Friday, September 22, 2017

Say Goodbye to Summer and Welcome the Fall with Two Free Horror Stories!

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, especially as a New Englander. The crispness of the air, the changing of the colors--I love it. And let's not forget the greatest holiday of the year is coming up--Halloween.

But I know some of you are summer people--you miss the eighty-degree weather, trips to the beach and backyard barbecues.

Or maybe you're a fan of both season, and you're feeling little torn right now on this first day of fall.

Well it just so happens I have a horror story for every season, and today I thought I'd share two of them with you. They are both free, and you can read them right now!



"The Boathouse" is a summer camp-themed nightmare about what lurks in the waters of a campside lake. I wrote it as part of the Summer of Screams showcase my writing partner Jolene Haley put together last month.



For you fans of fall, I present "Harvest Moon," a pumpkin-spiced tale of terror I brewed up for another of Jolene's showcases (Night Harvest) a couple of years ago. This tale very loosely ties into my Parted Veil series, so if you dig it, you might want to check out that series, starting with Courting the King in Yellow.

So, enjoy these seasonal frights and let's start the countdown to Halloween!

Dreams Really Do Come True at CT HorrorFest

Remember a couple weeks ago, when I said how excited I was about CT HorrorFest this year because two of my all-time favorite actors--Adrienne Barbeau and Tom Atkins--were going to be there?

Do you also remember when I told you that the character of Ray Atkins in the Woodsview Murders series was inspired by Tom Atkins' character from Night of the Creeps?

Do you?!!

You guys.

Look:

 

I don't think you understand how much meeting these two meant to me.

I adore Adrienne Barbeau, as she was in two of my favorite movies of all time, The Fog and Escape From New York, as well as Creepshow, Swamp Thing and the awesome TV show Maude. My favorite role of hers was Stevie Wayne, the local radio DJ in The Fog, though I’ve loved her in everything she’s been in.

Tom Atkins is a horror legend to me. He’s a Carpenter veteran, having done Escape From New York, The Fog and Halloween III for my favorite director/writer/producer. He was also in Creepshow, Maniac Cop, Two Evil Eyes, My Bloody Valentine 3D, and the amazing Night of the Creeps. Our Detective Ray Atkins is a love letter to Tom’s character Ray Cameron.

And Saturday I got to tell him that.

My morning began with meeting Tom and giving him my print proof of Harrowed after explaining how he inspired one of the main characters. He was amazingly gracious and said he couldn’t wait to read it, even asking me when we were going to make a movie out of it. I was so happy I almost cried.

But it gets better.

I went back later in the day and bought a Night of the Creeps poster from Tom, which he signed to Jolene and I. And then he took a picture with me as he held our book (which you can see above).

I don’t even have words for how happy this made me. When I stumbled away in a daze, he called me back to his table to make sure he had my email address so he could tell me what he thought of the book. And he also asked me to say hi to Jolene for him. I was almost in tears. In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined any of that. He was amazing and I am an even bigger fan of his than I was before. What an awesome guy.

I then has the good fortune to meet Adrienne Barbeau and get a picture with her as well. Just being able to tell her how much I’ve loved her work and how I’ve grown up with her was so great. And she was absolutely lovely. 

I...don't even know what to say. It's been a week and I am still walking around in a fog (get it, because they were both in--never mind).

I have said this many times before, but I will keep saying it--CT HorrorFest is my favorite show of the year. Rob and Christine Caprilozzi are two amazing human beings, and their love of horror is so evident when you come to this show. Go support their Horror News Network site because they deserve it and it's awesome.

Saturday was a day I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only did I get to meet two legends, but I got to give one of my stories to a guy who has entertained me with his stories for over thirty years.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Cover Reveal: CHASING THE KING IN YELLOW

It's cover reveal day!

I'm super excited to share the cover for my new novella Chasing the King in Yellow with you! The cover was designed by my good friend Jeff Rodgers, who has done all of the covers for my Parted Veil series. Here it is!


