Fellow Lumlians
Silky's personal writings to the minions
| VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 |
FEBRUARY
1998
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by ShadoeWolfe by Brian Lumley by Silky Lumley by Robb Coutinho |
by Silky Lumley by ShadoeWolfe by ShadoeWolfe by Ralph Jessie |
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Welcome to the second issue of Necroscope News! I was very pleased with the response the first issue received and am hoping that readership grows just as the Official USA website has grown over the past year.
For those of you who don't know, Necroscope News was created by myself, Dave McDougle, otherwise known as ShadoeWolfe, in collaboration with Brian and Silky Lumley. I am the curator of An Official Brian Lumley Web Site (USA) on the World Wide Web. Which leads me into this issue's column piece.
I'd like to tell you of a few improvements that have been made to the site in the past month or so. For starters, I've tried to make navigation around the site easier by breaking the pages down into 6 major categories. I've also added a JavaScript menu at the bottom of each page to enable you to quickly jump to the major category pages and to Brian's novel and short story pages, not to mention the guestbook and this newsletter. So if JavaScript is turned off on your web browser, please turn it on to enjoy the site to it's fullest extent.
One of the more noticeable changes this month has been the addition of Brian's book covers from the UK. Originally, the site housed only the USA covers with a few UK shots showing up here or there. Realizing that the US is not the only country to shelve Brian's tomes, you now know what to look for in your local bookstore if you happen to be on the other side of the Atlantic. The books are on their own pages that are accessible from the main jumper page for each collection.
As always, if anyone has suggestions for the site or questions, please voice them to stryker@bright.net. Thanks for swinging by, and enjoy!
In February 1976 I wrote "The Vehicle". I think it was originally scheduled for KADATH, an Italian fanzine edited by Francesco Cova. KADATH is long gone, likewise Francesco ... into whatever Oblivion it is that swallows small presses and their publishers. Later, half of "The Vehicle" (?) appeared in a British fanzine, AMULET. That mag also got swallowed by the demon-cursed Oblivion. I didn't have a copy, or if I did it was buried amid a couple of thousand sheets of old work in one of my large trunks.
In Providence, NecronomiCon 3, 1997, I met Robert H. Knox who had illustrated the story for AMULET. He asked if I remembered it and said he still had a copy -- plus the original artwork he'd done for it! And at the same convention I also met Rod Heather, editor and publisher of LORE.
So finally "The Vehicle" in its entirety gets published in LORE Vol. 1, No. 8, Autumn 1997. A nice looking booklet. It's just a pity LORE didn't publish Bob Knox's original artwork to go with the story...
The guys at Caliber Comics tell me that No. 1 of the new Necroscope Comic is due out now. And I'm currently waiting to view the artwork for No. 2. One thing I can tell you: the artwork for one is great stuff! It was done by a Brit, Mike Perkins, who lives in Lodz, Poland. The guy doing the scripting/adaptation is Martin Powell, an American and very well regarded in the comics field, and the guy tying it together is me. Funny old International world, innit?
Finally, the first of the new NECROSCOPE books is three quarters done. I hope to have it finished by mid-March if not sooner. And if all goes well, that means it should be in print by the end of the year or early 1999 at latest...
Marty Greenberg is editing a Dove Audio book. It will contain "The Viaduct." More news when it's in...
The first 3 Necroscopes are now in print in Russia. Amazing! All the stick I gave the KGB in those books, and the Russians love 'em! And we're currently negotiating a Russian translation of the Psychomech Trilogy and my early Lovecraft material. I've now signed contracts for Greek editions. Now, why do the Greeks call their money DRAC-HMA, eh?
Meeting at WHC, Phoenix:
I would hope to find time in the bar or
poolside (they have a great pool -- the biggest in Phoenix) to yak it up with
old friends and new...
Cheers!
Well ... with the holidays truly over now ... it took longer than usual to get back into the swing of things.
