Last Thursday saw the launch of a new small press publisher entering the field of horror. Underland Press books' website went live on May 29th.

Underland Press itself has several authors already under contract with the first book expected in the winter of 2009. However, you don't want to wait until then before you visit their website because, if you hurry, you just might catch the first chapter of their wovel.

Yes, I said wovel.

"What is a wovel?"

"Well it's . . . different. Yeah, it is different. It's a web-novel."

Ohio author Kealan Patrick Burke is the author of a very different kind of undead story titled The Living. Each week he delivers an installment of the novel and at the end of the installment, we get to vote on what happens next.

It's like the old choose your own adventure stories. Whatever we vote for, we're stuck with and so is Kealan. He has to take the result and write the next leg of the story. For more information on this exciting project, check out their information page.

I read the first installment of The Living and cast my vote.

The first vote looks like a simple decision but it makes a profound impact on the wovel and on the main character. I can't say more without spoiling the story but trust me when I say it took me fifteen minutes to make my decision.

Once I cast my vote I got to see which choice was winning and by how much. Wanna know who's winning? You'll have to read the installment and vote if you want to find out -- I'm not giving anything away here. Underland Press is extending the vote, until July 16th, to give people a chance to discover the wovel.

Go. Read The Living. Vote. You'll be glad you did.

Afterwards check out the The Underland Press mission statement and then take a look at the first books they've got lined up for publication. And visit Kealan Patrick Burke at his website: Kealan Patrick Burke.com.

(Based on a post in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

Each month I list the new booklists that have been added to my website . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.

Another challenging month as I lost a lot of work and have to reconstruct many partially finished pages and posts (like this one). Furthermore I discovered that all my theme booklists are gone so I am trying to update the copies I have and post them as quickly as possible.

New Booklists for May:

Authors:
L. A. Banks
Gerard D. Houarner
Tosca Lee
Weston Ochse

Series:
The Crimson Moon Series
The Dead Cat Series
The Dresden Files
Max the Assassin Series
The Vampire Huntress Legend Series
Vegas Bites Anthology Series
Voice of the Blood Series

Themes:
(The book information is present in all lists, some don't have the bookcovers and some links are broken.)
African-Americans Writing Horror
Alien Horror — You're So Strange
Back From the Dead
Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Science
Cursing Curses What Curse At Midnight
Demon Ex Machina
Dying to be Immortal
Horror All Too Human
Horror Most Human
It’s the End of the World

Updated Booklists for May:

Authors:
Jemiah Jefferson

Series:
There were no updated series pages this month.

Horror Web Resources for May:
Horror Authors' Fan Web Sites
Horror Authors' Web Resources
Horror Book Review Web Resources
Horror E-Zine Web Resources
Horror Fiction Lists Web Resources
Horror Publishers' Web Resources
Horror Writing Web Resources
Ohio Fear Master's Web Resources

So, how am I doing so far?


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

I wanted to give you a peek at the books I've gotten through the Leisure Horror Book Club. Today we'll cover December 2007.

The next two books I got from the Dorchester Horror Book Club were The Deluge by Mark Morris and Demon Eyes by L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims.


The Deluge

The Deluge
Author: Morris, Mark
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 342pp.
Pub. Date: November 27, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester Publishing
Extra: Special Article
Links: Mark Morris -- Horror and Thriller Writer

It came from nowhere. The only warning was the endless rumbling of a growing earthquake. Then the water came -- crashing, rushing water, covering everything. Destroying everything. When it stopped, all that was left was the gentle lapping of waves against the few remaining buildings rising above the surface of the sea.

Will the isolated survivors be able to rebuild their lives, their civilization, when nearly all they knew has been wiped out? It seems hopeless. But what lurks beneath the swirling water, waiting to emerge, is far worse. When the floodwaters finally recede, the true horror will be revealed.




Demon Eyes

Demon Eyes
Author: Maynard, L.H. and Sims, M.P.N.
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Page Count: 338pp.
Pub. Date: November 27, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Extra: First Chapter
Extra: Special Article
Links: The Official Website of Maynard-Sims
Links: Demon Eyes: The Official Website

Emma had just started her new job as personal assistant to Alex Keltner, the charismatic and powerful head of Keltner Industries. So when he asked her to attend a party he was throwing that weekend at his secluded estate, she knew better than to refuse. It would be her first party amid the extremely wealthy and powerful elite . . .

It will be a party she'll never forget . . . if she survives. At first it will be simply odd. Mysterious warnings. Strange, seductive guests. An atmosphere of lust and sexuality. Video cameras in the rooms. But as the weekend progresses, Emma will slowly learn the true nature of the guests and her mysterious host -- and the real, grotesque purpose of the party.


Evaluation of December's Selection

I fell victim to the very malaise I set this website up to combat. Because I didn't know of Mark Morris and I only know of Maynard and Sims as anthology editors, I assumed this month's offering would be the weakest of the lot. In truth, I knew nothing about these books and I judged them based on my lack of information.

In putting together this post, I did a little research and I learned some very interesting things.

Mark Morris is far from a novice author, he is a British author who has many books to his credit including two published at Dorchester/Leisure. On Dorchester's "special Feature" page, Mr. Morris has an essay about his love of the BBC television show called Survivors. He explained what the show was about and that he loved it for its unflinching depiction of "the harsh realities of life". He explained how it was those kinds of qualities he brought to The Deluge but with fewer resources and more dangers than the community on Survivors had. This is exactly what I look for in my post-apocalyptic fiction. Instead of shunning the book, I should have put it on my "to read" list.

Then I checked out L.H. Maynard and M.P.N. Sims. They are more than just anthology editors. You can visit their website and send for a free PDF file called "Ghostly Voices and Demon Eyes" on CD with a book excerpt and over 35 stories. One way to get to know a writer or writing team is to read some of their short stories. They give you an opportunity to do just that for free. On Dorchester's "Special Feature" page for Demon Eyes they write about their philosophy of writing and how this book got started. The more I read about this book, the more I wanted to read it. Once again, add another book to my "to read" list.

Do you see now why a little knowledge can be a delightful thing?


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)


This Monday I introduce the two other horror book clubs which will launch a monthly series examining the books I get from each club. See it in in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror

I wanted to give you a peek at the books I've gotten through the Leisure Horror Book Club. Today we'll cover November 2007.

The next two books I got from the Leisure Horror Book Club were This Rage of Echoes by Simon Clark and Savage by Richard Laymon.


This Rage of Echoes

This Rage of Echoes
Author: Clark, Simon
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 342pp.
Pub. Date: October 30, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester Publishing
Also Pub: March 31, 2008 (Hardcover -- Robert Hale, UK)
Links: Simon Clark: Nailed by the Heart


You know the monster's face . . .

The future looked good for Mason until the night he was attacked . . . by someone who looked exactly like him. Soon he will understand that something monstrous is happening -- something that transforms ordinary people into replicas of him, duplicates driven by irresistible bloodlust.

It's the one in your mirror.

As the body count rises, Mason fights to keep one step ahead of the Echomen, the duplicates who hunt not only him but also his family and friends, and who perform gruesome experiments on their own kind. But the attacks are not as mindless as they seem. The killers have an unimaginable agenda, one straight from a fevered nightmare.




Savage


Savage
Author: Laymon, Richard
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Page Count: 448pp.
Pub. Date: October 30, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Original Pub: January 1993 (Trade Paperback -- Headline, UK)
Original Pub: January 1994 (Hardcover -- St Martins Press, US)
Extra: The First Chapter


Original Title: Savage: From Whitechapel to the Wild West on the Track of Jack the Ripper.

Whitechapel, November 1888: Jack the Ripper is hard at work. He's safe behind locked doors in a one-room hovel with his unfortunate victim, Mary Kelly. With no need to hurry for once, he takes his time gleefully eviscerating the young woman. He doesn't know that a fifteen-year-old boy is cowering under Mary's bed. . . .

Trevor Bentley's life would never be the same after that night. What he saw and heard would have driven many men mad. But for Trevor it was the beginning of a quest, an obsession to stop the most notorious murderer in history. The killer's trail of blood will lead Trevor from the fog-shrouded alleys of London to the streets of New York and beyond. But Trevor will not stop until he comes face to face with the ultimate horror.


Evaluation of November's Selection

Leisure Books started reprinting older classic Laymon works last year (or maybe earlier but I noticed it last year when they reprinted the ever-so-hard-to-get book The Cellar) and Savage continues that series. Richard Laymon was an American writer who had more popularity in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Simon Clark is a British writer who is publishing on both continents and gaining a following. Most of his books seem to have been published in the UK first and then later in the US but This Rage of Echoes is an exception. The US paperback came out in November while the UK hardcover was only published last month.

Richard Laymon passed away a few years ago but the website dedicated to him has been kept running next to horror writer Steve Gerlach's website. When I went to visit it, an advertisement popped up and crashed my browser. Until I find out what's going on I'm not going to add the URL for the website Richard Laymon Kills. If someone can enlighten me, please leave a comment.

In the meantime, this was an interesting month. I've read Simon Clark and enjoyed his work. This one looks particularly interesting to me. I'm not as familiar with Richard Laymon as I should be, although he was a major personality in the horror writer community and helped many fledgling writers out. He deserves a better reception in his home country and a better reception from me.



