Michael Thomas Perone's Blog, page 3

P. English Literature Interviewed Me About My Writing Process, Beta Feedback, and a Surprise Announcement

I think we’re wearing the same glasses.

This week’s blog will be short and sweet. As promised in last week’s blog, the podcast/YouTube show P. English Literature interviewed me all the way from Africa! Topics host Peter Okonkwo and I discussed include my writing process, which beta feedback to use and which to ignore, and how I feel about readers having their own (occasionally strange) interpretations of my books. On top of this, there’s a special surprise announcement at the end. (No spoilers!)

Unfortunately, as alluded to in last week’s blog, we encountered some technical snafus during the recording, such as freeze-ups and time delays, but that’s what happens when you record a podcast from the other side of the world. I’m not going blow by blow to explain all the missing bits of audio, but I do want to clear up two where I thought pretty important information was cut off (you could probably figure out what I was saying during the other audio drops from the context):

1) The third inspiration for my book was the death of my brother, so Danger Peak was a celebration of my childhood while trying to reconcile the tragedy at the center of it. (In the interview, you just hear me say “reconcile the tragedy.”)

2) The poem I wrote about interpreting art that I was trying to quote was cut off. It should’ve been:

When viewing a work of art

some say it’s black, others white

And the artist, smiling, says:

“You two are both right.”

No more stalling! You can listen to the podcast wherever you get your, um, podcasts and/or watch our interview below on YouTube:

I also updated my Bio page with the interview. Happy watching/listening!

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: Doing It for the Kids

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

Announcements!

Coming soon!

There are some big things happening in the next few months in MTP World, so I thought I’d do a blog roundup of all the announcements. Probably the most exciting development is that I’ll soon be making my television debut! The Donna Drake Show is an inspirational, CBS nationally broadcasted talk show that airs in 10 markets, including New York, Boston, Dallas, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Atlanta. According to Donna herself, she’s interviewed over 17,000 people, and now I’m one of them! I honestly don’t see how she could’ve interviewed that many people in her life—unless she was 125 years old. But no, she hasn’t discovered the Fountain of Youth; she’s just a really good interviewer! Case in point, over the years, she has interviewed Robert De Niro, Mike Tyson, Diane Warren, Kenny Loggins, Tony Bennett, Kelsey Grammer, Steve Buscemi, Jane Fonda, Mel Brooks, Howie Mandel, and John Leguizamo. And now you can add lil’ ol’ me to that list. Here’s a sizzle reel of some of her interviews:

Yes, I’ll be interviewed on T.V. about my book that bashes T.V.! Will the audience be able to handle the irony? The only way to find out is to tune in! I’ll be sure to post a link to the interview on this blog as soon as it’s available.

The same week that I will record my interview with Donna, I’ll be heading to West Middle School in Brentwood, NY, to attend their annual Book Fest event. I already signed 50 of my books that will be given away with raffles throughout the day. (For pics of the books, follow my social media at the bottom of my Contact page.) Besides the book giveaways, I’ll also be doing a literary activity with the kids that I designed (putting the steps of how to write a book in order) and also answering questions about what it’s like to be an indie author. Short answer: Pretty hard and time-consuming! But it’s also rewarding, such as getting to attend events like these. Keep reading and dreaming, kids!

In other MTP news, I recorded an interview with P. English Literature, a podcast based all the way in Africa! I chatted with host Peter Okonkwo about my writing process, such as which beta feedback to use and which to ignore. I also talk about how I feel about readers having their own (sometimes weird) interpretations of my books and give a special surprise announcement at the end! Unfortunately, there were some technical hiccups (that happens when you’re taking a Zoom call literally from the other side of the world), so hopefully, Peter and his team can iron them out during the editing process. The podcast should be available next week, and again, I’ll make sure to update this blog when that happens.

In other, other MTP news, there will be another delay of the release of the Danger Peak audiobook this month, but thankfully, it’ll only be a few weeks, so instead of “dropping” (as the kids say) in early February, it will be either later in the month or early next month. Thanks to everyone for their patience and understanding. I’ve already heard from a few people who said they were kinda/sorta interested in reading Danger Peak but will definitely listen to the audiobook version. I guess audiobooks are the future. Who knew? (besides everyone who’s been paying attention in the past decade) Anyway, you can hear an exciting, exclusive sample of the audiobook on the video tab of my Instagram page.

The final news I’d like to share is that I will be attending MastiCon at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Public Library on Long Island on Saturday, May 3rd! I’ll be selling discount copies of Danger Peak, Déjà View, and The Electric God and Other Shorts. Come stop by to enjoy the event’s other vendors, have a chat, and get your book(s) signed! I realize this event is a ways off, so I’ll give more details as we get closer to the date.

Whew! That’s a lot of things happening—and it’s only February! Looks like I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone this year.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: My Interview With P. English Literature

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

More Reviews of The Electric God and Other Shorts

Yep, these guys again.