Chasing the King in Yellow is in many ways a sequel to the first book in the Parted Veil series, Courting the King in Yellow. After that first book, that story of Frank and Sam continued in the background, as Lovecraft's Curse and Lovecraft's Pupil featured new characters. This book gives readers a window into what's been happening with Frank and Sam, and helps set the stage for the next novel in the Parted Veil series. As far as the cover design, Jeff and I wanted this cover to be distinctive, but clearly evoke the feel of the first cover. I think Jeff nailed it.

Here's the back cover blurb:


Evil Doesn’t Die—It Adapts


Three years ago, Samantha Cane and Frank Carter’s lives were destroyed as their city became the staging ground for a cult dedicated to the King in Yellow. When the cult enacted a plan to throw the city into chaos, Frank and Sam stopped them with the help of a group called the Parted Veil. But the victory came at a high cost, and it was short-lived. The followers of the King in Yellow are persistent, and their operation in Springfield was just one of many.

Now members of the Parted Veil themselves, Sam and Frank continue to follow the cult's activities and thwart them whenever they can. A rash of disappearances has led them to a small town in Tennessee, where an old mining operation may be the cult’s latest workshop of horrors.

Each step they take toward discovering the scope of the cult’s plan costs them another piece of themselves. And some questions are better left unanswered.

Chasing the King in Yellow will be released on Friday, October 13th. You'll be able to grab it digitally on both Amazon and Drive Thru Fiction, and print copies will also be available over at Drive Thru.

And speaking of print copies, if you are coming to CT Horror Fest in Danbury tomorrow (9/16), I will have a limited number of print copies of Chasing the King in Yellow available! This is your chance to grab the book almost a month before anyone else can!

Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to the release date!

Monday, September 4, 2017

Read a Free Pizza, Help Those Who Need It


More than one million people were displaced by the destruction Hurricane Harvey caused. It will be quite some time before Texas can recover from the record-setting rainfall, and they will need every bit of help they can get.

Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to be part of a fantastic anthology project called A Pizza My Heart. Edited by my good friend and writing partner Jolene Haley, the anthology was a collection of stories that crossed all genres, but had one thing in common--pizza. Because pizza is wonderful.

And now, were hoping to use our anthology to inspire people to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. From September 6th through the 8th, A Pizza My Heart will be free on Amazon. Go download it and enjoy it, like a slice of your favorite pizza. All we ask is that you make a donation of any size to a charity benefiting the victims of Hurricane Harvey. It could be the amount of a slice or a party-size pizza--whatever you can afford to give.

You can find more details over at Jolene's website, including a list of charities you could make a donation to. We'll be letting people know about the event on Twitter under the hashtag #PizzaForTexas.

So enjoy the free pizza, and thanks for helping out!

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Come See Me at CT Horror Fest on 9/16!!


It's my favorite time of year again!

On Saturday September 16th, I'll be heading down the the Danbury Arena in Connecticut for my favorite horror show of the year, CT Horror Fest! Every year Rob, Christine and the rest of the crew at the Horror News Network put on an amazing show that celebrates horror and the people who create it.

There are two big reasons I'm super excited for this year's show:

 

Adrienne Barbeau has starred in some of my all-time favorite movies--Escape From New York, Creepshow and The Fog. And I am such a huge fan of Tom Atkins (Halloween III, The Fog, Night of the Creeps) that I actually based the character of Ray Atkins in Harrowed on his character of Ray Cameron from Night of the Creeps. I cannot wait to meet these two and tell them how much their work has meant to me.


I will have a table at the show and I'll be selling my Parted Veil books, including a brand new novella that is a sequel to my first book, Courting the King in Yellow (more on that next week). I'll also have copies of my short story collection Intrusive Thoughts as well, so there will be a little something for everyone.


So, if you're in the New England Area and you're a horror fan, you should definitely come down to CT Horror Fest and say hi. We can hang out and talk horror all day. I hope to see you there!