Tuesday, May 12, 2015

BOOK TRAILER: HASHTAG by Eryk Pruitt

I know, I know...
I'm supposed to be posting like a Top Ten List or something on this site, right? Sorry man, but things have been a little hectic. I've been running around trying to finish up the last bits for our upcoming short film "The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa" and attending screenings of our short films "Disengaged" and "Liyana, On Command." There's been readings for DIRTBAGS and, oh... that's right: HASHTAG is on its way as well.

To celebrate the release of HASHTAG, we're throwing a Geeky Writers party  and, if you've never been, you have to check it out. It usually involves a lot of booze and a bit of ranting and raving. We're joined by the writers Todd Keisling, Tony Rapino, and Mercedes Yardley, so it's a bang-up good time. Usually, free things are given away because, you know, people like to be bribed.

AND, if you are one of the people who subscribe to this website... guess what:

Your poor eyeballs will be the first to officially watch this book trailer for HASHTAG.




The video was shot and edited by the ever-impressive film wizard Nick KarnerHanna Brown stars as Sweet Melinda Kendall and Michael Howard is Randy, the wine salesman. If this scene smacks a bit familiar, it's because it's featured in the short story "Rather A Nice Finish," which was published in Pantheon Magazine waaaay back in 2012. Actually, Sweet Melinda has been a recurring character of mine for some time now, with appearances in stories by Severest Inks, and an unpublished number "The Return of the Mississippi Hot Mess" in SWILL magazine. I'm proud to finally give her a home in HASHTAG, and I hope you buy it, read it, and enjoy it.

The music was provided by the smoothest bluesman this side of the Delta, Mr. Mel Melton of the Wicked Mojos. Not only am I a big fan of all his music, I'm also a big fan of his gumbo. Trust me, if you ever have a chance to eat his Southern and Cajun cooking... get on it. I can't thank him enough for letting us use "Wicked," the opening song off his Mojo Dream album. It's a mood-setter and one I've often used to get me ready to write some swampy Southern fiction.

And of course this could not have been done without Lana Pierce, Tracey Coppedge, and Meredith Sause. No matter what I find myself getting into, they are always there to help me through it and this is no exception. Lana whipped up vittles for everyone on set while Tracey did makeup and Meredith ran sound.

Special thanks to Piper Kessler who let us borrow sound equipment, and taught us how to use it. Thank you Ismail Abdelkhalek for letting us raid your arsenal and lending the hazer. And thank you to Bob Walters of Local Film Talk for the strong constructive criticism and suggestions.

And thank everyone for watching the trailer and hopefully reading the book!!!

Please let me know what you think about the trailer in the comments below.

Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey.  His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards at film festivals across the US.  His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, to name a few.  In 2015, he's been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and is a finalist for the Derringer Award. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014, and Hashtag will be published in May, 2015. A full list of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com.

Friday, February 13, 2015

The new LEAD BELLY: SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS COLLECTION Box Set

I can't imagine life without the iPod.

I listen to music across a variety of genres. I love the opportunity to summon a song from a wide spectrum of tone, mood, and spirit. To have that itch scratched at a moment's notice.

But imagine all that within one human being. A single, solitary man who absorbed music, tradition, and verse from not just old school blues halls or medicine shows, but chain gangs, cotton fields, gospel houses, sukey jumps, New York City concert halls, folk music circles, and jook joints, to name a few. To have captured those spirits and preserved them in amber, untouched by the influence of radio.  And to be able to pick up a twelve-string guitar and call upon music traditions stretching back into forever.

That's Lead Belly. You can buy all the Lead Belly albums you want and still probably never hear all his repertoire. Also, you could start writing today and ten years later, still never cover every artist influenced by Lead Belly, whether they know it or not.

However, a good start would be the new Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection box set
While it is a great starting point for folks who are new to Lead Belly, a lifelong fan like myself who perhaps already has a significant collection of Lead Belly music would probably ask if there's a good reason to drop a chunk of change of this box set.

I would tell them no, there isn't one good reason.

