The Dog Days of Summer
Arrrooooooooo!
I never knew why they call August “the dog days of summer.”
It turns out the expression has a long history, dating back to Roman times when Sirius, the dog star, would appear in the sky just before the sun, starting at the end of July.
Romans called this period “dies caniculares,” or “days of the dog star,” which was eventually shortened to just “dog days.”
Personally, the phrase always puts me in mind of werewolves. What a surprise, right? (Cue refrain of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”)
I love werewolves, and I particularly love werewolf movies. There aren’t enough of them!
In case you’re wondering, here are my top five:
An American Werewolf in London
The Howling
The Wolf Man (1941)
Dog Soldiers
Ginger Snaps
As a kid, the 1941 Wolf Man was my favorite. It was my favorite among the Universal monsters and my favorite horror movie.
Later, when I saw An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, everything shifted. In particular, the thrilling mix of humor and horror in An American Werewolf in London, not to mention the incredible character work, had a lasting impact on me.
So did the fact that the main character, David Kessler, is Jewish.
That’s a rarity in horror. In most movies, actually.
I talked a bit about David Kessler in an interview I did for the Horror Writers Association’s “Jewish Heritage in Horror” series, which you can read here.
How about you? What’s your favorite werewolf movie? Leave a comment on the Web version of this newsletter and let me know!
Sneak Previews
Normally this is where I would talk about my own new and upcoming publications, but seeing as how I’m still neck-deep in writing The Mind Worms, the third Dr. Laura Powell novel, I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about a new book by a dear friend of mine.
I’ve known M.M. De Voe (Milda, to me) for over a decade now.
Not only is she a good friend and workshop partner, she’s one hell of a writer!
A Flash of Darkness is her debut story collection, and it’s been a long time coming for those of us lucky enough to be familiar with her work already.
Her fiction has been described as Kafkaesque, and I think that’s a perfect description.
These stories swim in genre waters—mostly horror and science fiction—but her prose has the scalpel-like precision and vibrant, off-kilter observations of the finest literary fiction.
M.M. De Voe is a writer people will be talking about a lot. This is the perfect introduction to her work, and your chance to get in on the ground floor.
Pick up a copy of A Flash of Darkness today!
In the Flesh
In July, I attended Necon, a.k.a. the Northeastern Writers Conference, a.k.a. Camp Necon, where I moderated a panel on A.I. in the writing and publishing world.
That’s me on the left, somewhat out of focus. (As usual!)
The panel went very well, attracting one of the largest audiences of the conference.
It’s a topic everyone has an opinion on, so it was quite a lively conversation.
My fellow writers will be happy to know it wasn’t all gloom and doom, but the major takeaway was that until the law catches up, generative AI programs like ChatGPT will continue to ignore copyright law by scraping copyrighted material from illegal pirate sites on the Internet.
Luckily, a few lawsuits have already been filed in Federal court that could help create new laws against this type of copyright infringement by AI programs.
My thanks to all the panelists, and to Necon, a great writers conference I’ve been attending for over 20 years now and highly recommend to anyone looking to make contacts in the field!
An Evening of Wonder and Terror!
If you’re in the New York City area, come see me read with Karen Heuler, John C. Foster, and Chandler Klang Smith!
Join us on Sunday, August 13th, at 6 P.M. at Shade Bar NYC, 241 Sullivan Street in Manhattan!
Books will be sold and signed by all the authors!
There’s a Facebook event page where you can find more info and RSVP if you’re into that kind of thing: An Evening of Wonder and Terror
Weird Science Fact for August
Have you ever woken up from a short nap feeling woozy and disoriented?
Now imagine waking up after 46,000 years!
Just last month, it was reported that scientists revived an ancient and heretofore unknown species of roundworm — a microscopic parasitic worm that often lives in the intestines of its host — after discovering it in the Siberian permafrost.
A process called cryptobiosis allows certain organisms, particularly microscopic ones like the roundworm, to go into a kind of suspended animation in harsh environments, slipping into a deep sleep by slowing their metabolism to an undetectable level that mimics death.
This isn’t the first time a frozen organism has been revived. Back in 2021, researchers revived ancient bdelloid rotifers, microscopic aquatic invertebrates, that had been frozen in the Siberian permafrost for 24,000 years.
Until now, that was the dormancy record. Amazingly, this roundworm, dubbed Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, broke the record by tens of thousands of years!
After scientists carefully thawed the section of permafrost in which the roundworm was discovered, the roundworm started to move on its own.
Then it started to eat bacteria in a lab dish.
Then, most alarmingly of all, it started to reproduce through parthenogenesis, spawning more and more of these unknown roundworms without any need for a mate.
I don’t know what the future holds for Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, but let me just take this opportunity to say that I, for one, welcome our new roundworm overlords!
Until next time!
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