Newsletter for March Now Out; 'Renfield' Trailor; UFO Museum

Credit: Pixabay

Finally, the newsletter, “Night Creatures' Call”, for March, is out! I released it just last night, so, those of you who subscribed to it, check your inboxes. If you're not subscribed you can do so for free here. In this issue, I talk about my newest story that I'm revising for my upcoming book of short stories, "Bad Apps". I talk about the story’s characterisation and its tentative title. So, what is that title? You have to subscribe to the newsletter to find out! If you subscribe to me by April 10th, I'll make sure you get the current issue in your inbox. That’s it for the news about the new issue of my author newsletter. Now for some other science fiction and fantasy news that I’ve found of interest! Well, most of it. 

‘Renfield’ Trailer

I saw one of the trailers for the movie, "Renfield", over the weekend. This movie tells the story of Universal’s Dracula and his hunt for human blood in modern day New Orleans, only it's told through the eyes of Renfield (played by Nicholas Hoult), the Count’s mad, ghoulish assistant. However, in this movie, Renfield doesn't stay a sinister madman for long. He actually ditches Dracula to team up with a cop (Awkwafina) to slay him before he can take too many more lives. 

The sets to “Renfield”, particularly for Dracula's castle interior, look convincingly gothic. The makeup job looks really good on Nicolas Cage which makes him resemble not only Bela Lugosi’s depiction of the character but Lugosi himself. However, the movie looks too much as if the producers couldn’t decide whether to make it a spoof (with maybe too much snark on Hollywood’s part) or a straight horror movie simply sprinkled with humour (like the 1980s "Lost Boys"). It even looks like it could be too much of an excuse to simply make another cop shoot-out movie. So, I think I'll save my money and just wait for it to come out on video. "Renfield" premieres in theatres April 14th. 

UFO Museum

Since December, Davis California has had its own UFO pop-up museum. Named Encounters UFO Xperience, the museum is located at the University Mall across the street from the UC Davis campus. It runs through the month of April but only on certain days of the week which are listed on the museum's website. The museum features exhibits related to UFO sightings and aliens in pop culture. Also, it holds events such as pop music concerts based on or related to the subject matter. Music genres include electronica, funk and punk. It even features both classic and contemporary science fiction books! And most super of all, it's interactive! So, you might be able to experience what it's like to be abducted by beings from another planet via a simulation! 

I haven't checked out this museum yet, but I'll be sure too before the month is out. I may even have a feature post about it here. So, if you're in the Sacramento area be sure to check out Encounters UFO Xperience. If you're not in the area, perhaps plan a trip to here during one of April’s beautiful spring days!

That's all the sci fi and fantasy news I have for you this week. Be here Wednesday for another Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop! 

So, will you be subscribing to "Night Creatures' Call", seeing "Renfield" or checking out the Encounters UFO Xperience pop-up museum? 

Until next time . . .