Lovecraftian Podcast and Other Tales

Cthulhu Scribe by Drew Pocza

A few weeks ago, I mentioned I had a new story available in the November issue of the Lovecraft Zine. Last week, Mike uploaded the free podcast version of the issue which is available here. I thought the readers did a smashing job and really add great characterization to these sordid tales.

Speaking of sordid, I’m finishing up another Lovecraftian tale — this one set in Europe at the turn of the century. The other day, I was just remarking on all the everyday things we take for granted that they didn’t have back then. Airplanes were just beginning to emerge, cell phones and television sets were nonexistent, along with many other household appliances and technology. Even beyond that, consider the food and the way people dressed. It was unheard of for a woman to walk down the street in a tank top and sweatpants. All these things, coupled with superstitions and a rapidly-changing world, make for an interesting time period.

Once that story is done, then that’ll complete the unholy (though, unrelated) trilogy of tales, the second being the newly released “The Button” from the We Are Dust anthology — which is now available on Amazon, too.

Writing Lovecraft-inspired stories is a lot of fun; I feel like there’s always some new corner of his ‘verse and style to explore — whether that’s a direct translation or not. Perhaps that’s why I really loved Boom! Studios comic interpretation of Cthulhu, because the visual form (coupled with the necessary word conversation required) really lent itself to a stunning interpretation in the Fall of Cthulhu and Cthulhu Tales series.

    Mood: GO PACK GO!
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Suffering from withdrawal. (Not pretty.)
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Gym
    In My Ears: Steam Peter Gabriel
    Game Last Played: Tetris
    Movie Last Viewed: The Red Baron
    Latest Artistic Project: Holiday gifts
    Latest Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology

Yes, Women Can Be Scared Of Cthulhu, Too.

Writing Lovecraftian-styled fiction for the sake of your entertainment (not to be confused with my sanity), both in style and theme, has occurred in threes for me this year. The first story, titled “The Dig,” will be published in an upcoming issue of the Lovecraft eZine. I just sent in a final revision for the second story, titled “The Button,” which will be published as part of the Kickstarter “We Are Dust” anthology. The third story, for this Kickstarter anthology by Chaosium Publishing, is loosely titled “The Women Who Called Down The Train.” The latter is in the nascent stages of storytelling, if only because I have a particular niggly bit that needs to make sense for the continuity of the tale, and because that’s a story that’ll need a beta reader or two prior to sending.

The first story I wrote with a gender neutral character in mind. It’s first person, yes, but I don’t make it a point to call out the protagonist as male or female. The second, which I just finished, was also penned in first person splashed with a few doses of second here or there for mad, mad fun. That story, however, has a decidedly female protagonist and was written in an even more “purist” Lovecraftian style than the first. I haven’t decided quite how the third will be presented, though if I construct the story like I would a Lego City, then it may be experimentally structured. Again, I haven’t gotten to that point. Right now, I’m just having a blast with the concept.

Does it matter to me whether Lovecraft himself was a feminist? No. What I am concerned about, is how I interpret his work, both as an author and as a reader, and that his work has had a profound impact on the horror genre. (In point of fact, finding out very famous authors are less than desirable people is a little like meeting a celebrity you admire greatly, only to find out that person likes to kick puppies and relies on their PR people to buff up their “nice guy” image.) Of course, the author as a person is often inexorably linked to author’s intent, but it always (has to) come back to the Work for me.

I absolutely feel that author’s intent matters to get a deeper understanding of any story, provided the author stands up and says something about it, which many don’t. (More, I suppose, do now with the need to blog about one’s pile o’ words.) However, while author’s intent matters to some degree, it’s often open to interpretation once the story is published for human consumption. The reader will take whatever they want from a tale and run with it, much like an author will put their spin on a particular story and claim it for their very own. (The author having no control over that whatsoever.) This is why bad reviews of books everyone else agrees are “good” happen. A story, regardless of when it was written or who it was for, is always judged by the reader.

But I digress. If it wasn’t clear before, I am not a misogynist myself. Not merely because I don’t lack the equipment to be one, mind you, but because I do happen to like, love, trust, and treat myself and other women well, the same way I would a man, generally speaking. Even if I did have equipment related to the male persuasion, I know myself well enough to understand my fundamental beliefs, some of which were earned rather painfully through experience, and they would not change. To me, it’s more than a little illogical (nigh, stoopit) to paint an entire portion of the human race as awful, terrible, human beings without actually getting to know them. (Key phrase here: “getting to know them.” And YES, that means face-to-face and not only online, too!) Would an entire barrel of apples be ruined by the one? Well, old wives have asked this question before and surely know the answer better than I do.

To sum up so far, we have Lovecraft potentially misogynist as an author, fairly misogynistic stories based on my own interpretation as a reader, I am not a misogynist, and finally, I’ve aped his style to pen a story clearly classified as “Lovecraftian” that plays around with the idea of misogyny.

I am, in part, writing this post because sometimes we are so wrapped up in the facts that we forget that books require a relationship between the writer (In this case, someone who lived decades ago.) and the reader. I am not telling you what to think or how to interpret Lovecraft because that would be extraordinarily presumptuous of me. People can have similar relationships with stories, sure, but not everyone likes the same thing, understands the same nuances, or feels the same emotional response to a story. It’s uniquely personal.

Here’s the first question I posit in this sanity-stealing exchange, though I’m sure you have many, as this post is rife with opinions tossed about the same way I use garlic. Um. . . I use a lot of garlic.

Is it possible to write in a style reminiscent of Lovecraft using protagonists Lovecraft himself would never consider and still be classified as “Lovecraftian”?

Yes.

Why?

Because women are afraid of Cthulhu, too. It does humanity a great disservice to avoid exploring the Arte of Story from other characters’s viewpoints be they fat/thin, young/old, able/not, male/female/transgendered/asexual, gay/straight/bi, [insert culture of your choice here], Dungeons and Dragons/Pathfinder, coffee/tea, etc. etc. etc. Do you honestly think that the male gender is the only sex capable of acting as lead characters in Lovecraft’s worlds? Of losing their minds? Of experiencing the deepest levels of fear? Ah, but here popular interpretation tells us so. (Never mind what he was like in real life; I am concerned with the stories themselves for the purposes of this post, mind you.) For Lovecraft’s main characters were decidedly male and, when women did appear? They were “the bad guys.” (Though, there was The Thing on the Doorstep.)

Wait, are you saying that modern-day writers can tell a Lovecraftian story with a female protagonist?

Yes, yes I am. Many other authors have already, and there are more to come I’m sure. I’ve written one so far, and I plan to write more of them if fancy and money strikes me. As a satirical piece, I also wrote a story where a ritual goes wrong and Nyarlathotep winds up in the body of a bunny rabbit, only to be defeated by a small girl who called him “Queenie.” :p

But, BUT! *head asplodes*

Easy there. Yes, I am saying that if a celebrated story or author purports values or themes I don’t personally agree with, I don’t feel obligated to love those stories/authors or regurgitate the same style they were originally created in, too. That, my friends, is the beauty of choice both in reading and writing. However, if someone is deemed valuable in some fashion or another, I would be an idiot if I didn’t read their work. Why wouldn’t I? Their stories are no threat to my craft. In order for me to write, I have to read deep and broad, much like I have to have a cup of coffee when I wake up or I’ll likely slaughter all my characters by noon.

You’re not a true Lovecraft fan!

OBVIOUSLY, I find other elements in Lovecraftian fiction that are quite brilliant! I interpret those nuggets depending upon whatever my story requires and, as I’ve come to discover, my frame of mind.

Feminism (in the context of promoting equality of men and women, which is just silly that we’re still fighting for this in an era where I can communicate instantaneously with someone in China and we’ve landed on Mars) has been on my mind due to recent political stupidity. I’m not sorry for ranting about this, either, for I’m a little tired of arguments legislating my parts when it’s never about the male bits. It’s always about the female’s as if babies just spontaneously pop into being of their own accord. Oh, now that’s a frightening thought. I surely hope our education in the sciences hasn’t been that lacking.

Mind you, and I want to be extraordinarily clear as I possibly can be — I didn’t write the story to prove a political point or alienate red or blue. I am not eighteen anymore. I do not write things solely for myself and when I do those go into my Morgue. (Mostly, bits of bad poetry which are a lot of fun to play around with, and I sometimes share them here.) Inspiration is very different from, well. . .writing an urban fantasy book like The Fountainhead for example. That’s not something you’ll find me doing, to be sure.

