Jeff Strand's Blog, page 23
April 13, 2020
April 13th
Last night was Tornado Time!!! Got the alert at 2:45 AM to find someplace safe, so we moved to the living room, which was less likely to have a tree branch smash through a window and shower us with shards of broken glass.
The alert expired at 3:00 AM. We went back to bed.
I lived in Florida for over 20 years before moving to Georgia, so I’m used to hurricanes, where it’s basically a week of “THE END OF TIMES IS NIGH!!!” I’m not used to, “Hey, we’re gonna get some tornadoes tonight. Okay, here’s our fifteen-minute window of danger. Okay, it’s all good, enjoy the rest of your night.” I’m not saying that I’m in love with tornadoes or anything, but I do like them better.
Considering Stories continues its weekly essays of my books with “Rewriting The Nightmare Fuel Narrative: Clowns Vs. Spiders.” Check it out HERE.
Meanwhile, Lionel Ray Green’s Double Feature column for April reviews Allison along with John Everson’s House by the Cemetery. Check it out HERE.
April 9, 2020
April 9th
Not much has changed here. A couple of major movie projects continue to inch closer and closer to being able to pop open a bottle of champagne, although I’d just crack open a can of my finest Mountain Dew. But the coronavirus is lurking at the finish line, saying “Not so faaaaaaast!”
Will at least one of these projects be able to sustain its momentum until Hollywood opens again? If not, I’ll probably post a lot of profanity without even disguising it with asterisks.
Meanwhile, the Considering Stories blog has started a limited series of Sunday essays about my books! The first installment, The Grin in the Floor, is a detailed look at Facial. It doesn’t spoil the book, so check it out HERE.
I was also on the Drinking With Authors podcast, where I enjoyed a large can of Red Bull whilst discussing the art of writing. It’s available on all of your favorite podcast acquisition services, or you can listen HERE.
April 5, 2020
April 5th
Whoa! Mystery Scene magazine reviewed Clowns Vs. Spiders and had this to say:
“In the tradition of the great Robert Bloch, Strand delivers wry humor and gut-wrenching horror and tension with equal effectiveness, seamlessly evoking fear and laughs, often within the very same sentence.”
Work continues on The Odds. Got a little bit sidetracked but barring a global pandemic or something it should be done within a week.
The movie news I hinted at in my last update has continue to move forward, much to my surprise. I’m not sure when I’ll have a final ruling on whether or not it’s actually going to happen, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to blab about it, but I assure you that you’ll go “Whaaaaaaaat???”
March 29, 2020
March 29
The weather here in Atlanta is beautiful, so at least I can sit outside and writing, sparing me from going completely INSANE as I social distance from all of you.
I’m consistently meeting my daily quota for The Odds. The target completion date is April 7th, with some possible fluctuation if it ends up being a bit longer or shorter than the projected length. (Most of my books are about 60,000 words.) It’s a weird situation where there’s nothing to distract me from writing–even my bi-weekly lunch with horror author Brian Kirk has been cancelled–but it’s obviously more difficult to focus on creative endeavors during a worldwide pandemic!
I found out that a second book of mine was very close to a movie deal before Hollywood shut down. Lots of projects are going to fall apart during this time in limbo, and if you hear my primal wailing, you’ll know mine were among them.
March 25, 2020
March 25th
Another one gone. The HEAR Now Festival, which was going to be in Kansas City in June, has switched to an online-only format, but the Independent Audiobook Awards (which I emcee) will not be part of it. Their future has yet to be decided.
More time to write books, I guess!
March 23, 2020
March 23
Things are a little offbeat right now, huh?
Allison came out in Kindle format last week, and the paperback is now available. Many Amazon books are showing a late April delivery date, but while that’s impacting all of my prior releases, it doesn’t seem to be affecting Allison quite yet, so you can get it HERE.
Errant Dreams gave it a five out of five stars review, saying it “takes the girl-with-supernatural-powers-gets-pushed-too-far trope and makes it delicious again.” Read the full review HERE.
My Appearances page probably needs a great big question mark in front of each event. The Outer Dark Symposium For The Greater Weird was pushed back to August. Mo*Con is either cancelled or postponed. But I did just add Multiverse, which will be in October in Atlanta.
I’m hard at work on my next book, The Odds. I’d made big plans for an experiment in the “rapid release” publishing model–three books in three months. Allison in March, The Odds in April, and Graveyard Closing (Everything Must Go) in May. I’m sticking to the plan but I’m not sure it really counts as an “experiment” anymore, since we’re not exactly in a normal moment in time. It may just be a matter of survival!
March 20, 2020
Welcome to Gleefully Macabre!
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Welcome to my website! Whether you were brought here by interest in my work or a Google search gone terribly wrong, I encourage you to hang around and start clicking away!
My latest novel, Allison, is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
Wolf Hunt 3 is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
Clowns Vs. Spiders, is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
My compilation Five Novellas is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
(P.S.: People who leave reviews on Amazon deserve great big hugs!)
Friend me on Facebook !
Follow me on Twitter !
Like my Facebook Fan Page!
Friend me on Goodreads!
Subscribe to my newsletter at MailChimp! A brand new story in every issue!
March 17, 2020
ALLISON Is Here…
Yes, my latest novel, Allison, is now available! Kindle edition now, paperback edition next week, audiobook and limited edition hardcover TBD…
Allison can break your bones with her mind, and she can’t control her power.
Now forty-five years old, she’s spent her life trying to stay away from other people. But a random encounter with a couple on the street leaves her believing that she may have done something horrible. Something unforgivable.
Killer-for-hire Daxton and his girlfriend Maggie know the truth. Instead of easing Allison’s anguish, they come up with a cruel plan to take advantage of it. But with Allison’s abilities exposed, there may be a grisly body count very soon…
From its shocking opening to its sinister conclusion, Allison is Jeff Strand at his over-the-top best!
Get it HERE.
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March 16, 2020
Welcome to Gleefully Macabre!
[image error]
Welcome to my website! Whether you were brought here by interest in my work or a Google search gone terribly wrong, I encourage you to hang around and start clicking away!
My latest novel, Allison, is now available in a Kindle edition! Paperback coming soon.
Wolf Hunt 3 is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
Clowns Vs. Spiders, is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
My compilation Five Novellas is now available in a Kindle and paperback edition!
(P.S.: People who leave reviews on Amazon deserve great big hugs!)
Friend me on Facebook !
Follow me on Twitter !
Like my Facebook Fan Page!
Friend me on Goodreads!
Subscribe to my newsletter at MailChimp! A brand new story in every issue!
March 12, 2020
March 12
It’s been a while! Sorry. I went on my trip to Houston (which went great!) and then I self-quarantined to help fight against the Oh Crap I Need To Finish This Book virus.
My new novel, Allison, will be out on Tuesday, March 17th. It will be the usual deal where the Kindle edition comes out first and the paperback follows a couple weeks later.
I’m going to catch up on various updates over the next few days, but I should point out that Laughing at Shadows, the horror/comedy anthology that contains my story “Captain Pistachio’s Charming Rampage,” is now available. I was worried that publishing this story following the tragic death of Mr. Peanut would be seen as insensitive (I swear, I wrote the story long before that!) but now that he’s back as Baby Peanut I’m less concerned about the flood of hate mail.
Get it HERE.
