy). Sam has a new love interest in this one - my favorite girl so far." Updates on his other works are also available at the site.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 23

LEE CUSHING TRAVELS
HARRY SHANNON TAKES ADVANTAGE OF FEO AMANTE
See, every writer who has ever asked has been told: Story Time is here to promote Writers. Its a cinch that folks wouldn't come to this site (1,500,000+ hits for 2001 Yippie!) if there wasn't all this swell stuff to learn about regarding their favorite subjects, Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and Suspense. Now some folks know how to take advantage of that, and some folks don't.

I mean, there's a LOT of sites out there that will tell you about the latest Stephen King or Anne Rice novel. But those only come out annually at best and thus, only go so far.

For visitors who want to know what ELSE is going on in their favorite fiction, the writers need to drop us a word or two here. Some don't, some do, and some are just shameless about self-promotion like Harry Shannon (BAD SEED) here. Photo captions are by Harry Shannon.

These are from Dark Delicacies (the famous horror book store here in Burbank) on Saturday, September 22nd. I'm the Kenny Roger's look-alike. The signing also included Dennis Etchison and the distinguished fellow in the photo with John Turi and I: William F. Nolan (author of "Logan's Run").

This was set up by John Turi of Medium Rare Books, the goateed dude with black hair who is sitting next to me. John published my first collection and authored the new poetry/prose release SORROW.

I want to personally give a shout to the excellent Dark Delicacies Bookstore in Burbank - which needs to be a part of any fan's tour of the Los Angeles area. The place is just so COOL!

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 22

JOHNNY CRAIG GOES TO THE CRYPT
Johnny Craig, the influential Horror artist at EC Comics back in the 1940s and 50s, died last week.

Johnny started with EC Comics in 1947. He later edited VAULT OF HORROR as well as wrote and drew stories for it. One of his most infamous covers featured a cleaver split head. It was used in fact, as evidence during the Congressional Hearings against comics and later featured in "Dr." Fredric Wertham's book SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT.

Johnny also drew and wrote for TALES FROM THE CRYPT, whose popularity endures to this day, having been made into several movies and a popular HBO television show.

In the 1960s and 70s, Johnny Craig, under the psuedonym Jay Taycee (Ray Trace - Jay Taycee - get it?), wrote and drew for EERIE and CREEPY Comics, which were the slick magazine formats that spawned the careers of Richard Corbin, Frank Frazetta, and others. These magazines were not only under the same publishing house that printed Vampirilla, they also inspired foreign magazines like METAL HURLANT (Screaming Metal) in France, which went on to spawn HEAVY METAL magazine in the U.S.

He stopped working during the 1980s, but his stories and art, in anthologies and reprints, lives on.

His work was considered complex, dark, and cerebral, and never talked down to the reader or relied on contrived or snap endings. Craig enriched the Horror and Thriller genres as we know them today.

Johnny Craig: 1926 - 2001

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 21, 2001

September focus on old reviews of KMFDM. Why? Because the band, which changed their name to MDFMK to get out of contractual obligaitons and hassles with their old record/disc company, now have the rights to their original name. That's right, yall, KMFDM is BACK!

So here are some old reviews of ADIOS, AGOGO, and RETRO.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 20

Report by Judi Rohrig
CLEGG'S OCTOBERFEST ON THE INFINITE HIGHWAY
Douglas Clegg wants you to make a few circles on your calendars and get those unsigned books ready because sometime during the next few weeks, he may be heading to a town near you!

The author of HALLOWEEN MAN, YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU, and NAOMI will be filling his gas tank and heading out from the East Coast in search of "America at the dawn of the 21st century."

"I'm calling this my Indie 5000 Tour," Clegg said. "Because I'll primarily visit indie stores. I will drop in at other outlets that carry my books, but my focus, time and energy for this one will be on independents.

"Plus, I'll put a minimum of 5000 miles on my car. Probably more like 7,000, but 'Indie 5000' sounds better."

And as he travels, Clegg will be keeping a "Road Diary from the end of September on through November whenever I visit a store."

So where exactly is he headed? Says Clegg: "New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, Texas (it's so big, I had to write it here twice), Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and on up.

"Yes, I'll also hit a few other states. Mainly because the driving tour will not just begin and end when I want it to."

Here's a tentative schedule of event/signing stops:

Sunday, September 30, 2001 - 3:00 p.m. at The Book Room on Grove in Jersey City, NJ

Friday, October 12, 2001- 7 p.m. at Stars Our Destination Bookstore in Evanston, IL

Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 3 p.m. at Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 21, 2001- No time listed at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, CA

Friday, October 26, 2001 - 7 p.m. at Dark Delicacies Bookstore in Burbank, CA

Sunday, October 27, 2001 - 7 p.m. in a pajama party booksigning at Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA. (Clegg note: "I hope you all wear pajamas. No birthdays suits. Wait, birthday suits are welcome.")

