Book Release Day – THEY RISE!
It’s a new year, which means it’s time for some new books for all you horror monster fans! First up for 2016 is my sea monster novella, THEY RISE.
The Chimaera Fish are coming to get you Barbara!
The monster fish in They Rise are real, though not as large as I make them out to be. When I was searching for a sea monster to terrorize the ocean, I wanted to find something old and ugly. I knew I found my beastie when I came upon this photo of a chimaera fish –
Talk about a face only a mother could love. Turns out, chimaera fish are an offshoot of the shark family tree. They’re even nicknamed ghost sharks. They’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years. These bottom dwellers have spiny protrusions laced with venom for protection. I know if I pulled one up on a hook, I might throw the pole back into the ocean.
Now, in reality, they’re only a couple of feet long. I had to make my chimaera fish in They Rise much, much larger, so the sea creatures in the book are prehistoric chimaera fish that have been trapped in methane ice for millions of years. Once they get out, they’re mean and ugly and hungry. Kinda like me in the morning.
The book opens with a pair of older brothers out on a fishing party boat off the coast of Miami. The 70+ year-old men, Richie and Eddie, were based on my grandfather and his brother. I used to go fishing with them every summer when I was a kid down at Sheepshead Bay. They’ve been gone 20 years now, but the beauty of being a writer is the power to resurrect the ones you loved and lost, even if only for a chapter or two.
In the book, Eddie’s hooked something awful powerful on his line. His days of fighting big ocean fish are well behind him…at least that’s what he thought. Things are about to get a wee tad intense, as long as Eddie and the ship’s mate can haul in the catch of the day.
Of all the things I’ve written over the past several years, that opening chapter is the one that has meant the most to me. It gave me a chance to fish with Grandpa and Uncle Eddie, or as everyone called him, Okie Dokie, one more time. I’m glad that we only caught fluke and occasional sea robins back in the day. Hell, if I was going to write a fish tale, I had to start it with the men who taught me all about fish tales.
Want a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card? Follow the publicity tour put together by the fab Erin at Hook of a Book Publicity. Sign up for my newsletter to be eligible. You’ll also be part of the giveaway fun I have all throughout the year.
Happy New Year – Let The Top 10 Lists Begin
I hope you’re all planning to have an irresponsible…I mean safe and chaste…new year’s eve. For guys like me, you know, north of forty with a family, the amateur nights of NYE hustling from drunken party to drunken party are behind me. Now, I force myself to stay awake just so I can watch the start of The Honeymooners marathon. The day after, I switch between that and The Twilight Zone, sprinkling in some Odd Couple here and there.
This year we’re doing something different. A couple of families are going to an immense indoor water park and resort. I packed my bathing suit and a bottle of Fireball. I think that’s all I need. Looking forward to hitting the water slides.
And speaking of looking forward, this time of year is also about looking backward, which is why you see so many top 10 lists. When I get back, I’ll not only publish my annual Top 13 horror films of 2015, but a top TV shows and top reads of the past year as well.
Until then, here are links to some other top lists. The reason I include these particular lists is because one of my books is on each. I know, sly dog. But there are some incredible books on each list, more than enough to satisfy your thirst for quality horror. So here they be…
Top 10 Horror Novels by Horror Novel Reviews (you’ll find THE DOVER DEMON there on one of the most prestigious horror review sites out there)
The Mouths of Madness 2015 Best-Of Books! (featuring ISLAND OF THE FORBIDDEN and TORTURES OF THE DAMNED…ZDubbz gives you not only the best, but what he’s looking forward to in 2016)
Super Author Glenn Rolfe’s Top 10 (ISLAND OF THE FORBIDDEN makes another list, which makes me think I have to write another Jessica and Eddie book soon!)
I’m sure there are plenty more lists to come. I’d stay and write longer, but I have to get the car ready, stop at the store, and try to wake 2 teenage daughters up. No easy task.
Have a Happy New Year and stay thirsty, my fiends!
Cover Reveal – THE JERSEY DEVIL
Are you all ho-ho-hoed out yet? I know I am. The fat man is back in his icy lair, and things can get back to normal.
