Halloween is Near, So Let Us Coffin Hop!

Here we are again kiddies, the baddest of bad, the scariest of scary, the Coffin Hop 2012.  Last year I wrote several posts about authors I dig that you should be digging too.  In my “10 Questions” feature I have from time to time, John Everson , Nate Southard, and Jeff Strand entered the arena and survived their battles.  This year I want to take it back a bit.  There is one guest lined up to step in the arena and as soon as the interview comes back, you’ll be in for a treat.  The other days, I want to focus on what music, movies, books, and such influence me and my work.

Before I begin however, there are some housekeeping things to tend to.  First, to see what other amazing authors are on the Coffin Hop go here and hit the Linky Link 2012 button, to check out the Scavenger Hunt at Melissa Smith’s website visit here, and to support the upcoming Coffin Hop anthology to benefit literacy programs by picking up some sweet Coffin Hop swag drag your mouse this way and click here.

For those who have found me here for the first time, hello.  I want you to step inside and get comfortable.  Fire up a cigar and pop open a beer.  Kick your feet up on the table, hell I don’t care.

But once you settle in and feel like everything is going to be ok, I’ll plunge you down into the dark depths of humanity and the evil lurking in the shadows of our very minds.

No, really…I’m glad your here and please feel free to roam around the site (nothing will bite…much).  This year is new to me because before I only had anthologies to promote, but this year I have my controversial novella In Memoriam.  A signed copy is part of this year’s prize package as well as an electronic copy of the Coffin Hop Anthology E.P. ( a short preview of next year’s full anthology), and a few nice paperbacks from some of my favorite horror authors.  To be entered in the drawing, you must make a comment on any blog post this week during the Coffin Hop or sign up to follow the blog (comment once-comment often).  You can earn extra entries by following me on Twitter or “liking” my fan page on Facebook (links are over on the side).  Already signed up for all the social media places to find me?  That’s fine, just comment and you’ll be entered!

Well, that does it for today.  Tune in Wednsday for the top 10 albums that haunt my dreams and me scream when I write and on Friday night, author Tim Lebbon stops by to answer the “10 Questions”!

Goodnight…

Happy New Year and the Best Books of 2011

First off faithful readers, Happy New Year!  Things are already looking up for 2012 (except for my book buying ban for part of the year).  I hope everyone has a good year and we don’t die on December 21st like the crazies think we are.  I will prepare myself and consume mass quantities of rum the day before just in case, you can’t watch the world end sober can you?  My resolutions for the year are to make a writing regimen I can stick to.  There are some days I just don’t feel it, but the problem is the day becomes plural.  So to combat that, I have set some benchmarks for the novel and the novellas for the year.  If I can stick to those, this should be a very productive year. 

Enough about me…so how about the list of the 10 best books from 2011?  To qualify, the book had to be released in 2011.  I read about 90 books last year and this is only for 2011 release books.  The number means nothing.  The number 1 is not the best, but just where it got listed.  I know Jeff Strand was happy to be number 4 on a list of mine earlier in the year, but look at it a list of the 10 books you should have on your shelf or books you need to get and throw on the ‘To Be Read” pile.  Let us draw back the curtain and here we go…

1.  11/22/63 by Stephen King – This book did not excite me when the synopsis was revealed and I dreaded reading it.  I will be the first to admit, I was wrong.  This novel is up in my top 5 of King’s books.  He weaves the tale of a man out of time and on a mission to kill Lee Harvey Oswald into a sometimes heart wrenching story of love and loss.  The end is one of his best and shows that the man once considered a hack writer is indeed the king of modern literature.

2.  Sacrifice by Wrath James White – Wrath is known for being extreme with the subject matter in his books.  I found this story of two detectives investigating a series of bizarre murders to be rather tame by his standards… and I liked it better that way.  The violence is there, the sex is there, and the naughty language is there but it is toned down and I think it allowed the story to flow better.  I don’t know if I am just over the extreme stuff or not, but I liked Sacrifice better over his other new release Pure Hate (which is still a good read).  The characters from another book that appear blew my mind and left me wanting more (I just have to wait).

3.  Entombed by Brian Keene – Set in the Dead Sea world, survivors of the zombie apocalypse hole up in a bunker beneath a hotel.  Brian touches greatly on my favorite part of the zombie mythos and that is the breakdown of man as a social animal.  When the society we know is gone and the fabric of our world are ripped apart, how do we as animals react?  The book is less about the zombies and more about the breakdown of the social order within the bunker.  The book also features his story White Fire from the Hell Followed With Them anthology from a few years ago.  Both are outstanding reads.

4.  The Pumpkin Man by John Everson – A dark and brooding story about a legendary murderer who carved pumpkins and kids alike.  This book hands down featured the best use of a Jack ‘O Lantern ever.  It is fast paced and was a super book.  The hardcover is sold out, but during my interview with John during the Coffin Hop 2011 Tour, he informed me that the trade paperback from Leisure has added material (still need to read that).

5.  Fangboy by Jeff Strand – A heartwarming tale of a boy named Nathan who was born with really big and sharp teeth.  We are treated to his high points and his low points while he tries to find his place in the world.  There are nice places, bad orphanages, and an evil circus that makes us stand up to root and cheer for poor Nathan Pepper.  Jeff’s comedic style is on full display and needs to warm your heart this winter.

6.  Back From the Dead by J.F. Gonzalez – Nothing ever good comes from messing with spells to raise the dead and this books highlights the main reasons why.  A superb novel about the secrets towns can keep and how the evil that permeates the ground can act when provoked.  Every book J.F. comes out with gets better and better.  A box in the mail with a book from him is a good day indeed.

7.  Waiting Out Winter by Kelli Owen – A short novel about the problems arising from messing with the natural order of nature.  Flies released to combat a worm infestation has  unintended consequences in the bleak winter months.  The book is full of tension and it introduces us to a world I hope she returns too in the future.

8. Samson and Denial by Robert Ford- Bob wrote one of the most fun books I read all year.  He shows us how the world can go to hell when you buy a mummified skull, cross a cult of hot woman, and try to deal with the city of Philly.  The book is well written and is amazing to hear when he reads from it. 

9.  The Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi – A thick book, but it is so well plotted and executed that it reads at a lightning fast speed.  The book is moody, suspenseful, and full of sorrow.  A writer who returns to his hometown becomes obsessed with the story of a boy and the up-ended dock in the lake dubbed the ‘floating staircase’.  I became really wrapped up in the story and surprised myself by how emotionally invested I became in the story as it unfolded.  Stop reading, go to a website with books, and buy it.  Now…I’m waiting!

10.  This Little Light of Mine by Nate Southard – A chapbook about people caught in a parking garage collapse.  They have no cell signal, no idea what is going on, and only limited sources of light.  When the darkness falls, something is with them, and their light is running out.  I loved the story and I hope Nate will one tell us the extent of what happened in the world outside the garage.

Well, there you have it.  Those are the 10 favorites of mine from 2011.  There are some books I didn’t get a chance to read yet from last year (notably Ray Garton’s Meds and Trailer Park Noir).  So, I might add-on at a later date.

Goodnight and keep reading…

The Year That Was 2011

Well, this is it.  Here we are at the end of 2011 and it was one hell of a year.  When the year first started, I had just  finished out 2010 with a fun reading at Mo*Con IV and a few rejection slips from editors.  That was pretty much my writing career till 2011.  Considering I didn’t start writing until mid 2010, I didn’t expect much.  I heard all the stories and such about, ‘doing your time’.  Well, I guess I did enough time, because 2011 was a very good year.  The first half was slow, but once April hit, all bets were off.

It started in February when I was given the chance to read at Horrorfind 13 in September.  It meant I had to skip Mo*Con, but I was ok with that for this chance (and to the guy who does the selecting - thank you, I still say I owe you more and you know who you are).  I now had a conundrum…what should I read since I didn’t have anything published yet?  April brought what I thought was the answer when my first acceptance came for “Stonewall” (that anthology has been cancelled and brought back from the dead to be published at some point in 2012 I hope).  It was followed closely in May when “A Winter’s Feast” was accepted.  Stories went out and rejections came back for a few months.  Late summer and early fall would prove to be a storm.

I tried to spend most of the summer working on my novella, “In Memoriam” (I am preparing to get the first three chapters out based on the synopsis I sent out).  The short stories were on the back burner, but some didn’t want to be buried.  Through the next three months I had eight more stories accepted.  I only set myself a goal of five.  Come on, let’s be realistic, it was only my first full year.  So, if you want to see what’s coming or what is out to buy, check out the Biblio page.  There is even a nonfiction piece that will be out in January and I will give you more info when I get it.

