By What is your favorite spooky story, and in what way do you enjoy being afraid?
I’m on a spooky, gothic reading binge these days… Daphne du Maurier, the Brontë sisters, Shirley Jackson. And I’ve been gobbling up gothic movies, too: Phantom of the Opera, The Haunting of Hill House, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, and all things Hitchcock. Are you getting the idea of my new book?
I have so much to talk about but no time to do it because I’m in the middle of judging a fiction contest; and in May, the UK version of UP FROM THE BLUE launches so I’m busy with interviews, magazine articles, and whatever the UK team asks me to do. Here is the UK cover, by the way…
Some links to recent interviews: Michael Kimball (author of the beautiful heartbreak, DEAR EVERYBODY and the brand new US, which I’m reading right now) interviewed me at The Faster Times; Juneau and Xena interviewed me for their Adam Lambert-focused radio show; and Tim O’Shea interviewed me over at Talking with Tim. The Ocean City library posted a nice blog about my book here, and A Certain Book posted one, as well, but there’s a big spoiler in it so don’t click if you haven’t read the book. I also have an article in this month’s American Book Review, and I’m doing something very exciting this week that I’ll report when I’m certain I won’t jinx things. Soon, maybe next month’s post, I want to talk about my trip to San Diego. It involved lots of Kleenex and turned my head around in the best of ways, but I want to really take the time to tell the story right so you can benefit from it.
Let me end with a big thank you to Sally and Christie at the Gallery Bookshop who wrote to tell me they sold 70 copies of my book just from talking it up to their customers. Yay for indie booksellers!
I started LitPark (a literary playground) in 2006 in order to build a supportive community of writers and artists who are in this game for the long haul. Together, through blog posts, interviews, and moving stories told in the comments’ section, we’ve shared our struggles and doubts, our best advice, and helped to remind each other how to enjoy this work we do.
Amy Wallen
April 4, 2011Oh Susan, you must add H.P. Lovecraft to your list of reads. Spooky that will crawl on your bones for ages.
I’m already excited about your next book!
Susan Henderson
April 4, 2011I actually watched a great documentary on Lovecraft with Neil Gaiman commentary. It’s all about fear of the unknown and his wonderfully strange life. Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5gPVGkZbP8
You can watch it for free here: http://suvudu.com/2011/01/lovecraft-documentary-fear-of-the-unknown-now-free-to-view-online.html
Robin Slick
April 4, 2011Oh, God, I’m scared by daily life let alone scary fiction (yes, if I read about a monster I really will believe it’s hiding under my bed) and while I remain thoroughly traumatized by Poe’s Tell-tale Heart, it is indeed my all-time favorite.
Such great stuff going on in your life! And can’t wait to hear about the big news. 🙂
Susan Henderson
April 5, 2011I love The Tell-Tale Heart. And last time I was home, my dad reminded me of the guy who gets sealed in the wine cellar.
It’s interesting that so many people have interpreted “spooky” to mean the horror genre. (Also interesting that almost everyone decided to respond to my blog over on FaceBook.) The kind of spooky I like is more towards Wuthering Heights–damp and wind and windows rattling, falling in love with someone with a temper and a cruel streak, finding the choices you’ve made have locked you away from your own happiness. Poe, I think, is more towards that same kind of spookiness–finding yourself slowly going crazy, finding that the person you trusted was untrustworthy, not being able to let go of your lover who’s died. Or more towards Gaiman… an abandoned child being raised in a cemetery by the dead. Or Dickens… a man haunted by his life of selfishness. My kind of creepy!
Susan Henderson
April 5, 2011Clarification: my dad reminded me (as in reminisced) about the story of the guy who gets sealed in the wine cellar.
Robin Slick
April 5, 2011Sigh….Facebook is why I’ve pretty much abandoned my blog.. I’m still trying to work out how to remedy that but yeah, FB is just so freaking convenient and it’s where everyone hangs out these days.
Ha ha, you didn’t have clarify the wine cellar story.
Susan Henderson
April 5, 2011Same here. But I can’t complain because I do the same thing.
Give Monty a scratch for me. 🙂
Dan Conaway
April 8, 2011[not scary, just: I LOVE the UK cover!!!]
Billy Bones
April 8, 2011I think I’m going to like this new book, too.
Nathalie
April 28, 2011I completely missed that question. The months zoom too fast by… And that’s spooky.
I don’t read much spooky literature. I love Poe, of course but what else? I’d have trouble pinning another name on that question.