There are ten.

TOP TEN REASONS TO DROP A CHUNK OF CHANGE ON THE

10. THE PHOTOGRAPHS
It doesn't matter if your coffee table is mahogany wood or an upturned cardboard box, the 140-page large format book will look super great atop it. Girls will want to hang out and flip through the pages and guys will tell you how cool you are for having it. The last generation of music lovers probably got their exposure to Lead Belly through Kurt Cobain's mind blowing performance of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" on MTV: Unplugged. Can you imagine being the guy to turn on the following generations? These slick photographs should do the trick.

9. THE ESSAYS
I can nerd out on some liner notes, man. The best ever liner notes came off the Dylan album, Bringing It All Back Home. I really love getting four-disc themed box sets that cover entire sub-genres like rockabilly, western swing, and Detroit blues (all of which are in Lead Belly's wheelhouse). One of the best parts of the collections are the liner notes. Glossy booklets written by scholars who also like to nerd out. The book has two of such essays. One by Robert Santelli, the Executive Director of the Grammy Museum, and another by Grammy-winning Smithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place. The Place essay is very in-depth and compelling and well worth multiple readings. Especially enlightening is the piece "Why He Sang Certain Songs" by his niece Tiny Robinson. I'm this close to tearing that out of my book so I can hang it on my wall.

8. THEY WNYC FOLK SONGS OF AMERICA RADIO SHOWS
This is where it's at. Lead Belly sits in on two radio shows featuring his music. Lead Belly spent his later years in New York City in the nascent stages of the folk scene. He enjoyed a fine bit of notoriety and appeared on a couple radio programs. These sets on WNYC run six and seven songs, and the second one features the Oleander Quartet. This is a treat, man. You can't find that on the internet (yet).

7. LEAD BELLY NARRATION
I'm a sucker for Lead Belly's narration between songs. The dude's like a walking history book. Not only did he save entire traditions in music from history's recycle bin, but nobody explains East Texas life better than Lead Belly. Often, he explains his inspiration for the song, or the source material. In "Rock Island Line," he explains the song's refrain. His version of "Boll Weevil" is a new one, according to the engineer, and it tells the story of one of the South's biggest scourges from the point of view of a man who picked his share of

Thursday, January 1, 2015

2015: The Best is Yet to Come

All things considered, 2014 did not suck.

For one, I accomplished a major goal in life when my debut novel DIRTBAGS was published by Immortal Ink in April. For as long as I could remember, I'd wanted to write a book. I'd gotten over thirty short fiction pieces published, and not to mention the recent work in film, but for the first time, I actually felt like a for-real writer. The best part is, the reviews were great. DIRTBAGS stayed in the Top 100 Rated crime books on Amazon for quite a while. It sold handsomely. There were several online reviews that said very nice things. Overall, I was happy with the experience.

I also organized and took part in two successful events in my community. In June, we held the first-ever NOIR AT THE BAR over at Mike's place at 106 Main. We got top fiction talent when Steve Weddle, Phillip Thompson, Chad Rohrbacher, Charles Dodd White, Grant Jerkins and Peter Farris came out to read and sign books. A few of us got wasted back at my place and... well, let's save that story for another day. Also, we hosted a NIGHT OF LOCAL HORROR at Motorco, screening two films I wrote along with short horror by local auteurs Christine Parker, Christopher G. Moore, Roger Paris, Alan Watkins, Jaysen Buterin, Jeffrey Moore, Dean Garris and Todd Tinkham. The event was emceed by The Lowdown Show, filmed by Local Film Talk and lots of people came out to see what we're up to.

Speaking of film, I directed two of them. That's right. LIYANA, ON COMMAND was filmed in July and snagged a "Best Actor" award for Meredith Sause when it premiered at the Carrboro Film Festival. We also filmed THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA in August, but more on that for 2015... Also DISENGAGED, (director: Christopher G. Moore) a horror short based on my story "A Way Yet to Go" has been winning awards at festivals across the country.