That brought me to Horrorfind 13.  It was the most fun I could have had.  I drove with my partner in crime Wesley Southard to the great state of Pennsylvania for a weekend of books, booze, and good friends.  I learned tons from people I hadn’t seen in a year and from some new friends as well.  Then I had the reading.  I wish I would have done better, but I was nervous and it showed.  I decided to read “A Winter’s Feast” for my time in the ring.  I picked it because it was my first story to see print and because it was the only thing I had the book for.  It was sweet to be up there and read from the book.  I highly recommend it!

The year ends and I’m gearing up for 2012 with the work on the novel and another novella or two.  The short stories will keep coming and ten is the goal for 2012.  I will take some of the stories plus some new ones for a collection or two in the fall (I hope if things go well).  I have not forgotten the blog followers, you guys have a story coming just for you.

The thank you’s for 2011- My wife (my pre-pre-reader who busts me up before Troy gets me), kids, and pug: you guys are the greatest family a man can have.  To the following for their advise: Wesley Southard, Brian Keene, James A. Moore (who told me to stop screwing with “In Memoriam” and get it out there), Tim Lebbon, Bob Ford, Kelli Owen, Christopher Golden, and to John Everson and Jeff Strand for the interviews.  Troy Green for being my pre-reader from hell (and kicking my stuff in the teeth – you make it better) and to Armand Rosamilia (Rymfire Books), Jessica A. Weiss (Wicked East Press), Eric Beebe (Post Mortem Press), and Jessy Roberts  (Pill Hill Press) for trusting my work and putting it in print.  Lastly, I want to thank all who have read and followed the blog this year, 2012 will be even better! 

The top ten books of 2011 will be up on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day for you to take a look at.  If you haven’t read some the books on the list, go get them and enjoy the rides they will take you on.

Goodnight…

Happy Halloween Coffin Hoppers!!!!!

Well, tonight is the night boils and ghouls!  This night is the real most wonderful time of the year, it is Halloween.  Now that the kids have gotten their fill of candy and I prepare to take the ‘daddy tax’ from their bags, it is time to settle in for the evening.  First off, I’d like to thank Jeff Strand and John Everson for their time in helping me make your Coffin Hop in my world an exciting one.  I now want to thank you, the Hoppers, who have stopped in, commented, and joined the club.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from joining in the Coffin Hop.  I was amazed at the number of new Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and blog subscriptions happened over the past week.  It has been a pleasure hearing from each of you!  Tuesday night, I will have drawn the winner of the prize pack consisting of a signed copy of New Dawn Fades with my story “Spot Shoot”, a signed and numbered hardcover of Jeff Strand’s Fangboy, and a hardcover of Peter Straub’s Pork Pie Hat. 

So, to end the Author’s of the Day, I need to play catch up since life got in the way of the last few night’s posts.  The four authors I was going to cover are Douglas Clegg, Graham Masterton, Tim Lebbon, and Simon Clark.  To make it up to everyone, instead mailing it in and giving you a BS post about them, I am going to focus on each one on their own in the coming weeks.  I do have questions for them tonight so more people can take a shot at the prize pack.  Remember, just go to the comment section and post your answer.  When the evening is through, I will see who answered first and put their name in the hat for the prize.  There are four questions for tonight, so four chances to be entered.

1.  What pen name did Douglas Clegg write under and what three novels did he write using that name?

2.  what nursery rhyme was the basis for Graham Masterton’s novel The Doorkeepers?

3.  Tim Lebbon writes about a character named Temple who is one of my favorite fiction characters.  What four novels or novellas feature Temple?

4.  Simon Clark made vampires cool by returning them to their savage roots.  Name one of the novels to star these creatures of the night.

Well goodnight, American Horror Story beckons, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Coffin Hop Author of the day…John Everson (and he’s here!)

Welcome to the Friday night edition of the 2011 Coffin Hop Author of the Day.  Hang on to your trick-or-treat bags and get ready for an early Halloween treat as we talk about John Everson’s new novel The Pumpkin Man and then John entered the arena and faced the 10 Questions!  So let us begin…

The Pumpkin Man was released earlier in the year as a signed and numbered hardcover from Delirium Books and on October 15th was released in trade paperback from Leisure.  I thought I was ok, but I’m going to have to pick up the paperback after a response in the interview (you’ll see later).  I am not going to tell you everything, but just a quick overview and how I rate the book.

