This funny take on learning about Facebook comes from the blog of  the Co-chair of the NEHW, Stacey Longo, which can be found on her website.

Facebook 101

by Stacey Longo

My sister finally gave in and joined Facebook this week, or, as she succinctly put it, “I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.” Tasteless Jim Jones reference notwithstanding, I was crazily excited to have my sister on Facebook—which is a little bit ridiculous, really, since we talk on the phone every day. But now I could talk to her online, too! And put up photos of shamrock shakes and tag her in them! Oh, the possibilities were endless! I spent two hours walking Kim through her first tentative Facebook steps. She navigated her way through the privacy settings, discovered how to leave her wall and successfully return to it later, and even gave the search bar a shot. “I can’t find O____ B_____,” she complained, trying to look up an old friend from high school as I sat with the phone propped up to my ear, tagging photos of her. “Don’t worry about it, she just found you,” I said, watching as O.B. ‘liked’ the picture of Kim I’d just put up and left a comment. Within moments, Kim had a friend request. “That’s a little scary,” she admitted. And it is. Which is why I’m offering these tips to my sister and the other 36 people in the world who are just now joining the Facebook nation:

1.  Remember that creepy guy from high school, the one who wore plastic vampire fangs to class and stared at you all day? Yup, he’s on Facebook too, and he’s about to send you a friend request so that he can finally confess to you that he was in love with you 30 years ago and that you are still just as beautiful today. Feel free to ignore his friend request.

2.  Remember your younger cousin, the one who set off firecrackers in the chicken coop and it caught on fire? He hasn’t changed. Ignore his friend request, too.

3.  People will tag random pictures of you. They do not care if you were thirty pounds heavier in that photo or had just had your hair done like Gene Simmons of KISS for a costume party. They also don’t care if your mother is on Facebook and will not find it as hilarious as your friends do to tag you in a picture of a bong shaped like Elvis’s head. You do have the power to un-tag yourself in those photos. Do it.

4.  Good news!  Your mother is not on Facebook. Yet.

5.  Some of your Facebook friends are quite vocal about their political views or feelings on social issues affecting our nation. Some of these people are, in fact, crazier than fruit bats. Choose your battles wisely. Sometimes it’s better to just bite your fingers instead of commenting.

6.  Yes, if you post something on someone’s page, all of their friends can read it. So if you want to tell your friend Jeanie that you still regret not marrying John Taylor of Duran Duran, send her a private message instead of posting it on her wall where your husband might see it.

7. Of course Duran Duran has their own Facebook page! You can only ‘like’ it once, though.

8. Don’t keep updating your status every five minutes. Honestly, nobody cares if you just found a great deal on toilet paper at Target. (Wait. How great of a deal was it?) Also, why do you want creepy vampire fang guy to know where you are at all times? Facebook can be a little scary for newbies. Personally, I’m thrilled to have my sister on there with me, mostly because my cousin Lori keeps ignoring my Farmville requests, and I want someone to play with me. Plus, it’s better that she figures Facebook out now…before her children do!

by Jason Harris

The New England Horror Writers’ organization’s first anthology is now available as an e-book.

Epitaphs became available in the Kindle store on Amazon today. This is the first time the collection has been available in e-book form.

The paperback edition of Epitaphs became a Stoker nominated collection this past Saturday. It’s on the final ballot of the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Awards for works published in 2011. The Awards will be presented at a gala banquet on Saturday, March 31, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“It’s a great achievement for the NEHW to have its first anthology get this far,” said Tracy L. Carbone, who is the editor of the collection, on her Facebook page. ”We all put in a tremendous amount of work in a short time to get this off the ground and I want to again thank the board and all the contributors.”

The book was released last October by Shroud Publishing then debuted at Anthocon with a book release party in November. At Anthocon, most of the writers in this collection were on hand to sign it.

The table of contents in this anthology is as follows:

Jeffrey C. Pettengill “To Sleep, Perchance to Die”

Paul McMahon “The Christopher Chair”

Kurt Newton “A Case of the Quiets”

Scott T. Goudsward “Build-a-Zombie”

John Goodrich “Not an Ulcer”

B. Adrian White “The Possesor Worm”

John M. McIlveen “Make a Choice”

Michael Allen Todd “The Death Room”

Rick Hautala “Perfect Witness”

Holly Newstein and Glenn Chadbourne “Stoney’s Boneyard”

Trisha J. Wooldridge “Kali’s Promise”

David Bernard “The Sequel”

David North-Martino “Malfeasance”

Stacey Longo “Private Beach”

Christopher Golden “All Aboard”

L.L. Soares “Holiday House”

Steven Withrow “Lines at a Wake”

K. Allen Wood “A Deeper kind of Cold”

P. Gardner Goldsmith “Alone”

Roxanne Dent “Pandora’s Box”

Michael Arruda “Chuck the Magic Man Says I Can”

T.T. Zuma “Burial Board”

John Grover “Windblown Shutter”

Stephen Dorato “Cheryl Takes a Trip”

Philip Roberts “The Legend of Wormley Farm”

Peter N. Dudar “Church of Thunder and Lightning”

To purchase a copy of Epitaphs in paperback for $12.99, click here.

To purchase in the e-book format for $4.99, click here.

The Atavist

by Paul Tremblay

by Kristi Petersen Schoonover

As writers, we’re expected to do everything: blog, publicize, teach, learn, read, critique, edit, revise, judge contests—let alone just write. Sometimes, an opportunity comes our way to lead a workshop, and sometimes, we pass because we’re just overwhelmed.

Left to right: Trisha Wooldridge, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, and TJ May

When New England Horror Writers’ members Trisha Wooldridge and TJ May asked me to be a co-presenter at a NEHW day-long workshop at Annie’s Book Stop in Worcester, MA, on February 4, I really had to think about it. I knew it was going to be just a couple of days after arriving in Provincetown, MA, for my annual winter stint at the Norman Mailer Writers Colony. I knew I didn’t want to go anywhere since it’s my time to disappear and write, write, write. But I said yes anyway, and I’m glad I did.

TJ covered the craft, I covered revision and critique, and Trisha covered business; the participants were engaged and seemed to have a great time. I learned a great deal in the process, as well as getting a refresher on some things I’d forgotten over the years. I left there jazzed, and as I was driving back to Provincetown, I thought that when we pass on a workshop presentation opportunity, we really do miss out.

Here are five reasons to never say no to leading a workshop:

1. Pay It Forward. Your workshop’s participants are there to learn from

The presenters and participants of the writers' workshop. Back row, left to right: Cheryl Cory, Tracy Vartanian, Deborah Sadenwater, L’Aura Hladik, Kris Star, Bob Blois, and Trisha Woodridge; front row, left to right: TJ May, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Lisa Jackson, and Jennifer Allis Provost.

you—the same way you once sat in a workshop eager to learn from the presenter. Sharing your experiences and knowledge with other writers is giving back what someone gave you— which helped make you the writer you are today.

2. Learn New Things—or Relearn Old Ones. Because writing tends to be discussed rather than instructed, there’s loads to learn or re-learn from either presenters or participants. Get ready to take notes!

3. Appreciate Your Success. Let’s face it, being a writer means getting beat up and feeling not-so-fresh sometimes. But when you start sharing your war stories, you begin to realize that no matter how many times you’ve failed, you’ve accomplished and know quite a bit—in fact, you’ve probably come a long way, baby!

4. Make New Friends. Writing is a solitary venture, and it’s usually an instant connection with someone else who does this solitary venture, too. Yes, you can make great contacts through workshops—but you can also make great new friends.

5. Get Inspired. There’s nothing like being around other writers and talking about the craft to give you a renewed ambition and sense of purpose. Spend a day around that energy and you’ll be driving home on a natural high—you just might spend the evening cranking out new material.

The next time you’re offered a chance to lead a workshop or to participate in one, don’t say no. You won’t regret it.

by Jason Harris

Winner of the MS "Hell in a Hand Basket" Linda Jacobi, of Nashua, New Hampshire

From left to right: Pembroke, NH residents Gifford Scanlon and Kayla Scanlon, who was dressed as Saya Takagi.

Zombie on a leash.

Author Kristi Petersen Schoonover posing with Star Wars' characters.

The NEHW tables.

A convention-goer checking out a book.

Shea dressed as Vriska from Homestuck.

Sian Thomas, an intern at Dandelion Studios.

by Stacey Longo

Nobody really wants to go back to high school, but that’s exactly what the New England Horror Writers did when they attended Queen City Kamikaze at Memorial High School in Manchester, NH on Feb. 18.

The NEHW had four tables set up at this anime and video game convention. While some skeptics might think that an auditorium filled with gaming consoles and Japanese animation may not be the best fit for a group of horror writers, the event was a huge success for NEHW. All throughout the day, fans young and old stopped by the booth to meet the authors, buy some books, and learn more about what it is, exactly, that is so fascinating about the horror genre. NEHW members Tracy Carbone, Alyn Day, Sarah Gomes, Scott Goudsward, Jason Harris, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Nathan Schoonover, Rob Watts, K. Allen Wood, and myself were on hand to meet the convention-goers. Author T.T. Zuma and Sci-Fi Saturday Night creators The Dome, the Dead Redhead, and Illustrator X stopped by the booth as well.

The attendees were largely made up of high school age students, dressed up in creative costumes that varied from anime and manga characters to the occasional Darth Vader and assorted storm troopers. While this particular writer would have never been allowed by my father to leave the house dressed in some of the outfits on display, the mood of the crowd was upbeat and squeals of excitement could be heard as each new Pikachu and Vegeta costume came through the door. Despite not really knowing who these characters were, the attendees’ enthusiasm was contagious, and the NEHW members had an entertaining day.

The Women in Horror panel. From left to right: Stacey Longo, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Alyn Day, and Tracy Carbone. Photo by Jason Harris

Tracy Carbone, Alyn Day, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover participated in a panel on Women in Horror, moderated by myself. The panel debated such topics as victimization of female characters in the horror genre and who would win in a catfight between Halloween’s Lori Strode and Nightmare on Elm Street’s Nancy Thompson. They were followed by a panel on Trends in Horror comprised of Nathan Schoonover, Rob Watts, K. Allen Wood, and myself. It was moderated by Jason Harris. This group discussed the cyclical nature of horror trends and deliberated over the future of shows like The Walking Dead and Finding Bigfoot. Audience participation was high for both panels, and both groups received enthusiastic applause at the end of the day.

Personally, I had a great time at Queen City Kamikaze. I gained a new fan (thank you, Artie!) and was able to visit with old friends and new. Book sales were high, buoyed by the morning’s announcement that the NEHW’s first anthology, Epitaphs, was now officially a Bram Stoker Awards nominee. Going back to high school wasn’t bad at all, but of course that should have been a given—no matter what the age, horror writers are usually considered to be the cool kids in class.

by Jason Harris

It became official on Saturday, January 18, the New England Horror Writers’ first anthology is now a Stoker nominated collection.

Epitaphs is on the final ballot of the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Awards for works published in 2011. The Awards will be presented at a gala banquet on Saturday, March 31, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“It’s a great achievement for the NEHW to have its first anthology get this far,” Carbone, who is the editor of the collection, said on her Facebook page. ”We all put in a tremendous amount of work in a short time to get this off the ground and I want to again thank the board and all the contributors.”

To purchase a copy of Epitaphs, click here.

The NEHW panels are titled: Women in Horror and Trends in Horror: From the Apocalypse to Zombies: Where is Horror Heading?. The Women in Horror will be moderated by author Stacey Longo and start at 4 p.m. She will be joined by fellow authors Tracey Carbone, Alyn Day, and Kristi Petersen Schoonover.

The Trends in Horror panel will start at 4:50 p.m. and be moderated by Jason Harris. His guests will be authors K. Allen Wood, Rob Watts, and Stacey Longo. Demonhunter Nathan Schoonover will also be joining the panel.

The Queen City Kamikaze Anime and Video Game convention takes place at the Manchester Memorial High School at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester, New Hampshire. It operates from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about the convention, click here.

Authors Stacey Longo, Tracy Carbone, K. Allen Wood, Alyn Day, Rob Watts, Kristi Petersen Schoonover and Scott Goudsward will be selling and signing books at the convention. The Demonhunter a.k.a. Nathan Schoonover will also be on hand to talk about being a paranormal investigator for almost 20 years.

Here is the list of the books/magazines that will be available at the NEHW tables: Huldufolk, Shock Totem, Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole, Malicious Deviance, The Soul Collector, Trailer Trash, So Long And Thanks For All The Brains, Traps, Shroud magazine, Shadows over New England, The Zombie Feed, In Poe’s Shadow, Dark Things IV, Darkest Thirst, Shadows & Nightmares, Wake the Witch, Shadows over Florida, Daily Frights 2012, Nobody, Hell Hath No Fury, How the West Was Wicked, and 2012 Daily Bites of Flesh.