Where were we. Ah, yes. So, to conclude this screed, books are not one-sided. Because of that, a writer will always take something from the work and interpret it as their own, either consciously or unconsciously, in service of the story. A reader, on the other hand, will also get something unique from that tale which was why the story was written in the first place.

Lovecraft is only one example of an author who has a reputation for not painting a portion of humanity in an excellent light; I take that as an opportunity to infuse diversity into a primarily Anglo-saxon-fish-man-leaning body of literature. (Note: the last generality was used for the purposes of sarcasm and I, in no way shape or form, claim to be an expert on all things Lovecraft nor am I casting the Curse of Well, Actually! I ask you respect said same.)

It is my job, as storyteller, to write the best story possible and reveal to you the truth of life, the universe, and everything as I see it — even if it’s on a subconscious level. It is your job, as a reader, to decide whether or not that happened.

Hopefully, we will meet one day, and you can tell me all about it.

[ Cue evil laughter. ]

    Mood: I laugh in the face of danger.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Calculating caffeine milligrams with respect to word count in 3…2…1…
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: I did my pilots! Oh, wait. That’s pilates.
    In My Ears: Your screams. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Game Last Played: Star Wars Legos
    Movie Last Viewed: The Raven
    Latest Artistic Project: In progress!
    Latest Release: “Fangs and Formaldehyde” from the New Hero anthology through Stone Skin Press

Cthulhu + The Orient Express = An Anthology Announcement!

I am *thrilled* to announce that I am one of the lucky authors included on the newest stretch goal for the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter from Chaosium Publishing.

Here’s the quote:

If we can reach our $125,000 goal, a new book of fiction, MADNESS ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS will collect nearly two-dozen all-original tales of supernatural terror featuring the fabled train and its doom-haunted waypoints, edited by award-winning author and anthologist James Lowder, with contributions from such notable scribes of the horrific and the fantastic as:

Elaine Cunningham
Richard Dansky
Dennis Detwiller
Joshua Doetsch
Christopher Golden
Kenneth Hite
Robin D. Laws
Jonathan Maberry
Lisa Morton
Lucien Soulban
Caroline Spector
James L. Sutter
Monica Valentinelli



Me! Plus an a-mazing list of luminary cultists… er… authors! (Oh, how I WISH Christopher Golden was my cultist…) And now I have cultists on the brain; not to be confused with a brainy train! Or a train made out of the brains of cultists! Or…

(Can you tell I’m squee-ing?)

To make this happen, visit the Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter by Chaosium. Please oh please oh please make this happen. 🙂

Art Therapy with Cthulhu

Blank My Little CthulhuWhile the primary bulk of my time is spent writing these days, I often need a creative break. For that, I turn to something crafty and fun. (In this case…Cthulhu…)

I have in my possession a blank My Little Cthulhu with two victims, which was designed by John Kovalic. If you don’t know who he is, you may recall some of his projects including popular games like Munchkin and Apples to Apples, as well as several comics/toys/stories/etc. including Dork Tower and Doctor Blink.

How could I resist the call of the blank Cthulhu? The only thing is, I’ve painted toys before and I was never happy with the way they turned out. I’m kind of a precision line girl so it really screws me up if I can’t get the look I want. Since I’m an amateur when it comes to art, I’m still trying to figure out what materials work best while working on my drawing. (Let it be known that perspective is my biggest problem right now.) My friend Leanne Buckley was very supportive of my need for “art therapy.” It’s extremely relaxing to have play time and do projects like these for fun. Call it a guilty pleasure! I have a LOT of respect for professional artists and I’m often inspired by them to tinker in my spare time.

My solution here was to figure out what design I wanted to paint before I wrecked touched the figure. Matt (my fiance) thought it might be cool to paint a dreamscape on Cthulhu’s big head. So, the idea with this picture was to merge the cute take on Cthulhu that John had designed and play around with a possible dream. (Yes, those are bunny slippers, the full-size image was too big to scan. DOH!)

If it “worked,” then I’d use the theme to paint on my blank Cthulhu. If it didn’t, then I’d try something else. After going through this process, I’m not sure how easy it would be to wrap around some of the straight lines, but drawing this was a blast. The base image was drawn using a set of Micron markers; I used Paint to color in the blocks. No fancy tools for this chica.

Ugh. I seem to have Cthulhu on the brain these days. Well, that and King Arthur, but that’s best left for another post, for another day. Back to my words!

Cthulhu Dreaming




Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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