The book opens with the murder of Jennica’s father.  While his body is found, his head is not.  The murder is also perplexing due to the presence of bits and pieces from pumpkins around the scene.  So with her father dead and along with her friend Kirsten loosing their teaching jobs, they pick up some male accompaniment, they head off to the house Jenn inherited from her aunt Meredith when she died. 

The house is old and has a library full of curious books about witch-craft and spells.  When the guys find a Ouija board and try to contact Jenn’s father, all hell breaks loose.  The killings of a madman in the town’s past returns.  Is it the spirit of the original ‘Pumpkin Man’, is it a copy cat, or is it something else entirely?

The book has a good number of twists and turns as the legend is revealed and the cycle of killings begin anew.  The setting is creepy and the descriptions of the murders will make your skin crawl.  I vote this book the best use of Jack-O-Lanterns ever.  The tale has a good number of horror staples for a good Halloween read, Ouija Boards, bad houses with secrets, and graves.  Oh, and blood, lots and lots of blood.

 Overall, this one ranks near the top of my favorite John Everson books.  It ties with The 13th at the top.  John did do something with the book that I really thought went well with it.  As with his last novel Siren, he uses a diary or a journal to help flesh out and tell the tale.  In Siren, the use of the captains old logbook is used so much it almost makes the book read like two separate books.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved Siren, but I like how he used the device in The Pumpkin Man better.  Here it’s used more sparingly and adds to the chill of the situation Jenn finds herself in. Instead of long chapters, the diary from her aunt Meredith comes in small doses and weaves better throughout the book.

It is a hell of a read and I highly recommend it.  I like it so much, I’m going to buy it twice and get the experience of the paperback edition also.  Great novel for Halloween or any time of year.

…and now, may I present, John Everson!   

1- What was your inspiration for The Pumpkin Man?

 The Pumpkin Man novel actually was inspired by a short story I published in Doorways Magazine a few years ago. And the short story was inspired in part because I saw a booth at a horror convention that was selling all of these intricately carved (fake) jack-o-lanterns. They also sold pumpkin carving kits. I started imagining a character who was an expert pumpkin carver… only he was aided by the occult because to create his pumpkins, he was actually carving the soul of someone into them. A few years after publishing the short story, I was looking for what to do for my next novel and I decided that I wanted to develop the Pumpkin Man mythology deeper; who was the Pumpkin Man? How did he get to have this power? The novel ended up occurring more than 20 years in the future of the short story and focuses on two school teachers instead of the kids who populated the original tale.

2- The Ouija Board sequences made me think back to the movie Witchboard (which freaked me out as a kid).  Where did the idea to use the Ouija Board come from?
 

I loved Witchboard too!  The Ouija idea came basically out of the type of story I wanted to tell. I really wanted to do a book that had a lot of the “setpieces” of classic Halloween creepiness, though it wasn’t necessarily set at Halloween. So you get a cottage in a remote location, lots of ancient occult books including a book of spells, plenty of bones, witchcraft, jack-o-lanterns and … a way to talk to the dead – the Ouija.

3- What jobs have you held while writing?  Do you write full-time or part-time?

 I’ve always held a full-time job while writing. Early on in my career I was a suburban Chicago newspaper journalist. While writing for that paper I started a weekly music column which I kept writing as a freelancer for them long after I left the reporter job and moved onto other things. After I left the newspaper I was a music magazine editor for a few years and finally moved to a medical association working on publications and websites (which is where I remain). For a long time I had a LOT of “2nd careers” because in addition to the dayjob I was writing a weekly newspaper column about music, occasionally playing keyboards in local bands, and working on horror fiction. I don’t watch a lot of TV.
 
4- What does your writing regimen consist of?

It varies. Basically when I’m really hard at work on a project, I set weekly word count goals so that I finish it by deadline.  There are times I write before going to work, and other times I write for a couple hours after my son goes to bed, starting around 9 p.m. Often I’ll go to a bar one night a week after work and thus avoid all the distractions of home – then I can work uninterrupted from basically 6-11 p.m. and really get a solid block of writing in.
 
5- Were there any scenes that were edited out of The Pumpkin Man you wish were still in?

No, actually there are scenes that got added in at the 11^th hour for the Dorchester edition of the novel. The editor made some great suggestions for fleshing a couple things out, and so I added some things that were not in the original limited hardcover edition release of the book.  (Note: This is why I have to buy the Leisure edition)
 
6- Are Covenant, Sacrifice, or The 13th going to be re-released by Leisure in the new trade paperback format?

