Halloween Comes Early:

[This just in: See the Post-Gazette article on this event.]

I’ll be attending Zombiefest in Pittsburgh this weekend (10/27-8) to kick off the Halloween-week frenzy early. I’ll be presenting a reading on a panel with Greg Lamberson and Scott Johnson on Saturday at 2pm. Other guest writers include Gary Braunbeck, Max Brooks, Kim Paffenroth, Edward A. Holsclaw II, and the guys from Bloodtype Online. Zombiefest culminates in an attempt to break the world record in a zombie walk through the Monroeville Mall (setting for the original Dawn of the Dead) for charity.

A Halloween Bargain:
I was alerted by Fictionwise — the premiere e-book distributor for popular fiction and short stories — that all horror and dark fantasy e-books are 25%-30% off this month in celebration of Halloween…there’s still time left to get as many as you can, including several of my short stories and collections in e-book format, cheap. [There is also a weekly discount page for Goreletter subscribers which features a number of titles from Raw Dog Screaming Press.]

A Halloween Costume Contest:
Usually I only post contests within the pages of the e-mail edition of The Goreletter, but this time I’m opening it up to everyone. Here’s your chance to win $75 in free Arnzen books!

This ought to be easy and your chances of winning are good! Send me a photo (whether at a party, on your doorstep, or whatever) of yourself in costume. It doesn’t HAVE to be a Halloween photo, but I imagine that would be the easiest time to take a picture. (I will post your photos under my profile at myspace.com, so entering this contest grants me one-time online publishing rights to your photograph).

Deadline: November 5th
Preferred format: .jpg file (may be re-sized for space)
Size limit: 1.4 megabytes
SEND TO: arnzen@gmail.com

Horror imagery preferred. Points for creativity, craft, and use of scenario/scenery. Bonus points for incorporating any Arnzen-related paraphernalia in your shot (holding a book, dressing up like a character, whatever). Try to keep the imagery below an R rating please, since little kiddies read my stuff sometimes and I don’t want my site to get censored/banned/etc. by the powers that be. (I will not publish nudity, drug references, or other images that I’m not comfortable sharing with the public.) New photos preferred.

Submit by e-mail only to arnzen@gmail.com. Do not send weblinks to download from. Your name will be included in the photo caption. Anyone who submits will be automatically subscribed to the e-mail edition of The Goreletter, if they do not already subscribe. Your e-address will not be used in any other way.

ONE GRAND PRIZE TO MY FAVORITE PHOTO: A free signed limited hardcover copy of PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS upon release ($50 value!) & one DVD of EXQUISITE CORPSE ($17 value!) with bonus autographed Arnzen ephemera inserted in the clamshell case ($???).