A Chat With MARK ALLAN GUNNELLS

Today we're talking to one of my favorite writers, Mark Allan Gunnells.  To readers of the blog he needs no introduction, but to the uninitiated, he is the author of numerous collections and novels of horror, including The Quarry, Asylum, The Summer of Winters, Sequel (a personal favorite of mine!) and so many others.  Now Mark has teamed once again with Evil Jester Press to bring you a new collection of dark delights, Welcome to the Graveyard.  Mark was generous enough to take some time to chat with us about the book, his Halloween plans and sheds some light on his writing process.

BRC:  Autumn is finally here, my favorite time of year!  And Halloween is just around the corner, which of course, is my favorite holiday!!  Mark, how do you feel about Halloween and how will you be celebrating it this year?  

MAG:  Autumn is my absolute favorite season, seeing the leaves raining down and hearing the scratching sounds they make skittering across pavement brings out a child-like glee in me.  And Halloween is my absolute favorite time of the year; as a horror hound I love that there is a holiday during which the public at large is encourage to embrace a love of horror.  This year my fiance and I will be taking a trip to Pawley's Island here in South Carolina for a 3 day weekend, and we'll be taking in a haunted house and seeing a live theatrical production of Little Shop of Horrors.

BRC:  WELCOME TO THE GRAVEYARD is your newest collection from Evil Jester, and once again, it's an awesome book!  How did this collection come about? 

MAG:  Short stories are my passion and I had been wanting to put out another collection, but honestly I'd gotten complacent and hadn't really done anything to try to make that happen.  Then my fiance took me to the South Carolina Book Festival, and we attended a panel discussion on the art of the short story, and it rekindled that passion, reaffirmed my desire to master that form and promote it.  I knew I had to put together a collection, and since I'd been so happy with my previous experiences with Evil Jester, I approached them and asked if they'd be interested.

BRC:  You have a long history with Evil Jester; it must feel wonderful to have a supportive, trusting relationship with your publisher!  How collaborative is it?  How does it work?  

MAG:  Charles Day and Peter Giglio at Evil Jester have been wonderful to me.  Peter has been my editor on all three books I've released with them--THE QUARRY, THE SUMMER OF WINTERS, and WELCOME TO THE GRAVEYARD--and he has a wonderful eye and offers suggestions that really tighten up my prose and make my work stronger.  Peter will actually be focusing on his own writing in the future, however, so my next book with them (fingers crossed) will have a new editor.  I trust it will be as wonderful an experience as before, but Peter will be missed.

BRC:  In this blogger's opinion, you're a bright star in the horror field; how do you keep the stories fresh for yourself?  I mean, as a reader, I always enjoy how engaged I become in your stories;  is it hard to keep the writing fresh after telling so many wonderful tales? 

 MAG:  For me, the secret to keeping it fresh and exciting is that I always write for me first and foremost.  I love my readers and want to entertain them, but I think the best way to do that is to make sure I'm entertaining myself.  I don't  I don't write to please publishers, editors, or even readers per se.  I write to please me, I write what thrills and interests me.  And above all, I always try to have fun. 

BRC:  Would that be your advise to budding writers out there?  Have fun and write for yourself first? 

MAG:  Write the stories you want to read, not the stories you think the public wants or market research says will sell.  I think that kind of writing is rather empty, but if you write to entertain and please yourself, that's going to come through in the work.

BRC:  And also, the question every writer dreads:  where do your ideas come from?  I really appreciated that you had author's notes before each story but it must be hard to keep track..?  

MAG:  I think the reason writers don't like that question is that there's no easy answer. They come from so many different places.  Things that happen to me, things I overhear, songs I hear on the radio, and sometimes they just seem to come from nowhere, just little gifts sent down from the muses.

BRC:  You're a very prolific writer, Mark; what's forthcoming from you?  I'm excited about a rumor I heard about a sequel/spin off of (one of my personal favorites) ASYLUM? 

MAG:  Earlier this year I co-authored a werewolf novel called DOG DAYS O' SUMMER with the very talented James Newman, and it has been purchased by a publisher but we cannot officially announce it until they do.  I also wrote a zombie novella entitled FORT, which is a semi-sequel to ASYLUM.  It takes place in the same fictional universe.  I'm also writing a sequel to THE QUARRY, tentatively titled THE CULT OF OCASTA, which I hope to place with Evil Jester when it's done, and I'm working on putting together a new Halloween collection.

BRC:  So can we expect an annual Halloween collection from you?  I'm already anticipating my annual Mark Allan Gunnells rereads!!  :)  

MAG:  Well, I do write Halloween themed stories every year, but I don't think I'll be able to manage a full collection every year.  But I would definitely love to do a series of them.

Once again, I'd like to thank Mark Allan Gunnells for taking the time to talk with us and do check out his latest collection, Welcome to the Graveyard; you'll be happy you did!  

Happy reading!

.

CHICKS DO DIG CTHULHU!

Here is some Q & A on Silvia Moreno-Garcia's She Walks In Shadows, the first all-female anthology of Lovecraft inspired fiction, plus click here for info on how to fund the project (Check out those perks!  What a treasure trove!!)

Can't wait for this!  Happy reading!!

The Year In Weird

So for 2014 I have set myself a goal of reading and delving into more "weird" fiction.  Not necessarily "Lovecraftian", although there will be plenty of that, but hopefully a well rounded exposure to all things weird.  I've already got plenty to read but suggestions are always welcome, thank you!

And speaking of weird things, writer/editor/publisher Silvia Moreno-Garcia has sent out a call to female writers of weird fiction, to put together a collection of Lovecraftian fiction focusing on the female characters from HPL's writings.  You will find the details and updates here.  The projected date for this isn't til 2015, so too late for my year of weird reading, but totally count me in #TeamSquid!

Happy reading!

American Horror Story: Coven Posters and Teaser

On October 9, one of my favorite television shows, American Horror Story is returning for its third season on FX with a new horror story, this one entitled Coven.

After the amazing, wild insanity of last year's Asylum, I just didn't know how Ryan Murphy and team were going to top it.  Turns out, I needn't have worried.  This season is going to be (as the title suggests) all about witches!  And not just any witches...both Angela Bassett and the incredible Kathy Bates have joined the cast this season!  Imagining these two legendary actresses sharing the screen with show veteran Jessica Lange has me counting the days until the show's premiere!

As usual, there are plenty of creepy posters and teaser trailers to tide us over til then; here are my faves:

And the trailer that sent my head spinning, finally featuring all three actresses, "Initiation":

New Book Deal for Adam Christopher, plus New Cover Art for THE BURNING DARK

Today on his blog Adam Christopher finally revealed the new cover art for his next book (and his first for Tor) The Burning Dark, PLUS the exciting news that he has inked a deal for two more books set in the same universe!  Here is the final cover:

which is pretty awesome and clearly more hard SF than the Empire State books.  Plus, Adam also revealed tentative titles and release dates for the next two book; in March 2015 we can expect The Jovian Conspiracy and a year later in March 2016, The Stars Below.

Tor.com also got in on the shenanigans of the cover art reveal plus offered the alternate covers that were in the running before the final decision was made.

Congratulations to Adam, who has given me many, many hours of reading bliss!  Now I can look forward to many, many more!

Must See TV: AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

Are you ready for some more trailers?!  Here are a new batch of teasers, and don't forget to follow the clues!  :)





And I want to send a special thanks to the Darkdhalia for sharing these creepy teasers!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of the new season!

Must See TV: The creepiness continues on AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

YAY!!!  More peeks of the upcoming AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM plus a promo featuring the cast!

Must See TV: More creepiness from AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

Ryan Murphy and the creative team behind AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM continue to ramp up the excitement and have released more teaser clips in anticipation of the show's debut October 17.  They keep getting better; I especially like "Bandages" and "Taste" reminds me of the red pill/blue pill choice in Matrix...I wonder if one of the inmates is having trouble deciding what's real and what's not?

Must See TV: AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

If you are a lover of creepy, well told television or a die hard Ryan Murphy fanboy, then you've been waiting breathlessly for AMERICAN HORROR STORY to come back for it's second season, just like I have!  And from what I've read on the 'net, it's going to be everything the amazing first season was and more!  Uber genius Murphy and the FX network have been releasing promo clips for the upcoming season, titled "Asylum" (due to the season's location and storyline) and they are creepy as Hell!  I am counting the days til the show premieres in October!  Here are the clips, enjoy!







If you follow the show, you know Ryan Murphy likes to plant "Easter eggs" and clues for the fans to pick up on and try to guess what's going to happen next and to whom.  So taking in these clips, it's safe to say that ASYLUM is going to be a really intense storyline.  We know the incomparable Jessica Lange is returning as a nun running the titular asylum and I'm guessing repression, possession and A LOT of sex are going to figure throughout the show.  And what is with these buckets of meat...?

Countdown to STRANGE CHEMISTRY!

In what seems like the longest wait since the anticipation of Christopher Nolan finishing his Batman trilogy, the new YA imprint from Angry Robot, STRANGE CHEMISTRY, is set to launch on August 23rd!  I know many of you, like me, have been waiting (im)patiently for the first books to come down the pipeline, thus confirming that the Strange Chemistry brand will continue the tradition of genre blurring excellence and originality started with Angry Robot.  

As a member of The Robot Army, it's been exciting to see the blogosphere already abuzz with positive reviews and anticipation of the launch titles and you will of course start seeing reviews here before long.  I've been consciously trying to expand my reading horizons lately and with Angry Robot taking the plunge into YA fiction, I asked myself what better time for me to do the same?!

For now, and to prepare for the upcoming launch, here are the covers for the anticipated first titles coming soon from STRANGE CHEMISTRY; enjoy!

Blackwood by Gwenda Bond (September 2012)

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Shift by Kim Curran (September 2012)

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he’s not so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world quickly starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

And coming in October 2012:

Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings

15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it’s pretty obvious to Julie there’s a supernatural connection.

In fact, there’s a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie’s high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it’s a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won’t just lose her mother’s soul, she’ll lose her mother’s life.

The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. And when Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn’t really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together. To break the curse, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks—all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic, and the growing romantic tension between them.

And for release in November 2012:

Katya's World by Jonathan L Howard

The distant and unloved colony world of Russalka has no land, only the raging sea. No clear skies, only the endless storm clouds. Beneath the waves, the people live in pressurised environments and take what they need from the boundless ocean. It is a hard life, but it is theirs and they fought a war against Earth to protect it. But wars leave wounds that never quite heal, and secrets that never quite lie silent. Katya Kuriakova doesn’t care much about ancient history like that, though. She is making her first submarine voyage as crew; the first nice, simple journey of what she expects to be a nice, simple career. There is nothing nice and simple about the deep black waters of Russalka, however; soon she will encounter pirates and war criminals, see death and tragedy at first hand, and realise that her world’s future lies on the narrowest of knife edges. For in the crushing depths lies a sleeping monster, an abomination of unknown origin, and when it wakes, it will seek out and kill every single person on the planet.

The Further Adventures of STEAMDUCK!

YAY!

From the creator's of Her Majesty's Explorer: a Steampunk bedtime story comes word that Steamduck is getting his own book, Steamduck Learns To Fly !!

Here's the press release:

"Author Emilie P. Bush and illustrator William Kevin Petty are proud to announce the release date of the follow up to their bestselling children's book Her Majesty's Explorer: a Steampunk bedtime story.  On October 10, 2012, the waddling hero of HME - Steamduck - returns with another adventure in Steamduck Learns to Fly! 

In this new tale, the plucky mechanical duck discovers that REAL birds do more than swim. He turns to his old friend and maker - the Otter - to learn a few things about flying. They try and fail with propeller contraptions, hot air balloons and more. Despite all the mishaps, the pair eventually defy gravity and take to the sky. 

“With the success of Her Majesty’s Explorer, we thought long and hard about where we wanted to go with our darling characters. Steamduck has quite a following, and we wanted to make sure he was true to his heroic nature. Kevin is a pilot, and a huge fan of flight history, so we went with those ideas for our second Steamduck story,” says Emilie P. Bush.  “So, as he tries and fails with many different types of flight, he never gives up, and he never stops learning.”

Fans wanting to keep up with details and sneak peek images from Steamduck Learns to Fly! can follow the project on Facebook – as Steamduck has his own fan page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steamduck/108061409309296 "

I enjoyed Her Majesty's Explorer very much and especially the character of Steamduck, so this was great news!  I'm very much looking forward to the new adventure!

Angry Robot presents EXHIBIT A

Early this morning, the publishing geniuses at Angry Robot finally announced the news they'd been teasing us with, a new sister imprint called Exhibit A, which will publish genre crime fiction.  Here's the press release:

Angry Robot, the award-winning publisher of what it calls SF, F and WTF?!, is pleased to announce its newest venture – a sister imprint, Exhibit A, which will publish crime genre fiction.

The imprint will launch in late Spring 2013, with two titles appearing in each of the first two months, before settling down to one book each month. Exhibit A will follow AR’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in both the UK and US, in both paperback and eBook formats, backed up by strong online marketing and community activity.

Exhibit A’s ambition is to become an addictive new home for addictive crime fiction. It will be looking for authors with original, gripping voices. Exhibit A books – whether they’re procedurals, mysteries, thrillers, or something entirely new – will aim to divert readers from their everyday lives into an exhilarating world of drama, fear and suspense.

                                                              

Joining the company to run the imprint is Emlyn Rees. He published his first crime novel aged twenty-five, his second a year later, and then co-wrote seven comedies with Josie Lloyd, including the Sunday Times bestseller Come Together. In his time, Emlyn has also worked for the Curtis Brown literary agency and run a manuscript editing service.

Angry Robot’s managing director, Marc Gascoigne, said: “Passion, a flair for innovation and a keen sense of what readers want – that’s what has driven Angry Robot’s success so far, and it’s what Emlyn Rees will bring to our new imprint too. We’re overjoyed to have him on board.  With our YA imprint Strange Chemistry launching this September, and now Exhibit A due next spring, our growth plans are shaping up very nicely indeed.”

Emlyn Rees commented, “Angry Robot is an exciting and innovative new publisher, with a terrific track record for breaking out fresh talent and bringing great authors and readers closer together. I’m delighted to be joining the team and can’t wait to set about building a list of talented crime writers we can be proud of and passionate about. I want Exhibit A to become an eye-catching new focal point for compelling crime fiction and the crime fiction community.”

The launch of Exhibit A is the latest in a wave of expansion by parent company, Osprey Group, following investment by Alcuin Capital Partners in 2011. Osprey recently won the IPG Award for Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year 2012.

---------------

So, with Strange Chemistry launching in September to bring Amazing Things to YA readers everywhere and now Exhibit A set to Rock the World of crime fiction next Spring, you surely have to be asking yourseles... whatever will those crazy Robots think of next?

To which we say... stand by for further announcements.

.........

Slowly but surely, the Robot Overlords are expanding their dominion!

12 Days of Monsters, the 4 Book Club and Help Lovecraft eZine

This week's web surfing:

Over at the Weird Fiction Review,  in celebration of the annual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (IFCA), they are presenting "12 Days of Monsters"; the theme of the conference is "The Monstrous Fantastic" and guests of honor are China Mieville and Kelly Link.  Highlights of the 12 days include an interview with Mieville, the first web publication of Link's "Pretty Monsters" as well as monstrous fiction, comics, art and favorite monsters.  Check out the full week's schedule of the 12 days here.

Meanwhile the Robot Overlords have signed a new two book deal with Adam Christopher, author of Empire State and the forthcoming Seven Wonders. The new deal includes the sequel to Empire State, titled The Age Atomic, to be published May 2013 and a stand alone novel called Hang Wire to follow within a year.  This deal makes Christopher one of only three authors to have placed four books with Angry Robot.  For details on the new deal, click here.

Michael Davis, publisher of the quite awesome Lovecraft eZine, put out a call for help to readers of the magazine for donations to keep the March and April issues on track.   And his call was answered!  The two issues have been saved but it never hurts to continue to lend a helping hand; the eZine is a place to read great fiction in the Lovecraftian vein and also an invaluable resource to the uninitiated to the famous author and his Cthulu Mythos.  Help Mike and his family keep the magazine going!

Happy reading!

New Cover Art: THE INEXPLICABLES by Cherie Priest

THE INEXPLICABLES is the 5th book (including CLEMENTINE) in  The  Clockwork Century series by Cherie Priest.  Not sure if this is the final version but here is the official blurb:

Rector “Wreck ‘em” Sherman was orphaned as a toddler in the Blight of 1863, but that was years ago. Wreck has grown up, and on his eighteenth birthday, he’ll be cast out out of the orphanage. 

And Wreck’s problems aren’t merely about finding a home. He’s been quietly breaking the cardinal rule of any good drug dealer and dipping into his own supply of the sap he sells. He’s also pretty sure he’s being haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know—Zeke Wilkes, who almost certainly died six months ago. Zeke would have every reason to pester Wreck, since Wreck got him inside the walled city of Seattle in the first place, and that was probably what killed him.Maybe it’s only a guilty conscience, but Wreck can’t take it anymore, so he sneaks over the wall.

The walled-off wasteland of Seattle is every bit as bad as he’d heard, chock-full of the hungry undead and utterly choked by the poisonous, inescapable yellow gas. And then there's the monster. Rector's pretty certain that whatever attacked him was not at all human—and not a rotter, either. Arms far too long. Posture all strange. Eyes all wild and faintly glowing gold and known to the locals as simply "The Inexplicables."

In the process of tracking down these creatures, Rector comes across another incursion through the wall -- just as bizarre but entirely attributable to human greed. It seems some outsiders have decided there's gold to be found in the city and they're willing to do whatever it takes to get a piece of the pie unless Rector and his posse have anything to do with it.

THE INEXPLICABLES should be released November 13.

Miscellany

From this week's cruising of the 'net:

At Apex Magazine Julia Rios has a thoughtful article on speculative fiction that examines gender and sexuality; you can check it out here.  It makes for great reading!

If you enjoy the art of drag and the queens behind it as much as I do, then RuPaul's Drag Race ( on Logo TV) is the show for you!  And two of the blogs that I follow had art and recaps of this week's episode posted almost immediately!

First up is The Sellout from Chad Sell.  He is an artist and illustrator with his own webcomic Manta-Man,and every week Chad creates fan art from highlights from Drag Race.  This week was a great episode and here is just one of the pieces he drew, of contestant Sharon Needles:

You can see more of Chad's art and his Manta-Man comic on his website.

Amanda at Humor and Spice also reviews the episode and even grades the contestants.  Amanda is a big fan of pop culture, music and reality tv, so check out her blog for all kinds gossip and other must reads!

More author signings happening at Strange Chemistry, where they announced A E Rought has joined the family.  Check out the details here.  I can't wait to see the first titles from the YA arm of Angry Robot; each new one announced sounds better and better!

New Cover Art for THE DARK TOWER series (UK Editions)

Spied on A Dribble of Ink, new cover art for Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER series, including the new novel, The Wing Through the Keyhole :

I totally dig them! First of all,they all match and I always like the artwork to be consistent if I'm going to spend money on an entire series:  secondly,I really like the was Roland is depicted, especially on The Wastelands and Wolves of the Calla.  What do you think?

Miscellany

Bits and pieces from my surfing this week...

At Strange Chemistry books, editor Amanda Rutter announced on the website the news of the first two authors signed to the new YA imprint, Kim Curran and Sean Cummings!  Both will have new books from Strange Chemistry out this autumn, with second books following in 2013.  Congrats to both authors and to the team at Strange Chemistry on such a great start!

Meanwhile over at Angry Robot, brand new content has been posted to EmpireState.cc !!  Empire State-the RPG is a complete, original and self-contained roleplaying game system created by long time game designer David Wendt.  You can read more about it here.   

Just Wild About Harry!

Harry Markov (formally of the closed Temple Library Reviews, now at Through a Forest of Ideas and several other venues) really is one of the influences on my trying my hand at blogging/reviewing; when reading TLR, I was always impressed with his judgments and he always seemed able to bring to bring up points that hadn't occurred to me in my own reading.  I don't pretend to think I am in the same league but someday...:)

 A writer, a connoisseur of the Weird...now, Harry can add to his resume assistant editor.  He, along with Tony Smith  (Hugo award winner for the science fiction podcast StarShipSofa) is launching a new horror podcast called "Tales to Terrify".  The podcast starts this Friday, January 13th.

Congrats to Harry and the rest of the crew at Tales to Terrify; don't forget to check out the podcast Friday January 13 and spread the word!

To keep up with Harry and everything that he's doing (like his awesome Weird Wednesday posts, which analyze Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's massive compendium THE WEIRD...) follow his thoughtful and informative blog Through a Forest of Ideas and check him out on Twitter here @harrymarkov.

New Cover Art from Lethe Press

On Saturday, Lethe Press publisher Steve Berman revealed the cover for the 2012 edition of the annual Wilde Stories anthology series:

I think this is the best cover of the series thus far and it was put together by artist Ben Baldwin and designer Alex Jeffers; congratulations, gentlemen!  Wilde Stories 2012 is due out in June.

News From Angry Robot!

Good morning all!

So I woke up today to find this tidbit in my Twitter feed, that Angry Robot is recruiting for a Commissioning Editor for a new crime fiction imprint they will launch in 2013.  The new imprint will publish suspense, mysteries and thrillers, and will employ the same innovative approach to publishing and marketing used by its parent brand AR.  You can read the full press release here.

Obviously, the Robot Overlords are gleefully continuing their conquest of the publishing world by taking over as many genres as possible; just last November they announced the launch of Strange Chemistry, their new YA arm, headed by Amanda Rutter and they are full swing into the first WorldBuilder project based on EMPIRE STATE. Prepare to be conquered!