Parisian Phoenix Publishing

By William D. Prystauk

Bill has contributed stories to two Parisian Phoenix anthologies: a personal experience piece in Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money and some erotica for our 2023 BDSM-themed Juicy Bits.

Regardless of your reading preferences, one of these books should appeal to you.

Juicy Bits aims to promote conversations about consent and what people want from sex. The book is organized “from mild to wild” with themes clearly listed at the start of each story. Our hope is to allow people to explore their fantasies in a safe setting or have a discussion with their partners about what they might want to try.

Buy Juicy

Not an Able-Bodied White Man with Money is our 2022 diverse voices anthology that retails at $12.99. The authors in this book were hand-selected for their viewpoints, exploring issues from domestic violence to body image, gender and sexuality to disability. We intentionally made the price low to start a conversation.

Buy our diverse voices book

Top 5 Horror Films Based on Novels

For the horror films that follow, I have also read the original source material. This isn’t a “worst to best” countdown since I love them all, so we’ll move along in chronological order.

The Haunting (1963)

I love Robert Wise’s film because it complements Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” (1959) in beautiful ways. Julie Harris captures Eleanor Lance’s tragically damaged mind and Jackson’s unsettling atmosphere seeps into every frame like a cold breath. Eleanor’s relationship with Theodora is often a point of discussion as well as what really lead to Eleanor’s sickly mother’s death. Wise handled both mysteries well and added to the existing queries to keep the audience guessing. Book and film are a horror match made in Hell.

The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick brought the Overlook to life based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel. The problem is that he deviated from the book to the point where King disliked the film, driving him to write a more “book accurate” version for television in 1997. But Kubrick’s film resonates and has become iconic due to atmosphere and music and performances, and for a screaming mother who never quits no matter how scared out of her mind she’s become. Sad to say but King’s book bored me to tears and I threw it at the wall at one point. Score one for the cinematic version.

Lifeforce (1985)

The expensive sci-fi-horror that buried Cannon Films stars the great Steve Railsback as he hunts down a naked vampire queen in the UK. Since I loved the wild film, which horror fans seem to appreciate more each year, I couldn’t wait to indulge in the source material: Colin Wilson’s novel, “The Space Vampires,” which hit bookstands in 1976. Unfortunately, where the film is full of action and strangeness and a “ticking clock” storyline, the book chock full of talking heads.

Lair of the White Worm (1988)

In 1911, Bram Stoker’s book of the same name hit bookshelves. A year later, Stoker was dead. One can only wonder what he’d think of Ken Russell’s horror-comedy adaptation of his ho-hum novel. Maybe Russell didn’t like it either, so he went nuts with the material. When I first saw the film, I questioned how much drugs the screenwriter/director had been doing when putting this madness together. Enjoy a wild ride with a young Hugh Grant and a pre-Doctor Who Peter Capaldi.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Anne Rice had much success with her 1976 novel but going from book to screen proved difficult — mostly because of Rice and her demands. For her, it was Rutger Hauer or nothing in the role of Lestat, so the film didn’t happen. Thankfully, it did come to life twenty years later. Rice didn’t like Tom Cruise in the role of her favorite vamp creation but buckled when seeing his performance. Rice handled the screenplay well and brought her first and best book to life on screen in glorious ways. Sadly, River Phoenix was to play Malloy and Brandon Lee was to be Louis. Both died before filming began.

Notes:

John Carpenter’s incredibly quote-filled and hopeless sci-fi-horror, The Thing (1982) is an interpretation of John W. Campbell’s novella “Who Goes There?” (1938). Watch the film, as well as 1951’s The Thing From Another World, and then read the short story to determine which is the better version.

Dracula didn’t make the list simply because over 100 films feature the Count. As many who have read the book know, being faithful to Bram Stoker’s novel has been a challenge. But for many critics, the most accurate page-to-screen adaptation is 1977’s Count Dracula, a television movie from the BBC, which may put one to sleep.