How Mario Bava Saved Me

One of my favorite moments in Rome promoting Sei Ancora Qui, the Italian language version of I Still See You, the stellar film based on my novel Break My Heart 1,000 Times ,was a trip to Radio Rai to give an interview.  Gabriel, the publicist chaperoning Kim and I, let me know the interview would be live during our cab ride. This was only the second-most terrifying part, believe it or not. The most terrifying part was that the show I’d be appearing on was focused on films and not books like I’d foolishly assumed. The Italian edition of Sei Ancora Qui was coming out later that week and, because I am often an idiot, I assumed that people would be more interested in talking to me about that than the movie.

It has been a long, long time since I have been a movie expert. My days of being an assistant manager/usher at a local megaplex are in the distant past, and while I can speak definitively about the movies that came out during those years, I haven’t kept up. Writing, day job, writing, parenting, writing, reading--there hasn’t been nearly as much time for watching films as I would like. I’ve read far more books than I’ve seen movies over the past decade—hundreds of books; maybe three or four dozen movies. I try and keep up with del Toro and the Coen brothers and a handful of others, but that’s about it. My passive screen time has mostly been reserved for binge watching multi-season television shows and NBA basketball. So when Gabriel said that the interviewers would likely want me to talk about movies, I panicked. I felt like my brain dumped its hard drive; I couldn’t even recall any of my favorite ghost movies, which they would almost surely ask me about (The original Poltergeist, the original The Haunting based on Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, The Sixth Sense, and the remake of Thirteen Ghosts spring to mind. I hadn’t even seen my own movie yet!

Gabriel led us through the security checkpoint, where we admired the friendly guard’s origami handiwork, a collection of butterflies and bugs lining his desk, and into the studio. I was in a cold sweat, literally, when I sat down, and the interviewers started their show. It was amazing watching and listening to them work; they clearly enjoyed their jobs and were bantering back and forth in that delightful lyrical and physical cadence that characterizes Italian conversation. I looked through the glass into the mixing room where my wife and Gabriel sat with six or seven staff members, most of whom were engrossed in watching a soccer game on a screen set on the opposite wall. I smiled, weakly. No one wants to bomb in front of the woman they love, especially me.

Then the questions started coming—in English, thank God—and the main radio host had the unenviable task of translating my halting replies into Italian and make me sound interesting. My intro was encouraging, and they seemed to like my anecdote about wanting to write a “large-canvas ghost story”, because most ghosts stories are “small in the sense of being confined to a specific location, a haunted house or a church. I warmed up in talking about my trip to Canada and watching Scott Speer, I Still See You’s brilliant and tall director, encourage spectacular performances from Bella, Richard, Shaun, Dermot and many others—in scenes that scriptwriter Jason Fuchs had drawn directly from scenes I had written. Then they asked me about my favorite films and film makers.

“Mario Bava,” I blurted, truthfully.

It turned out to be a great answer.  The radio hosts both sighed and nodded appreciatively, and Kim would tell me later that the tech staff in the booth stopped watching the game for a moment and actually cheered my answer.

I really wasn’t pandering, although picking a native son like Bava (Black Sabbath, Black Sunday, Lisa and the Devil, Bay of Blood, Shock, to drop a few of the English titles) certainly seems like an obsequious move in hindsight. I think he came to mind though because when my mental hard drive crashed, taking with it most of my handy responses, stories, and anecdotes, images remained. Images that I’d seen in the trailers and bonus feature footage I’d seen of I Still See You.

Here’s the thing: the film looks gorgeous. It is wonderfully shot, framed—and this is especially important when trying to trace down the synapse that led me to say “Bava”—stunningly well lit. Every scene in Ronnie’s (oops, my Ronnie is Roni in the movie) house, the scenes in the water, the scenes in the No-Go Zone, the icy expanses—the cinematography is beautiful throughout and I feel especially fortunate that Simon Dennis brought his genius to the film. I so wanted to ask him during the filming if Bava had influenced him—the black and purples in the scenes with Brian, the amber tone in the last scene of Ronnie’s house—but I never got the chance. I recently watched Bava’s Black Sabbath for the fortieth time recently and I’d be shocked if Mr. Dennis hadn’t studied and loved Bava intensely, like I had.