I wasn’t going to write another blog about the reviews The Electric God and Other Shorts is receiving, but several things occurred to me: 1) I’ve written multiple blogs about reviews for my other two books, 2) the reviews kept pouring in, and 3) most of them are really positive, including a perfect, five-star review from Reader Views! So, in no order, here are more, previously unpublished (at least on this blog) reviews of my short story collection:

Each story paints a powerful portrait of an unsettling life when things go just a bit too far. …The author’s introductory story and title’s namesake, The Electric God, is brilliant. Perone writes of a world where an almost religious worship of television completely consumes people. The Electric God is exaggerated but in a way that highlights Perone’s ability to write satire. This story hits home in so many ways and easily allows readers to imagine replacing their addiction to television with smartphones, tablets, or computers. The story Investigating the Future’s End is impressive. It is a dystopian sci-fi story that is very engrossing. The plot is tense with surreal twists, but Perone’s writing style is excellent throughout. The characters and their worlds are fully developed and three-dimensional, and the dialogue is authentic. Although the author indicates he wrote most of his stories between 1994 and 2000, this particular story is quite timely and relevant. …The Electric God and Other Shorts by Michael Thomas Perone is a brilliant collection that makes readers reflect on several issues. It’s a powerful read for those who enjoy dark, satirical writing with twists that make you think. 5 out of 5 stars.

–Reader Views

The remaining reviews are from Amazon:

(The Electric God and Other Shorts) is a gripping collection of twisted tales. I couldn’t put this book down! The stories in The Electric God and Other Shorts are unsettling and compelling, with a dark edge that explores the madness lurking in the world. Perone’s writing pulls you in, and each tale builds on the last, making it a collection I won’t forget anytime soon. I highly recommend it!

Perone’s third book is a far cry from the whimsical, action-adventure Danger Peak. The Electric God and Other Shorts is a collection of six twisted stories with twists. And unlike his first two books, none of the stories take place in the ‘80s, though two take place in the ‘90s. My favorites were the title story, How to Save a Drowning Butterfly, and Investigating the Future’s End. According to the book’s Introduction, Perone wrote most of these stories in high school in the ‘90s (hence the two stories set during that decade). Perone also has an Introduction to each story, and he mentions before The Electric God that he predicted remote learning via the TV, as well as other technological “advances.” One thing he forgot to mention was binge watching. It’s really an eerie story, but if I had to choose the best, I would go with Investigating the Future’s End, a story so mind-bending it’s almost impossible to describe. So if you’re a fan of dark stories with unexpected turns, I’d pick this one up.

The Electric God and Other Shorts grabbed my attention from the very first story. Each short story is brilliantly crafted, weaving suspense, dark themes, and complex characters in a way that kept me hooked. Perone’s ability to combine eerie elements with deep human struggles left me thinking about these tales long after I finished the book.

This was a fun and entertaining read! Each story is unique, engaging, (with) dark humor, and (it) keeps you turning the pages! If you’re looking for a short, fast, and easy read, then you should definitely give this one a try!

Perone’s third book is a departure. Instead of a coming-of-age novel set in the 1980s, he presents six dark stories full of madness and mayhem. My favorites were the first one, The Electric God, and the last one, School Spirit. I thought The Electric God was creepy, but it was only hinting at the dark turns to come in the book. Some of the characters here fight the insanity of their world with their own brand of insanity. Of course, chaos ensues. I wasn’t a fan of some of the violence in the book, especially in The Shovel, but the book is about madness after all. Probably the best story overall was School Spirit, which is an appropriate finale. Perone jokes about it being the “big finish” to the book, but it really was a tour de force and takes you on a journey, both in the real world and metaphysical one. Read this one by the campfire!

This is different from Perone’s other books. For starters, it’s a collection of short stories (as the title says) instead of a novel. Also, the subject matter is much darker, but I still enjoyed it. My favorite stories were Paper Language and School Spirit. Paper Language is about a stressed author desperate for inspiration for his latest book who receives it in an unexpected place. You’re not going to be able to guess what happens. School Spirit is a spooky ghost story that made me miss Halloween. It also has some twists thrown in, as almost every story does. If you’re a fan of The Twilight Zone or macabre humor, this collection is a must read. Highly recommended.

(The Electric God and Other Shorts) is a unique journey into the unknown.(It’s) a collection that takes you on an unpredictable journey. Perone’s stories are intense, original, and full of sharp twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Whether it’s the terrifying world of a small town or a mind-bending mystery, this book is perfect for anyone looking for something dark and fascinating.

Have I (or, more accurately, they) convinced you yet that this book is worth picking up? No? Then why are you reading this blog? Don’t answer that!

I kid. Join these happy readers, and turn on The Electric God.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Announcements!

