Summer Is Gone
Welcome to the first anniversary edition of my newsletter. A lot has happened in the last year — I completed Raptures, my Buddhist-themed horror novel, attended another horror convention where I saw a rough cut of MindFlesh, director Robert Pratten’s take on my novel White Light, and began an intensive education in print-on-demand publishing (more on that in a moment). On a personal front, I started a business called Stress Reduction At Work, turned fifty, began a new relationship, fought off a series of illnesses, landed two new jobs and lost one, and moved. Whew! What a year it’s been. Just another reminder that life is essentially a continuous series of transitions and that there is nothing permanent to hold on to.
Change Change Change
This will be the last newsletter in this format. Starting with the next edition, the newsletter will be generated from my new blog, which will allow me to communicate to my readers and others in a more direct manner. The blog will give me an opportunity to write about issues that interest me, and not just horror fiction, such as politics, spirituality, film, and health and wellness. But have no fear, my newsletter will continue to have a writing and horror focus. But if you’re interested in a wider perspective on things, feel free to visit my blog and contribute to it.
One of the changes you’ll soon notice on my website is that there will be a bookstore link in the main navigation area. You can visit the bookstore to purchase copies of my books online — the first available title being Raptures, which will soon be followed by White Light, and then The Alchemy of Nightmares, my short story collection. There’ll also be a link to the bookstore from my blog. Purchases are secure. I'll let you know as soon as the bookstore is live.
MindFlesh Update
There is a great article in Practical Digital Video magazine on the whole process of creating MindFlesh — Robert Pratten’s adaptation of White Light. You can download a PDF of the article here. Robert is very close to being finished with the special effects, and the film will be screened early next year. More details will follow.
Print-On-Demand (POD)
With the distribution of novels and films being controlled by the big players, and the smaller players too cowed by the harsh economics of publishing to take risks on new, provocative, cross-genre material, the need arises for writers to have a cost-effective means of producing and distributing their work. Luckily, the digital revolution has opened up amazing possibilities for artists and consumers of art, from music downloads to social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube. For filmmakers, digital film production technology has made it possible to make beautiful independent films at a reasonable cost. For novelists like myself, there is print-on-demand publishing. Over the last few months I’ve been learning the ropes — becoming proficient at book layout techniques, book cover art and Photoshop, and the curious minutia of ISBN barcodes. As the digital revolution evolves and more people become familiar with the possibilities, there is a realistic chance that the making of art and the means of distributing it will merge into one holistic creative process — revitalizing art and personal expression in the process.
That’s it for now, folks. The next newsletter will be blog-driven. My first communication will include a short announcement about the opening of my bookstore. Probably in the next few weeks. Take good care. I'll speak to you soon.
Bill Scheinman, Oct. 1, 2007To top. >>>Contact Bill
