Into the Obscuradrome #22
Hello. I’m Bob Pastorella, co-host of the This Is Horror podcast, website manager for This Is Horror, and writer. I’m the author of Mojo Rising, They’re Watching (with Michael David Wilson), and have numerous short-stories and non-fiction online and in print in various publications.
Ghoulish Book Fest Roundup/New WIP
Last month I attended the 3rd annual Ghoulish Book Fest, put on by Max and Lori Booth, in beautiful San Antonio. A wonderful experience (except when I was locked out of my hotel room, only to then have the lock not work at all to the room to my door … but hey, shit happens.) that seems to get better every year. I moderated a kickass panel about Music in Horror, and was a panelist on the Uncanny Valley and Witchcraft and Occult panels, both of which were outstanding. Met Matthew Bartlett, Jessica McHugh, Jason Krawczyk (writer and director of He Never Died), and Sonora Taylor. Of course I got to hang out with my old con friends Jerry Purdon, Cris Morris, Lucas Mangum, Shane McKenzie, Victoria Nations, Matt Blairstone, Laurel Hightower, John Baltisberger, Grace Reynolds, R.J. Joseph, Matt Brandenburg, and so many others. I saw Michael Allen Rose (who I’ve not seen in years), and ate dinner with Daniel Kraus, the aforementioned Michael Allen Rose, and Bridget Brave, among others. If I left your name out, it’s completely unintentional … so sorry. We walked the riverwalk, went to the Alamo, and took another Ghost Tour that ended with everyone drenched from the rain on the walk back to the hotel.
I needed this trip so bad it hurt. Working a daily grind I can’t stand (but the money and benefits make it worth it, usually) and writing when I can makes for a lonely time, so I cherish these events so much. I returned home feeling energized and rejuvenated, and I’m so ready for the 4th Ghoulish Fest next spring.
But before that … KillerCon in August!
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Crazy Tusk is dead!
Well, not really. But she’s done, or as done as she’s going to be for now. I don’t like the book I wrote, which is a strange thing to write and almost makes almost no sense, but it’s a flawed mess that needs a complete overhaul, so for the moment she’s on a shelf to fester and ferment. The problems are legion, but mainly I take too long to get to the scary parts. There’s a scene that works better at the beginning but I didn’t fully realize it until I wrote it in the 3rd Act, and now the entire beginning needs to be reworked to fit this scene in. Lots of work, and really, I was losing interest in the story halfway through because I started to sense that scene would work better earlier. And that’s a lot longer than I wanted to spend talking about a book I wrote that’s not very good.
Turn Up the Night
While I await some really good things happening on the horizon next year, I’ve been working on a new project called Turn Up the Night. Like Mojo Rising, this is another music/writing project, but not as deep as Mojo. The music is Dio era Black Sabbath, with a few cuts from the OG era (though they are the live versions Dio sang during his tenure with the band) and the Ian Gillen era Born Again album, which is probably one of the most underrated Sabbath albums. The mix is … well, terrible, but the songs are incredible. “Disturbing the Priest” is one of the most evil songs I’ve ever heard!
The story is about a drug smuggler hired to transport a mage into cartel territory Mexico. Magick exists in the world, though society is split between true believers and those that scream “fake news”, even when confronted with overwhelming evidence. The mage is basically the Walter White of mages, his speciality something of extremely high interest to the cartel. I’m having a blast with this one, lots of twists on occult props used in ways much different than we’ve seen before, and heavy-duty demons (angels to some) that are quite effective with their own brand of carnage. Hoping to have the 1st draft done before I get really busy on some upcoming things.
Patreon
I’m unsure if I’m going to be using this email server in the much longer. I don’t really care for the format here, though I guess it serves its purpose and you only get what you pay for, and in this case, I don’t pay for it. I have a patreon page, though I haven’t really used it. No paid tiers at the moment, but I will be utilizing it more in the near future. If you see one of my patreon posts on social media, please do me a solid and give it a follow. Again, no paid tiers, it’s all for free at the moment, so it costs nothing to follow.
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Reading:
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard (I’m almost done with it. Been taking my time reading it among other books.)
A Better World by Sarah Langan. Holy shit, this book was wild as fuck. The Queen of Domestic horror returns with a dystopian nightmare that feels very relevent to society today.
Uncertain Places by Mitch Horowitz. Seriously, if you’re interested in occulture and esoteric knowledge, Horowitz knocks it out of the park.
Listening:
Candlemass, Black Sabbath (obviously), Deep Purple, and a new (to me) band called The Lumberjack Feedback. Jazz wise, of course Davis, Coleman, Coltrane, and Connie Han.
Watching:
Shōgun, Fallout, and a lot of weird, creepy movies.
Until next time …
peace&love
Bob