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

Why Is My Muppet Babies Blog the Most Popular Thing I’ve Ever Written?

They’re so cute!

I’ve been writing blogs on this here website for almost 3 years, and one thing is for certain: People really love my blog about the series finale of the new Muppet Babies show, titled How the Series Finale of the New Muppet Babies Almost Destroyed Me. In fact, it’s the most popular thing I’ve ever written. To be clear, I’m talking about my writing on this website; I’m not counting my books. If I was, I’d have much bigger things to worry about.

Not a day goes by without at least one or two people reading my Muppet Babies blog (if WordPress metrics are to be believed). That might not seem like a big deal, but cards on the table, this website doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Also, that particular blog is years old, and I never promote it. In fact, this is the first time I’m mentioning it since I wrote and posted it. Its popularity could be attributed to the fact that the executive producer of the show “Liked” my post about the blog on Twitter (back when it was still called that), but again, that was years ago. That wouldn’t explain why people keep reading it. Maybe it’s because the Muppets are a relatively big part of pop culture (at least as far as my generation is concerned), but I’ve written plenty of times about pop culture before: Indiana Jones, Batman, The Wonder Years (see below), The Twilight Zone (again, see below), etc., and those blogs don’t get a fraction of the hits my Muppet Babies blog gets.

Perhaps it’s because my Muppets blog is also about the fall of innocence (something almost everyone can relate to), but again, I’ve written about that very topic many times before. Hell, I even wrote an entire novel about it—Déjà View—but the other blogs weren’t as popular. Or maybe it’s because the title of the blog is so provocative: the idea that a CGI cartoon show based on an old Saturday morning cartoon show from the ’80s that itself was based on a dream sequence Miss Piggy had in the 1984 movie The Muppets Take Manhattan would actually “destroy” me. Of course, I was exaggerating for comedic effect. Maybe people approaching the blog after reading that clickbaity title thought I was serious? Or finally, is it because I used multiple pictures throughout the blog, as opposed to my typical lone header image? Well, I’ve written blogs with many pictures before (see my Déjà View photo essay below), so that can’t be it. Still, those Muppet Babies pics are adorable. Am I underestimating their appeal?

I suppose I’ll never really understand the draw of my Muppet Babies post. If nothing else, I suppose I should use more clickbaity blog titles in the future. Stay tuned for “Why the Dinosaurs Finale Is the Most Gruesome T.V. Show Ending of All Time!!!” (Spoiler alert: They all die.)

In my humble opinion, or IMHO (as the acronym goes), I’ve written much better blogs than my Muppet Babies one, and I’d like to share five of them here. (You’ll note that only one has anything to do with my books.) I realize I’m a little late for end-of-the-year listicles of past entries (the holidays were crazy), but here they are anyway, in no order, followed by a brief explanation of why I chose them:

The Last Day of Elementary School

I realize this blog was deeply personal and therefore harder to relate to, but I thought it was one of my more poignant entries. Also, it helped explain a key pivot point in my life. I found it healing—at least for me.

The Twilight Zone of Nostalgia

This is the deepest dive I ever took into nostalgia, which is a subject that powers not only many blogs on this site but at least two of my books: Danger Peak and Déjà View. Also, I liked the coincidences to my life of the Twilight Zone episode that’s highlighted here. Talk about spookular!

The First (and Last) Déjà View Photo Essay

I’m including this one because of how much time it took to write, mostly because of the background work involved. I was jetting across my small town snapping candid photos with my cellphone of the stationery store and my old elementary school, among other locations, that were key inspirations behind Déjà View, all the while hoping people didn’t think I was insane. Also, I thought showing readers a little behind-the-scenes info of my writing process, complete with pics, would be a welcome delight. Judging by the number of people (or lack thereof) who read this blog, I was wrong.

The Top 5 Episodes of The Wonder Years

Again, like the above blog, this took a lot of time to write. Not only did it involve watching the first three seasons of The Wonder Years (my favorite ones) but then selecting the five best episodes. On top of that, I threw in an extra five Honorable Mention episodes. I honestly thought I’d get a lot more feedback on this one, particularly from people like me who are diehard fans of the show. I even mentioned this blog on the Instagram page of Danica McKellar (Winnie Cooper herself), but no one took the bait, least of all Danica. Ah well.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” vs. “Snoopy the Musical”

Speaking of work, this blog was a TON of work. Even though I had to only listen to two albums to do a writeup, I really wanted to get into the nitty-gritty details of just why exactly “Snoopy” is the superior musical, despite everyone fanning over “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” In fact, I’m sure most people have never even heard of “Snoopy the Musical,” though they might know a few songs from it, like “Just One Person,” which was sung by the Muppets after Jim Henson died (noted in my blog). I go song by song and explain the weaknesses inherent in the lyrics and melodies—or lack thereof (looking in your direction, “Glee Club Rehearsal”)—of the Charlie Brown musical and illustrate the highlights, which are many, of the Snoopy musical. I even come to the conclusion that they should just delete a few duds from “Snoopy” and add the three standouts from “Charlie Brown” to create the Peanuts super musical. One consolation: I received a glowing comment about this blog, which is rare for this site.

