Blog Tour for my debut fiction collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD

Silver Dagger Book Tours will be running a Blog Tour for my debut fiction collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD, published by Cemetery Dance.

Anybody with a blog or Facebook page can join in!

Sign-ups are here: https://www.silverdaggertours.com/tour-sign-ups/that-which-grows-wild-tour-sign-ups

Amazing highlight writer’s day yesterday - Bram Stoker Award Prelim Ballot and Book Signing!

What an amazing highlight writer’s day yesterday! Discovered that I received two listings on the Preliminary Ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards®, one in anthology (A WORLD OF HORROR, through Dark Moon Books), and one in category of Fiction Collection (THAT WHICH GROWS WILD through Cemetery Dance Publications), which is my baby!!!

And THEN I got to sign books at the most prestigious horror bookshop in Southern California, Dark Delicacies for the release of my newest anthology, POP THECLUTCH with THESE PEOPLE!

I may have set the bar too high for the rest of 2019—don’t know if I’ll be able to top yesterday. Just great warmth and inspiration all around.

Thanks so much to Del and Sue Howison for hosting, and for Lisa Morton, Duane Swierczynski, Kasey Lansdale, David J. Schow, and Gary Phillips for being a part of this book and signing, along with Jonathan Maberry who signed his most recent release, BROKEN LANDS, while taking a few minutes out from working on NINE other novels!!

And special thanks to Eric Miller and Thomas C Raymond for dinner afterward!

DAY 19 OF ANNOUNCING! POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

I’ve posted all contributors here to reveal the table of contents for the latest anthology that I’ve created: Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror, published by Dark Moon Books on January 14, 2019. Now it’s time to showcase the amazing illustrator who hand inked crazy-awesome images for every story!

DAY 19 of 18 (Extra Day!): Steve Chanks

1. Seanan McGuire presents “The Golden Girls of Fall”
2. Weston Ochse presents “Sea Lords of the Columbia”
3. Kasey Lansdale and Joe R. Lansdale present “Tremble”
4. Gary Phillips presents “The Demon of the Track”
5. Jason Starr presents “Outlawed Ink”
6. Nancy Holder presents “We Might Be Giants”
7. Duane Swierczynski presents “Universal Monster”
8. David J. Schow presents “Draggers”
9. John M. Floyd presents “The Starlite Drive-In”
10. Lisa Morton presents “Dr. Morbismo’s InsaniTERRORium Horror Show”
11. Bill Pronzini presents “Hot Babe”
12. Yvonne Navarro presents “The Prom Tree”
13. Steve Perry presents “I’m with the Band”
14. Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens present “Mystery Train: An Arcane Investigation”
15. Jeff Strand presents “Lab Experiment Turf War”
16. Amelia Beamer presents “The She-Creature”
17. Will Viharo presents “Fish out of Water”
18. Brian Hodge presents “I Was a Teenage Shroom Fiend”

19. Illustrations by Steve Chanks 

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY STEVE CHANKS:

  

 

...and 15 more illustrations!

And check out his portfolio of other work here: www.SteveChanks.com

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ABOUT: STEVE CHANKS

      Raised on a steady diet of Tom & Jerry, Star Wars, Freddy Krueger, and Marvel Comics since the late ’70s, STEVE CHANKS has distilled the very best of his distorted pop culture view into a big-titted, puss-filled, pulp daydream.
      With a drawing style that’s been described as Disney meets Mad Magazine, Steve has inked his way into such mags as Maxim, Revolver, and Guitar World, and has clothed the fans of bands like Mastodon, Lamb of God, Trivium, and Avenged Sevenfold.
      Steve lives in scenic Queens, New York with his heartthrob wife Jessica and their daughter Claudia where they enjoy their dumb cats, upstate hikes, crap collecting, and BBQ.
      You can see more of his work at www.SteveChanks.com.

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PREORDER NOW FOR STEVE'S ILLUSTRATIONS ALONG WITH 18 TALES OF THRILLING FUN AND IMAGINATION!!

Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Rockabilly-Monsters/dp/1949491056

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/pop_the_clutch.html

Releasing: January 14, 2019

“A fitting tribute to the 1950s with this 18-story compendium of hot rods, rock ’n’ roll, and creature features come to life.” —Publishers Weekly

Amazon Giveaway for POP THE CLUTCH!

My #AmazonGiveaway ! Enter for a chance to win a deluxe hardback edition of this critically acclaimed new release anthology: POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR.

(NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends the earlier of Jan 24, 2019 11:59 PM PST or when all prizes have been awarded.)

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/d8b7e103aa21f664

January, 2019 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

January, 2019

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Flame Tree Publishing (Flash Fiction)

https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 700–1,000 words
Deadline: First two weeks of each month
Reprints?: No
Response: Presumably by the end of the following month.

Description: Original Flash Fiction written to the month’s theme; must be subscriber to the newsletter to receive the monthly prompt. This month is: The Horror theme is Scary Spiders. The Sci-Fi stories theme is Rebellious Robots.

Apex Magazine
http://www.apex-magazine.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: One month

Description: Exceptionally well-written Science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all its sub-genres.

Letters from the Grave: A Collection of Epistolary Horror
https://www.orbanninbooks.com/anthology-submissions/
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 10,000 words
Deadline: March 31, 2019
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown

Description: Non-themed horror stories in epistolary form. Stories created from nearly any kinds or combinations of documents, i.e. crime scene reports, diary entries, interview transcripts, etc. This can include modern electronic and digital “documents” such as texts, voicemails, Tweets, blog posts, and more.

Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove (Atthis Arts)
https://www.atthisarts.com/stormcove
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: up to 4,000 words
Deadline: January 31, 2019
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown

Description: Shared world anthology: Stories must take place over the span of five minutes; AND they must take place at a specific era, location, and time of day within the rooms or grounds of the Hotel Stormcove. SEE GUIDELINES FOR DESCRIPTION OF HOTEL.

Hidden Histories anthology (Third Flatiron)
http://www.thirdflatiron.com/liveSite/pages/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 1,500–3,000 words
Deadline: January 31, 2019
Reprints?: No
Response: by April 15, 2019

Description: (SF/Fantasy/Horror/Humor) A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. Your tale can be based in the real world, past, present, or future, as long as it has a speculative fiction element.

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
http://www.alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 5-to-8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 12,000 (but the shorter, the better)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: Up to a year (though tracking status is utilized)
Description: Fiction Mystery: stories of detection of the classic kind, police procedurals, private eye tales, suspense, courtroom dramas, stories of espionage, and so on. Story must be about a crime (or the threat or fear of one). Sometimes accept ghost stories or supernatural tales, but those also should involve a crime (fresh, well told, and absorbing).

***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Picks of the Month”

Augur Magazine (Publisher or Editor)

http://www.augurmag.com/submissions
Payment: 4 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: January 31, 2019 (next to be open May, 2019)
Reprints?: No
Response: Within 8 weeks

Description: “Literary” speculative fiction: ream-touched realism, slipstream, fabulism, magical realism.

(TITLE TBD…) SPLATTER (Blood Bound Books)
http://www.splatterclub.com/submissions/
Payment: 1 cent a word
Story Length: 500–7,000 words
Deadline: March 31, 2019 (NOTE: The website says December 31, 2018, but this date HAS been extended to March 31, per editor’s Facebook discussion post (The Splatter Club)
Reprints?: Possibly. Query first.
Response: Usually within eight weeks.
Description: To publish half new (unpublished) and half experienced authors, this splatter anthology is to showcase non-themed bizarro, extreme horror, or splatterpunk in some way.

ALSO, they have a second anthology, SPLATTER IN SPACE, which is space-themed Splatter Punk. Same terms.

DAY 18 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

I’ll be posting all contributors here, one-a-day, to reveal the table of contents for the latest anthology that I’ve created: Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror, published by Dark Moon Books on January 14, 2019!

DAY 18 of 18: Brian Hodge

1. Seanan McGuire presents “The Golden Girls of Fall”
2. Weston Ochse presents “Sea Lords of the Columbia”
3. Kasey Lansdale and Joe R. Lansdale present “Tremble”
4. Gary Phillips presents “The Demon of the Track”
5. Jason Starr presents “Outlawed Ink”
6. Nancy Holder presents “We Might Be Giants”
7. Duane Swierczynski presents “Universal Monster”
8. David J. Schow presents “Draggers”
9. John M. Floyd presents “The Starlite Drive-In”
10. Lisa Morton presents “Dr. Morbismo’s InsaniTERRORium Horror Show”
11. Bill Pronzini presents “Hot Babe”
12. Yvonne Navarro presents “The Prom Tree”
13. Steve Perry presents “I’m with the Band”
14. Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens present “Mystery Train: An Arcane Investigation”
15. Jeff Strand presents “Lab Experiment Turf War”
16. Amelia Beamer presents “The She-Creature”
17. Will Viharo presents “Fish out of Water”
18. Brian Hodge presents “I Was a Teenage Shroom Fiend”

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EXCERPT:

       . . . Maddox drummed his fingers on the top on his door, a galloping sound. “You bring Scott’s money with you or was this a wasted trip for me?”
      Heath slipped it from his pocket and handed it over. Maddox let the baggie of little green footballs slip from his fingers to the alley, with an “Oops, sorry.” When Heath bent over to pick it up, Maddox levered the door open and banged it into his head. As the frat boy tottered backward holding the top of his skull, Maddox slid out after him.
      Six lanky feet of gristle and bone with a pompadour—that was Maddox. When his little brother Hazel and I were still kids, I used to think Maddox was the coolest guy on earth. And I guess he was still up there in my estimation, but now it was more that I admired him for sticking to his guns. He was the last greaser in a world of hippies. Outnumbered 10,000-to-1 by bellbottoms, he wore pegged jeans so tight that, even if someone got in a lucky punch and knocked him out, the jeans might have kept him standing. I never knew how he could even move in them, let alone stash a bicycle chain in his back pocket, but he could, and did . . .

—“ I Was a Teenage Shroom Fiend” by Brian Hodge

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ABOUT: BRIAN HODGE

Called “a writer of spectacularly unflinching gifts” by no less than Peter Straub, BRIAN HODGE is one of those people who always has to be making something. So far, he’s made thirteen novels, around 130 shorter works, five full-length collections, and one soundtrack album. His novella, “The Same Deep Waters as You,” was recently optioned by a London-based production company for development as a TV series.

He lives in Colorado, where he also likes to make music and photographs; loves everything about organic gardening except the thieving squirrels; and trains in Krav Maga and kickboxing, which are of no use at all against the squirrels.

Connect through his web site (www.brianhodge.net), Twitter (@BHodgeAuthor), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/brianhodgewriter).

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PREORDER NOW FOR THIS AND 17 OTHER TALES OF THRILLING FUN AND IMAGINATION!!

Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Rockabilly-Monsters/dp/1949491056

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/pop_the_clutch.html

Releasing: January 14, 2019

“A fitting tribute to the 1950s with this 18-story compendium of hot rods, rock ’n’ roll, and creature features come to life.” —Publishers Weekly

Release Day Today for POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR!!

IT’S HERE!!!! Release Day today for one of my most exciting anthology projects ever: POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

Welcome to the cool side of the 1950s, where the fast cars and revved-up movie monsters peel out in the night. Where outlaw vixens and jukebox tramps square off with razorblades and lead pipes. Where rockers rock, cool cats strut, and hot rods roar. Where you howl to the moon as the tiki drums pound and the electric guitar shrieks and that spit-and-holler jamboree ain’t gonna stop for a long, long time . . . maybe never.

This is the ’50s where ghost shows still travel the back roads of the south, and rockabilly has a hold on the nation’s youth; where lucky hearts tell the tale, and maybe that fella in the Shriners’ fez ain’t so square after all. Where exist noir detectives of the supernatural, tattoo artists of another kind, Hollywood fix-it men, and a punk kid with grasshopper arms under his chain-studded jacket and an icy stare on his face.

This is the ’50s of Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror. This is your ticket to the dark side of American kitsch . . . the fun and frightful side!

Praise:

“A fitting tribute to the 1950s with this 18-story compendium of hot rods, rock ’n’ roll, and creature features come to life.” —PublishersWeekly

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Table of Contents:

“Introduction” by Eric J. Guignard
“The Golden Girls of Fall” by Seanan McGuire
“Sea Lords of the Columbia” by Weston Ochse
“Tremble” by Kasey Lansdale and Joe R. Lansdale
“The Demon of the Track” by Gary Phillips
“Outlawed Ink” by Jason Starr
“We Might Be Giants” by Nancy Holder
“Universal Monster” by Duane Swierczynski
“Draggers” by David J. Schow
“The Starlite Drive-In” by John M. Floyd
“Dr. Morbismo’s InsaniTERRORium Horror Show” by Lisa Morton
“Hot Babe” by Bill Pronzini
“The Prom Tree” by Yvonne Navarro
“I’m with the Band” by Steve Perry
“Mystery Train: An Arcane Investigation” by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens
“Lab Experiment Turf War” by Jeff Strand
“The She-Creature” by Amelia Beamer
“Fish out of Water” by Will Viharo
“I Was a Teenage Shroom Fiend” by Brian Hodge

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Edited by: Eric J. Guignard
Published by: Dark Moon Books (Los Angeles, CA)
With stunningly stupendous illustrations by: Steve Chanks
Number of pages: 346 pgs at 6” x 9” trim (99,000 words)
13-digit ISBN (hardback): 978-1-949491-05-0
13-digit ISBN (paperback): 978-1-949491-01-2
13-digit ISBN (e-book): 978-1-949491-02-9
Date of publication: January 14, 2019

#PopTheClutch

AVAILABLE IN HARDBACK (with Dust Jacket); PAPERBACK; and EBOOK here: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Rockabilly-Monsters/dp/1949491056

DAY 17 OF ANNOUNCING! Table of Contents for: POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OF ROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

I’ll be posting all contributors here, one-a-day, to reveal the table of contents for the latest anthology that I’ve created: Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror, to be published by Dark Moon Books on January 14, 2019!

DAY 17 of 18: Will Viharo

1. Seanan McGuire presents “The Golden Girls of Fall”
2. Weston Ochse presents “Sea Lords of the Columbia”
3. Kasey Lansdale and Joe R. Lansdale present “Tremble”
4. Gary Phillips presents “The Demon of the Track”
5. Jason Starr presents “Outlawed Ink”
6. Nancy Holder presents “We Might Be Giants”
7. Duane Swierczynski presents “Universal Monster”
8. David J. Schow presents “Draggers”
9. John M. Floyd presents “The Starlite Drive-In”
10. Lisa Morton presents “Dr. Morbismo’s InsaniTERRORium Horror Show”
11. Bill Pronzini presents “Hot Babe”
12. Yvonne Navarro presents “The Prom Tree”
13. Steve Perry presents “I’m with the Band”
14. Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens present “Mystery Train: An Arcane Investigation”
15. Jeff Strand presents “Lab Experiment Turf War”
16. Amelia Beamer presents “The She-Creature”
17. Will Viharo presents “Fish out of Water”

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EXCERPT:

       . . . Before Frank noticed someone else was in the room, he’d shoved Julie to the ground and slammed the door behind.
       “What the hell do you think—” he began, then stopped short when he saw Phinn rise behind the desk, bristling and clenching his giant hands into fists.
      Frank’s jaw fell open. A little gasp escaped, before he composed himself enough to demand, “Who the hell are you?”
       “This is my friend, Phinn,” Julie said confidently, standing back up. “I brought him along to make sure you don’t try any funny business. Not that I’m joking, either. Now give me my money, we’ll leave, and you’ll never see us again.”
       “’Zat so?” Frank said, his gaze still deadlocked with Phinn’s, even as his knees knocked.
      “Yeah,” Julie responded resolutely.
      Frank seemed to strain in his efforts not to break, but he lost that brief showdown of wills fast enough against Phinn. Frank went to the wall safe, spun the knob, opened it, and removed a stack of bills, tossing it at Julie with contempt.
      “Lucky you caught me in a good mood,” Frank said.
       “Yeah, you’re a real jovial Gus.”
       “Take your pet monster and that smart mouth and get the hell out of my sight.”. . .

—“ Fish out of Water” by Will Viharo

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ABOUT: WILL VIHARO

WILL “THE THRILL” VIHARO is a pulp fiction author, cat daddy, dog walker, and lounge lizard at large. For many years he was the producer and programmer of the cult movie cabaret Thrillville, featuring classic B films in 35mm with live burlesque acts all around the Bay Area and beyond, which he presented with his wife, Monica “Tiki Goddess” Cortes Viharo. Currently he is host and organizer of Noir at the Bar Seattle. His “gonzo grindhouse” novels include A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge, Freaks That Carry Your Luggage Up to the Room, Lavender Blonde, Down a Dark Alley, Chumpy Walnut, and Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me. Swing by his cyber pad anytime for virtual cocktails at www.thrillville.net.

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PREORDER NOW FOR THIS AND 17 OTHER TALES OF THRILLING FUN AND IMAGINATION!!

Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Rockabilly-Monsters/dp/1949491056

Publisher’s Page: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/pop_the_clutch.html

Releasing: January 14, 2019

“A fitting tribute to the 1950s with this 18-story compendium of hot rods, rock ’n’ roll, and creature features come to life.” —Publishers Weekly