Epitaphs, the first NEHW anthology will also be available to buy. Longo, Wood, and Goudsward all have stories in this collection, which was edited by Carbone.

The Queen City Kamikaze Anime and Video Game convention takes place at the Manchester Memorial High School at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester, New Hampshire. It operates from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about the convention, click here.

Rebecca Rosenblum: Oh my God, my friend is a writer! What do I do?

Rebecca Rosenblum’s fiction has been short-listed for the Journey Prize, the National Magazine Award and the Danuta Gleed Award. Her first collection of stories Once (2008) was one of Quill & Quire’s 15 Books that Mattered. Her latest collection is titled The Big Dream (2011). Rosenblum lives, works and writes in Toronto. She will be guest editing The Afterword all this week.

Don’t panic—this is something most adults will eventually have to deal with, if only until they can find a way to leave the bar. Maybe it’s a new friend, that great guy or gal from work or the gym, who suddenly blurts it out as if you should have somehow known from his or her lack of dress sense and unfocused stare. Or maybe it’s a friend you’ve known for years, a trusted confidante who you’d never have suspected harboured such a secret. But now here you are, where you never expected to be—a person with a writer in your life.

Ok, so calm down, take a deep breath and think. Is this a friend you want to keep? Because if you’ve been dreaming of ditching him/her, now is your chance; writers are used to rejection.

But say you like your friend enough to overcome this objectionable habit. How then to keep on spending time together, sanely, safely, without undo melodrama or romantic-poetry intake (which can be one and the same)? Here is my handy FAQ below—how to be friends with a writer.

Will my writing friend drink during the day/be surely at dinner parties/refuse to hold down a job?

Actually, that’s not a writer you’re describing; that’s a midlife crisis. Most writers support themselves and their families adequately, try to be kind to their friends and their partners, and many have jobs or at least some unliterary human interaction in their lives in addition to their writing. Sure, there might be a modest amount of nihilism, but this more usually takes the form of a third beer on a Tuesday rather than a 2-week bender. The Hunter S. Thompson-style shenanigans are largely the stuff of fantasy…or two-week vacations.

Do we have to talk about writing all the time? Because I don’t know whether truth is beauty or beauty, truth—and I don’t care, either. Is my friend going to be boring from now on?

Maybe; many people are boring. But writers don’t seem to turn up in this category any more or less than any other group of folks. We definitely like talking about books—if you happen to be into it, bring on the literary discussion. But depending on the writer, he or she may enjoy discussion of television, war, ethics, celebrity sex scandals, low-fat recipes, this weather we’ve been having, all of the above or countless other things. And writers who wish only to speak of their own work are as cloddish as lawyers, doctors, and anyone else who wishes to speak only of themselves. Disown immediately.

Should I read my friend’s writing? What if it’s bad? What if it’s really good, but I don’t understand it? What if I just don’t bloody want to?

I’ve found that the only folks in a writer’s life who need feel any pressure to read their work are fellow writers; the rest of you lucky ducks are off the hook. Writers like to give each other their manuscripts for shoptalk and advice; laypeople should only ask, offer, or agree to read manuscripts if they think they can contribute a serious opinion that would help improve the text, or else a cheerful one that might improve the writer’s mood. I never offer to read other writers’ unpublished work unless I’m clear on what sort of feedback they are looking for, and we set a timeline. The same is true for when kind friends offer to read mine. I have found that generally otherwise such impulses go into an abyss where, except for bimonthly protestations of guilt and insane busyness on the part of the (non) reader, it is never discussed again.

All that applies to unpublished work, of course. If a writer publishes something in a journal or a book, all friends except those who have recently declared bankruptcy are expected to purchase one copy each (multiple copies for gifting optional). This wanes with subsequent publications, but at the beginning, the support is so terribly valued and appreciated. When my first book came out, everyone I knew bought one, including those whom I knew to dislike reading short stories, reading fiction, or reading period. It was so terribly kind of them, and a pleasant surprise for us all when a few informed me that they’d read and liked some of my stories. I was truly touched. However, many of these friends have never mentioned their experience of the book, except to proudly point it out on the shelf when I visit. Did they read it and hate it? Never touch it at all? I don’t ask and they don’t tell; that’s what friends are for.