by Thomas M Malafarina
Several years ago I had the pleasure (or so I initially thought) of attending a horror convention in New Jersey. The idea was for me to sit at my publisher’s booth where I would sign free copies of several of my books and we would give them away free to the convention attendees.
I was shocked and sadly disappointed not only to find that the majority of the participants had no interest in free, signed horror books but something much more disturbing; they seemed proud of the fact that they didn’t read. And this bizarre scenario played itself out not once but many times during my painful time at the convention.
Here’s an example of a typical interaction between my publisher and a member of the crowd:
Publisher: Hey are you enjoying the convention?
Attendee: Whut?
Publisher: Would you like a free autographed copy of a horror novel? The author’s right here ready to sign and personalize it for you, free of charge.
Attendee: Huh? No, I don’t read nuthin’. I watch movies.
Publisher: Well all those movies you like had to be written by someone. Wouldn’t you like to have a chance to read the stories before they become movies?
Attendee: Um… no… I don’t read nuthin’. I watch movies.
It was like watching zombies on parade. Person after person, time and time again these creatures with their hooded eyes and slack-jawed expressions moved methodically down the gauntlet of vendors only paying attention to anyone hawking horror movies, horror memorabilia or horror related props and toys. On those few occasions when I saw someone with at least a tiny spark of intelligence in their eyes I suspected they would be interested. And to my pleasure, they usually were.
When my less than productive shift at the booth was finished I walked around the convention and saw a few other booths either selling or giving away horror books and their lack of activity mirrored our own.
It was frustrating to see at that time and now it seems to have become something of an epidemic. It’s like there is an unspoken rule out there among horror movie fans that there is something wrong with actually reading a good horror story. Believe it or not it’s ok to sit down to a good book and let your imagination run wild.
Trust me, movies are great and I love them. I have a personal collection of hundreds of movies. But I read too. And movies come after the writing, whether it’s a book or a screenplay. Somebody has to write it first. However, I must warn you that if you do start reading, not only is it addictive, but you’ll run the risk of becoming more intelligent in the process. And who know, maybe someday it will inspire you to write your own stories.
I just realized my above statements make this entire blog a bit pointless, since the chances of a non-reading, movie-only-watching person reading this blog is not very likely. Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about them being offended. I can only hope there is a reversal to this downward spiral sometime in the future.
Check out Dead Kill 3 or start the series from the beginning now!
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