Two Pushcart Prize nominations for short fiction. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I've gotten a few pieces published here and there, but most notably my story "Houston" in Thuglit #10, "The Jack Off" over in Pulp Modern #8, and a turn in both Shotgun Honey and Out of the Gutter. I even got translated into German, for fuck's sake. Take a look on my website for the full line-up, as well as links. 

Overall, there is a huge list of people who made 2014 hum for me, but I could not have done a lick of good all year if it weren't for the following people: Lana Pierce, Nick Karner, Tracey Coppedge, Meredith Sause, Jeffrey Moore, Alex Maness, Piper Kessler, Monique Velasquez, Rudy Kraul, Jedidiah Ayres, Mike Bourquin, Raia Mihaylova, Todd Keisling, Zachary Walters, Mike Rollin, and Natalie Pruitt. This list could go on and on, but these folks especially moved heaven and earth for me in 2014. I hope I one day can repay them.

BUT LOOKING FORWARD:

2015 is lined up to rock.

My second novel is being published on May 26th. It's called HASHTAG and it's a humdinger. At present, it weighs in at 100,000 words and follows three people's descent into trouble. Get your shitting britches on, because hopefully this will separate the fat from the cream...

My director's debut, the short film LIYANA, ON COMMAND has been entered into eighteen film festivals so far. Wish us luck. The big project, THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA, based on my Pushcart Prize nominated short story in Zymbol, is currently in post-production and my goal is to have it done before the summer. I'm told it's doable. Again, wish us luck. And I'm most excited about KEEPSAKE, the Southern short film I wrote for Meredith Sause. It was one of the most rewarding film experiences I've ever had, and that translates well on screen. You'll see.

Valentine's Day will have my short fiction piece "Sixteenths" up at YELLOW MAMA. I have a long list of short fiction I hope will be submitted and published this year. Also, this is the year I start shopping my short fiction collection titled LUFKIN. Be on the lookout for news on that.

I've got a WIP entering its last phases. I've got an idea for an epic project I'd like to undertake. I have a month full of meetings to kick off the New Year. I'm wanting to do another NOIR AT THE BAR, god willing.

Like I said, get your shittin britches ready...

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR in FILM

I like Southern stuff.
Those of y'all who've been hanging around the Rectory for a while have heard me talking about my favorite hybrid genre - Southern Gothic Noir - for some time now. Give this kid some Flannery O'Connor or some William Gay or some Clayton Lindemuth or Daniel Woodrell and he could hole up for an entire winter, were it not for the fact that Southerners don't really get winters. 
I wrote my own book DIRTBAGS in the spirit of what I call "Southern Gothic Noir," which blends elements of noir with those of Southern Gothic. Dirty people doing dirty things in the Dirty South. 
Well, this summer I decided to up my game a little. I took on a little project called "The HooDoo of Sweet Mama Rosa," a short film based on a short story I had published in ZYMBOL #3 (Currently SOLD OUT). "HooDoo" recruits the elements of Southern Gothic Noir and employs them, same as they would in a book. In our film, Old Poke Billet is a black man who has been mowing yards in a small Southern community for as long as anyone can remember, but little George Sinclair, a 13 yr old white boy, will go to unusual lengths to try and squeeze in on his action. The film stars JW Smith, Rita Gonzalez, Tracey Coppedge, Meredith Sause, Jeffrey Moore and Logan Harrison and is filmed in the Southern town of Durham, North Carolina. It's Southern Gothic Noir through and through.
But I am hardly the first person to do this. Check it out.

TOP TEN SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILMS

10. GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000, directed by David Gordon Green)


This film takes place in an impoverished North Carolina town. It's gritty and surreal and extremely tragic. What's really tragic is the dude that directed this stunning flick went on to direct Pineapple Express, but I guess we're all just squirrels trying to get a nut in the end. Casting Nick Cage for the title character in Joe probably wasn't a great move, either, but he did a damn good job in George Washington so for that I commend him. 