(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

This Monday I introduce the two other horror book clubs which will launch a monthly series examining the books I get from each club. See it in in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror

I wanted to give you a peek at the books I've gotten through the Leisure Horror Book Club. Today we'll cover October 2007.

The next two books I got from the Leisure Horror Book Club were Halloweenland by Al Sarrantonio and House Infernal by Edward Lee.


Halloweenland

Halloweenland (The Orangefield Cycle #3)
Author: Sarrantonio, Al
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 307pp.
Pub. Date: October 2, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester Publishing
Original Pub: October 2006 (Hardcover -- Cemetery Dance)
Original Title: The Baby
Extra: The First Chapter
Links: The Official Website of Al Sarrantonio

In Orangefield, Halloween is never normal -- and this year is no exception. For Orangefield is now the home of Halloweenland, a bizarre carnival run by the mysterious Mr. Dickens. No one who sees the carnival doubts that it's a very strange place, but its real secrets can hardly be imagined. Orangefield is also the home of Detective Bill Grant, who thinks he's seen it all. He's on the trail of an odd little girl, a girl who could hold the end of the universe in her hand. The trail leads Grant to Ireland, the ancient home of the Lord of the Dead, then back to Orangefield, where, on what may be the last Halloween, the ultimate battle between Life and Death takes place.



House Infernal

House Infernal (The City Infernal Saga #3)
Author: Lee, Edward
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Page Count: 369pp
Pub. Date: October 2, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Also Pub: February 2008 (Hardcover -- Cemetery Dance)
Extra: Author's Essay
Links: The domain of Edward Lee

A city, built with blood and bones . . .

Three things are about to join a crypt in Hell with a house on Earth . . . Nuns molested and drained of blood. A virginal student seduced by the perverse and taunted by things worse than ghosts. And six Angels, imprisoned in Hell and made pregnant by God knows what . . .

A house, built for the church, but designed by Satan . . .

When Venetia Barlow begins work at St. John's Prior House, she expects a quiet summer of drudgery and boredom. But soon she's haunted by lurid desires and visions of a city full of monsters . . . and the monsters know her name. Is the house really a place of meditation and worship, or is it a temple of abomination and the most evil secrets? Venetia will only find out, when the voice of a long-dead priest comes into her head and gives her a an unspeakable message from the howling, blood-drenched streets of Hell . . .

Horror master Edward Lee dares you to take another tour through the City of the Abyss, and to walk with him though a house of horror, a house of graves . . .

A House Infernal

Evaluation of October's Selection

Halloweenland belongs to a cycle of stories which I've found called variously The Orangefield Cycle and The Halloween Cycle. I've chosen to go with The Orangefield Cycle until and unless I find out that the official title is different.

Part One of Halloweenland is a reworking of Cemetery Dance's The Baby. Included in Halloweenland is a brief essay on the origin of the novella The Baby and how it also gave rise to the full novel Halloweenland. Writers especially will enjoy reading both to see how the story changes because due to the dictates of the length.

I have to confess, I've been collecting The City Infernal Saga and the Leisure published editions of The Orangefield Cycle so these were two books I would have sought out even without the book club. However, it was nice to have them come to me.


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

I wanted to give you a peek at the books I've gotten through the Leisure Horror Book Club. Today we'll cover September 2007.

The first two books I got from the Leisure Horror Book Club were The Long Last Call by John Skipp and The Hollower by Mary SanGiovanni.




The Hollower
Author: SanGiovanni, Mary
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Type: Novel
Page Count: 368pp.
Pub. Date: August 28, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester Publishing
Book List for Mary SanGiovanni
Links: Mary SanGiovanni's Web Site

Nominated for the 2007 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel.

What is the Hollower? At times it can look like a man in a black coat and a black hat. But it's definitely not a man. It's not human at all. Its sole purpose is to stalk, to torment and to drive its victims to their deaths. It can sense each victim's weaknesses, change its appearance and strike however it will hurt the most, physically . . . and mentally. Dave Kohlar is a man racked with guilt, doubt and worry. The perfect prey. He's about to learn exactly what the Hollower is -- and how it feeds.






The Long Last Call
Author: Skipp, John
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Page Count: 305pp
Pub. Date: August 28, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester
Extra: The First Chapter
Original Pub: October 31, 2006 (Hardcover -- Cemetery Dance)

It was closing time at the strip club. The bartender was cleaning up, and the girls were looking forward to calling it a night. Then he came in, a well-dressed stranger with a lot of cash to spend. A briefcase full, in fact. But this is no normal customer, and his money is a bit unusual too. Every dollar he spends stirs up a bit more hatred, a little more repressed rage in whoever he gives it to. As the night passes, the pressure builds . . . and builds, and the stranger just smiles. He knows what will come. He knows he only has to wait to see all of his blood-drenched plans fulfilled.



