|
|
||||
1/31/10 - LESSER DEMONS: FIRST REVIEW Just received an advance of premiere horror critic/editor S. T. Joshi's review of Lesser Demons, which will appear in Dead Reckonings #7. It's a long piece, but I'll share a bit of it here: “Norman Partridge has such a wealth of talent—a prose style of wondrous luminosity and grace; a narrative drive that carries the reader inexorably to the spectacular climax; an ability to convey violence and gruesomeness without the least suggestion of crudity or exploitation; and an imagination that opens new worlds to all who venture within his realm—that it will be engaging to chart his course in the future. Lesser Demons is one more building-block in what will be an impressive body of creative work that Partridge will leave to the future.” That's the first review of the collection that I've seen. Nice way to start things rolling!
1/15/10 - YETI REVIEW: DARK HARVEST Good way to start the day--just spotted this great review of Dark Harvest over at Stomping On Yeti.
1/13/10 - THE FIFTH ACE Yep. Let’s slap cards on the table. Philadelphia’s baddest crime writer weighs in on Lesser Demons: “Any new book with the name ‘Norman Partridge’ on the front is cause for celebration. But hot damn—Lesser Demons is my favorite Partridge yet, fusing hardboiled, horror, pulp and suspense in bold new ways that should be illegal in some states. You need this book. You need this book now.” --Duane Swierczynski
1/12/10 - THE BIRD IS THE WORD I have to admit that I hate asking writers and editors for blurbs. But as luck would have it, I love getting them. There’s nothing quite like getting the good word from someone you admire to make you want to push some extra chips out there on the table. And right now I feel like I’ve got four aces in my hand with these quotes for Lesser Demons, so here you go. Let’s ante up! “Norman Partridge writes with the economy and power of a Noir master. His new story collection, Lesser Demons, displays his unique ability to give a reader all the kick-ass pleasure of pulp suspense and action along with vibrant, complex characters and deep insight into the mythic hearts of distinctly American Nightmares.” --Jeffrey Ford “Norman Partridge pulls no punches whether he’s writing hard-boiled westerns, contemporary noir, or monster tales—often combined. His stories will take you on a helluva ride.” --Ellen Datlow “Norm Partridge is an extraordinary storyteller and his welding of noir and horror has created a signature style renowned for its lean, sinewy power. Lesser Demons is a brutal and unsettling collection from an author who has begun to cast a long shadow across the field.” --Laird Barron “Norman Partridge writes as if the devil himself had a sawed-off shotgun pointed at his head. In Lesser Demons, he goes drag-racing hellbent-for-leather across the rich and bloody drive-in graveyard of pop culture that he claimed years ago, digging up Lovecraftian horrors and ’56 Chevys, bloodthirsty spiders and atomic-age giants with real human hearts. I loved this book.” --Joe Schreiber
1/11/10 - WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED
Art by Vincent Chong. You don’t want to knock on that door, pardner.
11/3/09 - WORLD FANTASY: SAN JOSE-STYLE The first real deal mummy I ever saw? That was at the Rosicrucian museum in San Jose, and the petrified fellow in question was a little chimp that made my eleven-year-old jaw drop the same way Kharis did when I watched those Universal movies. Add to that the Winchester Mystery House—a place advertised in intermission spots that ran at the local drive-in theater for ten years straight—and you could say that Silicon Valley’s central city definitely notched into the red on my personal strange-o-meter, even as a kid. So San Jose seemed like a natural place for a fantasy convention. Tia and I made it down last week. Tia hit some panels, we talked writing biz with editors (and each other, which we sometimes don’t find time to do), and I recharged my creative battery by talking to other writers. Great to see my old buddy Jeff Mariotte (and his wife Maryelizabeth Hart), because Jeff has one of the driest senses of humor in the genre. Chatted with Gordon Van Gelder about old movie novelization pbs and Mexican wrestlers—laughter ensued. Saw John Klima, Cody Goodfellow, and John Skipp. Met S. T. Joshi for the first time, and editor Danel Olson, too—Danel gave Tia and I a fascinating virtual tour of Vlad the Impaler’s stomping grounds. Enjoyed quick visits with Ellen Datlow, Paula Guran, Peter Straub, John Helfers, and Stephen Jones, too. Great to meet some writers I’ve only known from the other side of the page. That’s always the best part of a con for me—wandering around, bumping into someone whose work I’ve admired, and there goes the next hour. This year I met Jeff Ford and Laird Barron—two writers who definitely have a gift for making the clock spin too fast. Meaning, yep, I really wish I’d had more time to talk with both these gents, as they are genuine and talented in equal measures. Jeff shook my hand and said: “Norm Partridge. The Man With the Barbed-Wire Fists. I thought you’d be more wild-eyed.” You can’t beat moments like that. Also had a chance to say hello to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Had