Of course, normal for me means being surrounded by all sorts of monsters and beasties and ghosts. With the new year just around the corner, I’m gearing up for my 3 new releases in 2016. I just got the cover to what will be my third Pinnacle novel, THE JERSEY DEVIL, and it’s a doozy. From the Pine Barrens to your eyeballs, with love! The book comes out everywhere on August 30th.
I hope the state of New Jersey lets me in to promote The Jersey Devil next fall. I’d love to find a way to host a special event deep in the Pine Barrens. Luckily, I have 8 months to figure it out.
Hope you all like the cover. More on what’s inside to come. If you loved The Montauk Monster, you’ll really dig The Jersey Devil. No cryptid is safe from me. Any suggestions on which one I should tackle next?
Time to Pre-Order THEY RISE – A DEEP SEA THRILLER!
I’m super excited to announce my new home – SEVERED PRESS– along with my first ever sea monster book, THEY RISE! If you think the baddies I created in The Montauk Monster were sinister, you’re in for a wild ride on the open seas this time around.
You know, before I became infatuated with Bigfoot, I was the kid going from library to library searching for every book that dealt with the Loch Ness Monster, giant squids and mysterious beasts from the deep. Needless to say, there wasn’t much out there in the late 1970s, but I did devour each book I managed to get my hands on.
The Chimaera Fish are coming to get you Barbara!
So, when Severed Press approached me about writing a novella about sea creatures gone mad, I jumped at the chance. THEY RISE is just the first of what I hope are many more to come with the wonderful folks at SP.
The book comes out January 4th, but you can pre-order the ebook over at Amazon for just $3.99 – or free for you Prime members. The trade paperback will be available on the release date. Order now and be one of the first to experience a sea tale that’ll make you reconsider that cruise you’ve been dreaming about.
Here’s the synopsis for THEY RISE –
Some call them ghost sharks, the oldest and strangest looking creatures in the sea.
Marine biologist Brad Whitley has studied chimaera fish all his life. He thought he knew everything about them. He was wrong. Warming ocean temperatures free legions of prehistoric chimaera fish from their methane ice suspended animation. Now, in a corner of the Bermuda Triangle, the ocean waters run red. The 400 million year old massive killing machines know no mercy, destroying everything in their path. It will take Whitley, his climatologist ex-wife and the entire US Navy to stop them in the bloodiest battle ever seen on the high seas.
I’ve always felt that the novella format is the best for horror, and THEY RISE fits that mold. The fun is packing as much action and terror into a tiny package as possible (though it’s not sooo tiny at 151 pages).
So grab your fishing gear and a bazooka and join me in the Atlantic Ocean for a hell of a trip!
Deck The Halls With Christmas Horror
Gather round the Christmas tree, boys and girls! Regular contributor Spencer Mitchell is back, this time with a bag full of some of the best holiday horror movies to come down the chimney. Ho Ho Ho and all that claptrap!
Top Naughty & Not So Nice Horror Films for the Holidays
The “feel good” cheery holidays, like Christmas, are upon us and if you’re like me you enjoy the sugary sweetness for the first week or two, and then you’re itching for something a little more… menacing. Sure, the holidays are a time of joy, but it can also bring some sadness for horror fans – after all, the Halloween terror was so abruptly taken away with the arrival of November and yuletide cheer.
But thankfully there’s a special little genre set aside for this time of year. For all you horror fans who’re looking for year round terror and blood, check out this short list of the best scary holiday movies and embrace the season of Santa (which is oddly close to Satan ~Hunter)
Black Christmas (1974)
Home invasion movies are always the scariest; we’re supposed to feel safe in our own homes, and when we see that level of comfort invaded it makes us second guess our own safety. So, when a sorority house is terrorized by creepy perverted phone calls, in classic slasher fashion, the police turn out to assist them. But the true terror of Black Christmas begins when a young girl’s father, played by James Edmond, visits the campus when his daughter turns up missing along with a little high schooler who is found dead in the park nearby. Jessica (Olivia Hussey), the girl’s friend, must fight for her life and her friends’ when the attacker comes after her. Things are not always as they seem, and the bodies pile high in this holiday horror film (on Netflix) as killers are misidentified and safety is nowhere in sight.
