Has Penguin launched the first salvo for an iBook? Someone will come up with a name for publishing house Penguin’s version of books for the new iPad. Certainly a step forward from an e-Book.

I have to admit, it’s pretty intriguing.

Good luck doing that with your Kindle. Can’t wait to see the first porn app. Eew.

You can read more at Gizmodo.

Okay, been like 4ever since I posted. Been too busy writing manuscript numero tres. Coming along, coming along…

Anywho, thought I’d jump back in and toss out a random quote out there from a writer. It’s from a horror novel, published in 1885. French.

What do the sentient beings in those distant universes know, more than we do? What more are they capable of doing than we? What do they see that we have not the least knowledge of? Some day or other, won’t one of them, crossing space, appear on our earth to conquer it, just as long ago the Normans crossed the seas to subjugate people who were weaker?

We are so infirm, so helpless, so ignorant, so small, we others, on this spinning grain of mud mixed with a drop of water.

Winner gets a copy of the book. Not signed. Writer is dead, dead, dead.

Ever wonder who to call when you need to fact check the validity of that doomsday virus? Or if cauterizing that severed leg is factual enough to extend suspension of disbelief? This month WIRED magazine spoke to the doctor who Stephen King gives a ring, when the Master of Horror needs to fact-check his latest dismemberment.

According to WIRED, Russ Dorr has been assisting King on such fact-checking since 1974. Dorr, a physician’s assistant in Hampshire, has reportedly helped on The Stand, The Shining, Pet Sematary, Misery, Cell, and King’s latest novel, Dome. Here’s a tidbit on the working relationship from the article:

On Dome, the two worked together more closely than ever. Each week, King would email the latest 50-page segment to Dorr. “Stephen’s doing the heavy lifting, getting the stuff down on paper,” Dorr says. “But then he’ll email or call with questions.” How does a guided missile work? What does a 20-year-old Geiger counter look like? Where would you go to find a B-52 bomber? “Methamphetamine. Jesus! I had to find out how to cook crystal meth, all the ingredients,” Dorr says. “It’s amazing the stuff you can find on Google.”

You can read more on Dorr and his work with King, including a recent homage by the author, online at WIRED.com.

I was saddened this weekend to hear of the passing of the poet Jim Carroll. Back in college, I liked to play basketball, writer, and wish I had the cajones to do real drugs — so Jim was always a great fit. And his writing was simply out of this world fantastic. If you haven’t read his stuff, I’d recommend picking up a copy of his urban coming of NY age story Basketball Diaries. Carroll writer’s “ear” was simply phenomenal. His prose fantastic. Like all writers do, I tried to copy his greatness, failed, but learned a lot. Carroll died of a heart attack last Friday in Manhattan. He was 60.

Here’s an LA Times piece, “Remembering Jim Carroll,” by poet Lewis MacAdams. I’ll borrow an excerpt from the column, quoting Jack Kerouac.

That’s when the poet Ted Berrigan took him to visit Jack Kerouac, who took a look at some of Jim’s writing and said, “Jim Carroll writes better prose than 89% of the novelists working today.”

It’s still true. To read the Rolling Stone obit, click here.

There’s a link within the story above that takes you to the Rolling Stone archives, and an 1999 interview with Carroll, where the poet speaks of a new book, touring, and Kurt Cobain.

RIP Punk Poet. And thanks.

I’ve been UBER busy working on Les Moribund, so I haven’t posted in way too long. Still, I thought this was interesting. The book trailer for the follow-up to Quirk Books’ best seller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In case you haven’t been following, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters tweaks the text of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with scenes with monster lobsters, deadly octopi, sea serpents and pirates. Here’s a bit from Editor Jason Rekulak.

“…I didn’t want to go out with the one-millionth vampire novel that’s going to be published this year. I know there are a lot of vampire fans, but the genre feels exhausted to me. Whereas Sea Monsters allowed us to draw inspiration from so many rich and diverse sources—most obviously Jules Verne novels and Celtic mythology, but also Jaws, Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean, even SpongeBob Squarepants! I think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies fans are counting on us to deliver something original, and I don’t think they will be disappointed.”

And here’s the trailer:

The book hits stores on 9/15/09. For more information, go to www.quirkclassics.com. The Facebook page is here.

Yes, you read that right. Japanese horror author Koji Suzuki is printing his new novella on toilet paper (taking a stab at potty horror, following in the footsteps of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher).

