“Tombkeeper” JL Comeau interviewed me on video at the bleary-eyed end of this year’s HorrorFind Convention, and our conversation is now available on the fabulous Count Gore de Vol website.

Here’s the interview, care of Vimeo:

Meet Author Michael Arnzen from Gore De Vol on Vimeo.

It was great getting to meet Judy and the Count Gore crew. (Judy also just posted a knockout review of Proverbs for Monsters on her section of the site, as well). Count Gore, if you didn’t know it, is not only a staple of HorrorFind weekend, but also the vampiric host of the old Washington DC TV program, Creature Feature, and currently hosts the longest running horror series on the web…when he isn’t otherwise chewing into people’s voiceboxes with reckless abandon. Be sure to give his whole website a look-see!

A profile on my writing and teaching career, called “Horror Writer Does his Best Work Having Fun” was just published in the newsletter of the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Their web site is for members only but they’ve kindly shared a .pdf file of the feature story that the public can read.

Here’s a short excerpt:

Arnzen also credits his success with taking creative risks. “This is another way of saying I don’t mind embarrassing myself,” he said. “Genres rely on conventions and expectations, so many writers err on the side of repeating what’s been done before.” Arnzen said he’s “always thrown caution to the wind and tried to be as weird and experimental as I can. I try not to censor myself too much.” Horror itself can be taken too seriously at times. Arnzen balances this seriousness with humor. “I don’t hold back the humor. To me, a lot of the appeal of horror is its absurdity,” he said. “I find much of what I’ve read or seen in horror quite laughable.”

Anyone reading this who writes instructional books will find the TAA organization a useful hub of information. Their introductory membership rates are reasonable. Check them out.

Donna Lynch, Arnzen, Jen Barnes at Horrorfind 08

Last weekend, I attended HorrorFind Weekend 2008 held in the Mariott at the University of Maryland in Adelphi, along with my wife Renate and my friend from graduate school, Bill Hamilton. Though the new space thinned out the herd a bit too much for my taste, it was a decent convention with a great dealer’s room and I had a generally good time hanging out with some old friends while making many new ones. My wife and I also took a break and drove into Baltimore to visit Poe’s grave and one of the locations for the Homicide TV show at Fell’s Point (which I later learned is rumored to be haunted). And it was rewarding to screen Exquisite Corpse in the huge auditorium at the convention, with such a great sound system.

The highlight for me at Horrorfind this year was celebrating Raw Dog Screaming Press’ fifth anniversary, during their reading sessions and successful room party. It was fun to hang out with all the RDSP authors and meet some new fans and writers who wanted to talk in depth about Audiovile and 100 Jolts.

It was great laughing it up with Ron & Darin Malfi, learning about acting and horror from Michael Boatman, talking about medicine with F. Paul Wilson, finally meeting Stephen Segal, shaking hands and joking about sunglasses with Roddy Piper and meeting one of my favorite actors, William Forsythe, talking shop with the wonderful D. Harlan Wilson, buying art from Steven Archer, talking about Black Sabbath and Bowie with Donna Lynch, swapping chuckles with Lisa Mannetti and Elizabeth Blue, chatting with Brian Yount and his wife about Doorways magazine, contemplating the impact of flash fiction with Nate Rosen of microhorror.com, reflecting on the sad state of the publishing world with Gord Rollo, hearing Jen Barnes’ speech about the company, hearing the “meet the parents moment” of Matt Warner & Deena Warner, reminiscing with my old friend Ed Lee, joking with Nanci Kalanta, loving the spirit of JL Comeau, seeing John Lawson do the meat puppet cabaret live, and…oh, it’s impossible to list it all, and I’m leaving out too much. Rather than get any deeper into the nitty-gritty, I’ll just collect related links to con reports and photos online here:

RDSP 5 Year Anniversary Party & Reading Photos at Raw Dog Screaming Press: Raw Dog’s report includes not only photos but also great video clips from the reading series, including my funny tribute to the publisher and fiction reading.

My photos in the Gorelets Gallery: some of the photos that actually survived my trip.

