tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164238972009-07-15T10:17:08.922-05:00(spās,hōm) n. In _holm, no one can hear you scream.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-73547939621677498232009-07-10T08:59:00.001-05:002009-07-10T08:07:15.681-05:00

Tonight, at 8:15PM, John Connolly will be signing books at Children's Book Cellar (52 Main Street) in Waterville, Maine. I can't make it, but Bagley's gonna be there holding down the fort, which for my money makes two ridiculously talented crime writers under one roof. Be sure to check it out. You can read the details here.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-89533377804886706112009-07-09T18:22:00.001-05:002009-07-09T17:23:36.090-05:00

Today has been kind of a shit day. As in a "in all my years as a doctor, that's the most impressively herniated disc I've ever seen" kind of day. (Not my disc, mind you, but Kat's. If it was my back that was all messed up, I'd be on the living room floor, demanding IV narcotics and crying like a tiny litte girl. Katrina went back to work, and followed that up with a little grocery shopping.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-37995061175822281792009-07-04T10:07:00.000-05:002009-07-04T09:13:54.232-05:00

This morning, I read a post over at Kameron Hurley's blog that really resonated with me. In it, she talks about her flagging confidence in her writing, and comes to a conclusion that sort of rocked me back. Here's an excerpt (italics mine):I worry these days that my writing isn’t as good as it used to be, because all the choices I make seem to be poor ones. I’ll go through a story or a scene

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-3615745638441724872009-07-02T11:45:00.000-05:002009-07-02T10:39:21.671-05:00

Congrats, Stuart! It's official. According to Amazon UK, my copy's in the mail.Oh, and for those of you who'd like to get your hands on a copy, I'd start here. By all accounts, you'll be glad you did.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-91322649309399327242009-06-24T08:00:00.003-05:002009-06-24T08:05:21.544-05:00

Just a quick post to point you toward Stuart Neville's site, where he's giving away a free short story collection as a promotion for the release of his debut novel, The Twelve. For those of you who don't know the tale of Stuart's path to publication, it was a short published in Thuglit that first caught the attention of his agent. So if you want to read some great short fiction, or maybe see

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-40480938865812001162009-06-21T09:19:00.008-05:002009-06-21T14:56:59.754-05:00

Okay, folks, I thought I'd offer a little linkage to brighten this rainy Mainey Sunday, now with BONUS! list of summer reads sure to fill your days with awesome. So cue the John Woo doves and slo-mo, 'cause here come the bullets:Jack Getze, author of the fantastic Austin Carr series, has some nice things to say about yours truly in advance of the impending relaunch of Spinetingler as a part of

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-50982726600660886512009-06-14T16:42:00.004-05:002009-06-14T16:50:09.054-05:00

Is it just me, or are process-y writing posts dull as dirt to read? Even I kind of didn't care what I was talking about by the end of that last one. Mayhap fiction should be slotted alongside sausages and laws in that whole don't-want-to-see-'em-made category.Note to self: be more interesting...

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-10811309842232956252009-06-14T13:28:00.000-05:002009-06-14T12:28:16.373-05:00

There's been something bugging me of late about my WIP. A niggling little annoyance that's been hampering my word count, and keeping me scowling at my computer screen for hours on end. This weekend, though, I realized what it was, and after a few hours' work, I think I'm back on track.Turns out, one of my characters was a bit of a loudmouth. (A shock, I'm sure, for anyone who knows me. You

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-65221633492178145742009-06-11T08:17:00.009-05:002009-06-11T10:39:00.330-05:00

Alright, the Bag Man (whose movie choices were so damn good I nearly cribbed 'em as my own) tagged me with this whole four-thing meme that's been infecting writers' blogs of late, and I thought I'd give it a go. So without further ado, let the bloggy narcissism commence!4 movies you would watch over and over again:The PlayerThe Empire Strikes BackJohn Carpenter's The ThingHeathers4 places you

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-49973925286641430902009-06-08T10:24:00.004-05:002009-06-08T10:34:23.871-05:00

Thing One: College reunions are like, seriously, seriously weird. Particularly when you're still recovering from the Plague, and therefore cannot drink to excess. Well, not two nights in a row, at least.Thing Two: A weekend of traveling is hell on the word count. Bad word counts mean a grumpy, grumpy Chris, but they do have a tendency to light a fire under me, which means they're sort of a

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-36238955343854677402009-06-02T07:50:00.005-05:002009-06-02T07:58:47.724-05:00

Hey, you know that really cool thing going down tonight in my hometown? Yeah, I'm not going.Turns out, cold viruses have a nasty sense of humor. See, I've had a so-mild-I-could-just-ignore-it cold for days now, and I figured by the time the book release rolled around, I'd be right as rain.Instead, I woke up this morning with a sore throat and what I can only assume is a cinderblock wedged in my

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-7682815954157454512009-05-31T10:35:00.004-05:002009-05-31T13:29:46.156-05:00

A public service announcement for any fellow Mainers reading this blog (okay, fine, I'm from away, but you know what I mean):This Tuesday, June 2nd at 7:00 PM, The Great Lost Bear will be hosting a book release party for John Connolly's newest Charlie Parker novel, The Lovers. As I understand it, the bar (a favorite of mine) features prominently in the book, and collector-types should note

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-78635520210736250512009-05-25T11:22:00.003-05:002009-05-25T11:33:46.806-05:00