Suzuki’s new story is aptly titled Drop, and has the evil spirits inhabiting the…toilet. This bit from the Telegraph.co.uk:

(Suzuki’s) latest work is set in a public toilet and plays on Japanese superstitions that ghosts and evil spirits inhabit the smallest room in the house, which is why they were traditionally relegated to the most distant part of the home. Parents still tell naughty children that a hairy hand will seize them when they have their pants around their ankles if they misbehave and drag them down into the dark water below.

Ewww…

Suzuki’s other novels include Dark Water and Spiral.

So the question remains: on what kind of toilet paper will the story be printed? The same company who once printed TP with information on what to do in the event of a natural disaster — the Hayashi Paper Corporation. This time, in blue with the occasional bloody splatter.

I’ve been stupid busy with the new manuscript, so I apologize for being absent from the blog for too long. Still, that’s a good thing — seeing how much progress I’ve made over the last two weeks. But enough about my work.

I received an e-mail from one of my many mailing groups, that I thought worth passing on. A chance to get a signed copy from Borderland Press of Whitley Strieber’s superb vampire novel, The Hunger. If you’ve never had a chance to read this story, you need to. Streiber’s early work is truly fabulous, both The Hunger and The Wolfen stand as two of my all time faves. In fact, The Wolfen is one of the creepiest novels around.

There are 250 copies available. They are being sold at $50 plus shipping ($45 if pre-ordered). They’ll ship in June. You can find out more by calling Borderlands Press at 1.800.528.3310 or e-mail sales@borderlandspress.com. Signed and numbered, the sale is limited to 250 copies.

I guess directing Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons’s did something to the redhead. Now, Variety is reporting that Ron Howard is eying the directing duties for the as-yet unreleased H.P. Lovecraft comic The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft. Universal and Howard’s Imagine Entertainment have reportedly picked up the film rights to the mag, due in stores April 8th (Image Comics). This from Mania.com:

Mac Carter and Jeff Blitz created the comic, which integrates biographical elements of author H.P. Lovecraft’s life with elements of his horror novels, setting up Lovecraft to battle the very demons he wrote about, which are released from a cursed book. Carter, known for directing commercials, is set to write the script. Both he and Blitz will be executive producers. Howard and his Imagine partner Brian Grazer are producing. David Bernardi and Chris Wade are co-producing.

As you’ll read in any copy-and-pasted run through of this story, Lovecraft died in 1937 and is considered one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. Still, with all props to Howard it’s difficult to imagine Lovecraft getting the right treatment from the director. If the project goes through, here’s to hoping they get Lovecraft right.

That said, go read the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Here’s a link to a downloadable version.

“NORTH END GHOULS AGAIN ACTIVE.”

You just have to love that headline from the Thursday edition of the Evening Bulletin, eh? Lol. Go read the book, you’ll understand what I mean. Yes, Lovecraft was the man of making things go bump in the night. Now is that the sounds of rats coming from my walls?

Following Stephen King, another Horror writer is skipping print and going Kindle only. At least as a short-story primer for a novel. In a nice bit of promotion, author Tom Upton is releasing a four-story Kindle download for under a buck, as a teaser for his upcoming horror novel. Here’s a bit on the deal, from PRlog.com:

Tom Upton, author of Just Plain Weird and Morning Doves, said there are no plans to release a hardcopy issue of “Four by Horror“. “‘Four by Horror’ is really just a sampler,” Upton explained. “I think it’s only fair to offer readers a low cost example of what I’m doing in the horror genre. As a reader, I’ve always hated paying a lot of money for a book only to discover that I didn’t particularly like the book for one reason or another.”

The idea is getting quick traction across the internet. The Kindle-only release is in advance of Upton’s new horror novel, Scarecrows, to be out in spring ‘09. According to PRlog, Four by Horror reached Amazon Kindle 17th in Short Stories sales, and 82nd in Horror.

Director Sam Raimi has been churning out great horror flicks since 1981’s Evil Dead (Did you know Raimi is buds with Ethan and Joel Coen, as well as Bruce Campbell?). After his success with Spider Man, Raimi is returning to his horror roots with the flick, Drag Me to Hell. Here’s the trailer:

Give the curse away? Kinda of like Stephen King’s (a.k.a Richard Bachman) Thinner, hmmm? Here’s a synopsis, from IGN.com.

Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me To Hell, an original tale of a young woman’s desperate quest to break an evil curse. Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?

Oh well, at one point in the trailer the Gypsy woman looks an awful lot like the bloated hag in Evil Dead 2. If you want more, here’s one review. Drag Me to Hell opens in theaters on May 29. Ropeofsilicon.com has photos here.