Execution photo, reviews, and Charles Dickens
Current mood: chipper
Category: Writing and Poetry

My latest "Author's Notes" column at Horror World features an actual, bona fide photo of a beheading.  It was culled from the 80-year-old scrapbooks of my late grandfather, who for several years toured the South Pacific as a Naval engineer.  The photo runs alongside my column about his scrapbooks, which you can read here.

Horror World this month also features a book review of Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word (written by an outside reviewer).  Three other reviews have appeared so far, and they're archived at my website.  Thankfully, they've all been positive so far.  One reviewer made the fair comment that I should've considered organizing the columns topically so readers could easily find articles about things they're interested in.  As it was, I just put most of them them in the book in the order they were published.

This is turning out to be a strange but exciting summer for me.  In addition to H Isn't coming out this summer, I'll be writing a four-part radio play for the River City Music Hour, a monthly variety show performed in nearby Waynesboro, Virginia, on the third Friday of every month.  The play should start in September.  I'm a voice actor in the current one, playing a 23-year-old biscuit chef in the 1950s with aspirations to become a private detective called the Night Hawk.  Soon, I'll also start rehearsals with a local theater group to play Bazzard in a musical comedy adaptation of Charles Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  Since Mystery was an unfinished novel, the audience at each performance will be able to vote on how it ends.  And after all that, I've been invited to write a story for Legends of the Mountain State, Vol. 3, an anthology of West Virginia ghost stories.  There's also the PNR (paranormal romance) novel that's continually being moved to the back burner.

Okay, I'm headed back to work!

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Obscenity
Category: News and Politics

Today, my local newspaper, the Staunton News Leader, ran this letter from me:

Obscenity laws confusing and unfair

Over 50 years ago, in a case concerning the sale of books, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment doesn't protect something vaguely termed "obscenity." Virginia followed up with a law making the sale of obscenity a felony.

Now here I am, writing a romance novel containing sex scenes. Should I go ahead? If my descriptions of sex are "obscene," I risk five years in prison. Well, it might help to know ahead of time whether selling my book is a crime. Except there's no way to know without convening a grand jury, and a grand jury can only consider the question after I'm accused of the crime. Worse, any grand jury's opinion is only good for that one locality. The Staunton grand jury might say I'm fine, but the Augusta County grand jury could still indict me because it has differing community standards. (Oh, and of course this won't help me in the federal system, where under 18 USC 1465 I could go to prison for selling a "lewd, lascivious, or filthy book ... of indecent or immoral character.")

I trust this sounds unfair to you, maybe even unconstitutional. Certainly, it's a perversion of due process. But consider that this is actually happening, right now, in the Staunton Circuit Court — except the accusation is the sale of obscene films instead of books. If convicted on all 16 felony counts, Rick Krial of After Hours Video might spend the rest of his life in prison.

Is this America?

MATTHEW WARNER
Staunton

I'm a little miffed that they used the word "confusing" in my headline.  I mean, I never said the law was confusing.  Vague, maybe.  There's a subtle difference.  But at least they didn't alter the body of the letter.

Anyway, what sparked this is that there's a local porn store owner, Rick Krial, who's been charged with 16 felony counts of "selling an obscene motion picture."  One of his employees has also been charged.  The local prosecutor who's leading this quixotic crusade has gone on the record as claiming that pornography is responsible for AIDS and that nobody in the 1950s had drug problems, among other things.  It's just a sad, sad drama of small-town politics with chilling implications for the entire artistic world--and that's what I was trying to show in my letter.  A more detailed analysis of the situation is being reprinted in Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word.

Am I going to stop writing my potentially "obscene" romance novel?  Hell, no.  A felony indictment might actually boost sales.

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Update on HORROR ISN’T A 4-LETTER WORD
Current mood: creative
Category: Writing and Poetry

Things are on track for Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word, my collection of non-fiction, to debut at the Horrorfind convention in August.  Guide Dog Books (imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press) is scheduling a buncha stuff for that weekend: readings, a signing, and a launch party.

They hired the best illustrator in the business to do the cover (which looks awesome) and to design the cover text and dustflaps.  Two editions should be coming out: a trade hardcover and a paperback.  In the meantime, those inclined to help me spread the word are invited to download a free web banner, with my appreciation.  (Scroll to the bottom of the linked page.)

A small excerpt from the book's foreword can be found on the website promoting Tim Lebbon and Chris Golden's new series, Novels of the Hidden Cities.  Go to the "Find Your City" world map on the homepage, and click on the pin for Afton, Virginia.  There, you'll find a joint piece by Deena and me about one incredibly creepy-ass train tunnel near my town.

More news about this book and stuff like short story sales and The Good Parts movie can be found here!

2:57 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Horror Library, Vol. 3, cover art & TOC announced

Cutting Block Press has revealed the cover and a partial table of contents for for Horror Library, Vol. 3.  It was a privilege to collaborate on a story for this with award-winning author Gary Braunbeck.

