Guest Post: Creatures of the Night That We Loved So Well

Most people that watched TV horror hosts think that they were just actors playing a part… they were so much more than that.

Two of Southern California’s horror hosts were hit with major lawsuits because of their shows, three started out their careers as live adult stage performers, two started Southern California yearly Halloween traditions that are still celebrated today, and one co-host who was totally unknown (not allowed to speak or show his face in 1976 always wearing a mask or disguise) is now a very famous singer/ musician/ comedian. One has even appeared  with Sylvester Stallone...in every ‘Rocky’ movie. These TV horror hosts created their characters and some even wrote their own scripts, entertaining and influencing an entire generation of baby-boomers.

So who are these people?

Twelve years of research and interviews led to the creation of Creatures of the Night That We Loved So Well. A true labor of love, this book fills in all of the informational gaps left hidden for so many decades. The book discloses new information about Vampira (1954-56), Dr. Diablo (1957), The Old Woman (1957-59), Jeepers (1962-63), Ghoulita (1963), Cosmosina (1963), Moona Lisa (1963-76), Jeepers’ Keeper (1963-65), The Creeper (1965-66), Sinister Seymour (1970-74), Arach and His Friend Nid (1974), Famous Morris (1975-77), Grimsley (1975-79) and of course, Elvira (1981-84). All of these great horror hosts were on local SoCal TV stations with local sponsors.

What makes them so great? Vampira, the very first horror host in television history, set the basic form that all TV horror hosts across the nation would follow. She developed the dark, twisted and humorous side of hosting a movie on television that had never been seen anywhere before. At times shocking, her television audience watched a very risqué show for 1954 television.

Ghoulita, in real life a beautiful actress and model, showed up at the Hollywood movie premiere of Cleopatra looking very beautiful from the neck down, but with Ghoulita makeup from the neck up. She was refused entrance to the premiere because she was not escorted by a male guest.

Jeepers was immortalized in a 45rpm record in 1963 with a then-unknown musician: Frank Zappa. The songs were Dear Jeepers and Letter From Jeepers.

Arach and His Friend Nid was cancelled after only four shows. Arach had made several jokes about the station managers.

Jeepers, Ghoulita and Jeepers’ Keeper influenced several people that grew up and entered the entertainment industry. Douglas McEwan grew up to be a writer, actor and comedian; and even was privileged to become close friends with and write scripts for Seymour. Mark Shepard grew up and made his own movies, including Dark Romances. Don Glut grew up and became a movie maker and writer, penning the novelization of Star Wars.

I’ve been very fortunate in the past twelve years to track down and interview a lot of these great people and get the inside story on how they became horror hosts, what they did before entering the horror genre and even get their real names. Some of these identities are revealed for the first time in Creatures of the Night That We Loved So Well.

You'll not only get to know the facts about the shows, but also the darker side of the Southern California television industry in interviews with some of the hosts and script writers. There are photos, scripts, ads and promos, lawsuit documents and head-to-head competition between hosts on rival stations. And don’t forget that without two of these hosts, the Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween Haunt and Magic Mountain’s Halloween Festival just might not exist today.

Creatures of the Night That We Loved So Well has been a labor of love for me, to honor the horror hosts of Southern California and to help keep their memory alive and well for those of us that were lucky enough to watch them...and for future generations that just don’t know how wonderful television used to be when local programming dominated the airwaves.

Jim Fetters can be reached on Facebook. He also has a Web site with more information. Buy his book here. --ed.


About the author: Jim Fetters grew up watching and recording TV horror host shows on a reel to reel tape recorder starting in 1962. Finding the tapes years later inspired him to start a Web site, which led to contact from directors, script writers, actors, and the creators of the programs he so enjoyed. He's written articles for and is webmonster for Scary Monsters Magazine. Jim now has two more books being published soon. Currently he lives in Boise, Idaho and spends his time writing and dreaming when he's not acquiring history of TV horror hosts and all things Horror / Sci-Fi.

Guest Post: Using Your Writing to Brand Yourself on the Web

Had I been writing this post just before last March it would have been shorter and would have gone along the lines of “Content is King, writers produce content, write something up and post it on the web, blah-blah, capish?”.  The reason you’re not getting the tried-and-tested formula for writers who need to ‘get’ SEO is because just last March Google went ahead and carried out the most comprehensive search algorithm update this century.

Code named Panda, this Google update drastically changed the way Google’s search engine evaluates websites and web content and it, arguably, has provided writers with the means to truly rise above the pack.

