Not Any Little Girl

(A one act play)

Written by: Trent Zelazny
Published by: Black Curtain Press Digital (May 3, 2012)
Page Count: 16 pages
AISN: B0080CB82O
Where to buy:
Amazon

Publisher’s Comments:
A short play about Grant Harrington, a man forced to kill a teenager by the name of Lecy Newsted. Gaining the confidence of Lecy’s sister Cora, Grant thinks he may have a plan worked out. But Lecy Newsted is not any little girl.

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

Trent Zelazny, a perennial favorite at She Never Slept, in our eleventeenth (his words) interview discussed his one act play – Not Any Little Girl. I was very excited to read and review it. So — let’s get to it. Enjoy, my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

Trent Zelazny has done it again. He has knocked another one out of the ball park. Not Any Little Girl is an amazing tale and I wish I had the chance to see it performed (*wink wink* *nudge nudge* to any playhouse directors in Charlotte).

It is easy to spoil a sixteen page one act play. So I want to talk a bit about the characters and the feel of the play.

There are three characters in the play – Grant, Lecy, and Cora. Lecy and Cora are sisters. Grant is a hitman who has come to their town on assignment. Lecy and Cora are polar opposites (think sugar and spice). Cora is the older sister, but Lecy seems to be the stronger  and more perceptive one. She suspects something is awry immediately when Grant comes to rent their deceased parents’ coffee shop.

The play is both mysterious and somber in the beginning, but soon the mood shifts to something even darker. As the mystery and chemistry between our assumed villain Grant and the young Lecy begins to unfold you find something unsuspected.

Final Thoughts:
Not Any Little Girl is a well written play that deserves more exposure. It is dark and witty at the same time. The plot and mood move swiftly and stealthily leaving your head spinning. I recommend this to anyone who like noir, mysteries, or plays. I hope to see it live someday. Bravo Trent! This play gets a 5 out of 5 tentacles.

Sarah L. Covert - Creator/Editor/Reviewer/Columnist/Reporter

Cold Hand In Mine

Written by: Robert Aickman
Published by:Tartarus Press
Page Count: 296
ISBN:978-1-905784-34-9
Limited to 350 copies!
Where to buy:
Tartarus Press

Publisher’s Comments:
As Phil Baker writes in his Introduction to this new edition of Cold Hand in Mine: ‘Robert Aickman (1914-1981) is increas­ingly esteemed as the most subtle and distinctive practitioner of the modern ghost story, or what he preferred to call the “strange story”: he edited eight collections of ghost stories for the publisher Fontana, but most of his own stories have no obvious ghost. Instead the “ghost story”—or strange story, or uncanny story—was for Aickman essentially “the story of rare sensations”: a genre “allied to poetry”.’

Contents: ‘Introduction’ by Phil Baker, ‘The Swords’, ‘The Real Road to the Church’, ‘Niemandswasser’, ‘Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal’, ‘The Hospice’, ‘The Same Dog’, ‘Meeting Mr Millar’ and ‘The Clock Watcher’.

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

Today I am going to talk to you about a Robert Aickman book  published by Tartarus Press. As usual, it is a lovely book. It reminds me why I prefer a real book in my hands over an eBook any day. I will spare you my usual enthusiastic speech and simply say that Tartarus books are the finest I have ever had the privilege of holding in my hands…. now on to the review. Enjoy, my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

This was my first experience reading anything by Robert Aickman. Let me simply say – WOW, my socks were knocked off! This book is filled with wonderful gems.

Our regular readers know how much I hate spoilers. It is quite difficult to talk about short stories without giving something away. Today I will talk about my two favorites, but don’t worry I won’t spoil it for you.

The first story in the book, “The Swords”, haunts me still. It was one of the most strange and horrifying tales I have ever read. The story begins with a young gentleman who stops at a carnival. He is drawn to a strange tent where he sees an act that seems impossible to him – a woman who is run through with swords and does not call out in pain. After that part of the show the barker offers the men in the audience the opportunity to kiss the woman. The young man leaves, he is later offered a private show with the woman by the man who ran the tent show. The young man accepts not knowing that he is in for the surprise of his life.

My second favorite story is the last one in the book, “The Clock Watcher”. A woman is obsessed with her clocks. She has a house full. Her husband patiently deals with her obsession, Though the neighbors were tiring of all the loud din on the hour. Then one day when he is told a strange tale by a strange man, and everything changes.

Final Thoughts:
Though my two favorite stories are at the beginning and end of the book, but it is chocked full of great tales. I am glad I had the opportunity to read some Aickman. Now I will have to hunt down more of his stories. Tartarus has done it again! I give this book an ardent 5 out of 5 tentacles!

