Exciting News!

I have a lot of exciting news to share, so let's dig right in. First off, my novel Stronger Than Hate was just released by Death's Head Press.

This is a book about Francine Mosely, retired high school teacher, who slips into a sinkhole in her backyard. Fearing that no one saw her and no one can hear her pleas for help, she is relieved when she sees her neighbor Gregory Palmer - ex-student who wasn't the most popular kid in school - has come to her rescue.

Only when Gregory comes back he doesn't bring the police or maybe the fire department to rescue poor Mrs. Mosley. He brings two of the most rotten, sadistic individuals she ever had the displeasure of teaching. She watched the deal from withing the pit, and now she is at the mercy of deviants.

Can Francine stick it out as they torment her? Will help arrive in time? Is she...Stronger Than Hate?

Available HERE in the US, and HERE in the UK, as well as Amazon outlets across the world.


Another big announcement is my novel Mojave Mud Caves that was published by Thunderstorm Books, signed and limited to 40 hardcovers and 60 paperbacks. I'm pleased to announce that the hardcover SOLD OUT in under twenty-four hours!

This is my first signed/limited edition and I am overwhelmed and humbled by the response and support. For those of you who snagged one of those hardcovers, you rock! They will be shipping soon. There are still some paperbacks left. You can get them directly from Thunderstorm Books HERE.


In other news, I've been invited to a few anthologies that are really cool. One is a King Diamond tribute anthology that will be published by Death's Head Press next year. I have a pretty solid idea that I've started working on. Should be a lot of fun. Another invite has me pretty damn excited as well, but I cannot say anything about it. Let's just say the writers attached to it are BIG. I also have two short stories coming out as a part of a series a certain publisher does that, again, I cannot reveal.

I'm hard at work reading submissions for my Blood Bound Books anthology Chew on This! Nothing new to report here, as much as I'd like to tell everyone about certain stories that have me very excited about this project. Then there are the stories that should be used as cautionary examples of what not to do while submitting to a publisher...

That's all for now. Remember to support your favorite writers (or even the OK ones) by leaving them reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and, of course, by buying their books. I will do the same.

In my attempt as resurrecting this blog I am going to review some, if not all, of the books I read. Nothing too in depth, because I'm no critic. Just my thoughts. I hope to have some thoughts on Charles L. Grant's The Orchard up soon. Currently I'm reading The Nest by Gregory A. Douglas and The Store by Bentley Little (struggling a bit with this one...but I'll get into that when I share my thoughts). I'll be reading Out Behind the Barn by John Boden and Chad Lutzke soon.

Take care, horror fiends!

Stronger Than Hate Pre-Order SALE

My forthcoming novel from Death's Head Press, Stronger Than Hate, is available for pre-order at the super low price of .99 cents! The book has a release date of September 1st, and that's when the price will go up.

When retired high school teacher Francine Mosely finds herself in a dire predicament at the bottom of a sinkhole that opens up in her back yard, she's delighted to see that her neighbor, ex-student Gregory Palmer, happens to see her and reaches out to help, only when he returns he brings a couple of other ex-students whom Francine remembers vividly.

She watches the deal play out above. They look down upon her, sneering and taunting.

They never liked her.

In fact, they hate her.
 

Get your per-order of Stronger Than Hate HERE for just .99 cents, but only for a few more days!

Writing in Tandem

So I've been collaborating with Jack Bantry for some years now. It all started with a story I submitted to him for SplatterpunkZine. He liked the story but thought it needed something, asked if he could tinker with it and if I liked the outcome we could publish it as a collaboration. Now, I didn't know Bantry outside of a fellow writer who was putting out a cool DIY zine. Had that particular story been one of my recent ones I might have declined, but the story in question, it was called "In the House of Wicking" at the time, had been with me for a very long time, in many different forms. It started as a screenplay when I was in high school, then turned into a short story, and then was completely rewritten two or three times.

I liked the story idea, obviously, but I had to admit that something was indeed wrong. All my efforts with the damn thing were getting me nowhere. I told him to go for it, and what he sent back pretty much blew me away. Bantry had gone through and rearranged some things, added stuff here and there, and gave an emotional depth to a villainous character that was desperately needed. We were off to the races.