the pleasure of telling her those Charlie Grant Shadows anthologies she often appeared in were like textbooks for me. What a gracious lady, and a real pro’s pro (and thanks for the intro, Paula—nice to know I’m still capable of a fanboy moment). Spent some facetime with my old buddy Bill Schafer and the SubPress crew. Amazing to watch Bill operate for three days on Excedrin and bagels. Hung out with Jason and Jeremy of Night Shade Books (who provided not only signature Night Shade beer plus a box of hard- and soft-cover swag; and all they got in return was a full-on Muhammad Ali impression, which I am proud to say spelled KO 1 for both of ’em [I’ll admit they were in a weakened condition]). Somewhere in there I ran into Jeff Conner, too—the guy who not only edited my Crow novel Wicked Prayer, but is in part responsible for getting me interested in writing. Way back when, Jeff’s Scream Press Dennis Etchison collections were the first small press books I ever tracked down. They led me to a little Berkeley bookstore called Dark Carnival, where I discovered a whole lot of choice writers and books. So, in a way, I guess I should blame Jeff every time I have to buy a new bookcase. Anyway—great weekend. Congrats are due to Jeff Ford, who picked up two World Fantasy awards over the weekend. Me, I’ve decided that I need to attend cons more often. I’m thinking about hitting World Fantasy in Columbus next year...I’ll have to see how things are going once the calendar flips a few more pages, but the spirit is definitely willing.
11/1/09 - SAWTOOTH JACK 2009 Tia and I made it home from the World Fantasy just in time for me to sharpen up my butcher knife and get to work. Here, for your edification and amusement, is the result of my efforts. It’s the one and only October Boy, the merciless trick with a heart made of treats, the butchering nightmare with the hacksaw face... the thing that’ll getcha so you know you’ve been got!
Hope you all had a great Halloween. We did, thanks to home-popped popcorn, Boris and Lon and ol’ Glenn Strange in House of Frankenstein, Don Knotts ghost-bustin’ in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and a few other old favorites. Now I’ve got to settle down and unpack...so check back in a day or so for a con report. We had a great time.
10/25/09 - YOU LOOKIN’ FOR ME? Yep. For those of you who have emailed, I will be at the World Fantasy Convention in San Jose. The Bride and I are arriving on Thursday and will be cutting out Saturday morning to get home in time for our annual Halloween movie marathon. Can’t miss the corndogs and home-popped popcorn. That’s the real deal. I’m not doing any panels or readings, but feel free to say hello if you see me. Or check in with my buddies at the Night Shade Books table in the dealer’s room. They can probably point you in the right direction.
10/23/09 - THE DEMON SHIFTS TO SECOND GEAR Lesser Demons is now up for preorder at the Subterranean Press website. Both the trade edition and the signed limited are available for preorder here. But if you want that extra-crunchy version, don’t hesitate. There will only be 250 of ’em, and I’m sure they’ll be spoken for before the book is released next April. Great to be working with the folks at Sub on this one. As things develop we’ll have word on the special chapbook that accompanies the limited edition, the cover artist, and more...so stay tuned.
10/21/09 - DEMONS REAR THEIR HEADS I’ve turned around the page proofs for Lesser Demons, my forthcoming short story collection from Subterranean Press. Though the book isn’t up for preorder yet on the SubPress site, those among you looking for an early bargain can find it listed over at Amazon (along with the flap copy teaser). Currently the price is $16.50, and that ain’t bad at all.
8/30/09 - KINDLING THE OCTOBER BOY... ...not with a match. But those of you with spiffy Kindle e-book readers can grab your plastic and order up copies of Dark Harvest right here. And, hey, that’s definitely one way to light my fire.
8/19/09 - SHIRLEY JACKSON AND POWER TOOLS Trading emails with SubPress honcho Bill Schafer about a prospective design for my next short story collection. Lesser Demons has a different vibe than my earlier work, and we’re working on a look that’ll fit the book just right. Bill: “I kind of like [this one] because you haven’t had anything like it before. My only concern, which is a bit of an overstatement, is that it doesn’t look Shirley Jackson-ish.” Norm: “C’mon, Bill: it looks EXACTLY like Shirley Jackson…working w/ a Makita Sawzall greased with testosterone!” Which is how this book may read. Maybe. You guys can let me know in about six months.
8/10/09 - THE This October will see the release of Between the Dark and the Daylight: and 27 More of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg. This anthology includes “Road Dogs,” a mashup crime/werewolf story by yours truly which originally appeared in Subterranean Online. I’m also looking forward to the title story by my buddy Tom Piccirilli, which earned an International Thriller Writers Award nomination for Best Short Story. Don’t know how I missed reading that one, but I did. Just another reason I like contributor’s copies, amigo...