Bava was a painter before he was a director, and that sensibility carries over to the best of his films, which look painted with light. One of the benefits in seeing Sei Ancora Qui before seeing I Still See You, and not speaking Italian, is that it allowed me to focus fully on the visuals and the look of the film. It’s gorgeous, in my only slightly biased opinion, composed with a similar painterly eye but enhanced by modern technique and technology. In retrospect it is quite clear why I made the synaptic connection I did between the I Still See You footage I’d seen and Bava’s work.

We wrapped soon after my sound booth ovation. On the way out, the mostly attentive guard had made a paper butterfly for Kim, one of the greatest treasures from a trip filled with them. We thanked him, thanked Gabriel, thanked everyone, and said our goodbyes. We had a movie to watch.

Break My Heart 1,000 Times Blog Tour

Wow, have I been busy!

I tell a true ghost story at Monster Librarian HERE.

I answer some questions at I Am a Reader, Not a Writer HERE.  Plus, there's a giveaway!

I write about writing at Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog HERE. Plus, there's a giveaway!

I answer more questions at Oodles of Books HERE. Plus, there's a giveaway!

I write about true ghost stories at Sophistikatied Reviews HERE. Plus, there's a giveaway!

I answer even more questions at Tynga's Reviews HERE. Plus, there's a giveaway!

I write about some ghost stories I admire at Mundie Moms HERE.

I answer still more questions at The Daily Fig HERE.

And now, I sleep. But stay tuned--there a few stops left on the tour!

Spooky, Spooky Reading

I've always been an obsessive reader, one who observed certain self-imposed rituals that are either a guard against insanity or proof of its existence.  As long as I've been reading, I've made the month of October Spooky Reading Month, and I plan for Spooky Reading Month with an administrative discipline not found in other aspects of my life (like, say, career and family).  The most important aspect of Spooky Reading Month is the Amassing of Spooky Reads, where, months in advance, I'll begin acquiring scary books to read.  Doesn't matter if I buy the book in January, and it looks like the greatest scary book ever written, I'll hold off on reading it until October.  This helps heighten both the anticipation and the tension, and so by the time I finally open the book to read there's already a nervous thrill in my chest that I'm certain augments the feelings of suspense I have while reading.  I can remember October's past where I would overdose on certain authors; Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson (although there was also the major disappointment--on Mischief Night, no less-- of discovering that the latter's Raising Demons isn't actually about diabolical conjuration, but is a heartwarming memoir on parenting).

The personal crown jewel, for me, of any Spooky Reading Month was a ghost story.  I love l-u-v ghost stories.  If I had a dozen horror novels to read for SRM, I would save the ghost story for last, the special treat to be unwrapped late on Halloween Night (with a Zagnut, if I was lucky enough to get one in my door to door plundering).

Break My Heart 1,000 Times is exactly the sort of story I'd have saved for the end of Spooky Reading Month; it is the ghost story I have been wanting to write since I wanted to write. It is the scariest story I've yet written and I hope you will add it to your own Spooky Reading Month TBR stack when it comes out this October 16th.  I hope it haunts you the way it haunts me.

I'm doing a blog tour this month at a variety of high quality literary reader, reviewer and blog sites.  I'll be sharing stories about one of the actual ghosts I've encountered, I'll write about some of my favorite ghost stories, I'll be answering some questions about BMH1kx and writing in general,and I'll discuss some of the wacky Halloween costumes I've worn over the years.  It will be fun--we'll get all sugared up and visit some haunted houses!  Choose your masks!

Stay tuned, and I will post links to the blog tour stops as they arrive...

Break My Heart 1,000 Times Reviews and Interviews

Will these reviews break my heart? See for yourself: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY RIFFS AND REVIEWS Will this interview reveal how many times my own heart has been broken? THE MILITANT RECOMMENDER Lots of linkage will follow over the next month--I'm going on a Blog Tour! Wheeeeee! Time to pack!

Break My Heart 1000 Times

A couple early reviews:

The Militant Recommender Written by an artist,Stephanie Piro, who did an illustration of a scene from the book!

Dark Faerie Tales A lovely site!

And an interview:Zone Out ModeBMH1kx will be out mid-October! Preorder early and often!

A Chat with Shels

I'm not sure if you are aware of these facts, but I am available for interviews, guest lectures, conferences, school visits, trivia contests, voiceover work, avatar photos, bat and bar mitzvahs, workshops, kissing booths, dunking booths, pickup basketball games, furniture moving, weddings, dance contests, critter evictions, dj'ing, poker games, chats, and general clowning. Serious inquiries only.

Here's a recent interview I did with Shels on the Walter Rhein blog: Click me! Click me!

GENERATION DEAD EBooks in just 19 days!!!!

Frequently and Not-So-Frequently Asked Questions

I was lucky enough to have an online chat with a group of teen readers at the Lake Geneva Library today, and because I don't believe in wasting anything (I love leftovers, too) I thought I'd post the transcript for the curious, the bored, the boredly curious and the curiously bored. Many thanks to The Librarian Sara (her official title) for the invite and for the moderation.

I had a great time, but I was promised cookies. Who ate all the cookies? Was it Ashleigh? Was it Lia? Lexi? Mary? Rachel? Don't all of you go blaming Jo aka JoJo, now!

Anyhow, here's the transcript:


LGPLyouth2: Hi!
WatersDan: Hello

LGPLyouth2: Thank you for coming to our book discussion of your book Generation Dead
LGPLyouth2: we have about five fangirls and one almost fanboy here to chat with you
WatersDan: Thanks for having me--I'm hoping I can learn about the book a little

WatersDan: sweet

LGPLyouth2: um, you wrote it :-)
WatersDan: oh, right, right

LGPLyouth2: rachel would like to commend you for being one of the few male romance authors. bravo
WatersDan: thank you, Rachel
WatersDan: You know Dean Koontz started out writing romances, too

LGPLyouth2: Rachel will now be looking into that very soon
WatersDan: they're hard to find--he wrote them under pen names, some of which he's never revealed!
WatersDan: but enough about Dean Koontz
LGPLyouth2: first question, from Lia (the typist/ executive fangirl #1)
WatersDan: Hi Lia
LGPLyouth2: hi!!!! what inspired the "Skeleton Crew" in book two?
WatersDan: the name, or the band itself?

LGPLyouth2: the general idea (both)
WatersDan: well, I listen to a lot of horror punk (among other things), and I listen to that type of music a lot when I'm writing.
WatersDan: And I wanted to show the zombies doing more "normal" things, especially in the arts. It is usually the arts that pushes social change, in my mind, more so than politics or law
LGPLyouth2: in my opinion art is more influential than politics or law.
LGPLyouth2: also there was a general "that's true" from everyone
WatersDan: sweet--we just solved all the world's problems! Thank you, and have a great day!
LGPLyouth2: many lols
LGPLyouth2: next question from Sara the Librarian...which came first; Zombies or social prejudice?
WatersDan: In the books, you mean? I knew that I wanted to write about social prejudice before I knew I wanted to write about zombies.
LGPLyouth2: cool
LGPLyouth2: why zombies?
WatersDan: Zombies ended up being my coping mechanism. The initial impetus for the book was a show I'd seen on violence in schools, featuring actual violence in schools. Kids were hurting other kids just so they could film it and be h"heroes" on YouTube. I had to write about that...but every time I tried to write a realistic novel the subject matter became too oppressive and my braaaaiiiin locked. I had all these theories and reasons why I thought kids would do that to each other floating around my head
LGPLyouth2: many comprehensive nods
WatersDan: and one day, the idea "if zombies really existed, they would be the most oppressed kids in the school". This led to "what is a zombie tried to take a living girl to the prom" etc.