Most likely. The goal is to keep the catalogues of Leisure’s active authors in print, however, with hundreds of titles to work with, it’s going to take them a while to convert all the books to the new format and then sell them as reprints into stores.  (If you have not read these, find them now and enjoy)
 
7- What kind of influence does living in the mid-west have on your work?  Speaking as a fellow Mid-West resident.

Probably the biggest influence is the seasons and the mood they bring to my writing. I don’t actually set many of my stories here; I tend to favor seaside villages or mountainous areas… to me, they’re more interesting places. But there is a “mood” about the Midwest during the fall – when all the leaves have turned color and the cold winds kick in and everything begins to take on a dark stormy caste… I think this makes for a great setting in horror, and I think I’ve transplanted that mood to some of my other fictional seaside locations. Perhaps not explicitly, in terms of brown leaves blowing around, but just the vibe that it gives me.

8- What projects do you have coming out in the near future that you can talk about?
 I’m currently working on an erotic horror novel for the new Samhain horror imprint called NightWhere, which should be out in 2012. I’ve also completed my segments for a couple “shared world” novels which should get edited and pieced together over the next six months for release in 2012 as well.

9- What advice do you have for new writers in today’s market?

Same advice as ever – write. Write a lot. Keep writing. Read what you write out loud to yourself, or others (you hear a stories strengths and flaws differently that way). Submit to editors. The one new thing about today’s market is that it’s easier than ever to self-publish. Personally, I still think having an objective editor as part of the publishing process is a crucial part.
 
10- Pimp yourself!!!  Tell the lovely people where they can find out about you and your work. 

I’m active and easy to find on Facebook, Twitter, even occasionally MySpace. I also maintain my main website (which I’ve had running since 1996) at www.johneverson.com.  My blog is hosted there, and there’s information about all my books, as well as info about my artwork and music projects.  And my new novel has its own micro-site at http://www.thepumpkinman-horror.com

 On the Pumpkin Man site you can read an excerpt from the book as well as some short fiction. You can also play with a really cool online Ouija Board and enter a Contest to win autographed copies of ALL FIVE of my novels as well as a CD from New Years Day. The Contest ends on Halloween though, so get to http://www.thepumpkinman-horror.com  this weekend!
Bonus Question- Who wins in a fight- Pumpkin Man or The Great Pumpkin?
 
 The Great Pumpkin. I’ve never seen him, and I know Linus is still waiting too. But I know when he falls out of the sky finally, he’ll be big as a house and fast as a meteor. I think he’d probably just roll right over The Pumpkin Man. End of story.

Happy Halloween!

I would like to thank John for taking the time to stop by!  See everyone back Saturday evening when I talk Douglas Clegg!

Today’s question: Name the novel John Everson won the Bram Stoker Award for.

Coffin Hop: Author of the Day for Thursday

This week in honor of the Coffin Hop Blog Tour, I have been featuring an author a day.  Each one has in one-way-shape-or-form, influenced my work.  With the exception of Stephen King on the first day, I have focused on writers who are not as well-known as King, but deserve some attention.  Friday’s ‘Author of the Day’ blog will have a special guest as John Everson stops by to enter the arena and answer 10 questions.  The evening will focus on John’s latest novel, The Pumpkin Man.  Be sure to stop back by and check it out.  People, don’t forget to take a stab at the Author of the Day question for a rather nice prize pack.  Just try to figure out my favorite book by the Author of the Day. 

And now, our featured author…Richard Laymon.

Richard Laymon was born January 14, 1947 and died February 14, 2001.  In his life he penned over thirty books and a heaping of short stories.  His work is amazing, but it is really under appreciated in the U.S.  For years his novels were largely ignored in the states, but he enjoyed success in the UK and in Australia.  When the horror genre came roaring back ten or so years ago, people found out they had been missing out on a great writer.  His Beast House series became popular and his work received a wider audience state-side with Leisure printing mass market editions of his books.  unfortunately, he suffered a heart-attack and passed.  In 2001 he was posthumously awarded the “Best Novel” Bram Stoker Award for The Traveling Vampire Show.  He is one author who I have the utmost respect for and miss new material from.

Question:  In the game of life, there are not only ‘Survivors’ on a show, but there is a place where you must fight for it.  Can you name my favorite Laymon novel?