General – Page 5 – Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher

Comments on “Murder by Plastic”

Since “Murder by Plastic” was published by Every Day Fiction on March 24, I have been getting some interesting comments on it: some critical, some laudatory. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to visit the site yet, here they are:

9 Responses to “MURDER BY PLASTIC • by Phil Slattery”

lizardyoga Says: March 24th, 2013 at 2:54 amChilling and brilliantly economical
Binnnie Dot Says: March 24th, 2013 at 4:21 amVery well-paced and intriguing. Well done.
Paul A. Freeman Says: March 24th, 2013 at 4:22 amWekk written, but one huge pothole. How could Joey be certain Don Antonio Vespucci would not take the duct tape off?
Tina Wayland Says: March 24th, 2013 at 6:52 amI can’t help feeling like this one needed another rewrite. The story shines through so wonderfully in spots, but it feels hidden beneath some predictable plot twists and un-careful writing. The repeated words, like “heartbeat,” got caught in the writing instead of really reverberating.That said, I think the story itself takes us by the hand and runs. And what a ride!
Amanda Says: March 24th, 2013 at 10:04 amI think Joey may have been involved in a similar scenario before with Don Antonio and was aware of how it would play out. And, like the Don says, who wants to listen to a bunch of denials?Well written and enjoyable, but I also agree that repeated words took me out of the story a couple of times. The first line was brilliant, but the second reference to duct tape diminished the line’s impact.
Overall, a very enjoyable read.
Paul A. Freeman Says: March 24th, 2013 at 10:26 amBelieve it or not, I was perfectly sober when I posted #3.‘Wekk’; ‘potholes’? Maybe I should have loosened up with a drink or two before posting.
JenM Says: March 24th, 2013 at 10:51 amFabulous story! Five stars!
Michael Robertson Says: March 24th, 2013 at 12:48 pmI liked this. It was a good story. I agree with the rewrite comments. Overall an enjoyable read. Well, horrible read but that’s the point.
john malone Says: March 27th, 2013 at 8:39 pma terrific read; i loved it. I was tensed up just like ‘Mr. Wilson’ throughout the story

St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Bram Stoker1847-1912 — Bram Stoker
1847-1912

Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu1814-1873 — Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu
1814-1873

For St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would bring up just a couple of tidbits.

First of all, the first two Irish horror authors who spring to mind are Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (born at 45 Lower Dominick Street, Dublin, according to Wikipedia) and Bram Stoker (born in Clontarf, north of Dublim (also according to Wikipedia). Follow the links to my articles on each.

Second, I did a quick search for “Irish horror humor” on Google and found reviews for Grabbers. I haven’t seen the movie yet myself, but it looks like fun. I will definitely check it out at my first opportunity and I recommend that you do too.

Third, never drink and blog. If you have ever seen the movie Sideways starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, you know the dangers of drinking and dialing. The dangers of drinking and blogging are similar, but on an international scale. 🙂

Lovecraft Country

I love maps and found an interesting one at Wikimedia tonight. The above is an illustration of “Lovecraft Country” as drawn by Miihkali (from Finland) in 2009. It is in the public domain.

The description that accompanies the map (the bottom paragraph is in Finnish) reads:

English: So called ‘Lovecraft country’ of Cthulhu Mythos, showing some of the most important cities of Massachusetts alongside with towns invented by Lovecraft. Imaginary towns are marked with square, real ones with circle.

Suomi: Cthulhu-mytologian “Lovecraft-maa”; joitain merkittäviä Massachusettsin kaupunkeja yhdessä Lovecraftin keksimien kanssa. Kuvitteelliset paikat on merkitty neliöllä, oikeat pallolla.

Thoughts? Comments?

Zombie Response Unit 23 Car 54

I was taking the dog to the vet in Farmington (New Mexico) this morning, trying to come up with a subject for my daily blog, when I saw this car ahead of me. Of course, I followed him until he stopped in a parking lot, and then I asked his permission to photograph his vehicle and post it on my blog. Enjoy.

Thoughts? Comments? Have you seen anything like this in your area?

Addendum:

Talk about timing! Check out this CNN article from Dean Obeidallah on “Time to Protect America from Zombies” that appeared only this evening.

Balance

Writing horror is a grim pastime. One spends many hours delving into the darkest aspects of the human soul. One’s mind is filled with murder, torture, violence, hatred, as well as characters, places, and situations that belong in the deepest pits of Dante’s Inferno. Granted, out of these depths often arise heroes who triumph over the evil surrounding them and thus bring out the highest and noblest aspects of the human spirit, which may provide psychological comfort and spiritual salvation to the author, but journeying into darkness periodically will take its toll on anyone to some degree. I have to ask myself how many authors of horror fall victim to depression and other maladies of the spirit.

But now, let us take this scenario and turn it about into something positive, something uplifting. Let me pose this question to you, my readership, in hopes that the answers I receive will benefit not only myself, but everyone else who reads them: how do you, writers of horror, find relief from the psychological toll encountered during your sojourns into darkness? How do you balance out your lives so that you continue to see the beauty of the world around you and do no not stay imprisoned in the worlds of evil you create? Do you watch comedies at the movies? Do you take long walks along a tranquil coast? Do you cuddle with your children and pets? Do you collect the artworks of Thomas Kinkade or someone else who paints idyllic scenes of light and earthly paradise? Please let me and my readers know so that we can find new avenues out of our horror-filled ruts and blood-stained dungeons.