76 Thu November 14 2002 - 05:49:24 Fullname: Darkomik77 Email: Comments: Mort, in the book Writing Horror, I noticed two or three essays missing. That a misprint or is this done deliberately? Kinda curious. Still informative though.
77 Tue November 05 2002 - 15:26:23 Fullname: mort Email: Comments:
Monday: Writer, Nations, Spook, Readings for Writers
Some Mondays are quite all right:
Rc'd my comp copies of soft cover NATIONS OF THE LIVING, NATIONS OF THE DEAD:
Handsome job, with an outstanding cover image by Mark Evans. Ain't displeased
with the stories and poems therein. www.primebooks.net
www.shocklines.com
Rc'd my comp copies of THE WRITER mag (December date) with my article "The
Comics Grow Up" therein: beautiful layout and quotes and sidebars from such
comics stalwarts, vets, and comrades as Terrance Griep, Jr., David Campiti,
Janet Hetherington, Jeff Mariotte, and others--and, oh, yeah, there's a nice,
although small, Sherlock Holmes and Watson cover shot by--Mark Evans. (Guy
gets around.) www.writermag.com
Saw new THE SPOOK on line--and what a
handsome job of "e-publishing" this magazine does. No flashing java jumping
jive to distract you--just fine content, humor that merits the term, and
lovely layout. Great fun to revisit the writer I was in 1971, when I weighed
119 pounds, had a single chin, and smoked three packs a day. www.thespook.com
Got asked for reprint rights for the article "Tone: Your Voice in the
Reader's Mind" for the 11th Edition of the textbook READINGS FOR WRITERS,
from Thomson Learning.
You take a look at the work of a bunch of years--and, well, analogy wise,
this bread cast upon the waters at last comes back--as fig newtons.
Now if the two movie nibbles come through today, I might take tomorrow off.
Maybe go to McD's, double cheesburger and the really large fries...
Best,
Mort
2002 Bram Stoker award nominee for the short story "I Am Your Need," appearing in BRAINBOX II, SON OF BRAINBOX, edited by Steve Eller, IRRATIONAL PRESS.
Forthcoming: NATIONS OF THE LIVING, NATIONS OF THE DEAD, fiction collection, PRIME BOOKS/COSMOS PUBLISHING; BUCKEYE JIM IN EGYPT: AN AMERICAN AUDIO JOURNEY (Spoken word and music CD), LONE WOLF AUDIO PUBLICATIONS; MOON ON THE WATER, fiction collection, mass market paperback, LEISURE BOOKS.
78 Fri October 18 2002 - 12:49:08 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: Thank you, Paul
Another on the way. For more info, www.primebooks.net
Indeed, will soon let you know about two Mort novels returning to print early next year. Very pleased on this development, what with these being "author's preferred editions," new intro by Gary Braunbeck, a few other neat surprises.
Best,
Mort
79 Mon October 14 2002 - 05:02:34 Fullname: paul Email:
paulg@hotmail.com Comments: good read.
80 Fri September 27 2002 - 07:44:59 Fullname: john Email:
jengler@hotmail.com Comments: enjoyed your site.
81 Sat August 10 2002 - 12:24:25 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: Very pleased to sayI've just eyed the cover for the tpb and the jacket for the hb of the collection NATIONS OF THE LIVING, NATIONS OF THE DEAD, from PRIME BOOKS.
Very pleased.
Book ain't bad, either.
Mort
82 Tue July 23 2002 - 15:01:16 Fullname: Mort Castle Email: Comments: Clay,
I love comics, have written and edited and packaged maybe 100 or so, wrote a comics related Batman novella for a Greenberg anthology, put together the graphic albums J.N. Williamson's MASQUES, etc.
Yeah, like everything else that must abide by Sturgeon's Law, 90% of comics--crap. But that 10%!
Nat Gertler's THE FACTOR, Terrance Griep's THE SKULKER (I edited that series!) James Vance and Dan Burr's KINGS IN DISGUISE, whoo! Wonderful stuff.
As more "real writers" stay in or get into comics, guys like Gaiman, Moore, Chichester, David Quinn, Bob Weinberg, etc., well, the "crap" quotient might go down to 80%--which is better than most fields!
Mort in comics these days: Big article on writing comics in the December issue of THE WRITER. Probably contribute to an upcoming Jack London comics book from GRAPHIC CLASSICS/ROSEBUD PRODUCTIONS. My Night City comic is on sale at Shocklines (online).
