Eric Red's Blog, page 22

My debut erotic thriller novel DON’T STAND SO CLOSE re-launches with new cover art.

BIRMINGHAM, UK, December 8, 2013 – Short, Scary Tales Publications (SST Publications) Owner, Paul Fry is very pleased to announce that the trade paperback edition of Eric Red’s first novel Don’t Stand So Close has re-launched with a brand new cover. Paul stated: “We’re really excited to re-launch Eric’s novel with a brand new cover which we feel now perfectly captures the book’s erotic thriller theme. We believe that the cover is much more eye-catching and more striking.”

About Don’t Stand So Close: “She was every student’s fantasy and he was the teacher’s pet. She was older, beautiful and experienced. It was the brush of her hand passing back homework. That special glance. He spent hours in class imagining what her body looked like under her dress, until the day came when they had their first kiss. But his wildest dreams soon became his worst nightmare. She took him to forbidden places he wasn’t ready for, but when he wanted to stop she wouldn’t let him. If she couldn’t have him, nobody could, and lives would be lost before it was over. He never should have crossed the line with his teacher, because some lines should never, ever be crossed.”

Praise for the book:

“A powerful concoction of one part coming-of-age story, one part erotic thriller, and the sexiest and most twisted villain ever to give a homework assignment.”

—Ray Garton, author of Live Girls, Meds and the forthcoming Frankenstorm

Titillating and original.

—Joel Schumacher, director of The Lost Boys, Flatliners and Falling Down

Eric Red brings his considerable talent as a screenwriter to bear on this powerful tale of sexual adventure and teenage turmoil. Erotic and suspenseful, breathlessly narrated, incisively characterised, Don’t Stand So Close had me in its grip until I finished it at a single sitting.

—Ramsey Campbell, author of The Grin of the Dark

In Don’t Stand So Close, Eric Red takes what, at first, seems like a typical teen ‘coming-of-age’ sex romp and leads it down a very dark and twisted path. Being ‘Hot For Teacher’ has never been more disturbing.

—Nancy A. Collins, author of Sunglasses After Dark

Don’t Stand So Close is a riveting coming-of-age thriller. Heartbreaking, nail-biting, compelling and deeply insightful. Highly recommended for any teen who stands with one foot in the shadows.

—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay

About Eric Red: “Eric Red is a Los Angeles based motion picture screenwriter, director and author. His original scripts include The Hitcher for Tri Star, Near Dark for DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group, Blue Steel for MGM and the western The Last Outlaw for HBO. He directed and wrote the crime film Cohen and Tate for Hemdale, Body Parts for Paramount, Undertow for Showtime, Bad Moon for Warner Bros. and the ghost story 100 Feet for Grand Illusions Entertainment. He is currently writing and directing the film version of New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s bestselling zombie novel Dead of Night.

His first novel, a dark coming-of-age tale about teenagers called Don’t Stand So Close, was published in 2012 by SST Publications. His second novel, a werewolf western called The Guns Of Santa Sangre, will be published by Samhain Publishing in November 2013. His third book, a science fiction monster novel called It Waits Below, is coming out through Samhain in summer 2014.

DON’T STAND SO CLOSE is available in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook on Amazon at http://amzn.to/J0h2KH or from the publisher at http://bit.ly/18LdreT

“Bloody fights, desert vistas, a touch of romance, and plenty of werewolf action make THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE a fast-paced adventure.” –Library Journal.

“For years Sam Tucker, John Fix, and Lars Bodie made their way across the American West by rustling cattle and outshooting their enemies. Now wanted men, they head through Mexico, one step ahead of the law, until a Mexican peasant begs them to save a beleaguered town from the Men Who Walk Like Wolves. VERDICT Bloody fights, desert vistas, a touch of romance, and plenty of werewolf action make this a fast-paced adventure. Screenwriter and author Red (DON’T STAND SO CLOSE) delivers a supernatural Western that should appeal to fans of the growing “weird West” genre.” –Library Journal

THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE is available in trade paperback or Kindle edition at http://amzn.to/1hETNlP

Enter to win an autographed copy of the first issue of WILD WORK, my new vampire western comic series from Antarctic Press, courtesy of Arrow in the Head!

