|
Post by Michael West on Apr 3, 2007 20:58:57 GMT -5
Well, I'm back from Toronto, Canada and WHC 2007. What a wonderful weekend! So much happened that I would love to talk about, and some other things happen that I dare not speak of. Here are some of the things I learned in the Great White North: Some women love Cthulu. Fran Friel can be just as gross as the guys. The meaning of the word "Pimpalicious." I can get vertigo. Gift idea for Wrath James White: 19-year-old sparring partner. Nick Paccione sounds like freakin' Shakespeare when read with a Welsh accent. And last but not least... Writers make the best friends in the whole world! ;D Now, off to meet a new deadline. Hope to have more to post on that in the coming months.
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Apr 12, 2007 6:04:56 GMT -5
Car Wreck, Surgery, and Tornados...Oh my! It's been a busy and weird 24 hours. I was involved in a car accident on my way home Tuesday night. Don't worry! I'm fine. My car, on the other hand, is not. It had to be towed from the scene. The repair shop is looking at it, but I fear it will be a total loss. It was bleeding many types of fluid onto the pavement and the airbag exploded in my face. So yeah, the Mikemobile is off the road for now. The bright side, if you can call it that, is that my wife, Stephanie, had surgery on her other foot the next morning. She too is fine. She has her foot up on pillows and is pumped full of pain meds, so she's just really happy right now. Because this surgery was on her right foot, she can't drive for six weeks, so being down to one vehicle really isn't a problem at the moment. Then, last night, the tornado sirens start going off and we get thunderstorms and rain like you would not believe. Ahhh...Spring in Indiana. Again, nobody was hurt. The twisters stayed north of us and I did not have to sleep in the basement last night. So to sum up, busy 24 hours, but I'm OK, Steph is OK, the kids are OK, and West Manor is OK. Now I gotta get back to work on that book. I feel a fit of inspiration coming on. I think one of my characters is in for a wild 24 hours of their own...
|
|
|
Post by Timid Wily Lava Child on Apr 12, 2007 19:38:04 GMT -5
Blah blah blah Damn Book!
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Apr 20, 2007 7:54:08 GMT -5
Blah blah blah Damn Book! I don't know if that is a lack of concern for me, or just anger at my writing. Anywho...the Mikemobile is a total loss. I get to go shopping for a replacement tomorrow. ;D I've gotten messages from several people, concerned that they have not seen me posting on-line as of late and wondering if everything was OK. Let me set the record straight: I'm fine and everything is great. The reason I have been AWOL from Shocklines, Red Light, and even my own site as of late is that I am spending every free moment on the new novel. This is the stage of the game I hate with a passion, that early part of the process where I have to get to know my characters and how best to tell their story. Once I get the whole set-up in place, however, and can start tearing people limb from limb...well, that's when the fun begins and I can shift into auto pilot. Sorry if I worried anyone, but I hope you will all understand. I hope to get back to a more regular schedule very soon.
|
|
|
Post by Timid Wily Lava Child on Apr 21, 2007 4:27:33 GMT -5
Blah blah blah Damn Book! I don't know if that is a lack of concern for me, or just anger at my writing. No no, it just seemed to be required in a response, so I thought I'd have fun with it.
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Apr 22, 2007 13:05:04 GMT -5
No no, it just seemed to be required in a response, so I thought I'd have fun with it. That's what I thought. Well, got a new vehicle yesterday. Was at the dealership from 10am-4pm. Always the way you want to spend your beautiful Saturday afternoon. Oh well, if I was at home, I would've been inside typing. I got a Black Ford Fusion, which I have decked out in Jack Skellington accessories. It has an MP3 player jack so that I can hook my player up and hear it through the car speakers. Very cool. We were also able to get out of a lease on our mini-van at the same time. Got a black Escape SUV. The wife will be the one to mainly drive that one, that is, when she can drive again in 4.5 weeks. Then, when I got home, the new blinds had come and my wife asked me to put them up. It's hard to say no to someone who is lying there with their foot up in a big blue boot with tubes of ice water running in and out of it. So...I had to spend last evening putting up blinds. Got done about midnight. The bright side is that today is a day of rest...for everything but writing. Got several chapters of the new novel totally done and the story is coming together very nicely. Got to have at least 15k words by the end of the month, so I better get going. Talk to you soon!
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Apr 23, 2007 12:18:33 GMT -5
Big Chef! Okay...maybe this is just an Indiana thing, but there used to be a fast food chain called Burger Chef on every corner when I was a kid. We used to go there all the time, and they offered cool Star Wars and King Kong tie-ins when those movies came out in the 1970s. Actually...now that I think about it... King Kong might have been Burger King, but I pretty sure it was Burger Chef. Anyway, the signature sandwich of Burger Chef was the Big Chef. Burger Chef is long gone now. It was bought out by Hardees. Today, however, as I was driving past a local Hardees, there was a sign that read: Burger Chef Big Chef 2 for $3. I couldn't believe it! My wife and I had just been talking about the Big Chef last week! (These are the kinds of deep conversations we have in the car. ) Well, I just had to pull in and get me some. And wow...just as good as I remembered! ;D Anyway, thanks for sharing lunch with me. Off to type more words...