We had a great Christmas and New Year. We just stayed at home and enjoyed television and stuffed ourselves! We had more chocolates than we knew what to do with so we shipped a lot of it off to the grandchildren. Brian had a Ray Charles Christmas. I got him lot's of goodies. Not to mention some rarities he'd been searching for for ages. And, Jasper got a new stuffed mouse.
January was a very busy month and the months to come look to be busy as well. Brian is steadily writing away, I'm working more and more on WHC stuff and as usual Jasper is totally useless! He eats ... sleeps ... and prays for spring! Don't we all? Some nasty weather going around the world and I hope everyone survives it all with minimal damage.
Just a little over three months to World Horror Con in Phoenix. I hope many of you will be able to make it. Depending on how many of you can, we can hopefully manage a time slot to get together. Brian being GoH will take a good bit of time but I'm sure we'll be able to work something out. If not we can always be found pool side! And what a pool side it is. They have a Cabana Bar that does b-b-q. Excellent! We were there for WHC in 1994 and it was absolutely fabulous and that's why we are much looking forward to this one. Hopefully I'll have all the details I need by the April Newsletter. By then I should be able to tell you some of Brian's programming.
And dear fans ... lot's of fan e-mail is coming in so please do be patient waiting for an answer. We've lots of business e-mail as well. I promise to get Brian's responses off to you as quickly as possible!
Until next time...
Titus Crow
With all the talk of Brian Lumley's necroscopic hero, Harry Keogh, little attention falls on his earlier and equally developed hero, Titus Crow. Of course, the Necroscope is Brian's best known and most popular series, but the true fans know Titus Crow. Titus battles the forces of eldritch evil with the fathomless courage of his soul and the incredible mystical knowledge stored in his mind.
Along with his dear friend Henri-Etienne de Marigny, and a powerful time-clock Titus Crow is the time-traveling, space-jumping protector of the universe. Armed with only his psychic mind and vast occult lore, Titus defeats the Great Old Ones and their minions on Earth, in the frozen fringes of space and time, and in fabled Elysia. His leonine looks inspire his comrades, and chill his enemies. His esoteric insight into the realms of ancient “sciences” leads him to harrowing triumph time and again. For all of the Lovecraftian allusions in the Titus Crow books, Titus has more in common with Robert E. Howard's defiant defenders than H.P. Lovecraft's panicky protagonists.
In the tales of Titus Crow the reader can see the origins of many of Brian's later concepts and characters. For example, in the short novella "The Burrowers Beneath" E-Branch (from the Necroscope series) finds its roots in the Wilmarth Foundation, a group of psychics sworn to safeguard Earth from the imprisoned Elder Gods. Brian lays out the purpose and structure for E-Branch in his descriptions and dialogues regarding the Wilmarth Foundation to such an extent that you wonder at the possibility of synchronicitous forethought on Brian's part.
I love the Necroscope. Harry Keogh thrilled me through many a boring summer day in an eternally empty clock shop. But Harry is not Brian's only detailed and refined character. Titus Crow was around long before, and--somewhere in the multiverse--is still. So give him a chance. The Titus Crow Omnibus (three volume set) is available at all major bookstores. Take a look at where many of Brian's ideas were born. You will witness the growth of Brian's style, and enjoy many inspiring adventures to boot.
What will be, has been...
by Ralph Jessie AKA Mouser
Hi Gang! Mouser here.
A while back I got an email message from ShadoeWolfe asking if I cared to contribute an article to the Newsletter. After a bit of consideration, I thought I’d relate my trip to Providence for the Necronomicon and how I met Brian and the lovely Silky Lumley.
Nearly two years ago, when I first got involved with the internet, one of the first things I did was look for online bookstores and collectors’ resources. Being a collector with very specific tastes, I found quite a few good resources not the least of which were pages dedicated to horror writers like Lovecraft, Poe, and many others. Among them, Brian Lumley. I had been a fan since discovering Brian's work in the mid-Seventies and was delighted to find one page with a list of horror writers’ email addresses. With a little urging from our mutual friend, horror writer Rick Hautala, I started to correspond with Brian & Silky.
During the course of our correspondence, I was made aware of Brian's upcoming appearance as guest of honor at the Necronomicon. I'm not much for conventions. I've been to quite a few over the years and frankly, I find many of them tiresome. I had not even considered the Necronomicon and, short of the reanimation of ol’ HPL himself, probably wouldn't have attended... but this was an opportunity to meet Brian Lumley! So the reservations were made, memberships bought and the wait for August began.
Informing the Lumleys that I would be attending, Brian generously offered to sign my collection. I wrote back to warn him that I had some 50+ of his books, and would probably be adding more that weekend. His response was that if I could get them there, he would gladly sign them. I could hardly wait. I later found out from Silky that Brian is fond of a Greek Spirit, Metaxa, and I scoured Maine for what may have been the only bottle of it in the whole state. A small thank you for a grand gesture.
In the weeks leading up to the Con, the Lumleys suggested getting together with a small group of those of us who had been in touch regularly via email. The possibility of dining out was tossed about, but the idea was dropped in favor of a private pizza party. I wasn't looking forward to trying to have conversations in a noisy restaurant, so I was pleased at the outcome. August finally arrived. My girlfriend Lori and I made the drive down from Maine Friday morning. Lori is not a horror enthusiast. In preparation for the Necronomicon she read HPL’s “Case of Charles Dexter Ward” and some short stories from Brian's “Fruiting Bodies”. I, in turn, have watched many films based on the works of Jane Austin. We do what we must.
We arrived in the early afternoon and promptly headed for the registration table. We were presented with our badges and envelopes containing our Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast tickets and our choice of a free Tor Lumley book. I was also handed another small yellow envelope containing an invitation to Brian's Punch Party for Saturday night. If you ever get the chance to attend one of these gatherings, it's a must! And yes, the punch is deadly!
Having done the registering, we went out for lunch. We went to our first program at 4:00pm, “Me, The Cthulhu Mythos, and Like That...” by Brian Lumley. As we entered the room, Silky asked our names and presented us with a small slip of paper. Written on it: “Pizza Party - 5:30 - Suite 619”. We then took our seats and waited for the program to begin. Brian then told us how he found out about Lovecraft, his beginnings as a writer, his dealings with such publishers as Derleth, Wollheim and Paul Ganley. He also made it known that what was important about Lovecraft was the man's work, not his beliefs, politics or private life in general. He also stood up for Derleth, who has been much maligned by the critics in later years. Hurrah! After all, who of us today would know of Lovecraft if not for Derleth, Wandrei, and Arkham House?
5:30 and off we were to suite 619. Upon arriving, Silky led us in and we were immediately made at home. All together, there were seven of us fans, Brian and Silky, and Brian's small press publisher, W. Paul Ganley. If you haven't checked out the Ganley editions, they are beautifully done and well worth seeking out. We all sat eating pizza, chatting a bit. I got to speak with Brian for a moment and gave him regards from Rick Hautala. Silky sold me some of the early Necroscope graphic novels - duplicates from her private collection and out-of-print - that I had inquired about in our correspondence. The Lumleys gave us all copies of books, rare posters, trading cards and when Silky handed me the bag containing the graphic novels I found it also held a small bottle of Metaxa! I still have it in a place of honor with my collection. We all had pizza and conversation, and Brian and I shared some very nice brandy. A wonderful experience and the Lumleys are truly charming and gracious folks.
Later that evening we attended the reception and visited the dealers rooms. I picked up a few more books to add to the large box I brought with me. At 10:00pm that evening, Brian read his wonderful story “The Mirror of Nitocris”. I love hearing an author read their work and Lumley was magnificent. And that concluded the first evening of Necronomicon.
