GET SUCKED IN
People can be very generous. It’s wonderful that so many sites have been giving my new book publicity, but I do wish they’d all stop using the headline “Enter Robert Dunbar’s Vortex.” I mean, come on – on the first date? (Admittedly, this does kind of complement titles like WILLY and WOOD.) For my own promotional efforts, I’ve been using this copy:
Dark currents flow beneath the surface, powerful, deadly… ancient. Nightmares churn the deep waters of the soul. Vampires and werewolves, sea hags and witches – the monsters teeming in our subconscious minds are with us always. VORTEX explores the origins of some of mankind’s oldest folklore and the influence of that lore on literature, film and popular culture.
http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Robert-D...
The contents include the following material:
THE PRIMITIVE NEVER DIES: An Introduction
LORELI VORTEX: That Enduring Lure
THE NAME OF THE BEAST: A Consideration of the Historical Werwulf
KITH & KIN: Demonic Correlatives in Popular Culture
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT: The Legacy of Lycanthropy in Literature & Film
FOR THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE: Representations of the Vampire Myth
HORRIFYING AMERICA: Native Nightmares
LOCAL LEGEND: The Jersey Devil & I
HORRIBLE WOMEN: An Appreciation of the Scream Queen
LITERARY SOURCES OF CLASSIC HORROR FILMS: Ruminations
STIGMA: Hollywood & Hate
The book trailer is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpiIDX...
In it, I read from the introduction and do think I sound slightly less than usual like a ferret on crack.
Your thoughts? The first reviews have been very gratifying, though every time I see “sophisticated and brilliant,” or words to that effect, part of me wants to hiss, “Quiet! I’d like to sell a few copies.” But don’t get me started on that again. (You know those words are like Kryptonite to the average genre fan.) Of course, it’s often the bloggers who make the most interesting comments.
“Witty and frequently self-mocking… certainly no dry-as-dust academic piece… a very gleeful book. A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable ride through some of the most horrific myths and real-life events imaginable.” ~ James Everington/Scattershot Writing
http://jameseverington.blogspot.co.uk...
That one actually came as sort of a shock to me, because I thought I had written a dry-as-dust academic piece. Hmm... always the last to know. Must be me though, since another blogger likened the reading experience to “having tea with a very fun and knowledgeable friend!” Tea? Seriously? Not even bourbon? It’s really that cozy? Well, I guess the parts about Gilles de Rais and Countess Bathori and the Jersey Devil are a little cozy.
From Robert Dunbar’s introduction to VORTEX: Essays from a Sea of Nightmares
They say a basis in fact inspired most legends. They say it all the time, all those Wise Elders in all those old horror films, the high priests, the scientists, the gypsy fortune tellers. On this single issue they agree unanimously. Deep currents of tradition and superstition swirl through most classic works of horror fiction. They spring from deep within us, these nightmares, these folktales. They speak of our deepest needs, the ones we have all been taught since childhood never to put into words, because dreams reveal our other face, the one we keep hidden, the Hyde to mankind’s collective Jekyll. Our most primitive ancestors never died, the ones who killed with clubs and rocks and clawing hands. No, they remain within us still. And when we sleep, they speak.
THE PRESS ABOUT VORTEX:
“One of the most enjoyable and entertaining nonfiction books I have ever read.”
~ FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND
“Illuminates the depth and complexity of horror throughout the ages. A real treat … opens the most dangerous door of all – curiosity.”
~ HORROR NOVEL REVIEWS
“Recommended for those who are looking for deeper insight into the genre.”
~ LAYERS OF THOUGHT
“A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable ride through some of the most horrific myths and real-life events imaginable.”
~ SCATTERSHOT WRITING
“Eloquently and intellectually written, seasoned with wry humor … a must- read for writers and fans of the genre.”
~ SOUTHERN ROSE REVIEWS
“Stunning … meticulously researched … keen sense of style … razor sharp wit and entertaining prose.”
