Michael McCarty's Blog, page 7

2012, My Year In Review

This is the time of the year, when you look back and reflect what the hell happened in 2012. And looking back on these twelve months with my books, I just have to sit back and smile. Artistically and commercial it was my most successful year as a book writer in the last decade I've been doing this crazy gig. So you, the ones who show up for my signings, buy my books at book stores or online. Thank you! Thank you and Thank you! And I hope you still buy my stuff in 2013 too.

My first book of 2012, was an ebook published by Noble Young Adult called I KISSED A GHOUL (Published in March). Here is the low down on it: I already did a column about this publication of an overweight high school student who tries to score with chicks but instead fights monsters instead. The October column had two positive reviews. There is a third one now, and it goes like this:

One of McCarty's Finest Works!! November 23, 2012

By Keith Milstead

Format:Kindle Edition


I finished I KISSED A GHOUL today and I have to tell you, I LOVED IT. In fact I think it is the best of Michael's works I've read (so far) and that is saying a lot. Michael McCarty says he met Richard Laymon only once, spoke a few times on the phone and e-mailed a few times. Dick was an inspiration to him. That must be why when Micheal wrote I KISSED A GHOUL he channeled the ghost of this incredible author that reads like a collaboration between two awesome authors. I loved Dick Laymon (considered him a friend) and Michael has done so much toward emulating his style but then adding his inimitable style and warped sense of humor. It is like Michael was listening to Dick saying "do this, add more breasts, a couple of hot and heavy petting scenes," but then Michael told him to "back off dude, I'm writing my stuff now," and then added his own style, sense of humor,irony and creativity but then turned around and embraced Richard again. As Gerard Houarner, said in the epilogue, "it was great to see a character that had a more screwed childhood than I did" but I can actually say I saw myself in Tommy Wharton's life too.
Tommy Wharton, the lead character, fights off all kind of creatures in the quest for losing his virginity, only to be cock-blocked again and again. Micheal gives his characters life with a hefty dose of strife and "man's inhumanity against man... and vampires, and werewolves and succubi). This novella reads like ANIMAL HOUSE meets ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN!! A must read for all ages. I must say, I wasn't really aware of YA (Young Adults) stories and what came to mind were those old Scholastic Book Club books I read in elementary school about perseverance and cuddly dogs and mean teachers. I must say that after a few chapters, I totally missed the mark on this genre. This book is McCarty at his best and I dare you to start reading it and put it down before finishing it.

After that, was LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE by Joe McKinney & Michael McCarty, a coming-of-age novella set in the early 1960s from Bad Moon Books. It was published as a trade paperback, ebook and hardcover book.

Lake Livingston: August, 1961. Mark Gaitlin is 15, the son of one of the wealthiest men in Texas, and on the most boring summer vacation of his life. His days are filled with the pomp and circumstance of country club life, while his nights are a parade of one embarrassment after another at the hands of giggling teenage girls. But the piney woods above Lake Livingston are dark at night, and hold many secrets for an impressionable youngster on the cusp of becoming a man. And one night, after skinny dipping in the lake with a mysterious local girl, Mark Gaitlin's life takes a crazy turn into the fire and brimstone religion of backwoods snake handlers and abandoned villages haunted by old family secrets. If he can survive the snakes and the ghosts and his own family's dark history, he just might make it out of the woods alive. And something else...he just might become a man.

LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE received 4 reviews, all very positive:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spine chilling horror October 4, 2012

By Keith Milstead

Format:Paperback


If you haven't read this this marvelous book, you need to put it on your bucket list at #1!! This duo have created a world of mysticism of horror and the joys associated with coming of age. Joe and Michael are the Batman and Robin of horror. This one will keep you up at night and will creep you out, the necessary components of a good horror story in a Texas environment. I highly advise you take the opportunity to read this tale of terror. I also believe if you haven't had the opportunity to check out the horror of Joe's and the solo and collaborative efforts by Michael. You won't be disappointed!!






5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Tale To Entertain Your Imagination August 29, 2012


By J. R. LaGreca

Format:Paperback


LOST GIRL OF THE LAKE is an unconventional "coming of age story" as only authors Joe McKinney and Michael McCarty could invent. It is an endearing, evocative saga filled with the familiar as well as the unexpected, infused with wonders of the heart and soul. A tale of dark seduction and innocence, told through a man's mind, recreated from his boyhood memory. I highly recommend this page turning novel and glimpse into both the past and future with unanswered mysteries lurking in the wings.
-Jody R. LaGreca, Author of five books including SUBURBAN WEIRD





5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Haunting!!!! August 1, 2012

By dbern77

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase


When two great novelists team up, a tale like "Lost Girl of the Lake" can happen--and happen it did! Joe McKinney's and Michael McCarty's "Lost Girl of the Lake" is as wonderful as it is haunting. A really great coming of age tale about realizing those significant moments in life and how they change a person. Filled with human horror as well as the type of supernatural horror we all have come to love from these gentlemen! Brilliantly done and a must read!!!!

Shortly after that, still in the summer, still in June, NIGHT OF THE SCREAM QUEEN by Michael McCarty and Linnea Quigley was published from Dark Moon Books as a trade paperback and an ebook. It was a lot of fun doing this send up to b-movies and drive-in horror flicks.

Scream Queen Desiree Starr is tired of starring in one low budget horror movie after another, each passing film, her wardrobe becomes skimpier and skimpier. Private Martin Riley, a simple solider from Iowa is recruited for "Operation Reptilian", a dangerous experiment where he is suppose to become a "Solider of the Future"--but he becomes something else entirely different. Dr. Morrie Madden, a military "mad scientist" who has played God one too many times. Aging British actor Blake Smith, once a leading man in horror films, but that was
before his face started to deteriorate and now has to wear masks in public. All their lives become intersected and a hell breaks loose in the Devil Bayou swamplands. "With Night of the Scream Queen, Linnea Quigley and Michael McCarty have penned my favorite guilty pleasure novel of the year. This is over-the-top good fun, the way they used to make it down at the drive in. I loved it, and I bet you will too. Highly recommended!" --Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Flesh Eaters and Dead City

The book received three reviews, all glowing:

Memories or mammaries? November 15, 2012

By Keith Milstead

Format:Paperback


Remember back in the old days when you would take your best guy or best girl to the drive-in to watch the shlock films where women with huge, uh, assets and creatures that were once people but now share the qualities of a number of animals ran around the screen turning people into gore and causing our favorite scream queens to scream until they nearly blew out a lung? Remember watching Linnea Quigley, the most beautiful and super talented scream queen who stole the scenes in 'RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD" or "NIGHT OF THE DEMONS" and wishing you could just jump on to the screen to pour out your undying love to her, except there were demons and zombies, and maybe you didn't care because, well she is Linnea. Now take her talents for the written word and add in the macabre and frighteningly scary and humorous Mr. Michael McCarty and then add in gators and Desiree Starr and a very odd SFX guy who adds a whole 'nother level to his craft and you have NIGHT OF THE SCREAM QUEEN: KISS OF THE GATOR GUY. You then have the novella version of those wonderful nights at the drive-in. The collaboration between Ms. Quigley and Mr. McCarty is nothing short of genius. Upon finishing this book, I kept wondering, when will there be a sequel, which I learned is in process. The characters are cartoonish but at the same time full and earthy. The story, each chapter separated by comments made by Desiree Starr from her memoirs as well as other characters adds to the realism of this...are we sure?...fictional work. This was a masterpiece and I highly recommend you jump out there and get a copy before word gets out and they are all gone. IT IS THAT GOOD! I love Michael McCarty's work, all of it so far, because like me, he is a bit warped and after learning he had Linnea available to consult thought the process 24/7, well, I am jealous too.





5.0 out of 5 stars B-Movie Energy!!! July 31, 2012


By Spencer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase


I read this bad boy in one sitting. Being a fan of b-movies in general, the story involving b-movie actors, b-movie filmmakers, and gator people, I ate this right up. You have to be okay with the ridiculous (and fun) premise, or else stick with straight-laced fiction. It's geared more towards humor, so if you're ready to laugh, pop open a cool one and enjoy.
Also, I really really enjoyed the snippets about Desiree Starr's movie experiences before each chapter. Fun, fun stuff!





5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic book! July 9, 2012

By Leo Zemke

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase


this book is great! I love the cover art, its fantastic and whimsical. I am enjoying the book, its well written and was packaged well, also shipping was lightning fast. Every single aspect of this transaction was a joy to behold. Will buy all of Michael McCarty's books from now on.





That was followed by my vampire ebook BLOODLESS by Michael McCarty & Jody R. LaGreca published by Whiskey Creek Press. Daniel Peck is a modern-day vampire, over one hundred years old. He succumbs to
his transformation on the Lusitania when the beautiful and ancient Veronica, Queen of the Undead, beguiles him. Daniel survives the sinking of the Lusitania, and another disaster when the Hindenburg explodes. Years later Daniel is a middle school substitute teacher in Baltimore, Maryland. He feeds off the energy of four students and turns them into zombie-like creatures who subsist on human remains. Daniel kills people for his thralls to devour, but the students prove difficult to control.Meanwhile Daniel encounters and is charmed by Annie
Julliard, a lovely motel proprietor, and changes her into a white vampire. They marry and Daniel brings home the four thralls as his adopted children. From then on, things become very complicated…


The book received a couple great reviews so far:





4.0 out of 5 stars Strangely seductive, gruesome, and fun October 20, 2012

By Patricia J. Esposito

Format:Kindle Edition


"Michael McCarty and Jody LaGreca are masters at blending the macabre with the ordinary, the monster with the everyman in their vampire novel Bloodless. They can make a horrific killer seem quite affable, a dinner of barbecued human parts palatable, and a slit throat in lovemaking exquisitely erotic. McCarty and LaGreca write with inexplicably gruesome charm, evident in Bloodless."





5.0 out of 5 stars Vampires are Still Cool! October 18, 2012

By CulturalFastFood

Format:Kindle Edition


Every time I'm tempted to believe the vampire genre has been completely played out, somebody comes along and proves me wrong. In this case, two somebodies have done a fabulous job knocking me on the head with a literary hammer just to tell me, "Shut up, Rosser--there's a hell of a lot more to explore with the bloodsuckers." This is a great book with a fine storyline and lots of excitement and fun. I like the way the authors write.




That was followed by CONVERSATIONS WITH KRESKIN by The Amazing Kreskin and Michael McCarty published as a hardcover and ebook from Team Kreskin Inc. Because Kreskin appeared on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," "Fox & Friends" and other shows, the book has been selling well.

To learn more about my books, you can go to:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001JS0L06



God bless and Godspeed, 2012

Number 13 Post

Because 13 is unlucky ... I am not going to post a post here.

Actually, I did post a post here.

But it is short.

Season's Greetings
From Monster Mike


PS ... my books make great Christmas gifties

Special Gift Promotion for CONVERSATIONS WITH KRESKIN

Special Gift to those who Purchase

Kreskin’s New Book



When you purchase the book, simply send Kreskin a photo of you holding the book:

email it to Kreskin amazingone35@aol.com with your name and return address.

He will personally autograph a picture and send it to you.

Word from The Amazing Kreskin

What’s On Kreskin’s Mind: Kreskin’s friends, fans, and associates do not have to be a mentalist to know what’s on his mind. He’s been living with it for one year and four months, since he wrote a Prediction out on the Jimmy Fallon Show on July 25, 2011. With copies going to three other sources, he has attempted to predict the results of this Tuesday’s Presidential election. He has stated many times...
that he has been absolutely certain he correctly predicted the results…..however, the only contingency that he’s ever felt about predictions of this kind, especially over such a long range, is the one factor that could alter his success, and that is a national disaster. To be continued……….
Tune in to the Jimmy Fallon Show on NBC this Wednesday, Nov. 7th, 2012... to see if Kreskin is correct!

The Modern Mythmakers

A guest blog I wrote about MASTERS OF IMAGINATION and MODERN MYTHMAKERS, a sort of behind the scenes about the books and interviews.

Enjoy:

http://myseryniti.wordpress.com/2012/...

I KISSED A GHOUL ...AND I LIKED IT

The reviews keep rolling in for I KISSED A GHOUL, my first YA ebook published by Noble YA.


4.0 out of 5 stars By Donna Galanti, author of THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Like YA paranormal with a kick? This book was just plain laugh out loud fun. Plus it’s got it all. Werewolves, vampires and a succubus. They ain’t got nothing over wannabe-cool teen Tommy. Forget Buffy the Vampire Slayer, here’s a regular joe hero who falls down, kicks butt & keeps trying to get some.


3.0 out of 5 stars Night Owl Reviews June 4, 2012


You would think that being the mayor’s son would automatically make you popular. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for Tommy Wharton. As a matter of fact, he gets picked on for being overweight. However, there are some perks like using his dad’s campaign van and credit card.
Tommy is just like the average teenage boy. His hormones are raging and all he thinks about is having sex. The only problem is that he can never seal the deal. Every time he is about to get lucky, something always ruins it. This is so frustrating to Tommy. It seems that he has no good luck. Not to mention that he constantly finds himself in the presence of monsters – vampires, werewolves, succubus. You name it, he finds them.
This book was humorous to me. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Tommy. Even when he confronts a monster, he seems like this is completely normal. His adventures are amusing. I couldn’t stop reading because I had to see if Tommy finally catches his dream girl.”

People have asked me, why I’d want to write a YA book about an overweight teenage boy who is a nerd and tries to score all the time. I watched “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” and “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” and thought: These characters are the 1%: Cheerleaders, Football players, the Class President, Etc. I wasn’t interested in yet another book about a popular skinny teen. I wanted to write a book about the rest of us: .. the weirdos, the geeks, the freaks, the stoners, the loners, the losers and the dreamers. My message, if there is a message to learn from the book is: It is okay to be different, you don’t have to be popular to be cool, just be yourself. I wanted to have a regular joe for a hero – and that is was about time in the genres! I hope the readers find it a great message to send to teens as well.


http://www.amazon.com/I-Kissed-a-Ghou...

Night of the Scream Queen

The way The Quad City Times works, I can't reprint their wonderful article they did about myself and Linnea Quigley for our book NIGHT OF THE SCREAM QUEEN.

I can, however, provide the link, which is here ... Enjoy:

http://qctimes.com/article_2ff4ce20-c...

My first book...

My advice for beginning writers looking at getting their first novel published: hang tough, it’s one hell of a ride.

An author’s first book is like a first kiss – something you’ll never forgot as long as you live. After having nearly twenty books published, my first book still has a special place in my heart. It was Giants of the Genre published in 2003 by Wildside Press.

The story doesn’t really start here; it starts about a decade before that, in 1993. That’s the year I had my first national sale, an interview with Frederik Pohl in Starlog Magazine. Around the same time, I had started to send out query letters for a vampire novel called Liquid Diet: A Vampire Satire. Nobody seemed that interested in the novel. The suits at the publishing companies were saying, “Nobody is interested in vampires anymore.” And I would say, “Vampire fiction has been popular for over 100 years.” A decade later True Blood, Twilight and The Vampire Diaries would prove the editors wrong.

I would continue to do interviews with such genre writers as Ray Bradbury, P.D. Cacek, J.N. Williamson, and Charlee Jacob for various national and international magazines including Writer’s Block in Canada, The Zone in England and Dead of Night (where I was a contributing editor) in the United States. Strangely, I felt I was on a world conquest, but it was a humbling one to see my words spread to the different corners of the world and I hadn’t even left the United States my entire life. I interviewed Dean Koontz for a men’s magazine and received a four-figure check – I am still amazed at making that kind of money from a single article.

