HEIDI RUBY MILLER

AWP was our first in-person conference in two years, and it felt good to be back among writers. Here I am with Mike Arnzen representing our genres. Our Seton Hill table had several recognizable faces, even under the masks, including MFA director Nicole Peeler (pictured with Jason above, above) and Natalie and Matt Duvall. We also ran into other academic friends: Gerry LaFemina (pictured with Mike and Jason), William Hamilton, Tod Goldberg , and Anthony Kapolka. And Jason got to meet Taylor Mali in person to tell him he borrowed his "What Teachers Make" TedTalk for the Pennwriters Keynote in 2019, "What Writers Make." As an added bonus, we got to stay at The Notary Hotel , an ultra-cool spot just down the block from the Pennsylvania Convention Center .

VIDEOS "Write the Book They Can't Put Down" is based on my article "The Shifting Grail" from the international award-winning writing guide Many Genres, One Craft , which I co-edited with Michael A. Arnzen . This video captured the version I presented for MGOC's publisher Headline Books and their Zoom Into Books series on April 8, 2020. Using examples of well-known movies and literature, I show how character motivation can dictate pacing and suspense, making your book one readers can't put down. I've also taught an extended version as a class for Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program.

VIDEOS I video interviewed Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winning author Michael A. Arnzen for my Three Great Things series . His latest work is Proverbs for Monsters . Mike will be the April 1 guest for the 2017 Author Series at Uniontown Public Library .

EVENTS UNIONTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2017 AUTHOR SERIES MICHAEL A. ARNZEN MICHAEL A. ARNZEN "Humor in Writing" Saturday April 1, 2017 4:00 - 6:00 PM Join us to celebrate April Fool’s Day with Dr. Michael A. Arnzen for a look at the power of comedic writing to disturb, disrupt and delight. A short talk, followed by an upbeat reading of his strangest and silliest stories and poems, will get you giggling. Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his disturbing (and often funny) fiction, poetry and literary experiments. An expanded, 10th anniversary edition of the “best of Arnzen,” his Stoker-award winning story collection, Proverbs for Monsters was recently published by Dark Regions Press. Other recent titles include his novel, Grave Markings , a non-fiction study, The Popular Uncanny, and helpful books for writers, including, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side and, as co-editor, Many Genres, One C...

INTERVIEWS EXCERPT: Last year I gave a talk on “The Popular Uncanny” at Parsec, and Heidi Ruby Miller (my colleague in the MFA program at Seton Hill U, and my co-editor for the book, Many Genres One Craft), kindly interviewed me about the subject for SIGMA. I decided to return the favor, as she’s coming to speak to the group again on October 8th. If you haven’t met her before, you’ll see that Heidi is always effervescent and excited to talk about genre fiction. Here’s a taste of her wide range of interests and passions. MIKE: Tell us briefly about your latest book, STARRIE. HEIDI: Starrie was a nice side project within the Ambasadora-verse that adds to the main series’ mythos and sets up some events in Book 2: Scarred by Light . Surprisingly, it’s been my most critically acclaimed book so far, even though it’s not part of the original series. Read the entire interview in SIGMA.

AUDIOBOOKS Audiovile: The Expanded Digital Edition Audiovile was originally released as a CD in 2007 by Raw Dog Screaming Press , breaking new ground in spoken word horror. Now, this newly "Expanded Digital Edition" includes high quality digital versions of all the tracks, including those featuring Jason Jack Miller on banjo, then DOUBLES the size of the original release, featuring EXCLUSIVE performances which were not included with original 16-track CD, most appearing here for the first time. And if you purchase the full album, you get access to BONUS FEATURES: an ebook companion with stories and related articles; printable CD inserts; a photograph gallery; the "Brain Candy" music video (animated by Jennifer Barnes ); and a secret bonus audio track to add to your collection!

TWEET LOVE One of the best books on writing I've read is Many Genres, One Craft by @heidirubymiller and Michael Arnzen. Give it a look. #writing — Trace Conger (@TraceConger) February 5, 2016

ARTICLES I've known Mike Arnzen for a long time and always suspected there was something a little different about him, something a little...uncanny. After his presentation at the December 2015 Parsec meeting and this interview, I'm convinced it's totally true. Read the entire interview at gorelets.com or in the SIGMA newsletter, edited by David Brody . His non-fiction book The Popular Uncanny is due out with Guide Dog Books in 2016. Here's a video where Mike goes into a bit more detail about the uncanny.

