So as they do every year, the algorithm elves over at Goodreads have prepared an annual review of the books their users read and rated in 2020. Being a year when there was, shall we say, not a lot in the way of places to go or things to do, plus one in which I managed not to end up in the ICU for a while, one might think I would have read quite a bit more than in 2019, but in fact, I only read about 200 more pages. Maybe I was spending too much time watching the news …
Continue reading “That Was The Year That Was (In Books): 2020 Edition”Category: horror
And All It Took Was A Pandemic
Some years ago—never mind how long precisely*—I acquired a board game called Zombies!!!

Random Rejection: Dark Regions, “The Last Vacancy”
Realizing it has been a long, long time since I did a random rejection, this week, I decided to fire up the old random number generator and reach into the old accordion file of denials (and the occasional acceptance). This time I was told to take the 26th rejection from the “D” folder, and so here we have this one, from Dark Regions magazine (which is still around, and is now the specialty book publisher Dark Regions Press), for my short story “The Last Vacancy”:
Continue reading “Random Rejection: Dark Regions, “The Last Vacancy””Limited Edition “Father’s Books” Cover! Get It While It’s Limited! Get It While It’s A Cover!
So remember a while back when I said I was waiting for the artwork for my new novel Father’s Books as well as for my reissue of Night Watchman, which became orphaned after Mundania Press abruptly shut down operations last year? And how I said I wasn’t going to release the books until I had the artwork, so as not to have to bother doing it twice? And how, a little while after that, I said, well, okay, maybe I’ll release the eBook versions with the placeholder covers, but that I wasn’t going to release the paperback versions yet? Wellllll, if I may quote Spike from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”:
Continue reading “Limited Edition “Father’s Books” Cover! Get It While It’s Limited! Get It While It’s A Cover!”Spike: “I had a plan.”
Angel, “In the Dark”
Angel: “You, a plan?”
Spike: “A good plan, smart plan, carefully laid out. But, I got bored.”
[Spike pushes Angel against a wall]
Spike: “All that watching, waiting. My legs started to cramp.”
Teaser Tuesday: “Old Broken Road”
Recently I was reading Old Broken Road, by K.M. Alexander, the second book in “The Bell Forging Cycle”:
Continue reading “Teaser Tuesday: “Old Broken Road””In Case You Were Looking For Something To Blow A Couple Of Stimulus Checks On
I don’t know if this is a signed copy of Night Watchman, my old splatterpunk “not everyboy wants to read The Books of Blood“ novel that recently became orphaned when the publisher abruptly closed up shop last year with no notice. But for that price, it had better be. And really. $2,000 and no free shipping?! #ripoff
My advice? Wait for me to republish it. Then you’ll be able to pick it up for, oh, not more than $500 or so.
Teaser Tuesday 11/26/2019: “Night After Night”
Recently I was reading Night After Night, by one of my favorite authors, Phil Rickman, who wrote a couple of amazing horror novels back in the day, but who’s now probably best known for the Merrily Watkins series of (somewhat) paranormal mystery novels. This one is not a Merrily Watkins novel, but it is a—wait for it!—paranormal mystery. Of sorts.
Continue reading “Teaser Tuesday 11/26/2019: “Night After Night””
My Favorite Genre
Did You Ever Wonder What Sound A Zombie Makes When It Hits The Ground After Being Pushed Off A Balcony?
Then through the magic of subtitles, wonder no more!
Coincidentally, splat was also the sound made by this mostly-unfortunate season of Fear the Walking Dead as it limped to its conclusion …
Gone Out Of Business Sale
Recently I was reading Plague of Angels, by John Patrick Kennedy: