A Far Out Fantastic Site

Credit: Pixabay.com I know, it’s the third Saturday of the month and that we are supposed to have our Book-To-Movie this evening. It was supposed to be a review of “The Invisible Man” and its movie adaptations, including the new one that released at the end of last month . However, I wanted to refresh myself on the 1930s original and had to request my nearest library to order it on loan. But when it came I wasn’t able to pick it up because the library closed to take precaution against the Coronavirus. So I’m postponing the Book-To-Movie until the library re-opens which is impossible to say when that will be. I may, however, do a Book-To-Movie for another book in the next week or two, so keep tuning in here. Well, a book and movie review isn’t the only thing that’s being cancelled due to today’s version of the black plague. Because so many cities, ones here in the Sacramento region included, are going on shelter-in-place, sci fi and fantasy conventions are getting cancelled e...

Credit: Pixabay.com I meant to post about Sinister Creature Con a couple weeks ago but several other events came up . This convention for all things of the horror genre occurred Saturday and Sunday the weekend of June 16 th at the Scottish Rite Center in Sacramento. I only attended Saturday and was preparing swag up to the minute I had to leave the house for the con. Although this con that occurs twice a year in Sacramento--once in the summer, once in the fall--honours both mainstream and indie horror artists, it caters to the latter most of all. It’s an event where indie writers and artists like myself can find support and encouragement that we often don’t get elsewhere. In the Dealers’ Room Sinister Creature’s dealers’ room on Saturday was mostly filled with the arts and crafts of indie creators, most of who work in the horror genre. The work on display and for sale included everything from paintings of famous movie monsters to handmade goth jewelry to horror au...

Credit: The Blogger I would have been happy if people stopped to simply flip through my books at my vendor table at Sac Comic-Con last Sunday. Since that was my first vendor table at a convention, I really didn’t expect to sell anything. I sold five copies of my books! The first sale was actually early on in the convention—within the first 10 minutes of opening! A father with his three kids stopped to look. I started giving my pitch for each book and, before I could finish, he said he would take one copy of each: The Fool’s Illusion and “CircaSixty Years Dead” . Later in the day, two more people made purchases at different times each. I also traded copies with the fellow author whose table was right next to mine, Jay Norry , for two books from his Zombie Zero series . We suggested doing reviews for each other’s books once we read them. I’ll leave reviews at Amazon for sure but may have fuller ones here. However, I may not be to do anything until the beginning of t...

I'm not leaving much of a post here this weekend because I've been busy all day preparing for my vendor table for Sac Comic-Con . The convention is tomorrow from 10 AM to 6 PM. You can read more about it at my Facebook page . This will be my first convention that I've had a table at, so don't be surprised if I seem a little rusty. I hope to see you there. My booth number is B25; I'll have a name sign up. If you can't make it, then . . . Until next time . . . Credit: Pixabay.com

Two posts ago I gave a report of two panels that I attended at Wizard World Comic Con in Sacramento. [link] I highlighted the fiction writing advice given at these panels. One of the panels was about the Satan myth in the dark fiction genre and the term for the genre itself. I said that author Richard Kadrey talked about his Satan character in the Lucifer comic book series and that he talked some more about it in his villain creation panel later that same day. That panel is included here in part two of the report of the writing panels I attended. I had also said that the report would be divided into three posts, but it looks like I can complete it in two, so this is the final part.    A "Disco Revolution" band that I watched before attending my first panel on Saturday, Day 2 of Wizard World Comic Con in Sacramento. These guys are really heavy in keeping one of the earliest forms of electronica alive! Photo Credit: the blogger Day 2, Part II So after the ...

Credit: Pixabay.com It’s that time of year again for Intergalactic Expo , one of Sacramento’s biggest local sci fi cons. I was trying to rent table space there to sell my books but unfortunately it didn’t work out, mostly due to pricing and lack of space. Let alone lack of tables. I told the facilitators of the con that I would be willing to bring my own blanket and lay it out on the floor or lawn somewhere along with my merchandise like they do at middle eastern and North African bazaars but they said it would demean the con’s reputation. Good grief! It’s a sci fi con, anything should go! Well okay, almost anything. They can’t have real light saber duels or somebody could get hurt, not to mention that there probably isn’t a way to make real light sabers yet. So, Star Wars fans, you’ll have to settle for glass and plastic ones. I just thought my suggestion of the blanket would add to the exoticism of the con’s theme. So you won’t see me there. Or at least not as pr...

