Friday, October 31, 2003
I think it's okay to tell you the little story that I'm about to tell you, if only because it's Halloween and I know that makes it even less likely that you'll believe it. But it is true, or at least my perception of a truth, however anecdotal. Once upon a time, that would have mattered to me. Anyway, it nicely serves to illustrate what I often say about encounters with the paranormal and why so much of my fiction is "unresolved" and "inconclusive."
I awoke last night about 4 a.m. and lay in bed, staring into the dark, because the candle had burned out. Spooky was still asleep beside me. After a minute or so, a minute at the most, I heard someone say something. It was a mumbled sort of a something, and my first reaction was that it must be Jennifer, in her bedroom, which is adjacent to mine and Spooky's. I lay there listening, wondering if she was talking in her sleep, and in a few seconds the voice came again, this time at greater length and I could tell that it was engaged in conversation. It still sounded just a little bit like Jennifer and I thought maybe she was on the telephone, though who she'd be talking to at 4 a.m. was entirely beyond me. I listened. The voice went on. And then I realized that it wasn't coming from the other side of the wall at all. It was coming from somewhere inside our room. At this point, I thought perhaps it was something in the CD we'd put on to sleep to (we always sleep to music), but no, we were listening to a classical disc, strings — violins, violas, cellos. The voice continued, growing very slightly louder, talking slightly faster, and now it seemed to be coming from somewhere near the foot of the bed. I reached over to wake Spooky and it stopped. Just like that. And though I stayed awake for about half an hour, waiting for it to resume, it never did.
It's not the first "ghostly" occurrence we've experienced here. There was, for example, the "ghost" child Spooky encountered in the kitchen last winter. To my surprise, though slightly unnerving, I wasn't frightened as I lay in bed listening to the indecipherable, mumbling voice. I made out not a single word. The voice was almost certainly female. The entire event lasted for less than five minutes. And that is about all I can say about it. That's all there was to it. I have no explanation and I don't feel like making outlandish guesses at "rational" causes. I do wish that Spooky had heard it, if only because it is a weakness of mine (and of many others) that we seem to need the corroborating experiences of others to validate our own experiences, no matter how far beyond the empirical those experiences may rest.
And that's my little Halloween '03 "ghost story." Make of it what you will. A waking dream? An ordinary and misinterpreted noise? A mild case of night terrors (though I exhibited none of those symptoms)? An actual parnormal event? I have made my own provisional conclusion and am comfortable with it.
Yesterday I wrote 1,287 words on "Mercury" and finished it. Then I wrote an additional 601-word afterword sort of thing for the chapbook. So, that's done. I am happy with the results. Deacon Silvey at twenty-one (he's about thirty-six in Threshold and thirty-nine in Low Red Moon).
And speaking of Low Red Moon: I am happy to report that the preorders are going very well on Amazon. And I have a proposal. As there are two (slightly different) editions, the Roc trade paperback and the Subterranean Press hardback, I think you would be wise to purchase both. Yes. That's what I said. Both. That way you get a very inexpensive, convenient (and attractive) trade paperback, which you don't have to worry about the consequences of spilling coffee on or dogearing the pages or loaning it to that friend who never, ever returns books. And you also get the subpress edition, a gorgeous hardback, designed to my exact wishes, with Ryan Obermeyer's exquisite artwork and the free "Mercury" chapbook (with cover by your's truly). The best of both worlds. That way, you're supporting subpress' commitment to producing beautiful, lasting books and helping me get the sales numbers I need to keep Roc happy so that they'll keep publishing my books, so you can keep reading them. I know this is a shameless thing, this proposition, but there is wisdom in it, which I think you'll see.
Last night, I watched the premiere of Eliza Dushku's series, Tru Calling. It was, in a word, awful. This was all done so much better in Run, Lola, Run, and, for that matter, in the X-Files ep, "Monday" (6:15). Indeed, the premiere of True Calling was so close to outright plagiarism of Run, Lola, Run, I was amazed Fox was willing to risk it. Add to this that almost everyone looked like a fashion model, the whole thing had a sort of Highway to Heaven/Touched by an Angel smarminess, and the characters were as flat as unlevened pancakes, and it was nigh on unbearable. At least on Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Dushku's character, Faith, had a little spunk to her. I predict the series lasts no more than half a season. Spooky predicts it doesn't last that long. To get the taste out of our mouths, we watched more Farscape DVDs, "Self-Inflicted Wounds," parts one and two "("Could'a, Would'a, Should'a" [3:3] and "Wait for the Wheel" [3:4]) and then read Robert Reed's really excellent short story, "Coelacanths."
More thank yous, to Setsuled (Leh'agvoi), who has weathered the flames of San Diego, for the totally krell Nar'eth manga, which will eventually be part of Nebari.Net, as a continuing series. Also, thanks to September (Mouse) for the lengthy and welcomed e-mail this morning.
You have less than thirty-eight hours left to take me up on the little monster doodles. Visit our eBay auctions and either place your bid or, better yet, "Buy it Now." This has been successful beyond my wildest fears and I shall be drawing many little monster doodles. Add to my burden. You may never get another chance.
And that should be just about that. Have a happy Halloween. Remember, this is the holiday that matters. I'm taking the day off. I'll leave you with the following, which is Shannon Hennessy's fault:
The Lion from Fujiyama
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