Awesome.
I have not seen this before, but it looks authentic. I know HPL corresponded with R.H. Barlow. Really cool. (From this thread at Conan.com)
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A Friend Needs Our Help
Regular readers of this blog are no strangers to the Lovecraft eZine. Not only has the Zine published my stuff, but Mike Davis, one of the co-founders of the site, has had nothing but praise for That Which Should Not Be. What a lot of people don’t know is that Mike struggles with a severe case of Fibromyalgia and is regularly in debilitating pain. Now Mike faces some pretty steep medical bills, and he needs our help.
Mike works tirelessly to help bring to light the works of H.P. Lovecraft and to support those artists who are working with the Mythos today. He doesn’t make any money from it. His is a work of love, and normally he doesn’t ask for a dime. He needs our help now, and I hope you will join me in giving it. Go check out the Lovecraft eZine and give what you can. There’s no amount too small, and it will go to a great cause.
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When Reviews Go Bad: Handling the Dreaded One Star Review
I stumbled upon an interesting story that’s making the rounds of the interwebs today (h/t @Kara_Malinczak for sticking her leg out). Basically, one of the more respected reviewers on Goodreads hammered a novel rather forcefully with a one star review. The author and her agent flipped out, proceeding to bash the reviewer mercilessly on twitter and other social media (including posting anonymous criticism on the reviewer’s blog). The whole sordid affair is cataloged on this blog.
I’m not so interested in discussing this particular event (the blog linked above does a fantastic job of laying it out), but it did make me think about how authors react to really bad reviews. And by react, I mean over-react. The thing is, if you write a book that’s worth anything, somebody’s going to hate it. If they don’t, you’re doing something wrong.
Yes, the fact that you never "connected" with this book has to be because it sucks. After all, you ARE an English major.
As I’ve pointed out before, The Great Gatsby has over 30,000 one star reviews on Goodreads, and it’s probably the greatest book ever written. (It has almost 200,000 five star reviews. And yes, you can tell how smart you are by which side of that spectrum you find yourself).
For most authors though, it seems like that first one star review provokes an existential crisis. Seriously, the next time you see a blog post entitled “Just Got My First One Star Review,” make sure you read it. If it’s anything like I’ve seen, it will start off with an almost suicidal recital of the author’s day:
So I woke up today feeling pretty good, like maybe this would be the one where my life turned around. I went downstairs, ate some toast and drank some orange juice. I was feeling it, man. The world was my oyster. And then I opened my computer.
Dun dun dun. Our intrepid author pulls up Goodreads and notices that his book’s overall rating has dropped precipitously. And then he sees it. What follows is something akin to the five stages of grief. First is denial. Maybe they didn’t mean to give my book one star. Maybe it was a mistake. That doesn’t last long though. I mean, the guy just called your title character a piece of cheap cardboard. Anger though, that sticks around longer.
And you can understand why, right? The fact is, most one star reviews are horribly written or contain absolutely no useful criticism. I mean, if you spent a year working on a project and got this review, how would you feel?
There is really only one reason i didn`t make it through this book, the edditing.
Wouldn’t that just make you want to pull your hair out? Other times, the reviewer has a secret agenda. One of my friends received his only one star review after the book was nominated for an award. Come to find out, the review was written by someone associated with an author my friend had beaten out.
Personally, I’ve only received a single one star review. The review itself was almost apologetic, and really didn’t bother me. In my view, it’s hard to get upset because someone doesn’t like your book. To each his own, and all. What bothers me is when people say things that are incorrect. For instance, I had one guy criticize the book as “poorly researched” because a historical figure never would have written the kind of book I credit him with in my novel. Only problem? He actually wrote that book. Had another guy who tried to criticize my use of Latin (nerd). I was right and he was wrong, but there’s no real way to address his error. The last thing you want to do is get into some sort of shouting match with a reviewer.
Which I suppose is the point of this post. People are going to say some horrible things about your work. It’s just gonna happen. In the end, it really doesn’t matter and you can’t do anything about it even if it did. Just let it go. And the next time you write a murder scene, think of them.
They're coming for you, pwner37!
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Best Ghost Pictures Ever Taken
Stumbled upon this post today. The Paranormal About.com site has cataloged the best ghost photos ever taken. Have a look, and see if you can debunk any of them. Let us know in the comments if you can!
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Cause I Feel Like It: Back in the Saddle by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
I think my favorite thing about having this blog is sharing good music with good people. Not really a video, but a good song nonetheless.
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The Next Novel by Brett J. Talley–The Void
Got some great news today. The publishers have reviewed the manuscript for my next novel, The Void, and we are set for a summer release! I don’t want to give too much away about the book, but suffice it to say that it’s definitely horror, it’s definitely scary, and it’s definitely set in the future. Of course, if you are interested in learning more about the book, you could always pick up a copy of my award-winning short story, The Substance of Shadow . . . .
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Free Music Friday: Me & You by Michael Reno Harrell
Truly one of my favorite songs. Pick it up here.
