The Fear County Chronicle #9
Upcoming events and publications, more Scares That Care photos, and a contest for cool vintage Southern-Fried Horror prizes!
Welcome back! As far as this edition of the Chronicle is concerned, we’re a day late (plus another day older and a few dollars poorer, as Grandpa Kelly once said). Exciting things have been taking place lately that I’m eager to share with you, so let’s hitch the mules to the wagon and get going…
Southern Fried & Horrified Book Launch!
On Saturday, September 3rd we will be holding our Southern Fried & Horrified Book Launch Party and Horror Art Show at the Junction Depot in Carthage, Tennessee. Special guests will be Weird Tales cover artist, Lynne Hanson, Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Jeff Strand, and audiobook narrator, J. Rodney Turner. Bridget Nelson will also be there, signing copies of her extreme horror collection, A Bouquet of Viscera. Both Lynne and I will be displaying our horror art, and J. Rodney will be reading an RK story or two. We’ll also have refreshments, door prizes, and the lovely Mrs. Joyce will have fall crafts and flower arrangements for sale. And, of course, there will be plenty of copies of Southern Fried & Horrified on hand, as well as other RK books and quality prints of the SF&H cover artwork by Justin T. Coons, signed by the artist himself. The event will be held from Noon to 4:00 PM at the old train depot at 185 Gordonsville Highway in Carthage, Tennessee (just look for the big Ol’ SF&H banner!). If you’re in the Middle-Tennessee area, or just want to take a fun road trip, come on down and see us!
Somewhere South of Hell Chapbooks!
Good news! Book One of my SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF HELL chapbook series from Death’s Head Press is now available, and Books Two and Three are currently at the printer. Those who preordered the three chapbooks individually or in the three-book bundle should be receiving them before long. If you would like to order the bundle, you can do so here.
SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF HELL is the first in several chapbook series coming from DHP. My series explores some of my darker and more rural horror stories. Some are old RK classics, while some are completely new. The incredible covers for SSOH were done by artist Luke Spooner of Carrion House.
Bleeding Page Podcast!
Last week I recorded Episode 14 of Bleeding Page Podcast with Chad Lutzke and Jason Brant. We had a great time discussing traditional publishing versus self-publishing, how writing and publishing differed in my heyday of the 1990s, and my illustrious history with publishers who have crashed and burned. It was an informative and enjoyable hour episode. Head on over and watch the YouTube version now. A big thanks to Chad and Jason for being such interesting and congenial hosts!
More Scares That Care Photos!
In the Chronicle #8, I featured some photos from Scares That Care Charity Weekend VIII. Here’s a few more!
Southern-Fried EC Horror-Inspired Collections!
As you may already know, Haunt of Southern-Fried Fear, the first volume of my Southern-Fried, EC Horror comics-inspired series, was released earlier this year. Since then, it has changed publishers (from the ill-fated Silver Shamrock to Crossroad Press). Hosted by the Old Storyteller, Haunt featured all ghost stories. The second in the series, Tales from the Southern Fried Crypt, will be all swamp/bayou/voodoo stories set in Louisiana. Tales is in production now and should be available by the end of the year (I was hoping for a Halloween release, but a rough bout of COVID, my trip to STC, and preparation for the upcoming release of Southern Fried & Horrified has thrown it behind). Book Three, which should be out by Summer of 2023, will be titled Vault of Southern Fried Horror and will feature murderer, maniac, and serial killer tales. All three volumes will feature cool, retro EC-flavored covers by my all-time favorite artist, Alex McVey. Each book will also feature comic book panel-style illustrations from Ol’ Ron, plus some retro comic book advertisement pages in the back.
Fear County Chronicle Subscriber Contest!
The Fear County Chronicle newsletter is currently at 895 subscribers, but I’d love to shoot for 1,000. Therefore, I’m starting a new contest. As an incentive to recruit new subscribers to the Chronicle, I will be giving away two vintage RK items. One will be a mint copy of the 1994 Zebra Books paperback edition of Fear. The other will be one of the last remaining copies of my Grammy Award-nominated audio collection, Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror from 1992. When we officially reach the one thousand mark, I will randomly select two names from my subscriber list for the winners. Both current and new subscribers are eligible to win. So, spread the word and recommend the Chronicle to your friends and fellow readers. These two vintage treasures keep staring at me from my bookshelf and I’d sure like to give them away soon!
Well, it looks like the Ol’ Snake-Critter is getting restless. I reckon we’d better wrap this up before he gets all ornery and cocoons somebody and hangs them in a cave somewhere. Thanks for stopping by and sitting a spell. Maybe next time around I’ll have a little RK fiction for you or a commentary that might ruffle a feather or two. You never know what might end up in the Chronicle. So, until then… wait… just one more thing…
Yep… I reckon I’ll let you chew on that for a while. So, as I was saying, until next time, Many Happy Nightmares, y’all.
Looking forward to all your book releases. It was great seeing you and Joyce again at Scares That Care!
Just preordered the Chapbooks! They look absolutely awesome!