Eric Butler's Blog, page 7

Are you ready for Trapped?

Get your copy here: ,Amazon / Godless

The book is getting great reviews, and I thought Christina Pfeiffer's review was perfect for giving you a taste of what each story brings to this incredible collection.

If you are interested in a limited edition hardcover, you'll have to hunt down Candace Nola on Facebook or her website, ,Uncomfortably Dark.

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for the support and love y'all have shown me on this crazy journey. There's some big releases coming out in the coming weeks, and I'm excited to share what some of my favorites in the indie horror community are up to. I've also got some big plans for the website and my books, so stick around.

If you haven't been checking out ,What's in the Box? over on YouTube, you should head over and listen to our discussions on Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, and so much more. We've already mapped out 2023, and I feel like we're going to have a good time discussing some of horror fan's favorites.

Nine Perfect Strangers

The wife and I were looking for something new to watch, and stumble across Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu. It's based on a novel by Liane Moriarty and created for TV by John-Henry Butterworth & David E. Kelley. I expect a good show when I see Kelley involved, but I wasn't sure about Butterworth until I looked up his credits. He has written one of my favorite Tom Cruise movies, Edge of Tomorrow and wrote the script for Ford V. Ferrari.

The premise of this 6-part miniseries: Nine stressed city dwellers visit a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation. The resort's director is a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies.

As a child of the 80s, I'm a sucker for a good ensemble mini-series. This cast delivers. Even the actress I'm not a fan of ... I'm looking at you Nicole Kidman, was perfect in her role. It's funny, sad, tense, thoughtful, and entertaining. I paused it more than once so we could discuss not only what was going on but how we might approach or react in different scenarios.

These 3 are the main people behind the wellness resort, and could have been the focus of the entire series with their backstories, interactions with each other, and issues.

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The 9 strangers are filled with familiar faces, but I gravitated to 3 of the characters: Napoleon, Tony, and Frances.

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I'd watch Michael Shannon read labels and probably be moved, but Bobby Cannavale is no slouch in the acting department. His character's journey is just as emotional as any of the others, and he shows you a vulnerability that pushes past all the noise he makes to distract you from all his issues. I always enjoy Melissa McCarthy but I find her more restrained roles to be her best. She's funny, but sometimes her acting chops gets lost in her comedy.

The rest of the cast is great, and they help make the journeys of the above 3 that much better.

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While this isn't a horror series, it does offer us a peak inside a collection of broken and fragile people looking for that "thing" to help them rediscover what makes life worth living. And isn't that scary enough?

https://youtu.be/PXGEov45yHE

Today we discuss Rosemary's Baby over on What's in the Box?

Sorry for the delay in today's post. I've been working on some projects and my days are all screwed up. With the holiday's approaching I'm wondering where I'm going to find the time for everything. You can watch the episode here or head over to YouTube and like, subscribe, and watch there.

https://youtu.be/Br2OyxL-LIg

Head over to YouTube: Click here.

Books, Books, and more Books

I've been putting together a list of future projects so I can focus on what I want to get done to finish off 2022 and fill up 2023. While doing that I also was looking at all I've accomplished since 2019, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with the results. It's been an amazing and fun journey to not only discover that I could get these done and out into the world, but there are people who are finding and enjoying them as well.

When I first started, I really was a babe in the woods. I didn't know about groups on social media, how to advertise, where to find an editor or a cover artist, and how to properly set a book's interior.

I released my first book, The Shadow Within, to little fanfare, and no idea what I was doing. It was almost like a momma bird pushing her baby out of the nest. And while my baby didn't take immediately to flight it also didn't slam into the pavement below.

The Shadow Within - Ebook(KU), paperback, and audiobook.

Not knowing what to do, I dove into my next book which became The Pope Lick Massacre. It's a fun and frantic read that has left an impression on almost every reader who's dared take the trip to Kentucky to checkout the Goat-man.

,The Pope Lick Massacre - Ebook(KU), paperback, and audiobook.

So I have 2 extreme horror and a wife who hates reading horror ... what to do? Well, I had written a series on here based in Victorian London and leaned more towards the supernatural than splatterpunk. It started off as a short story for an anthology, but it took on a life of its own and I never submitted it. Instead I continued to expand on the story, putting a chapter or 2 on here every week.

The original chapters were a bit spontaneous at times, and often led down roads that the final novel doesn't. In the end, I was able to take everything I wrote and put it together in a way that made more sense, and gave birth to some of my favorite characters. Added bonus, the wife read and liked it. This is, of course, The Sins of the Past.

,The Sins of the Past - Ebook(KU), paperback, and audiobook

As I was working on getting Sins of the Past ready for release, I put out Donn, TX 1952 as a tester story. I got some positive feedback, and enjoyed the idea, so I expanded the idea with a chapter series Donn, TX 1969 on the site. The idea of Donn, TX was a series of shorter ebooks that I would collect into collected volumes once there was enough pages to make it a full paperback (I was thinking about 4 years would do it).

I wrote Donn, TX 1865 and then jumped to Donn, TX 1926. By this time, I knew my plan wasn't going to work exactly as I hoped. 1926 was almost double in length as my longest Donn, TX story to that point in time. As the stories layered the history of Donn, TX, the ability to tell them in small "bite-sized" packages disappeared. Donn, TX 2002 & Donn, TX 1978 proved this as each one was larger than the last. Because of this, I collected 1952, 1969, 1865, & 1926 into a paperback collection and then released the others individually.

You can read Donn, TX 1952 for free on my site, and the rest can be found on Amazon.

,1952

1969

1865

,1926

,The Donn, TX Collection Vol 1 - paperback

,2002

,1978

I've been in a few anthologies and will have stories in a few more before the year is over. I also have an incredible - and secret - project I'm working on with some amazing creators for release in 2023. I'm busy working on a few projects for myself, and once I'm a little bit farther along I promise y'all will be the first to know.

I have paperback copies if you are interested(of all these titles). Email me or send me a DM on Facebook.

5 more days to get Trapped

There are still a few more days left to secure one of the collector's edition hardcovers of the Trapped anthology. It's going to be a 1-run edition and will be a gorgeous addition to your bookcase and indie horror collection. You will still be able to get the ebook & paperback, but I think fans are going to want to get the hardcover.

You can pledge your support, and secure a copy, over at Indiegogo: ,click here. You can also grab a set, and secure signed editions of some of the writer's books with the hardcover edition. For example, you could get Donn, TX 1978 & Donn, TX 2002 & the hardcover for only $65. You would be getting one of the Donn, TX books for free. I wanted to share a few pieces of the artwork included in the book - this really will be a beautiful book.

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*Sorry for the delay, I was working on a project and lost track of my days. I've got some big things in the works to finish off 2022 and start 2023.

Trapped is going to be the next big thing in Indie Horror

So you have like 12 days left to head over to Indiegogo and get in on this beautiful book deal. There's a ton of cool stuff you can get, but they are limited so some have already sold out.

Praise for the collection is already coming out ...

So this is the next Dark Dozen Anthology from Candace Nola's Uncomfortably Dark label. The first one, The Baker's Dozen, was the Killer Con's winner for best Splatterpunk Anthology.

One of the cool things Candace does is offer a few different ways for you to get a copy of the book when it is released. She sets up a goal on IndieGoGo, and you can make sure to get an opportunity to snag the limited edition hardcover version before they all sell out. You can also pledge to different levels and creators to get specific packages that include not only the new anthology, but also a book from that creator.

So the Donn, TX Collection Vol 1 package is claimed, but you can still get the Donn, TX 2002 & 1978 package is still available.

Many of the ones offered only have 1-2 spots that can be claimed. You can also just preorder the hardback, the paperback, or the ebook if you want. Here are a few more examples ...

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All the stories have the same theme of being trapped, but the writers were given complete freedom to decide what that meant. I can't wait to read all the stories myself in this killer lineup.

So click here, and head over to check out all the deals and secure your copy of this amazing anthology.

Stand aside Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater, there's some carving to be done... 2023 edition

This year's pumpkins ...

Tar-Man from Return of the Living Dead

Beetlejuice

And in 2021 I did 2 more ...

The Crow

Michael Myers

Below is the original pumpkin carving post form 2020 ...

Sam from Trick 'R Treat

Last year, I shared a Halloween tradition within my family and friends...Pumpkin Carving on Halloween Eve. Even though I'm not 100% what will happen this Halloween, I still decorated the yard and we will be doing another carving. So now I have to pick a couple patterns of obscure or totally awesome horror characters to carve this year. Before I do that here are some of the hits from the past 15+ years...

Occasionally I stray from the horror theme:

Cheshire Cat - Rick & Morty & Mr. Meeseeks - Oogie Boogie

2 classics - Nosferatu & Frankenstein's Monster

The Thing "Head" & They Live & Donny Darko

Fright Night (with '60's Batman) & Art the Clown & House of a 1000 Corpse

Chucky & Ghost Face & Michael Myers (Zombie Mask Version)

Can't wait to share which ones I do this year...

The three latest reviews for my first horror novel, The Shadow Within

Wondering what it's about? Check out the book trailer

https://youtu.be/XyDMFl-re_QFind it on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback: Click ,Here!

Some of the top reviews for my 2nd horror novel, The Pope Lick Massacre

Wondering what it's about? Check out the book trailer

https://youtu.be/d1Mz13aR1LAFind it on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback: Click ,Here!

Don't forget to take a peek and discover What's in the Box

I'm just throwing up the 2 Exorcist discussions Donna & I had a few weeks ago. The 1st one will be the book & the 2nd will be the movie. If you are interested in deep dives, this is the channel for you.

https://youtu.be/iQlouySCzy8https://youtu.be/NITWi7OM02I

We will be having discussions on Rosemary's Baby, The Omen & The Sentinel if you want to read before we share our thoughts.

I just realized it's Monday and I didn't post, so ...

I'm not sure how much longer this is going to be up, but you are going to want to have one of these bad boys when they come out. They are beautiful.

So this is the next Dark Dozen Anthology from Candace Nola's Uncomfortably Dark label. The first one, The Baker's Dozen, was the Killer Con's winner for best Splatterpunk Anthology.

One of the cool things Candace does is offer a few different ways for you to get a copy of the book when it is released. She sets up a goal on IndieGoGo, and you can make sure to get an opportunity to snag the limited edition hardcover version before they all sell out. You can also pledge to different levels and creators to get specific packages that include not only the new anthology, but also a book from that creator.

For example you could get the Donn, TX Vol 1 Perk:

Many of the ones offered only have 1-2 spots that can be claimed. You can also just preorder the hardback, the paperback, or the ebook if you want. Here are a few more examples ...

[image error][image error][image error][image error]

All the stories have the same theme of being trapped, but the writers were given complete freedom to decide what that meant. I can't wait to read all the stories myself in this killer lineup.

So click here, and head over to check out all the deals and secure your copy of this amazing anthology.