Three Books, Free Books

Three books to read in September:

Beneath the Surface by Simon Strantzas

Strantzas is breaking out from the pack and headed for big things. He recently appeared in Steven Jones' Best New Horror 19 (2008).

How to Make Monsters by Gary McMahon

Lately, this guy has been eating everybody's lunch. He appears in Steven Jones' Best New Horror 19, as well as in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 2008.

Want a chance to win a FREE copy of the $80 limited edition Bound for Evil? Simply buy a copy of Attack of the Two-Headed Poetry Monster by Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty. To be eligible you need to buy the book directly from the publisher (SkullVines Press) and then you're automatically entered in a contest to win some nice horror-related books (including BfE, close to 800 pages of horror, fantasy and SF by some of the best writers in the field).

Writer's Quote:

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous."

--Peter Benchley (author of Jaws)

Birth of an Evil Book, Part 2

Here's the second part of my radio interview on Metal Crypt, in which I discuss writing part-time, the origins of the Literary Vampire series, and the chapbook Phantasmapedia by my friend Mark McLaughlin.

Writer's Quote:
"A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men."  ---Proverbs 18:16

Birth of an Evil Book

Here's part one of my interview, conducted by the ghouls of Metal Crypt, a show heard weekly on HardRockRadioLive.com. Among other things, I discuss the conception of Bound for Evil: Curious Tales of Books Gone Bad.

Writer's Quote:

"What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it."

---Isaac Bashevis Singer

“Isaac Bashevis Singer Talks…About Everything,”

Time Magazine, 11/26/78

At the End of the Day

The end of another day: my wife, Wilma, snapped this photo back in January. Here you see one spent writer -- oh, and one spent pooch, too. (That's right, we don't use the "D" word around my house!)

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After writing the introduction for Bound for Evil: Curious Tales of Books Gone Bad, I collapsed from exhaustion. The intro was the capper of a year-long editing process that kept me up way past my bedtime far too many nights. As you can plainly see, Misty, having sat at my feet for so long during the editing of the book, has literally grown into my leg. But that's okay: a boy and his dog should be inseparable.

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Thought for the Day:
“Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.”

---Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933)

The Prison and the Angel

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Blood & Snow: By Its Cover

What can I say about the cover design for The Age of Blood & Snow? Other than FABULOUS!!!

The image conveys perfectly the Heroic Ages which are the focus of the anthology. The stories, including my own, "Dry Places," contain elements of the fantasy and horror genres (including the supernatural).

This image looks as though it were lifted from one of those multi-million dollar Hollywood spectacles, but it's not. The photo comes from Nikki Phillips, and the concept design is by Reece Notley and Mark S. Deniz (the publisher of Morrigan Books, and also a successful writer and editor). I think they did an exceptional job.

Oh, and here's another Writers' Quote:

“The greatness of art is not to find what is common but what is unique.”

---Isaac Bashevis Singer
“Isaac Bashevis Singer Talks…About Everything,”

Time Magazine, 11/26/78

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