My psyche wasn’t crafted for conventions – too many actual humans, far too close and in the case of writer’s conventions, humans who are mostly ape-shit crazy.
My psyche wasn’t crafted for conventions – too many actual humans, far too close and in the case of writer’s conventions, humans who are mostly ape-shit crazy. And yet for a second year now I’ve traveled nearly out of my time zone to Indianapolis for MoCon. Partly the insane premise of this convention attracts me, Spirituality and Horror-Writing. But – and this is painful for a post-humanist pessimist to admit – it’s also the people. If writers are ape-shit crazy, at least they’re my kind of ape-shit crazy.
The panels this year were organized by Kelli Dunlap (Owen) a woman I find both alluring and terrifying and I suspect I’m not the only one. A mere word from her, spoken at normal volume was enough to silence a roomful of nattering participants. Her approach made the convention fresh and interesting. The panels were sometimes assembled impromptu and the discussions were un-moderated “Jerry-Springer-style.” Damn, it just felt more like democracy.
I found it hard to listen to Brian Keene speak about having a real-world stalker until I figured out what was wrong. He has Frank Zappa’s mustache. I wonder if there’s a trademark infringement issue. Brian wasn’t alone in having received unwanted attention from a reader out in cyberspace. Though listening to such real-life horror stories was fun, it was even more delightful to hear Brian defending his affection for “Land of the Lost” and other pop culture of yore, a stub of a cigar clamped in his teeth, during a smoke break.
Wrath James White is an awesome monument of a man. We are in very different places philosophically but shit, I could just listen to him talk for hours. Wrath would be glad to comply. As Kelli noted on more than one occasion “Sometimes you just have to cut him off.” I’m reading his most recent novel at the moment, The Resurrectionist, and it’s potent, well-crafted stuff.
I also got a chance to speak with Kim Paffenroth about various topics. He is a gentle, reserved soul, not the kind you’d exactly expect to write zombie literature. When I heard he’d be attending, I postponed buying Valley of the Dead, his most recent novel that pits Dante Allegieri against, well, a valley of dead folks. “It’s the novel I was meant to write” he mentioned over lunch, since he is perhaps the sole occupant of a Venn diagram intersection between “Dante scholars” and “zombie enthusiasts.”
I spoke with Bob Freeman about ceremonial magick and a truly haunted public building in upper Indiana. He also described facing a harrowing infestation of tiny creatures that are fearless and are known to take down elephants by climbing their legs, burrowing in their anuses and – wait for it – devouring them from the inside out. Yes. Screw “The Little Engine Who Could.” Whenever I’m feeling down, I’m going to think of the common shrew who gets busy and literally eats an elephant one bite at a time.
Sandwiched between the panels was plenty of time for informal chats and sycophantic blather as well. And food. There was a blackberry buckle that is worthy of special mention.
The haul I took from the booktables included:
• a copy of Black Static Magazine, UK’s Premiere Horror Fiction Magazine
• a copy of Shroud Magazine
• The Apex Book of World SF
• Descended From Darkness: Apex Magazine Vol. I
(Apex, 2009)
(This volume collects the original dark science fiction published by Apex Magazine during its first year.)
• Fresh Blood: Stories by Dave Alexander, Kelli Dunlap and Bob Freeman (Burning Effigy Press: 2009)
• Valley of the Dead (The Truth Behind Dante’s Inferno)
• The World Is Dead
And of course,
• Dark Faith the MoCon anthology edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex, 2010)
and the accompanying chapbook
• Dark Faith: Last Rites edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex, 2010)