Uncomfortably Dark Interview

I had the pleasure of meeting Candace Nola virtually on the Dead Headspace podcast, after which, she invited me to be interviewed for her Uncomfortably Dark website. The interview went live yesterday, if you’d like to check it out, where it nestles amidst interviews with all sorts of interesting and talented people. Thanks very much to Candace for some great questions and for having me on her website.

Alma Update

Lovely people who gave so generously for our little foster dog, Alma, who has been diagnosed with cancer and is facing a serious fight, here’s an update on her and her condition:

To begin with, a hundred thousand “THANK YOU”‘s to everyone who participated in the fundraiser for her care, whether by donating, spreading the word, or in the case of the amazing Robert Ottone, promising to murder someone in one of his stories if they pushed the fundraiser over the finish line. (At least, I think it was in one of his stories…) You are all fabulous and in Rob’s case maybe just a little bit scary.

When we took Alma in to have her surgery, we asked the vet to do an X-Ray first, to ensure there were no additional complications. It was fortunate that we did, because the X-Ray revealed additional tumors in her mammary glands, requiring a radical mastectomy, which is a more complicated surgery than she had been scheduled for. (For a moment, there was a possibility she might have had a tumor in her lungs, as well, but that turned out to be a false alarm.) We had to reassess and reschedule.

As of now, the plan is for me to take her to a specialist to have a scan of the adjacent lymph node tomorrow. If the cancer is confined to the mammary glands, then we’ll go ahead with the surgery, which will have a good chance of success. If it has spread to the lymph node (and by extension, to the rest of her system), we’ll keep her comfortable and loved for as long as we can. Obviously, we’re hoping and praying that isn’t the case.

Alma was pretty freaked out by the vet’s visit; though she recovered herself pretty well by the next day. Since then, however, she’s become quite attached to Amber, our little dachshund-chihuahua-maybe corgi? mix. They seem to take great comfort in one another. Here’s a picture of the two of them.

Unboxing Video: The Fisherman, UK edition

As you know, Bob, the British publisher, Canelo, is bringing out a new edition of my novel, The Fisherman, as part of their new horror line (which includes some terrific people like cousin Sarah Langan). The book should be available in October; in advance of its release, they kindly sent me some copies. Since unboxing videos seem to be all the rage these days, I thought I would have a go at one. My younger son was the cameraman; my wife provided ambient effects.

Vampire Level!

The other day, I had the pleasure of being one of the guests on Conner Habib’s podcast, Against Everyone with Conner Habib. I was joined by the ferociously talented and funny Sophie White, whose astonishing novel, Where I End, just won the Shirley Jackson award. The three of us had a wide-ranging conversation touching on the folk traditions of Ireland and Scotland, the place of supernatural events in daily life, the rituals of grieving, and the differences between ghost level and vampire level. (And death level, come to think of it.) It was a treat getting to talk to such smart and lovely people.

Oh, that’s right, there was a lot of talk about the sea, too.

You can listen to us here, if you’d like. Thanks again to Conner and Sophie.

Darla! or, the Josh Ruben Appreciation post

The Latest from the Talented Mr. Ruben

I first encountered Josh Ruben’s work through his brilliant movie, Scare Me (2020), which he wrote, directed, and co-starred in (along with the incredible Aya Cash and Chris Redd). The premise of the film is simple. Ruben plays a writer who has booked a cabin in the country to work on his writing. To his surprise, he discovers that Aya Cash’s character is renting a cabin nearby. Where his character is artistically frustrated, hers is incredibly successful. They agree to hang out together, and when she drops by his place, they begin telling scary stories to one another. (Chris Redd delivers the pizza they order later, then hangs around for a little while.) Here’s what makes the movie such an accomplishment: in a typical film, after this kind of setup, the scene would shift to dramatizations of the stories the characters are narrating, maybe with voiceovers by the characters. In Scare Me, there’s no cutting away: Ruben and Cash (and later Redd) act out the stories they’re telling (and possibly, singing). Yes, this is a cost-saving strategy, but it’s also a gamble, one that places a huge burden on the actors. We’ve all been in situations where someone who thinks they can tell a story demonstrates how profoundly they can’t. But Ruben, Cash, and Redd deliver standout performances that pivot from suspense to comedy to horror with grace and ease. The result is a film I continue to recommend to people.

Ruben’s directorial follow-up, Werewolves Within (2021), was an adaptation of a video game. I’ve never played the game, so I can’t comment on its faithfulness, but I can say that I enjoyed this movie as much as Scare Me. Here, Ruben’s working on a much larger canvas, with a story that involves a dramatically expanded cast of characters. The narrative uses the frame of the murder-mystery: the residents of the small town of Beaverfield are being horribly killed by what appears to be a werewolf (they aren’t sure, but we’ve read the title, so we can cut to the chase). As in most small-town settings, we’re introduced to a cast of eccentric locals, each of whom has their share of resentments against at least one of the others. The film weaves together small town life, detective work, and scenes of horror, building to a dramatic climax. (Interestingly to me, the second film Ruben chose to direct features a werewolf, which also plays a thematic role in Scare Me.)

Acting-wise, Ruben’s subsequent choices have been ambitious and provocative. In Travis Stevens’s wild and experimental A Wounded Fawn (2022), Ruben plays a serial killer who sees his plans for his next victim disintegrate into a kaleidoscopic phantasmasgoria. (If I were smarter than I am, I would remark on this being another kind of werewolf.) In Noah Segan’s vampire road movie Blood Relatives (2022), which Ruben produced, he plays a supporting role as a Renfield figure abandoned in a psychiatric center by Segan’s careless vampire. (For what it’s worth, there’s an entire second film focused on that character in his confinement waiting to be written and filmed. I’m just saying.)

Now, Ruben has written his first graphic novel, Darla, for which there was a kickstarter earlier this year. It is a knockout. Wonderfully illustrated by Bri Tippetts, it brings together politics, monsters, and insanity in a compelling and horrifying story. It’s available now through the Invader comics website; if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, I heartily recommend doing so. Reading Darla really makes me hope Ruben has more graphic novel scripts lurking inside him.

One of the things I love about horror media these days is its willingness to take chances at all levels, from story to character to presentation. (This fearlessness and freshness of approach is one of the things that makes the Shudder channel such a worthwhile investment.) Josh Ruben is at the forefront of those doing the good work. I’m grateful to him for it.

Evil Cast! or, At Last I Am a Comic Book Character

Way back in the spring of 2020, as the world was plunging into COVID, I was a guest on the Humming Fools podcast. With the hosts, Kyle Stuck and Noah Basle, I had a lengthy conversation about a wide-range of topics. A little while later, Kyle reached out to me to share the first couple of issues of a comic he was working on, Evil Cast. A deft mix of horror and comedy, it featured him and Noah as the protagonists of an unfolding supernatural drama. I liked it a great deal. Not long after, Kyle followed up with a joint invitation to myself and Paul Tremblay to make a cameo appearance in an issue of the comic. We both agreed enthusiastically, and before long, Kyle shared our character designs with us:

Art by Enrico Orlandi

When the first six issues were collected in trade paperback form, Kyle very kindly sent me a copy. It’s terrific, and not just because the cameo scene with Paul and myself made me laugh out loud. The first installment of the story left me eager for what’s next; I encourage you to take a look at it. And thanks again to Kyle and the story’s artist, Enrico Orlandi, for making a childhood fantasy come true.

Help for Alma

One of the other things my family has done this summer is take in a new foster dog. Fiona found Alma on the AmsterDogs rescue site, where she was listed as Almond Cookie, which is a cute name, but one we thought might be confusing to the other dogs, given the whole cookie part of it. We decided Alma was a good alternative, close enough to what she was being called for her to adjust to it without too much trouble. Alma was found tied to a bicycle rack in New York City. She’d obviously had puppies not long before. She was in a bad way: underweight and suffering from pneumonia. At first, she was too weak to spay. The rescue stabilized her, nursed her back to health, and ultimately brought her upstate to stay with us.

From the start, Fiona, David, and I were smitten with this little dog. The rescue estimated her age at five, but she acts much younger, and our vet thinks she’s closer to three. We’re not sure of her breed, though Fiona thinks she could be a black mouth cur. She is very sweet, and almost desperate to please. Start petting her, and she flops down at your feet. I’ve started taking her outside with me when I write. I sit in my chair balancing my writing desk on my knee, and she lies down watching the goings-on on our dead-end street.

