Salpsan NOW AVAILABLE!

Yes, folks, the day is here. My novella Salpsan is now available exclusively for kindle, and it's only $1.99, or FREE if you are a Kindle Unlimited customer.

She lives to help the sick, but will she help a monster?

Marion Fleicher has been stripped of her nursing license and ostracized in her homeland for an act of sheer compassion. Desperate to help the sick and infirmed, and struggling on a fixed income, she takes a job as a private nurse. She finds herself in the Spanish countryside at the door to a dilapidated old house wondering if she’s made a mistake. Behind the door is a motley trio: a servant-man who is as shady as a shadow and sneaky as an imp, Terrance Adler, Marion’s ambiguous employer, and her patient, who is in desperate need of a doctor. Will she be able to help her patient or will she die trying?

"Robert Essig has crafted one creepy-as-hell tale of modern gothic horror that sets an ominous tone from the first few words and never lets up. Told from the POV of an unconventional narrator with secrets of her own, Salpsan is a dark, dark story that will prove you wrong several times when you think you know where it's going. I enjoyed it immensely, and can't wait to read more from this writer!"

-- James Newman (author of Odd Man Out, Animosity, and Ugly As Sin)

"With Salspan, Essig takes you on a twisted journey through the Spanish hillside;
one full of intrigue, memorable characters and hellish encounters. This is a story that will stick with you, long after turning the last page.

--K. Trap Jones, author of The Charm Hunter, The Sinner and The Harvester

Available in the US HERE

Available in the UK HERE

The Writing Biz as Compared to the Rock Music Biz...It's All Art, Baby!

I've been at the writing thing for the better part of eight years. I sold my first story seven years ago for a ten spot and a contributor copy (note the word 'sold'--I foolishly gave a few stories away for contrib copies as if those publishers had some kind of audience. believe me, they didn't). In that time I've made a ton of virtual acquaintances and a lot of friendships. I've met a few of these people, and hope to meet many more in the future. The number of people across the world writing horror and, hopefully, publishing their material is staggering. I've watching so many people give it up and others succeed, and still other struggle to keep afloat. It's a cutthroat business in many ways, and yet I think that, for the most part, we are here to help each other out whenever possible. Writers make friendships and bonds with other writers and, for the most part, we stick together, because if we aren't for ourselves, who will be?

In the past eight years I've seen some of my writerly brothers and sisters achieve noteworthy success, some of them publishing on the regular with the great small presses and even a few landing book deals with the Big Five (though this is atypical). I'm always excited to see someone succeed, no matter how much I get down on myself for my lack of success. It gives me hope in what would otherwise seem like a crushing series of rejections and near misses. Let's just say I make the short list a LOT, there's just so much great writing out there that I'm nudged out.

So, how is this like the music biz? Well, I've long thought of my roll in horror publishing, at this point, as being comparable to a band playing local gigs here in, say, San Diego and getting the chance to gig up in LA from time to time and maybe even as far as Vegas, though not in the strip, but some shitty dive bar where the floors are sticky and the top shelf liquor bottles are filled with swill. It's better than playing the same local gigs, but not exactly where you want to be. Remember, this is an analogy and my description of the dive bar is in no way comparable to the publishers I work with (people in the Internet have this way of taking things out of proportion and getting butt hurt over nothing, so I feet it's necessary to clarify that). If my fellow writers were bands, those who have made it to the Big Five are headlining world tours (remember, not so many people there, not in the horror biz), and those who have found homes with the cream of the small press are hitting the arenas and taking names. They too played local gigs and dive bars and while some of them catapulted to success, others had opening slots on the arena tours, playing for audiences they may not have even been ready for, but were more than happy to rock all the same.

