DAY 16 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 16 of 18: Amelia Beamer

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”

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EXCERPT:

       . . . We were down at the drive-in when I saw this girl, and something inside me melted. The girl wore a white collared shirt, clearly borrowed from her dad, and rolled-up jeans. Her hair was flapper short, like Amelia Earhart. She looked to be about my age, as far as I could tell in the flickering light from the movie screen and the street lights. She was the most wonderful thing I’d ever seen. I burned with shame. Girls weren’t supposed to have those feelings for other girls.
      She saw me looking at her, and I guess she wasn’t mad because she smiled at me. We had something in common, anyway, which was that we weren’t in our cars with our families watching the movie. She was by herself on the sidewalk, singing “Duck and cover, duck and cover,” only she was grinning like it was the biggest joke ever. “Kneel and kiss your ass goodbye,” she sang, and I wanted to laugh out loud. I’d seen that video of kids hiding from the atom bomb, and it was so scary. But it was hardly scary at all with this girl singing it.
      Because she was looking at me, and because she was by herself, I went up to her . . .

—“The She-Creature” by Amelia Beamer

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ABOUT: AMELIA BEAMER

AMELIA BEAMER is a lifelong reader and writer. When she was a child, she wanted to grow up to be a writer, or maybe a Muppet. Her publications include the queer zombie novel The Loving Dead, as well as short fiction and nonfiction about literature and pop culture.

For over a decade, she’s worked as a book and magazine editor, doing work she loves. These days she focuses mostly on novels by independent writers of SFF/H who want to level up their writing chops and bring their best work to market. For fun she likes to run around on playgrounds with her niece and nephew, and she is a great lava monster. Her nephew says she’s the most fun person ever, except for maybe Jim Henson. Her website: ameliabeamer.com.

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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

DAY 15 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 15 of 18: Jeff Strand

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”

###

EXCERPT:

       . . . “What do you think you’re doing?” asked the teenager with a high crewcut and grasshopper arms. “This is Doctor Baleful’s territory!”
      The kid with the cigarette dangling from his mouth and leaking pustules sneered as the two gangs faced off against each other in the middle of a hot sidewalk. “Says who?”
       “What do you mean, ‘says who’?” asked Grasshopper Boy, who’d tried desperately but unsuccessfully to acquire the nickname ‘Grasshopper Man’ instead. “Everybody knows this is Baleful turf. If I were you, I’d take my buddies and scram.”
      The three other lab experiments behind Grasshopper Boy stepped forward in a group display of leather-jacketed menace.
       “I don’t see Baleful’s name on this street,” said the kid with the oozing pustules. “You see his name, Danny?”
       “Nope,” said a kid with seven eyes, three of which were on his face, hidden behind dark sunglasses.
       “You see his name, Alan?”
       “Nope,” said a kid who would have been short even if his body wasn’t missing from the waist down.
       “You see his name, Harold?”
       “Nope,” said a kid with the arms of a praying mantis coming through his sleeveless letterman jacket.
       “Gee, none of my associates see Doctor Baleful’s name on this street,” said the kid with the pustules. “As far as I’m concerned, that makes this Doctor Awry’s turf.” . . .

—“Lab Experiment Turf War” by Jeff Strand

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ABOUT: JEFF STRAND

JEFF STRAND is the author of over forty books, including Pressure, Dweller, and Wolf Hunt. He has never participated in a street race to impress the girl of his dreams, nor has he ever said “Daddy-O” except in an ironic manner, nor has he ever worn a black leather jacket, even that one year at Halloween when he went as a ’50s greaser. All he really did was roll up a pack of cigarettes in the shoulder of a white t-shirt. You can visit his website at www.jeffstrand.com, but he doesn’t even own a switchblade so it’s okay if you don’t.

###

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

DAY 14 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 14 of 18: Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens

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”

###

EXCERPT:

       . . . Running as best she could in the dark, in her sandal-type heels, she tried to keep an eye peeled for stray reptiles and that fucking wolf, who, by the splashing sound of it, was now pursuing her. Where the hell was Dan, or anyone else for that matter?
      She kicked out of her shoes and flew barefoot over the swampy ground, the back door with the single light bulb dangling over seeming miles away, not thirty yards. The harder she ran, lungs burning, pain searing her bare feet, the louder the growl of her pursuer grew. She didn’t dare risk a look back.
      Only ten yards to go. She just might make it—unless tonight was the night Dan finally remembered to lock up the damned back door. But she was so close, the glow of the dim bulb calling to her . . .
      Then the monster’s hot breath touched her neck. She looked at that door just a few steps—and a lifetime—away. Her step faltered, yet she pressed forward. The animal’s claws grazed her shoulder, the pain like someone held a torch to her skin.
      She stumbled, the beast about to take her down, so close to the door but even if she got there, she’d never get it open in time. Then that door swung open and light poured out, an answered prayer . . .

—“ Mystery Train: An Arcane Investigation” by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens

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ABOUT: MAX ALLAN COLLINS

MAX ALLAN COLLINS received the 2017 Grand Master “Edgar” by Mystery Writers of America. The MWA’s Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality.

He is the author of the Shamus-winning Nathan Heller historical thrillers (Better Dead) and the graphic novel Road to Perdition, basis for the Academy Award-winning film. His innovative ’70s series, Quarry, has been revived by Hard Case Crime (Quarry’s Climax) and became a Cinemax TV series. He has completed ten posthumous Mickey Spillane novels (Killing Town) and is the co-author (with his wife Barbara Collins) of the award-winning Trash ’n’ Treasures comic cozy mystery series, beginning with Antiques Roadkill through the current Antiques Wanted.


ABOUT: MATTHEW V. CLEMENS

MATTHEW V. CLEMENS—A frequent co-conspirator with Max Allan Collins, they have collaborated on twenty-four novels. The pair has also written comic books, graphic novels, jigsaw puzzles, and their short stories were collected in My Lolita Complex and Other Tales of Sex and Violence. They have also appeared in numerous anthologies including Hardboiled Horror, Hollywood & Crime, and Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Their latest Thomas & Mercer thriller, Executive Order, was released in April, 2017.

Clemens has also had short stories published in the anthologies Occupied Earth and Killing Malmon. With Pat Gipple, he co-authored the true crime book Dead Water: The Klindt Affair.

You can learn more at www.matthewclemens.com.

###

PR EORDER 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

DAY 13 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 13 of 18: Steve Perry

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”

###

EXCERPT:

       . . . I was careful to turn my back while I ran the cable to the vocal mic, so Dwayne wouldn’t see me smile. He was just as likely to come back on the shitty stage and backhand me for the hell of it as not. Yeah, I’m with the band, but I’m just the road crew and back-up guitar player, if Dwayne hurts his hand fighting, or doesn’t feel like playing any particular night. Most nights, I just stand offstage and watch.
      He couldn’t see my smile, but he must have sensed it. “You got somethin’ to say there, Cecil?”
      I shook my head. “Not me, boss. I’m just stringing my cable here.”
      His voice rose. “My cable, you mean. You get my amp fixed right this time, too. And make sure the Tele is fuc*ing tuned. That high E was flat last night, it threw me off. ”
      First off, he was full of shit, because I always had the axe tuned so it was dead-on; second off, he could have turned the tuning peg an eighth and fixed it if it had been flat, but he wasn’t a real musician. Oh, he could sing okay, mostly on-key, honkin’ Elvis or Buddy Holly just fine, but I can out-sing and play circles around him, that’s a fact, too.
       “Yessir.”. . .

—“ I’m with the Band” by Steve Perry

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ABOUT: STEVE PERRY

STEVE PERRY has sold dozens of stories to magazines and anthologies, as well as a considerable number of novels, animated teleplays, non-fiction articles, reviews, and essays, along with a couple of unproduced movie scripts. He wrote for Batman: The Animated Series during its first Emmy-award winning season, and during the second season, one of his scripts was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing—which no doubt caused the subsequent loss of that award. His novelization of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire spent ten weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. He also did the bestselling novelization for the summer blockbuster movie Men in Black, and all of his collaborative novels for Tom Clancy’s Net Force series have made the NY Times Bestseller list. He is a recipient of the Willamette Writers Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Oregon with his wife, two Cardigan Corgis, and one ornery cat.

###

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

DAY 12 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 12 of 18: Yvonne Navarro

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”

###

EXCERPT:

       . . . one group was retelling and exaggerating rumors while the other was passing frightening old truths to the next generation . . . truths that should not be ignored. The thought brings Katie back to the present and what she needs to do, so she finally opens her eyes.
      The Prom Tree.
      It stands in front of a trio of alter-like boulders, hundreds of gnarled, dead branches reaching skyward like paralyzed, white spider legs. Katie stares at it, her impression that it isn’t a tree at all. It’s a bush, withered by drought until it’s nothing but a skeleton of itself. She imagines the biggest branches being hollow, dry wooden veins parched and still somehow searching for life. The idea is terrifying but Katie still takes a step forward, then another. She stops just short of the branches that stab the air, realizing they are actually more black than white. Their ends are agonized kinks that protect the heart of the tree, despite that same essence having abandoned it long ago.
      But there is more to protect here. Much more.
      Under the relentless Arizona sun, the things hanging on the tree glint. The breeze has disappeared and there are no cars as far as she can see in either direction. The silence is heavy, the air suffocating. Katie wants to do what she has to, but she forces herself to stay put, makes her gaze examine each and every offering in front of her. . .

—“The Prom Tree” by Yvonne Navarro

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ABOUT: YVONNE NAVARRO

YVONNE NAVARRO is the author of twenty-three published novels and a lot of short stories, articles, and a reference dictionary. Her most recent published book is Supernatural: The Usual Sacrifices (based in the Supernatural Universe). Her writing has won a bunch of awards and stuff. Lately she’s been really getting into painting and artwork. She lives way down in the southeastern corner of Arizona, about twenty miles from the Mexican border, is married to author Weston Ochse, and dotes on their rescued Great Danes, Ghoulie, The Grimmy Beast, and I Am Groot. They also have a talking, people-loving parakeet named BirdZilla. Instead of a To Do list, she has an I Want To Do list. It has about 4,274 projects on it and won’t stop growing.

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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