8/6/09 - BY BLOOD WE LIVE That’s the title of a new anthology of vampire stories just released by my buddies at Night Shade Books. It’s edited by John Joseph Adams, who brought you last year’s hallmark zombie anthology (and current World Fantasy Award nominee), The Living Dead. My contribution is a personal favorite, “Do Not Hasten to Bid Me Adieu.” The tale features Quincey Morris, the unlikely cowboy you’ll remember from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and I originally sold it to Poppy Brite for Love in Vein. Still have the acceptance letter for that one. Poppy wrote: “...the story contains some of your best writing I’ve seen yet—the third paragraph on page 2, with the description of the West Texas night sky, choked me up with the sheer beauty of the prose in a way that only Lucius Shepard can usually do. Goddammit, Norman, you just write so goddamn pretty.” Now that’s what you want to hear from an editor. Anyway, Mr. Adams has whomped up a website for By Blood We Live. Click on over and you can check out “Do Not Hasten...” absolutely free for your reading pleasure, not to mention an interview with yours truly.
8/4/09 - SOME NEWS OF THE SUBTERRANEAN VARIETY Been kicking emails back and forth with Subterranean Press Overlord Bill Schafer about my forthcoming short story collection, Lesser Demons. The manuscript will be off to the designer in the next couple of weeks, and the likely publication date is February or March of 2010. The book isn’t up for preorder yet on the Subterranean website, but keep your eyes peeled for it—and in the meantime, check out Subterranean Online, a very fine (and free) magazine. I’ll have more to say about Lesser Demons in the coming months, but for now I’ll mention that this collection includes a 17,000 word original novella called “The Iron Dead.” This piece is a tribute to old school pulp heroes, and it’s basically the tale I would have submitted to Farnsworth Wright if I’d had a crack at him back in the glory days of Weird Tales. Stylistically, I brought my own game to the table, but at heart the piece is pure pulp, featuring bootleggers, monsters, and a bad man named Chaney. In other words, if any of you manage to slot a bookmark while reading it, I’ll be very upset.
8/3/09 - DO YOU WANT COJONES WITH THAT? Going over some proofing notes for a forthcoming book today, and came across this note: These are the type of questions that keep writers awake at night. In other words, I actually had to think about this. I came to the following conclusion: if you’re apt to find a word on a menu—like frijoles or tortillas—no italics are necessary. But a word like cojones? Definitely not a menu word. That sucker needs italics. Unless we’re talking Rocky Mountain cojones. In which case I’d probably just eat somewhere else.
8/2/09 - PARTRIDGE vs. LOVECRAFT: STEEL-CAGE DEATH MATCH Well, not really, but I do have a story in Black Wings: New Tales of Lovecratian Horror, which is forthcoming from editor S. T. Joshi and PS Publishing. My piece is called “Lesser Demons.” I’ll admit that it was a challenge for me, since the gentleman from Providence and I do have major differences in terms of worldview. Ultimately, those differences are what made writing the story interesting, and I hope you’ll enjoy the result. And since Pete Crowther of PS has fast-tracked this anthology for October publication, you won’t have long to wait. Here’s the complete Table of Contents:
7/31/09 - FREE FICTION—ILLUSTRATED! We thought we’d kick off a little reboot action here at the website with a free story, “The Hollow Man,” which most recently appeared in S. T. Joshi’s fine Penguin anthology, American Supernatural Tales. “The Hollow Man” was written during a time when I was just beginning to find my way as a writer. Fact is, I think it may be the first really solid piece of work I turned out. I actually wrote it in college, when I was still making my first trip through the strongest tales from the Lovecraft/Howard era of weird fictioneers. And I’d probably be remiss if I didn’t mention that Jack London had a little bit to do with it, too—I’ve always loved “To Build a Fire,” not to mention some of London’s own weird tales (and there were more than a few of those—if you have any doubt, check out a London collection called Fantastic Tales, with an intro by none other than Philip José Farmer). Anyway, put all that on the boil, and that’s what cooked this one up in my brainpan. Besides the tale, I hope you’ll enjoy the accompanying illustration as much as I do. It’s the work of a talented young gun, Kevin Nordstrom [ email | gallery ], who did a great illo of the October Boy for us awhile back. Kevin’s done covers for Marvel’s Epic Comics line and concept art for Wildstorm Comics, not to mention graphic art work for newspapers and custom design companies. Besides that, he’ll be illustrating some Norm Partridge stories for us here at the website, and we hope you’ll be looking forward to them as much as we do.
For previous news articles, please visit our "News Archive" -top- |
||||