The Crab Hat Clue Game at Adrienne Jones’ Briney Blog: Here’s the deal — I won a free novelty “crab hat” for pre-ordering a great book called Brine by the hilariously weird writer, Adrienne Jones. I decided to take it to the con and asked the more daring attendees to pose for a shot wearing it. (I would have done this too, but I lost it (or was it stolen?) at the con!)

On my bleary-eyed way out the door at the end of the con, I was interviewed on video by the wonderful Judy Comeau for the Gore de Vol show. (link forthcoming)

Aug 15-16 | HorrorFind | Adelphi, MD

Join us at Horrorfind for the FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY for Raw Dog Screaming Press! (See my tribute to the press if you don’t know who they are). Arnzen will be reading with other RDSP authors throughout the day on Friday evening, 8/15, in Room 2112 at the UMUC Marriott, from 6pm – 10pm. Here’s the schedule:

6:00-6:30 Ronald Damien Malfi
6:30-7:00 Adam Golaski
7:00-7:30 Donna Lynch
7:30-8:00 D. Harlan Wilson
half hour buffer/break
8:30-9:00 Matthew Warner
9:00-9:30 John Edward Lawson
9:30-10:00 Michael A. Arnzen

On Saturday morning, Aug 16th, the film Exquisite Corpse will be part of the Indie Film screenings, launching at 10am in the convention’s Amphitheater! Other films slotted for this morning session include a claymation version of Poe’s The Pit & The Pendulum and an adaptation of F. Paul Wilson’s Foet.

Saturday evening at 8pm, Raw Dog Screaming will be hosting a huge room party open to all comers.

This convention always has a superb dealer’s room brimming with more weird paraphrenalia than you can imagine, a non-stop carnival of film and fun, and a costume event that rivals any Hollywood film set. Other guests in attendance at this huge annual con for fans of horror film and fiction include writers like Jack Ketchum, F. Paul Wilson, Edward Lee, Thomas Monteleone, John Maclay, Kim Paffenroth, Michael Boatman, and too many more to mention, alongside media celebrities like Roddy Piper, William Forsythe, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Chainsaw Sally, and so many more.
Visit HorrorFind for more information.

FUTURE APPEARANCES:

Sept 26th, 3-5pm | “The Business & Life of Writing Horror” Panel | 010 Page Hall, Ohio State University | Columbus, OH

Join Lawrence C. Connolly, Lucy A. Snyder, Gary A. Braunbeck and myself for a panel discussion at Ohio State University on “The Business and Life of Writing Horror.” The panel — hosted by the OSU Center for the Teaching of Writing — will be followed by booksigning. A podcastwill likely be available online.

Sept 26-28 | Context-21 | Columbus, OH

I’ll be running a workshop on flash fiction writing (sorry, seats are sold out), reading and sitting on a few panels at this excellent literary convention in Ohio. I was Horror Guest of Honor last year at Context and loved every minute of it. Other horror fiction notables in attendance this year include Guest of Honor Brian Keene, Gary Braunbeck, Mike Laimo, Tim Waggoner, Paula Guran, Maurice Broaddus, Fran Friel, and Lucy Snyder. Apex publishing and Shroud Magazine will also be around, and I anticipate huge parties. Keep your eyes on the Context home page for specific details.

Oct 25-26th | Zombiefest 2008 | Monroeville Mall, Pittsburgh, PA

It returns! And like the living dead, I, too, will be crawling back to the mall. Zombiefest is a two-day zombie-themed convention held at the Monroeville Mall, site of the Romero zombie classic Dawn of the Dead, featuring vendor exhibits, film screenings, author discussion panels, live bands, games and other fun activities for zombie fans like games, concerts and a masquerade ball. And in 2008, it’s FREE admission! Details are still developing, but save the date, which will coincide with World Zombie Day!

Nov 8, 2-5pm | PARSEC Meeting | Pittsburgh, PA
“Horror Today”: Lawrence C. Connolly (author of Veins) and I discuss the state of the genre today with PARSEC: the Pittsburgh Area Science Fiction Enthusiast Club. Location TBA.