Sunday, November 4, 2001 - 2 p.m. at Adventures in Crime and Space in Austin, TX Saturday, November 11, 2001 - No time listed yet at Creatures 'n Crooks Bookshoppe in Richmond, VA Adds Clegg: "Because I'm driving, and I want to visit more bookstores than would be possible if I only did booksignings, I have to keep these signings to a minimum. However, once I've visited a bookstore and signed the stock at the store, I'll post where the stores are at my website, douglasclegg.com. so you can find them if you want a signed book."

Booksense, the website of the Independent Booksellers, will be posting both Clegg's road trip journal and an essay he wrote about his take on horror fiction. (The latter, in fact, was scheduled to go up on August 31, 2001.)

Meanwhile, Clegg is making his own notes of places to stop and YOU can help! If you live in any of the states listed above, send Clegg (dclegg@douglasclegg.com) the name, address, phone number, and email addy of your favorite independent bookstore.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 17

Bram Stoker and Aurora Award winning author Edo van Belkom (SIX INCH SPIKE HEELS) has been hired as an on-air host at SCREAM, Canada's new all-horror channel, one of the new digital television channels which debuted across the country on Friday, September 7, 2001.

Edo hosts the "Post Mortem" segment, airing Monday through Thursday at Midnight (est), repeating at 4 a.m. (est).

Each film features a two-minute introduction and wrap-up by Edo van Belkom, who draws from his vast knowledge of all things horrific and scary to talk about the highlights (and lowlights) of that evening's feature, while using his uniquely Canadian sense of humour to offer up opinions and anecdotes as they relate to each movie.

Edo made his SCREAM debut introducing the cult horror film Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer, Saturday, September 8th, he spent the first week in his regular time slot introducing the first four films in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Over the next two weeks, SCREAM will be airing the Friday the 13th series, parts one through eight in the weeknight "Post Mortem" time slot.

A resident of Brampton, Ontario, Edo has gone hatchet-to-hatchet with Horror and Fantasy icons Stephen King and J.K. Rowling, in recent awards ceremonies in the U.S. and Canada. Edo won a Bram Stoker award from the Horror Writers Association in 1998 and an Aurora award (Canada's top prize for speculative fiction) in 1999.

Edo's latest novel, TEETH, published by Meisha Merlin Publishing, is a stark and intense story about a female serial killer whose murder weapon is a set of lethally sharp teeth... which are not in her mouth. TEETH features an introduction by the late Richard Laymon.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 14

Report by Judi Rohrig
SOME THINGS CHANGE . . . SOME REMAIN THE SAME
As scheduled, Bram Stoker Award-winner Brian A. Hopkins will still be appearing at the Saturday, September 15th writers conference sponsored by the Panhandle Professional Writers in Amarillo, TX. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Amarillo Senior Citizens Center. Besides waxing eloquently on writing and epublishing, Hopkins will also be signing his books. Additionally, Kim Campbell and Karen D. Smith will cover the subject "Building your own web page." Lunch is involved, too. Check out all the specifics at the PPW website.

Also still on is a book signing for illustrator Gris Grimly and his book MONSTER MUSEUM ("...some of the most extraordinary and exciting, fantastic art I've ever seen!" - Forrest J Ackerman) on Saturday, September 15th at 2:00 p.m. at Burbank's Dark Delicacies.

Author Scott Allen and illustrator Jimmy Pickering will also be there, signing their book SOMETHIN' PUMPKIN (...a hilariously spooky salute to everyone's favorite Halloween symbol), as will author/illustrators Rob Reger and Brian Brooks for EMILY THE STRANGE. (Emily isn't like other girls. She's smart, sullen, and strange.) Dark Delicacies is located at 4213 West Burbank Blvd, Burbank, Ca 91505.

There are some changes though... Twilight Tales' Monday, September 17th schedule has been altered. NYCers Becky Maines and Rob Stauffer have postponed their visit to Chicago and Twilight Tales. Said spokesperson Yvonne Navarro: "Our hearts and well-wishes go out to all NYC and D.C. folks, and all who have been affected by this tragedy. As Becky and Rob won't be reading for us this coming Monday, we'll have a second open mike for the month." That means readers will have 20 minutes for fiction (10 double-spaced manuscript pages or 3,000 words) or 10 minutes for poetry. The official doin's will still begin at 7:30 p.m., upstairs at the Red Lion Pub, 2446 N. Lincoln Ave., outside on the deck, (weather permitting). Donation is $4 per person.

