More Spamming Of The Day

Just got back from New York City (will post more about that Monday), but I wanted to share this little ditty found in my spam catcher. Usually the spam this blog receives is pretty basic stuff, like "I just signed up to your blogs rss feed. Will you post more on this subject?" and other nonsense. But then I get home tonight and look at what all spam is there and see this marvel of autobot technology that is just too good to pass up. Enjoy.

I’ve in any case reasoning it would be best to have those not ring true sport shoes in the service of when I do outdoor sports such as canoeing and dragon boating. These certain sports shoes pander to to deuterium oxide outdoor sports in fussy because of the facetious adam’s ale convivial mundane it is made of. When I match canoeing, I in use accustomed to to either go with my overt feet or slippers, but was forever having problems with both. Being unclad footed meant that I influence grab mar close any debris that may summarize when I prance on the sand or in the unsound while getting in or escape of my canoe. When I damage slippers, sometimes it indeed gets in the technique when my feet sink in the slime during low tide. It was when my slipper got stuck when I knew I had to go off an open-air sports sport shoes. I unmistakable to about of it as a cyclopean investment as it would ways better and cleaner feet. I don’t recollect why I didn’t think of getting such show off shoes in the senior place. I conjecture it was because my teachings of divertissement shoes was often in compensation meet, and not payment other outside sports.

So when I maxim the FiveFingers Out of doors Lark Shoes – Sombre (Proportions 42) on DealtoWorld.com, I was truly steadfast I wanted it. Not merely can I wheedle a immense doublet of out of doors shoes in the service of my water sports, I can beget a fivefingers a specific! Not unswerving why they ring up it fivefingers in spite of, since in point of fact the distraction shoes is in the formulate of your five toes. This enables a happier dominion on where you hike, which is firstly great pro walking on the lido and shallow waters. I’ve again been a adherent of “fivefingers” or toe socks, so this trendy outdoor shoes of mine is making me more fervent with my weekend out of doors sports endeavor.

DealtoWorld.com sure made me a happy camper this convenience life, letting me own this great match up of romp shoes well-founded when I needed it. I’ve bought other lifestyle gadgets from DealtoWorld.com but this is the oldest once upon a time I bought jest shoes from any online shopping site. I till the end of time thought it overpower to have a stab on any shoes, be it pleasure shoes, leather shoes, slippers, etc. or else you won’t recognize whether it’s a colossal fit. Setting aside how, I couldn’t at the end of the day arouse admissible water out of doors sports relaxation shoes, so this find has definitely enhanced my DealtoWorld.com shopping happening, or my online shopping as a whole.

With it when I go to go to my weekly canoeing or dragon boating, my teammates are all good-looking amused before my fivefingers humour shoes, and gawp at them on some time. I divine the toe-shaped sport shoes makes it look like a cobweb of some sort, but it’s not like I can swim in these fivefingers shoes. I’m conclusion the outdoor sports shoes extraordinarily smug, and although I cannot beat a hasty retreat with it as I would with predictable running wear shoes, at least I can stride along the pontoon or run aground arena in plenty, incompatible with when I occupied to shuffle barefooted. My feet tempered to to hurt or communicate with scorched from the fervid territory, but not with these fivefingers fun shoes I don’t. Take a look at the pictures to undertake how the fivefingers alfresco sports sport shoes look like from the top and bottom.

Monkeybicycle At KGB

Just a reminder to all of my New York City friends that I'll be participating tonight in Monkeybicycle’s Lightning Round! Reading Series along with a slew of other talented writers. Each writer has only three minutes to read. I still haven't decided yet what I'm going to read. The whole thing starts at 7 pm at the KGB Bar on East 4th Street. As yesterday was my birthday, feel free to come and buy me a drink!

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Three Guys One Hint Fiction Review

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A new review of the anthology has recently been posted over at Three Guys One Book. It's a pretty positive review, for the most. The exception being this little bit:

I found the title headings pointless and distracting. A case of over-contextualizing. After a while, I just started to ignore them. I focused on the stories and the names of the writers. I loved the writer’s names, like I love an unopened book that I’d like to figure out how to crack. As for the topical section headings like: “Life & Death” it was like knocking down a bug. I know you can do it but why bother? And man, “everything” is about life and death so you don’t have to say so.