Contented dog with contented human

Alma came to us still underweight, which is a problem we’ve had no difficulty addressing. She also came to us with a significant growth beside one of her nipples, which has proven to be more of a problem. According to our vet, it’s cancer, and of a particularly aggressive and fast-moving stripe (epithelial cell neoplasia, for those who know about such things). The recommended surgical treatment is also aggressive and needs to be done quickly to give her the best chance. By the time you factor in all the expenses involved, it’s not going to be cheap. Were we in a different financial situation, I would have handed over the money to the vet already and scheduled Alma’s surgery. We’re not, though, and so AmsterDogs has set up a fundraiser to raise the amount needed. Already, we’ve managed just about a third of the cost, which is amazing and heartening.

As someone whose day job is a study in uncertainty, I know times are tough. Any amount you can spare helps and is appreciated. There is no such thing as a donation that’s too small. If donating is not in the cards, I understand, but if you can help spread the word, I would be grateful.

A dog and her boy

What I Did on my Summer Vacation, 2023 Version

My goodness, has it really been a year since I last posted anything here? I suppose I use other social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now Threads and Bluesky) to document what’s happening in my day to day life. There are times, though, when a little more room is a nice thing to have. With that in mind, I thought I’d use this space to mark my fifth season performing with the Rock Academy Woodstock‘s adult program. As some of you may know, my younger son, David, was a student at the Rock Academy for five years, during which he was part of more shows than I can count, both during the regular seasons and as part of the school’s showband. I’ve often said enrolling him at the Rock Academy was one of the best things Fiona and I ever did for him. The other week, David and I were talking about the school, and he distinguished between it and other places he’s seen. “They’re businesses,” he said. “The Rock Academy is a school.” It’s hard for me to think of higher priase.

I knew there was an adult program at the place pretty early on. David and I attended several of their shows. Sure, it looked like fun (which is to say, the fulfillment of many adolescent and post-adolescent fantasies), but I was already studying Tang Soo Do with David, and I was worried about wedging myself into another activity he had started first. Plus, love to sing though I do (and there is a tape of the afterparty for Fiona’s and my wedding that documents me indulging that love through the aid of way to much Dewar’s), the prospect of performing in front of people who were actual musicians and not my relatives and in-laws was frankly terrifying.

Upon David’s graduation from the Rock Academy, though (almost exactly two years ago as I write this), his teacher, Jason Bowman, who also runs the place, said to me, “So you’re joining the adult program in the fall.” The sentence was not uttered as a question. I was going to reply with some form of deferral, but before I could, I found myself answering, “Okay. I will.” When I showed up for the first rehearsal some weeks later, Jason looked slightly startled to see me. But he put me on some songs on the setlist that had open parts for guitar (my instrument of choice) and one open part for vocals, and off we went.

As I said at the beginning of this entry, that was five seasons ago. In that time, I’ve benefitted not only from the patient direction of Jason and the fabulous Bobby Weiss, but from the patience and encouragement of the people I have played with. Many of them are Rock Academy parents; pretty much all of them have musical abilities that put my own to shame. But I’ve kept at it anyway. My electric guitar playing remains, by and large, atrocious. My acoustic guitar playing is better, though only on rhythm. I can do okay on the harmonica. The past two seasons, I’ve spent a lot of time working on my voice, and have been able to sing some things I never would have imagined I could. Don’t get me wrong: Josh Malerman and John Hornor Jacobs are not in any danger. But I’m not as hideously embarrassed as I used to be, and that counts for something.

When I started the adult program, I said I was concerned about maintaining neuroplasticity as I grew older. That remains true. It hadn’t occurred to me, though, that your soul might need to maintain its plasticity, too.

So here are a couple of videos from the first night of our most recent show, which was held just across the county line in Greene County. Thanks to Vickie Muller for recording and sharing them. The first is our version of U2’s “Trip Through Your Wires;” the second is our extended jam-version of Ray LaMontagne’s “Three More Days.”

And hey, if you live in the Kingston-Woodstock-Saugerties vicinity and want to get your rock on, come join us.

Yeah, the hat’s a thing