Updates, the Counter of Responsibility, and the Next Big Thing

Good evening my friends and readers, it has been a while since we could sit back and talk a bit.  Things are beginning to get rolling again over at Wicked East Press.  It’s a good thing to see and is a very good press to work to work with.  The delays have been settled and the anthologies Chained in the Attic (with my story “Amos’s Song”) and Fresh Ground: Coffee House Flash Fiction Vol. 3 (with “Safety First”) should be getting the last touches and off to the printers soon.  I am waiting to iron out the details, but it looks like the month of December will see me debut in a magazine.  It is an e-zine, but I’ll take it.  A print mag is still a goal however.  October 2013 will also see another story published and there will be more on it once we get closer to the release.  So the wheels of progress are moving into the 2013 year.

Now that In Memoriam (and if you haven’t picked it up yet go here to get it)  has been released, I’ve been slowly getting back to the grind.  The plate has been filled with many short story projects and I’m loading up on longer works as well.  Tonight, I’m going to start a weekly counter to show what the progress for the novellas and novels looks like.  As you may know, Southern Devilshas been a project that has continually kicked me in the balls.  It started out as a novella, turned into a possible novel length idea, and now after reworking and cutting the crap out of it… it has turned into a novella trilogy with a follow-up novel.  If you like the Civil War and zombies, this is for you!

Southern Devils Bk.1- 17,000 out of 30-35,000 words.

Next on the list is a novella that has the potential to turn into something longer.  The world could be bigger, but if I feel the tale is told enough in the novella, I’m calling it a day on the subject for some time.  I would tell you some things about it, but it might give too much away.  There is a man who has blocked out his memory of everything before the car crash that killed his wife and daughter.  When he starts to experience weird visions and notices he is being followed, he embarks on a journey to expose the mysteries of the Red Veil and try to remember a life forgotten.

The Red Veil- 3,000 out of 30,000 words

I have two tales set in White Creek in the works including my first novel.  The novel builds on the themes touched on during In Memoriam and makes the history of White Creek come calling during the bicentennial celebration.  The other is a novella about two key characters appearing in the novel and will be nice lead-in to the White Creek mythos.  For years, evil has seeped out of the soil and it has possessed many of White Creek’s residents.  A state policeman stationed in his hometown of White Creek must come to grips with his past and how it relates to a copycat killer who seems to be the reincarnation of the killer he escaped from twenty years earlier.  And what about the dragonflies?  Both will really lay the ground work for the next few years worth of projects including a short story collection based on the town’s residents and legends (this is separate from the other non-themed collection I’m working on now).

Sins of the Fathers (working title)- 4,500 out of 80,000 (goal-might go shorter)

Wings of the Dead- 2,500 out of 25,000

There you have it, what I have going on for the time being.  Every week I’ll update the progress and you can yell at me if you see me getting behind.  If you ever want to know more, please feel free to ask.

I will have a post on Wednesday as I have been tagged in the Next Big Thing blog hop (thanks to Wesley Southard for the tag!).

So for now, good night…

Hell Cometh…

Tonight is something a little different.  In a blitz to bring attention to a very unique and gifted individual, a group of other authors have banded together to introduce you to Todd Card.  To learn more about Todd and what he faces as a writer and in life, you can check out his interview with Rebbeca Besser here.

To peek in at his site or to go and buy one Hell of a book, follow your cursor to these links below…

Official site: http://www.hellcometh.com/

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Cometh-Todd-Card/dp/0983655847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353421914&sr=8-2&keywords=Hell+Cometh+todd+card
While we gather to give thanks and count our blessings this week, please don’t forget those who aren’t as lucky as we are.  Before we go out and throw money at store employees who had to give up their holiday so you can shop on Thanksgiving night, take  or do something to pay forward in thanks for all the things you have in your life.  Be nice, help the less fortunate, or give.  There are many in our country suffering right now and we as a country must step up individually to lend that hand and reach out to those who need help.

In closing, don’t eat so much tomorrow your belly explodes if you eat that one last thin mint wafer, stay safe, and I want to personally  thank all of you who follow the blog/read the stories/or just hang here with me.  When I see the followers and such, I want to continue on even at times when I’m ready to throw the laptop out of the window.  Thank you.

Goodnight…

The Wheel Keeps Turning

Sitting in the darkened theater with my two sons watching “Skyfall”, something hit me.  A major portion of the storyline for the movie is how much the world has moved on and that age will eventually catch up with all of us in the end.  Since my mind is prone to wandering, it started to really think long and hard about those themes running in my life.  The whole thing really was triggered a few weeks ago on my birthday.  Sitting at a few years from 40, the realization of age and mortality begins to set deeply in.

