Scott Nicolay |

Author: Scott Nicolay (page 20 of 25)

Robert Levy: A Secret Psychological Diary in Blue | The Outer Dark: Episode 22 — DECEMBER 3, 2015

Robert Levy unveils and explores the secret origins of his novel The Glittering World from his own personal experiences in Cape Breton, Canada, or, in other words, “taking a great memory and completely destroying it,” similarities between the old lore behind fairies and alien abduction mythology, his ambivalence about but recognition of genre marketing in the publishing business, how a genre-defying and Weird first novel got placed with a major publisher, other authors like Jeff VanderMeer and Paul Tremblay who are breaking the Weird into big publishing, structural similarities in The Glittering World to two Alfred Hitchcock classics, the Weird’s transition from shorter modes into the novel, the short story and novels as different forms, how the book sheds its skin as the main characters unfold the narrative akin to a four-course meal, when the glitter fades–his exploration of transitioning from the club scene fantasy lifestyle to adulthood, the title’s unexpected relationship to the tradition of Navajo emergent/creation stories, altered states as a form of escape, insects, parallels to the iconic relationship in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, his fascination with people who are “right on the edge of oblivion or failure,” a stolen paperweight and life as a bizarre sequence of coincidences, storytelling as one way we try to give our life meaning, choice as the “anxiety of freedom,” taking his time to write a novel, fiction as a diary, future works which might have something to do with cults and found manuscripts, and his reading recommendations of other contemporary writers to watch including Livia Llewellyn, Desirina Boskovich, Dale Bailey, and Molly Tanzer.

News of the Weird Special Guest: Writer/editor Mike Allen reveals the table of contents for Clockwork Phoenix 5 in another exclusive The Outer Dark announcement.

And Justin Steele joins Scott to review The Glittering World.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

Next week’s guest: John C. Foster, author of the Libros de Inferno trilogy (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing) which starts with Dead Men.

More Links:

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7RgOVF0XG0

https://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Fairy-Hole-Hiking-Trail-Cape-Dauphin-near-Baddeck-NS-6019

Footage of the Fairy Hole cave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCZovMZlUas

Rear Window timelapse: https://vimeo.com/37120554

https://navajopeople.org/blog/navajo-creation-story-nihalgai-the-glittering-or-white-world/

https://www.amazon.com/Din%C3%A9-Bahane-Navajo-Creation-Story/dp/0826310435

https://www.francnewcomb.org/

https://www.strange-aeons.com/

Stories From the Borderland #1: “Slime” by Joseph Payne Brennan

December 2, 2015 / Scott Nicolay / 0 Comments

Who remembers Joseph Payne Brennan? Some of you I am sure, though not nearly as many as his work deserves. He merits a position in the lineages of Weird Horror analogous to those of David Goodis, Chester Himes, Jim Thompson, Dorothy B. Hughes, and Charles Willeford in Noir—a major practitioner of the form who arose in its postwar Silver Age. Stephen King remembers him, and has paid him homage in stories such as “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” and “The Raft.” Thomas Ligotti remembers him, and it becomes apparent in his verse—Brennan was perhaps the finest poet Weird Fiction ever had—yes, better for the most part than even Clark Ashton Smith, who had a tin ear (though “The Hashish Eater” is a masterpiece, no argument there). Continue reading

Small Press Publishing in the Weird Panel at HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2015 | The Outer Dark: Special Presentation — DECEMBER 1, 2015

December 1, 2015 / Scott Nicolay / 0 Comments

Date: October 4, 2015, HP Lovecraft Film Festival, Portland, OR

Moderator: Andrew Fuller (Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine). Panelists: Ross Lockhart (Word Horde), Richard Lupoff (Ramble House, Surinam Turtle Press), Scott Nicolay (The Outer Dark), Rose O’Keefe (Eraserhead Press, Deadite Press, Fungasm Press), Kelly Young (Strange Aeons magazine)

Description: Panelists discuss everything that publishers face in this genre, including topics like “Where does the money come from?” “Building a table of contents” and “Print vs E-publication.”

Note: There are some sound issues at the very start due to people talking near the camcorder, with Rose and Ross particularly hard to hear, but this clears up after the first couple minutes, so please hang in.

An overarching Small Press Renaissance has been pivotal to the current Weird Fiction Renaissance. In this panel from the 20th annual HP Lovecraft Festival, editors and writers discuss trends in spec-lit small press publishing from the 1950s when Richard Lupoff started publishing fanzines to the present including technology advances in print-on-demand and ePublishing that have sped up and made production more affordable, how these changes have fueled the creative side to go “bonkers,” the collaborative process and freedom of small press publishing among editors, authors and artists, Scott Nicolay’s poetry small press roots, the Heavy Metal-inspired origins of Strange Aeons, Ross Lockhart’s road from reader to publisher, how Eraserhead Press started as a collective of authors and the birth of Bizarro as a publishing category, what’s changed in the kinds of stories editors are looking for, the market for publishing out-of-print spec-lit classics, the thrill of supporting a great author to get into print, demographic changes and connecting through social media with writers and readers, the small press boom creating a fertile ground across all literary categories, the driving force of a more diverse readership, the creation of opportunity due to current risk avoidance attitude of the big five houses, how technology is continuing to change at a fast pace, a DIY punk ethos, ongoing challenges and strategies for marketing and distribution, and what’s next!

Once I also bought it at https://tramadolhealth.com and tried to take Ultram, when I had terrible stomachache.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

More Links:

https://christopherconlon.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Eklund

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Jameson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Belknap_Long

https://lazyfascistpress.com/

Next guest on Dec. 3: Robert Levy, author of The Glittering World.

Coming Soon: Stories From The Borderland

November 25, 2015 / Scott Nicolay / 0 Comments

Stories From the Borderland is a collaborative project between artist Michael Bukowski and myself. Beginning Dec. 2, 2015 and continuing each Wednesday for five weeks (skipping Christmas week when Michael has his own special plans), we will simultaneously showcase on our respective blogs one great Weird story that for varying reasons lacks the currency it deserves. I will post a short essay here about each story, while Michael will illustrate some…creature appearing in the story on his blog: https://yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com/

I am very excited to work with Michael again after our previous collaboration on the Dim Shores Press chapbook of my novella “after.” His artwork for both the cover and the interiors of that little volume won well-deserved praise and offered the perfect complement to the story. So here we go again…

Our first selection was once one of the best known of all Weird stories. A Weird Tales cover story that was anthologized dozens of times in its heyday, it became the uncredited basis for one of the most famous horror films of all time, and one of the first cinematic exemplars of genuine cosmic horror. If you think you know the name of the tale and its author, message me privately…

A Care for Dark Cookery: Sampling the Menu Chez Clint Smith| The Outer Dark: Episode 21 — NOVEMBER 24, 2015

November 24, 2015 / Scott Nicolay / 0 Comments

Clint Smith talks about his latest story in C M Muller’s journal Nightscript and the excitement of sharing a table of contents with both other established and emerging voices, the strength and good new work in the Weird fiction community now, his first collection Ghouljaw and Other Stories, the weirdness of Henry James’ “The Jolly Corner,” his repetitious obsession with haunted houses, his knack for crafting titles that resonate, allusions to Night Gallery and The Day of the Locust, his propensity towards young protagonists trapped on the path to adult maturity, the barbershop and other father-son rituals, a favorable comparison to Breece D’J Pancake, when insects intrude into the house, a Bradbury inversion, obstacles and contradictions in the Middle American town, a pleasant face on the street, his background in the culinary arts, a future work involving race, sex and hierarchy in restaurant kitchens of the 1950s, moving away from the single white male protagonist to use the Weird to engage in more robust relationship issues, his Dunhams Manor chapbook “When It’s Time For Dead Things To Die,” his story “The Fall of Tomlinson Hall” in Mythic Indy, more upcoming work including “Dirt on Vicky” in Year’s Best New Horror 26 edited by Stephen Jones, and his reading recommendations of contemporary Weird writers including Kristi DeMeester, Ralph Robert Moore, Marc E. Fitch and Christopher Slatsky.

News of the Weird Special Guest: Michael Kelly, editor/publisher of Undertow Publications and 2015 World Fantasy Award nominee for the journal Shadows and Tall Trees, visits The Outer Dark to remind writers, editors and publishers that the deadline draws near for Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 3, edited by Simon Strantzas. Send all submissions (up to 20,000K) to bestweirdfiction@gmail.com before Dec. 31. Michael also previews upcoming 2016 Undertow releases.

And Justin Steele joins Scott to review X’s for Eyes, the latest novella by Laird Barron and a JournalStone/Bizarro Pulp Press release in softcover and eBook in December.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

Next week’s guest: Robert Levy, author of The Glittering World.

More Links: