Ellen Datlow's Blog, page 12

I attended the annual Camden on the Sea Christmas festivities (mostly serving coffee) and rode through some glorious scenery, shopped at a couple of antique malls where I bought a wonderful array of interesting (mostly small) vintage tools.
photographs from Maine. It was a relaxing several days visiting with friends.

I went to the Museum of Natural History with several people, thanks to Paul Berger, who works there. We saw a live frog exhibit (photos of that tk some time in the next few days) and the Butterfly exhibit, which I went to last year.

This lovely creature --a zebra longwing butterfly--just emerged from its chrysalis earlier in the day, and when it was set free it joined me and my camera case.

Paul posts a photo of a butterfly a day on his twitter feed @pmberger or
should can see them here: http://www.mobypicture.com/user/pmberger

Yayyy!
Supernatural Noir has been given a shout out by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer on their brand new website Weird Fiction Review along with many other "weird" book--any of them perfect for Christmas and Chanukah. (but buy mine first)

Bookgasm just reviewed Supernatural Noir (Hint hint: it would make a great stocking stuffer --if you've got a big enough stocking).

Up to Maine tomorrow morning for a few days. Doubt I'll be online much as I've trouble finding my bookmarks on my netbook. Back Tuesday night. Cats have napped in the luggage, I've loaded it up with Best Horror reading (ugh).

I hope the two of them (cats) will eagerly greet the house/catsitter and forgive me for leaving them again.

From the Magick for Terri site:

"Beloved editor, artist and writer Terri Windling is in need, and we are asking for your help in a fundraising auction to assist her. This auction will combine donations from professionals and fans in an online sale to help Terri through a serious financial crisis.

Terri is the creator of groundbreaking fantasy and mythic art and literature over the past several decades, ranging from the influential urban fantasy series Bordertown to the online Journal of Mythic Arts. With co-editor Ellen Datlow, she changed the face of contemporary short fiction with The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and other award-winning anthologies, including Silver Birch, Blood Moon and The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest. Her remarkable Endicott Studio blog continues to bring music, poetry, art and inspiration to people all over the world.

Terri Windling and her family have been coping with health and legal issues that have drained her financial resources at a critical time. Due to the serious nature of these issues, and privacy concerns for individual family members, we can't be more specific than that, but Terri is in need of our support. As a friend, a colleague and an inspiration, Terri has touched many, many lives over the years. She has been supremely generous in donating her own work and art to support friends and colleagues in crisis. Now, Terri is in need of some serious help from her community. Who better than her colleagues and fans to rise up to make some magick for her?

Through the next 18 days, we'll be posting personal offerings from the likes of Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Wendy & Brian Froud, and many more! Besides bidding on these beautiful items, YOU can also post your own skills, services, arts, crafts, or whatever else you'd like to offer for auction! Please see our complete About Us page for FAQ about Terri, the auction process, and other ways to get involved. Thank you!"


From me:

There are wonderful auction items including art, photography, and sculptures by Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, Kyle Cassidy, Charles Vess plus tuckerizations, manuscript evaluations, broadsides (I've donated a limited piece created in honor of the publication of Jonathan Lethem's first novel), cookies, jewelry, knitted accessories, books, and many other items
magick4terri

If you don't want to donate or bid on anything but would like to help, you can donate money via paypal.

This evening I attended the fabulous launch party for Delia Sherman's new ya novel The Freedom Maze. The party was thrown at the Center for Fiction (formerly, the Mercantile Library) in the midtown area. Pouring rain did not stop the many attendees from having a great time, with period drinks, plus wonderful food. I helped judge the cake contest and although someone did try to bribe me, he was too late. We had already made our picks. Top prize went to Alaya Dawn Johnson's fabulous orange spice with tart cherry cake which had multiple layers of flavor--almost like a Christmas fruit cake but much much better.

Delia read from her novel, a gentleman played piano, and some attendees even sang. But....the evil Genevieve Valentine persuaded me to head downtown to see Drive, the movie based on James Sallis's novel-in the east village. We left (in the rain) with Liz Gorinsky, who was heading home and made the movie with time to spare.

I'd been meaning to see it so was happy to have the unexpected opportunity. A stunt car drive/mechanic gets caught up with some very bad gangsters by trying to do a favor for a neighbor he likes. Cutting to the chase--the movie's terrific! Both G and I adored it. The original score is fabulous (G says it's gotten a lot of buzz for the Oscar). It's by Cliff Martinez and has a driving beat from the opening scene. The acting by Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, and the rest of the cast was perfect. It's graphically violent so do beware if you have problems with that. Highly recommended.

Over the weekend I watched Priest on DVD, which sucked, although I do enjoy watching Paul Bettany and Maggie Q in anything. And the vampires were really creepy/disgusting and monstrous. That was refreshing. I also went to the movies over the weekend to see Margin Call, an excellent underrated movie that came out a few months ago about Wall Street -you wanna know what happened with Lehman? You can get a bit of a look at it by watching the movie. Acting by Paul Bettany (synchronicity strikes again), Demi Moore (oh sweetie, you shouldn't have had the work done on your face), Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey (his best acting in awhile), Peter Sullivan was all spot on. Good show. It is SOOOO nice to have seen two great movies in the theater in a row. Bravo!!

There's a new interview with me at Rambling On and a chance to win a copy of Supernatural Noir.

Jack Womack and Claude Lalumière read on Wednesday night and were both extremely entertaining (and dirty--synchronicity strikes again). As you can see from the photos, the place was packed, even though it rained.
Here's the evidence: http://tinyurl.com/7w2rhsf

FANTASTIC FICTION at KGB reading series, hosts

Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel

present:


Gemma Files is an award-winning horror writer
with a twenty-year publication history whose
short fiction and poetry has been published in magazines, anthologies and collections, as well as being adapted for television. She is also the
author of A Book of Tongues and A Rope of Thorns, Volumes One and Two in the Hexslinger Series and is currently finishing off A Tree of Bones, which will be Hexslinger Volume Three.


&


Ekaterina Sedia is the author of The Secret History of Moscow, The Alchemy of Stone, The House of Discarded Dreams, and Heart of Iron. She is also edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award winner Paper Cities. Her short stories have appeared in a number of venues.



Wednesday December 21, 7pm at

KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave, upstairs.)

www.kgbfantasticfiction.org



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