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cctinsleybaxter · 5 years

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Movies not moves sorry. Like films.

Ah! Well I’m into too many movies, but here are a few recommendations

The Bay (2012) is a found footage horror movie by the director of Rain Man that I’ve seen too many times (read: more than once.) It is trash but it is my trash; flesh eating isopods terrorizing a town in Maryland, a mix of terrible and transcendent acting, and weirdly scathing political commentary

Room 237 (2012) interviews four conspiracy theorists about The Shining (1980) at length. It’s a mix of actually useful film analysis and a proclamation that Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing, and I love it not because I’m interested in the movie or any of these idiots, but because of the puzzles we’ll make out of anything

Modern Times (1936) is a slapstick comedy about a man and a woman just trying to make it through the end of the decade. It was the second Charlie Chaplin movie I ever saw growing up and still my favorite; I think it’s the most touchingly funny of his work

Submarine (2010) has what every bittersweet coming-of-age movie with nervous quirky boy protagonist wishes it had (Wes Anderson take notes and then fail to perform I hate you.) In all seriousness it’s a dramady with a simple plot that’s beautifully paced and filmed, just dive in

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (1964) is the only good Kubrick movie, and I’m not just saying that because I have a penchant for war satires. Okay well maybe a little, but the filming and dialogue is some of the best stuff we’ve got- made better by introspection of a wild ass time in U.S history (we all almost died!), and by Peter Sellers

El Laberinto del Fauno/Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)- a fairytale about a girl who goes to live with her mother and new stepfather at a vast country estate and, finding out that she’s a lost princess, sets about completing three tasks. This set in the regimental aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, so for every fantastic thing there’s an act of unspeakable sociopolitical or familial violence

Panique au Village/A Town Called Panic (2009) is a very, very silly French stop motion animation picture about the misadventures of a plastic cowboy, indian, and horse and it makes me laugh every single time I watch it. Steven.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) is an adventure comedy about a kid and his foster father, escaping threats ranging from ninjas to grief in the New Zealand wilderness. It’s one of those movies that turns on a dime so quickly that by the end you’re not really sure what you were laughing at and what you were crying at, and that’s just fine

Monsters Vs Aliens (2009) is- do I even need to talk about this movie more than I have? It’s ridiculous, it’s stupid, the animation has aged poorly, it’s an American masterpiece, and I don’t think your parents liked me, and I think that jello gave me a fake phone number

Город Зеро/City Zero (1988) tells the loosely plotted story of an engineer called in to a very strange town that he can’t seem to leave. It’s probably the least accessible or even enjoyable of these movies but it is very much my cheese. We Live In A Society Soviet Republics

Mystery Train (1989) is a triptych of three very different stories, all set over the course of one night in Memphis, connected at their ends. We’ve got tourists, criminals, a ghost, and the two best hotel workers in any movie ever. I like anthology movies but think they’re difficult to pull off; this one goes above and beyond

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) is a masterpiece. The characters, the story, everything comes together to make something traditional and new and fun and intense and hilarious and heartbreaking. Also I know there’s no one way for animation to be, but. Fellas

Love and Saucers (2017) shares the story of David Huggins. You may have seen his paintings floating around as ‘wtf’ clickbait, as he claims to have lost his virginity to an alien at 17 and fathered hundreds of alien children, but the artist is a very sweet and complicated man just trying to get by in the world. I highly recommend listening to him even if, like me and most others, you don’t believe him

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) appeals to a very weird form of nostalgia. The 70s update is better, but Cold War Edition is close to my heart as it was the first movie to ever frighten me. Melodramatic 50s acting mixed with everything moving so slowly is match made in heaven

The Death of Stalin (2017) is what it says on the tin; a movie about the questionable actions of Stalin’s Council of Ministers during and after his sudden death, and the dreadful repercussions of all of it. Oh, but it’s a comedy, we swear

Deathwatch (2002) is a direct-to-dvd horror movie set in the soggy monochrome trenches of WWI, where everything is either boring as hell or so over-the-top it’s ridiculous. I’m floored by how genuinely emotional most of the performances in this are, and I love horror movies where the setting is the villain rather than a boogie monster

Metropolis (1927) is a German expressionist film about a fucking dumbass!!!! The story is very standard (Aryan Christ Figure Hero meets The Girl One and they save humanity with their purity), but there’s also scheming with butlers, mommy-issues robot, the danse macabre, and too much eye makeup

The World’s End (2014) is a movie about self harm, facing change, growing up, and the power of friendship. It is set during a pub crawl, and is really just five men and Rosamund Pike screaming about lintels and saying fuck

#films #this ran long sorry i was going to keep adding more and had to stop asdfgh #i think 'movies bad' so often i forgot i actually like them #and sorry these range from genuinely helpful information to incoherent rambling #almost just summarized tdos with 'men get negged'- which is true and probably would have made an happy but isn't really useful #long post

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madmonkeylove · 6 years

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#indie comics #comics #comic anthology #artist #drawing #sketch #kickstarter

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jsalcorn · 6 years

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The Pub Crawl Anthology - Call for Submissions

Hi everyone!