9. ANGEL HEART (1987, directed by Alan Parker)


Alan Parker made some pretty good flicks, from Midnight Express to Pink Floyd's The Wall and even another great Southern flick, Mississippi Burning, but this hot, steamy flick will forever be remembered as what got Lisa Bonet kicked off The Cosby Show. This movie is Bad Ass. A detective story about a guy who descends into the depths of Hell... er, New Orleans to find the missing Harry Angel and... well, too many spoiler alerts to continue. 



8. SLING BLADE (1996, dir. by Billy Bob Thornton)


It's a strong testament to this film that no human on Earth can watch it all the way through without talking like Billy Bob for the next several hours. The film that gave way to "French Fried Potaters" and "Not Funny Ha-Ha, but Funny Queer" is also well known for its expert use of Southern accents without being farcical. Little Lucas Black kept that accent his entire career and is still working today, bless his heart.





7. THE KILLER INSIDE ME (2010, dir. by Michael Winterbottom)

I've waxed long and hard about how much I love this adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel, especially in this guest post over at Hardboiled Wonderland. This gritty, sociopathic film is steeped heavy in Southern noir tradition. And the darkness and insanity in Lou Ford's head offer a grim hand toward the "grotesque" elements of Southern Gothic. Most folks don't like the movie, but I ain't most folks. 
And neither are you...





6. BLACK SNAKE MOAN (2006, dir. by Craig Brewer)


This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hot, gritty, sweaty, sexy... The music is amazing. Samuel L. Jackson actually learned to play guitar on Highway 61 by Northern Mississippi bluesmen... The title is taken from an old Lemon Jefferson song. The mix of race and religion and sex is a lethal recipe for something dangerous and this fuse gets lit at the very beginning of the movie. 





5. THE APOSTLE (1997, dir. by Robert Duvall)

In one of the stellar acting performances of all time, Robert Duvall is a fucking dynamo as exiled Pentecostal preacher Sonny aka The Prophet E.F. If this flick comes on, I can't look away until well into the ending credits, as this movie refuses to quit. Catch an early performance by Southern stalwart Walton Goggans, and even an excellent turn from former Angel Farrah Fawcett, but don't kid yourself, this movie is all about Robert Duvall.





4. MUD (2012, directed by Jeff Nichols)

I'm calling it now: Go see everything by Jeff Nichols. After the brilliant Take Shelter and then the soon to be classic Mud, this guy is turning out to be my kind of storyteller. Mud is almost color-by-numbers Southern Gothic, and the Mud and Sam Shepard character are straight-up noir. This movie came at the beginning of the "McConassaince," before True Detective and Dallas Buyer's Club, so it's awesome to see him slumming on an indie film again. And bringing it.




3. FRAILTY (2001, dir. by Bill Paxton)


Wha...What? Two movies in a row starring Matthew McConaughey? What did you expect? This film here is one of my all-time favorites. It's got what you need: grotesques, religion, mystical realism... Questioning right and wrong. Dude, if you've never seen FRAILTY, get thee to a Redbox immediately. I don't want to say anything for risk of spoiler alert.





2. WINTER'S BONE (2010, dir by Debra Granik)

This one has everything you need. Early Jennifer Lawrence, a mess of cast members from Deadwood, and a script based on one of Daniel Woodrell's best novels. The entire film oozes despair and the backstory of the Dolly-Jessup feud could potentially fuel fifteen feature films. John Hawkes plays one of the most terrifying Southern characters and I can't say enough about how kickass this film is.






1. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012, dir by Benh Zeitlin)


A stunning film and story. I won't ruin it with my words. Go see it and prepare to be blown away.











Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, NC with his wife Lana and cat Busey.  His short film FOODIE won several awards at film festivals across the US.  His fiction appears in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, Swill, and Pantheon Magazine, to name a few.  In 2013, he was a finalist for Best Short Fiction in Short Story America. His novel Dirtbags was published in April 2014 and is available in both print and e-formats. A full list of credits can be found at erykpruitt.com. SUPPORT HIS LATEST SOUTHERN GOTHIC NOIR FILM "THE HOODOO OF SWEET MAMA ROSA" BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN: 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Music for your Piehole - Detroit Rock City

Look, it ain't no secret: I got no love for New York City. One thing that really gets my goat is that anywhere you are in America, some transplanted New Yorker (or worse, someone who spent a weekend in New York and now regards themselves more cosmopolitan than need be) will go all up in arms anytime you try and perform one of the most basic American tasks, which is ordering a pizza.