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on May 1, 2007 10:26:52 GMT -5
Novel Watch 2007 update: One month in and I'm right on schedule. 15k words. ;D Are they good words? Well, I'm happy them, but time will tell.
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on May 16, 2007 8:27:57 GMT -5
The wife is having a "spa party" at West Manor tonight, so I'm going to take a break from writing and meet my brother for a screening of 28 Weeks Later. ;D Loved the first film, and I've only read one negative review. One out of 20. Not bad. It's getting better notices than Spider-Man 3, so I hope I won't be as disappointed with this sequel as I was with that one. BTW, on the movie review front... Sorry about the lack of reviews in recent months. I've had to cut back on both my movie watching and my non-novel writing time in order to keep my promise to Don D'Auria. I promise YOU, however, that as soon as the novel is complete, I will return to reviewing with a vengeance. If anyone on the board wants to take up the slack, please feel free to post reviews of the movies you're watching in theaters and on DVD. Thanks for understanding.
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on May 25, 2007 8:06:23 GMT -5
Don't know whether to laugh or cry. As many of you know, my wife, Stephanie, had foot surgery right before Christmas 2006 on her left foot. Then, when I got back for World Horror in Toronto, she had the same surgery on the right foot. Both times, she has had to wear a large cast-like boot on the foot in question for six long weeks. The surgery on the right foot has been especially challenging because she has been unable to drive and must stay cooped up in West Manor all day long, or rely on the charity of friends and family to take her where she needs to go. But there was light at the end of this long, dark tunnel! This week, she was to have seen the doctor and been cleared to remove the boot. Yes, she could drive again. She could wear normal, comfortable shoes. She could exercise and swim and ride bikes and...well, be normal again. (At least as normal as possible in West Manor. ) Sadly, all this has changed. This week, Stephanie decided to clean house. She took a very large and very heavy statue off its pedestal so that she could move it and mop the tiled floor behind it. Well, the statue proved too large and to heavy for her to lift back up again, so she left it on the floor for me to move when I got home. Later that afternoon, she met my kids at the door after school, turned around, and rammed her recently healed left foot right into the statue. Like I said, I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. Actually, that night, we both laid in bed laughing for about half an hour. She thought of canceling her appointment, too embarrassed to face her doctor. But she did go in and got a slew of new X-rays. She broke three toes and has a hairline fracture of the foot. Now, the boot that was just removed from her right foot is back on her left foot...for another six weeks. It could have been much worse. She could have needed surgery again. The doctor also gave her a smaller boot. It almost looks like a sandal. Much more comfortable for the summer. Now I just have to make sure she doesn't break the right foot before she gets the boot off the left.
|
|
|
Post by nightwriter on May 29, 2007 10:37:11 GMT -5
Wow - major bummer. But hey, at least she didn't break a leg! Tell her I said good luck and I hope she remains accident free the rest of the year! deb
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Jun 2, 2007 11:30:18 GMT -5
Thanks, Deb! ;D Are you going to be at APEX Day this year? BTW, if anyone is interested, just posted my appearance schedule in the NEWS section.
|
|
|
Post by nightwriter on Jun 4, 2007 7:29:19 GMT -5
Thanks, Deb! Are you going to be at APEX Day this year? I hope to be, but it's too early to say. Looking forward to seeing the gang at Mo*Con II. deb
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Jun 5, 2007 9:04:25 GMT -5
Looking forward to seeing the gang at Mo*Con II. I know. It's going to be a blast! ;D
|
|
|
Post by Michael West on Jul 8, 2007 23:23:59 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]InConJunction 2007[/glow] Wow! What a weekend. I got home this afternoon and crashed for a few hours. I do love fan conventions. The people are so friendly and very interested in what you do as an artist. The panels and readings were a great success. Got to hang out with some great writers and good friends, so enjoyable all the way around. ;D Here are some of the high points... The weekend started off on a high note with the horror authors reading their works. From left to right: Tony Ruggiero, James Dorr, Michael West, Tim Waggoner, and Gary Baunbeck. I read my story, "The Bridge," and was surprised and thrilled by the applause the tale received. As some of you may know, "The Bridge" was originally part of the prologue to "Shadows on the Cinema Wall," the novel I'm currently writing for Leisure books, but I'd cut it some time ago for pacing reasons. After the readings, I attended a screening of Grindhouse movie trailers from the 70s and early 80s. A wonderful collection of cannibals, zombies, aliens, and Kung-fu vampires. My favorite: Seven Brothers and Their One Sister Against Dracula! After only a few hours sleep, I was at it again. The local CBS affiliate did live broadcasts from the convention between 6:30am and 8:45am, and I was interviewed about the panels, readings, and other goings on involving horror writers at the con. Then it was off to more panels, ending with "Horror: Writing to Scare, Thrill, and Romance." The panel included Tim Waggoner (not pictured), and from left to right, Rosemary Laurey, Michael West, James Dorr, and Gary Braunbeck. We talked about why we write, the importance of having good characters, and we even touched on our own secret phobias and fears. When I wasn't speaking, I was at my table meeting faithful readers and signing books and magazines featuring my work. Thanks to everyone for their continued support. I hope to have many new nightmares to share with you in the coming year! Next up: Mo*Con on July 28th. Can't wait! ;D
|
|