Near the end of the decade, Brian Keene approached me as being a contributing editor for a new internet magazine called Jobs in Hell. At the time, I was writing for another internet magazine, called Hellnotes. I kept writing Liquid Diet and finished the book in 1999. I still hadn’t found a publisher. I was so busy doing interviews I hadn’t spent much time querying the book.

The twentieth century soon became the twenty-first century and I had my first big break. There was this website called Science Fiction Weekly, which was the official website of the Sci Fi Channel. It was edited by Scott Edelman. After interviewing Neil Gaiman, I became a staff writer. For the next couple of years I interviewed more giants of the genre. Between interviewing people for Science Fiction Weekly, I continued sending my vampire novel to different publishers. I was starting to get frustrated and depressed. My goal had been to get my first book published by the time I turned 30, and I was nearing 40.

I was talking to Bentley Little one day and he gave me some excellent advice. He said it was time to put my vampire novel in the trunk and begin another one -- a lot of writers never get their first books published, including himself. I started working on another horror novel, called Monster Behind The Wheel, but figured that might take a lot of time to get published. In the meantime, I needed a new game plan. I was talking with my friend Mark McLaughlin about this and he suggested I do a “best of your genre interviews” type book.

I sent a query to a small publisher who specializes in collectible books. The editor wanted to publish the book, but in the end, I decided my book wasn’t right for this house, so onward I went. Next, I sent it to a publisher in Spain. The editor also wanted to publish the book, but ultimately, it didn’t work out there either. During the World Horror Convention in Chicago, I talked to William F. Nolan about the book project; he was enthusiastic, saying if two publishers liked it, a third was probably around the corner very soon. And he was kind of correct about that.

About ten minutes after meeting with Nolan, I talked with Neil Gaiman about the book. He suggested that publisher John Betancourt at Wildside Press might like it. So I sent a query and three chapters about my new book idea called Giants of the Genre to Mr. Betancourt. He read the three chapters and outline and politely rejected it.

A couple of weeks later, on the fourth of July weekend, 2002, I was thinking about Betancourt’s rejection. He said a lot of nice things in the rejection. So that Monday, I wrote back to the publisher saying something like, “Hey John, you’ve been in the publishing business for awhile, who would you recommend I send my book to.”

John wrote “You know, funny thing is -- I've been bugged by Giants since I turned it down. This usually means I'm convinced on some level that I've made a mistake. If you are still interested in having me publish it, I'll do it next year.” And that is how I got my first book published. Mark McLaughlin wrote the introduction. The book featured 21 interviews: Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury & Barry Hoffman, The Amazing Kreskin, Dan Simmons, Douglas Clegg, P.D. Cacek, Graham Masterton, Alan Dean Foster, Forrest J. Ackerman, J.N. Williamson, Charlee Jacob, Dan Curtis, Poppy Z. Brite, Frederik Pohl, William F. Nolan, Charles de Lint, Connie Willis and Bentley Little.

My first novel, the collaborative horror novel Monster Behind The Wheel, with Mark McLaughlin, ended up on the Bram Stoker Final Ballot for First Novel and eventually became an ebook from Medallion Press in 2011. And, in 2009 my vampire novel, Liquid Diet: A Vampire Satire was published as a trade paperback from Black Death Book (went out of print in late 2010) and is now an ebook from Whiskey Creek Press.

Since that time, I have written more interview books, which are still available in trade paperback or ebook including Modern Mythmakers, Masters of Imagination, and Esoteria-Land.

I KISSED A GHOUL

My first YA book was recently published by Noble, it is called I KISSED A GHOUL.
I was really nervous because, I had never written a YA book before and wasn't sure how it would go over with me.
I had one thing in mind:
I wanted to write about an average teenager:
Not some skinny, popular kid you see most YA books these days.
I just received my first review ... and I am very happy with it.
Here is the link. I hope you see out I KISSED A GHOUL ... I am very proud of that book:
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Re...

Partners in Slime (review)

Partners in Slime by Michael McCarty & Mark McLaughlin received a great review.
Make that an awesome review and I want to share it...

http://www.luridlit.com/2012/03/partn...