Guest Blogging

Got that guest blog I was talking about up on Patricia's Vampire Notes. Here's a tease:

I remember years ago, reading a quote by Stephen King, in which he said what he did was something akin to being a paleontologist, finding that first small bit of bone sticking up out of the ground, then lovingly and painstakingly brushing away all that dust and dirt until the entire skeleton – in his case, a completed story – had been unearthed.

I think what he meant by that is often, even he has no idea where a story is going until he sits down and writes it. Of all the stories I’ve written, “Applewood” comes closest to my experiencing what King was talking about.

In conjunction with the blog, I'll be giving away another book. Check it out by clicking here.

Free stuff . . . everywhere!

Happy to report I've made another story available for free on Smashwords, this one called The Intersection, telling the tale of a small town police chief with a vexing traffic problem.

First published in the Night Terrors anthology from Blood Bound Books, if you like the story, I'd reccommend you click the link and head on over to Amazon and pick yourself up a copy, for more chilling tales of the beyond.

While we're on the subject of free stuff, I've got a guest blog going up next week over at Patricia's Vampire Notes, where I'll be giving away a signed copy of Applewood, my newly-released vampire, coming-of-age novel. I've posted a couple of the early reviews over to the right, and I'd very much appreciate your checking it out!

Of course, there is also the Goodreads Giveaway, in which I'm giving away signed copies of "Applewood" to two lucky Goodreads members. Details of that can be found both to the right and in an earlier post below.

And since I'm in such a . . . giving mood, why not give away a signed copy right here on this blog? Why not right now?

Here's the deal: Simply post a comment below (doesn't have to be fancy, just make sure you leave some way for me to get in touch with you, e.g. myname at gmail, or a link to your blog or twitter) and I'll have someone close to me randomly select a lucky winner (not me, making sure it's fair should one of my more frequent commenters care to give it a shot.)

Just two catches: First, let's keep it to the U.S. and Canada only -- memories of international ebay shipping charges still haunt! -- and second, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a review or even simply a rating somewhere, be it Amazon, Smashwords, or your own blog.

Of course I hope you love it, but even if you don't, criticism is always welcome, and mentions anywhere help.

Now, I can't make you write a review or post a rating, and won't think any less of you if you don't. But I'd certainly appreciate it!

If you're partial to horror, liked "The Lost Boys," and enjoy both vampire tales and coming-of-age fiction like "Stand By Me," I'm fairly certain you won't be disappointed.

Let's have the contest end this coming Monday, June 20th, at noon, EDT, so folks won't have to hang on so long and it doesn't conflict with the other giveaways.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and good luck!

Goodreads Giveaway

Received a box via UPS this week containing my ten author copies of Applewood. Planned on taking a picture of them (most author copies I've ever received!) but they were bundled up so nicely, in two separate packages, I didn't have the heart to open them both. That, and my digital camera sucks.

Gotta say, the book itself looks wonderful. I know the cover graphic looks dark on the computer, however it looks really good on the cover. The pages are cream (which I've never used on my own books) and that looks really classy. I've always liked the font, particularly the one used for the diary entries. They definitely look like something out of the nineteenth-century.

For what it's worth, I'd point out too that this is the first book of mine available in a hardcover edition, to any friends or family that might want it in that format. I know I do! Alas, my author copies are paperback . . .

In terms of the author copies, two or three are pledged to friends who were beta readers and offered encouragement over the years, and the rest I planned to give away in some kind of marketing manner, but I wasn't sure how. I'd seen some folks use twitter ("Be the 100th person to retweet this and win a signed book!") but I have so few followers it would have to be the fifth or the seventh retweet, and that would just be embarrassing.

That, and I hate using twitter for marketing. Setting aside it doesn't seem to work for me, I think it turns off more people than anything. I think its larger purpose is to brand yourself, and hopefully the rest will follow.

Anyway, I was on Goodreads.Com the other night, a cool community with about 10 million members that brings authors and readers together, and saw they had an excellent giveaway mechanism. So, if you're already a Goodreads.Com member, simply click the gadget on the right and sign up! If you're not a member, it's really easy to sign up, and if you love reading, it's definitely worth your while.

The giveaway itself opens on May 30th and runs through June 30th, so plenty of time to sign up. I'm giving away two signed copies, and the winners are selected randomly by Goodreads.

I'll be giving away the rest over the next few weeks and months, some of them here on this blog, guaranteeing the book has at least ten readers anyway. Or goes up on ebay, which might only help.

In other ruminations, I'm torn between offering another free short on Smashwords or doing the complete opposite and pulling the ones already there. They don't seem to help sell books at all, mine, anyway. It might just be because my most popular free shorts are zombie tales that probably have lots less blood and guts than most zombie aficionados like. It could also be that two of them are humorous tales, and two of them are classic horror, maybe confusing potential readers about what exactly my books are. Or, it could just be that they suck. What the hell do I know.

Anyhow, to my friends and family, if you haven't yet purchased "Applewood," please do so at your earliest convenience. I think these early sales are vital to the book having much of a chance at all. As always, thanks.

And if you do click the Goodreads link, you'll see one of the reasons I have yet to sign up for Facebook. I have one friend! (Thanks again, Aaron!) If you're a Goodreads member, I'd be happy to be your friend.