One of my favorites: "Oh, your from Texas so you don't know what good pizza is."

Want to watch a throwdown? Get some asshole talking New York pizza, then throw someone from Chicago into the mix. You know, "The Windy City" did not get its moniker because of the Lake Michigan breeze, but rather because it's a metropolis chock full of braggarts.

Look man, I just like pizza. I like to put it into my mouth and chew it up and swallow it. Why everytime folks try to eat something it has to be turned into some foodie food blog is beyond me. It makes me wonder if there's something in the water up in New York City that turns everyone into a douchebag so they can ruin grinders or knishes or Reuben sandwiches for the rest of the country. But it's pizza goddammit so please, eat it and quit instagramming it.

But I got news for you. There's another kid on the block and he ain't so much about making noise. He's about being cooked and eaten and he knows New Yorkers and Chicagoans and food bloggers and just plain old douchenozzles will freak out at the mere mention of another type of pizza.

I'm talking about Detroit.

Detroit style pizza is some good stuff fella, and it's the revolution that's quietly taking over the country. Originally cooked in auto parts pans, the pizza is crispy and crunchy and a downright pleasure to put into your face. Best I can tell, it started at Buddy's Rendezvous in Hamtramck at 17125 Conant St. (it's still there today). Other pizzerias caught on, including Cloverleaf, Jet's and the Detroit Style Pizza Co. (to name a few).

But the reach is growing. Jet's has put a few shops around the country, including some over in Raleigh. Speaking of Raleigh, you can order Detroit style pizza off a truck at Klausie's Pizza. But the best is probably found in Louisville at a shop called Loui Loui's, where owner Mike Spurlock took and accountant-slash-mad scientist's approach by systematically studying the best Detroit style pizzas and creating his own award-winning recipe. Seriously, Loui Loui's is where it's at.

So there you have it. I could post pictures of my food, or go on and on about what it tastes like by overusing words such as chewy or cheesy or even use made up words like umami or nom nom but I won't because I am not a food blogger; I'm a for-real writer.

What I will do instead is give you some music that will rock your face off. Unless of course you are from New York City. In that case, I have nothing that will help you.

TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT DETROIT
Let's just get it out of the way. It's the one you've all heard of and folks will flip their lid if it's not somewhere on this list. So here it is. But I'm sticking to my guns re: Eminem and Kid Rock. Now, let's all join the adults at the Big Table.
I double-dog dare you to talk about Detroit and not talk about race. Can't do it. Well, maybe you can, kicking it down in the urban sidewalk beaches of Dan Gilbert-ville, under the watchful eye of the video cameras, sipping on an iced latte or pina colada and saying "Ahh, now THIS is the real Detroit." But as living conditions became increasingly intolerable in the Jim Crow South, more African-Americans migrated northward to urban centers. Where most companies employed discrimination tactics, auto companies such as Ford recruited blacks to assist with labor demands, especially during the periods of World War. Songs such as this from Fats Domino sound as if they had been commissioned by the city to encourage folks to move.
There's a lot of songs about trains with Detroit in the name. It was a coin flip between this one and "Detroit

Friday, April 11, 2014

FIVE SUREFIRE AND INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK

Hey newly published writers! Let's face it: unless you've got a crack marketing and promotions team, it's pretty damn difficult to get your new novel in front of people. Facebook can only do so much, Twitter is what it is, and what the hell is Pinterest anyway?
Ask any agent or publisher and they will really drive home the importance of the "platform." Platform is one of the most overused words in publishing right now, just behind "paranormal romance." The idea behind a platform is that, along with your work, you bring with you enough expertise and automatic sales to successfully sell your book. Like say for instance you are a well-known foodie, then you've got a great platform to sell a cookbook.
But there have to be other ways to get the attention necessary to help you sell a new book. I will give this information to you for only $235. only $65. ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!