Since then we've sold a few short stories in such notable places as Dark Moon Digest and Year's Best Hardcore Horror Vol. 1. Most recently we've published our novella Ain't Worth a Shit with Sinister Grin Press, and Insatiable with Grand Mal Press. There's more to come, including a project with Death's Head Press.

Writing with another author is not something that comes easy for me in the sense that writing is such a solitary act. When Bantry and I started collaborating I was a staunch pantser. I don't think I could have written a book with an outliner, so it was a good pairing since Bantry too is an pantser. These days I write a bullet point outline to streamline my work and utilize my time better. We did this sort of thing toward the end of Insatiable because we found ourselves lagging a bit. I would be interested in collaborating with another author, but I've never reached out to anyone. Part of me fears that the experience might not be as enjoyable as working with Jack. We mesh well together. It takes some time to get a longer story finished, but I appreciate that we don't clash and have a mutual understanding of our process.

 The hard part about collaborating is that I become immersed in other projects when the collaborative story comes back to me, and I sometimes struggle to get back into it. That can be a challenge, especially when we get well into the story. It's not like I'm going to go back and reread the entire thing each time I'm up and need to get a chapter down. The good thing is that I can usually go back a couple of chapters and become reignited. It's a very different process from writing my own story, but ultimately rewarding, particularly when the book comes out. So, now that we have two novellas out and the reviews have been good, I hope you, whoever you are, give our work a chance. And if you do, please consider leaving a review.

I'm BACK!!!!

I've been gone for a while and now I'm back. No, I haven't been away from the writing community, but I did take quite a break from this blog. It's been months. Mostly I stepped away because I started a Patreon page. I quickly realized that Patreon is not for me. I don't have the time or know-how to promote a Patreon page and frankly there was zero interest. No big deal, really. Quite honestly with all of the writing projects I have going on right now I would have struggled to keep up with the work load.

So what have I been up to? A lot. I have a lot of announcements coming up. What can I talk about? This:

I sold a book to up-and-coming publisher Death's Head Press. What happens when sadistic punks see their former school teacher slip into a sinkhole? Find out in STRONGER THAN HATE. Unleashing 2019!

I also sold a short story to Death's Head called "Little Black Book Turns Red" that will be included in their Dig Two Graves Vol. 1 anthology. And there's something else in the works with DHP that hasn't been announced just yet.

What else? Well, I recently signed a contract for a project that I am super exited about. I'm not at liberty to make an announcement, but things are flowing smoothly. It's tough not even giving a hint, but my lips are sealed ... in fact I'm contractually bound to silence until my publisher gives me the go-ahead. Okay, my publisher has given me the go-ahead, but you're going to have to wait to hear that announcement on my forthcoming interview this Monday on Necrocasticon.

Oh, I have a new book out co-authored with Jack Bantry. It's called Ain't Worth a Shit, published by Sinister Grin Press.

Issy has become used to her new life in the UK, away from poverty in her native land. New beginnings weren’t without struggle, and sometimes the past comes back when you least expect it.

Mark dealt a little weed on the side, just enough to get him a few bucks and provide some for personal use. No big deal. Not until he makes a little mistake. Sometimes even the smallest error can turn into a dire situation.

There’s another world under the veneer of city streets in London’s Leicester Square, streets people walk every day without suspicion. Issy and Matt find out about this world in the worst ways imaginable, and they must fight for their lives to get out.
In this underworld, people Ain’t Worth A Shit!

 "Ain’t Worth a Shit is fast-paced, compelling, and entertaining on a sick horror fan level. It is a gruesome and disturbing story full of suspense and action." -- Bibliophilia Templum

Read the full Bibliophilia Templum review HERE. Purchase the book here: US paperback, US Kindle. UK paperback. UK Kindle.

That's all for now. I am going to attempt a weekly blog post, but who knows. I've never been very good about keeping up with this blog. People say blogs are dead. Let's prove them wring.

Send . . . More . . . BOOKS!

I've recently read my way through an interesting variety of books from non-fiction to sci-fi to horror to, well, more horror. Here are some quick little mini-reviews of each.