+Horror Library+ Vol 3 - Table of Contents

"The Station" by Bentley Little
"Guarded" by Michael A. Arnzen
"The Apocalypse Ain't So Bad" by Jeff Strand
"Under the Bridge Downtown" by Gary A. Braunbeck & Matthew Warner
"After" by Kealan Patrick Burke
"Masks and Shadows" by Cullen Bunn
"Consumed" by Michael Louis Cavillo
"Ashes of the Dead" by Kurt Dinan
"Clover" by Gina Ranalli
"Being Supreme" by Mark Justice
"The Steel Church" by Charles Colyott
"Them" by Sunil Sadanand
"The River Child" by R. Michael Burns
"Obsidian Sea" by Kurt Kirchmeier
"The Rhythm Method" by Mikal Trimm
"When The Skies Toss Down Rains Heavy" by Eric Grizzle
"The Orange Mammoth" by Matt Bain
"Short Stacked" by Rodney J. Smith
"The Review" by Richard Moore
"Extra Innings" by John Peters
"The Birdie" Stephen Couch
"Toll" by Blu Gilliand
"Blink The Blood Away" by R.M. Ridley
"Teeth" by Alison Campbell-Wise

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Casting call for "The Good Parts"
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

B-Independent.com has been a staple of the online filmmaking community since 2000. Website owner Allen Richards is currently casting the first B-Independent in-house production, THE GOOD PARTS, a dark romance written by noted horror scribe Matthew Warner. Filming is set to begin in late spring, occurring on alternating weekends, and will take place in and around Winchester and Staunton, Virginia.

An open casting call has been set for Saturday, March 22, 2008, to fill the required roles. Please note that all positions are unpaid. Actors must bring a copy of their headshots and resumes to the audition.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Location: The Clarke County Recreation Center

          225 Al Smith Circle

          Berryville, VA 22611

For more information please e-mail Allen Richards at almaric(at)yahoo.com

THE GOOD PARTS

Synopsis: Opposites attract, literally, in this dark romance with supernatural overtones. Rob Flanigan is growing weary of his mundane existence and wishes only to enjoy the good parts that life has to offer. Jennifer enjoys the little things in life and takes her time to enjoy them. The two connect and find hope as they see a kindred soul in the other, but fate leads the pair on a downward spiral as they try come to grips with their places in the universe.

Please note that while the lead roles are written race specific, final casting will be determined based up chemistry between the leads.

Character list

(in order of appearance)

1.   Jennifer

Attractive, articulate, any ethnicity but written as African-American.  (Brief nudity required.)  Age 25-35.  Average height.  Thin or medium-weight.  Longer hair.

2.   Chinese restaurant customer 1  (extra)

A customer in a Chinese restaurant.  Any age or ethnicity.  No dialog.

3.   Attractive young man. 

Caucasian.  No dialog.  Late 20s.

4.   Waitress

Chinese woman but raised in the United States (i.e., speaks fluent English).  20s-30s.

5.   Cook

Chinese.  Speaks pidgin English.  40s.

6.   Rob Flanigan

Average-looking male, any ethnicity but written as Caucasian.  Brief nudity required.  Some stunts required: falling out of a shower stall.  Age 25-35.  Dark hair and eyes.  Average height and weight.

7.   Tom Flanigan

Rob’s late father.  Seen in a photograph on Rob’s bureau.  No dialog.

8.   Basketball player 1    (extra)

African-American young man who’s participating in a basketball game with his three friends.  Athletics required.  20s - 30s.

9.   Basketball player 2    (extra)

African-American young man who’s participating in a basketball game with his three friends.  Athletics required.  20s - 30s.

10.  Basketball player 3    (extra)

African-American young man who’s participating in a basketball game with his three friends.  Athletics required.  20s - 30s.

11.  Basketball player 4    (extra)

African-American young man who’s participating in a basketball game with his three friends.  Athletics required.  20s - 30s.

12.  Chinese restaurant customer 2  (extra)

A customer in a Chinese restaurant.  Any age or ethnicity.  No dialog.

13.  Mr. Putnam

Rob’s boss.  Caucasian.  Stern and abrasive.  Short to no hair.

14.  Lunch shop customer  (extra)

A customer in a lunch shop.   Any ethinicity or age.  No dialog.

15.  Nurse

Dispenses medications and assists patients in a psychiatric hospital.  Any gender or ethnicity.  No dialog.  Any age over 20.

16.  Mental patient 1   (extra)

A patient in a psychiatric facility.  Any ethnicity.  No dialog.  Any age over 20.

17.  Mental patient 2   (extra)

A patient in a psychiatric facility.  Any ethnicity.  No dialog.  Any age over 20.

4:02 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Cover unveiled for Horror Isn’t a 4-Letter Word
Current mood: happy
Category: Writing and Poetry

Guide Dog Books has unveiled the cover for my non-fiction book, Horror Isn’t a 4-Letter Word: Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre--created by the one and only Deena Warner.  I think it looks great, and I couldn’t be happier with it. 

Right now we’re in the midst of page proofing, but I expect the book to go up for pre-order soon.