Last Saturday’s Toy Game and Pop Culture Expo held at Sacramento’s Great Escape Games wasn’t quite all fun and games. It was fun, games, books and their authors. Local authors Nicholas Grabowsky (who wrote the novel adaptation of Halloween IV ) and Angelique Anderson (writer of YA sci fi and fantasy) were displaying their books for sale. I had a great time talking with both of them. Nick talked about his plans to present at more cons after having taken a hiatus. I talked to him about my current projects: my most recently published ebook, “Circa Sixty Years Dead” ,   and the print and photo-real cover editions in progress. The great thing about talking with authors such as he and Angelique is that when you’re sliding down the hill, like I’ve been ever since I started my day job as library technician back in September, you get motivated and more focused on your own writing. That’s among other great things like the generous offers Nick gave me such as a free copy, signed by h...

Sinister Creature Con was a blast. I was there most of the day. Even though it catered more to the cinematic special effects and make-up crowd, I found a lot of great inspiration and motivation for my own art, the art of words particularly. I want to share with you that inspiration and the tips that came from it but it’s been a long day, so tonight’s not the best time. I would do it next week but that’s when I want to give you a chance at winning a giveaway through a Halloween contest and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fit both in that weekend, especially since I have a family gathering to go to that evening. So it will probably be either Halloween weekend or the weekend after. But I would like to share some photos* with you that I took at the con which you’ll find below. Most are of attendees who came in costume which theirs and many others’ were really out’a sight! Two furries (or hairries?) Three cousins in costume, from left to right: Michael J...

Halloween is one of my all-time favourite holidays and we're more than a week into the month of October. So your ghoulru has decided to conjure up this list of Halloween-related events happening now in the Sacramento area where he is broadcasting this blog from. I know many of you are not from here, but I have a couple links that might be of use to you that may direct you to some special Halloween events near you. A list of Halloween Events   Sacramento Horror Film Festival , Oct. 9 – 11: Yes, that's right. This festival of fearful films by indie directors is going on right now! It was started back in 2007 and has been going since. It shows both feature and short films. Sacramento Area Authors talk about their post-apocalypticnovel , Oct. 16: Authors Louis Grivetti and Sargent Reynolds talk about their latest novel, The Cave , set in a post-apocalyptic future, at The Avid Reader bookstore in Davis. But no zombies in this one (unless they make a surprise appearance; ...

I used to take off to BayCon in the Silicon Valley on these Memorial Day weekends but haven’t done so in the last three years. If there was any year I should have went it was probably this year, since HorrorAddicts.net had their book release party for TheHorror Addicts Guide to Life there last night. But my day job made things a little unpredictable and so I didn’t plan for it early enough. I did, however, keep up with the party on Facebook. According to Emerian Rich, founder of HorrorAddicts.net, the party went by great. It was a panel discussion/release party where they were giving away prizes and selling books, including the Horror Addicts Guide . I don’t have the numbers but Emerian said they sold several books, whether that included the Horror Addicts Guide or not, I’m not sure. I know they were selling, or at least displaying, a number of other Horror Addict authors’ books that they set out on their table which looked really neat, the main colours of the banner and cloth b...

(If you missed part one of this topic, you can read it here .) Last time, I went over some highlights of day two of West Sacramento’s Intergalactic Expo. I also went over in my article about how so-called outdated sci fi can be read or viewed as alternate timeline or retro future sci fi. If you missed these, then you can read about them here . Now for the second part to both these discussions. Intergalactic Expo Highlights, Day 2, Part 2 Let me begin by concluding my highlights of Intergalactic Expo which occurred the weekend of May 2 nd and lasted through Sunday, in which Sunday is what last week’s post was highlighting. If you want to know about events for Saturday of the con, then please check out my post forthat weekend . (In that post I talk about the panel on female characters in Josh Whedon’s films and television shows, collectively known as the Whedonverse.) On the second day of Intergalactic Expo, May 3 rd , after the table talk with JP Aerospace, I a...