Blister by Jeff Strand

This is a fantastic read. A cartoonist takes a break after pulling a prank on some asshole kid. He goes out to his agent's lake house to cool off and learns of a local town secret called Blister. I won't say anymore about the plot. You don't need to know more. Just go into this story blind and enjoy the hell out of it. Strand gives a gut punch of a, well, a love story of sorts that examines the way people see each other and how terribly bad things can go when you're an outsider in a tightly knit community. Everything is all fun and games until someone finds a reason to hate you. Great little novella. Highly recommended.

Stranglehold by Jack Ketchum

Wow. What a gut punch. I've read most of Ketchum's novels and novellas and this one is right up there with The Girl Next Door and Red as far as the emotional distress factor is concerned. I listened to the audiobook and I wonder had I been reading the paperback if I would have put it down because of how poignant the material is. This is a story that follows a woman and man who eventually become married and have a child. The child begins to show some very startling behaviors and soon his parents divorce when his father becomes abusive. It only gets worse from there (not the book, but the circumstances in which this broken family finds themselves), and there were moments I cried, moments I wanted to stop listening, but I forged ahead. In the end I was emotionally exhausted. I don't do trigger warnings often, but I would warn anyone with young children to tread these waters with care. In the words of Tommy Chong: "It kinda grabs you by the boo-boo..."

The Iceman: Confession of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo

I hadn't heard of this guy until picking up this book. Wow. Not just a contract killer, but a straight out serial killer. To know that people like Richard Kuklinski walk the earth is truly terrifying. This one is prime reading for true crime and mafia fans alike. Gives a whole different perspective to mob life than a book like Wise Guy does. Kuklinski didn't just kill for money, he killed because he liked it. That's some scary shit. Also interesting is the guy's background. Makes you wonder whether killers are born or made that way.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

I'm not a fan of Blade Runner. I've watched the entire movie once and fallen asleep watching it maybe another two times. It's dreadfully boring. I was apprehensive going into this book, but it has such a stellar reputation that I figured it was a good jumping off point with PKD's work. Also, I'm not a big sci-fi fan, so I went in blind (outside of watching the adaptation years ago). I tend to prefer sci-fi in the shorter form from authors like Asimov, Bradbury, Matheson, and Ellison. Recently I saw a poster online for Blade Runner and it said: inspired by the Philip K. Dick story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Inspired? Yeah, sounds about right. The source material was way better than the movie, though I feel like I need to give the movie another shot just to see if it makes more sense to me now. It was a weird book, no doubt, but ultimately enjoyable. Perhaps a bit too short. It just kind of ended and I thought there was so much more to explore. In a way it felt like the plot wasn't fully developed, but maybe I'm just dense. Who knows.

Slugs by Shaun Hutson

This one was fun for about a hundred and fifty pages, then it became tedious. In my experience, these novels about masses of animals or insects taking over a town would work better in novella form. I felt the exact same way about James Herbert's Rats (which I didn't think was a very good novel to begin with). This was my first Shaun Hutson read and I enjoyed his pulpy style quite a lot. I am interested in reading something like Spawn or Heathen, but good luck to me in finding one of those vintage paperbacks. I mean, I could buy one of the newer editions, but I just love the feel of a good ol' mass market paperback, and you can't beat the cheesy artwork. I may have to cave though. Spawn sounds like a hell of a ride.

That's all for now. I hope you found something of interest in these little reviews. Maybe one of these is on your bookshelf right now. If not, most of them are available at your favorite online retailer. Grab one, sit back, and read a book.

Up next will be books such as Nursery Tale by T. M. Wright, Technicolor Terrorists by Andre Duza, The Auctioneer by Joan Samson (I feel like I've been reading this one for a while now!), and others.

Until next time...

Thoughts on Several Books . . . I Can't Keep Up

So my idea was to post my thoughts on each and every book I read in to 2018, sort of like little reviews. I figured it would be a good exercise since I've grown to despise writing reviews. Turns out I also dislike updating my blog. I know, I know, blogging is dead. People don't read them anymore. Well, I know that's bullshit because I see the numbers. That's why I still post here, albeit infrequently.

That all being said, I have read quite a few books since Stirring the Sheets by Chad Lutzke (awesome little novella--seek it out and read it), and I've decided to put them all into this one post with a quick paragraph of my thoughts on each one.