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
When his parents are murdered by Santa Claus, Billy (Robert Wilson) is forever haunted by the memories of Christmas past. Sent to an orphanage where he’s abused by the head nun and cared for by Sister Margaret (Gilmer McCormick), kindred spirits who seem to find themselves scolded frequently. When he turns 18 he leaves, desperate for a normal life, but Christmas rears its ugly head when he’s forced, by his employer, to put on a Santa suit and dress up for the children. He snaps and goes on a killer rampage leaving a trail of bodies back to the orphanage for revenge in true Michael Myers style. Followed up by a slew of sequels and a loose remake years later, none quite match the gruesome terror of the original bad Santa.
Gremlins (1984)
Many seem to forget that Gremlins is technically a Christmas movie. After all, it’s around Christmas when Billy, played by Zach Galligan, gets the strange furry creature called a Mogwai as a gift. While seemingly cute and adorable at first, these things quickly multiply and run wild. They drink and gamble and even flash the bartender throughout their rampage. Having Gremlins around is a lot like being terrorized by your pet or stuffed animals, but the scene where Lynn Peltzer (Frances McCain) kills a few gremlins with various household objects is amusingly akin to the typical panic of slasher films. The story continued in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (streaming info here) where the gremlin army threatens New York City, and there are rumors the third sequel could even feature a Godzilla-sized gremlin making the jump over to terrorize Europe.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This movie’s not as scary if you only take it for face value. The true terror lies in the imaginative story Tim Burton brings to the film. What’s more horrifying than having the most joyous holiday of the year hijacked by the nightmarish creatures of Halloween or having your toys attack you? Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), bored with his role as the Pumpkin King, becomes intrigued and inspired by Christmas’ strange customs and leader, Sandy Claws. So, he decides to take on Christmas himself. After kidnapping Sandy Claws and throwing him into the merciless hands of Oogie Boogie (Ken Page) Jack begins his sleigh ride. However, he soon realizes he should’ve stuck to his own holiday when he becomes sorely unwelcome. With amazing musical tracks The Nightmare Before Christmas is a true classic, family-friendly, and suitable for both Christmas and Halloween!
Jack Frost (1997)
Starting off simple, yet still a tad gruesome, Jack Frost is full of ridiculous death scenes and simpleminded humor. It’s very reminiscent of old slasher films in that regard. Scott MacDonald plays the murderous Jack Frost, an inmate who, while on the way to his execution, narrowly escapes a car accident, only to be mutated and turned into a snowman. With a second chance to exact his revenge, Frost goes after the one who locked him up, Sam Tiler (Christopher Allport), the sheriff of the small fictional town. Tiler must team up with arrogant FBI agents to take down Frost – with a little creative use of antifreeze!
So, there you have it: five holiday horror movies to hopefully get those carols out of your head, at least for a little while. Who says Christmas is a time for only joyous, mushy, feelings? It’s great to see this little genre getting recognition as the years go on – especially with Krampus, based on the folklore of Santa’s murderous helper, coming to theaters in December. It’s sure to leave a lasting impression on the kids.
Robert E Dunn’s Highway To Hell – THE RED HIGHWAY
I first became acquainted with Robert E. Dunn when I read his alien novel, BEHIND THE DARKNESS. You know I’m a sucker for anything that deals with aliens, especially nasty ETs. Since then, we’ve spoken quite often, becoming pen pals of sorts. I was very fortunate to get an early read of his brand new release, THE RED HIGHWAY, a road trip to hell and redemption and other dark and light places.
Well, Robert’s here today to talk a little about the wiring of a horror writer and to give you a peek of THE RED HIGHWAY. Buckle up, baby!
Horror Writer? How Weird Do You Have To Be?
I have a lot of people in my life, friends and family, strangers at the supermarket, and the occasional random e-mail ranter/fan, that ask me how do I write a novel. The subtext of this is usually, how do I write the novels I do-scary, weird, gory, and sometimes a bit desperate. Most of my characters seem to have a bit of desperation in them and they look at me, a regular guy kind of guy, and wonder about the secrets in my basement. I’ll tell you this, no one goes into my basement. Don’t even ask. What I’ll tell you about writing my books is that I have my own way of doing things and my own love of the macabre.