I’m not going to sit here and say, “well, I hiked 20 miles in the snow for a cold biscuit”, to say how old I am.  I will sit here and miss the days of my innocence.  Looking at my sons, I feel bad for them.  I’m not saying they have it rough, believe me…they don’t, but their childhood compared to mine is so much more complicated.  I have to shove them out the door in the summer when we used to get in trouble for not being back when it got dark.  We didn’t have phones, iPods, our own computers, the internet, and the vast amounts of video games.  We played on a playground, we rode our bikes for miles, we played baseball and football games that lasted all day, and the occasions we did play video games was only for an hour or so before we turned them off and went outside again.

I think this is more the rambling reminisces of a man who is creeping to the mid-way point and the memories from the simple days of youth come roaring back.  The increased burdens life throws on makes the mental jaunts back to the bygone days more and more welcome.  Raising a family, working a job, doing volunteer work for the kids, and trying to keep the writing gig going takes a toll on you after a long while.  Believe me, I feel done most of the time anymore.  I think the thing that weighs on me the most right now is the writing.  The balancing act between working on a story, looking for markets, the social media aspects, and trying to sell your work is trying.

But for those times when the world seems to suck the life out of me, I fight back with Star Wars (I will also be doing a podcast interview soon where I know they will ask about my feelings on the whole Star Wars-Disney thing)…

Goodnight…

(OK, I realize that is in fact not night, but it seems to have become my sign-off line.  Now bugger off, it’s night somewhere in the world right now…)

Yes, that is me in a Yoda ears hat and posing with my R2-D2 Pepsi cooler, get over it…

Coffin Hop 2012: Ghost Hunting

Welcome back to the Coffin Hop.  If you new to the game or if you need to check out the other blogs on the bloody trail head over to the Official Home of the Coffin Hop and get to hopping!

I took a day off and partied a bit.  Downed some Absinth, met some new friends, and found someone who is going to make sure all the things I have planned for my NaNoWriMo attempt are accurate.  The town of White Creek will have its past explored and the ramifications from its founding are going to come to the light.

The moon hangs silent in the night sky as we arrive at Willard Library.

Friday night, it was decided to take part in a ghost walk at Evansville, Indiana’s Willard Library.  During the Hoosier Horror Hop I took place in during the first week of October, I did a short piece about the library and its famous ghost, the Grey Lady.  To read more about the library or to check out the Ghost Cam, you can visit the library’s site and the Ghost Cam site. The first stop on the tour after a brief history of the ghost, we descended down the large beautifully carved wooden stairs to the basement.  The basement is where the ghost was first glimpsed and is also the home of the children’s room.  The large group sat in the room and heard tales of ghostly deeds.  The ghost likes to take every fourth book and pull it out from the shelf and has been known to toss a book on the floor from time to time.

The second stop was the second floor which is the next place the ghost frequents often.  Once the stories were told and the group filed out to the stairs, three of us stayed behind.  I noticed two girls taking some pictures and then quickly looking at the pics they took.  We began discussing the two large mirrors on top of the book shelves to help the librarian watch the room.  One sat totally still and the second was waving back and forth.  The mirror is held by two thick metal poles and there was not any air flow around the mirror.  We backed up and snapped some more pictures.  The new pictures around the mirror showed two orbs floating in the air around the mirror that could not be seen with the naked eye.  Dust on the lens?  We don’t know, but the orbs being around the shaking mirror is suspect.

After the tour, five of us returned to the basement to investigate further.  My son and I went to the children’s room and the others went to check out the hallway where the bathrooms are located.  Going into the children’s room , we felt the air change.  It became heavy and dense.  The hair on the back of neck rose and I felt her.  When something of that nature is around, I can feel its presence.  I asked my son if he smelled something and he told me he did.  The sweet-smelling aroma tickled my nose and I thought about the lilac scent that is present when she is near.  I snapped some pics in the dark, but without a flash, nothing showed up.  We bid her good night and left to go back upstairs.

I want to spend more time there to check things out further.  Since I need to do some research about the old TB hospital and the state hospital for some novel work, I plan on doing a little poking around the library in hopes of seeing the Grey Lady.

Goodnight…

Sitting on the second floor in the chair the Grey Lady has been known to manifest in or around. This about five minutes before the mirror incident.