Savage by Richard Laymon

Great book. Very unlike anything else I have read by Laymon, and I've read a lot of his books. Still doesn't take over my top two favorite Laymon novels (In the Dark and Night in the Lonsesome October), but Savage is most certainly number three. A historical horror that follows Jack the Ripper from England to the American wild west, this story takes the usual twists and turns you expect from a Laymon novel and adds a rich story that I was genuinely moved by, at times feeling extreme sympathy for our hero, and even anger with some of his motivations. Those are the kind of responses I cherish from a novel. If you find Laymon to be to exploitative or maybe just too crazy, give this one a shot. It's well worth it.

The Amulet by Michael McDowell

This is my second McDowell outing. The first was his acclaimed The Elementals, which is one of my favorite novels. The Amulet, however, falls far from the bar I've set for McDowell. A great effort for a first novel, but nothing more than a weird slasher story where the slasher is an amulet that causes people to murder everyone around them when in possession of the piece of jewelry. Pretty much that simple. As I read I kept hoping for some amazing twist that would pay off, but nope. The story goes right where you think it will. I heard that it was originally a screenplay that he turned into a novel, and it reads that way. A slasher film with a twist on the trope, but no pay off. I think it would have made a good movie in the early eighties, considering that the most interesting part of the story aside form our protagonist's growing insecurities concerning her war-damaged husband wrapped from head to tow in bandages and her vile mother-in-law were the various ways people died.

Panacea by F. Paul Wilson

Holy shit this was a good book. Wow. Not my typical fare, the story starts out like a medical thriller and turns into something so much more. Wilson is a master storyteller, this we know, but when I read something like this I'm left in awe, wondering why the hell I even try. The plot is incredibly weaved like a gorgeous tapestry full of hints and clues as to where you're going, but when everything is unfolded, you're still taken by surprise. Books such as this one separate the bestsellers from the midlisters. If I could write something 1/10 this good I would be a happy man.

Life by Kieth Richards

I like the Stones, but I'm no super fan (I'm a Beatles guy). I love rock/metal autobiographies, so I thought I would give this one a shot. Kieth Richards, if nothing, is passionate about music. That was one thing that made the book lag in the beginning. He spends a lot of time talking about the music that influenced him. Too much time. That aside, it's a good rock bio. He doesn't talk much shit and seems like a fairly decent chap, though he most certainly has an anger problem. The legend of Kieth Richards is bigger than the man himself, which is kind of interesting. certainly a great read for Stones fans, though I would have rather read one of those rock bios written from the perspectives of all the members of the band, like the Aerosmith bio Walk This Way or Motley Crue's The Dirt.

Whoopsy Daisy by David Allen Coe

Stumbled upon this on YouTube and listened to it at work one day. Not a fan of Coe aside from the album he did with the Pantera guys Rebel Meets Rebel (awesome record!). Written in '97 just after his wife of 14 years left him, this is kind of a depressing book from a guy who is in a lot of emotional pain. He talks about being famous and what it really means. he breaks down touring and what he actually earns, and discusses some of the mistakes he's made in life. Most of all, he breaks down why he thinks his wife left him. Here's a man haunted by his past. if you are a fan of David Allen Coe or, like me, just like autobiographies, give it a read. I would be interested in one of his previous books that's a more proper autobiography. Apparently he's written quite a few.

Lowland Riders by Chet Williamson

 I made it very close to the end but completely lost interest. A really cool Death Wish premise about a guy whose family is murdered by street thugs who in turn kills one of the murderers and then lives in the subway system fearing persecution for his crime. I wanted to like this novel, but I struggled with it because I stopped caring. It's like two separate stories that aren't getting along together, almost as if the supernatural elements were just thrown in. I hate giving up on a book within fifty pages of the end, but I had to move on to something else. I might go back in a few weeks and finish it...and I might not.

Well, that's it for now. I feel like I'm missing something. I started a few books that I had to put down, so maybe that's it. Anyway, I'm reading Slugs by Shaun Hutson, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison, The Ice Man: Confession of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo, and The Auctioneer by Joan Samson. I like this method of short reviews of each book in one post. I think I'll be doing this from now on.

Happy reading, folks!

Are You Obsessed?

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