Enter the contest here: http://bit.ly/I8i6v8

“Antarctic Press is proud to announce the publication of the new six-issue comic series WILD WORK, an epic vampire action horror western! And here’s a dazzling look at the 1st issue’s jaw-dropping cover!

In 1888, Professor Abraham Van Helsing pursues Count Dracula into the American West.  Wooden stakes and spurs, silver bullets and six-guns, side by side. Bullets fly, hell on earth around every hitching post and enough blood spilled to turn the western desert into a crimson sea. It’s going to be one “Hell-sing” of a ride!

The series is created and written by film director and screenwriter Eric Red, whose films include the legendary modern cult classics THE HITCHER, NEAR DARK, BODY PARTS and 100 FEET and who previously created and wrote the comic series CONTAINMENT for IDW Publishing. The cinematic artwork is by Ben Dunn. the founder of Antarctic Press and a man who has worked for almost every publisher on the planet as well as creating a plethora of titles and characters for his own company. The covers are by John Gallagher, the acclaimed entertainment illustrator working across film, television, video games and comics on such projects as ONCE UPON A TIME, FALLING SKIES and EUREKA and films such as THE GREY and APOLLO 18.”

My new werewolf western novel, THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE, from Samhain Publishing just made the publisher’s top 5 bestseller list.

THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE is available in trade paperback and eBook at your local bookseller, from Samhain Publishing at http://bit.ly/1aGwxAg or from Amazon at http://amzn.to/18o8QwT.

I’ll be a guest speaker at the Weird West Fest in Giddings, Texas on December 7th.

The Weird West Fest is a Weird Western-themed one-day convention geared to fans of Steampunk, Victorian and the Old West. We have guests, gaming, music, films, costume and beard contests, panels and presentations. The activities are held in an actual 1880’s Train Depot and a 1918 Silent Era Movie House.
So revisit the Western Age of Steam and … “Git your Gears to Giddings”

For more information on the festival on the other great guests, check out the official website at: http://www.weirdwestfest.com

“If you are looking for a sexy thriller that not only pushes all the right erotic buttons but also has you sitting at the end of your seat in suspense, then pick up DON’T STAND SO CLOSE. Highly recommended.” –Horrorworld

Read the full review at  http://bit.ly/1j4Jm99

DON’T STAND SO CLOSE is available in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook from SST Publications at http://amzn.to/1eMmfTt

“THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE is an old-fashioned, well-made dime novel, doing Louis L’Amour, Elmore Leonard and Richard Matheson proud” –Bookgasm.

Read the full review at http://bit.ly/1iyBUCY

Order THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE in trade paperback or Kindle edition at http://amzn.to/1hETNlP

The first issue of my Professor Van Helsing vs. Count Dracula in the 1800′s American west comic series WILD WORK is now available from Antarctic Press!

To order, follow the link to the Antarctic Press store: http://bit.ly/16vmhtA.

“Antarctic Press is proud to announce the publication of the new five-issue comic series WILD WORK, an epic vampire action horror western! And here’s a dazzling look at the 1st issue’s jaw-dropping cover!

In 1888, Professor Abraham Van Helsing pursues Count Dracula into the American West.  Wooden stakes and spurs, silver bullets and six-guns, side by side. Bullets fly, hell on earth around every hitching post and enough blood spilled to turn the western desert into a crimson sea. It’s going to be one “Hell-sing” of a ride!

The series is created and written by film director and screenwriter Eric Red, whose films include the legendary modern cult classics THE HITCHER, NEAR DARK, BODY PARTS and 100 FEET and who previously created and wrote the comic series CONTAINMENT for IDW Publishing. The cinematic artwork is by Ben Dunn. the founder of Antarctic Press and a man who has worked for almost every publisher on the planet as well as creating a plethora of titles and characters for his own company. The covers are by John Gallagher, the acclaimed entertainment illustrator working across film, television, video games and comics on such projects as ONCE UPON A TIME, FALLING SKIES and EUREKA and films such as THE GREY and APOLLO 18.”