Some people have pointed out the strange looking thing above my head in the picture. It is circled for you to see. I think it is from the window, but who knows…

The Coffin Hop 2012 Main Event…Tim Lebbon!

Tim Lebbon, myself, Christopher Golden, and James A. Moore hanging out at Horrorfind 2011.

Good evening Coffin Hoppers!  Wait, I can’t hear you.   I said, GOOD EVENING COFFIN HOPPERS!  Ok, much better that time around.  I interrupt this year’s Coffin Hop to bring you the Main Event.  Tonight, author Tim Lebbon steps into the ring and faces off with the “10 Questions”.  Tim Lebbon is hands down, one of the best writers in the game today.  His work has been a great influence and I hope to one day be half as good as the three guys I’m standing with in the picture.  At Horrorfind 2011, I was a new author and arrived full of dreams and my first con reading slot.  The weekend became a validation for me choosing to pursue writing.  Before the con and during, I had the opportunity to speak with Tim a bit about the craft, the Hollywood horrors he’s encountered, and drink some beers. I’m going to stop blabbing and get on with what you all hopped over here for.  Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Lebbon. (Note: The interview is from a few days ago and not from 2011)

TIM LEBBON is a New York Times-bestselling writer from South Wales.  He’s had almost thirty novels published to date, as well as dozens of novellas and hundreds of short stories.  His most recent releases include Coldbrook from Arrow/Hammer, London Eye (book one of the Toxic Citytrilogy) from Pyr in the USA, Nothing as it Seems from PS Publishing, and The Heretic Land from Orbit, as well as The Secret Journeys of Jack London series(co-authored with Christopher Golden), Echo City, and the Cabin in the Woodsnovelisation.  Future novels include Into the Void: Dawn of the Jedi (Star Wars)from Del Rey/Star Wars Books.  He has won four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Scribe Award, and has been a finalist for International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, and World Fantasy Awards.

20th Century Fox acquired film rights to The Secret Journeys of Jack London series, and he and Golden wrote the first draft of the screenplay.  He has a TV series in development in the USA, and he’s also working on new screenplays, both solo and in collaboration with Stephen Volk.

Current books include the apocalyptic thriller COLDBROOK, first book in the Toxic City trilogy LONDON EYE, huge collection from PS Publishing NOTHING AS IT SEEMS, and fantasy novel THE HERETIC LAND.

Find out more about Tim at his website www.timlebbon.net

1.      Your work expands across many genres.  There are entries in horror, fantasy, and now science fiction.  Which genre has been your favorite to write in and why?

I don’t really have a favourite, as genre is never forefront in my mind when I’m writing (although see below…).  I write what interests me at the time, what floats my boat, and I’m never consciously reminding myself, ‘Oh, this is a science fiction book’ or ‘Oh yeah, this is for a fantasy publisher, needs more elves’.  I’m always aware when I begin of how the book is going to be published — for instance, The Heretic Land for Orbit was always going to be a fantasy novel — but once I have the germ of the initial idea, I always let my imagination run wild, and rarely stay within any particular boundaries.  Coldbrook could be a horror, could be science fiction, could be dark fantasy.  And it’s a love story, too.  With zombies.  Although fear not … they’re not doing the lovin’. 

2.      You have written numerous books with Christopher Golden (Jack London series and the Hidden Cities to name a few).  What can we expect from the two of you in the future concerning these series and is there anything else you two are cooking up?

We’re working on a new novel proposal right now, something quite different and very exciting.  We’re also talking about some TV series ideas, hoping we’ll get a chance to pitch them.  We work so well together –– we’re very good friends, and we seem to fire the creative spark in each other –– so we’ll always have something bubbling away.

3.      Noreela, what was the genesis for your fantasy world and are the tales from here complete?

I’d love to write more Noreela stories, but I doubt I’ll write another novel.  The name itself is an anagram of my daughter Eleanor’s name.  It was my first alternate-world fantasy novel, and the original idea for DUSK came from musing upon the magic used in many/most fantasy novels … I wanted to write one where the magic no longer existed.  The world, as you can imagine, was built gradually over the course of four novels and several novellas and short stories, and I’d love to visit again.

4.      The next genre you are taking by storm is science fiction.  I am a huge Star Wars fan and when it was revealed you were going to write a book in the series, I was surprised (in a good way).  How did the “Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi” book come about and what was it like working in the galaxy far, far away?  How did writing in an established universe compare to writing a movie adaptation?