We started Saturday morning with a bus trip out to Swan Point Cemetery to visit Lovecraft's gravesite. A bit of a pilgrimage. It disturbed me a bit to see people posing for photos lounging across HPL’s grave, hugging his gravestone and the like but what can you do. Then we went to see the special Hay Library exhibit of Lovecraft's personal papers, including drawings by the then 9 year old Robert Bloch. We opted for the Arthur Machen panel before lunch, getting both Darrell Schweitzer and S.T.Joshi to sign their books for us. Darrell swiftly pulled out a couple more of his books from out of his knapsack, which I also purchased and had signed. When I presented a copy of the Donning edition of his “We Are All Legends”, he deftly thumbed to two locations in the text and made corrections!
After lunch we went to the area where Brian was to do his next signing. Here I was at the door with this huge guy scowling at me and saying, “No more than TWO BOOKS!” I'm standing there with a very large INGRAM box containing 57 books. I look him in the eye and state that it was at Brian's invitation and he reluctantly lets me in with it. I then told Brian that in fairness to the others, I’d wait until the end and sat down in the front row to wait. He then put some English editions of “Deadspeak” out on the table announcing that he would sell them signed for $10.00 a piece. I was fortunate enough to snag one, they were gone instantly! Finally, after waiting almost to the end of the hour, he looks over and asks if I'm ready. I take my box up and start feeding him books. He pauses for a moment over a 1980 copy of “Khai of Ancient Khem” saying he hadn't seen one in ages. He takes the dust jacket off an Arkham House first edition of “Caller of the Black” and runs his hand over the Holliston Black Novelex binding cloth, remarking at how beautifully Arkham bound his books. I could tell that he still had a real affection for these editions. And we can thank August for these, too. Needless to say, I was the envy of quite a few fans that day.
As soon as the signing was over, there was an hour long interview with Brian. We heard more of his own feelings for and about Lovecraft, the Lovecraft “scholars”, writing and life in general.
Later that evening Robert Knox and Robert Price did a sketch entitled “Alhazred VII” followed by another reading by Lumley, this time “The House of Cthulhu”. Marvelous! It may be that it was this program that opened with a couple ladies singing some folk songs. One was called “Wouldn't It Be Lumley”, and I'm still looking for the lyrics to that song! Cute, very cute.
At last, Saturday evenings Punch Party! Greeted at the door by Brian, and led into a room full of Lovecraftians and Lumley fans. The Punch was deliciously toxic, Lumley's own concoction and quite debilitating! I had a conversation with a VERY animated Bob Eggleton about the last time he spoke to Harlan Ellison and what He's got in the works now and so much more, so quickly that I couldn't quite catch it all! I then approached Brian to thank him properly for the signing. I asked him how his arm was and he looked at me like he didn't know what I meant. I reminded him of the great favor he did me that afternoon. He basically said that any writer who wouldn't sign his work doesn't deserve to be a writer and he was glad to do it. I then presented him with the bottle of Metaxa, which he accepted with a smile and said that he'd take with him on his vacation to Greece a couple weeks later.
Sunday morning, we stayed for the Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast and sat with our new friends Robb, Carrie and Heather. Robert Price was a hoot with the sermon. That just about wrapped up the weekend. Before heading home, we took a jaunt down to Mystic seaport for some pizza. Something for Lori, and YES, there is really a Mystic Pizza. (They've got Julia Roberts plastered all over the walls).
To Brian and Silky, thanks for making Necronomicon a grand experience. We fans appreciate your generosity and charm. Silky, thanks for the Updates and all that you do to keep us in touch with the man and his work.
BRIAN LUMLEY TO BE
GUEST
OF HONOR
AT THE 1998 WORLD HORROR CONVENTION
IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA
by Silky Lumley
Outgoing
HWA President, Brian Lumley, will be the Guest of Honor at the 1998 World
Horror Convention set for Thursday, May 7 to Sunday, May 10 at the
Embassy Suites North in Phoenix, AZ. The Artist Guest of Honor will
be Bernie Wrightson.
Toastmaster John Steakley, Publisher
Guest of Honor Tom Doherty, Tor Books. Media Guest to be announced. The
con features horror-related programming and networking, an art show, dealers
room, hospitality suite, videos/movies, artists' reception, autographing sessions
and readings.