Evaluation of September's Selection

Horror World has a page titled The Horror World Library which has a 39 page excerpt of The Hollower among its many other goodies. You can read Brian Keene's Introduction to the book and the first part of the story. There is enough there to help you decide if The Hollower is your next "must read" or not.

Extra: Trailer for The Long Last Call

When Cemetery Dance first published a hardcover edition of The Long Last Call, they did a rather insightful interview that peaked my interest in reading the book. I'd recommend checking it out and you can also take a peak at Cemetery Dance's cover, too. John Skipp: Looking for Trouble?

All in all it was a great start for a club membership. What do you think?

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

About six months ago I joined the Leisure Horror Book Club. I'd just gone to three local big chain bookstores trying to find Mr. Hands by Gary Braunbeck and Dead Sea by Brian Keene with no luck. These were huge stores and they didn't have a copy of the two books, newly published, that I wanted to read most. Because I had visited the Leisure website, I knew that they were that month's featured books on the Horror Book Club. I figured it was too late to get Dead Sea and Mr. Hands through the book club but it wasn't too late to prevent other really great books from slipping through my hands.

I joined Dorchester Publishing's Horror Book Club by filling out the online application on their website. It was easy. The waiting for the first shipment? Not so much. But finally the books arrived and I ripped open the box to find a pair of thrillers. I'd gotten the wrong shipment. I was disappointed.

I sent an e-mail to the book club's customer service and got back a response the next day: They apologized for the mistake, put the correct shipment of that month's horror books in the mail and told me I could keep the thrillers. They were very nice. And less than a week later my first batch of horror books arrived.

I've been happy with Dorchester Publishing's book club ever since.

Dorchester's Leisure imprint has been reprinting former small press novels (which are often expensive or hard to get) and brand new tales by other new and established horror authors. If you are serious about your horror and you like the idea of getting a wide variety of stories then this may be a worth while investment.

If you harbor some doubt, hang with me for a while. Over the course of this year I'll let you know what books I get. It is my hope that this series of articles will help you decide if a book club subscription is right for you and, if so, which one or ones to get.

We'll be examining the Dorchester/Leisure Horror Book Club, the Cemetery Dance Book Club and the Delirium Books Book Club -- the later I recently signed up for.

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

DearReader.Com's Horror Club is offering a new title this week, one that I hadn't heard of before now, called The Mad Cook Of Pymatuning by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt. Interested? Take a look:


The Mad Cook Of Pymatuning
Author: Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 320pp.
Pub. Date: September 20, 2005
Publisher: Simon and Schuster

In this chilling novel about a 1950s boys' summer camp gone awry, the former New York Times literary critic has created a brilliant coming-of-age story with undertones reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt's novel is at once a fantasy, a barbed portrait of boyhood in the dawning of the Eisenhower era, and a no-holds-barred story of terror of the sort that won him praise for his previous novel, A Crooked Man.

Jerry Muller has been a regular at Camp Seneca for years. Now that he's a teenager and counselor, things don't seem quite right at his traditional summer haunt. As Jerry plunges into the mysteries around him, he finds himself growing up fast -- maybe too fast.


He's attracted to T.J., a pretty girl who might have a boyfriend but who flirts anyway, and he's shocked by the truth about his friend Oz, who's more interested in Jerry than in the likes of T.J. He sees something is strangely amiss with the husband and wife who own the camp. But above all, he's scared of the cruel game masterminded by Buck.

Of Seneca ancestry, Buck is a sinister, bigger-than-life expert on Indian lore. He is also an organizer of scary games who may just possibly be a psychopath and a killer, and in whose hands the camp's make-believe, designed to scare the kids, becomes first a savage and brutal test of strength, then, by small steps, genuinely dangerous.

As Jerry unravels the mysteries surrounding the ordinary-looking camp, he struggles to understand how "the Forbidden Woods," which have always been off-limits to campers as a kind of game and dare, have somehow become genuinely frightening -- all the more reason to discover the secrets that lie behind Camp Seneca's facade.

The story reaches its climax in a shocking scene that neither Jerry nor the reader is likely to forget. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt's new novel is a wicked, suspenseful, and deeply original tale.

It is not too late to sign up for the Dear Reader.com horror book club and get this week's e-mails with the first section of The Mad Cook Of Pymatuning. That way you can read the beginning for free and decide for yourself if you like it. And if you're joining in the middle of the week, the very first e-mail you get has instructions on how to get the e-mails you missed.