Let’s take things from the beginning though. Even a rudimentary web search will give you thousands of pages on the web all telling you that SEO is links, it is meta tags, it is on-page optimisation, it is off-page optimisation, it is keywords (and their density), it is social tagging and Press Releases. In truth SEO is all about that and has always been but its core, always, has been words. Search engines were born to index text, long before php became a dominant web language and AJAX programming made it difficult for them to follow links, and words are what they really love.

Functionality and programming on the Web evolved along several different paths, none of them particularly search-engine (or indeed word) friendly, and thus the SEO industry was born, intended to help the indexing process along (and to game it, where it could). As a result SEO became fragmented into hundreds of small, disciplinary steps and writers, usually, were left wondering whether writing could really help them succeed in this task.

The Panda update has somewhat restored the balance. What matters now is content that is unique and special: unique in that it is as original as possible and special in that it has the kind of zing that only a real writer can bring to writing. Taken at face value this is a proposition writers should leap at (and they really should) but as you might expect with search, things are not quite that simple.

Google’s emphasis on brands cuts right across the board affecting Websites small and large alike. Whether you are a one-man band or a large multi-national corporation the approach is the same and what Google wants to see in our case is you, the writer, running your Website like it’s a business your life depends upon. Given the fact that writers, frequently, complain of lack of time when it comes to marketing and use that to avoid the process, Google’s insistence might not be a bad thing.

Whatever the right or wrong of Google’s action may be it is justified by the end-result: Better results in search, less spam, more organic searches, more organic searchers and more satisfied end-users. All of this is great news for writers who have the potential to successfully use the Web and SEO their websites, provided they are now willing to do a three things consistently:

A. Write original, targeted content – This is not a case of “waking up, turning on the computer and writing”. This kind of content needs thinking time first because, as a writer, you will need to work out a strategy for it: what are you going to post, when, how often, how long will each post be and what will it be about. You will need to tackle it from the potential reader’s perspective because now you are actually looking to gain an audience which is really suited to your writing. If you are writing a novel about serial killers, for instance, your research on serial killer psychology and their obsessions is what you should be writing about (not the old, keyword-laden text of “serial-killer writer here, producing killer copy for serial-killer SEO rankings”.

B. Personalize your content – While you might be OK with knocking out 1,000 words on almost any subject under the sun, if your content now does not begin to bring out your personality as a writer, you are likely to have fewer takers than you really deserve.  You see, when it comes to quality content you are competing with thousands of brands (and their in-house teams of paid writers), tens of thousands of other writers and hundreds of thousands of bloggers. It is quite unlikely that you will consistently be able to produce impersonal, technically flawless writing that grips. Your only advantage here is to use what no other writer, blogger or brand has and that is you. Let your own quirky personality shine through in your writing and start to build the kind of following which is devoted to you and your writing.

C. Socialise your content – The best writing on the planet is worth nothing if it is not read. And writing which is read (and clicks with its audience) is usually shared. This is a big metric in Google’s current algorithm and it also happens to sit nicely with a writer’s need for followers, social interaction and the need to create a brand name for themselves. So do make sure that you produce the kind of writing which makes people react, talk about it and share it.

Do these three things, as a writer, and you will soon find that not only does your website begin to rise in its search rankings and you begin to get traffic but you also begin to create what every writer who wants to find an audience really needs: a brand.


David Amerland is the author of Amazon best seller SEO Help and other titles. --ed.

Marsburg Tour

The Marsburg Diary Blog Tour kicks off on Wednesday, people! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? IT MEANS THAT, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON THIS BLOG I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS. I suppose it's because I'm a little excitable. Or that I simply want to be obnoxious. Yeah, that's probably it.

You can buy the book for Kindle or Nook, and if enough of you become die-hard fans this baby's going to print. Yep. So talk it up, yo.

Marsburg, of course, is the presequel to Michael, which is Book II in the Airel Saga. Which makes this like Book I point V, if you catch my Latin drift there. Click the links for more delicious info.