I'm excited to finally announce my new anthology project, titled The Pub Crawl Anthology. This will be a collection of short comic stories that take place, at least in part, in a bar.

The call for contributing writers and artists will remain open until June 9th. Please visit http://www.thesilentchord.com/pub-crawl for more information and submission details, and of course feel free to message me directly with any questions.

Thanks!

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instantdeerlover · 4 years

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The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide added to Google Docs

The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide

Dinner and a movie is a timeless combination. And while you might not be leaving your house at the moment, you don’t really have to - there’s plenty to watch at home, and even more to order for delivery or takeout (how’s that for optimism?). Below, you’ll find our picks for great takeout and delivery, and which movie you should pair it with - 10 combinations to keep your quarantine nights feeling fun, and hopefully, just a bit more normal.

All restaurants featured on The Infatuation are selected by our editorial team. The Austin (Quarantine) Dinner & A Movie Guide is presented by Uber Eats. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, supporting our local restaurant community has never been more important. Uber Eats customers can now give directly to the restaurants they love at checkout. 100% will go to the restaurant. Order now to support. See app for details.

The Spots Jeffrey's $ $ $ $ American , French , Steaks in Clarksville $$$$ 1204 W Lynn St Not

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Movie Pairing: Casino Royale (HBO)

There are very few things in this world more “James Bond” than a martini - Aston Martins, submarine cars, and laser watches, maybe. But chances are high that you don’t have any of those. The martini kits at Jeffrey’s make five drinks, so by the end you’ll at least think that you’re ready to parkour your way through a construction site. And Casino Royale largely takes place in a casino, as you may have guessed, focused around a high-stakes poker game. We took that as an opportunity to dress up a little on a Friday night in, and ordered some food in addition to the martinis (Bond might never need to eat, but we do). If it fits your budget, go for the 32-day dry-aged steaks, or grab the dry-aged prime wagyu burger for something a little friendlier on the wallet.

Top Notch $ $ $ $ American , Burgers in Crestview $$$$ 7525 Burnet Rd Not

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Movie Pairing: Dazed and Confused (Amazon)

Alright, alright, alright - this one might be a little on the nose, but as soon as you see the glowing Top Notch sign at the beginning of Dazed and Confused, you’ll immediately get nostalgic for a time you may or may not have lived through. The best part is that not much about this place has changed - they still have the same delicious charcoal-grilled burgers that they’ve been cooking up for almost 60 years, and they just started their car hop service back up, so you can really feel like you’re living in Austin in the 70s. Grab a burger and make sure to throw in some onion rings. And we’re not saying you have to add on a milkshake, but it’d be a lot cooler if you did.

Nicolai McCrary Ramen Tatsu-ya $ $ $ $ Ramen in East Austin $$$$ 1600 E 6th St Not

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Movie Pairing: Tampopo (Google Play)

This 1985 cult-classic describes itself as a “ramen western,” and while it’s absurd at times, it still manages to act as a tribute to Japanese cuisine and culture, without ever taking itself too seriously. A few things you can expect to see: lessons from a ramen master, training montages with kitchen utensils, and an etiquette class on how to eat spaghetti properly. Warning - you will want ramen when this is done. And our favorite spot when that hits is Ramen Tatsu-Ya. We can’t really suggest a favorite bowl because they’re all beautiful in their own way.

Habana Restaurant & Bar $$$$ 2728 S Congress Ave

Movie Pairing: Chef (Amazon)

Chef was one of our favorite feel-good movies of 2014 - a quality we were very much in search of when we decided to revisit it recently. It’s a movie about a professional chef who just wants to cook what he’s passionate about - think montages of beautifully shot food, and a fun cross-country, father-son adventure that plays tributes to regional cuisines all along the way. When you inevitably find yourself craving a Cuban sandwich after (or during), we found the one from Habana really managed to hit the spot.

Matt Harrington Swedish Hill Bakery & Cafe $ $ $ $ American , Cafe/Bakery in Clarksville $$$$ 1120 W 6th St Not

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Movie Pairing: Paddington 2 (HBO)

Paddington 2 is the sequel to a film about a talking bear that loves orange marmalade. Not sold? Neither were we. But look past its cute, family-friendly mask, and you might be as surprised as us. The cinematography feels like a tribute to Wes Anderson, and the story is sincere enough to make up for that entire season of Too Hot To Handle that you just binged. Throw in some great performances by Brendan Gleeson, Sally Hawkins, and Hugh Grant and you’ve got yourself the highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The first movie is a lot of fun as well, if you find yourself suddenly invested in the Paddington Cinematic Universe, but not a necessary prerequisite. We laughed, we cried, and we wanted orange marmalade when it was all done. Fortunately the folks over at Swedish Hill make a great one, so you can keep the smiles going all weekend.