As I noted here (which was in response to Ben White's eloquent post on the subject), a good Hint Fiction story needs a title. In fact, a story can be made or broken on the title alone. Just as with a novel or short story, the title is important, but even more so with Hint Fiction as it adds that extra layer. It just doesn't label the story; it is, in a sense, part of that story.

So is it a big deal that the reviewer found the story titles pointless and distracting? Not at all. That's the beauty of Hint Fiction -- every reader brings something different to the experience.

Anyway, be sure to check out the rest of the review, as the reviewer singles out ten contributors and talks in-depth about each of their stories. He even offers up this nice little nugget of blurbage:

Hint Fiction is a beautiful map of literature that I want you to explore.

So make sure you do!

Happy Draculas Release Day

Three of the four authors of the new gory horror novel Draculas -- Blake Crouch, Joe Konrath (Jack Kilborn), and F. Paul Wilson -- are all contributors to the Hint Fiction anthology, so I thought it would be more than fitting to let you know their new e-book has officially been released today.

If you're familiar at all with Konrath, you know he's somewhat become the king of e-book self-publishing, and this new experiment is no exception. Four major authors, one low price of $2.99. But you don't just get the novel. The e-book also contains deleted and alternate scenes, along with notes from the authors. Even better, at the very end is an "Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Making of Draculas" that contains a series of e-mails between the authors and how the idea came about and how they worked together to make the finished product.

I got an advanced copy of the e-book but haven't had that much time yet to really sink my teeth into it. (Like that vampire reference?) I'm only about a quarter of the way in, and as you would expect, it's gory. Really gory.

Because people's favorite and least favorite books and movies always intrigue me, I asked the authors what their favorite and least favorite vampire books and movies are. Here's what they said:

Joe Konrath: My fave vampire books are Vampires by John Steakly, They Thirst by Robert McCammon, Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson, and ’Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I also loved The Keep by that Wilson guy, though technically it only begins as a vampire book and then becomes something much bigger.

Near Dark blew me away when I first saw it in the theater. For sheer fun, you still can't beat Fright Night. Udo Kier is THE best Dracula in Andy Warhol's Dracula. And for flat-out scary, 30 Days of Night featured some really frightening bloodsuckers. And, of course, The Night Stalker. If we're talking old school, I enjoyed House of Dracula and the original Nosferatu, plus Last Man on Earth which was the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead which was the inspiration for Draculas.

The worst? I'm going to be criticized for saying so, but the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi is static, clunky, and overly melodramatic. Compare that with the Spanish version, shot at the same time, which is a much better movie. The "so bad it's good" category has Dracula vs. Frankenstein, with a silent Lon Chaney Jr. drinking his way through the role. Taste of Blood by Herschel Gordan Lewis is two hours long, with three minutes of entertainment value. It's a tie between The Hunger and A Vampire in Brooklyn for the most embarrassing big budget vampire flick.

As for vampire music, I recommend Night of the Vampire by Roky Erikson, Possum Kingdom by Toadies, and Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde.

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F. Paul Wilson: Christopher Lee's original Horror of Dracula from Hammer remains my favorite. Least fave: ignoring the ones that were supposed to be bad, a toss-up between the Palance and Langella versions because they managed to make Dracula dull, with the final nod going to Langella's Dracula. Yeah, book-wise, ’Salem's Lot is tops for me.

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Blake Crouch: Sleepwalkers, the film based on Stephen King’s unpublished novel, would have to be far and away my least favorite. I really wanted to like 30 Days of Night. The premise is just off-the-hook, but it rang hollow for me. In terms of favorite books, I loved The Keep and ’Salem's Lot.

My favorite vampire movie, hands down, is Let the Right One In. I also love The Lost Boys.

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Jeff Strand: I haven’t seen it in twenty years and am scared to watch it again for fear that I’ll be suddenly ashamed of my love for it ... but I’m going to go with The Lost Boys. Honorable mentions to George Romero’s Martin, even though Martin may or may not be a real vampire, and Shadow of the Vampire.

I hate to repeat somebody else’s answer, but if you exclude cheesy micro-budget flicks, there’s really no worse vampire movie than A Vampire in Brooklyn.

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Now what about you, faithful blog readers? Tell us what your favorite or least favorite vampire book or movie is in the comments section. At midnight tonight I'll pick a random winner to receive a free PDF of Draculas. Have at it!