I know, this might be kind of abstract, but let's take it a bit further, shall we? We shall. I would say that Stephen King is the Rolling Stones of horror fiction. He's been at it longer than just about anyone publishing today and when he puts out a book (yearly as opposed to how infrequently the Stones tour), he packs the house, and he's always playing at the biggest stadium in town. I went to Barnes and Noble the other day (an event that's always depressing--maybe I'll write a separate post on that) and saw that there were four horror novels in the New Releases section, all in glorious hardcover: Pressure by Brian Keene, Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones, Disappearance at Devil's Rock by Paul Tremblay, and The Fireman by Joe Hill (there may have been a fifth that I didn't see or was sold out, but I kind of doubt it). These are the folks who are currently doing stadium tours. Some of them have been on the stadium and arena scene for many years, and others are only now embarking on what, hopefully, will blossom into a fulfilling and successful career. I must say, seeing those books on the New Arrivals shelf made me feel just a little bit better about the blatant lack of horror represented in the Fiction section (remember, they did away with their horror section years ago), and the fact that they only had one Robert Bloch book. One. At least there were three Shirley Jackson books available, and, of course, rows of Stephen King (he's playing the pyramids in Giza by now), but, sadly, so many authors seem to have been forgotten. This sort of thing happens in music as well. I don't have to give examples; bands come and go like the tides.

So there you have it. The writing biz is kind of like the music biz, and I'm certain I could make similar correlations to just about any popular art form. Yeah, I hope I find success, but I'm also happy to see my fellow writers find that lucky break, because I've heard from many a pro that talent is important, but success doesn't come without a little luck.






My new novella Salpsan is now available exclusively for kindle download.


"Robert Essig has crafted one Creepy-as-hell tale of modern horror that sets an ominous tone from the first few words and never lets up."

            --James Newman (author of Ugly as Sin, Odd Man Out, and The Wicked)


 "With Salpsan Essig takes you through a twisted journey through the Spanish hillside; one full of intrigue, memorable characters and hellish encounters. This is a story that will stick with you long after you turn the last page."

            --K Trap Jones (author of The Charm Hunter and The Harvester)

Available in the US HERE
Available in the UK HERE

Review of Lost Signals

My review of the brand spankin' new anthology Lost Signals (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing) is up now at SplatterpunkZine. Was it good? Was it bad? Did it leave any lasting impression? Follow the link to find out! Read the review HERE.

Buy the book HERE...no really, get your ass over to amazon and purchase this bad boy.

Review of Adam Howe's Black Cat Mojo

I recently had the pleasure of reading and reviewing Adam Howe's bizarre crime fiction collection BLACK CAT MOJO for SplatterpunkZine. Check it out HERE.

Great Review of In Black...and an Interview!

Thanks to Joseph Williams for agreeing to read my book In Black for review, and double thanks for enjoying it enough to offer me the opportunity to be interviewed. It's a great, in depth review. Perhaps the best I've received to date.

"Robert Essig doesn’t hold anything back in In Black. It’s the sort of balls-to-the-wall horror that makes you want to cleanse your reading palate afterwards because it’s so intense, grotesque, and unflinching that you need to ingest some lighter material just to interact with normal society again."

"...Chase’s reactions in high-pressure situations are the most understandable and most realistic of almost any character I’ve read in a novel recently."

Those are just two samples I pulled from the review. Read the entire review HERE, and don't forget, there's an interview too!

In Black is available at all major online book stores, such as Amazon (US) & Amazon (UK).

Punk as Seen Through the Metal Mind

I'm a fan of music. Though I came up through my formidable years primarily listening to metal, I always liked classic rock, oldies, punk, even some classical and country. And though I listened to cheesy-ass rap wannabes when I was a youngster, that and hip hop are genres I regard about as highly as soft rock, disco, and bluegrass, which is to say I'm not a fan, with extremely rare exception (I'm looking at you Cypress Hill and Public Enemy!).

All roads lead back to heavy metal (and no, I'm not going to break down the 'types' of heavy metal I like with sub-genres like black metal, nu metal (yuck!), death metal, doom metal, sharp metal, rusty metal, etc.). That being said, it is well known that punk rock has been an influence for many a metal bands, because there's a kinship between the two musical styles. It's the distorted guitars, the speed, the angst, the growling vocals, the trashy swagger, the grit, the general disgruntled outlook and alienation. So this got me thinking: what are some of my favorite punk bands/albums? What kind of stuff turns on the metalhead? Well, here it is, in no particular order. These are the top 10 punk albums/bands that made in impact on my metal mind back when I was a disgruntled teenager, all of which I still listen to from time to time. This is the stuff that stuck with me for one reason or another.

1. Operation Ivy - I love everything they ever did, which wasn't nearly enough material. I was given a cassette tape of their anthology album back in Jr. high school. The tape looked like maybe five people owned it before me. I listened to that thing so much I'm surprised the tape didn't snap. Ultimately the tape was left in a friend's car, which was left in a convenience store parking lot in Oakland where the car died.

