The Fear County Chronicle #33
Trying to keep cool in sweatbox Tennessee and striving to clock in more time at the keyboard and the drawing board.
I’ve always been sort of a slacker as far as maintenance is concerned. Cars, house, yard, even health. It’s not that I’m lazy and don’t want to attend to important stuff like that, I just get sidetracked and focused on other things in life and forget or tend to put it on the back burner. When my father-in-law was alive, he would pitch me signals whenever he visited. Before he even walked in the house, he’d likely do a maintenance check on mine and Joyce’s vehicles. “You need oil” or “That left rear tire needs air” he’d say before saying “Hi”. Sometimes it’d make me feel like an inadequate doofus and I’d hurriedly take care of it before he even left to go home. Now that he’s gone, I find myself missing him badly. He was a kind and generous man, the kind who would literally give you the shirt off his back if you asked. He was also a mechanical and automotive wiz and fixed things for us. Cars, lawn mowers, weed eaters… he even installed a water heater or two. He also kept me in check and gave me the incentive to do better and take care of my family’s possessions the way I should.
Last week our AC went out on us… during the hottest part of a sweltering Tennessee summer. The blower motor died and wasn’t in stock locally (which was weird because the unit is only three years old), so they had to have one shipped down from Illinois. For the better part of last weekend, the Kellys were huddled in a dark living room like Armageddon survivors in a bomb shelter; curtains drawn, fans on high, with one window unit we’d bought from Lowe’s giving it all it had 24/7. We finally got it fixed on Monday. Apparently, a dirty air filter made the coils freeze up and condensation leaked into the motor, causing it to short out. Again, my fault because I didn’t stay on top of the maintenance. It was an expensive screw-up on my part.
I’ve also noticed that I’m neglecting the maintenance on my writing career. There are at least three books I should have ready for completion or already published, but like usual, life in general is running interference. Or maybe it’s just good old-fashioned procrastination (unlike maintenance, that’s something I’m pretty excel at). It could be that I’m enjoying my retirement too much and just taking my time and taking it easy. I’ve been writing for 40 years now, so I reckon I don’t need to push as hard or prove myself like I did when I was starting out in the small press of the 1980s and 90s or writing for Zebra Books. I write when I feel like it, put out a novel rerelease or story collection whenever I have the notion (thanks to Crossroad Press), and hope that folks still want to read and enjoy what I write. It’s getting harder and harder these days. Those in the horror community are quick to claim that there’s no competition between a writer and their peers, but to tell the truth writing and selling books is basically a business and all businesses are competitive. There’s a helluva lot of books being published by indie presses and self-published authors these days and, unfortunately, that puts a strain on readers who only have a limited amount of dollars to spend after using half their paycheck on groceries and the other half keeping the water and electric on. At my online store, orders are down 66% from last year and sales are down 68%. It could be because I’ve been around for so long that everyone’s read everything I currently have to offer, or maybe the present reading trend is drifting away from traditional horror fiction and focusing on other subgenres (it seems like extreme horror is pretty much dominating the horror market these days). Along with my monthly Social Security, book royalties and online book sales are what helps pay the bills these days, so I reckon I’d best attend to the maintenance of my career and kick it into a higher gear. And that means putting out a couple more books for 2024 and focusing on finishing Fear Eternal, the sequel to Fear, for a 2025 release.
Vault of Southern-Fried Horror is in the works!
I’m currently working to complete the third and final volume in my EC Horror comics-inspired Southern-Fried Horror Tales series. Vault of Southern-Fried Horror will contain crime/suspense/horror tales of maniacs, murderers, serial killers, and the dark side of humanity. It’ll also includes this cool retro comic cover by artist Alex McVey and twelve pages of comic book art by Ol’ Ron, as well as two pages of nostalgic comic book ads in the back. I hope to have this to the folks at Crossroad by mid-July for a late July or early August release. I’m now hard at work on the comic book pages for the interior. Here’s a few to whet your appetite…
Upcoming Author Appearances!
I’m sorry to announce that I’ve had to cancel my September 28th appearance at Vortex Books & Comics in Columbia, Pennsylvania. With upcoming dental work for me and the kids around that time, a long trip north for a weekend book signing just isn’t in the cards. Hopefully, I will be able to reschedule a signing at Vortex sometime in 2025. My apologies to Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni for having to cancel on such short notice. I was really looking forward to being there.
However, I will be attending the Tennessee Book & Readers Convention on September 6 & 7 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mrs. Joyce and I will have the Southern-Fried Horror table set up and stocked (hopefully, with a couple of new releases). If you’re in the East Tennessee area that Friday or Saturday, please stop by and say Howdy!
The Zebra Years: Book Two… PITFALL
I’m continuing the series of essays I began in The Fear County Chronicle #32 with a behind-the-scenes look back at my second Zebra Books novel release.
PITFALL
Original title: PIT DEVILS
Publication date: July 1990
Emotion: Excitement
After I received the call from my agent in early 1989, informing me that Zebra Books had accepted Hindsight, I immediately set to work on a second novel in hopes that they might be interested in it, too.
The book was completely opposite of the one I had just written. While Hindsight took place in the rural countryside of central Tennessee, Pit Devils would be set in the scorching desert of southwestern Texas. Had I ever been there before? Did I have any inkling about the place I was writing about? No... I'd never set foot in the Lone Star State. But I had a solid idea in my head and, throwing caution to the wind, I went for it. I did a lot of research. Tons of it. Mind you, there was no internet to speak of back then; no Google or Bing or Edge to rely on for speedy and accurate information. So, I depended on visits to the local library and my trusty Encyclopedia Britannica... all 32 shelf-bending volumes. Also, I had tried to break, unsuccessfully, into the western genre years before, so this would just be like penning another oater... only with blood, gore, and monsters.
So, why make the carnivorous antagonists of my story Tasmanian devils?
There’s a funny story behind that. It started years before, probably 1984, during a doctor visit. I was suffering the most hellacious sinus infection I'd ever experienced. While sitting in the waiting room for my turn, I shuffled through some magazines for something to read. There wasn't much to choose from. Newsweek, Woman's Day, and Reader's Digest.
I picked RD and began flipping through it, looking for the joke page. All of sudden, an article caught my eye. It was about Tasmanian devils. Not that pudgy cartoon character that cut through boulders and tree trunks in a cyclone of dust. This was the real deal. I was captivated by the photo beneath the title. It was a vicious, leering little creature with malevolent eyes and the biggest mouthful of razor-sharp teeth I'd ever seen. I skimmed through the article and thought, hey, maybe I could put one of these little devils in a story someday. As a reminder, I... well... I sort of eased that copy of Reader's Digest out of sight of the receptionist at the desk and slyly tore out the page with the photo. Then I secretly tucked it away in my wallet for safe keeping. Anyway, years later, when I started brainstorming for that second novel idea, I remembered that doctor visit. I rummaged through the papers in my desk and found the page from the Tasmanian devil article and, within an hour, the plot for Pit Devils was formed.
It only took me two or three months to write the thing -- on an electric typewriter, no less. After I finished, I made a couple of copies of the manuscript and mailed one to my agent. Three weeks later, he called and said "Guess what? They want this one, too." I was overjoyed, because it totally shot down a doubt that had been nagging at me since I had sold the first novel. Was this all just a fluke? Would Hindsight be a one-hit wonder and then it was back to writing those little, short stories for pennies a word? My second acceptance from Zebra told me that it wasn't. All of a sudden, I had multiple books on the release schedule of a major NY publishing house.
Pitfall (again changed from the original title... those know-it-alls in the editorial department were good at that) was released in July of 1990. By then, my emotional state had improved tremendously. Yes, I was still in the grieving process, but I knew the best way to honor my mother's memory was to carry on and build the writing career she had always wanted for me. I gained back the twenty-five pounds I'd lost from worry and stress and arrived at my first Pitfall book signing; strong, tanned, and happy.
A note about the cover of Pitfall: considering that I was writing for Zebra, the most visually exploitative horror publisher in the business, I had expected savage faces with glowing red eyes and blood-coated fangs, leaping out to terrorize the reader. Instead, it was something totally uncharacteristic for the big Z. It was a simple silver cover with the biggest foil-red Ronald Kelly plastered at the top that I could have ever imagined, especially for a measly second release. You could say that my ego was stoked to capacity and my grin threatened to surpass the boundaries of my ears and meet on the backside of my head. Title and byline fonts like these belonged to greater authors, like King, Koontz, and Straub. To this day, I have no idea what they were thinking at the time. Maybe they believed it would sell more copies. Maybe they thought they would take the high road and be a little classy for a change. Anyway, the novel turned out to be a modest seller, not the blockbuster they probably had hoped for. They probably would have had more lucrative sales if they had done it the plain, old Zebra way and fished something hideous and tacky from the monster pool.
Looking back, I had so much fun writing Pitfall. It will always be my "rollercoaster ride" novel, with down to earth characters like Bowie Kane, Lynn Sykes, and Lester Liles and rampaging critters like "hangry" Tribbles with overbites. It was also my last "modest-sized" novel for Zebra. After that, they only grew bigger and more bloated with characters, subplots, and action... for better or worse.
Note: The new paperback edition of Pitfall is now available at the RKHORROR bookstore.
Get 20% Off now at RKHORROR!
From now through July 15th, get 20% your order of books, art prints, and t-shirts at RKHORROR! Just enter promo code JULYSAVE at checkout. Some previously out-of-stock books are back, including the paperback and hardcover editions of Dark Tide #13: The Devil’s Backbone (with Appalachian horror novellas by me, Laurel Hightower, and Red Lagoe), Restless Shadows, and The Saga of Dead-Eye, Book Three: Man-Eaters, Mummies, & Murderous Maniacs. Also, all Zebra Alumni and Southern-Fried Horror t-shirts are still on sale! And, as always, all books come with a personal inscription and hand drawn RK artwork on the title page (The Devil’s Backbone includes a special bookplate signed by all three authors!).
Well, that’s it for this issue of The Fear County Chronicle. As always, many thanks to all who support me and my writing career, and those who subscribe to the newsletter. If you haven’t subscribed yet, take a moment to click that button (I promise, nothing bad will happen!) I try my best to make TFCC as entertaining and informative as possible. If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to see included in the newsletter (flash fiction, writing and publishing essays, my personal artwork, etc.) please leave them in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you!
Keep cool, read a good book, and, until next time, Many Happy Nightmares, y’all!
Thank you for the story & updates. Hope y’all will have a good summer 🍃