Memberships are $90.00 through Feb. 10, 1998 and $100.00 through May 10 in U.S. dollars by check, cashiers check or money order. One-day and pro-rated memberships will be available at con, where Visa, Mastercard and Discover may be used.
The Embassy Suites North (formerly Fountain Suites) located at I-17 and Greenway Road are all two-room suites for $105.00 single/double, $115.00 triple, $125.00 quad (before tax). The suites offer complimentary breakfast buffet and happy hour. Initial reservations must be made through the convention by mail, e-mail or phone.
The con can be reached
BY MAIL:
P. O. Box 71565, Phoenix, AZ 85082-1565,
USA
BY PHONE:
(602) 941-3438 (recorded message and voice
mail) or
(602) 945-6890 (anything not in the message
and voice mail)
BY EMAIL:
whc98@otsp.com or mwillmoth@compuserve.com
The con maintains a World Wide Web site
at:
http://www.otsp.com/otsp/whc98/whchome.htm
Caliber Comics has started a new series: VAMPIRE WORLD, beginning with THE SOURCE. Issue No. 1 of the new Necroscope Comic is due out now, so if there is a comic book store near you, check it out and reserve your copy today. The stores are already advertising issue No. 2 so don't miss out! Brian is currently waiting to view the artwork for No. 2 and get the ball rolling for publication. The artwork for No. 1 is great stuff! It was done by a Brit, Mike Perkins, who lives in Lodz, Poland. Martin Powell, an American, is doing the scripting/adaptation, and Brian is tying it together. Visit Caliber Comics at http://www.calibercomics.com for an in-depth look at the project and to get the final release dates.
The UK got it first. Lucky country. But in a few months, the US will be privy to Brian's latest work: The sequel to the House of Doors. Not only did he wait seven years to write it, but he made all of us on the other side of the Atlantic wait another five months before we can get our hands on it! I think we will let that one go though, as soon as we dive into the Worlds in the Machine. The cover is previewed here along with the cover of the re-issue of the original House of Doors...where Sith first materialized....Here's the text from the jacket cover:
| "Earth is under attack! Alien beings
bent on our destruction have seeded the world with horrible machines capable
of transforming our planet into a hellhole where only
they can live.
Our only hope is a small group of intrepid adventurers who just might be able to unravel the mystery of the alien machinery and turn it against these deadly enemies. Their opportunity is a four-dimensional maze, an alien thing that is part building, part machine, and part psychological torture chamber. The House of Doors taps the minds of its captives and creates worlds based on their worst nightmares. Jack Turnbull, once a secret service "minder," now a recovering alcoholic, finds the House of Doors alcoholic temptation beyond imagination. |
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Fred Stannersly, a military pilot who prides himself on his sense of direction, creates a world where there is no direction, no up or down, no left or right.
For Spencer Gill, whose native understanding of machinery borders on the supernatural, the House of Doors is doubly dangerous. Not only is its alien technology almost too perverse for him to even begin to understand, it creates for Gill a world of useless machines that threaten his sanity.
Once before, Spencer, Angela, and Jack survived the House of Doors. Then the defeated aliens abandoned their plans to take over the Earth. This time, if Spencer Gill and his comrades cannot uncover the traitor in their midst, solve the maze of the House of Doors, take over its master computer, and use the aliens' own technology against them, our planet is doomed."
To be published by TOR,
May 1998
The sequel title is to be MAZE OF WORLDS
(US Edition)
Published by Hodder & Stoughton, December 1997 The sequel title is HOUSE OF DOORS:SECOND VISIT (UK Edition)
Even though the two books (US and UK) have different titles, they CONTAIN THE SAME MATERIAL
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TOR will also reissue the original
House of Doors at the same time.
So for all you folks that missed it the first time around . . . |
To finish off this newsletter, we bring you the people involved. If you have a question for anyone, please email them and let them know about it. Any of the individuals involved in this project would be more than happy to answer your questions or hear your comments.
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