Sarah L. Covert - Creator/Editor/Reviewer/Columnist/Reporter

Hello fellow followers of the dark and weird,

Join us for our live interview with author M.R. Gott at 5PM Eastern, 2PM Pacific on Saturday the 5th. Lines will be open to call-in with questions. Enjoy, my fiends!

-Marc

Listen to internet radio with SheNeverSlept on Blog Talk Radio

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

Today is a big news day at She Never Slept. We heard from author Jason Haxton about his new movie poster and more. Don’t worry – I won’t keep you hanging. Let’s get straight to the terrorific news. Enjoy, my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

Dibbuk Box Author Jason Haxton – who was a recipient of the She Never Slept Nightmare Award for best novel in 2011 – tells ”She Never Slept” Sarah L. Covert that he was completely caught off guard with the release of the LIONSGATE movie poster for The Possession. The poster, which has received positive reviews on many of the horror websites, clearly stated the film is based on True Events! Read the book.

Haxton told Sarah L. Covert when he saw the first posted “movie still” of a girl in her night gown doing the “look at me I am possessed pose” he thought – ho-hum. The poster has him sitting and shouting “WOW!!”

So far so good. Haxton says that he can’t wait to see the film that release nation-wide on August 31st. Also that the Dibbuk Box story will be featured this fall in a docu-drama for SYFY Channel and Haxton just agreed to do a documentary about his experiences with the demented “BOX” for the History Channel H2 – Fear Files – a brand new series.

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

As our regular readers know, I am on the committee for the Inkwell Awards. I am the Techno Queen – I maintain the website and update the social networks for the Inkwells.

For those not familiar with the organization:
The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwell, is an award given for creative achievement in the field of inking in American comic books. It was created to focus on and show more recognition toward the inking art form and its artists, a production skill exclusive to comic books that is often misunderstood and under-appreciated and whose inkers are at times not presently credited as they were traditionally. The Inkwell Awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community and after the personal website name of the organization founder Bob Almond, The Bob Almond Inkwell. The awards concept was created as a topic of one of his ‘Inkblots’ columns in Sketch Magazine in 2007 which saw print in 2008 after the group formation. The mission statement of the Inkwell Awards is, “To promote and educate about the art form of comic book inking and to show recognition for ink artists.”

This 2012 Inkwell Awards Ballot Is Now Live! If you are a comic book or graphic novel reader, please take the time to vote this year! You can vote >>HERE<<!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

Miss the live show? Listen to the archived interview! Enjoy, my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

Listen to internet radio with SheNeverSlept on Blog Talk Radio

The Lost Men: An Allegory

Written By:  David A. Colón
Published By: Elsewhen Press
Page Count: 192 (approximate)
ISBN 978-1-908168-04-7
ASIN: B007PVODPA
Where To Buy:
Amazon, Kobobooks, and other fine book retailers.

Publisher’s Comments:
In a world where the human population has been decimated, self-reliance is the order of the day. Of necessity, the few remaining people must adapt residual technology as far as possible, with knowledge gleaned from books that were rescued and have been treasured for generations. After a childhood of such training, each person is abandoned by their parents when they reach adulthood, to pursue an essentially solitary existence. For most, the only human contact is their counsel, a mentor who guides them to find ‘the one’, their life mate as decreed by Fate. Lack of society brings with it a lack of taboo, ensuring that the Fate envisioned by a counsel is enacted unquestioningly. The only threats to this stable, if sparse, existence are the ‘lost men’, mindless murderers who are also self-sufficient but with no regard for the well-being of others, living outside the confines of counsel and Fate.

Is Fate a real force, or is it totally imagined, an arbitrary convention, a product of mankind’s self-destructive tendency? In this allegorical tale, David Colón uses an alternate near-future to explore the boundaries of the human condition and the extent to which we are prepared to surrender our capacity for decisions and self-determination in the face of a very personally directed and apparently benevolent, authoritarianism. Is it our responsibility to rebuke inherited ‘wisdom’ for the sake of envisioning and manifesting our own will?

A pillar of honesty (when not defending myself in court), I must admit that I had a hard time submerging myself into Mr. Colón’s post-apocalyptic world. But once I did, I found myself drowning in a starkly beautiful, symbolic narrative.

The characters are enviable. Without the constraints and relative safety of society, they survive — and seemingly thrive — on the basics: knowledge, self-preservation and their own new-fangled belief system; one that relies heavily upon Fate and the “mentors” who interpret it. They eschew the old forms of religion and corrupt contraptions of civilization, choosing instead to live their solitary lives for “the one”.

On the outskirts of this chimerical existence, the Lost Men linger. They are a reminder of what was and what must always be; creatures without conscience that have strayed from the path. They have no true purpose in life; but the infliction of pain gives them reason to live. Fate abandoned them long ago.