IBE Blog Panel Notes

• Content is king (write what you know)
• A good blog provides something to its readers
• A good blog provides content that can’t be found anywhere else
• Keyword dense, NOT keyword rich, NOT keyword ridiculous
• I do freelance Web content, so I know: there’s a right way and a wrong way.
• Ideally your keywords will also be links; i.e. if I mention Aaron Patterson in my blog post, I’ll make that text link to his blog.
• My blog posts (articles) are 500 - 1000 words and have no more than about 10 links in them. I also try to mention my brand name at least once per blog. This helps with Google rankings and SEO stuff.
• Design should be clean and conservative
• The eye naturally starts top left and then sweeps right and down. Bear this in mind when you are choosing your layout.
• Be honest
• Honesty = truth, and that’s what makes a writer’s work approachable.
• Be yourself—Some ideas? For me, this means:
• Writerly stuff
• Reviews of dictionaries
• Reviews of literary fiction and occasional classics
• Editing insights
• How to be a Good Writer series
• What not to do
• Eclectic editorials
• Heavy thinking
• Random thoughts
• Posting
• Do it on a consistent schedule
• You can spread the workload around by inviting other bloggers to guest post on your blog
• Keep those pageviews up.
• Blogger has a really nice tool to monitor this
• I use Blogger because Wordpress is not fun for me and Google products rule
• The tech trifecta: Google, Apple, Amazon
• Each one has its strengths and weaknesses
• Blogger basic features walk through
• Stats
• New post
• Adding images
• Adding links

Calling All Bloggers!

C.P. White Media is looking for guest bloggers for November! That's right, folks, don't miss this opportunity to pump up your eBook, promote your epistle, eNosh your novel, fortify your fiction, pimp your parchment, and biggify your blog. Okay I promise I'll never do that again.

Anyway, what better time of year than NaNoWriMo to join in the craziness and promo your work?! Seriously! Jump in while there are slots left, people. Don't miss out. We're already booking, and it's going fast.

Submission guidelines are easy:

• 500-1000 words
• Topic must be writerly
• And of course, C.P. White Media, Limited Company reserves the right to reject submissions if they're not a good fit.

Now get tapping and apply by responding to this blog post or by messaging us on Twitter. Happy writing!

The Idaho Book Extravaganza and Other Stuff, Like Going Self Pub

I went to my eye doctor today. As I sat in the office chatting with the doc, my career as a writer came up, as did the IBE (this Friday and Saturday in Boise). I think she and her husband may attend, which would be really cool. I love making connections like that, especially when it means it might produce results. 

And I’m not talking only about money or sales. I’m talking about making a difference with my art. But I digress.

She was telling me how on a recent trip to Portland and the legendary Powell’s Books, she walked the aisles taking mental notes. Her strategy was to save money by not buying hardcopy books. She was just browsing. She eschewed Powell’s for the purchase and bought the titles she liked later, on Amazon, for her Kindle. I find that to be hilariously capitalistic; I’m almost giddy about it.

Her question: “Should I feel bad about that?”

My response: “Hell no!”

She probed further, however, and a new issue came up. She wondered if buying the Kindle version of a book hurts the author, stunting his potential earnings somehow. I told her no, in some cases an author can make more selling a Kindle version of his book for $2.99 than he can selling a paperback for $14.99, depending. And it’s the truth (though this scenario is a different story for indie bookstores, which is obvious). I told her that anyone who’s got a backlist on Amazon is a big kid, and if they signed a horrible contract with an awful publisher, they will have to deal with the consequences. We’re all grownups around here. I don’t need to tell you, dear reader, that it’s far better to pull down 70% than 15% for the same dizzying amount of time and work.

It has to do with how one goes about one’s business, really, so pay attention. For all intents and purposes, there are really only two groups of published authors on Amazon (or anywhere else, for that matter): those with traditional contracts and those who are going it alone. I don’t want to belabor the point, so I won’t. I’ll just focus on those of us with at least a little entrepreneurial passion oozing from the creases of our fat rolls.

Basically, if you’re not signed with one of the Big Six, you’re self-pubbed. Hate to break it to you. But it is so. What’s the difference, really, between a guy signed with an indie house, a guy who bought a publishing package on CreateSpace and a guy who basically did the same thing through selected vendors as an LLC? I’ll tell you. The only difference—if there is one—is going to be in the quality of the final product. Cover design. Editing. Formatting. Technology levels absolutely every other part of the playing field. No, really. Because even if you’re walking around with that gold-framed contract around your neck that says I’m a Big Six Author and I’ve Made It, you’re still going to be working your cheeks off the same as me, and for far less in the end.

Those of us flying solo have the double-edged advantage of control. We call the shots. And we live with the consequences. The point of this tirade? Simply this: that, to this day, you basically have several variations on two options.