What have you got to lose? Except some sleep.

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

My name is Greg Fisher and I am the Undead Rat. And as the Undead Rat, I get to explore the world of horror fiction and share what I'm learning with people over the internet and in person. Horror is a great literary passion of mine.

But . . . (here is the confession)

Horror is not the only literary passion I have. I have two others: one is a passion for Cleveland and Ohio authors. The other is a passion for comics and graphic novels.

Those of you who may remember earlier incarnations of . . . With Intent to Commit Horror will probably recall that I had pages dedicated to graphic novel series and to a couple of Cleveland authors who did not write horror novels.

In this latest version, I left out graphic novels and Ohio authors for fear of muddying the waters and I think it was a good choice. But lately I've felt the urge to talk about them.

This last Easter my lovely wife purchased a pair of domains for me to play with. . . . With Intent to Commit Horror will be my primary site and a place to find new horror fiction. However now you can drop by The Sequential Rat for a comic book and graphic novel fix or hit Ohio Writers.net for information about writers and their books in my great state of . . . wait for it . . . Ohio!

This does not mean I'll now be known as The Sequential Rat or the Ohio Rat. I'm still only The Undead Rat. I just have two more homes in which to wreck havoc.

For horror fiction use: . . . With Intent to Commit Horror

For comics and graphic novels use: The Sequential Rat

For Ohio authors use: Ohio Writers.net

For fantasy fiction use: Bestiary Dreams

Say, did I mention that I'm helping out at Bestiary Dreams too?


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

Each month I list the new booklists that have been added to my website . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.

Due to some unfortunate problems with book covers disappearing, I had to fix almost every page on the website. Then I completely changed the navigation to the author and series pages because the website was growing beyond my expectations of a year ago. So every page got updated. However, the pages listed below in the Updated Booklists for April also had significant content added to them.

Booklists for April:

Authors:

John Paul Allen

Raven Bower

Tananarive Due

Jemiah Jefferson

Brandon R. Massey



Series:

The African Immortals Series
The Apparitions Series

The Dark Dreams Anthology
The Joe Kieran Series

The Laura Caxton Series

Masques Anthology Series




Themes:
I didn't get to the theme lists last month.



Updated Booklists for April:

Authors:

Brian Keene

Michael Laimo

Richard Montanari

Vicki Pettersson

Tim Waggoner

Wrath James White


Series:

Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano Thrillers

The Dresden Files
Signs of the Zodiac Series

Timmy Quinn Series

Unto Dust: Tales of Apocalypse



Horror Web Resources for April:
I didn't work on the Horror Web Resources last month



So, how am I doing so far?

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

Each year the Horror Writers Association awards the Bram Stoker Award to horror fiction published in the previous year in multiple categories (best novel, first novel, short story, anthology, collection etc.). This is a prestigious award and this year, for the first time ever, the award ceremony is being broadcast through the internet to those of us unable to attend.

The broadcast is tonight (Saturday March 29, 2008) at 11:00pm Eastern Standard Time (at 9:00 Salt Lake City, Utah time - which is where the awards are being held)

Before the awards go to http://www.iscifi.tv/live/ to download the latest Shockwave Flash browser plug-in to make sure your computer is up-to-date and ready to roll. Then at 11:00, return to http://www.iscifi.tv/live/ to watch the festivities.

If watching a Flash production on your computer isn't your bag, you can check out Horror Fiction News Network's live blogging of the awards ceremony and find out who won in "real time".

To get a list of the nominees (so you can decide who to root for), check out the HWA's website.


I want to give a big "Thank you" to Gary A. Braunbeck for the tip about the iScifi broadcast and another big "Thank you" to Paul Puglisi and HFNN for posting the Stoker Awards again this year.

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

I’m sorry this is late. I’ve fallen behind in my work and I can’t catch up. Each month I list the new booklists that have been added to my website . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.

Booklists for December:

Authors:
Tosca Lee
Vicki Pettersson
Alexandra Sokoloff


Series:
The Dresden Files
The Signs of the Zodiac Series
The Smoke Trilogy


Themes:
I didn't get to the theme lists last month.

Updated Booklists for December:

Authors:
Kim Harrison
Brian Keene


Series:
The Best of Hail Saten
The Hollows
The Rising Series

Horror Web Resources for December:

I didn't work on the Horror Web Resources last month


So, how am I doing so far?

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

Warren Ellis, author of many comic books, a couple of novels and winner of the International Horror Guild Award has teamed up with Paul Duffield to bring to the internet -- and to you -- a brand spanking new comic called Freakangels.

The countdown begins now:



Meanwhile you can visit:

Warren Ellis's Website

Paul Duffield's Online Portfolio

and Whitechapel the online community in support of Freakangels.

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

I look forward to several things:

1. I will meet more horror writers both on-line and in person.

2. I will attend more horror conventions this year.

3. I will add more book lists making my website, . . . With Intent to Commit Horror, a really useful website.

4. I will read more books this year.

5. I will expand my knowledge base of horror fiction this year.

6. I will spend more time with my family.

Each month I list the new booklists that have been added to my website . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.

This month has been a very busy month with weekend visitors, holidays and sickness.

Twice a year I get sick for several weeks when the weather changes. This is because my sinuses are trying to kill me off. Each time the weather makes a dramatic change, they get blocked up and try their best to get infected. So I use sinus mediation which makes me lethargic or puts me to sleep altogether. And with Cleveland weather, the change of seasons can take 4 to 6 weeks flipping back and forth between autumn and blisteringly cold winter.

If you look below, it seems like I've been busy this month. But really most of these were half done or almost all done at the end of November. Nonetheless, they were finished and posted last month. Take a look at them and see if you can find some books here to read.

Booklists for January:

Authors:

Jenna Black

Matthew Cook

Jeaniene Frost

Deborah Grabien

Alan McElroy

Richelle Mead

Bryan Smith

Jeanne C. Stein

Steven A. Swiniarski

Kristy Tallman


Series:

Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles

The Ballad of Kirin Widowmaker

The Cleveland Undead Series

Curse of the Spawn

The Georgina Kincaid Series

The Guardians of the Night Series

The Haunted Ballad Series

The Kline Maxwell Series

Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist

Night Huntress

Vampire Academy


Updated Booklists for January:

Authors:

Kelley Armstrong

Kealan Patrick Burke

Kim Harrison

Teri A. Jacobs

Lucy A. Snyder

Carrie Vaughn


Series:

The Hollows

The Kitty Norville Series

The Timmy Quinn Series

The Women of the Otherworld Series


What do you think?

(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

I was working on the next author page for this website and I opened up the book link generator for Amazon.com. (I don't know what they really call it but I plug in an ISBN number for a book they're selling and it generates the proper link for me to use on my website.) It told me that someone or some ones purchased four items from Amazon using my website. I don't know who and I don't know what they purchased, but if they used my website once I'm hoping they'll be back again to see this:

Thank you.

You, whoever you are, were my first real live customer.

I was surprised at the elation I felt. I'm not in this for the money; I'm in it to support a genre I love. But those purchases felt like a confirmation that someone is finding my site useful. That all this work has merit. And that felt pretty freakin' good.

Thank you again to my first customer(s) and thank you to all of you who use my website whether you buy a book from here or not.

And Happy Holidays folks!


(Originally Posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.)

(Last week we began a trip through Horror World. I intended to finish this article and post it a couple of days later. Unfortunately life got in the way and delayed this post. I offer my apologies.)

Providing a safe environment where you can have a message conversation with your favorite author would be an absolute fantastic accomplishment. Horror World, however, has more -- much more. As the front page says, Horror World is owned and edited by Nanci Kalanta (Remember her?) with help from associate editor Matthew Warner (Yes, the horror writer Matthew Warner). Together they have taken to heart the term "value added".

The Columns

Horror World currently has three columnists who take turns posting a column. For example, this month Matthew Warner (http://www.matthewwarner.com/) in his Author's Notes column writes about obscenity, the First Amendment, and how what happens to porn movies could happen to horror books. The essay was fairly disturbing, especially when you realize that besides writing, Mr. Warner works as a paralegal.

The other two columnists are Will Ludwigsen (http://www.will-ludwigsen.com/) and Lucy Snyder (http://www.sff.net/people/lucy-snyder/). You can find a list of the previous columns in the Horror World Column Archive.

Or you can try one of my favorites:
Matthew Warner: Author's Notes
Will Ludwigsen: Pardon the Entrails
Lucy Snyder: Lucy's Laboratory

The Book Reviews

Each month sees a new batch of book reviews and you can find this month's set here. These are reviews of horror novels and collections by people who know and respect the horror genre. They are short and to the point. They give enough of the storyline to hook your interest and then tell you what the book's strength's are. When there are significant weaknesses in a book, the reviewer points them out but no book review I've read on the site trashed a book.

If you're in need of good recommendations and have a little time to browse, the Horror World Review Archive is a fascinating way to gain a fistful of leads. My only regret about the archive is that there is no search feature or index for the times you want to look up a specific title or author.

The Featured Author of the Month

Each month Horror World has a featured short story. This month's story is Some Dark Hope by Tim Waggoner which can be found on the fiction page. It is a free short story (as always, please respect the copyright) which is made available for your enjoyment. It's a great way to get to know an author. If you like the short story, you can check out his or her other work.

Do keep in mind that a short story can only give you a glimpse of the author's writing style. A published author will have a lot more to offer in a novel, a novella or even a collection of stories.

If you're interested in reading Some Dark Hope you really need to click on the link now because soon, very soon, it will disappear and another story by another author will take its place. Unlike the reviews or columns, stories by the Featured Author of the Month are not archived.

The Interviews

Horror World also has interviews. This month Steven E. Wedel interviews Kim Paffenroth, author of the Stoker Award winning Gospel of the Living Dead and the new novel Dying to Live. Steven asks some excellent questions and I found the interview very interesting. I haven't read either book by Mr. Paffenroth -- yet. That will be changing soon, in part because of these interviews.

As with the fiction, the interviews aren't archived and soon another interview will take the place of this one. So hurry if you want to find out how George Romero's zombie movies are like Dante's The Divine Comedy or what it feels like to win the Stoker Award seconds after somebody else's book was announced.

The Announcements

Nanci Kalanta is big on getting the information out there. If you click on announcements in the upper right hand corner of any Horror World page, you'll find a page of links to publishers, bloggers and conventions information. You'll also find a link to Horror World's LiveJournal where Nanci also posts many of the announcements she gets.

And Much Much More

Horror World has a chat room, a library where you can read excerpts of published novels and novellas, a newsletter that you can subscribe to, and a page of links to other websites. Horror World is also the home of The Pod of Horror. But that is a post for another time.

(Originally Posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.)

Noctem Aeternus Debuts in January

Noctem Aeternus: Fiction for the Horror Fan is a free online magazine of horror fiction, interviews and columns. It will be published quarterly and made available for download as a PDF document. For those who don't know, you can read a PDF document using a free computer program called Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The first issue debuts next month in January, 2008. It will have horror stories by Ramsey Campbell, Tim Waggoner, Cherie Priest, Charles Coleman Finlay, and Michael Laimo. It features interviews and quarterly columns as well. And take a look at the beautiful cover by clicking on the Noctem Aeternus link.

The magazine is free but you need to subscribe to get your copy. Subscribing is easy (I did it myself) and painless. However, Noctem Aeternus needs your help to stay free. It needs subscribers. You can check out the Noctem Aeternus home page to get a better idea of what the magazine has to offer or click here to straight to the subscription page.

As Mr. Knost writes on the front page "Help us keep the magazine FREE . . . sign up today!"

The Pen to Press Writers’ Retreat

Are you serious about becoming a published writer? Are you serious about visiting New Orleans, Louisiana? Well, HWA President Deborah LeBlanc has a deal for you: The Pen to Press Writers’ Retreat.

It will be held May 27-May 31, 2008 in New Orleans. 160 people will be chosen from the pool of applicants to attend this 5-day intense retreat. The application process -- a synopsis and first five pages of a novel -- are outlined here. You can register now and get good rates but you don't pay until and unless you've been selected to attend.

Check their website out and see if you aren't intrigued.


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)

Horror world is run by Nanci Kalanta (Remember her?). It clearly states on the front page that it's horror's #1 community on the web and it has won awards to prove it. Horror World is primarily a message board where people can have conversations with other people who love horror as well as many authors of horror. In fact many horror authors and some publishers have their own message boards where you can write to them directly.

Do you have a favorite author or someone you're interested in? Chances are he or she has a message board dedicated to them. The best way to find out it to click on the links at the upper right hand side of the page: Mass Market and Independant Press. Got a favorite publisher? Maybe you can find them under Publishers. Or you could jump the gun and click on the links I've provided here. Just be sure to come back and finish this post later.

About Message Boards

Have you ever joined a message board? If not, keep reading. Those of you who've done this plenty of time, feel free to skip this part.

First you'll want to register. There is a link to register on the left hand side towards the middle. Register is the first option presented. Click on the link and it takes you to the page: Horror World - Registration Agreement Terms which is basically the rules of conduct. Don't be rude or an idiot. It also uses cookies so your computer may have to be set up to accept cookies in order to register. Once you agree to the terms, you're sent to a page where you fill out some information.

On the profile page you put in your information. That includes making up a username and a password. You can add more information such as the URL to your website, your e-mail address or your handles on various chat and Instant message modes or you can leave them all blank. You can even go back in and edit stuff later.

The e-mail is kept private. If I wanted to e-mail, say Nanci, instead of getting her e-mail address, I get a message page where I can put my missive and a button to send it off to her. It shows up in her e-mail account but I never had access to the address. Clever, no?

What's in a Name?

The profile page asks you to make up a user name and a password. May I make a few suggestions. You should consider using your name as a username. If, however, you like to use a handle like I do, think about including your name in the signature. I do. My username is Greg the Undead Rat. I haven't used it much because I'm kinda shy.

Why use my real name? The internet draws a lot of crazy people and message boards seem to be a Mecca for crazy people and people looking for a flight (called a flame war in internet parlance). Unfortunately message boards dedicated to horror literature and visited by horror authors tend to get the meanest and the craziest of the lot. Many authors have been burned badly in such wars. Signing your post with a name is not only polite but it gives ownership to the comment. It also allows readers and responders to begin to trust you. Hiding behind a made up handle tends to inhibit trust and hiding behind Anymonous is much worse.

Try user names like Greg Fisher (the Horror World message boards do allow spaces in the usernames) or GregFisher, Gfisher, GregF, or GregoryF. As I wrote, I use Greg the Undead Rat but I always sign inside my post --Gregory "The Undead Rat" Fisher so that they know who is talking to them.

The Grand Finish

Once you've registered, you can look at the message boards and see what people are talking about. Already from just reading the boards I found out what Gary Braunbeck's next book will be about and one way he tackles writer's block. Now I can drop Teri A. Jacobs a message "Hello" and let her know that I really love reading The Void. Intrigued? Give it a try.

Next time I'll write about some of the other features of Horror World.


(Originally Posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.)

Nanci Kalanta (You'll be reading about her a bit this week) owns HW Press which recently published a collection of short stories by Lucy A. Snyder titled Sparks and Shadows.

Nanci is making an offer too good to resist -- buy a copy of Lucy's Sparks and Shadows and get a free copy of her humor collection Installing Linux on a Dead Badger. That's two books for the price of one, good through December 31, 2007.

I recently had an opportunity to read some of Lucy's writing and I was very impressed. She has a way of drawing you into a story and not letting you go until she's done. Her style was effortless to read and put me in mind of Stephen King or Douglas Clegg. I read until I realized it was 3:00am and I had to wake up at 7:00am for work. If that doesn't sway you then know this: She's an Ohio author -- enough said.

To get this special offer click on this link and place your order for Sparks and Shadows. You can pay by Paypal or credit card on the Paypal page. And before you know it your Lucy A. Snyder library will be complete . . . for the moment.

Check it out:

Sparks and Shadows	Sparks and Shadows Author: Snyder, Lucy A. Format: Trade Paperback Type: Short Story Collection Page Count: 356pp. Pub. Date: May 2007 Publisher: HW Press
This debut collection of seventeen short stories, seven poems and four humor essays from Lucy A. Snyder will appeal to any reader of the dark fantastic. By turns touching, chilling, surreal, wryly satiric, seductive, macabre and laugh-out-loud funny, this book will take you from adventures in the farthest reaches of outer space to the darkest shadows beneath the surface of modern America. Table of Contents: A Preference For Silence Roses of Gomorrah Boxlunch Feel the Love Burning Bright Sara and the Telecats The Sheets Were Clean And Dry The Dickification of the American Female So Lonely As The Grave The Dogs of Summer ... And Her Shadow Flesh and Blood Through Thy Bounty The Dolls' Hearts ... Next on Channel 77 Forgetting Darwin's Children Soul Searching Dime Novel The Fish and the Bicycle The Jarred Heart Glowfish The Monster Between The Sparks Photograph of a Lady, Circa 1890 Permian Basin Blues Camp Songs: Innocent Fun or Diabolical Brainwashing Plot? Menstruation For Men
Installing Linux on a Dead Badger	Installing Linux on a Dead Badger (And Other Oddities) Author: Snyder, Lucy A. Artists: Christman, D. E. and McClinton, Malcolm Format: Humor and Essays Type: Collection Page Count: ???pp. Pub. Date: Late 2007 or 2008 Publisher: Liaison Press
A softcover collection of humor about computers and the forces of evil. Table of Contents: Trolls Gone Wild In The Shadow of the Fryolator Faery Cats: The Cutest Killers The Great VuDu Teen Linux Zombie Massacree Wake Up Naked Monkey You're Going To Die Authorities Concerned Over Rise of Teen Linux Gangs Graveyard Shift Dead Men Don't Need Coffee Breaks Business Insourcing Offers Life After Death Corporate Vampires Sink Teeth Into Business World Unemployed Playing Dead To Find Work Your Corporate Network and the Forces of Darkness Installing Linux on a Dead Badger: User's Notes

Disclaimer: Unlike the books you buy off my website from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble, I receive no money from the sale of Lucy's books through HW Press. I took advantage of this offer last night and wanted to share it with you.

(Originally Posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror.)