LGPLyouth2: sweet (and one ....interesting...)
WatersDan: strangely, it let me bring a little distance and humor into a very heavy subject
LGPLyouth2: which is great, teens don't like to get too serious. humor relief is a win in this case
WatersDan: but they like to think along with being entertained. (right?) A lot of people overlook that and set the bar pretty low, imho
WatersDan: I triy to creat a discussion, rather than give a lecture. I don't pretend to have answers for everything

WatersDan: "try", that is
LGPLyouth2: so true. we are very underestimated. kudos for giving us things to think about.
LGPLyouth2: next question from Lexi (executive fangirl #2)...
WatersDan: Hi Lexi

LGPLyouth2: ok how did u come up with the characters from the book? (p.s. i made zombie t-shirts this is like one BIG deal to talk to u) oh and hi
WatersDan: It is a big deal to talk to you, as well. It sounds corny but the characters just sort of appeared when I started writing the book. Phoebe and Tommy were first; Adam actually was a composite of two characters, one who was written out of the first book, and Karen--even though she was the first one I introduced, in the very first line of the book--wasn't going to be anything but a walk-on (but I totally fell in love with her, immediately). Tak didn't exist either until I started writing.
WatersDan: one of the really nice things about the series is that new characters keep knocking on the door, asking to be let in. I feel like I've still got a lot I want to say and do in this world
LGPLyouth2: THANK GOD YOU KEPT KAREN AND TAK!!! (from Lia and Lexi) they're like the best couple!
WatersDan: They are two of the main characters in Passing Strange. Adam/Phoebe/Tommy kind of take a back seat
WatersDan: Pete's still there, being his usual jerky self
LGPLyouth2: The next question is from Mary (An avid reader, and wanna be author.) (and sorry but I haven't finished the book yet... >.>; I still love it though...) Ps. Lexi and Lia say WOOOOOOOH! and now they say awwhhhhhhhhhh....
WatersDan: Hi Mary
WatersDan: it sounds like Lia and Lexi are starting the Wave
LGPLyouth2: Anyways, my question is: how did you get into the minds of the female characters? I, myself try to write, but I find it hard to write dialouge for the guys... Also, hi. And lia and lexi are.
WatersDan: Guys' minds are pretty easy to get into ;)
LGPLyouth2: .....Well... yeah, but I start to turn them into female/gay guys... which doesn't work when trying to write straight romance...
WatersDan: That's a good question. I don't claim to be good at many things, but I am a good listener. Part of being a good listener is being able to "hear" what isn't said. I think that is probably the skill that most enables me to write in voices that are pretty far from "my" voice
LGPLyouth2: Ahhhhh... makes sense.
WatersDan: maybe your mind is telling you to write a gay romance, btw ...if the characters are really speaking to you that way it is hard to force them to do something else
WatersDan: if you want to "listen" for a male-male voice, read some series detective fiction. Robert Parker and Ed McBain are two of my favorites. Also George Pelecanos, Robert Crais, Raymond Chandler...
LGPLyouth2: Already been done... >.>; by me. Alottttt of times. I agree with the last part. Mkay. Thanks for the advice, but I'm going to stop typing. If I don't I might die by rabid fangirls.
WatersDan: I wonder what you would turn into by the light of a full moon if you were to be bitten by a rabid fangirl?
LGPLyouth2: HI, again, this is Rachel (CEO Romance fangirl...I'm the only one in this group....) [I feel so alone] Group clapping heard around the room for Rabid fangirl bite comment...
WatersDan: Instead of "Arowoooooo!" you would howl "Ohmigaaaaaaawwwwwd!
LGPLyouth2: I'm curious, did Tommy actually Love Pheobe, because htere was this whole, "Do you really care?" deal throughout most of the book...?
WatersDan: Hi again Rachel
LGPLyouth2: hello
WatersDan: That is one of those questions I will always leave up to the reader.
What do you think?
More importantly, how do we ever really know if someone really loves us for who we are, as opposed to what we are?
LGPLyouth2: rachel-no, he didn't
LGPLyouth2: ashleigh-mayyybe...
LGPLyouth2: Lia- it would never work
LGPLyouth2: Lexi- im still questionable
LGPLyouth2: Mary- hasn't gotten to that part
LGPLyouth2: Jo- should've been friends (non romantic)
LGPLyouth2: and here is ashleigh to explain her position furthur... (also Jo is a guy aka JoJo)
LGPLyouth2: HI there, :-)
WatersDan: He Jo aka JoJo
WatersDan: I mean "hey"