• Cash up front vs. Potential
• Control by committee vs. Total control
• Work for peanuts vs. Work for reward
• Being crushed by huge overhead vs. Running efficient and lean
• Me waxing eloquent some more vs. Me wrapping this up

Here’s the rub. Okay? Here it is. The dirty little secret is that some of us are diligently about our business. Those of us who are, are producing Big Six quality stuff even though we’re pretty much self-pubbed—if that’s how we define entrepreneurism in the publishing industry. That’s fine with me. I couldn’t care less about what name adorns the contract, except for mine. What matters are what numbers are on it…or not on it. All my contracts cut out the middleman entirely, wherever possible. It’s part of my top secret common sense business philosophy, which is a no-brainer.

In a nutshell, it’s this: Focus most on what matters most. How are you going about your business? Are you focused on what matters, or what highfalutin name is on the letterhead? Tell ya what: pop on over to the IdahoBook Extravaganza this weekend at the Boise Center on the Grove and learn a thing or two about the biz and those who are shaping it. The future doesn’t automatically belong to the big baddie corporations (cry me a river, you Occupy sissies), at least as long as there are some go-getters down here at ground level with the rest of us. 

Putting Yourself Out There

Unless you have tried and failed at something, you might not get it. If you’ve never stood your ground even once and told people exactly what you’re thinking, you probably can’t relate to what I’m about to say. If you’ve never tried to create something truly personal, and then taken the huge risk of allowing people to see it, read it, experience it…then you can’t know how it feels.

I’m talking about putting yourself out there; in this case as a writer. It might seem difficult to write a book, especially for those who never have, and it is. But it’s even more difficult to finish it and let it go. Out into the wild. Where people are free to love it or hate it. But I gotta tell you: it’s worth the risk. It is totally worth the risk.

Aaron Patterson and I released Airel this past spring. It was the result of about a year’s worth of work. Yep. That much. And as hard as the writing and editing and revising process sometimes was, it doesn’t compare to how difficult it can be to publish the Work—and allow people into what amounts to a very private inner sanctum: the imagination of the author.

It’s funny, too. I thought over time as I published more stories that it would be easier. But I still get nervous about releasing my work, whether it’s Airel or one of my upcoming digital short stories, Strongbox. As I read through the comments and look at the reviews that are coming in for Airel, I’m actually stunned. It’s crazy. And I have to take this moment to thank you, the fans, for everything: buying my writing, leaving awesomely honest reviews on Amazon, and most importantly lending me the support I need to continue writing. I could not do this without my admittedly modest (so far) collection of fans, so thank you.

There’s a lot more stuff in the works, releasing later this year or early next year. Want a little breakdown? Here’s what’s coming soon:

Digital Short Stories:

Strongbox: Thea lives in the strongbox. Inside it is safe and warm, and the door stays shut and locked. The Things from Outside terrify her, and she is glad for the safety and security that the strongbox provides. But one day she dreams, and the dream is so good that she swims down deeper into it, toward the boy in the dream. When she is awakened suddenly, she finds the door of the strongbox open. And then she is pushed outside. Alone. With nothing. It is dark, and there are sounds. And something is coming for her.

Yes, Dear: A man and woman arrive finally at the country house after journeying all day from London. She tells him to get the kettle on and stoke the fire; it’s cold and the snow is deep. She’s accustomed to bossing him. She’s used to his response to everything: “Yes, Dear.” But what destiny has pent up comes swiftly, without warning…and the works of a life produce consequence.

Novels:

K [phantasmagoria] part one: How far is too far? If a man is pushed past breaking and all bets are off, what are the rules then? K is a man severely damaged by life, by circumstance, by a past he can’t remember and probably by the meds his government-mandated psychiatrist has him on. He struggles violently, trying to make sense of his bipolar hatred for God, for people, for all the stupid assumptions, for himself. Is he going crazy? He sees the most horrific visions, a phantasmagoria that is slowly wrecking him. Day and night. And it can only be explained by the idea of precognition…until even science fails…and whatever barrier there is between this world and the next is destroyed by the unexplainable. This is a chilling story packed with lies. Some of them may turn out to be true, but which?

Michael: (with Aaron Patterson) Get ready for part two of the Airel Saga. Michael tells the story of Airel’s crush, Michael: a young man with strange connections indeed, and a lot of questions to answer…and many more things to answer for. Coming soon from StoneHouse Ink.

Non-fiction:

American Failure: a proper perspective: (Second Edition) Is there something we can learn from failure? I make the case for failure as a beginning rather than an end in this mildly autobiographical moral treatise. Filled with personal stories and my own unique perspectives, plus a running Andy Rooney-esque commentary on various bits of American culture, it’s a unique look at an essential part of life, and a nation struggling to find its identity and a way forward. Coming in 2012.