Crown & Anchor Pub $ $ $ $ Bar Food , Burgers in Campus $$$$ 2911 San Jacinto Blvd

Movie Pairing: The World’s End (Amazon)

The third installment in the Cornetto Trilogy (a very loosely-related anthology series starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), The World’s End finds a group of old friends reuniting to complete an epic pub crawl, only to make an important discovery. We won’t give anything else away, but we will say you’re going to want a nice cold pint and maybe a burger to get you through the journey. And Crown & Anchor is a favorite of ours for both. We usually go with the classic cheeseburger and fries, but the Crown BLT is just as great. Grab a growler to go and buckle in.

Nicolai McCrary Bufalina $ $ $ $ Pizza in East Austin $$$$ 1519 E Cesar Chavez St 8.6 /10

Movie Pairing: Sideways (Amazon)

“Sideways has to be one of the best wine movies ever made” - us, sometime last month. We just rewatched it for the first time in years, and it certainly holds up. Sideways will ignite your love for pinot noir, suddenly make you look down on merlot, and possibly start narrating your life in Paul Giamatti’s voice. And if you’re staring into a pantry full of Franzia, give the folks at Bufalina a call. They’ve got a great wine list with a big emphasis on natural wines - bottles start at around $20. And of course, they have some of the best Neapolitan pizza in town. We’re big fans of the classic Margherita, but toppings, after all, are a personal choice.

Nicolai McCrary Uroko $ $ $ $ Japanese , Sushi in East Austin $$$$ 1023 Springdale Rd Bldg 1 Not

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Movie Pairing: Lost In Translation (Amazon)

This is the movie that made us really want to travel to Japan. Lost In Translation features Bill Murray as an aging movie star and Scarlett Johansson as a recent college-graduate who cross paths while staying at the same hotel in Tokyo. It explores ideas of loneliness, isolation (sound familiar?), and culture shock as they explore the country and form a friendship based on their shared experiences and existential outlooks. They share a number of scenes navigating the world of Japanese cuisine, and at one point joke about dining at a restaurant that makes them cook their own food. So why not pick up a DIY sushi hand roll set from Uroko to keep your fingers busy while you watch? You may have to assemble your meal, but don’t worry, you won’t have to cook anything.

Delray Cafe $$$$ 1133 E 11th St

Movie Pairing: Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (Amazon)

The title of this movie is easily the most succinct summary that we could have provided. It tells you everything that happens, but nothing about the film. It’s a classic 2004 stoner-comedy about two friends on a journey to get some burgers. Along the way they end up performing surgery, riding a cheetah, and getting their car stolen by Neil Patrick Harris. By the end you’ll definitely want a few sliders. And since there isn’t a single White Castle anywhere in Texas, the next closest thing is probably the slider at Delray Cafe - just small enough that you can crush a few of them if you want that same movie experience, or grab a double with cheese (our favorite). Get some wings or tater tots while you’re at it.

Nicolai McCrary Patrizi's $ $ $ $ Pasta , Italian in Manor $$$$ 2307 Manor Rd Not

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Movie Pairing: Big Night (Amazon)

Big Night is a 1996 comedy-drama about two Italian immigrant brothers that decide to open up a restaurant in New Jersey in the 1950s. There’s drama, there’s scandal, there’s contempt for the Americanization of Italian food (don’t even ask them to make spaghetti with meatballs). The business struggles, but sees a chance for rejuvenation with a rumored celebrity appearance. So the brothers decide to go all out for one…big night. And when you inevitably find yourself craving Italian, we’re fans of the pasta at Patrizi’s - made daily, from scratch. Our favorite is the Carbonara Alexandra (pancetta, egg, cheese), but the Patrizi’s Red is great if you’re in the mood for something with a little more sauce. And you can also add a giant meatball to any of the orders, no matter what Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci say.

via The Infatuation Feed https://www.theinfatuation.com/austin/guides/austin-dinner-movie-guide Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://trello.com/userhuongsen

Created May 8, 2020 at 04:33AM /huong sen View Google Doc Nhà hàng Hương Sen chuyên buffet hải sản cao cấp✅ Tổ chức tiệc cưới✅ Hội nghị, hội thảo✅ Tiệc lưu động✅ Sự kiện mang tầm cỡ quốc gia 52 Phố Miếu Đầm, Mễ Trì, Nam Từ Liêm, Hà Nội http://huongsen.vn/ 0904988999 http://huongsen.vn/to-chuc-tiec-hoi-nghi/ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xa6sRugRZk4MDSyctcqusGYBv1lXYkrF

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tanmath3-blog · 6 years

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Craig Wallwork lives in West Yorkshire, England. His short stories have appeared in many journals, magazines and anthologies in the UK and US. He is the author of the novels, The Sound of Loneliness, and the story collections, Quintessence of Dust, and Gory Hole.

