Can your life story fit inside a matchbook cover? - pacificsandiego.com

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 07:30 AM PDT

The Library Shop in San Diego's Central Library is accepting entries for its third annual short-short story contest.

Entries have to fit inside a matchbook cover. That leaves room for about 40 words, if the author uses 7-point font.

The winner receives a $50 gift card to the Library Shop, 50 matchbooks with the winning entry printed on them, publication in the library's e-newsletter, and a temporary exhibit in the Central Library's Hervey Family Rare Book Room, which is home to the institution's tiny book collection.

Entries are due Nov. 15. The entry fee is $5, with all proceeds benefiting the library. Multiple entries are allowed. Entry forms are available online at libraryshopsd.org/shortstory.

Entries can be on any topic and in any genre, including poetry. They have to be the original work of the person submitting it.

There is no word count, but entries must fit within the inside area of a standard matchbook, which is 1-5/16 inches wide by 1-4/16 inches high.

When they started the contest three years ago, library officials took their inspiration from the famously terse Ernest Hemingway, who according to lore was once challenged to come up with a story in just six words and wrote this: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn."

More than 200 people entered the inaugural competition. The winner came from Tara Gilboy, a local creative-writing teacher and author, who spun her entry from the titles of short stories by two famous writers, with a couple of nods to social media:

@ToBuildAFire replied to

@TheLittleMatchGirl:

These are junk.

#JackLondon

#HansChristianAndersen

Last year's winner was Cristina Schaeffer: "The smell of garlic sizzling woke me up. Mom was home. Hadn't seen her in four days. Mahjong. Sometimes she won, mostly she didn't. I dressed for school. At least I got fried rice and spam this morning."

Elma Trinidad captured second place with this: "I couldn't cross you/Two parallel lines onwards upwards/never meeting again."

Third place went to Marilyn Rudoff, who wrote, "My brain cracking open in a wily fire sparks small illuminations some call art."

People who have questions about the contest can reach library officials by email at libraryshop@supportmylibrary.org or by phone at 619-236-5802.

Minnesota authors chase the horror dream: 'I wanted zombies to be real' - Bemidji Pioneer

Posted: 31 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT

In first grade, she wondered why Halloween couldn't have the heft of other holidays — one day only of zombies roaming the streets.

"Christmas is real ... why can't Halloween be real," she recalled thinking. "I wanted zombies to be real. I like that feeling of being scared, a safe way to be scared. I'm not actually in peril."

Florence and fellow aficionada Meg Hafdahl, the author of female-driven horror novels, have collaborated on a book that looks at the details of specific movies from a scientific perspective — a rare disease can present as vampire-like traits, projectile vomiting is not common in adults, Cujo's actions are on-point as a rabid dog. "The Science of Monsters: The Truth about Zombies, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires and Other Legendary Creatures," released by Skyhorse Publishing, is a fact-and-fun filled collection that includes interviews with and sourced quotes from experts in the fields of medicine, taxidermy, space travel and cannibalism.

Twenty years of shared horror

Hafdahl got her start in scares and case-solving when she was very young, she said, starting with the episodes of "Matlock" and "Murder She Wrote" that she watched with her mother, and continuing with spooky books.

"I came across a movie about Lizzie Borden when I was 7 or 8," she said, referencing the infamous case of a woman who used an ax to murder her family in the late 1800s. "Then I got every book about Lizzie Borden."

Hafdahl, who grew up in Duluth and now lives in Rochester, Minn., was in high school when Florence walked into the gift shop where she was working, wearing Hafdahl-bait: an "X-Files" T-shirt.

"That was all I cared about in life," she said.

Kelly Florence (left) and Meg Hafdahl, co-hosts of the podcast "Horror Rewind," have become a go-to for local horror-related topics. Photo submitted by Florence

They chatted, exchanged contact information, and started watching the 1990s sci-fi suspense show and other scary movies together. It was an instant friendship. Neither had ever met another horror fan.

Twenty years later, they are steeped in the culture. Hafdahl has written two novels, "Her Dark Inheritance" and "Daughters of Darkness," in addition to the short story collection "Twisted Reveries." Florence, who teaches communications courses at Lake Superior College, produces their shared 2-year-old podcast "Horror Rewind." Each 30-minute episode deconstructs movies ranging from "The Fly" to "The Terminator" to "We Have Always Lived in the Castle."

The duo has become a go-to for all things horror. They were sponsors of Rubber Chicken Theater's production of "Carrie: The Musical" and presented during "For Legal Reasons We Can't Call This a TED Talk" at Duluth Superior Film Festival.

'The Science of Monsters'

Both of the authors are word people — so fun, non-esoteric science seemed like a new and interesting way to look at the genre, Hafdahl said.

They divided the 200-plus page book by themes, like slashers, serial killers, the possessed and more, then tackled specific titles: "Halloween," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Jennifer's Body."

In a chapter about "A Nightmare on Elm Street," Florence wrote about the relatively rare disorder, Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome. Seemingly healthy young men, most often of South Asian descent, suffer with a middle-of-the-night heart condition. It was the basis for Wes Craven's popular movie about a sharp-fingered, crusty-faced character who chases victims in their dreams.

And in a chapter about "Jennifer's Body," the dark humored story of a vampire-like cheerleader-demon on a killing spree, Hafdahl found that serial killer motives typically differ between men and women.

Their next collaboration is "The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films" due out in February, which is — not incidentally — Women in Horror Month.

Good scares, bad scares

Good horror, according to Hafdahl, features likable characters whom you want to survive. The scariest thing for her, though, is birds.

"Everyone who knows me knows I hate birds," she said. "I don't like things flappy by me. I don't know what it is about them. I find them unnerving. They're everywhere, and we're supposed to be OK with it."

Her favorite movie is "The Shining," based on the Stephen King novel about an isolated family whiling away the winter as caretakers at a closed Colorado hotel.

Florence's biggest scares come from real, human monsters and Japanese picks like "The Grudge" or "The Ring."

"When someone is moving in an unnatural way," she said. "That's creepy."

She's also into Norman Bates of "Psycho" and the real-life inspiration for him — serial killer Ed Gein.

Earlier this week, the writers were in New York for book promotions. While there, they planned to catch "Beetlejuice" on Broadway.

Halloween is a biggie for both of the horror fiends. Hafdahl tries to watch a few extra flicks during the season, and Florence has given over the entire month to the holiday.

"You're allowed to put up a skeleton in your house, and people don't ask questions," she said.

"The Science of Monsters" was published by Skyhorse in mid-October.

Title: "The Science of Monsters: The Truth about Zombies, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires and Other Legendary Creatures"

Authors: Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence

Publisher: Skyhorse

Pages: 240

Price: $14.99

Podcast: Horror Rewind, horrorrewind.libsyn.com

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