Wednesday, July 29, 2015

RIP Jeff Rice

I was saddened to read the other day that Jeff Rice had passed away. Although I had never met him, Jeff was one of the most influential people in my life.

Jeff wrote the novel The Night Stalker, which became the basis for the one-season television show of the same name starring Darren McGavin. The Night Stalker was my favorite TV show when I was a Monster Kid. It never bothered me that the plots were cheesy, the special effects were low grade, and the monsters were not scary. None of that mattered. As a twelve year old, I was mesmerized.

What I really loved about The Night Stalker were the scenes in which Carl Kolchak would move the plot along with his film noir-style excerpts from a column that would never be published, followed by a closing segment that offered a moody cautionary tale about things that go bump in the night. Every week I would hang on those opening and closing words, and every week I wanted to be Kolchak writing about his battles with evil. It's ironic how things turned out. I spent most of my adult life battling a different type of evil, events which I'll probably never put down on paper, and writing about monsters that exist only in my twisted imagination.

I owe much of that to Jeff Rice's street-wise, smart ass reporter in the crumpled suit jacket and straw hat who never saw his stories make the press.

Thank you, Jeff. May you and your inner demons finally be at peace.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Blood Bound Books Is Offering a Fantastic Deal: Buy/Review One Book, Get One Book Free

That's right. Between now and 27 October, Blood Bound Books is offering as part of its reader loyalty program a deal in which anyone who buys a Blood Bound Books title from Amazon and leaves an honest review as a “verified purchaser” will receive a FREE e-book from the publisher's catalog. Click here for the details on this offer.

This a perfect opportunity for any of my fans who haven't read Yeitso yet. The Kindle version is only $2.99, and the paperback is selling for $10.31. If you have read Yeitso, still check it out. Blood Bound Books has a lot of other great horror novels and writers to read. So what are you waiting for?

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Interview with J Ellington Ashton Press

Recently J. Ellington Ashton Press asked me ten "down and dirty" questions about my writing. As always, I try to talk about different aspects of my career in each interview so they don't become monotonous and boring, and definitely have something new to offer with this interview.

Those of you who follow me might wonder what I published with JEA Press since this is the first time I've talked about the company. In September 2014, JEA Press released an anthology titled Rejected for Content: Splattergore (Volume 1) that contained short stories too bizarre and/or gory for other publishing houses to accept. In this anthology is a story by me under the pseudonym Matthew Arkham called "Lust Among the Reefs," a touching tale of consensual tentacle sex.

Now that I have your undivided attention, let me provide the full story.

The genesis of this twisted saga traces back to April 2012 during the Ravencon Convention in Richmond, Virginia. I sat on a writers panel discussion called "There Is a Line: Handling Potentially Offensive Themes." At the end of the panel, a gentleman issued a challenge to the writers to come up with a tentacle sex story for inclusion in an anthology he was pulling together, the proceeds of which would benefit oceanographic research. That was the type of challenge I could not slither away from, and two weeks later I submitted "Lust Among the Reefs" -- and received an immediate rejection. The story sat in the dark recesses of my computer for two years until JEA Press issued their call for submissions to Rejected for Content. I thought "Lust Among the Reefs" was perfect for an anthology that touted itself as "the most hard-core, profane, gory, explicit short stories available" and submitted. After a debate among the editorial staff about whether or not to accept it (that's how intense the story is), JEA Press decided to include "Lust Among the Reefs" in Rejected for Content. And so, after one rejection letter, my first pseudonym, and an FBI watchlist profile for highly suspicious and disturbing Google searches, I can add to my bibliography my first foray into inter-species erotica. 

All joking aside, "Lust Among the Reefs," like all the stories in Rejected for Content, is meant for mature audiences and should not be read by anyone who gets grossed out or offended easily. I had fun writing it and pushing the limits of what I thought I was capable of as a writer, but this is one story there definitely won't be a sequel to. (However, kaiju sex is a genre that has not been delved into yet.) 

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The Kindle Versions of The Vampire Hunters and The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon Are Now $.99

Great news!!! The Kindle versions of The Vampire Hunters and The Vampire Hunters: Vampyrnomicon are currently on sale for only $.99. Just in time for a day at the beach (unless, of course, you're one of the undead). So if you want something good to sink your fangs into this summer, head over to Amazon and pick up your copies while this deal lasts.



Monday, July 13, 2015

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Update on My Current Writing Projects


Rotter Apocalypse, the final book in the Rotter World trilogy, is scheduled for release 1 October 2015. The cover art has been completed and the manuscript is undergoing final edits. I'm very excited about this novel because I wrap up all the loose ends left hanging in Rotter Nation and detail the war between humans and living dead for control of the earth.



















The Vampire Hunters: Dominion, the final book in my vampire trilogy, is being finalized and is set for release in August.

"From Space It Came" -- about a giant wolf spider that terrorizes Gainesville, Florida -- will soon be published in Emby Press' Monster Hunters: Doomsday anthology. The Kindle version will be released in the next few days; the print edition is scheduled for publication by late July. I will provide exact dates and links as they become available.

Hell Gate, the first book in my post-apocalypse young adult series, has been submitted to a publisher and I'm waiting to hear back. I am also revising the second book in the series and plotting out the third book.

Finally, this fall I'll begin work on my latest series -- OSS: Office of Supernatural Services. Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler make a pact with Satan to ensure success on the Eastern Front and guarantee the existence of the Thousand Year Reich, and it's up to  a small band of intelligence officers in London to uncover the details of this Faustian bargain and stop the Nazis before they conquer all of Europe.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Congratulations to the Goodreads Giveaway Winners

Congratulations are also in order for the winners of the Goodreads giveaway of ten autographed copies of Rotter Nation.

- Glenn H. Koopmann
- Jamie Dacyczyn
- Natasha Donohoo
- Victoria Phillips
- Dawn R.Venham
- Greg Armstrong
- Tanya Wood
- Amber Guthrie
- Sophie Narey
- Flavie B. Hudon

Your books are in the mail. I hope you enjoy them. 

Congratulations to The Bookie Monster Contest Winners

Congratulations to Heather Burgess and Brian Lane, the winners of The Bookie Monster's giveaway of two autographed copies of Yeitso. Your books are in the mail. I hope you enjoy them.