Reader Appreciation Day!
I have to say, I have the greatest readers in the world. So many of you have been posting pictures of my books (or yourselves with my books) that I just had to share. This is just a small sample of what’s happened in the past week or so. Please keep ’em coming. I may have to make this a monthly blog post going forward.
@JoshuaMarsella holding a copy of The Jersey Devil before he disappeared into the Pine Barrens, never to be seen again.
@kimberlyyerina6466 created a hellish display for her copy of Ghost Mine. I hear she’s heading out to Hecla, WY with a pick axe, shovel, and holy water.
You better not call @disneynine a Misfit. Though she does know how to rock the grunge look.
@wellwortharead knows how to set the mood. I wonder what a haunted mansion candle smells like. Cobwebs and fear?
@LouciferSpeaks went old school with this one. Looks like the tips of her fingers are about to be bitten off by one of those nasty beasts.
I just love this pic by @spookymermaids. Makes me want to head up to our place in Maine and…wait, maybe not!
Signed Book Sale!
Screw yard sales where strangers fondle my stuff and try to rip me off for my collector’s edition Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot action figure. Or take a whiff of my old bowling shoes, turning away in disgust. I have a wife to give me those looks, thank you very much.
Nope, I prefer to do this the new-fashioned way. It’s over 90 degrees here in the Big Rotten Apple, which gets me to thinking of books to bring to the beach. If you want to build your own beach read pile, I’m here to help. It’s time for a book sale!
I have limited quantities of the titles above, along with a couple of others. If you’d like one, or two or more, send an email to huntershea1@gmail.com with the titles you’d like and your address. Payments will be made via Paypal. All books will be personally made out to you so you can prove to everyone that you’re a true Hellion. You’ll also get bookmarks and I’m going to see if I have any official Hellion stickers in the mess I call an office. Be the coolest Mofo on the beach. Impress the ladies. Capture the man of your dreams. Read horror and grow rich!
The prices below include shipping.
WE ARE ALAWAYS WATCHING – $15
SWAMP MONSTER MASSACRE – $12
SAVAGE JUNGLE – $12
THE DOVER DEMON (NOW OUT OF PRINT) – $15
LOCH NESS REVENGE – $12
THE JERSEY DEVIL – $10
THE MONTAUK MONSTER -$10
TORTURES OF THE DAMNED – $10
THEY RISE – $12
Hear The Monster Roar – Audiobooks On The Rise
Despite early worries that e-books would force print to go the way of the woolly mammoth and Elvis, it appears the end is not nigh. In fact, in 2016, paperback sales were up over 5%, with e-books down over 20%. Independent bookstores even saw a healthy uptick in sales (and book hounds rejoiced!).
What isn’t getting all the press it deserves are the incredible gains in audiobook sales. The audiobook market is booming, with sales increasing over 30% in 2016. Business for audiobook sellers like Audible.com and iTunes is good. Damn good.
The big question is, why?
I’m going to take a stab at it. From my vantage point, everyone is plugged into some device or another like stasis pods in The Matrix. We’re going to have an entire civilization of hunchbacks from all that craning down to gaze into our phones. If someone isn’t looking down, odds are they’re sporting earplugs and listening to music or podcasts or audiobooks.
Back in the day, which really isn’t that long ago, when I went to the beach, I would look over a sea of people reading books, magazines and newspapers. The beach is a perfect place to kick back and relax, unplugging yourself from the rat race. Now when I go, nearly everyone is locked onto their phones.
Audiobooks are a convenient way to read without having to – shudder – suffer from separation anxiety from our electronic devices. In a world where everyone likes to bemoan how busy they are, listening to a book during the commute to work or while shopping fits right in with their lifestyle.
Who has the time to sit and read anymore? In reality, everyone does, but we like to pretend our bouncing around like pinballs is so crucial to the survival of the planet, we refuse to sit still. Audiobooks are custom made for people on the go. I may read 100 books a year, but I also listen to a couple dozen audiobooks (in between the thousand podcasts I’m addicted to).
Production quality on audiobooks is advancing every year, with better narration and crisper recording. When GraphicAudio produced the audio for my book, The Montauk Monster, I was blown away by the end product. I didn’t know there were audiobooks like that. They call their audiobooks A Movie in Your Mind, and they are just that, with a large, talented cast, sound effects, music and more.
GraphicAudio recently released my latest tale of monster mayhem, The Jersey Devil. I have to say, even as the man who wrote the words, hearing it acted out is creepy and downright terrifying. To be able to hear the Jersey Devil screech and its hapless victims cry out for mercy chilled my blood. It reminds me of listening to the rebroadcasts of the old radio serials with my dad when I was a kid. Productions like this are the way of the future for audiobooks, in my humble opinion. It’s impossible to get bored or have your mind wander when you’re fully immersed in the story. Go on over to GraphicAudio and listen to some of the samples and see for yourself.
How do you feel about audiobooks? What are some of your favorites? It looks like they’re here to stay, but if anyone tells you they’re going to wipe out print books, point them to last year’s e-book sales statistics.
Creature Features, Cow Carcasses and Kindle Deals
I know, Hellions, that’s one strange ass title for a blog post, but that’s exactly what it’s all about.
Thanks goes out to an old friend, Brenda B., for sharing this photo and story with me. Somehow, during my research into the Jersey Devil, I missed this! Back in the 60’s in New Jersey, a cow and a deer carcass somehow made it to the top of a telephone pole. Locals attributed it to their friendly neighborhood monster.
Cryptozoologists say the Jersey Devil has kept a very low profile since the early 1900s, but if you go out and talk to the people who live there, you’ll get a completely different opinion. And here’s another shocker – I can’t believe how many folks have first hand Bigfoot encounters in the Pine Barrens. I’ve spoken to quite a few, some of them still visibly upset, even if it happened years ago.
I wonder if this was the Jersey Devil’s idea of a pinata? Maybe she just wanted to throw a party for her horrid offspring.
And speaking of horrid offspring, Pinnacle has discounted all of my books for the month of February. You can snag an ebook of The Montauk Monster for $1.99, The Jersey Devil for 99 cents or Tortures of the Damned for 99 cents. Time to load up those e-readers on the cheap!
What’s the strangest thing ever found on a telephone pole? For me, we threw a Batman figure that had a parachute attached to our phone line. It stayed there for about 10 years, poor Batsy’s color fading with each year.
The Jersey Devil Gets The Publishers Weekly Seal of Approval
As my British friends would say, I’m always gobsmacked when I see a review of one of my books in Publishers Weekly. I mean, isn’t that the magazine that reviews real books? Not books about monsters, unless Stephen King wrote it. (and on a side note, who else is dying for King to tackle a new monster?)
My first Pinnacle book, The Montauk Monster, was called one of the best reads of the summer by PW back in 2014. Well, it’s two years and another cryptid/monster book later. Here’s what they had to say about THE JERSEY DEVIL…
Shea delivers a tense and intriguing work of escalating tension splattered with a clever, extensive cast of bystanders turned victims.
Fans will appreciate the call-outs to his other work, and fans of cryptid creatures are likely to revel in this love letter to a legendary menace.
I looked over on GoodReads, where all us rabid readers loiter about, and it’s getting lots of love from the folks who have gotten an early preview of the book.
The Jersey Devil officially comes out on August 30th. If you’d like me to appear for a signing near you, contact me at huntershea1@gmail.com or via comment here and I’ll see what I can do.
And just for gits and shiggles, I’ll give away a signed copy of The Montauk Monster to a random responder to this post.
Enjoy the summer while it lasts. Because darkness is coming, and there be monsters lurking within…
Signed Copies Of The Entire Hunter Shea Library
Hey there Hellions! Are you all having fun roasting this summer? I know I am. This is what they mean by hell on earth.
I have a little something new for you this time around. I’m offering signed copies of my books that I will mail out to anyone interested in the United States (international shipping gets a tad too steep). Each book will only be $10, which includes shipping. I have a limited supply, but you can get your hands on personalized copies of THE MONTAUK MONSTER, TORTURES OF THE DAMNED, THEY RISE, THE DOVER DEMON, ISLAND OF THE FORBIDDEN, SINISTER ENTITY, FOREST OF SHADOWS, HELL HOLE and EVIL ETERNAL.