1. How old were you when you first wrote your first story?

Too old. Probably about 30. The story was about my grandfather who died of dementia. It was picked up by Laura Hird, a Scottish writer moving in the same circle as Irvine Welsh. She gave me my first publishing break. No payment, and it was online only, but damn was I happy. I felt like I’d arrived and was soon to be a bestselling author. I’m 45 years old now. Fifteen years of having more rejections than acceptances. And I’m still waiting to write that bestseller. I don’t get disheartened much now if a story isn’t accepted. I just remind myself that William Saroyan received 7,000 rejection slips before landing his first short story. So I did better than him.

2. How many books have you written?

Eight and counting. Half have been published by indie presses. The other half are like children staring out of the window of some orphanage every time headlamps flash by. I’m sure they’ll land a home soon, but until then I’ll keep each fed and watered. But never after midnight. Oh, man. I never feed any after midnight.

3. Anything you won’t write about?

If you would have asked me that five years ago I would have said no. But time, and perhaps being a parent, has mellowed me. I’ve written some really terrible stories, not bad writing, just the subject matter was terrible. I’m sure they’ll come back to haunt me one day. Their my skeletons in the closet. My dirty family secret. The affair and misdemeanours. But I was a different writer back then. I’ve changed. Honestly, judge.

4. Tell me about you. Age (if you don’t mind answering), married, kids, do you have another job etc…

In five years I’ll be fifty. When I was at school, my grandparents were fifty. They had grey hair, no teeth, and had lived through a world war. I have all my own teeth. Don’t even have any fillings. Any grey I may have is limited to my face when the stubble grows. As for war; Syrian, Iraq, Afghanistan – maybe not as close to home to what happened in Europe, but nonetheless. I will say I’ve aged more since having kids. My oldest is ten this year. My youngest is five. Being a parent accelerates the ageing process. It’s like that scene in Interstellar when Mathew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway go to that planet for about twenty minutes but when they return back to the spaceship, twenty-three years has gone by. Being a parent is like that, and you’re the one on the spaceship where time moves slower compared to everyone else around you. I’ve had friends drop off presents when my first child was born, returned a month later, and tell me I looked like I’ve aged five years. It’s scary. But hey, I love them now they’re sleeping in.

5. What’s your favorite book you have written?

That’s like asking, which of your ex-partners did you like the most? I liked them all at one point, but you always love the one you’re with right now. So I would say it’s the novel I’m currently editing. I won’t mention the title, only because I’ve said it before in interviews that go back about three years. Yeah, that’s how long it’s taken me to polish that baby. Once it’s done, I’ll start something new, which I’m sure I’ll love more than any of my others. Basically, I have commitment issues.

6. Who or what inspired you to write?

I wanted to be a cartoonist but failed. Then I wanted to be a filmmaker and failed. I then attempted to be in a band, and I failed. Failure inspired me to write. And continues to do so.

7. What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy grave robbing. Something about leaving the house late at night, sneaking into a cemetery with shovel in hand looking for a fresh grave. It keeps me fit too. Excavating six-feet of earth is a great workout. I’m thinking of releasing a fitness video: Tone and Bones, maybe. The bind is selling the bodies on the black market. People are so fussy. Does the body still have all its limbs? Is the skin attached? How many teeth does it have? Sheesh. And returns is just a nightmare. So I do that for fun. And I enjoy lying too.

8. Any traditions you do when you finish a book?

Berate myself for not writing a better book.

9. Where do you write? Quiet or music?

I write at home. Mostly in the bedroom, sometimes in the living room, but it depends if the kids have had sugar. Writing is a bit like going to the toilet; you really need your privacy, but sometimes that’s impossible when you’ve got kids. But I do prefer quiet when I can get it. I used to buy those ear protectors, you know, those little orange foam things that look like thimbles. I’d push them into my ears so all I could hear was my heartbeat and blood in my skull. Now I have attained the ability to write anywhere in the house, even downstairs while the kids are watching Colin’s Key make slime or eat ultra sour candy. I can write to Victorious, Sam and Cat, Mr Bean, Hotel Transylvania 2, Sister Vs Bro and Funnel Vision. But I still struggle when they watch Ed Sheeran videos.I walk out then.

10. Anything you would change about your writing?

I’m trying to make it more accessible. By that I mean, a lot of my old stuff had a literary edge. There was plot, but the language and structure was more important to me because that’s what I love reading. To this day, I get very giddy when an author performs alchemy and creates these perfectly formed similes or descriptions out of very little. That was my goal back then, to seduce the reader with words. Now I’m trying to find a balance by retaining some of that magic, while at the same time offsetting it with decent good old fashion storytelling. Yes, it’s taken me fifteen years to reach this epiphany, and I’m hoping the time I’m putting in will be appreciated. If not, I’m going to begin writing trashy erotica.

