Monthly Newsletter #3 May 2017

Welcome back! Yes, I missed two months. I could tell you that I was churning out manuscripts left and right, that I had a busy couple of month saving the world from the grips of evil, or . . .  the truth--it slipped my mind. I would really like to post once a week at the minimum here on my blog/website, but I'm a terrible host. I find it difficult to use my writing time on anything other than fiction, but I'll work on that. In fact, I have something brewing that I hope to reveal in another couple of months.


News

I just got the cover for my brand new novella Brothers in Blood. Looks pretty cool, huh? This will be coming out very soon as an exclusive ebook from Grand Mal Press. Think HG Lewis's Gruesome Twosome meets Rex Miller's Slob. 

I finally got paid paid for a story that was published a year ago. I know Harlan Ellison would be disappointed with me were he to know--or even really give a damn--that I didn't get paid for a particular story. In fact, I didn't even make a request for the payment when it should have become clear that the publisher was slacking. Shame on me. The release of this particular anthology was lack luster, which kind of caused it to slip off of my radar, so imagine my surprise when someone took over the company and decided to pay the authors and send out contributor copies. Good on them. The real question here is, will Harlan Ellison sue me for not putting a trademark symbol next to his name?

I've been hard at work on an urban fantasy novel I started about two years ago. I have been working off and on, writing stories and other novels when my interest in this one waned. I'm nearing the final stretch and looking forward to typing THE END.


Cool Read

I've been trying to promote newer books books in the cool reads section, but I've been reading older books lately, so this week I would like to spotlight Douglas Clegg's Mischief. This is a Harrow house story that takes place back when Harrow was a dormitory, and deals with the mischief college students get into concerning secret societies and unusual intitiations. I'm a big Douglas Clegg fan, and I love the Harrow books. He finds unique ways to tell stories that revolve around that creepy mansion and this was one of the most unique I have read in the series, adding a layer of history and intrigue to a fictional building that has more to offer than your standard ghost story.


Featured Fiction 

This month I am going to highlight a story I co-wrote with Jack Bantry called "A Lesson in Renegade Filmmaking" that was published in Dark Moon Digest #25. This one is for the horror movie fans out there. It's a coming of age story about a kid in the 80s who befriends the local video store owner. As their relationship cements over talk of horror movies and strange lessons regarding the methods in which the movies are made, things get a little strange between the two. It's always fun writing with Jack, and I believe we come up with some killer stories. This is a great jumping off point to our work. Hopefully we'll have some good news soon about a novella we're shopping around.

Thrift Store/Used Book Store Finds

I have found a lot of good books over the past month and a half, so I am only showcasing a few of them. The Laymon books are a particularly good find, both acquired from a used book store I recently discovered. It is becoming more rare to find decent records at thrift stores since the popularity in vinyl has boomed in recent years, so I was pleased to find some good stuff.

Closing Words

Well, this is the third time I've written these closing words. The draft for this newsletter has been hanging around all through April. As I said in the opening words, there is something brewing that will force me to be a bit more punctual concerning my newsletter, but I don't want to spill the beans just yet.

And finally, congrats to all who recently won Bram Stoker awards!