Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fright Club

"I want you to scare me as hard as you can."

I want my heart to race. Later, I want to look over my shoulder, wondering what lurks in the dark.

More than I want this, I want to do it to you.

To have my writing raise goosebumps gives me extreme satisfaction, but there is always the, "what next" factor. Where can I push? What moves me? What moves you?

What goes bump in your night?

Why are so few women making horror movies? Seeking not to answer, but to lead by example; I am eager to haunt your dreams and make you check the dark corners.

Quentin Tarantino, Speilberg, Raimi, all say the same thing... Watch movies and make films to learn to make films. Needing a bit more technical craft and being linear by nature, I'm going to film school.

Here are some movies that make me leave the lights on:

  1. The Exorcist
  2. The Omen
  3. Rosemary's Baby
  4. Poltergeist
  5. Psycho
  6. A few specific episodes of "The Twilight Zone"
  7. House of Wax
  8. Nosferatu
  9. The Shining (Kubrick's)

There are many more, inclusive of my love of the slasher movie and "B" movie cult horror. Freddy, Jason, Mike Myers, Leatherface.... A girl can't help but love them.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Bits and Pieces

Ok, anyone that can read the scant list of archived posts to the right can see that I have not really embraced blogging.

Why? My first answer is , "I don't know", but is that ever actually the truth? No.

When people first started reading and enjoying my book, "Pieces of Me", I was proud and astonished. For the first time, I produced something creative, something entirely my own and people like it? From there, it has been an even bigger stretch to believe that someone might want to read what I have to say about other things. Crazy.

"Pieces of Me" is finally going to print. It will still be available for all the eReaders, but a paper book in my hand feels like another milestone. I am working the second book in the series now, while still obsessing over pre-press edits for Book 1.

I have never been the introspective type. Not a journal person, I've never written the words "Dear Diary" in my whole life. So, it would seem that I need some reason to blog as getting word out about my book hasn't done the job.

I learned from a smart old friend that I can give myself permission to do something different. The simple act of giving myself that permission allowed me to change my life. Writing horror fiction moves me and my work feels like joy. When I am sitting at the computer, deep in my story, I am almost jealous that I get to do this.

Please, find the thing that gives you joy and do it with your whole heart! Don't let a life of expectations make you settle for things you were told you wanted. Don't get so mired into an existence that you lose sight of your authentic self.

How can I become a more consistent blogger? What are your thoughts? I guess actually blogging is the only way to make it happen.

Thank you for reading.

Erika