Which One's the Evil Dopelganger?

I suppose this story can be told now. It's been over a week since it happened and I've not received a response to my response.

Last week, another writer with the same name and possibly even same birthdate as me contacted me out of nowhere via email regarding our names. He'd located a post on this blog from a couple years ago where I mentioned there being another Christopher Nadeau with an author page on Amazon in which I referred to his book as a gimmicky pastiche of emails. Well...it is. It's not a novel. It's not a collection of short stories or essays or a work of academic non-fiction or even investigative journalism.

The other me was understandably displeased with my analysis of his work and told me so, adding that I, as a fellow author, know what hard work it is to write a book. I do. Although, I'm not convinced copying and pasting emails qualifies, but I'll bet the formatting was a bitch, since it's a self-published work. He also reminded me that it was a comedic work, in case I didn't get that from the customer reviews declaring it hilarious.

The email culminated with a request for me to retract my comments (unless I'd read the entire thing, because everybody does that before deciding a book isn't for them, right?) and in return he would, at no small expense to himself, make an alteration to his name in order to ensure there would be no confusion as he embarks on a career of more writing and movie roles. Hey, it's what he wrote. I have no evidence one way or the other.

I asked two different writers, one also a publisher, what, if anything, they thought I should write back. Below is the email I sent.

You be the judge:

Hello, Other Chris.

 

I always wondered if we would "meet" somehow. As someone who doesn't make rash decisions regarding the writing field, I ran your email by a couple professionals whose opinions I respect: One publisher/author and one published author. The consensus was that requesting a retraction and apology from someone regarding a review is astoundingly unprofessional. Whether I read the entire book or not, I drew a conclusion based on what I felt was enough material. I understand its comedic intent. I did something similar to a supposed Nigerian chief's widow years ago on another blog where I implored her to send me money because neo-Nazis had burned down the church I claimed to be pastor of. It was an amusing gimmick and my readers enjoyed it. I am glad yours have as well. I will not be retracting or apologizing.

 

As far as having the same name, so be it. You and I dwell in very different genres. While there is humor in some of my work, I am not a humorist and my readers are aware of that fact. Early on, a couple of them thought mistakenly that I'd written your book and returned it when they discovered I had not.  If you want to modify the spelling of your name, that is entirely up to you. As long as we're not both named "John Smith," I think we'll be just fine.

 

Frankly, it sounds like you're the one with the concerns over the same name issue. It doesn't take an intrepid reporter to find out that Googling our name brings up me and my work due to its sheer volume and the amount of interviews and reviews that have been written about it. Also, the copyright on my novel pre-dates yours by at least three years. No "compromise" is necessary as far as I am concerned.

 

Good luck to you!

C.N.

From the "HUH???" Files.

I often wonder what motivates people who don't care for a particular fiction genre to purchase and review books that fall under it. Here's an example of one Amazon reader dismissing an anthology I'm in as "exploitative" horror because the stories are despairing. Everybody knows horror should make ya feel like dancin' a jig!

"The Darkness Internal" Final Line-up (Excluding interviews)

The Sad Old Lady	Barbara Krasnoff
Printed Matter	Gary Cuba
The Plunge	April Littlefield
Ancestral Sins	Skadi Beorg
The Last Days of Leonard Cross	Ken Goldman
The Elephant in the Room	Nora Cook Smith
The Stie in the Ointment	Jacques Barbéri
Cause and Effect	Bob Simms
Why You Should Listen to Your Wife	Trico Lutkins
Lost ... If Found-MontiLee	MontiLee Stormer

Congratulations to all those who were accepted for this special issue of Voluted Tales I'm compiling. Expect contracts this week!

Quick Update

The last time I posted on this blog was June 11th. Sorry. I've been, like, busy and stuff. Not only with my day job but also with balancing several projects at once.

Editing News:
I am still compiling stories for the special issue of Voluted Tales I'm calling "The Darkness Internal." The response was far greater than publisher Mark Turner or I expected! For a while there, I was receiving an average of one or two submissions per day. That has slowed down, but I now have more stories than I can use in a single issue, not to mention at least two interviews and a possible feature article. So, it looks like there are going to be two special issues instead.

Comic Book News:
I just completed the comic script version of my short story "Sergeant Freedom's Never-ending Crusade," which appeared in the Source point Press anthology Alter Egos. The comic version is called "Undying Freedom" and it is, I daresay, far superior to its source material!

Source Point Press has also given me the greenlight on a special project I and my childhood friend/collaborator Toiale Johnson have wanted to write as a six-seven issue limited comic series designed to explode all known superhero conventions. There's something else going on with that publisher as well, but I'm not authorized to discuss it yet.

Publishing News:
My positive working relationship with editor (and now publisher ) Miles Boothe continues unabated as his new Press just released the Kindle version of the third monster hunter anthology to feature my work:

The print version is set to come out on or after my birthday, July 15th.

 

 Also, the Horror Zine anthology "Shadow Masters" has been receiving high praise. More to come!

 

 

What a Great Thing to See When First Opening Your Email!

Dear Christopher,

Thank you very much for your submission to Miseria's Chorale: Volume
1. We are pleased to confirm we will be including In Green Remembered
in the anthology. A truly poetic, haunting piece topped off with
exceptional writing. Excellent work. It's a privilege to have you in
the anthology.

Please find attached the contract for Miseria's Chorale: Volume 1,
which we ask you to read, sign and return.

If you do not have a scanner, typing your name in the signature space
and returning the contract to us as a Word document is an acceptable
alternative.

We plan to have this ambitious anthology out by October at the latest.
If it fills up quickly (which we are shooting for), you can expect an
earlier release date.

All the best,

David Nell
Forgotten Tomb Press

**Updated** Stories and Poems for "The Darkness Internal"

In case you missed it, I am editing the first special issue of Voluted Tales Magazine, entitled, "The Darkness Internal." Not to toot my own horn, but that's mine (toot!). The submissions guidelines are posted down at the bottom. Here is a list of stories I've accepted so far:

1. Cause and Effect and Bad is Good by Bob Sims.

2. A Stie in the Ointment by Jacques Barbéri.

3. The Elephant in the Room by Nora Cook Smith.

4. Honed to an Invisible Edge by Gene Stewart.

5. The Last Days of Leonard Cross by Ken Goodman

6. Listen to Your Wife (Poem) by Trico Lutkins

Subs just opened this past week, so there's still plenty of time to get them in. I know I have a few writers I know personally, like Nora (above) who are dependable, but nothing is guaranteed.

Details are below:

Voluted Tales Magazines · 247 like this

May 28 at 10:59am ·

• Voluted Tales special editions.
  
  The first special edition of Voluted Tales, entitled "The Darkness Internal" is hosted by guest editor Christopher Nadeau.
  
  Christopher is looking for the following submissions.
  
  “The Darkness Internal”- Looking for stories that are outside the norm. They can be horror, dark fantasy, science fiction or even mainstream lit as long they meet the following criteria: Tales of inner darkness. Think Kafka or Phillip K Dick or any U.S. Congressional hearing. Stories should focus on an internal struggle or occurrence. Not looking for genre staples such as vampires, werewolves, and especially not zombies. More interested in tales of torment and struggle as defined by the classic “Man Versus Himself” approach to writing. Still, if you can find a fresh and exciting way to tell the story following the criteria and using those fabled beings, knock us out!
  
  The Darkness Internal special issue will be published in roughly two to three months, so get those keyboards burning and send Christopher a small piece of your souls!
  Submissions by email to christophernadeau@volutedtales.com

On Writing Opinions and the killing of Children(?)

Being a writer in the age of information overload is an interesting thing. People feel comfortable saying or writing whatever they want to us, partially I think because writing is no longer viewed as something that requires actual skill and training. Since anyone can do it online, what's so dad-gum special about it? I am reminded of the time Roger Ebert endured horrible insults regarding his cancer because he dared to write an article decrying the "Jackass" phenomenon and one of its stars.

For about a year, I wrote a Yahoo Voices column just for the hell of it and for the extra income, which was not bad, actually. During that time, I wrote a lot of opinion pieces, some of which still garner the occasional response. And while I didn't ever receive anywhere near the level of Ebert's diatribes, I do occasionally get a response of a negative nature.

This time, it was an article I'd written on celebrities I used to like until I found out that were right wing whack jobs. You can read the article here.

In case you don't feel like reading the article, and I wouldn't blame you as it isn't one of my best, below is the comment from the reader and my response. I have since invited him to continue the conversation on my blog:

Richard D 5/21/2013

Thank you for this list. I know now to add these celebs to my cool list. You, my friend, are a left-wing, baby-killing moron who is on my loser list.

 

Christopher Nadeau 5/22/2013Delete

Richard,

Thanks for the validation. The fact that you felt compelled to comment on a two-year old article I didn't even remember writing fills my heart with joy. I'd love to see your list sometime. if I'm on it, that serves as further validation that I was correct. Thanks for commenting

 

Now, "loser" and "moron" I can handle--they might even be true--but BABY KILLER??? Where on Earth could he have drawn such a conclusion outside of his own internal voices? I'd love it if he came over and elucidated...

Surprise Praise From a Possible Relative.

It always amazes me when someone not only finds one of my more obscure stories but also finds me and lets me know what they thought of it. In this instance, the person might actually be a previously unknown relative on my dad's side, which means basically anyone with my last name. Below is the email I received out of nowhere and my response to it.

To quote Andy Sandberg quoting Nicholas Cage: "That's kind praaaaiiiiseeee."

See below:

Christopher,

 

 I recently joined GLAHW (Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers) and picked up a copy of  Ghostlight Magazine which featured your story, "The Cubicle Dwellers" which I really enjoyed.  I admit I was thrown off a bit by the asylum part at the beginning, but the character's initial acceptance and integration into the job he previously detested and the "Lovecraftian" twist in the lunchroom were very cool because I assumed that they were just going to eat him.  It reminded me of a story called, "Don't Walk" by Chan McConnell that was part of the "Still Dead" anthology by Skipp and Spector.  I was also curious as to if you were by chance related to a [Names Deleted by request]Nadeau?  They are my uncle and aunt that used to live in Michigan.

Thank you,

Mary

 

Hi, Mary!

 

Thanks so much for the kind words regarding my story. I tried to do something I don't see being done with zombie fiction, as it is not my favorite sub-genre. Nice to see I succeeded with at least one reader!
I've never actually heard of [Names Deleted by request]Nadeau, but considering how rare the last name is, I'm willing to bet I'm related to you LOL

 

-CN

 

So, who knows? A relative with similar interests might have found me through a short story about how cubicle existence is not all that indistinguishable from zombies...

 

EXCITING NEWS!

While some have accused me of screwing around on Facebook too much lately instead of slaving away at my fiction writing, I've actually been holding onto my upcoming projects so I could unveil them all at once. If 2011 was the year of Getting Published and 2012 was the year of Great Introspection, 2013 is shaping up to be the year of Great Diversity.

In May and June, I will have, at last count, six short stories published. Two of them are reissues of my first monster hunter stories which originally appeared in the "Leather, Denim & Silver" anthologies by the tragically defunct Pill Hill Press. Editor  Miles Boothe formed his own publishing company out of the shimmering embers of Pill Hill, known as Emby Press.  Also from Boothe's press comes my latest monster hunter tale, "Emergence."

In addition, the long-awaited next Best of the Horror Zine anthology is coming out, this time with all original stories including my own "Willard Junction". This is perhaps my most anticipated release.

My Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers  colleague Trico Lutkins also has a publishing company, Source Point Press which is currently getting ready to publish my super-hero homage "Sergeant Freedom's Never-ending Crusade" in the Alter Egos vol. one anthology.  As if that weren't enough, Master Lutkins has commissioned me to write a comic script adaptation of that very same story which is currently in the works.

Then there's Mark Turner's Voluted Tales Magazine. Not only did he accept my short story "Fly Wielder" for the June issue, but he also found me interesting enough to be interviewed for an upcoming volume. But that's not all...

Mark has also asked me to be a guest editor of my own special issue! Soon I shall go mad. MAD WITH POWER!!!

MUAAAA HAAAA HAAAA!!!!

Oh, and the film adaptation of "Floorboards" is still in the works...Told ya it was exciting! Shut up if you don't think so!

Quote O' the Week.

"Comic stores have become overrun with creepy Libertarian loners and chicks who think real human beings can look good dressed like wide-eyed pre-pubescent anime characters."

-Melissa Weaver, Facebook bud

Thoughts on the First Hour of "The Hobbit"

When Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” was released in December of 2012, I should have wanted to see it. I enjoyed the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy immensely, no small feat for someone who has always found Tolkien’s storybook prose mostly unreadable. Still, the ideas he conjured were wondrous and, in the hands of a gifted filmmaker hungry to do something epic, made for great trips to the movies.

Flash forward roughly a decade and the Emperor suddenly has holes in his underwear. Having spent the better part of those ten years in so-called development hell, Jackson returned to the franchise what made him and decided to once again take the reins in a two-film opus that told the story of Bilbo Baggins and his early adventures.  Then it became three films…based on a single novel that isn’t even very long. That was already a red flag for me, then that pesky Quentin Tarantino went and released a movie I actually cared about.

It wasn’t difficult to prioritize “Django Unchained” over Jackson’s film. Not only had I been looking forward to QT’s “southern” for well over a year, but I’m not exactly the biggest fan of traditional fantasy.

So, I went and saw “Django” twice, a friend and I reasoning that “The Hobbit’s” massive box office success precluded any need for us to contribute our funds to the effort. We didn’t know “Django” would also be huge. Not that huge, anyway.

Finally, I sat down at home with a DVD copy of “The Hobbit” and prepared to be at least somewhat as enchanted as I had been a decade before. And I waited…and waited…and moaned…and yawned…and laughed once…and finally at the one hour mark said, “Okay, this is where I officially check out.”

The scene in question featured some comedy relief slapstick bullshit characters with hideous appearances and goofy personalities whacking each other in the heads with spoons. Suddenly, I understood all too well.

The first three films, which actually take place sixty years later than the events in this new ones, were films about something more than a boring quest to save a city. They were about epic, sweeping change and the large and small characters swept up in that change. The humor flowed from the situations and never brought the story to a screeching halt.

By contrast, “The Hobbit” feels like a child’s movie with loud, obnoxious characters each displaying shtick before moving to the next set piece.  New characters are dull and uninteresting and characters we thought we knew are practically unrecognizable. Young Bilbo is a colossal bore with none of the emotional resonance of Frodo who, by the way, seems rather stoic and mature in his flashback sequences with older Bilbo. Gandalf seems centuries older and weaker than in the films taking place six decades later.

After a solid hour of tortoise-like pacing and nothing and no one to care about, at least the effects work should be top-notch, right? No. In fact, it’s terrible. I fail to understand how the CGI looks cheaper and less believable than in a film ten years older. The Orcs are laughably fake looking.

My first instinct was correct. Something about the trailer assured me I would be disappointed and I am. Just like the second Nolan Batman or the original Matrix, this film has insured I won’t be seeing the sequel. Hell, I couldn’t even watch the remaining two hours for fear of losing precious lifespan time! It's possible I've "outgrown" films like this, but I like to think even my waning interest in genre could have been pushed aside for another great Jackson film, which this most certainly is not.