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Remembering Lovecraft
Anniversaries are funny things. Nothing happened on September 11, 2011. It was just another day. And yet, and yet. I suppose it is how the mind works, how we deal with time and memory. Does a man love his wife any less on the day before their 25th wedding anniversary? Was the pain of loss any less on September 10, 2011? Certainly not. Maybe it’s just that in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, we often fail to find time to think on such things. And so they simmer below the surface, waiting to burst forth.
Today is an anniversary of a death. It will go unnoticed by most, and being the 75th such anniversary, I seriously doubt that anyone feels the pain of loss that those who knew him must have felt in the days and the years that followed March 15, 1937, the day that H.P. Lovecraft succumbed to cancer of the small intestine at the age of 46. In life, Lovecraft never received the praise he deserved, and even with the benefit of his massive influence on popular culture, he is still relatively unknown.
But that influence is massive. The debt I owe him is obvious, but I’ll be bold—you’ve never read a horror novel or seen a horror movie that was produced after 1950 that was not influenced by H.P. Lovecraft. He is the Edgar Allen Poe of the last century, and his ideas rest at the heart of modern horror.
I could say more, but the fact is others have said it first and said it better. Rest in Peace, Howard. Perhaps we will see you again when the stars come round right once more.
“Heaven knows where I’ll end up – but it’s a safe bet that I’ll never be at the top of anything! Nor do I particularly care to be.” –H. P. Lovecraft
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Come On, Give Me Your Best Shot!
Occasionally I put out a plea for reviews. This is that occasion again. Fact is, you may love a book, but if you don’t let the world know, then your silent love and affection is all the author ever sees. And we appreciate that, no doubt. But what we appreciate even more is for you to let your little light shine. Shine on, you crazy diamond, and give That Which Should Not Be your feedback here.
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The Lumineers–Interview & New Video!
As loyal readers of this blog know, I have a special place in my heart for a new band on the scene, The Lumineers, and I am fairly convinced they are about to make it big. I was made aware of this interview by a contributor, and I wanted to make it available for the wider public. I’ve also included the official video for The Lumineers song, Ho Hey, below. We’ll make them famous yet, friends. Support them and buy their music here.
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Another Great Review, This Time in Horror World
For whatever reason, reviews seem to come in waves. I think people read the first wave of reviews, decide to read the book, all finish about the same time, and then write reviews. Whatever the case may be, Horror World published an excellent–and incredibly in depth–review of That Which Should Not Be yesterday. I continue to feel incredibly blessed by TWSNB’s success. The second book is in the hands of the publishers. Let’s hope we avoid the sophomore slump . . .
“Finally, it is easy to see why this first novel of Brett J. Talley’s has received the notice and acclaim that have followed it, and That Which Should Not Be marks a welcome and stylishly enjoyable addition to the Lovecraftian Mythos as well as a promising and talented introduction of a new authorial talent to the horror genre in Brett J. Talley. I know that I, for one, will be looking forward with great anticipation to his next novel.”
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Great Review of TWSNB in Starburst Magazine
Woke up to a really nice review in Starburst magazine–the longest running magazine of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy–this morning. Certainly worth checking out. Click me!
“This is a fantastic debut novel and fits right into the Lovecraft mythology. Even if Lovecraft is not usually your thing, I would still say that this book is worth checking out; such is the quality of the writing and the gripping nature of the stories being told. It more than deserves the nomination it received for this year’s Bram Stoker awards. Suffice to say that when I finished this book, I had an uncontrollable urge to go back and read some of the original Lovecraft classics. I can’t give it a better recommendation than that.” –Graeme Reynolds, Starburst
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Literary Pretension
Writing a book is sorta like running for president; you’ve got to be a little bit full of yourself to do it. I mean seriously, how much of an egomaniac do you have to be to think anybody cares what you think about much of anything?
Oh no! How ever will I tell what kind of book this is?!
Yesterday I noticed something that seems to really exemplify this tendency. I was in a book store, buying a guide for monster hunting. I happened to glance at a table of “literary fiction.” Written on every book was the phrase, “A Novel.” So for instance, you might have a book called, The Pretension of the Novelist. And then, somewhere randomly on the cover it would say, A Novel.
A novel? What, am I stupid? Are you concerned that I thought The Art of Fielding was actually an instructional guide on defensive baseball? I don’t know, maybe I’m overreacting. What do you think?
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Lovecraft eZine Announces Theme Issues
One of my favorite websites, the Lovecraft eZine, announced the themes they’ll be publishing this year. They are:
- Halloween themes for the October issue.
- Christmas themes for the December issue.
- Lovecraftian Sherlock Holmes stories for an issue sometime this year.
- Deep Ones/Dagon/Innsmouth stories for an issue sometime this year.
- AND, I want to do an “Woman-theme” issue, for lack of a better term. For this issue, I want female writers only.
Sounds pretty interesting. I may try my hand at some of these, though the last one might be kinda difficult. . .
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Beware The Shadows 