~ LITERARY MAYHEM
Oh, and remember:
Enter the VORTEX.
http://www.amazon.com/VORTEX-ebook/dp...
Dark currents flow beneath the surface, powerful, deadly… ancient. Nightmares churn the deep waters of the soul. Vampires and werewolves, sea hags and witches – the monsters teeming in our subconscious minds are with us always. VORTEX explores the origins of some of mankind’s oldest folklore and the influence of that lore on literature, film and popular culture.
http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Robert-D...
The contents include the following material:
THE PRIMITIVE NEVER DIES: An Introduction
LORELI VORTEX: That Enduring Lure
THE NAME OF THE BEAST: A Consideration of the Historical Werwulf
KITH & KIN: Demonic Correlatives in Popular Culture
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT: The Legacy of Lycanthropy in Literature & Film
FOR THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE: Representations of the Vampire Myth
HORRIFYING AMERICA: Native Nightmares
LOCAL LEGEND: The Jersey Devil & I
HORRIBLE WOMEN: An Appreciation of the Scream Queen
LITERARY SOURCES OF CLASSIC HORROR FILMS: Ruminations
STIGMA: Hollywood & Hate
The book trailer is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpiIDX...
In it, I read from the introduction and do think I sound slightly less than usual like a ferret on crack.
Your thoughts? The first reviews have been very gratifying, though every time I see “sophisticated and brilliant,” or words to that effect, part of me wants to hiss, “Quiet! I’d like to sell a few copies.” But don’t get me started on that again. (You know those words are like Kryptonite to the average genre fan.) Of course, it’s often the bloggers who make the most interesting comments.
“Witty and frequently self-mocking… certainly no dry-as-dust academic piece… a very gleeful book. A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable ride through some of the most horrific myths and real-life events imaginable.” ~ James Everington/Scattershot Writing
http://jameseverington.blogspot.co.uk...
That one actually came as sort of a shock to me, because I thought I had written a dry-as-dust academic piece. Hmm... always the last to know. Must be me though, since another blogger likened the reading experience to “having tea with a very fun and knowledgeable friend!” Tea? Seriously? Not even bourbon? It’s really that cozy? Well, I guess the parts about Gilles de Rais and Countess Bathori and the Jersey Devil are a little cozy.
From Robert Dunbar’s introduction to VORTEX: Essays from a Sea of Nightmares
They say a basis in fact inspired most legends. They say it all the time, all those Wise Elders in all those old horror films, the high priests, the scientists, the gypsy fortune tellers. On this single issue they agree unanimously. Deep currents of tradition and superstition swirl through most classic works of horror fiction. They spring from deep within us, these nightmares, these folktales. They speak of our deepest needs, the ones we have all been taught since childhood never to put into words, because dreams reveal our other face, the one we keep hidden, the Hyde to mankind’s collective Jekyll. Our most primitive ancestors never died, the ones who killed with clubs and rocks and clawing hands. No, they remain within us still. And when we sleep, they speak.
THE PRESS ABOUT VORTEX:
“One of the most enjoyable and entertaining nonfiction books I have ever read.”
~ FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND
“Illuminates the depth and complexity of horror throughout the ages. A real treat … opens the most dangerous door of all – curiosity.”
~ HORROR NOVEL REVIEWS
“Recommended for those who are looking for deeper insight into the genre.”
~ LAYERS OF THOUGHT
“A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable ride through some of the most horrific myths and real-life events imaginable.”
~ SCATTERSHOT WRITING
“Eloquently and intellectually written, seasoned with wry humor … a must- read for writers and fans of the genre.”
~ SOUTHERN ROSE REVIEWS
“Stunning … meticulously researched … keen sense of style … razor sharp wit and entertaining prose.”
~ LITERARY MAYHEM
Oh, and remember:
Enter the VORTEX.
http://www.amazon.com/VORTEX-ebook/dp...
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