Machine Readable, and other news

a podcast interview from MileHiCon 2011′ up at Machine Readable. was fun; I’m always kind of awed, talking to DJs who know what they’re doing, who can keep a conversation going, who have done actual research beforehand, all that. or, to say better: I’m the most useless keep-aliver of a conversation ever (unless we’re talking specific years of trucks, or violence I’ve seen done to animals, or books of any kind, or horror movies), so, hanging out with people who have made an art of it, man.

also, though days if not weeks late, there’s tight review of Warmed & Bound over at The Rumpus.

and, last week my story “The Silent Game” posted over at the so, so, so cooly designed Plots With Guns, my ten recs for Halloween posted at Slushpile, The Denver Post ran an article on zombies that I’m in, Clarkesworld let me participate in a group discussion on The Weird (and a first line of mine’s in this), and I participated in a reading at the LoDo Tattered Cover here in Denver (such a cool venue). all of which I should have posted last week (or was it the week before?), but, man: been editing and proofing and going over and over (wonderfully — this is the best kind of work) a novel I have hitting in June. Which I still can’t announce. But soon, soon. Rocking cover, rocking publisher, great editor. It’s a perfect storm of goodness. And also the best thing I’ve ever lucked into writing.

coming up soon: an article at LitReactor, a piece at Barrelhouse, an interview at Weird Fiction Review, the fixed e-version of ATBS (already gettable through Dzanc). will link when the linking’s good.

as for reading now: a panel I was on at MileHiCon was something along the lines of Ten Stories from after 1980. Have been working through Gary Jonas’s list (we agreed on a lot of Lansdale being on any post-80 list), and haven’t found anything bad yet. Vachss’ “Alibi,” Ed Bryant’s “While She Was Out,” Dan Simmon’s “Entropy’s Bed at Midnight” (reminded me of Robert Stone’s “Helping”), “Click” from Lawrence Block, and on and on. Next, I’m thinking: “The Night We Buried Road Dog,” Jack Cady. However, I just found Martin Cruz Smith’s Nightwing novel on my shelf while looking for Gorky Park, and King’s blurb (“I consider it to be one of the best horror novels in the last twenty years”), it might be enough to redirect me. Also, King’s 11/22/63‘s due soon, and I’m trying to save room and time.

and, that Ann and Jeff Vandermeer behemoth of a book The Weird (which I’m lucky enough to have sneaked in), that’s my grad class’s textbook for the Spring, this “Weird Fiction” course I’m doing. can’t wait.

also, ‘behemoth’ is nearly impossibly to spell.

though, as for reading tonight, that’s likely the first couple issues of IDW and Lansdale’s The Dunwich Horror, picked up this afternoon at none other than Time Warp Comics. and, completely ashamed not to have got to the store yet to pick up the latest volume of Locke & Key. soon to be remedied.

and, though it goes without saying, if anybody wants to get me this from Christmas, I can guarantee I wouldn’t regift it.

other than all that, next week’s supposed to be elk hunting, but after just walking from a parking lot to a building today, I’m home using my cane again, so, I don’t know: tramping around up in the clouds, snow up to my thighs, my compass lost (I always lose my compass, have never been able to use one anyway, as directions have always been meaningless to me. but I have hope) . . . looking grim. or, if you’re an elk: next week’s looking pretty okay. I think the turkeys are getting nervous, though.