Thursday, December 24, 2015

REVIEW OF MIDWINTER BY SPLATS OF BLOOD

REVIEW OF MIDWINTER BY SPLATS OF BLOOD – ‘An interesting and inventive horror short story by Chad Schimke. Midwinter caught me off guard initially because it began much like any other fantasy story. The pace of Midwinter immediately quickened due to its action packed story. I had no trouble getting immersed in the world of Midwinter and I found myself eager to go on to the next page. With the vivid imagery of graphic events, Midwinter is a short story you don’t want to bypass.



Sunday, December 13, 2015

80s HORROR MOVIES

80s HORROR MOVIES - If you love horror like I do, the 80s were a time when great flicks came to life, on the big screen. The world was very different then; and in the years since; we’ve seen VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, streaming and on-demand. There’s something about sharing scares in a packed theater and feeling reactions of patrons in the seats next to you. Many of these films are now re-makes, and I have to say, I find the industry’s recent lack of originality troubling to say the least. However you prefer to watch them, check out my short list of favorite 80s horror movies. What they might lack (slightly) in special effects, are more than made up for in innovation and excellent storytelling. No other decade can match the 80s when it comes to horror!








Sunday, November 8, 2015

LITCRAWL 2015

LITCRAWL 2015 – Recently, the Alabama Street Writers Group (ASWG) read at Litcrawl, one of SF’s most anticipated literary events. This was the group's second time at the festival, having appeared in 2014 as well.  After you check out the show head over to the ASWG’s website. Thanks for watching! 

http://www.alabamastreetwritersgroup.wordpress.com











Reading at Litcrawl 2015 with the ASWG by Chad Schimke

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

BUILDING A BOOK

BUILDING A BOOK - Todays post is the third in a series of reflections I had after attending Litquakes digital publishing conference, digi.lit, on June 21, 2014. This session was all about the ways books can be built--in print or electronically--in todays ever changing publishing landscape. The panel consisted of three reps from top online book sellers, but didnt include Amazon, which continues to be number one. Kobo runs aps/ ebooks and got out of the ereader/ tablet hardware business in 2014. They partner with indie bookstores and report that 'first free' series sell extremely well. Smashwords will let an indie author post an ebook for free on multiple platforms. Think of it as one stop shopping, to get into all places and availability, in multiple formats. Ingram Spark purports to be Amazons main competitor. Their books are not labeled independent and are associated with Ingram wholesale. My opinion? None of them have the same reach as Amazon, so upload your ebook, for free to Kindle. Nobody beats their POD (print-on-demand) for professional results at a cost effective price. Yes, thats why they continue to be number one.

The following conference sessions will be covered in this series of blog posts.
1. Digital 101: Is Digital publishing the best option for me?
2. Do you read me? Author Branding and Marketing
3. Building a Book
4. The Changing Ways we Read


Sunday, October 18, 2015

THE GREEN INFERNO

THE GREEN INFERNO - The Green Inferno, directed by Eli Roth, was inspired by the 1980 Italian film entitled Holocausto Canibal. Stephen King tweeted a glowing response to the film, stating it was “hard to watch, but you can’t look away”. Roth is known for directing horror films such as Hostel, Hostel II and Cabin Fever. Hostel is one of my personal favorites in the horror film genre. It showcased a flawed main character you can root for, who is put into a dangerous scenario, and is able to fight his way back to freedom. While Green Inferno uses some of the same structural conventions, the impact is less effective and nowhere near as original. However, I did enjoy it and do recommend watching this film. Keep in mind it is very violent, politically incorrect and should not be seen by anybody with a sensitive disposition. Be warned, and, stay out of the jungle!   








Tuesday, October 13, 2015

LITCRAWL 2015

Don't miss Litcrawl this Saturday October 17, 2015!

Listen to me read at Litcrawl, part of the larger Litquake festival, at City Art in San Francisco which is at 828 Valencia Street, beginning at 7:15pm. 

http://www.litquake.org/events/alabama-street-writers-group-facades

https://alabamastreetwritersgroup.wordpress.com/



Sunday, October 11, 2015

THE KNOWN UNIVERSE

THE KNOWN UNIVERSE - The observable universe consists of everything (planets, stars, light, signals, gas, etc.) that can be observed at the present time because it has reached the Earth visually (Hubble Ultra-Deep Field) since the beginning of the cosmological expansion. 





THE KNOWN UNIVERSE

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

NYCHOS

NYCHOS - These pics represent street murals from the Austrian artist Nychos, seen around the time of his exhibit at Fifty24SF Gallery, in San Francisco's Lower Haight. Enjoy! 









Sunday, September 27, 2015

WES CRAVEN

WES CRAVEN - With Wes Craven’s recent death, I thought it would be a good time, for a retrospective. He worked as a professor, got his start in X rated film and growing up, movies were banned at his house. He grew up, moved away and turned his imagination toward scary monsters. He wrote books (Fountain Society) and was involved in television (Castle).
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street
  • Scream
  • The Last House on the Left
  • The Hills Have Eyes
  • Vampire in Brooklyn
  • The People Under the Stairs
  • Shocker
  • Swamp Thing