TWEET LOVE Sign up for SF Romance queen, MGOC coeditor and thriller writer @heidirubymiller 's "Field Notes": https://t.co/XmjjK7FhG5 @MikeArnzen — Michael Arnzen (@MikeArnzen) October 21, 2015

EVENTS A snowy, but fun winter residency for Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction . It was the first time I had graduating mentees. Congratulations to Lana Hechtman Ayers , Jeff Evans , Crystal Forkan , Tyler Peel , and the rest of the graduates! Here are some highlights in photos:

BOOKS In 2011 I read 34 books-- you can see them all here . In 2012 I read 40 books-- you can see them all here. In 2013...only 20. Here they are: OTHER INTERESTING STATISTICS ABOUT MY READS IN 2013: 13 - books by Seton Hill Writers 4 - books by SFR Brigaders 4 - books by Pennwriters members 2 - books by ITW members 13 - print books (8 signed copies) 5 - books from Raw Dog Screaming Press (3 from Dog Star Books) 6 - books from Big 5 publishers 6 - books from 5 different series 3 - Children's books 10 - female authors 1 - anthology 3 - non-fiction (all reference) 1 - poetry book LIST OF AUTHORS: Adrea L. Peters and Teffanie T. White (2) Cary Caffrey (2) Christopher Paul Carey Dana Marton Guy Kawasaki Heidi Ruby Miller J. L.Benet J. R. R. Tolkien Jason E. Hodges Jason Jack Miller John Hampel K. Ceres Wright Kaye Dacus Lee Allen Howard Lori A. May Matt Betts Michael A. Arnzen Mike Mehalek Mike Resnick (2) Nina Croft Paul R. Hewlett Sabri...

EVENTS A late recap through images of DogCon2 in Columbus, OH - August 2-4, 2013. BACK (L to R): Emory Pueschel, John Edward Lawson, Jason Jack Miller, Matt Betts, Michael A. Arnznen, D, Harlan Wilson FRONT(L to R): Jennifer Barnes, Chris Stout, Hanna Gribble, Stephanie Wytovich, Heidi Ruby Miller           BACK (L to R): Matt Betts, Michael A. Arnzen, Steven Archer, John Edward Lawson, Jason Jack Miller, Chris Stout FRONT (L to R): Emory Pueschel, K. Ceres Wright, Jennifer Barnes, Hanna Gribble, Stephanie Wytovich, Heidi Ruby Miller, Donna Lynch      

EVENTS

POETRY As part of the ongoing RDSP Arnzstigations series, here's my poem made from Mike Arnzen's Fridge of the Damned magnets . I parted with the horror tradition associated with these cool magnets and offered up something a bit more romantic--it was quite the challenge when you consider the words from Arnzen's works. To purchase a set of Fridge of the Damned magnets, visit the Raw Dog Screaming Press site - http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/books/magnets.html

EVENTS FREE RDSP WORKSHOP AT CONFLUENCE 2013 As part of the DogCon2 celebration at Confluence 2013 , award-winning editors and authors from Raw Dog Screaming Press will offer a free 3-hour writing basics workshop on Saturday morning. The event is open to all registered convention participants on Saturday, July 20, 2013. Pick and choose from 6 different 1/2 hr. sessions or attend them all. The workshop will run from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM CRAFT 10:00-10:30 AM - CHARACTER with Matt Betts 10:30-11:00 AM - DIALOG with John Edward Lawson 11:00-11:30 AM - PLOT with Michael A. Arnzen 11:30–NOON - SETTING with D. Harlan Wilson BUSINESS NOON–12:30 PM - PUBLICATION OPTIONS with Deanna Lepsch 12:30-1:00 PM - BRANDING AND PROMOTION with Jason Jack Miller To register for CONFLUENCE 2013, click the link below:

EVENTS and PHOTOS I'm an Arnzstigator, an instigator inspired by author Michael A. Arznen and supporter of his kickstarter project--The Fridge of the Damned Poetry Magnets . Mike's project has already been funded, but his supporters are trying to help him reach that stretch level of $2700 so everyone can have really cool Gorletized tins for those great magnets . We only have until Thursday, January 31, so to persuade you to participate, the pack at Raw Dog Screaming Press is posting things which inspire them about Mike and his work. I've decided to post every good photo I can find that Mike and I have taken together since I met him in January 2005 at Seton Hill University . For other great Arnzstigations, check out the RDSP blog - http://raw-dog.livejournal.com/250353.html