To tell you the truth, I think most people would be disappointed to meet a horror author. We’re the normal guys. Genre writers in general, I think, are the grounded ones. It’s the unique individuals that write In Cold Blood or Catcher in the Rye. Our basic normality comes from a life-long love of the kind of stories we end up writing. I grew up loving the old Universal horror movies and reading Tales From the Crypt. When I discovered Vampirella I turned my hand to art trying to draw beautiful vampires in skimpy costumes. My drawing skills never really improved that much but the stories and art that inspired me stuck. Monsters and weirdness infected my mind while at the same time inoculating me against the petty poisons of the real world.
Looking back, it was the same way with the kids that had a love of cowboy culture, literary readers, math geeks, jocks, drama kids…etc. Young people that have something to love, to inspire, have a framework that is both refuge and community. That makes for strong, healthy people.
Something that the rest of the world is just beginning to realize, is that almost all culture, is geek culture. We’re all geeks about something and it’s normal to be passionate about the things that give us understanding of who we are in the world. A guy who paints his body to attend a football game is no different from a gamer girl that cosplays at a ComicCon. We’re all normal and I think it’s in large part due to our connections to touchstones that speak to us.
All of that raging normalcy allowed me to write THE RED HIGHWAY, a novel about how a homeless drunk, a porn star, a foul-mouthed dwarf, two preachers, and a reporter save themselves and a burning city from an ancient evil. I’m telling you it takes a sane person to write about monsters that demand sacrifice and imagine a world where ghosts can forgive us.
All of that being said-stay out of my basement.
Now I’d like to give you a little synopsis of THE RED HIGHWAY and invite you into the weirdness.
In January of 1992, the fading life of Paul Souther, a homeless veteran, is changed by two events. He witnesses a murder committed by a big black man who, for a moment, seemed to have wings. And, as Paul hides from the man in a XXX theater, Mary Prince, the adult actress on screen, begins to speak directly to him.
On the other side of the country, the real Mary encounters the same big man when she visits the site of the Rodney King beating. He infests her life and her mind then traps her in a mental health ward, impossibly, pregnant.
In LA, two other black men, a tabloid reporter, and a celebrity TV preacher, are on the trail of the same mysterious man. They follow the tracks of rage and race leading throughout the city. At every hot spot the man is seen pulling strings and spreading the message of race war.
Paul and a mix of outcasts is called to Mary’s side just as the baby is born. None of them have any idea that the city of LA is sitting on a ticking bomb of anger. As riots explode, the big man, who now claims to be a god, reveals himself to be an ancient, dark power using the rage of the people to stoke his own, literal, fires. He demands the child as sacrifice to keep the city, and perhaps the nation from burning. It falls to Paul, a faithless man, and a drunk with blood on his own hands, to make the impossible choice between a child or a city and to save the people he has come to care about.
Twenty years later, as the grown child is spreading her own message of practical faith, as protesters picket and shout a new hate, a mysterious man shows up in the new crowds. This time his message is, God Hates Fags.
The Red Highway, Synopsis
Necro Publications/Bedlam Press
PAGES: 282
ISBN: 978-1-939065-82-7 Trade Paperback (List: $12.95)
Distribution: Trade Paperback: Amazon, LSI and CreateSpace eBook: Kindle, Smashwords, Baker & Taylor, Nook, LSI, Apple, Kobo, Sony and others.
In 1992, as Los Angeles begins to simmer in the heat of racial injustices, one dark man appears everywhere, spreading his message of race war. At the same time, Paul Souther, a homeless drunk, joins a strange group of outsiders. Some black and some white, they all carry the weight of broken lives and lost faith. They are all drawn to LA, for the arrival of a child, impossibly carried by Mary Prince, a sterile porn star.
Through back roads and freeways everyone is pulled into LA and Mary’s side just as the baby is born. None of them have any idea that the city is a ticking bomb of anger. As riots explode, the mysterious man reveals himself to be an ancient, dark spirit using the rage of the people to stoke his own, literal, fires. He demands Mary’s child as sacrifice to keep the city, and perhaps the nation from burning. It falls to Paul, a faithless man, and a drunk with blood on his own hands, to make the impossible choice between the child and the city, and to save the people he has come to care about.
