The Fear County Chronicle #13
Multiple cover reveals, Dead-Eye and Job ride again, a book-signing trip to the Windy City, and what in tarnation is going on over at Twitter?
November is turning out to be a red-letter month for Ol’ Ron. I just had a new book released a few days ago, I’m on the cusp of retirement (November 18th) after 21 years with the same company, and November 20th is my birthday (I’ll be a cantankerous 63… just ask my wife. She’ll verify it… both my age and my cantankerousness). There’s just something about the month of November that I’ve always loved. Maybe it’s the birthday part, maybe because it includes the feasting of Thanksgiving and the preparation for Christmas afterwards (I know… like all horror writers, you want Halloween to be my favorite holiday, but alas it’s actually the yuletide season. Sorry, that’s just the way I was raised, although Halloween is a very close second).
Alright, enough about how November is so very special to me. Let’s get into some Southern Fried Horror news and such, along with a little social commentary that might ruffle some feathers (but, hey, I’m technically a boomer, so you should expect me to slip the leash off the dawgs and do a little barking from time to time).
The Saga of Dead-Eye, Book Two is finally here!
So, this is the one everyone’s been waiting for. A year after The Saga of Dead-Eye, Book One: Vampires, Zombies, & Mojo Men was released, the second installment, Book Two: Werewolves, Swamp Critters, & Hellacious Haints has arrived. Some of the delay had to do with the whole Silver Shamrock fiasco (I touched base on that in Chronicle #1: The Chronicle is Back! so you can check that out if you want) and having to find a new publisher for Dead-Eye afterwards. But a lot of it had to do with some old-fashioned writer’s procrastination on Ol’ Ron’s part. Eventually, I got the horse shod, the saddle cinched tight, and hit the literary trail. A little extra thinking-time on my part might have been a good thing, since Dead-Eye Book Two turned out to be a mighty fun continuation of the series. In fact, I’ll not hesitate to describe it as a ‘monster fest’ of sorts. What can you expect zombie gunfighter Dead-Eye and Louisiana mojo man Job to come up against in this one? Well, let’s see… there’s hillbilly werewolves, Bloody Bones, Cherokee warrior skeletons, prehistoric swamp critters, a slimy fish-man, demonic bounty hunters, headless poltergeists, and ghostly whores, just to name a few. Enough supernatural nere-do-wells to keep our two heroes occupied during their trek across the western territories in search of the vampire outlaw, Jules Holland, his band of demonic henchmen, and his eldritch traveling companion, the dark witch, Evangeline.
The Saga of Dead-Eye, Book Two: Werewolves, Swamp Critters, & Hellacious Haints is now available from Crossroad Press in ebook, paperback, and affordable hardcover. And, for a limited time, you can pick up the ebook of Book One: Vampires, Zombies, & Mojo Men for only 99-cents (a spooky western adventure with a vein of dark humor throughout sounds pretty dang appealing for under a buck, don’t you think?) For those hankering for the Thunderstorm limited edition hardcover of DE2, I’ll be signing the signature sheets soon and then it will be put up for preorder and go into production.
FEAR: The Author’s Preferred Edition
That’s right, folks… my magnum opus Fear is returning in a new paperback and hardcover edition, after being unavailable in print form following the end of Sinister Grin Publications. Fear: The Author’s Preferred Edition will include the original 1994 Zebra Books, as well as an introduction by Brian Keene, a Fear testimonial section, two bonus novellas, and an afterword by myself. And take a look at that beautiful cover art by Alex McVey! When I decided to rerelease this special edition of Fear, I wanted a cover that conveyed the heart and spirit of the book more than its previous covers. So, I commissioned Alex to do this special painting, depicting Jeb, Roscoe, Sam, and Buckshot on the verge of crossing into Fear County and he nailed it. I think it’s the perfect opening curtain for this new edition.
For those of you who are curious, yes, Thunderstorm Books will be doing a very lavish and limited hardcover (a lettered edition perhaps) with color pages throughout and maybe even a hand-drawn (by myself) remarque page in each and every copy. I’ll let you know when that finally comes about, and Mr. Goblirsch puts the special edition up for preorder.
TWELVE GAUGE PAPERBACK COMING SOON!
Yeah, I know. Bloody, isn’t it? Well, so is this book. My crime/suspense/horror novel, Twelve Gauge (also known as, ugh, Father’s Little Helper… a title the editors at Zebra slapped on it, despite my vehement protests) is probably the most brutal and bloody book I’ve ever written. It didn’t start out that way; it just happened to be one of those rare occasions in the writing process where the intended plot completely jumps the rails and ventures into much darker territory than was initially intended. It has serial killers, mass murderers, sawed-off shotguns, and a body count that would put a Rambo movie to shame. Plus, it’s a delightful and cozy Christmas story! (Well, I don’t know about the ‘delightful and cozy’ part, but it does take place during Christmas). As for trigger warnings, let’s just say it begins with a mass shooting during a children’s nativity play in a small, country church, so if that doesn’t sound like something you can handle — mentally or emotionally — you might want to steer clear of this one.
The multi-talented Chad Lutzke designed this stunning new shock-and-awe cover for Twelve Gauge. Crossroad Press will be releasing the print edition (first time in paperback since its debut release in 1992) sometime in early 2023. It is currently available in ebook and audiobook now, if you’re interested in giving it a read during the upcoming Christmas holiday.
LitFest 2022: Our Whirlwind Weekend in Chicago
On the weekend of October 22nd, my wife Joyce and I flew to Chicago to attend Semi Colon’s First Annual Fall LitFest. This trip was totally unexpected and courtesy of Southern Fried & Horrified publisher Stygian Sky Media. Believe it or not, this is as northward as both of us has traveled and it was Ol’ Ron’s first trip in a big plane (I’ve flown in small craft before, but not an airliner). It was a great weekend with a Friday night dinner at SmokeDaddy’s BBQ, followed by breakfast the next morning with long-time fan and friend, Brad Saenz. That afternoon we joined Jeremy Wagner (Stygian Sky publisher and lead guitarist for Broken Hope), editor Steve Wands of Dead Sky Publishing, Julia Borcherts of Kaye Publicity, and rock photographer Gene Ambo at LitFest, where we sold and signed an incredible number of books, including my memoir/writing guide Southern Fried & Horrified and my Somewhere South of Hell chapbook series. We had a great time visiting with fans and the staff of Stygian Sky Media and Dead Sky Publishing. Here are some photos from our trip…
To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Troubled Times for the Little Blue Bird
Being an offspring of the post-WWII generation, I kind of pride myself on my willingness to participate on and make use of various social media platforms. A lot of folks around (or past) retirement age still resists new technology or its many benefits (or pitfalls… it just depends on how you look at it). Being an author, I find it invaluable for engaging with fans and readers and promoting my work. Currently, I have accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok (yes, I’m on Tik Tok, although I’ve yet to do anything with it. Maybe I’m just flat-out scared to… I can’t dance worth a hoot compared to Kristopher Triana.) Out of the four, Twitter is my least favorite. True, you can get noticed there in a big way, but sometimes getting noticed (or painfully scrutinized) isn’t such a great thing. Let’s just say, as a whole, it’s not exactly a wellspring of positivity and good will. In fact, if you don’t conduct yourself discreetly and watch your step, it’s like navigating a swamp riddled with alligators, quicksand, and landmines. I’ve seen good, well-meaning folks say or do the wrong thing and get taken down quickly, like a bleeding cow crossing a stream brimming with hungry piranha. Some of them never recovered and was never heard from again.
So, last week something happened to rattle Twitter and its millions of participants in a very nasty way. As an old dude and an observer of current events, this is sort of how it looked to me (and so I’m going to tell it to you like a story, as I usually do).
There was once a big playground where a bunch of kids hung out. Most were good kids, while some were whiney troublemakers. Some of these kids got together and chased some of the ‘undesirable’ kids off the playground (including a big, red-headed bully… just think Ham in The Sandlot all grown up, but with billions of dollars). For a while, the kids who stayed on the playground were pacified, although they weren’t always happy… they still had plenty of things to gripe and complain about. Then, last week, some of the undesirable kids came back and they had a Rich Kid with them (not the orange-haired bully, but someone else). And the Rich Kid broke open his piggy bank, shelled out 44 billion dollars, and bought the whole dang playground! Afterwards, much name-calling ensued and many temper tantrums were thrown. And the playground soon became a raging battlefield of ugly behavior and discontent.
Now, before you get angry and start accusing me of taking one side or another, believe me, I’m just relaying what I’ve observed over the past few days. Yes, Elon Musk bought Twitter and a lot of folks didn’t like that at all. A man who was once revered as a visionary (Tesla and SpaceX) is now Public Enemy #1 (maybe for good reason… maybe not). Valerie Bertinelli even changed her Twitter name to Elon Musk at one point and had folks thinking that the real Elon was endorsing the very politics that he abhors (I’m sure Eddie VH is somewhere right now, laughing his ass off about that one.)
Alot of folks are threatening to up and abandon Twitter and go elsewhere, and they certainly have that right. As for me, I’ll be sticking around. Not because I’m a supporter of Musk and his political leanings, or that I enjoy the climate of negativity that permeates the platform, but because, as far as social media goes, it’s valuable for promoting my work and engaging with fans and fellow authors. Of course, you can always catch me at Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok, and a bunch of us horror authors are circling the wagons at Brian Keene’s message board if you’d like to join us there for interaction and discussion, where it’s safe and it’s all about horror fiction and the craft of creating it.
Well, I reckon that’ll do until next time. If you’re a Chronicle subscriber, I’ll be back in a fortnight (that’s two weeks to you home folks) with more Southern Fried news and shenanigans. If you haven’t subscribed yet, find that subscriber button and git’er done! Until then, Many Happy Nightmares, y’all!
At this point I think it’s safe to say you have the best covers in the horror genre!
I am really enjoying the further adventures of Dead-Eye and Job and all the monsters scattered throughout. Getting some much needed belly laughs out of it as well!!