2. The Misfits - I'm a fan of pretty much all of the Danzig-era Misfits. This one isn't a stretch for the metal kid to get into, being that Glen Danzig later fronted Samhain and then had a career as a solo heavy metal artist. I think it was the Metallica cover of "Last Caress" that initially got me into them. Who can deny horror/punk? Cheesy as all hell, but I still listen to them to this day.

3. The Dead Kennedys - I'm a fan of all their albums with one exception: Bedtime for Democracy. That one has its moments, but it's not nearly as clever and thought-provoking as everything else they produced, most notably Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. I liked this band from the first time I heard them.

4. The Germs, MIA - This is dirty punk. I hated this shit when I first heard it. My buddy Crazy Chris loved this band back in high school. I heard stories about the singer having to have the mic duct taped to his hands, 'cause he was so fucked up he couldn't preform. That might be 'punk', but shit like that doesn't impress me (GG Allen is a great example of shit that makes me want to puke but was so 'punk'). That all being said, the best of their songs are just so damn catchy (sometimes sloppy, more-so than is necessary in my opinion). I actually think they would have been better with a more coherent singer, because the music end is fantastic.

5. The Vandals, Peace Thru Vandalism - These songs are off the wall stupid and funny and idiotic and just plain out fun. I kind of think they were trying to be a goofier version of the Dead Kennedys. The faux country songs were what caught my attention when I first heard these guys. Everything I've ever heard by them outside of these albums are shit. They went doooown hill fast and never looked back.

6. Rancid - Didn't like them at first. I thought they were a weak imitation of Operation Ivy. I had no idea at the time that Lars and Tim had been members of Op Ivy before starting Rancid. I actually didn't learn that for many years after becoming a fan of Rancid. Their albums are too long. Cut the weakest three songs or so and that would be great. The only exception to this rule, for me, is ...And Out Come the Wolves.

7. The Damned - Love this band! I've seen them live three times. Their albums aren't all punk (there was a goth/rock phase in the 80s with Phantasmagoria and Anything), but I'm a fan of pretty much their entire catalogue. Of the punk stuff, their debut is solid, Machine Gun Etequitte is amazing, and Grave Disorder was a great comeback record in the early 2000's.

8. The Clash, Live at Shea Stadium - I like the Clash, but I can take them or leave them. This live concert seals the deal, though. One of my favorite live albums ever. They're tight and they play a good set list for someone like me who isn't a massive fan. They'd opened for the Who, so I imagine that was a pretty good show back in the day.

9. Bad Brains, Banned in DC - I've never even heard anything else this band has done. I was told I would like this album so I gave it a shot and it stuck with me. Some call it the first 'hardcore' album, but I don't even understand what 'hardcore' is. To me it's just loud, aggressive punk rock and the guitars have an incredible tone...and there are a few reggae tunes in the mix. Not sure what to think about that. Kind of like bad comedy relief in a slaughterfest.

10. Fear, live...for the Record - I lied when I said I listen to all of these bands and/or albums. I haven't heard Fear since I owned this CD and my gutterpunk, asshole roommate stole it (or one of his crusty friends) a good fourteen years ago or so. Truth is, any number of people could have stolen it, I suppose, but the crusty folk had a hankering for this band. I like them because they have a very rock 'n' roll aesthetic that, when blended with general disgruntled rebellion, creates something loud and angry and fun to sing along to. I hate living in the city, but I really dig the song "I Love Livin' in the City", even though I haven't heard it in almost fifteen years.

Honorable mentions? Eh, there's a good Circle Jerks album. If you consider the New York Dolls punk, they're pretty damn good. Sex Pistols. Early Suicidal Tendencies (though they're a waaaaay better metal band). I love the Cramps and they're "...one half hillbilly and one half punk..." (and way batter than just about ever band listen above, as far as I'm concerned). I'm certainly missing something, but whatever. There it is. Hope I didn't waste too much of your time.

New Hell Awaits Review!

There's a new review for Through the In Between, Hell Awaits up at SplatterpunkZine and it's a good one. You can read the review HERE, and you can buy the book HERE.

And don't forget, In Black is back! That's right, folks, my third novel of horror is back in print and kindle from Grand Mal Press. I recently did an interview about the book that I will post a link to as soon as it is published. Grab your copy HERE.