So saddle-up, oil-up your six-shooter and sharpen your stakes…there’s WILD WORK to be done!”

Good review on Bookgasm for my new werewolf western novel THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE!

Eric Red kicked in the doors and smacked me around in the mid-1980s. His scripts for NEAR DARK and, in particular,  THE HITCHER were the stuff of geek dreams. His writing had precision-tooled, B-movie mechanics and plots built with a merciless, gleeful desire to give the people what they want in ways that surprised us.

His best work, in my humble opinion, emerged when he directed his own hit-man masterpiece, COHEN & TATE, where mean and funny and brutal and thrilling all hold hands and sing “Kumbaya” as Roy Scheider (fucking Roy Scheider!) and Adam Baldwin duke it out over the delivery of a 12-year-old eyewitness to their mafia bosses.

I’ve kept up with his film work, but I had no idea he’s been producing horror and other pulp fictions on the page for some time, too. Samhain Publishing now releases a short novel that displays a characteristic panache.

THE GUNS OF SANTA SANGRE has, at its core, a plot almost as perfect as SNAKES ON A PLANE: werewolves in the Old West. A vicious pack of banditos has holed up in a small-town church, terrorizing and daily snacking on the townsfolk. One young citizen sneaks away, hoping to convince some other vicious pack of bandits to ride in, melt down the silver and plug the lycanthropes. There isn’t a Western or werewolf cliché Red doesn’t welcome into the saloon.

As in his movies, the familiar is served up neat, no chaser; there’s an economy to his storytelling that will reward readers looking for the rush of mayhem. It’s an old-fashioned, well-made dime novel, doing Louis L’Amour, Elmore Leonard and Richard Matheson proud. And there’s a bite of Tabasco in the shot, small doses of razor wit: a gunslinger asking about a hapless civilian, “Who’s the sombrero?”; a drunken prisoner carefully sizing up his escape plan while a wolf man rips up the cells.

My only caution is that it’s relentlessly familiar: the saloons and slang; the virginal, feisty Mexican woman love interest; THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN thug-vs.-thug match-up at the core of the plot. I had hoped to be kicked out of the saddle a little more often. Still, the book begins at a gallop and never lets up.

Once again, Red delivers the pulp goods. And it’d make a helluva film. —Mike Reynolds

Read the original article here: http://bit.ly/1iyBUCY

Three more wonderful blurbs for my novel, DON’T STAND SO CLOSE.

“Eric Red digs deep into his seemingly endlessly macabre bag of tricks to turn the tables on Nabokov, and stops at nothing to entertain. Creating a pace, a flow and mood that only a true master of his craft can. A genuine look at the troubles of teenage angst in the company of alluring deviants. It’s a heavy dish of blood, lust, death and debacle, yet it will only leave you craving more.”—James B. Carter, author of “The Dying Season” and 2014′s The Last Blue Sky

“Don’t Stand So Close by Eric Red is a prime example of art imitating real life. I mean that in a good way. Red brings true horror to the reader in a classic tale of teenage hormones gone awry. Be careful not to ‘stand so close’ to this one, as you might end up drenched in all sorts of gooey bodily fluids. Then again, isn’t that part of the fun? I think so. Highly Recommended!” —Ty Schwamberger, author of The Fields, Dinin’ & The Killing Club

“Eric Red’s debut novel, DON’T STAND SO CLOSE, is an intoxicating tale of seduction, anxiety and courage, nudging the reader to explore their own emotional vulnerability and consider the complexities of the human psyche, no doubt leaving many thinking to themselves Thank God it wasn’t me!”

–- Terry Erwin “Horns,”  Author of CHOPHOUSE and STATIONHOUSE NO. 1.

Available in hardcover, paperback and eBook from SST Publications at http://amzn.to/1fGklDN.