It came about because an editor I’d worked with on an original Hellboy novel moved to LucasBooks, and they were looking for someone to write the first Dawn of the Jedi novel.  Very flattered that they chose me.  It was, I have to admit, a complete joy writing a Star Wars novel, and I enjoyed it more than any other tie-in novel I’ve done (originals in Hellboy and 30 Days of Night universes, and a couple of novelisations).  There were constraints, of course, but I created my own characters and story within those guidelines, and had a wonderful time doing so.  I’d love to visit the universe again.  We’ll see.

And actually, I’d have to say that I consider Star Wars as fantasy, not really science fiction.  Of course there are spaceships and other worlds, but it’s a fantasy galaxy, not our own –– it’s not a projection of how we might advance.  Maybe that’s why I loved writing it so much … I was world building again, creating monsters and lands and societies.  Great fun!

5.      Christopher Golden, Simon Clark, and Gavin Williams are a few of the authors you have worked with in the past.  What was it like co-authoring a book and how did the process with each author vary?

Processes are always slightly different.  I love collaborating, it makes writing not a lonely business, and two collaborators create a unique voice distinct from their own.  A fascinating process.  I’ll always collaborate … with Chris, of course, but there are always other projects being talked about, both screenplays and novels. 

6.      People are clamoring for follow ups to the “Assassin” series and the third act of “Naming of Parts” and “Changing of Faces”.  Are there any plans for these in the near future?

Yes, the third PS novella is contracted and I’ll be working on it soon.  As for the Assassin series, I was thinking about that only today, and I’d love to continue it.  Need to find a publisher first now that Necessary Evil Press seem to have gone away.  Watch this space!  Hmmm …. maybe I should look into Kickstarter?  

7.      Which book did you have the most fun writing and why?

Honestly don’t think I can choose one.  Maybe I should say it’s the one I’m going to work on next.

8.      How did you get started in the writing profession and what was the toughest lesson you had to learn?

I started in the same way most genre writers start … selling to the small presses (my first check was for £2.50), improving, learning my craft, getting better, finding more success, seeing my first novel published, and then year by year things better and better.  Mostly they still do.  You learn a lot about the business as you move on, and as you become more known, more things start to happen.  You have to work your ass off, of course.  And strive to keep getting better.  If ever I thought, ‘Well, I’m as good as I can get,’ that’d be time to switch off the laptop and become a plumber.  I work hard to better myself and feel that a writer’s craft is never complete.  There’s always more to learn.    

9.      “White”has been rumored to be coming to the screen numerous times as well as the Jack London books.  How have your dealings with Hollywood been and is there anything getting close to becoming a reality?

White is still in the background, and it might happen one day.  Similarly with Jack London, that’s still under option to 20th Century Fox.  I’ve had maybe a dozen other options that reached varying stages before … going away.  That’s what usually happens.  But there is some exciting news I can’t reveal yet about a potential TV series … so keep an eye on my website and Facebook for an announcement soon.

10.  Pimp yourself here.  Where can people go to find out more about Tim Lebbon?

I waste many hours on Facebook and Twitter, you can always find me there.  But best place for announcements etc is http://www.timlebbon.net

Bonus Question (This question is optional):  “War Pigs”. Where do you and Brian Keene stand on getting this going or is it dead for now?

Ha!  That one’s never dead.  We talk about it every time we meet up.  Maybe one day …

Thanks again Tim, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to sit down and pick your brain.

Thanks, Brent!

Coffin Hop 2012: Melodies of Maddness

 

Today I wanted to focus on what my favorite horror themed songs are.  I love music and my tastes run to the hard and heaviest of metals.  The tunes I listen to help me go to those deep , dark recesses in my mind when I need to write the down and dirty stuff.  No bunnies, rainbows, and bubble gum here kiddos.  I had tons of problems paring it down to ten and I almost went with twenty.

10.  Abigail- King Diamond:  I usually am not a big King Diamond fan, but the lyrics and vocals to this song sends shivers down my spine even in the summer.  It is dark and haunting.  Great song to irritate the neighbors with if you break your windows in the process.

9.  Dance of Death- Iron Maiden:  All time favorite band and this song about rituals with the dead can “chill the bones”.

8.  House of 1000 Corpses- Rob Zombie:  The title song from his directorial debut is a knockout, drag-out violent throw down.  The opening is jarring due to the music being off-key and the verses introducing you to the Firefly family are great pieces of horror fiction.

7.  Roses on White Lace- Alice Cooper:  From the Raise Your Fist and Yell album, this song is part of a story told within the final tracks about a killer.  The start of the chorus says it all, “In my eyes blood drops look like roses on white lace”.

