Monsters, Winter's Bone and book discounts

Watched two films over the weekend, both of which were quite cheaply shot, but both of which showed that you don't need giant budgets to make decent films, especially if there's a good script and actors that can do their job well. First up was Monsters:
“Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.”

Now reading that you’d think this would be an action packed, monster laden movie, much like District 9, but in fact the action is in short supply and the ‘monsters’ hardly feature at all. The film is more a character study and revolves around Samantha Wynden, played by Whitney Able and Andrew Kaulder played by Scoot McNairy and their interaction together as they try to get across the Mexican border back to the US. Both actors play their parts pretty well, but Whitney was the better of the two. Essentially it was about the human side of the story, but I felt that a few action scenes would have helped raise the bar for what is otherwise not a bad film, but one that could have been far better. 7/10

The second film was Winter’s Bone:
This was another film that forsakes action for character, but in this case it worked really well: “An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.”

Lead character, Ree Dolly played by Jennifer Lawrence was superb in her role as the 17 year old responsible for raising her younger brother and sister and coping with her withdrawn mother. When a local Sheriff tells her that her father, who manufactures crystal meth, has put up their house as collateral for his bail and unless he shows up for his trial in a week's time, they will lose it all, she sets out to find him, but the community of mountain people are staying tight lipped, forcing Ree to delve deeper if she’s to get to the truth and save her family home. Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was strong enough to carry this film on her own, but the other characters, many who had never acted before, gave a real sense of place and added to the feeling of mistrust that bubbled beneath the surface. 8.5/10

Finally, if you haven’t heard, Dark Regions Press, publisher of my collection Voyeurs of Death and the upcoming Fangtooth have been awarded the Horror Writer Association’s Speciality Award, and to celebrate they are offering 25% of everything for a very limited time using the coupon code: HWA2010. So what are you waiting for?
http://www.darkregions.com/

Voyeurs and the clichéd dead

I posted about it before, but the lettered deluxe edition of Voyeurs of Death is available for preorder. There are only 26 copies available, so it could become highly collectible if I get off my arse and make something of my writing. Or I could become famous for some crime or other (perhaps they’ll find the bodies) and the same thing happens, which could be an eaiser route to take. Either way, the people who bought a copy will be onto a winner, and of course I’m sure it will be a great looking book too: http://bit.ly/bwQEH4

And if you buy a copy, until tomorrow, Monday (11/22/2010) anyone who places an order for a Limited Hardcover edition of any of the Dark Regions books will receive one Dark Regions coffee mug of their choice while anyone who places an order for a Deluxe Lettered/Thirteen Hardcover edition of any of their books will have their choice between a t-shirt and a mug from the Merchandise section!: http://www.darkregions.com/news/22/Buy-a-Book,-Get-a-Shirt!.html

Now for anyone who missed it, I had an interview go online the other day. It was fun to do and it would be great if you could check it out. Just remember to come back after checking it out:
http://thegingernutcase.blogspot.com/2010/11/100th-post-interview-with-author-shaun.html?spref=fb

So who’s been watching The Walking Dead? I have, but to be honest I’m not that impressed. The characters seem a little clichéd, and the plot lines do too. This weeks episode supposedly had us believe Merle cut his own hand off with a hacksaw. Was he that dumb he couldn’t cut through the pipe he was handcuffed to? Some people suspect he might have been rescued by the people in the helicopter. Again, what sort of rescuer cuts someone’s hand off when he’s shackled to a rusty bit of metal? I’ve seen other people suggest he’s gone crazy after being left chained up overnight. No shit! The whole thing just seems drawn out too much for my liking. I realise the writers are trying to build their characters (and they’re probably following the graphic comic book that the series is based on, but as I haven’t read it, I don’t know), but to me they are not coming across as natural and more like set pieces in a game of chess that’s afraid to deviate from its path. The clichéd hicks. The clichéd wife beater etc. Or then again perhaps I’m just reading too much into it, but when I saw the week before that our 'hero' was trapped in a tank, you know a bloody tank, designed to enter battle, and he sits there wondering how he's going to escape, and I'm thinking just drive the bloody thing!!!!!

On the writing front, I’m currently nearly a quarter of the way through my latest novel (and hopefully avoiding the clichés). Still a long way to go but as always when you write something, it’s proving to be an interesting journey. What I do like is when you write yourself into a corner, and you think, ‘how the hell am I going to get out of this?’, and then either the answer jumps out at you, or as in my last instance, I reread what I’d already written and discovered that the solution was already there. As I’ve now hit another wall, I’d better get rereading.

Pleasure and pain

Yesterday I got the go ahead to announce that I have signed contracts with Dark Regions Press. They are an invitation only press who approached me a few weeks ago, inviting me to submit some of my work. For those who don’t know, DRP are an award winning press who have been publishing since 1985. The upshot was that I have now signed a contract for a novel that I am currently working on and another contract for a lettered deluxe edition of my previously published short story collection, Voyeurs of Death. This new edition is limited to 26 copies and it includes five extra stories that weren’t in the previous edition, three of which are previously unpublished stories. It will be a hardback, 6''x9'', bound in leather, front cover stamped and spine stamped with the title and the author's name, includes artsy end papers, signature page which is signed by author (me) and artist (Zach McCain), coloured book ribbon with nice full coloured header, 60lb. natural vellum stock, a beautiful slipcase and dust jacket. Being such a limited edition, I hope it will become a real collector’s item for those who purchase it. And of course, I hope they enjoy the stories too. For pre-order details, visit: http://www.darkregions.com/products/Voyeurs-of-Death-by-Shaun-Jeffrey.html



Yesterday I also had another two hour session at the tattooist to continue the updating of my Japanese themed sleeve. He finished off the shading on the back of my arm and smoothed out all the shading that covered up the old tattoo. I’m really pleased with how it’s coming along, but there’s still a way to go yet.