11. What is your dream? Famous writer?

If I’m being honest, I’d like to earn some money (any money) from writing so I can drop my hours at work. If I could go part-time and write for maybe, two days during the week, I’d be more than happy. That’s the dream. If that doesn’t come off, and please, no one hold your breath, I’d settle to see just one of my books in hardback, cloth bound, and in a library.

12. Where do you live?

A small village in West Yorkshire called, Ripponden. It has three pubs, a couple of restaurants, a tea room and convenience shop. It’s semi rural, lots of agriculture and livestock grazing the fields that back onto moorland. I used to live in a large town growing up. People shot each other, whereas here they shoot grouse and pheasant. Before moving here the only deer I saw was in Stand By Me, but the other day I was picking my daughter up from school, and as I was backing into the parking spot, I saw something brown flash past my rear window. I then heard a large clattering noise and saw a fawn hurtle itself at the school fence. It must have got lost and the car spooked it. The car park backs onto a few residential bungalows for retired folk. There were steps leading down to a house close to the fence the fawn had struck. When I looked toward the bungalow the fawn sprang out of a hedge, kicking and flailing around on its back. I wanted to try to stop it, to tell it I wouldn’t hurt it and to calm down, but it was manic, frenzied. Then it just stopped and went quiet. I ran to the school to speak with one of the staff to get the number of a local vet or rescue service. A few of us went back to make sure it was still there. It was. But it wasn’t breathing, and flies were resting in its open eye. The speed and power of hitting that fence could have broken its neck, but I honestly think its heart gave out. It was such a beautiful creature. It’s fur was the colour of autumn leaves and its legs were long and graceful. My daughter cried all the way home when she heard. She’s got heart that girl. I guess this place is quite wonderful, but even in paradise you can’t help but have your heart-broken once in a while.

13. Pets?

A goldfish only. We used to have a rabbit but it went suicidal on us. It began chewing wires and trying to crawl up the flue over the open fireplace. I just don’t think it liked us. We treated good. Fed it, gave it a nice hutch, but It would stare at us all with this one black eye like we’d murdered its family. My daughter began to think she’d awake in the night and see it there at the end of the bed, staring at her with that one black eye. It was called Fluffy, but after about three months it also went by, Psycho Rabbit, Weirdo Rabbit, Stupid Rabbit, What the Hell, Rabbit?! We eventually took it to a sanctuary to be re-homed. We felt a little like that family at the end of Poltergeist once it was all over, but instead of wheeling out a TV, we wheeled out a hutch.

14. What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I enjoy the process. I mean, I actually love creating worlds, people and all the problem solving and outlining, adding depth and shade and listening to how the characters talk and where they take the story. To me, writing is a kind of medicine, it’s the cure to something broken inside me. Without it I’d be sick.

15. What is coming next for you?

I’ve got a few stories coming out in anthologies this year and next. Right now I can only announce one called, Farewell Valencia, that’ll be in, Takes From the Lake vol 5, edited by Kenneth Cain and published by Crystal Lake Publishing in early November. The story was partly inspired by a real place in Sweden where euthanasia is legal. Around the same time I found out Terry Pratchett had been diagnosed with dementia there were a lot of documentaries the U.K. about people who wanted to end their life because they had no quality of life. These were people who were paraplegic, terminal, or were awaiting a slow and agonising death. One documentary featured this place in Sweden. I never saw the documentary but a friend told me about it the next day. In my mind I’m seeing this place as a plush hotel with Egyptian cotton sheets, Tempur pillows, turndown service, free porn, concierge, fine dining, the lot. I was never so wrong. It was described more as an industrial unit on a Business Park. Okay, low overheads, I get it. But surely it’s nice inside and the end is peaceful, right? Wrong again. You get a bed and a cup of poison. It sounded horrific. There was no dignity. No afternoon massage and favourite meal. No quick game of tennis followed by a gin and tonic on the veranda. You got poisoned and you died in agony. This felt wrong to me. It’s bad enough these people had reached a point in their lives where dying was the preferred option. So I set about writing a story where a hotel similar to the one I envisaged existed. Someplace nice. At least on the surface. Farewell Valencia is essentially about an euthanasia clinic, and because the subject is so heavy, I wanted to make it quirky, like the Shining seen through the eyes of Wes Anderson. But there’s a twist, which I won’t go into. You’ll have to read it to find out. I think people will like it. It’s dark, sad, with a little Gallows humour thrown in. It should fit well in the anthology. It’s already got some great voices in there; Tim Waggoner, Gemma Files, Lucy A. Snyder, Gene O’Neill, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Allison Pang, Paul Michael Anderson, Bruce Boston, Andi Rawson, Samuel Marzioli, Joanna Parypinski, Lane Waldman, Peter Mark May, Meghan Arcuri, Jason Sizemore, Robert Stahl, Marge Simon, Laura Blackwell, Lucy Taylor, Jonah Buck, Cory Cone, and Michelle Ann King.

16. Where do you get your ideas?

Keep with me on this. There’s a magic trick where a street magician fans out a deck of cards and asks someone to choose one. They do, and they show it the camera. Queen of hearts, say. Then the magician asks the card be put back in the deck, and then in a display of madness they throw all the cards at the side of a building. One card sticks to the window. Just one. And yep, when he peels it off, it’s the queen of hearts. I don’t know how it’s done and I don’t ever want to know. It’s a great trick and to understand the trick would dilute the magic. That’s the same with ideas; I don’t know how they work, or where they come from, and I don’t ever want to know, because I fear once I discover the secret it won’t be as magical. Magic is great writing.

You can connect with Craig Wallwork here:

My Amazon pages for the UK and US:

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Craig-Wallwork/e/B003VDNVCC

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s?n=133140011&k=craig+wallwork+

A free ebook copy of Quintessence of Dust, a short story collection by me:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/147029

And finally, Crystal Lake Publishing:

http://www.crystallakepub.com

Some of Craig Wallwork’s books:

Getting personal with Craig Wallwork Craig Wallwork lives in West Yorkshire, England. His short stories have appeared in many journals, magazines and anthologies in the UK and US.

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electricgrasshopper · 7 years

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Raven Dane is an award-winning author of steampunk, dark fantasy, alternative history and horror fiction. Her first novels were in the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Dark Kind series; Blood Tears, Blood Lament, Blood Alliance. These are dark fantasy/alternative history/SF novels about a non human race of vampires who most definitely do not sparkle!

In 2009, Endaxi Press launched The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire, Raven’s scurrilous and most definitely adult spoof of all things High Fantasy. A fairy tale for grown ups with a sense of humour.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/287640.Raven_Dane

Described as The Gothmother, Raven Dane is all things Gothic. With a ‘taste’ for vampire’s and ghosts, poison and dark fantasy, she has entertained readers of all ages with creations from her inky quill (I’m absolutely convinced she uses a real quill and ink!). She also enjoys dressing up in Victorian Gothic clothing for Steampunk conventions, and has a wicked sense of humour.

Hi Raven, Welcome, and thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog; Flailing Through Life…

And talking about flailing; do you ever find yourself ‘flailing through life’?

Flailing? Sounds very energetic …lol! I used to find myself frantically plate-spinning, trying to balance work, bringing up my son, looking after my mares and writing. These days, I sort of crawl between time spent writing and the necessities of real life and my ever welcome duvet. Wish I had the energy for flailing now!

Raven, you’re well-known for writing supernatural stories. There is the Cyrus Darian series and Legacy of the Dark Kind series, plus many more. What draws you to this genre and what kind of horror do you prefer to read (or watch) yourself?

I have always loved SF and dark fantasy. I was a precocious early reader as a child and devoured books at a fast rate. I used to sit on the floor by my parent’s book case and read works by Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, especially the Canterville Ghost. That story terrified me; it wasn’t until I re-read it as an adult that I realised what a poignant, sweet story it really was. In those early days I was definitely drawn to the dark side. My brother and I used to sneak downstairs late at night and peak through a gap in the living room door and frighten ourselves with Quatermas, SF and old horror films. Later when we were older and could watch what we wanted, we loved the old black and white Twilight Zone and Outer Limits as well as Hammer horror and old SF films like The Trollenberg Terror. And of course, Doctor Who which I have watched since the very first episode, usually from behind a cushion. Today my love affair with horror and dark fantasy has not dimmed. I am not a fan of gory fiction (unless it is something by Sam Stone, who adds style and great characters to the genre). The same goes for torture porn like the Saw films and the growing in popularity extreme horror books, they are not for me. I do enjoy creepy ghost stories; I am a huge fan of Susan Hill and M R James novels and their film adaptations. Ghost stories in a Victorian setting are a favourite for me to write. Other favourites include dark fantasy like Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, his two Hellboy films and Clive Barker’s Nightbreed.

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? And why?

That’s a tough one. I have a special affinity with horses and love cats, wolves and ravens. I would have to choose a dragon though, for its magical nature, grandeur, its ability to soar to distant, exotic realms and to incinerate anything and anyone who gets in its way.

Editors beware!

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? What did you do with your first advance?

Did you splash out on something exotic with your first pay cheque?

Not my first pay cheque or advance. My other half has supported my writing all our married life and allowed me to work as full time writer for many years. It has been a struggle and we have gone without the material things that many people have thought essential in life, like holidays, big, new TVs and modern cars. So anything I have earned has gone straight into the household running costs. I did however, treat myself to a huge golden velvet dragon made by a lovely lady in the US. Total extravagance though!

Oh, and after a successful morning’s book sales at an Asylum weekend, I treated myself to a gorgeous black pirate ship hat, very steamgoth, very me. I have had so much fun and use out of that hat, it was worth every penny.

What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I was blessed to be taught English literature by a lovely lady called Miss Curry. She was not far off retirement when she had the tough job getting our lively class through the GCE’s for O and A levels but she introduced us to wonderful things. The powerful emotional impact of the War Poets like Rupert Brook and Siegfried Sassoon, the ravishing beauty of the English language from poetry by Gerard Manley Hopkins. I think the most powerful moment for me personally was the first book that made me cry, to really weep as if for a person I actually knew…and that was The Ship Who Sang by Anne MacCaffrey. If the fate of fictional characters can move me to mourn, than what better proof of the power of language?

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Research is vitally important to me, whatever I am writing. I tend to research as I write as I never plan a book in advance. Some writers are planners, others fly by the seat of their pants and get straight to work with no idea of where the story will go. I am a definite pantser. Research can take me more time than writing sometimes but I think it is essential. I spent all afternoon recently researching a historical find that I mentioned in just one line of a book. Even in the most fantastical setting, research can give a depth and believability to a story , anything less is cheating the reader with shallow, implausible storytelling.

Cyrus Darian is a rather unusual name, how do you select the names of your characters?

Some come to me instantly as if been channelled from another dimension. Others can be a nightmare and get changed many times throughout the writing process. Thank goodness for my friend, the search and replace thingie on Microsoft Word. Cyrus Darian was a bit of a blend between the two. I decided he was Persian, so being named after a great Persian king of antiquity suited his vanity. Darian came into my head as a nice sounding name. I used my other friend, Google to see if it meant anything and discovered it was a town in Iran. Perfect. Mind you, it might not be his real name, Cyrus lies all the time and uses many aliases.

To date, what has been your hardest scene to write?

The hardest was also the easiest…if that makes any sense. The end of a story arc for one of my favourite characters was always going to end badly for him. He had become more than someone fictional but a very real presence in my life, so knowing how it had to end was deeply emotional for me. But the scene wrote itself, confirming it was the right plot thread for the culmination of a trilogy. Not saying any more…Spoilers!

If you were not a writer, and you could be anything else in the world, what career/vocation would you choose?

I love any form of creativity so always drawn to arts and crafts but I have no talent and anything I do is just for the pleasure of making things. I was always a good actor as a teenager, I was the annoying little madam who always got the main female role in all the school drama productions which were almost always Shakespeare. I was the only child for years that was encouraged by the teachers to go into acting much to the ongoing annoyance of my younger sister who was at the same school and did become an actress. Her teachers suggested a career as a secretary for her. A mixture of a sense of family duty and the need to earn regular money took me on another path, journalism and later fiction writing. I take part in amateur dramatics now and thoroughly enjoy being on stage…I love to make people laugh… or boo, when playing the baddie in Panto.

Or be one of those smiling ladies in sparkly clothes riding a dancing pure white Spanish stallion in a circus….

Have you ever had what one might call, a supernatural experience or event occur in your life? If so, would you care to share it with us? If not, which figure from history would you like to receive a visit from?

So many! I am very attuned to the presence of earth bound spirits since a child. I wish I wasn’t to be honest. It is not something I can switch off and has led to many uncomfortable times in the past. My present home is totally spirit free which is so relaxing! The worse one was an encounter with an angry, aggressive spirit in an old farmhouse where I worked. Young students at the riding school lived there and though we never told them about it to avoid hysteria, he was always targeting the youngest females, trying to frighten them. One day, when the house was empty for a couple of hours, I went in and ended up being pushed down the stairs. I could feel the imprint of strong fingers digging into my shoulders. In 1995, there was a big fire there, no one was hurt but the oldest part of the house was burnt down. All the spirit activity stopped and never returned.

11 And finally, what is your favourite childhood book?

Oooh….a tough one, I have so many. The first one that sprang to mind was the fantasy novel, Elidor by Alan Garner. I loved it and he is an early influence on my writing.

Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed Raven.

Raven’s most recent work is included in, Trumpocalypse; an anthology of satirical horror from authors on both sides of ‘the pond’.

You can find Raven at http://ravendane.blogspot.co.uk/ and her books to order from all good bookshops, on Amazon or direct from Telos Publishing. At the moment her books published by Endaxi Press are only available as eBooks.

The Raven Dane Interview Raven Dane is an award-winning author of steampunk, dark fantasy, alternative history and horror fiction. Her first novels were in the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Dark Kind series;

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thethursdaythree-blog · 7 years

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March 16, 2017 • Lost

The podcasts were queued. The Contigo was full. The windows were down, and the destination was loaded into Apple Maps. The cotton-like cumulus clouds were picture-perfect against the bold blue sky. It even smelled like sunshine. It was the perfect day for a road trip.

I set off to visit my friend who lived a few hours away, and the drive was just as I had planned, well, until the final turn. As I drove down a winding country road with a cornfield on one side and a cornfield on the other – and nothing else – Siri proudly proclaimed, "Arrived."