Biography, Robert E. Dunn
Robert E. Dunn was born an army brat and grew up in the Missouri Ozarks. He wrote his first book at age eleven, stealing, or novelizing, as he called it at the time, the storyline of a Jack Kirby comic book.
His college course of study, philosophy, religion, theatre, and film/TV communications, left him qualified only to be a televangelist. When that didn’t work out, he turned to them mostly, honest work of video production. Over several years he produced everything from documentaries, to training films and his favorite, travelogues. Still always writing for the joy of it he returned to writing horror and fantasy fiction for publication after the turn of the century. It seemed like a good time for change even if the changes were not always his choice.
He lives in Kansas City with three daughters, a young grandson, and an old dog. He tweets sometimes as @WritingDead but makes no promises how interesting those little posts will be.
Praise for The Red Highway
“The Red Highway is not one of the best books that I’ve read so far this year, or that I’ve read in a long time…it’s one of the best books that I’ve ever read! It was an incredible read, one that has so many layers that I was completely enthralled with the story.” –2 Book Lovers Reviews
“A thoroughly gripping read. Dunn is a writer with guts and the chops to grab his readers by the eyeballs and dare them to look away.” –Hunter Shea, Author of Tortures of the Damned
Purchase Links
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/The-Red-Highway-Robert-Dunn-ebook/dp/B0158WMEOE
Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-red-highway-robert-e-dunn/1122623132
Necro Publications
Giveaway!!!
Enter for your chance to win either a copy of The Red Highway, Behind the Darkness, or a print of the beautiful cover artwork from The Red Highway done by Erik Wilson! You can do multiple things each day to gain more entries! Just click the rafflecopter link. Forward any questions to Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjI3/?
Our Fascination With The End Of The World
I know that post-apocalypse fiction and movies are all the rage now, but when you think about it, this is really nothing new. Ever since crackpots have held up signs proclaiming THE END IS NEAR, human beings have been both intrigued and terrified by the concept of a complete upheaval of our world. In modern culture, just look at the success of books and movies like On the Beach, The Stand, The Day After, Testament, Miracle Mile, Swan Song and the slew of zombie fare we’ve been inundated with. Whether it’s by the hands of a returned Christ, nuclear annihilation, undead hordes or pandemic, witnessing the downfall of all we have built and seeing how the few will survive is more addicting than reality TV (and fare more fulfilling).
Of course, when we read or watch these scenarios, we always imagine ourselves as managing to scramble out from under the rubble. I mean, what’s the point if I don’t carry on? I’m smart. I’m crafty. I can turn a blind eye to establishes mores in order to survive. So why not me?
When I was a wee one, I saw the original Dawn of the Dead at the movies. (Too late to call social services on my dad!) I came out of there obsessed – not with zombies – but wondering what I would do when the world went to shit. I made lists of stores I would go to in order to gather supplies. First stop was the sports store by me where I would load up on rifles, bow and arrows and other gear to make me a force to be reckoned with. Food and water would come later. Everywhere I went, I pictured how I would fortify that location so I turn it into a safe haven.
I’m an adult now – at least that’s what it says on my license – and I still think about these things. Except now I have to make plans that include my family. Hell, I’m so obsessed with it, I wrote a book about it, Tortures of the Damned.
Why does this attract us? Is it because an apocalypse presents a cleaning of the slate, a total do-over, a chance to ‘be a real man’ and not a pencil pushing geek who stops at traffic lights and pays his taxes? Yeah, I think that’s part of it.
We’re not far removed from being pioneers, settlers, survivors. I think a part of us still craves the adventure. So we fantasize about the end times, testing ourselves against impossible odds. We want to see if we measure up to the generations before us that seemed to know how to do everything, whereas we can’t even tell you how anything we use every day really works.
On the Monster Men, we recently talked about our apocalyptic obsession with author Russell James, whose latest book, Q Island, tears apart Long Island, NY in a very unique way. The start of the end is possibly the most original way to date, and most frighteningly, is being played out right now in real life. Kinda gives me the shivers.
Living so close to New York City, I have to prepare for the worst. We here know it’s a matter of when, not if. The hope is that it’s nothing like people like me and Russell and many other have written.
