Monthly Newsletter #1 January 2017

Hello, horror freaks! If you are reading this, then you are reading the inaugural monthly Robert Essig horror author newsletter. No, I'm not asking for your email address or anything - not yet at least. I'm going to kick off this newsletter here on my blog/website. Down the road, if demand merits, I will offer an email newsletter. You can expect to find info on new and forthcoming releases, a suggested book title that I have recently read, maybe a pic of recent thrift store book finds, and who knows what else. I'm sure it will take a few newsletters to dial in exactly how I want to format the letter. So, here you go. Enjoy!




News

The big January news is that my next novella BROTHERS IN BLOOD is scheduled to be released as an ebook from Grand Mal Press. The release date hasn't been set yet, but the novella is being edited. I will be updating as the publication date grows nearer. I'll say this: BROTHERS IN BLOOD is kind of like HG Lewis's GRUESOME TWOSOME meets Rex Miller's SLOB.



If you would like to know where the title for this novella came from, well, I was struggling to find something catchy. My working title sucked, whatever it was. At the time, I was listening to Anthrax's Persistence of Time album a lot at work. "Blood" is one of my favorite tracks off the album. I was thinking about the story one day and the chorus just seemed to pop. I had my title.



 Cool Read

Last month a I read I WILL ROT WITHOUT YOU by Danger Slater. I had heard an interview with Danger on the Bizzong! podcast, which piqued my interest. On top of that, there has been some buzz about the novel. I really didn't know what to expect since I'm not inclined to read much bizarro, but

the interview and the buzz sold me. I WILL ROT WITHOUT YOU is surreal and intense, and Danger has a way with words that is inspiring. His style is psycho poetic, gripping, and wild. There were moments when the story went so far off the rails of sanity that my interest wavered, but, like certain Richard Laymon novels, I couldn't stop reading no matter how preposterous the plot seemed. If you're into bizarro, this one is a no-brainer. If you like the weird and unusual, give it a shot.



Featured Fiction

In December my story "Hank R. Chief" was published at DarkFuse.com as Horror D'oeuvre #61. This piece of flash fiction is an intimate look at an unusual murderer fixated on a certain aspect of the kill. I mean, what can I say about a five hundred word story without giving it away? If you are a subscriber, follow the link and you can read this story, as well as "Inflatable War", which was published in 2015. If you aren't a subscriber, consider it. DarkFuse provides new fiction weekly. It's well worth the price of admission.


Thrift Store Finds

I'm big on going to thrift stores, primarily looking for books and music. It's kind of an addiction, but I'm no hoarder. I do need a larger book shelf, though. Here are a few pics of some recent finds.

 










Closing Words

So there you have it. You've survived my debut news letter. Feedback is always appreciated. I would like to hear what you think I'm doing right or wrong, what you love or hate about the newsletter. Like I said in the intro, I will be making adjustments in the coming months. This is kind of an experiment, really. I hope you tune in for the February installment. Thanks for perusing!

Books I Read in 2016

Everyone likes a list, right? Best of this, worst of that, most embarrassing this, yada yada. Here's my list of books I read in 2016. Maybe your book is on the list. I read these books in several formats. Good ol' dead tree, kindle app, even audio books (not as many of those as last year), and I didn't even come close to reading as much as I wanted to, though there were a number of books I didn't finish. Highlighted titles are links to reviews I wrote for SplatterPunk Zine.

1. Video Night by Adam Cesare
2. Sow by Tim Curran
3. Furnace by Joseph Williams
4. Ghosts in the Attic by Mark Allen Gunnels
5. Firebug by Robert Bloch
6. The Bad Game by Adam Millard
7. The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgeson
8. Some Great Magic by Fritz Lieber
9. Little Girls by Ronald Malfi
10. The Bridge by John Skipp & Craig Spector
11. Black Cat Mojo by Adam Howe
12. The Complex by Brian Keene
13. Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon R. Greene
14. Ghosts I Have Been by Gregory Peck
15. Lost Signals by Max Booth III & Lori Michelle (editors)
16. Beware by Richard Laymon
17. Night of the Long Knives by Fritz Lieber
18. Punk Rock Ghost Story by David Agranoff
19. Year's Best Hardcore Horror Vol. 1 by Randy Chandler & Cheryl Mullenax (editors)
20. Psycho 2 by Robert Bloch
21. Jedi Summer and the Magnetic Kid by John Boden
22. San Diego Horror Prefessionals Vol. 1
23. I Will Rot Without You by Danger Slater
24. Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen with Jon Wiederhorn