I slowed the car to a crawl, and the crawl slowed to a stop. I looked again to my left and my right. Closed my eyes. Rubbed them. Opened them again. Looked again. Corn. Nothing but corn as far as the eye could see. Arrived, indeed – or something.

I was lost.

Siri told me I had arrived, but my elevated heart rate told me otherwise. It said, "You're vulnerable and panicky, and you have no control over the situation, and you're probably going to die." Where were Rand and McNally when I needed them?

Whether driving or in a dead end job or on that never ending quest for meaning and vitality, getting lost can be disorienting and disheartening. Sometimes you know exactly where you are. Other times you end up the middle of nowhere – surrounded by corn – with no idea what to do next.

But here's the thing: If you don't get a little lost, you can't be found. So today's Thursday Three is about getting lost.

"Flight 815" – a 42-second sketch by Jennifer Moxley

+ The Stranger in the Woods

It's rare for me to get lost in a book. I can't remember the last time I finished one in less than 24 hours, but that's exactly what happened this weekend with Michael Finkel's The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit (Amazon, public library). It just released last week and tells the (true) story of Christopher Knight who, at age 20, left his home and vanished into the woods of Maine where he lived alone for 27 years. In that span, Knight said only one word aloud ("Hi"), went completely without human touch, and stole everything he needed from nearby vacationers, covering his tracks so he wouldn't be found.

It's a captivating story, well worth a read (or a listen), but if time is tight, this recent article from The Atlantic tells the story well.

Though the "stranger" in the title is Knight, one closes the book with the sense that Knight, like all seers, is the only sane person in a world gone insane – that modern civilization has made us strangers to ourselves.

If you want a little more before diving in, Finkel used this feature piece from GQ as the starting point for his book. It amounts to an extensive excerpt – complete with a diagram of Knight's camp in the woods. I wouldn't last two days out there.

+ Flow

I've listened to the podcast, Good Job, Brain!, for years. It's one of my favorites. Each week, four trivia nerds sit around a table with microphones, quizzing each other and sharing their most recent trivia discoveries – all in an effort to train for their next pub trivia night. It's a lot of fun.

In their most recent episode, co-host Dana describes the psychological concept of "flow." Flow is essentially "being in the zone." It's getting lost in what you're doing. It's that near-transcendent state where time seems to stop because you're firing on all cylinders, utilizing your talents, and working to overcome a surmountable challenge. "Flow" was named by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and, he maintains, it's the secret to happiness.

In his study, Csíkszentmihályi interviewed creatives, CEOs, athletes, and others. He found that when their hard work was enjoyable – when they were enjoying the constant challenge of their work, getting lost in it – their priorities shifted. They cared less about ambition and less about financial success because the challenge of the work was satisfying in and of itself.

I don't know that I would go so far as to say it's the secret to happiness. I think there's more to it and we're often talking about different things when we talk about happiness. Still, the concept of flow is certainly intriguing. It's something I've experienced myself a handful of times – I just didn't know there was a name for it.

Click here to watch Csíkszentmihályi's 2004 TED Talk on flow. (Or just read the transcript. Might be easier.) There's also a book if you're so inclined (Amazon, public library). And if you want to learn more about Good Job, Brain!, subscribe in your favorite podcast app or follow them on Twitter here.

+ Maps

For Christians around the world, it's the season of Lent – a time to clear out the cobwebs of our souls and clean out the junk drawers of our hearts as we prepare for Easter. It's common in this season to give something up or take on a discipline as part of that work. This Lent, I've been working through Malcolm Guite's excellent anthology, The Word in the Wilderness (Amazon, public library). In it, Guite offers a poem a day for Lent and Easter – some contemporary and some classic. And after each poem, he shares a reflection about the piece. The book has been a meaningful companion along the journey, and Holly Ordway's sonnet from last Thursday is especially fitting for today.

Antique maps, with curlicues of ink As borders, framing what we know, like pages From a book of travelers' tales: look, Here in the margin, tiny ships at sail. No-nonsense maps from family trips: each state Traced out in color-coded numbered highways, A web of roads with labeled city-dots Punctuating the route and its slow stories. Now GPS puts me right at the center, A Ptolemaic shift in my perspective. Pinned where I am, right now, somewhere, I turn And turn to orient myself. I have Directions calculated, maps at hand: Hopelessly lost till I look up at last.

BIG DEAL ALERT: The Thursday Three turns one tomorrow! I sent the first Thursday Three to three people on St. Patrick's Day last year. It's come a long way, and if you've had any part in reading, writing, podcasting, sketching, mixtaping, sharing, inspiring, encouraging, replying, or subscribing, THANK YOU.

Thank you for helping to make this year so special. I couldn't have done it without you. And, hey, if you want to give the Thursday Three another year, consider forwarding it to your friends or use the share, tweet, and forward buttons below. I'm grateful. Until next Thursday, don't be a stranger.

Peace,

Brent

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