Welcome to TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com
First off, dear friend Out this week--Dust to Dust The beginning of the Prophesy Series Unlikely super-heroes must join forces with an under the radar community of those not quite human to save the world from the different shadows of darkness and evil that are striving to make sure that the Mayan prophesy does mean the end of mankind.
Coming next week! Thriller Writers I'll be in New York on July 7th for Craftfest, and then throughout the weekend for T-fest. Thriller Writers provide one of the most amazing venues out there. So many wonderful people, all sharing experiences, knowledge, and, bringing all kinds of great quirky info and laughter right along with it. From its inception, this has just been great--if it thrills, it's a thriller, so there are folks who write top-notch technical suspense, paranormal, sheer horror, paranormal, romantic suspense--you name it. The joining of all these different genres that thrill offers a learning experience that is rarely matched. If you can, drop on by. The Grand Hyatt, New York, weekend of July 10th through July 12th.Just back. . . from another round of initials . . . HWA. The Stoker weekend was just held in beautiful Burbank, California.
So, a round up!
Thursday night--a mass signing/party at Del's and Sue's Dark Delicacies, one of the most amazing bookstores you'll ever see. Books, old and new, classic, comics, graphic novels--all kinds of wonders. Not to mention the other wonderful things you might buy, such as bags, jewelry, collectibles, and more. Vampire wine and witches brew! And after the autographing, there was some good old net-working at the bar, and another party. Josh "Ponceman" Perry and his brother Scoot "the Sap" of TV, Internet, and motion picture fame threw a bash to show some new footage. In attendance were many of their friends, also from some of the most popular youtube spots on the Internet--and stage and screen. We learned that Doug Jones, an amazingly nice actor (Billy Bones in Hocus Pocus, The Silver Surfer, etc.) has been named to be the next Frankenstein, so what a cool bit of cinematic history to discover at his side!
On to Friday, and what an interesting day. Helen Rosburg and I hosted the Gory Ghoul ball for the Friday night event, which included very good food--a pasta bar and more--a bar, and music by the Slush Pile Players, a name for a group of us as we manage to get together in whatever numbers at whatever event. This year for the Gory Ghouls, this included F. Paul Wilson, Dave Simms, Nathan Walpow, Alexandra Sokoloff, Harley Jane Kozak, Tracy Carbone, Rhodi Hawk, Shayne Pozzessere, Juan Roca and myself. So, ahha, do this right, do this well--we'd rented a dedicated rehearsal room. But the very first night, we were told we were too loud and had to be moved. We were moved. Ah, but that wouldn't work. There was another convention in. Friday morning with time ticking away, I was told we could be in the parking lot. Okay, not very private, but, if that's where we're going . . . . Rehearsal resumed/began
in the parking lot, but we were too much for neighboring businesses who wanted, well, to get business done. We moved over to the studio that had rented us the drum set and the folks were there were phenomenal. Still, cut our time down very badly, and I think my wig was definitely askew as we opened the doors and prayed that people would drink a lot and the food would be very good. Connie Perry had done a spectacular job on our center pieces--collectible monsters!) Helen and her Medallion folk were fantastic, and we began. Long ago, we started going by a slogan we stole from Shakespeare in Love--it's a Mystery and a Miracle! So a great time was had by all.
Saturday, a big day for me. I am not a gusher, but I admit to practically being ready to worship at the feet of Richard Mathieson, creator of some of the finest Twilight Zone episodes ever, I Am Legend, and so many more incredible pieces of thought and fiction. I was able to meet him, his love wife, and his son, R.C., (now creating another generation of brilliance) and R.C.'s beautiful wife. I got to give out a Stoker to Stephen King. Okay, he wasn't actually there, but . . . .
I'm VP of HWA, working next to Deborah LeBlanc, Pres, who is an amazing individual. On Sunday, we set forth with board work, but our board is filled with hard-working people who love the genre, and we laughed together and hopefully, kept our organization going in a soaring motion. On Monday, I got to meet with Lance and Rich, and talk about our upcoming event, Writers for New Orleans.
But next, ITW. Those initials stand for International Thriller Writers. How can you not love being thrilled? Can't wait--many of the same friends belong, and many more folks who brilliantly--and annoyingly--keep my book bill very high each month. New York City! Almost there.