But I’ll be loaded for bear, just in case.
Plotting and Planning World Domination
That’s a pretty lofty title for this post. This coming from a guy who keeps telling the lovely ladies of the Shea abode that I’m king of the castle to peels of laughter. But anyway…
Now that the dust has settled with the whole Samhain madness, I’ve been taking some time to sit back and look over the landscape, considering my options for the future. Writing has taken a back seat to quiet contemplation, as well as talking to other publishers about new opportunities. This actually came at a good time. I was getting so bogged down, I couldn’t tell my ass from my elbow. Sometimes you don’t know how deep in the reeds you’ve wandered until you’ve been pulled out of them. Writing has become a full time job, in addition to my other full time job, and handling a family that counts two disabled people among the four. Being able to go in my room and write has always been my escape, my refuge, my sanity. The shock of Samhain’s news when they let my friend and editor go got me out of that room for a spell, which has freed me up to attend to other pressing matters that needed my attention desperately.
Lupus has become a big part of our lives, and I’m working with the Lupus Foundation to find the best doctors for my wife. We still need to get to the bottom of my youngest daughter’s illness. And my oldest is about to get her license while applying for colleges. Huge milestones! God, I feel old. I love the family I’ve created. Their health and happiness is always my top priority, and right now, they need me more than ever.
So even though I haven’t written a word this month, I have been busy reorganizing the old to-do and wish lists. We all need a break from time to time, even from the things we love. One thing I am doing now is editing a middle grade book I wrote a few years ago. That baby needs a spit shine so my agent can shop it around. I’m also putting together ideas for other books in non-horror genres, as well as getting the bones together for a short story called DASH GIRL I’ll publish in 2016. I already have the cover. Gotta get the guts together. (I feel like I’m living the Ed Wood movie!)
I do have some exciting news about new books that will be out in 2016 that I plan to announce soon. Anyone who joins my Dark Hunter Newsletter now will hear it first, as well as be eligible to win free books. Trust me, you want in on this news.
My main man Jack will be coming to the studio to film our Monster Men Christmas special, and we have loads of interviews lined up. Any beer suggestions for when we film?
So what’s the point of all this? I guess it’s just to let other writers know that it’s perfectly fine not to write. And to tell you that bigger and better things are on the way. 2016 is going to be amazing.
The Best Holiday Present Ever – Free Books!
All righty, I’m not exactly ho-ho-hoing just yet, but I am painfully aware of how few paychecks there are between now and the holiday season, no matter what day you celebrate. Sure, Festivus counts.
I’m going to make your shopping a wee bit easier. All subscribers to my Dark Hunter Newsletter are eligible to win several pretty cool gifts next month. First up, a 3 pack of signed Jessica Backman ghost novels. That’s right, FOREST OF SHADOWS, SINISTER ENTITY and ISLAND OF THE FORBIDDEN, all wrapped up and ready to go under the tree.
Next up is the 6 CD set of the audiobook of THE MONTAUK MONSTER, expertly done by the incredible cast at GraphicAudio. You’ve never heard an audiobook like it.
Last but not least, I’ll also be giving away one signed copy of TORTURES OF THE DAMNED.
And all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter.
I also have some big publishing news to announce. Being a subscriber means you’ll be the first to know.
So, what are you waiting for? Help me play Santa!
An Interview With Horror Master, Brian Moreland
I first met Brian Moreland about 4 years ago when we were part of Samhain’s initial horror line. We became instant friends that will last well beyond Samhain. His first book with them, DEAD OF WINTER, just blew me away. He’s since published a host of other kick ass novels, like SHADOWS IN THE MIST, THE WITCHING HOUSE, THE DEVIL’S WOODS, and THE VAGRANTS. His latest novella, DARKNESS RISING, is just phenomenal. Easily the best novella of 2015!
We here at the Monster Men have been trying to get him on the show for a couple of years. Our insane schedules made it almost impossible. Thankfully, we finally got on the same page…or Skype in this case. I was a bit woozy, having lost some blood during my tattoo process, and filling the void with beer. But, we made it! Enjoy this special episode with one of the best horror writers today.
And check out Brian’s Amazon Page to pick up his books.
Hunter Shea 