Likewise, readings sponsored in NYC at the KGBar by Contemporary Science Fiction (hosted by Terry Bisson and Ellen Datlow) has a schedule change. Harvey Jacobs who was set to read on Wednesday, September 19th, will not be attending due to a loss in his family related to the WTC attack. Said spokesperson Terry Bisson: "Our sympathies and solidarity are with him and all the victims." Jeffrey Ford, author of The Beyond and the WFA-winning novel The Physiognomy and another guest will be reading at the 7:00 p.m. gathering. The KGB Bar is located at 85 E 4th (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs). There is no admission charge.

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 12

From Brian Keene
Brian Keene has sent out an open letter to assure those in the Horror community who may be worried about their friends in New York City. The following is from Brian Keene and JIH.

Using the Horror Writers Association Membership Directory, as well as our own subscriber list, we've been placing phone calls, combing message boards and sending emails. Special thanks to Regina Mitchell, Ellen Datlow and Rain Graves for their help.

NEW YORK
Linda Addison
Anthony Beale
Douglas Clegg
Richard Curtis Literary Agency (Full staff accounted for)
Don D'Auria
Ellen Datlow
Theresa DeLucci
Alexa deMonterice
Meghan Fatras
Jack Fisher
Darren Franz
Amy Grech
Andy Heidel
Gerard Houarner
Gordon Linzner
Nick Kaufmann
Don Kaye
Jack Ketchum (Dallas Mayr)
T.E.D. Klein
Michael Laimo
Ira Levin
Marc Librescu
Michael Marano
Monica J. O'Rourke
Gina Osnovich
Jane Osnovich
Michael Pendragon
Lori Perkins
Adam Pepper
Wendy Reynolds
Jeff Rutherford
Melissa Singer
Peter Straub
Lee Thomas TOR Books (Full staff accounted for)
Paul Victor Wargelin

WASHINGTON D.C.
All known horror writers, artists, editors, agents and their families have been accounted for and are safe. However, Vincent Harper, head of Bereshith publishing and Shadowlands Press, has some friends of the family who work at the Pentagon still have yet to be accounted for. Our thoughts are with him.

JIH will continue to keep you updated, as warranted.

You can also find updates at BrianKeene.

Thanks Brian!

RETURN TO TOP

SEPTEMBER 6

Report by Judi Rohrig
IHG AWARDS FIRED OUT AT DRAGON*CON Dragon*Con 2001 is history now, the flames but smoke. Thousands of fans - a good many costumed - came, saw, strutted, posed, bought, and dragged their tired tails home form the yearly Atlanta event.

Oh, yeah, there was some serious business going on between the parties. The International Horror Guild's awards which recognize outstanding achievements in the field of horror and dark fantasy were presented on Saturday, September 1, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency. Andrew Hallett, of the television show "Angel," served as Master of Ceremonies.

Individuals and works honored included: NOVEL:
DECLARE by Tim Powers (Subterranean Press 2000, Morrow 2001)

FIRST NOVEL:
ADAMS FALL by Sean Desmond (St. Martin's Press)

LONG STORY:
THE MAN ON THE CEILING by Melanie and Steve Rasnic Tem (American Fantasy)

SHORT STORY:
THE RAG AND BONE MEN by Steve Duffy (Shadows and Silence, Ash-Tree Press)

ILLUSTRATED NARRATIVE:
I FEEL SICK #1-2 (2-part series) by Jhonen Vasquez (Slave Labor Graphics)

COLLECTION: (TIE)
CITY FISHING by Steve Rasnic Tem (Silver Salamander) and
GHOST MUSIC AND OTHER TALES by Thomas Tessier (Cemetery Dance)

ANTHOLOGY:
OCTOBER DREAMS: A Celebration of Halloween, Edited by Richard Chizmar & Robert Morrish (Cemetery Dance)

NONFICTION:
AT THE FOOT OF THE STORY TREE by William Sheehan (Subterranean Press)

PUBLICATION:
Horror Garage

ART:
Joel-Peter Witkin

FILM:
AMERICAN PSYCHO, Directed by Mary Harron, Written by Mary Harron & Guinvere Turner, based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis (Lions Gate Films)

TELEVISION:
Angel (WB)

Additionally, pioneer shock-rock performer ALICE COOPER was honored with this year's Living Legend Award. IHG Living Legends are individuals who have made a meritorious and notable contribution and/or have substantially influenced. Along with HARLAN ELLISON, Alice Cooper was also the recipient of Dragon*Con's "Julie" Award (named for science fiction/ comic legend Julius Schwartz) which recognizes universal achievement spanning multiple genres. Previous recipients of the Living Legend Award include Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, Hugh B. Cave, Edward W. Bryant, Richard Matheson, Will Eisner, Anne McCaffrey, Yoshitaka Amano and Neil Gaiman, and Harlan Ellison.

RETURN TO TOP