One-Eyed Charley, Talavera Pumpkins, and a Giveaway!

Every Day is Halloween #85: The Official Newsletter of Lisa Morton

Hi All!

Okay, yeah, I did it…I’m totally drowning again. How did that happen? For a while I’d cleared out my schedule enough to actually start a novel and write half of it. My agent got excited. Heck, I got excited…and then I said “yes” again to stuff (hey, I’ve got bills to pay just like you), and WHAMMO, I’m once again in overwhelm.

But it’s all good stuff (well, and then there’s taxes, blech), and it’s coming along, so it’s okay. But I can’t wait to get back to my novel…some magical day.

*Sigh*

In the meantime…happy Imbolc!

Lisa

NEW STUFF I LIKE

This time of year people talk a lot about their favorite stuff from last year. In my circles, most of that has been 2023 movies and books. Not many people talk about music (well, except if it’s about Taylor Swift or “I’m Just Ken”).

I love music. I especially love new music. I don’t understand people my age who grumble about how “there’s no good new music out there blahblahblah.” I think music now is better than it’s ever been, what with so many ways to find new music. Heck, when I was a kid you heard a song on the radio or maybe you found something you liked in a record store, or read a review in Rolling Stone. Now there are literally thousands of music sites, websites, review sites…and there are still radio stations (and a few record stores)!

Anyway, without further adieu: my five favorite new songs of 2023. What were yours?

1. “Kisses” by Slowdive

2. “Your Blood” by Aurora

3. “Tiny Garden” by Jamila Woods

4. “Back on ‘74” by Jungle

5. “Mi Gran Dolor” by Karen y Los Remedios

My album of the year: Volcano by Jungle (the full-length video made to go with the album is astonishing!).

THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT

Whenever I’m contemplating a new bit of container gardening, I head to Jackalope Pottery in North Hollywood. I’m currently trying to master bonsai (at this point, I’d settle for just not killing one instantly), so I headed there today for a nice bonsai pot. Imagine my delight - to say nothing of temptation! - upon finding a selection of huge and glorious talavera pumpkins.

Yes, I managed to resist temptation and not come home with one.

STRANGE DOINGS

If you ever travel the old stage coach routes that wind through parts of Northern California, going through towns like Santa Cruz and San Jose, you might stop for a drink somewhere and hear reports of a ghost that occasionally shows up in the bar, a ghost that sports a ten-gallon hat, old-fashioned clothing, and has a strange one-eyed squint. Many believe this is the ghost of Charley Parkhurst, one of the most famous stage coach drivers of all time. But Charley had an amazing secret that he didn’t quite carry with him to the grave…

Charley was born in 1812 in Vermont, and grew up as an orphan. In 1848 he headed west with so many others pursuing their fortunes in the Gold Rush. Charley soon discovered his calling as a stage coach driver, and one so fierce he was called a “whip.” After he lost an eye to a horse kick, he earned the nickname “One-Eyed Charley.” At just 5 feet tall, Charley nonetheless packed a wallop – he had a famous whistle so loud it could be heard by oncoming coaches, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull a pistol to defend his passengers and freight, he worked overtime, and he wouldn’t stop at crossing wooden bridges that gave way seconds after he drove over them.

In 1879 Charley got cancer of the tongue, and some near him claimed he tried to tell them some secret just before he died but couldn’t get the words out. When he finally passed away, though, the secret was revealed: Charley had been born Charlotte, and was actually a woman at birth. Not only that, but the doctor who examined the body determined that Charley had given birth at some point.

Charley took one secret with him, though: several years after his passing, a man using Charley’s former stable found a large hole dug in the floor, but with nothing in it. For years there’d been rumors about the whereabouts of the fortune Charley had amassed as one of the most fearless drivers in the West. That treasure, if it really existed, has never been found. Could Charley’s ghost be trying to lead someone to his fortune?

BEHIND THE SCREAMS

I recently wrote an illustrated blog entry on what it was like putting together my first coffee table art book, The Art of the Zombie Movie. Click the button for a read.

THE WRITE STUFF

There’s been a lot of talk in my writing circles recently about writers being hit by scammers. There are a LOT of scams out there designed to take advantage of the desire to get a book out into the world. Some of my friends have reported that they’ve even received phone calls from outfits who have guaranteed them everything from a finished, published book to bestseller status to access to “Hollywood producers.”

In case you get one of these phone calls (or e-mails, or results from a web search), here are a few things you should beware of:

• Look at the company’s website. A common giveaway is the number of grammatical errors and misspellings throughout the website. Or maybe sentences sound like they were written by AI. Here’s one I found on one of these scammy websites recently: “We have been known by our valued customers for being a comprehensive book writing company.” “We have been known”? Would you want whoever wrote that sentence bringing your baby into the world?

• Does the website have covers or references to famous or bestselling books? That might not be bad…except if the company is claiming, for example, to have had a hand in promoting The Wizard of Oz, you know something’s rotten.

• Are there photos of company employees on the website? If so, try running them through a reverse search engine like Tineye - chances are you’ll find out that “Joe Blow Top Editor” is actually a stock photo (and searching Joe Blow’s bio might reveal it’s been plagiarized from that of a real editor).

• Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

NEWS & WORKS IN PROGRESS

The big news this month was that The Art of the Zombie Movie made it onto the Preliminary Ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards. At this time I have no idea if it will move onto the Final Ballot and become an official nominee, but it’s very gratifying to see it get this far!

January 2024 was the month when I finally hit 200 published (or performed, in the case of pieces written for podcasts) short stories!

Here’s a fun new podcast that I recorded with Kaaron Warren, Aaron Dries, and J. Ashley-Smith (Kaaron and Aaron are two of my favorite people, so I really enjoyed this one).

I’ve just seen covers for not one but two upcoming books, and I am thrilled with both! More on these when I can share.

Annnnd…my agent is hitting the markets hard on my behalf, with three different proposals, so my fingers are crossed.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

• February 11, 5 pm PST/8 pm PST - I’ll be appearing live as part of the virtual presentation Exploring the Horror Studies Collection at the University of Pittsburgh (and it’s FREE!)

• March 4, 2022, 5 pm PST/8 pm EST - I’ll be teaching live my workshop on Expanding Your Writing Horizons

• March 17, 2024 - I’ll be signing at the Vintage Paperback Show in Glendale

• May 30-June 2, 2024 - I’ll be at StokerCon 2024 in San Diego

WHERE YOU CAN BUY MY BOOKS

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

• Bookshop.org

GIVEAWAY

I finally scored my author copies of The Art of the Zombie Movie, so this month’s giveaway is a signed copy of my big ol’ doorstopper art book! Sorry, this giveaway’s only open to residents of the U.S. Just leave a comment by clicking the button below, and good luck!

Thanks as always for reading this far!