TOP FIVE WAYS TO INCREASE VISIBILITY FOR YOUR NEW NOVEL
 
5. A Sex Scandal
Yes, in this day and age, sex still sells. And no kind of sex sells better than the forbidden kind. I mean there sometimes is no better advertisement than getting caught with your dick in something it's not supposed to be in. And even better (for some of you) if there's video proof of said event. But throughout history, there has been no better sales tactic than a good old fashioned sex scandal.
Remember that dude General Petraeus, who fought the Taliban and Al Qaeda and a bunch of other heroic shit? His book did so-so after his tours of duty, but after he got caught with saucy emails... BOOM! That book went off like an IED.
Can you imagine reading Bill Clinton's book had there been no Monica Lewinsky? I couldn't. So if you want to help increase sales and can't afford a top dollar publicist, then go get your fingers in something. But whatever you do, don't forget to get caught!
 
4. An iPhone Video of a Tragedy
Man, these days, no tragedy happens in the world without somebody capturing it on their iPhone or reasonable facsimile thereof. Think about it, if you happen along a burning school bus full of children, whip out your phone and take a picture of it. Better yet, be the ONLY person taking a picture of it. That's right, when Nightline or 20/20 or Al Jazeera show that video on an endless loop, that's your name they have to show in the corner. You can't beat that kind of publicity with a stick. And the bigger the catastrophe, the more visibility you gain from it.
So if you're not lucky enough to wander upon a tragedy, consider creating one. After all, aren't you creative to begin with?
 
3. An Insensitive Tweet or Comment
Think about it. Would you have even known there were Danish cartoonists had they not drawn pictures of the Mohammad? That dude who made the silly video on YouTube got three hundred million more hits than any silly "safe" stuff I'm ever going to produce. No one even remembers liking Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon II anymore, as his later career has totally upstaged the Mad Max days. The sad truth is that one simple insensitive tweet has got legs. It can give you the traction in todays hyperfast world that good, honest work may not be able to generate.
So try it out. There are plenty of pussies out there in the world. Find the group that's right for you to offend. Me, I like going after feminists, because there's usually something stuck up there in the first place. Something like:
"Feminism is just a bunch of silly shit a woman said and did in her past that she's ashamed of now that she's settled down and married."
Or
"Welcome to West Durham, where the women's legs are hairy and the men's aren't."
Or even
"Hey, let's all admit we only fast forward through HBO's Girls to the scenes with Allison Williams."
But that's just for me. You may find it easier to say something insensitive about all sorts of groups. Just make sure you get someone rankled enough to give you the attention you crave.
 
2. Murder Your Wife
This one is tricky. In the state of North Carolina, the wife is technically still classified as your "property," so it is considerably easier to get off the hook for murdering her. HOWEVER, you must be careful, as this is a double-edged sword.
ABC-11 is obsessed with wife-killing murder trials. If you don't believe me, tune in. There's a new one every week. When they can't find one around here, they retry one that got away with it in the past, sometimes three or four times. Lately, there's been a dearth of good wife-killers, so we're borrowing the one in South Africa, Mr. Oscar Pistorius.
But the fact remains: had ANY one of those bastards written a book, it'd be flying off the shelves right now. They wouldn't have to walk into Barnes and Noble, hat in hand, and ask ever so nicely for their book to be carried in stock, placed on the shelf. No, that thing would be on its second or third printing by now.
 
1. A Good Old Fashioned Shooting Spree
 
Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author, and filmmaker living in the woods of Durham, NC with his (still alive for now) wife, Lana and his cat Busey. His new novel DIRTBAGS was just released and he is looking for any way in the world to promote it. Perhaps you can help him. It's available in print, e-formats and hopefully in a tolerant bookstore near you.
GET THE BOOK NOW ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGZHXN2