I believe one of my favorite events of 2017 was the Joe Hill panel for the WV Book Festival at the Charleston Civic Center (Oct 2017). He is a very witty man and I am VERY sad that they sold out of books prior to the talk. Had I known that would happen I would have brought one of my own. It was the first time I attended this festival and other events tend to only allow you an autograph on something you purchased there. I would have liked to had actual interaction with him.
There are two people I would love to be pen pals with. Joe is one of the two. By pen pals I mean – actually handwritten letters once per quarter. I follow him on Twitter and his books are amazingly well written. He would be my friend with darker humor who is up to date on world events. (The other person is Miriam Margolyes who would be my friend with inappropriate humor who is up to date on world events.) If the bloggerverse or twitterverse could arrange that for me, I would appreciate it greatly.
His introduction to the stage:
At the beginning of the show, he asked that, when it came time for autographs, mobility challenged guests be allowed in line first. That is awesome – I like him already.
He talked about his language and what to expect from this talk. He writes adult literature so, he warned, some of his topics and word choices would be of an adult nature. He spoke of reading at another book festival during which he screamed “Go fuck James Taylor!” …”Six kids’ heads popped up in the audience. Just like mushrooms after the rain.” So, please realize that his readings are R rated.
He has a cloud girlfriend. She’s fairly transparent. ((ha!))
Reading from Strange Weather (Polaroid camera that can steal his memory)…. Where would horror stories be without a dark and stormy night?
He goes through a series of “what you can ask me” questions that includes “advice on relationships” and then tells a story about how at one panel, after giving that particular instruction, a young man of about 19 years stood up and asked him “I am recently dating a girl and she could be the one. What advice can you give me for this relationship.” His answer: “Don’t send her dick pics.” I DIE! Laughing till my sides are sore while he explains that no woman wants one of those at 6 days into the relationship, 6 months or 6 years. Just don’t do it. He is a very witty speaker, with a somewhat dry tone. Loved listening to him from beginning to end!!
What would you do if you bit into a burrito and it screamed?
A1: OMG! Paste it together, give it a name!
A2: Damage is already done. Only thing to do is make this fucking thing shut up!
Drive thru – Creepshow makeup, dad yelling “shut up”, drive through people mean mug dad with the “bad dad” look.
Other notes during his talk:
- Big breakthrough came when writing for Spiderman. Agent did not know about his dad (Stephen King, if you must ask). They figured it out because…..”my face”.
- 14 audio books per year.
- Told a story of how he would read books for his dad into a recorder. Man oh man, a fortune could be made on that now.
- Loves British Invasion music. Exile of Main St vs Sgt Pepper
- Reading right now: doesn’t read horror to avoid influence. Enjoys historical fiction.
- There’s nothing funny about a clown at midnight. (HA HA HA HA HA HA)
- Inspirations: Gaiman, Alan Moore (Swamp Thing – this endears me to him a little more), Jamie Delano
- “Anything you want to say about conspiracy theories?” A: “Yesterday at Joseph Bath, a random guy asked Do you think Nessie…. rephrase that….”
Reading his own words was my favorite part. I like to write, I know what I sound like in my head when writing…but to have the world hear you and your mannerisms come out reading your own piece – it gives a different perspective.
Thoughts and Ponderances 