LGPLyouth2: Well, on the whole subject of whether or not Tommy really loved Pheobe, I said it was a maybe because there was emphasis on the fact that he said "a girl to love me" not Pheobe specifically. And Adam gave up everything for her at the end of the book. It kind of created a big conflict for the reader.
LGPLyouth2: Lia screamed and threw the book, so there was a HUGE conflict for her.
WatersDan: Hi Ashleigh. Nice insight! I hope Lia didn't create a zombie when she threw the book.

LGPLyouth2: XD many lols
LGPLyouth2: Lia- someday i shall introduce you to my friend Sal, (idk why i named him sal, just roll with it)
WatersDan: I wonder, though, do we always manage to say exactly what we want to say in a budding romance? And I'll also say this...I don't know that it is possible to really overcome our difference if we are always second-guessing each others' intentions.
LGPLyouth2: That's very true. We are only human. Second guessing shows a lack of trust, which is a big part of a strong relationship.
WatersDan: People "hang" Tommy on that line--and of course it gives Phoebe doubts--but does it really define his feelings? We aren't zombies (most of us, anyway) but do we always express ourselves appropriately? Sometimes I feel like I don't even have the language for what I want to express.
WatersDan: Then again--if I'm Phoebe--his statement doesn't exactly melt my heart!
LGPLyouth2: here's Lia. and thanks for talking to me. :-)
LGPLyouth2: i totally know what you mean abou the "language" thing. i always think there's not enough good words in the english language to describe the true workings of a person's brain.
WatersDan: there probably are--we just haven't learned 'em yet!
LGPLyouth2: like if you were to read a person's thoughts, would they be in comprehensive sentences or would you just feel it?
WatersDan: if you were telepathetic...

LGPLyouth2: many woos! and one AMEN from me, we probably haven't learned them all yet. those big dictionaries are scary. it's easier to just make up your own words "telepathetic" ?
LGPLyouth2: :-D
WatersDan: making up words and terms is fun. I'll probably have "Differently Biotic" written on my tombstone
LGPLyouth2: will you even need one? you may still be walking around
WatersDan: I like dictionaries, though. Also David Foster Wallace, whose writing taught me many words I didn't know
LGPLyouth2: medical dictionaries are fun too, did you know lycanthropy (werewolf paranoia) is a diagnosable thing???
LGPLyouth2: oh, and here's Lexi...
WatersDan: I did not know that
LGPLyouth2: lia is jumping up and down
WatersDan: If you were a mislycanthrope, would that mean you hate werewolves? or that you were an unwerewolf-like werewolf?

LGPLyouth2: and ok im typing much better less hyper ok umm why did u make Pete the way he is not that we mind but (sortof) many lols
WatersDan: well, every book needs some bad guys
LGPLyouth2: yeah so true but why so CRAZYYYYYY!
WatersDan: but I wanted one that had some type of rationale for the way he was.
WatersDan: Do you think he's crazy?
LGPLyouth2: and why does he hate/love pheobe (yeah we do)
WatersDan: so...wait. You think Pete loves Phoebe, but Tommy doesn't? Who is crazy now????
LGPLyouth2: mary-isn't it because she reminds him of julie? And I like the fact that he knows that he is crazy, and wouldn't have minded if julie had come back.
WatersDan: JNice insight, Mary...a big part of Pete's craziness (if that is what it is) is tied up in the feelings he had for Julie, and what happened (and didn't happen) to her
LGPLyouth2: lexi-well he calls her julie all the time i mean come on and he has a pet name for her mortisha scarypants really he must love her some how even if it is like i HATE but LOVE u. ]
WatersDan: he likes irritating Adam, too, which is part of it. They used to be good pals, remember?