I realize that even with going to a convention and book signing here and there, I’ll never get a chance to see everyone. I also know that most horror fans prefer printed books over ebooks (as do I). So if you’d like a book or two or more, send an email to huntershea1@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there. The books can be made out to you or friends and family as gifts (if you don’t particularly like your friends or family). All payments will go through PayPal to keep things nice and simple. Books will be sent on a first come, first served basis until the shelves are bare.
And if you already have a book that you’d like signed, you can send the book to me and I can mail it back for just $4. Email me first at the address above and send your book to :
Hunter Shea, PO Box 232, Yonkers, NY 10710
Best way to beat the heat is to settle down with a good book by the air conditioner. Or, you could read one of mine by a fan.
99 cent Fish Sticks and Free Beach Beasts
Just popping in for a quick howdy to my Hellions on this fine Cinco de Mayo. Tequila is your friend today.
I wanted to make you aware of two very cool specials that are available now. First up, THEY RISE has been discounted to 99cents on Amazon. Just a couple of days ago, it was the #1 horror book on Amazon as well as #1 in the Sea Stories category. Unfortunately, we couldn’t crack the cryptid erotica category. And if there is no such category, there needs to be. Click the cover below to snag a copy on the cheap!
The Chimaera Fish are coming to get you Barbara!
Also, to get you all worked up into a lather over my upcoming monster book, THE JERSEY DEVIL, I’m giving away 5 signed paperback copies of my best selling THE MONTAUK MONSTER every month on Goodreads between now and August. If you’re on GR, enter the giveaway for your chance to win one. Take it to the beach and be very, very afraid!
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!
Listen To The Mayhem! – The Montauk Monster Now On Audio
When I was a kid growing up in the 70s, some of my fondest memories took place in the kitchen of our Bronx apartment. My father and I used to put together monster model kits – Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Forgotten Prisoner of Castle Mare, Jaws, you name it. While we worked on those models, the smell of glue making me dizzy, we listened to the radio. A local college station played all the great radio plays from yesteryear, from The Shadow to Flash Gordon and even some Charlie Chan every now and then (you can listen to a lot of them now at http://www.RadioLovers.com)
I loved those old shows. I truly believe they’re part of the reason I grew up with this very active imagination. Some might say overactive, but I’m fine with that.
Last year, I was told that my novel, The Montauk Monster, was going to be made into an audiobook. Ok, cool, I’ve had that done before with other books.
The time has come, and when I heard a preview, I was floored – and it takes a lot to knock my socks and shoes off.
First, here’s the new cover designed by the great folks at GraphicAudio. Not for the squeamish!
Kinda looks like an undercooked sausage that bites back!
Anyhow, GraphicAudio doesn’t just produce standard audiobooks. No, like their tagline says, they make movies for your mind. The Montauk Monster is acted out by a wonderful cast, complete with chilling music, sound effects and enough scares to give your goose bumps goose bumps. When I heard it, it was like listening to someone else’s book. Surreal doesn’t even come close to describing that moment.
I really can’t say enough good things about it. Just when I think I’m starting to get jaded, something like this comes along to flip the script. You can listen to a preview by clicking here.
I feel like a proud poppa right now. Give it a listen, I hope you dig it and jump in for an entirely new experience, even if you’ve read the book.
There’s even a chance I may have some copies on hand when I appear at Scares That Care in a couple of weeks.
Tell me what you think. Either that or I’ll be left asking my Creature From The Black Lagoon action figure what he thinks, and he’s not the best conversationalist.
Special Announcement – The Montauk Monster on Sale To Get You Ready For Summer
Right now, you can get last summer’s smash hit monster thriller, THE MONTAUK MONSTER, on ebook for only $1.99. Load up your Kindles and Nooks and iPads for the beach, and don’t be afraid of the water…just what washes up on the shore!
You can get a copy at Amazon, B&N or KOBO today. I’m not sure how long the sale will last (I wasn’t even aware it started until someone else pointed it out!), so grab it while you can.
And if monsters aren’t your bag, THE HAUNTED HALLS by Glenn Rolfe is free on Amazon aaaand Jonathan Janz’s THE NIGHTMARE GIRL is only 99 cents! You can get three great books for just under $3. I dare you to find a better dealio.
Hunter Shea 