Best,
Mort
83 Mon July 22 2002 - 03:14:39 Fullname: Clay Email:
fremont42@yahoo.com Comments: Again, greetings to you, Mr. Castle. Thanks you very much for the kind responses to my post. I checked out the Prime Books website for any info about your forthcoming collection; they didn't have it listed yet, but when they do, consider my copy sold. In the meantime, I'll be on the lookout for some of your music with Seeking Employment (great name, by the way), though I must confess it's my brother (a fine sax-a-mo-phone player in his own right)who's the real jazz afficionado in our clan. I'm conversant in Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes. Now, without any further ado, I'm gonna segue with a complete lack of style and grace and ask you about comic book writing. I've seen you mention it on your website and elsewhere, so I have to ask: What is your experience in the field of comics scripting? I grew up with a fierce love of comic books, but my interest waned about the time of the collectors' boom of the late eighties and early ninties. Recently, though, I started working on a few projects with a friend who's a painter/illustrator (we're both in our mid-twenties now), and I'm rediscovering what makes the comics medium so special and unique. I think the juxtaposition (oh, Lord, gonna sound like one of those dudes in the literary magazines nobody reads) of the written word and the still image lends comics both immediacy and weight, and I'm constantly surprised by the storytelling opportunities this creates. Anyway, my point (before it got run over by a truck) was just this: I'd love to hear some of your insights into this too-often maligned creative field. If you get a chance, of course. Don't wanna keep you from cranking out another knock-down, kick-ass story like "The Old Man and the Dead."
84 Sun July 21 2002 - 17:11:32 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: Thanks, Clay. It's a note like yours that reminds me of one of the important reasons I write. "Do you see?" is the question that wonderful teacher Lucien Stryk so frequently asks, and, on the occasions when I do get a glimpse, I'm honored to be able to share that vision with my readers.
"Dani's Story" mantions my late pal, Bill Wantling.
My new collection, NATIONS OF THE LIVING, NATIONS OF THE DEAD, forthcoming from Prime Books, leads off with a poem, "For Bill Wnatling, Poet, How Maybe He Died."
Some hops for "Buckeye Jim" winding up in the cineplexes and/or comic books but if you like Jim, you might want to give a listen to his story in words and music from LONE WOLF AUDIO.
Once more, your words are deeply appreciated by
85 Sun July 21 2002 - 02:53:20 Fullname: Clay Email:
fremont42@yahoo.com Comments: Greetings, Mr. Castle. Just wanted to let you know that I finished Moon on the Water today, and I think it's the finest collection of stories I've read since John Shirley's Black Butterflies. I wept at the end of "Altenmoor," "Buckeye Jim in Egypt," and "Dani's Story." Can we expect a new novel or collection anytime in the near future?
86 Thu July 04 2002 - 12:05:20 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: If you visit www.dorchesterpub.com and click on "horror," you'll be able to take a look at the cover, blurbage, and description of MOON ON THE WATER as published by Leisure.
You can also see a photo of my own se'f which proves that Photoshop is cheaper, safer, and as effective as face enhancing cosmetic surgery.
If you go to a bookstore (either on line, off line, off beat, or real), you can purchase MOON, which won't break my heart. All stories are cholesterol free and none were paid for with Federal tax dollars via grants: IE, welfare for the academic world.
Best,
Mort
87 Fri June 07 2002 - 16:29:41 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: Thanks, Anne.
I do have shelf space, fortunately, should I win. Though I have a prize tophy (plastic loving cups) for playing violin in a fourth grade talent show, it is not all that meaningful to me, in that everyone who participated got the same trophy, includoing an ocarina player and one kid who injured himself trying to play trumpet. Plenty of room. Really.
Best,
Mort
88 Thu June 06 2002 - 22:35:08 Fullname: Anne Byron Email:
annebyron@yahoo.com Comments: I'm rooting for you, Mort. Bring home a Stoker!
Annie
89 Sun May 26 2002 - 12:57:29 Fullname: Mort Email: Comments: Thanks, Mark:
As I've said, all it takes is 30-35 years or so and one can be an overnight success.
For visitors to this board who don't yet know the work of Mark Powers, prediction: you will.
Some good stuff has been out there, including DEATH ASYLUM, his fine collaboration with the artist DeMarco, and will be out there...in MASQQUES V.
Technology wise, Mark, well, let's remember you have now learned to take the VCR past the "blinking 12:00" stage, so...
Best,
Mort
90 Wed May 22 2002 - 20:31:06 Fullname: Mark Powers Email:
ppowers@enc.k12.il.us Comments: Sorry about that last message. I'm still getting the hang of this new fangled technology. I still haven't learned the SOCIALLY CORRECT way to hitch a horse to a correct politician's, shiny new buggy....
But, IT LOOKS LIKE MORT-CLASS IS STARTING TO GAIN A MAJOR, RIGHTFUL SHARE IN THE LOFTY--AND NO LESS NOBLE--DREAM OF HIS--DUE--WORLD-CASTLE LITERARY RECOGNITION BY HIS STORY, "If You Take My Hand, My Son," BEING RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE TOP 5 TERROR TALES OF ALL TIME ON ELALEPH, THE SPANISH LANGUAGE VIRTUAL LIBRARY, BASED IN ARGENTINA.....!!!