But I ain't gonna beg.

Applewood Update - Rapture Edition

Confess I’m of two minds in terms of this whole world ending thing. From the scant reading I’ve done, it appears it happens in two parts. Tomorrow, the select will ascend into heaven, leaving the rest of us behind to suffer earthquakes and horror and all sorts of fire and brimstone stuff. And then, I guess, it’s October when the rest of us will fall into the fiery pits of hell or something.

Fortunately for me, I’m fairly certain that me and all the people I know will still be here come Sunday morning. For whatever reason, I simply don’t have in my circle of friends folks who believe themselves either born again or saved. That may be either an unconscious decision on my part, or a conscious decision on theirs . . .

Anyhoo, should it all blow to hell tomorrow, I’ll be happy and proud that as of the end of the world, my novel “Applewood” will be (as of this writing, anyway) one of the 200,000 bestselling books in the world. Considering the millions upon millions of books there are, that’s quite a feat!

And though I quite understand why folks may have been reticent to pick up a copy in the past week it has been out, should you still be here on Sunday morning . . . you will have no excuse.

Thanks very much to Patricia Altner at Patricia’s Vampire Notes for posting an announcement about the release. Fun too to see other horror sites around the ‘net picking up the announcement. To all of them, I’m grateful.

In the other good news department, I’m proud to say that my story “Ohrwurm” has been selected to appear in a new anthology, “The Best of Necrotic Tissue” that will be out at some point before the year is finished. I’ve blogged before about how much I liked and respected the folks at Necrotic Tissue magazine. They were the very first outlet to publish me, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful. They will be missed.

And so, to those of you reading this who will be ascending tomorrow to be with the choirs of angels, I wish you luck. As for the rest of you, I suspect I’ll see you next week! And there better be a copy of “Applewood” in your hands.

For the rest of us sinners . . . enjoy.

Applewood

Twenty-five years ago, a mindless act of teenage vandalism reawakened a long dead nightmare in the small Massachusetts town of Grantham. When a mutilated body is found by the side of the road, some in town realize that the horror of their youth has returned. They call upon their damaged friend Dugan, who has never forgiven himself for what happened back then and has lived ever since with the terrible consequences.

". . . reminiscent of . . . Shadowland and Salem's Lot"

Delighted at first by the disappearance of the town bullies, Dugan and his outcast friends soon realize that as the undead begin to surround their own neighborhood, they must do battle against a growing vampire army led by the town's long dead Civil War hero. Along the way, they'll find clues in the diary of a young boy not unlike themselves, and strength in their own unique bonds of friendship.

"The Lost Boys meet Stand By Me"

Some, like Dugan, will never be the same . . .



Applewood, a coming of age horror novel and vampire story, is available now in both Kindle and paperback versions from Amazon, Barnes and Noble.Com and your other favorite online retailers.

Read the first four chapters here.

Applewood Eve

Well, tomorrow’s the big day, when my novel "Applewood" officially goes on sale.

But I’m delighted to see that “Applewood” pages have been built over the last few days on most of the major bookselling sites, and is currently available for purchase in both Kindle and paperback versions from Amazon, as well as at Barnes and Noble.Com and (for some reason) Borders.Com in Australia, which is kind of cool.

Those close to me, family and friends, many of whom were beta readers and who offered lots of comments and suggestions along the way, as well as more than necessary encouragement, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You know who you are.

It’s been more than six years since I wrote it. Spent a year or two sending it around. It even sat for two years within Dorchester Publishing before they sent a rejection. I put it down in discouragement.

A year later, I sent it around again, and a small publisher in Massachusetts who specialized in vampire novels, By Light Unseen Media, showed an interest. It was another nine months or so after that until I finally received kind words about it from them, and more than that, they wanted to publish it. That took another year or so. Since that time, it’s gone through a series of careful edits and surgical excisions.

Thanks again to Inanna Arthen, By Light Unseen Media’s owner and publisher, for both showing an interest and for working tirelessly editing the book and creating the finished product. If we don’t sell a single copy, you’ll still never know how much it means.

Thanks to my friend Tommy, who invited me along every summer up to his family’s house in Maine that had been in his family for generations, providing a lifetime of happy memories.

Thanks to Jimmy, who wasn't really a friend of mine, but who got me arrested once, and who used to take three friggin’ days to get a haircut. Both those life experiences came into play. You weren't a bad kid.

Thanks to my older brother, who when I was twelve let me drag him to an all night Beatle movie marathon, but more importantly, took me to see "Carrie" one Halloween long ago at the movie theater downtown.

Thanks to the town of Stoughton, whose junior high was even more hellish than Grantham's, but had I described it the way it really was, no one would believe me.

Thanks to Mr. Madden, who wouldn’t let you on the bus if you didn’t have a ticket, even if you’d been riding the damn thing for six frigging years.

And thanks to Paul, my trusted lieutenant, fellow altar boy, and the best damn paperboy who ever lived. Without Paul (and his brother Jimmy, who took after him) there would be no Dugan.

Thanks to lots of other folks who I’ll mention in the future at random moments when they occur.

The sequel is written.

The third in the series has begun.

Onward!