After three weeks of beating my head against the wall, trying to get the chapter I was stuck on to work, I finally cracked it. I'd love to say that once it clicked, the deathless prose flowed like water from a tap, and that the final product's one of the best chapters I've ever written, but the fact is, that just ain't true.What is true is that for several weeks, the chapter was unworkable crap.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-68862258667847958312009-05-17T10:37:00.004-05:002009-05-17T11:22:17.363-05:00

Three weeks.For three weeks now, I've been wrestling with the same freakin' scene. Three weeks of writing, deleting, cutting, and pasting. Three weeks of moving the pieces around without the slightest investment in what's actually going on on the page.It'd be easy to blame that on the fact that I'm smack in the middle of the New Book (which yes, has a title, and no, I'm not saying what it is

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-66329394942476155332009-05-06T17:03:00.002-05:002009-05-06T17:25:54.333-05:00

Okay, I try not to talk politics too much 'round these parts, but today's developments are just too big not to comment on. Today, Maine became the first state in the Union to pass a same-sex marriage bill in the legislature and have it signed into law by the governor, and I couldn't be more proud.The bill passed with a final tally of 89-57 in the state House, and 21-13 in the Senate. Add to

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-50671244819834124882009-05-02T10:48:00.003-05:002009-05-02T11:06:18.984-05:00

Friend and writer Lyman Feero has put together an organization called the Society for the Advancement of Young Writers, an organization that aims to foster an interest in creative writing among elementary-age children, and he's looking for writers who are interested in helping. You can read about it here.Lyman's plan is ambitious, but his goals are both attainable and (in my humble opinion) very

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-83488639703303444282009-05-01T08:47:00.004-05:002009-05-01T08:54:28.536-05:00

Well, folks, it looks like it wasn't meant to be. The winners of the 2009 Derringer Awards have been announced, and The Big Score didn't make the grade. But hey, I had a pretty good run, so who am I to complain?Huge congrats go out to those who did win, and a monster thanks to all those who voted for me! And if you voted, but you didn't vote for me, well good on you, too. Know it or not, you

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-43981688428125795502009-04-27T09:25:00.002-05:002009-04-27T09:31:15.234-05:00

I just got word that my short story Action has been accepted by Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine! The publication-date is still to be determined, but that ain't stopping me from rockin' a little chair-dancing as we speak.Action is a dark comedy/caper story conceived as a sort of homage to the late, great Donald Westlake. I couldn't be happier where it ended up.So yeah. Not a bad way to

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-13204532945579672692009-04-12T09:11:00.002-05:002009-04-12T09:18:22.016-05:00

Ah, the joys of home ownership. This weekend, Kat and I did our taxes, and thanks to the whole house-buying thing, we got ourselves a return for the first time in a very, very long time. So today, I'm writing from the comfort of a snazzy new office chair. My old one was kinda beat when I first got it probably sixteen years ago, and the years have not been kind to it since. My new one, though

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-31691213980320145182009-04-01T10:16:00.002-05:002009-04-01T10:34:48.818-05:00

Okay, so this morning, I get a comment on my last post from Sandra, congratulating me all cryptic-like. Naturally, I endeavored to find out why. It turns out The Big Score was named a finalist for this year's Derringer Award!So yeah. Wow. Big thanks to Sandra for tipping me off, and to Richard Helms, editor of The Back Alley, for putting my story out into the world. Thanks also to Patrick

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-66238370924627482002009-03-28T19:20:00.002-05:002009-03-28T19:29:29.931-05:00

Nominees for the Second Annual Spinetingler Awards have been announced. You can check out the complete list, as well as vote on your faves, here.Big congrats to all the nominees, and mad props to the ever-awesome Sandra Ruttan, who probably has no idea just how many peoples' days she's made by putting all of this together.Oh, and to the folks nominated in the category of Best Short Story on the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-9053900038520714392009-03-05T12:37:00.005-05:002009-03-05T14:20:30.571-05:00

Man, it's been a while. A year, it seems, or maybe more. I can tell because I'm twitchy, on edge. My skin is crawling; my thoughts are scattered.Did I say a year? Feels like a freakin' decade.I stop and check. It's been less than fifty days. That can't be right, can it? But it is. Less than fifty days since my last acceptance. And that last one was a doozy -- two in one day. No wonder I got the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-51564654449244790422009-02-15T09:10:00.004-05:002009-02-15T09:40:29.181-05:00

This is just a quick post to say that The Toll Collectors is now up at Beat to a Pulp. Go check it out!In just a short while, David and Elaine have made Beat to a Pulp destination-reading for fans of modern pulp fiction, and with contributors like Patti Abbott, Sandra Seamans, Stephen D. Rogers, and Big Daddy Thug himself (not to mention a host of other talented writers), it's no surprise why.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-21418247506815783312009-02-08T15:02:00.005-05:002009-02-08T16:33:15.675-05:00

Okay, here's the deal. About four centuries ago in blog years, Sandra Ruttan tagged yours truly on a 16 random things meme. Now, I'm not often one for memes, but it seems to me the window for politeness has long since passed on the whole declining thing; I'm already a boorish idiot for flaking for so long (chalk it up to my brilliant organizational system of thousands upon thousands of

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16423897.post-71756063115119180622009-02-05T07:27:00.003-05:002009-02-05T16:53:03.261-05:00

Just a quick post to say that my flash horror story, The Well, is now live over at Flashes in the Dark. This one creeped me out to write, so hopefully, it's creepy to read as well. Go check it out!UPDATE: Soon-to-be international superstar Stuart Neville thinks my story should come with a warning label. So, yeah. I guess that means it's scary. Consider yourselves warned.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286520897538327919spaceholm@gmail.com12