Personally I find the idea of any utopian society completely unfathomable, the depths of which our inherently human lines could never fully measure. And as our story unfolds, it seems I’m not the only one who shares this rather stark belief. With the sweet comes the sour, and the bitterness that lingers is capable of toppling the most stoic of men. Even in an untamed, idealistic world, our baser natures will always prevail. To quote Yeats’ The Second Coming:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

And who is more passionate than the hand that wields Fate?

FINAL THOUHGTS:
Insightfully written, I finished the book in a few hours. However, the thoughts and feelings it evoked kept me up well past the witching hour.

I give The Lost Men three and a half tentacles.

Brandi Jording, Minion/Reviewer

Hello Ghouls and Boils,

What are you doing Friday evening? Join us here for another discussion with author Trent Zelazny! More details below… Enjoy, my fiends!

Abstrusely,
Sarah L. Covert

We are interviewing one of our favorite authors, Trent Zelazny, yet again! Join us Friday evening at 11PM Eastern/8PM Pacific. We will be discussing about his latest book “Butterfly Potion“, his new play “Not Any Little Girl”, his new audio book version of “Fractal Despondency“, and  more! Be sure to join us – it’s bound to be a terrorific time! The player will be on our site early in the day, so tune in!

Hey folks,

I have to admit that I was a little leery of editing this review to present to you all. I have been looking forward to Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods for quite some time but have still not been able to go see it. I didn’t want to read through anything that might spoil watching the movie but Trevor has done a first class job of stoking my interest without revealing any sensitive material.

Enjoy!

Floyd

So, yet another review of Cabin in the Woods,  but hopefully one that is hopefully spoiler free. It’s almost as big a question as whether the movie’s any good or not. How does one review a movie like this without giving the entire movie away?

You could, I suppose, answer some of the important questions. Is it any good? Yes, Virginia, it is? Will I like it even if I don’t worship at the Temple of Joss Whedon? Well, if you don’t even visit, what’s wrong with you?  Allergic to snappy dialog and excellent pacing?  Or allergic to co-writer Drew Goddard‘s connection to Cloverfield, the worst shaky hand cam movie of all time? Because both of those things are here in spades. The only two other clues that it’s a Whedon film is that Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse) shows up in the first five minutes, along with Fran Kranz from Dollhouse.

So what’s it about? If you haven’t seen the trailer or commercials, I’ll spell it out to you: It has generic horror plot number one of the last thirty years. College kids go to isolated spot in the woods, bad things happen to them.  To say any more is to inch ever so closer to spoiler land. But rest assured, you won’t ever be bored, despite the standard plot. In fact, this may be the best thing ever done with this plot line. I don’t think they ever need to do another movie with this plot ever again.

You can say it’s hyperbole, but this is probably the most interesting horror film since Scream. I do not say this lightly, since that was the last mainstream horror film to treat the genre and its tropes with anything resembling respect. If someone asked me what this film is truly about, it’s about the story  of College kids getting stuck in the woods, and why that story is important. But again, we veer close to spoiler territory.

So what’s worth watching here, besides the usual Whedon patter? Well, this is yet again another star turn by Bradley Whitford of  West Wing . He’s slowly turning into the type of actor that Christopher Walken has turned into, in that you really don’t hire him to play a part, you hire him to show up and be Bradley Whitford.  And he does it very well. Also outstanding is Fran Kranz, who is starting down the same path Whitford is, in that he shows up as the same guy every time. But that works for some, It has gotten Walken and people like Robert Mitchum great careers.

What’s bad about this movie? There isn’t really much to complain about. People will be on the fence about a movie as meta aware of itself as this one, as they were about Scream. My only quibbles were about the kid’s resemblance to the Scooby Doo gang (Blond jock, stoner, red haired brain, and brown haired ditz with an odd friend in place of the dog), and the complete non-presence of Chris Hemsworth, of Thor fame. I don’t think anyone in this audience knew who he was, and I had no idea until the credits rolled. He was as much background as the forest in this movie.

In the end, should you go see this? If you’re reading this site, you bet your ass you should. Non-horror fans may not be as enamored of a film that shows a deep and abiding love of the genre, but it’s still an entertaining ride full of blood, beasts and some breasts. Check it out.

I give it five tentacles. 

Trevor Curtis, Minion (Reviewer/columnist)

Hello friends, followers, and fellow devotees of the dark and weird.

I am pleased to announce that I will be interviewing M.R. Gott, author of the supremely dark Where The Dead Fear To Tread on Saturday the 5th of May at 5:00pm Eastern Time (2:00 Pacific).

We hope you will listen and please call in with questions! The player will be posted here on the day of the show, so tune in!

-Marc