12:08 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

New Book: Horror Isn’t a 4-Letter Word
Category: Writing and Poetry

News bulletin!

Guide Dog Books, the non-fiction imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press, has acquired my collection Horror Isn't a 4-Letter Word: Essays on Writing & Appreciating the Genre. The book collects all of my "Author's Notes" columns to date plus a few other things. It will come out some time this year.

You can read more about the book at this link.

3:11 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

More time to write?
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

This week marks a new era in the Warner household.  I've quit my job as a paralegal and have started fulltime for my wife's home-based business, Deena Warner Design LLC.  My job title is Office Manager / Web Designer.

Will this create more time for me to write?  That's the plan--but so far I've been busier than I was at the law firm!  That's okay though; being able to work in your jammies all day is the American dream.  Web and print design, by its very nature, also offers the ultimate in telecommuting advantages.  I'm fortunate now to be in a profession in which physical distance is irrelevant.  . . . Kinda like writing, except this pays a little better. 

Anyway, Deena has done some incredible work for a variety of non-profit organizations and major New York publishers.  Please take a couple minutes to check out our new corporate website.

5:17 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Porn, Porn, Porn . . .
Category: Writing and Poetry

My December column at Horror World is all about the criminal prosecution that's going on right now of a local adult video store owner.  As I explain, I think that the way this affects "obscenity" law has important implications for writers and readers. 

Click here:

Obscenity v. The First Amendment

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Interviewed about the state of the Horror genre
Category: Writing and Poetry

The Augusta Free Press recently printed an interview of me and Beth Massie talking about the state of publishing.  Here's how it opens:

Horror Authors Talk about Ups, Downs in Business
by Chris Graham (11/27/07)

I go into any discussion of the book industry presuming that sales are down, down, down, reader interest is even worse, the prospects for improvement are dead in the water. And then I talk to my friend the horror author Matthew Warner, and I start to get depressed.

"I'm trying to break into the paranormal-romance genre, and I'm working on a manuscript there - and that's only because I think there's better money in it," Warner told me.

That, I hope, explains my glum feelings - that my friend the horror author Matthew Warner is aspiring to be my friend the paranormal-romance author Matthew Warner.

His books make it so that I have to sleep with the lights on at night - and he's thinking of jumping ship?

"Horror's going away," said Warner, who relocated to Staunton a couple of years ago from Northern Virginia. "There's not as many bookstores using horror as a label, and I'm kind of tired of fighting against the whole perceptions of the genre. I get up and give speeches and give talks at libraries and in schools, and I'm realizing that they're all running along the lines of apologias. And I said to myself, Everybody understands romance, and they're buying that up."

Yep, I really said it.  You can read the article here.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the horror genre.  (And when you see the title of my next book, currently in negotiation, you'll realize how much.)  It's just that I recognize there are market forces at work in publishing that are beyond my control.

That's not to say I won't continue writing about horrific things.  As I stated later in the article, I think there's room in the paranormal romance (PNR) subgenre of romance for people like me because it's making use of the tools and symbols I'm already conversant with, like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and demons.  The only hurdle preventing many of us from crossing over is a largely psychological one, painted with the following words: "I'm a guy.  You kidding?  I can't write that stuff."

It's a hurdle I don't think is in my path.  I have a PNR manuscript in the works, yes, and I intend to sell it to a PNR publisher one day.  And I'm also putting my money where my mouth is: reading in the genre I'd like to write in, titles like Angela Knight's strange, genre-mixing Master of Swords (Berkley), which I enjoyed a great deal, and Lynn Viehl's If Angels Burn (Signet), which I also enjoyed and which I maintain is indistinguishable from a horror novel except for the label on the spine.  It all runs the gamut of subject matter, like I said, and I look forward to seeing where I might fit in.

I also gagged on Mary Lyons's The Playboy's Baby (Harlequin Presents), which was the source of my negative comment about Harlequin in the article.  Yes, that comment was unfair of me, so I wish to put it into context.  Harlequin wasn't the problem; it was that one awful book. 

I've read other Harlequin novels I've thought were fine, by the way.  It's just that this one really hit the gag reflex.  And truthfully--although I don't expect anyone to believe me when I say it--I didn't dislike the book because the millionaire tycoon's name was Matthew Warner (really my reason for picking it up).  It was because of passages like this one:

'For God's sake!' he breathed thickly, his hands sweeping erotically over her trembling figure.  'Are you really asking me to stop making love to you?' (p30)

I mean, every page was like that.  We're told no fewer than three times by this point that he has "hooded" eyes.  Lots of heavy breathing and trembling and exclamation points dripping off the page in torrents of purple saccharin.  I would go on, but I'm afraid Mary Lyons would launch a ballistic missile at me from across the Atlantic.

So, anyway, that's full disclosure.  I'm not jumping the horror ship, just whistling at other cruise lines.  Because ultimately, it's all about finding readers, and if nearly 27% of all books sold are romance, then someone like me would do well to scratch his chin and think hard about the lay of the land.

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