Michael Louis Calvillo Must Be Destroyed

It’s been a loooooooong while since I posted here on the blog. And yes, I feel guilty. And yes, unaccomplished. But, alas, I’ve been going through some stuff (medical woes) and it’s kind of got me bogged down…

My plan is to get back to the daily (well, mostly daily) blogs soon, but in the meantime, I’ve got a little news to fill the void…

World Horror Convention 2012 is in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the end of this week (we fly out tomorrow). The event, chock full of panels, and cool readings, and all things horror, and literary, and awesome, should be a real blast. The convention is also playing host to the HWA’s annual Bram Stoker Awards (in their 25th year!). It so happens my novella 7BRAINS is up for an award (though I expect to be thoroughly stomped by the competition). Cool, huh?

For those hoping to meet up, or check in, or say hi to Michelle, or watch me embarrass myself, I’m on a panel about supernatural freakiness and then I’m giving a reading. The rest of the convention, we’ll be doing the rounds, networking, selling books, sigining books, and fingers crossed, making some new deals. There are also a bunch of nightly parties. Providing I’m feeling up to it, the plan is to attend a few of them.

Here’s my schedule – see you on the other side!

Thursday – Arriving!

Friday – Enjoying the convention…

8:00PM – Mass Autograph Signing with a billion other authors. Come pay me some attention why don’t you?

Saturday -1:00PM – I’ll be sitting in on a panel called, The Supernatural in Fiction. Why it fascinates us and its place in horror and other genres of fiction. Come watch me put my foot in my mouth! 😉

2:00PM – I’ll be reading from a variety of works and hamming it up (most likely focusing on 7BRAINS since it’s up for a Stoker). I promise to entertain you. Also, I’ll raffle off some books! The chaos takes place in ROOM I.

And that’s that. Hope to see you all there!!!

Here’s the full schedule of programming as well…

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We’re taking things back to Saturday. I reported on Thursday and Friday in the first installment of this series, Party All Day And Every Night – Well, At Least Until 11PM! (Killercon 3, Part I). Now I’m gonna finish up with Saturday and Sunday of my Con coverage. Lots of pictures and links to follow…

(You know how we do… Brains all over the wall!)

Killercon 3 was a huge success (congrats to Wrath James White and crew). It was well-attended and fun. I made out with eight new books (ready? let’s go: CRIPPLE WOLF by Jeff Burk, URBAN GOTHIC by Brain Keene, THE FAGGIEST VAMPIRE by Carlton Mellick III, DEMON by Eric Williams, DOUBLEJACK by Gene O’Neil, a chap book by Sam W. Anderson (the name escapes me at the moment…), SARAH’S STORY by John Little, VANISHING HOPE by Tobin Elliot, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE by Nate Southard and a very cool Jason Dark reader by Guido Henkel).

The readings were lively, the forensic blood splatter panel rocked, and the dealer room was filled out by none other than Jack Ketchum. Manning a table of his wonderful work, the man was accessible and down-to-earth. I admire the guy.

(Read this book.)

Same for Gene O’Neil. Gene is in his seventies, but he could pass for forty-five. His indomitable spirit makes me feel…right. We seem to understand each other and I learn so much every time we talk.

The list goes on and on and if I don’t mention all of them I’ll feel bad. I can’t rank each experience and I can’t write about all of them either. Many folks made my weekend special and you know who you are. I just wanted to give you a virtual hug and say thanks for the killer time. I mentioned some of them yesterday sans links. Let me fix that. Search out Weston Ochse and John Palisano and Lisa Morton. They jam.

(Me and my pal, Lisa Morton. Our combined writing abilites have the potential to destroy the planet.)

Lastly, but certainly not least, I gotta give a shout out to Monica and Burning Effigy. They hosted an incredible party (with incredible poster art) and did an exquisite job on 7BRAINS.

So then, Saturday began a little late. Michelle and I slept in until about nine. I wrote my blog (after calling the crappy, intermittent Internet service) then the two of us went to a buffet for breakfast with my writer buddy, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, and a few friends who came out to attend the convention with us.

(Who says reading isn’t fun?)

I got to the convention for Gene O’Neil’s reading (in which the man doesn’t read a thing – he donates his time to talking other writer’s works – he helps the new guy/gal get a little coverage – that’s supercool). After Gene tore it up (charisma for days), Mr. Ethridge read a story about a rising tide of mean, old, stinky, alcoholic sludge and the furious regrets that follow us from this world to the next. Loved it. I almost won a shirt (Ben raffled them off), but alas, like all forms of gambling (examples coming soon…), I didn’t win. Damn. That’s okay, I plan on buying one once they go on sale (and you should too).

After that, we checked out the forensic blood splatter panel then sat in on the mass signing. I signed lots of 7BRAINS and even a few of my older works. It was nice to meet a few fans and collectors who I’ve seen on line via Facebook posts, but have yet to meet in person. I had a blast.

(Brad Hodson gets his kill on at the forensic blood spatter exhibition.)

(Weston Ochse is the King of Cool.)

Michelle and I took about an hour off and relaxed in the room. Then we reconvened with friends and went to see Penn & Teller’s show at the Rio.

What do you know, Loyal Reader? In my Killercon report you also get a quick show review. The always entertaining duo did their thing very well. They’ve been playing the Rio for ten years(!). Their act is a well-oiled machine.

The pacing is just right. The show doesn’t feel short or long. Some of the magic set-pieces (The Magic Bullets) have been done before on some of the team’s television and cable specials, but there were lots of subtle, understated stuff – particularly Teller’s wordless finesse (the man is a slight-of-hand master) – that were new to me. Watching Teller wow the crowd without a word while Penn played a nice, noirish, jazz jam on an upright bass worked really well. Same for the bits where Penn broke down the elements of magic while Teller illustrated the trick step by revealing step.

(Tricksters.)

Penn & Teller have always been magic comedy’s subversive, bad boys. They insist that you understand that magic has nothing to do with magic. Magic doesn’t exist. But tricks do. Same goes for psychics and magicians who pretend what they do is real. Penn rants (on TV and in the show) about clairvoyant and psychics, pissed off that they play on people’s weaknesses and pretend to contact dead loved ones.

I’m with the big guy. I agree 100%.

The entertainers hung out after the show and took pictures with the crowd. A few of my buddies got pictures (including fellow writer Brad Hodson) with Penn, but I held off. I figured I would look like a small child next to his 6′ 7″ frame.

All-in-all the show rocked. Recommended.

We followed the show with some sushi and a place called Sushi Samba at The Palazzo. It was freaking expensive, but really, really nice. We had a great meal.

(Me and my girl.)

It was 2:30AM by the time we got back to our room. No time for a blog. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…

Michelle and I got out of town pretty quickly. We packed then checked out then went to Caesar’s Palace for their Sunday buffet. $26.95 a person later we tried to enjoy every bit of it as much as we could. It was nice.

I played a few slots (some of the new machines are way high-tech – this one particular STAR WARS video slot kicked butt), but lost money so quickly I had no choice but to throw my hands in the air with frustration and sulk away.

(Loser. The force is not strong with me.)

At long last I’m back home in my comfortable recliner bashing away on the keys. I’m so excited to post this and then watch something on the DVR and relax.

Oh, and Loyal Reader, don’t forget… Killercon 4 is only twelve months away. You best start training now.

I am one blog post behind. This is the first of two blogs that’ll run tonight then I’m caught up.

Presenting…video of me spazzing out during a Reading. I read and rap and discuss my writing. I’m still too skinny (working on it). And, no, I wasn’t joking, I am kind of spazzy. But spazzy in a good way. I can deal with it,  I just can’t watch it. The following video has been shot by my wife. She assures me I am presentable.

A WARNING: Though I’m not much of a cusser in real life – having a kiddie and teaching kids all day keeps my language lean , mean and clean – I think it’s super-fun to do it in my writing. When I put these crazy, horror stories together, I envision R-rated horror movies. The violence, profanity, sexuality, and taboo themes reach R-rated levels of mayhem. They are not for children. 17 and older please. The youngins reading this can come back in a few years and check it out then ;-)!

Okay. Holding my breath. Don’t laugh too hard.

Michael Louis Calvillo killing it at Killercon!

Uh-oh. I technically missed a day of blogging which means I ruined my perfect average! I accomplished about eighty posts in eighty days and was well on my way to a perfect 365. Damn. Oh well. Still, I’m not giving up. I’m gonna knock out two posts today and then pick myself up and carry on. After another 200+ of these things (IN A ROW!!!), nobody’ll notice any sort of difference…

So what happened?

Well, as you all know, we are at Killercon 3. I hopped on the computer last night around 10PM. I was dragging. It had been a long day and I was ready to crash (so much for partying all night – ah, to be young again ;-(. Anyway, I logged in and the Internets refused to cooperate! I paid 12 bucks for Internet access (because for some reason or another, these damn hotels are too cheap to offer Wi-Fi as FREE service), but nothing worked!

Long story short, Michelle got the Internet service on the phone this morning and we’re back in business.

Killercon then. We got in to Vegas on Thursday around 9PMish. There was a smallish opening party going on in the hospitality suite, but Michelle and I and our friend Ben Ethridge, opted out and went to eat some pricey Italian instead. Then we went back to the room (we got a very roomy suite, hey!) and hung out until about 2:30AM before calling it a night.

Friday was a big one. Monica K. from Burning Effigy presented me with the first ever copy of 7BRAINS (Yay!) – an excellent way to start the morning. I said hello to tons of folks then followed opening ceremonies with an 11:30AM reading. Surprisingly, the reading was well-attended (the surprise stemming from all there is to do in Vegas – that people choose to check me out was very, very cool). Luckily, I killed. Everyone was into it. I fired off a few jokes and told a little about my climb then I read some raps from my (hopefully) forthcoming novel HYPNOTIC.

My flow was strong – nice cadence, nice rhythm – and the rhymes were funny. The crowd of mostly non-hiphop heads were pleased.

After getting down with it, I picked up 7BRAINS and did the traditional reading thing. I read the first chapter (about 10 pages). Momentum carried us along. There was a lull here and there, nothing that anybody will remember in retrospect (especially with my raps still kicking about in the back of their brains). All in and all, it was a very successful performance.

Before getting off the stage, I raffled off five books (Michelle passed out tickets to everybody in attendance).

I spent some time in the Dealer’s room and caught several other great readings. We saw Lisa Morton read a killer, thoughtful piece called THE DEVIL and then John Palisano read from his upcoming, first novel, NERVES (coming from Bad Moon very soon…).

I then took a nap which ruined me for the rest of the evening (I couldn’t wake-up!). Bleary-eyed and refusing to give in to fatigue, we watched two more readings – one by Jeremy Wagner reading from his thriller (the name escapes me) and then one by the one, the only, the fantabulous outlaw wordsmith, Weston Ochse. His performance rocked the house (literally) as he broke up his reading of PLAYLIST AT THE END (forgive me if I mangled the title) with snippets of music.

Putting on a successful reading, Loyal Reader, isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Most folks who try run the risk of boring the audience. Let’s be honest – reading aloud isn’t the most exciting thing. Sometimes, it’s like watching paint dry. I really appreciate Weston’s approach. I already know the guy (and love him to death), but readings like that are the type to convert the masses. Audiences become fans. It helps that he can write (very, very, very well) because when those fans reach out and take a chance on his stuff they’ll surely become devoted.

Next, we hit the Burning Effigy party where I happened to be one of the guests of honor. We schmoozed for a bit, took some pictures, had a few drinks, then went off in search of food.

I never got dinner (long story) and ended up conking out by 11PM.

In Vegas?!

11PM?

I know, I know, but the party animal in me just isn’t what it used to be. Maybe I’ll have better luck tonight?

Okay then, Loyal Reader, remember… This is technically yesterday’s blog. I’ll put something new up tonight. Sorry for the lack of pictures / videos / handy links, but I’m on the road and none of this tech crap wants to work for me! If you want more info on the wonderful authors mentioned above, copy their names into google and search away. They’re worth the effort.

P.S. – I met, and had some wonderful conversation with Jack Ketchum! I was initially star-struck (he is a horror writing icon), but he’s such a nice dude, I now consider him a friend. Trippy, huh?

We’re off to Vegas for Killercon 3. The first year the convention ran, it was pretty cool. Last year’s was poorly attended and had some venue problems (they switched hotels on the day of the con! Messy!), but we still had tons of fun. I hope this year pops off and tons of folks come out. Looking forward to meeting other authors and brainwashing some new fans.

I’ve got a reading at 11:30AM tomorrow (it would be nice if loads of people showed up for it – we’ll see). And then there’s a party tomorrow night in honor of 7BRAINS (among a few other works by other authors). And then on saturday, Michelle and I (and our pals Stacey and Andrew) are sneaking away to catch Penn & Teller.

We don’t gamble much, but maybe we’ll get lucky and hit a jackpot (or two). Fingers crossed…

I’m super excited, but the road before us is a long one (just over three hours generally).

Which is why today’s blog is sooo pathetic. Sorry, Loyal Reader. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. I’ll find some downtime and fill you in on all the fun!

Rock and roll!

(“Bright light city gonna set my soul, set my soul on fire…”)