6.  Nightcrawler- Judas Priest:  The creature is approaching the village while a storm rages in this Priest song from the Painkiller disc.  The song tells the tale of the people who try to hide and escape the beast when it enters the town to, “feast on flesh and blood”.

5.  Alone in the Dark- Testament:  One of the under-rated metal bands to come out of the ’80′s (along with Overkill) featured this song about evil and spirits on their debut album The Legacy.

4.  Dead Skin Mask- Slayer:  A story about murder and perversion in this nice song from Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss album.  The child’s voice in the beginning and the scream in the end messes with your mind.  Listen close to the final cry and how the pitch changes from hurt to unholy anger.  Great song to blare driving down the street.

3.  On a Wicked Night- Danzig: Not scary or bloody, just a good song about love and evil women.

2.  Black No. 1- Type O Negative:  Love this ode to goth chicks and the whole bad is hot vibe.  This is the one song I’ll find myself constantly humming while I’m writing.  I’ve also been known to grab my bass next to my desk and play the bass line from it to help me get my focus back to the story at hand.

1.  Fear of the Dark- Iron Maiden:  The top spot is the haunting tribute to the horror genre and things that go bump in the night from the Maiden guys.  Did I mention they are my favorite band?  The opening riff is amazing and the way Bruce Dickinson belts out the opening lines are superb.  A great song to listen to any time.

The bands above are also mainly what I listen to when pounding out tales of death and destruction.  I also throw in some Megadeth, High on Fire, Anthrax, Metallica, Amon Amarth, All That Remains, and other heavy bands.

So, what are your fav horror songs or bands you write with in the background?   Drop a comment below and discuss the horror side of music.

Goodnight…

 

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…

The Journey: Novella Thoughts- The End

Here we are friends.  We have arrived at the end of the journey for my first novella, In Memoriam.  The writing and re-writing have been completed.  The edits are finished and the formatting is done.  Now, ready for the world to read is my tale of love, revenge, and hate.

Being done is really bittersweet.  Getting this story finished and out there has consumed two years of my life and countless hours behind my keyboard pounding away on Andi’s story.  Looking back, it was worth every moment.  I have prepared myself for some negative comments and the such from the book however.  One does not simply write a book about abortion and vengeance minded fetus spirits without expecting some outrage.  It was how the story came out and for that I make no apologies.  If you get offended by the book, please stick around.  I’ve gotten the controversial book out of my system for now and I promise the stuff in the pipeline is more appealing to the masses.  It is now out for your Kindles here and in paperback here for your reading pleasure.

Since I’ve been working on this project and Southern Devils so hard, I’ve been lax in sending shorts out to other places.  There is some news on that front.  This past week, I had four drabbles (stories of exactly 100 words) released in KnightWatch Press’s Little Tales for the Smallest Room.  Right now it is here on Kindle, but will be in paperback soon.  To check out the eBook go here and read 197 of the smallest tales ever.

Next October, I will have my story “The Midnight Rider” published in an anthology to benefit reading programs.  I have seen the art that will go with my story and I like it.  First time I’ll have art with a short story.  This will be released next year for Halloween and I’ll remind you readers when the date approaches.  The book is packed with over 20 authors in the indy horror scene and an electronic “EP” preview of the book will one of the prizes in the Coffin Hop next week.  That is correct, I will once again be a stop on the Hop to Hell! 

So things are ramping up and I’ll hang out with you later, there are some people to kill on the page…   

Hoosier Horror Special Guest… The Lovely Tonia Brown

Today I bring you a special guest who wants to scare the pants off you this Halloween.  I will stand aside from my duties on the Hoosier Horror Blog Hop to welcome my special guest, Tonia Brown…

 

Halloween Memories

From Tonia Brown

Hello there! My name is Tonia Brown and I am the author of several novels ranging from humor to horror to steampunk. My latest novel, Sundowners, just hit the interwebs. It’s a backwoods southern horror, all about the importance of family, the dangers of gossip and the nature of the artistic muse.

Halloween has always been a special time for my twin sister and me. Heck, the whole month of October all but belongs to us. Our friends, our employers and both of our husbands know better than to schedule anything for us during October without asking first. Aside from the fact that our birthday falls in the middle of the month, October is just bursting with so much to do. From haunted houses to hay rides to corn mazes, there are only so many days to pack it all into. We each take at least a week off at the end of the month, just so we can OD on everything Halloween. And, of course, we make the run through all of the local haunted houses.

Though nothing will ever match the haunts that our dad ran.

Our family was military, and as such we’ve lived in a variety of places and a variety of homes. We were usually stuck in pretty small quarters, apartment style, with no garage or porch to speak of. But for a few golden years we lived in Georgia in a pretty nice duplex. During those years, our dad took full advantage of something we didn’t normally have; a covered porch.

The first year he set it up without telling us what he was doing. One afternoon, a few days before Halloween, he began hanging plastic up all over the porch, enclosing the structure until it was black as pitch inside during broad daylight. We thought he had lost his mind, and begged him and mom to tell us what was going on, but they both kept quiet about it. We didn’t catch on until he came to my artistic sister asked that she paint him a sign that read, “The Devil’s Graveyard.” While she made the sign, dad proceeded to fill the graveyard with all manner of creepy decorations and scary stuff. He built a coffin and rigged a stuffed suit to sit up at the tug of a string. He put a devil mask at the head of the thing and little glowing eyes inside that he would flick on and off. Who needed store bought props and fog machines when you had a cardboard masterpiece and a little home brewed special effects looped on a reel-to-reel in the background?

The best part of the haunted porch, aside from getting to see my dad giggle from scaring the pee out of some little kids, was that we always ended with more candy then we started with. You see, the minute dad would pull that string and his devil would sit up, at least one kid in every group would drop their bag and run. Who could blame him? My dad could scare the Devil himself with that thing! Even though you picked up the kid’s bag and scooped his candy into it and gave it to his friends to return to him once they caught up with him, some of the best bits always found their way under the props. My sister and I would collect this treasure later on when we thought no one was watching. And then our mother would demand her cut for letting us get away with it.

Sister and I carry on the tradition as best we can, setting up a haunted garage whenever the opportunity presents itself. Our busy lives keep us from participating in the professional houses, but we love nothing more than to run a single night event from someone’s backyard, garage, or even covered porch. Despite the fact that props and effects are so readily available now, thanks to the internet and Halloween stores, we always find ourselves falling back on the basics. A little cardboard, a little black paint and a whole lot of excitement always make for a better haunt then the fanciest of props ever could.

We miss you dad. Happy Halloween!

Tonia Brown’s short stories have appeared in a variety of anthologies. She has cranked out several books, including Sundowners, Badass Zombie Road Trip and the weird west series Railroad! Tonia lives in North   Carolina with her genius husband and an ever fluctuating number of cats. When not writing she raises unicorns and fights crime with her husband under the code names Dr. Weird and his sexy sidekick Butternut.

You can learn more about her at: http://www.thebackseatwriter.com

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All five of us – Tonia Brown, James N Cook, John O’ Brien, Armand Rosamilia and Mark Tufo – hope you have been following along on the Haunted Halloween Blog Tour 2012. We love to see comments after the posts, and we also love to pick a random commenter and give away a free eBook or even a signed print book, so maybe you’ll get lucky!

The Hoosier Horror Hop is Here!

Happy Halloween boils and ghouls, I will be your host for my part of a trip through the dark underbelly of the Hoosier state.  Here a crop of horror authors have banded together to scare you and we hope you’ll enjoy your hay ride through our neck of the woods.  To get the locations for other stops on the maddening tour go to Red Tash’s website at http://redtash.com/HoosierHorror.  From there your tour will take you to the edge of madness and to the lines separating life from the afterlife.  We’ve been waiting…

Me?  I’m Brent Abell and I write horror stories and other twisted tales of dread and sorrow.  I reside in Southern Indiana close to Kentucky and Illinois.  This area helped shape me and gave me the blocks I’d need to follow this path I’ve chosen.  All around our area, we have small churches with ancient cemeteries.  I once tried to break into an abandoned tuberculosis hospital because we heard about the spirits walking the halls at night.  Gazing through the windows at the blood-stained sheets still drapped over the rusted and broken down bed frames left a feeling and impression about our lives and what awaits us that never left me (neither did running from a guy with a shotgun, the sheriff who answered the call, and the way I felt those still living within the walls).  Close is also Willard Library which is infamous for the sightings of the ghost known as the ‘Lady in Gray”.  Tales of severed heads rolling across covered bridges in the moonlight all tell us we’re not alone here.

My path throughout my life has led me to this moment.  I am a few days away from the release of my debut novella In Memoriam.  I hope to show others that we can scare with the best of them here in Indiana.

During the week, I’ll feature guests from other hops, some tales from this area, and my musings on Halloween, the best time of the year.  So pull up some hay, toast some marshmallows, and prepare for Halloween…Hoosier style.

Goodnight…