LGPLyouth2: yep
WatersDan: And everyone leaves him...his dad...Adam...his mom, too a certain extent...Julie, forever...
WatersDan: awwww. poor Pete

LGPLyouth2: awww pity for pete.
WatersDan: I don't think most people that are evil start out as inherently evil. Who knows how Pete would have turned out if Julie had come back from the dead?
WatersDan: would he be like Faith, or like Colette's parents?
LGPLyouth2: way to leave us hanging on a cliff...:(:(:(:(:( unfortunately our splendid hour spent talking to you is up. and we must sign off now. however you can expect several facebook requests from us. :-D thank you so much for talking to us.
WatersDan: How would we react, in similar circumstances?
WatersDan: My pleasure. Hey do you mind if I copy this transcript to my blog?
LGPLyouth2: This is the Librarian Sara
LGPLyouth2: NO WAY! COPY IT COPY IT!!!
LGPLyouth2: LEXI YAY
WatersDan: Hello The Librarian Sara
WatersDan: cool. will do
LGPLyouth2: thank you for hanging with us today, i hope we can do this again sometime. perhaps when your next book comes out.
LGPLyouth2: when will that be exactly????????
LGPLyouth2: :-D :-D
WatersDan: Ummmm....June? The Spanish ed. of the first book comes out next week, tho! Generacion Dead! Beso de Vida will follow soon.
LGPLyouth2: viva la dead!!! mucho me gusta! Bye we really have to go. the evil librarians are kicking us out. not sara though she's the good one
WatersDan: Take care!

LGPLyouth2: bye bye Daniel Waters!!!

Interactivity and Live Chat

I'll be doing a online live chat-y type thing over at the Haunted House this Thursday at 8:00 EST. The wonderful and talented Raschel will be moderating, so be sure and log on and ask me all sorts of potentially embarrassing questions. Not too many people know where the Haunted House is, but you can get directions HERE.

Also, my super-talented friend from Wales, who goes by many aliases but I know her as Yazzie, is looking for volunteers that she can zombify for a Generation Dead photo project she is doing. You can contact Yazzie directly to be zombified at neko-kyuuketsuki at hotmail.com. Yazzie did my author zombification!

Other cool things abounding on the Internet:

An interview with me as conducted by writer and editor Alethea Kontis, HERE. Alethea also has a beautiful new website and you can check it out at aletheakontis.com

I read a lot. Such activity is encouraged at one of my favorite book blogs, The Book Smugglers. They invited me to partake in the feast of Smugglivus to discuss some of my favorite books of the past year and I did. You can check it out HERE. Next up, the Airing of Grievances!

Contest! And, All My Innermost Secrets....Revealed!

Not really. The secrets, I mean...there actually is a new interview with me posted HERE at the Imperial Beach Library Teen Blog, which has a number of fantastic reviews and interviews with YA authors. Check it out on this rainy Sunday. Unless it isn't a rainy Sunday where you are; in that case go for a bike ride and save the blog for a rainy Monday.

But either way, enter the contest! The winner gets a copy of the soon to be released Kiss of Life!

More Self-Aggrandizement

True love is the devil's crowbar

Hi kids!

I'll be signing books (I say that, but who knows? people need to show up for me to actually sign anything!) at the Barnes and Noble in Canton, CT this Thursday at 6:00. I've got cool Generation Dead wristbands that I will give away to anyone who smiles at me. I told people at the NEIBA convention that the wristbands were good for one free drink at the hotel bar but a) I didn't specify which hotel and b) it was a total lie.

The B&N is at 110 Albany Turnpike #305 in Canton, CT. They have coffee and books, I have wristbands and a full pen. Any zombie that comes will get a wristband for each wrist.

Also, I'd like to thank Chris Ohm, who did an interview with me for his school newspaper. You can read the interview here atNews in a Click. Please check it out, if only for the really cool photo that Chris did that accompanies the interview. I think the girl in the photo looks very Margi-esque, how about you? And thanks, Chris, for trying to help me sound intelligent and interesting!

The New York Times on Zombies

Yesterday the New York Times reviewed Generation Dead and Brian James' Zombie Blondes!

Read all about it here.

Also, I've added an Interviews section to the links on the right. I appreciate the various interviewers' attempts to make me sound intelligent.