Let’s change that this year, kids!

***

In other MTP news, the Goodreads giveaway of The Electric God and Other Shorts is now officially over! In the end, over 4,000 people entered to win 1 of 10 signed copies of The Electric God and Other Shorts. That’s almost twice as many people who requested Déjà View for my last Goodreads giveaway. Congrats to those who entered! Your books are on their way. To those who entered but didn’t win, fear not! Just smash that Amazon or Barnes & Noble button at the bottom of this blog to get your sci-fi/horror-stories-with-twists fix!

***

In other, other MTP news, this Monday, I will be recording an all-new interview with the podcast P. English Literature, an international book podcast and YouTube show based out of Africa. Peter Okonkwo, the host and creator of the show, was kind enough to get in touch with me via my Contact page to request the interview. (Incidentally, if you have a podcast and are interested in talking to me about The Electric God and Other Shorts or any of my other books—or even argue about what the best episode of The Simpsons is—feel free to contact me at my Contact page above.) The interview won’t be published until a week or so after the recording, but I’ll make sure to update this blog when it gets uploaded. P. English Literature is dedicated to the promotion of English literature and is the first international BookTube show in Africa that features authors from around the world. For more info, please check out their YouTube page here:

P. English Literature YouTube page

***

Also this Monday, I’ll be traveling to a local junior high to sign 50 of my books (25 of Danger Peak and 25 of Déjà View) that the school purchased to raffle off at their annual Book Fest event on Valentine’s Day. (For those wondering why I’m not signing copies of The Electric God and Other Shorts, I figured many of those stories weren’t appropriate for junior high kids, though I consider them age appropriate for high schoolers and up.) Along with other authors, librarians, and teachers, I’ll be attending Book Fest with a little presentation and literary activity for the kids.

There’s actually more news I could share, but I don’t want to bombard you guys. I’ll save it for another blog. Looks like I’ll be quite busy this year. I hope all of you stay busy, positive, and happy this year as well. (That’s the best we can hope for, right?)

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: More Reviews of The Electric God and Other Shorts

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

The Electric God and Other Shorts Won First Place at The Firebird Book Awards!

The Electric God and Other Shorts just won its first award! It was recently announced that the book won First Place in the category of Short Stories at The 2024 Firebird Book Awards! Although I won First Place previously at the BookFest Awards, this is the first time one of my books won First Place in this particular competition. (I won Second Place before.) The Firebird Book Awards are presented by Speak Up Talk Radio. The awards help fund homeless shelters with books, pillowcases, and other needed supplies. I’m honored not only to have won again but to have contributed to this most noble charity.

Here is the page with all the winners (to jump to my award win, hit Control+F for “Short Stories”):

The 2024 Firebird Book Award Winners Page

I’ve already updated the book’s homepage on this website with the award seal here:

The Electric God Homepage

Here’s hoping more award wins are on the way this season!

***

In other MTP news, we’re smack dab in the middle of my Goodreads giveaway of 10 signed copies of The Electric God and Other Shorts, and it’s going swimmingly. So far, almost 2,500 people have entered the contest, and you can be one of them! Just click on the details below:

Goodreads Book Giveaway The Electric God and Other Shortsby Michael Thomas Perone

Giveaway ends January 21, 2025.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Incidentally, 2,500 is already more people than all the people who signed up for the entire run of my last Goodreads giveaway (for Déjà View). There’s only one more week to go! May the best readers win!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Why Is My Muppet Babies Blog the Most Popular Thing I’ve Ever Written?

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

Enter the First Goodreads Giveaway for The Electric God and Other Shorts!

Happy 2025! (Is it too late to say that?) I hope everyone has an amazing year. As for me, there are some big things coming up in the MTP universe. Case in point: I’m officially announcing the first Goodreads giveaway of The Electric God and Other Shorts! For the next two weeks, the good folks at Goodreads are sponsoring a giveaway of 10 copies of my latest book. As before, each copy will be personally addressed to the winner and signed. Also as before, you need to be a Goodreads member to enter the contest. (But don’t worry; it’s free to join.)

The giveaway began today and will end Tuesday, January 21st. Here are the relevant links:

Goodreads Book Giveaway The Electric God and Other Shortsby Michael Thomas Perone

Giveaway ends January 21, 2025.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Good luck to everyone who enters!

***

In other MTP news, the Danger Peak audiobook is now ready for preorder! Featuring music, sound effects, and a tremendous, lively performance by actor Brian Dewar McNamara (he does a killer Dr. Howard), this is as close to Danger Peak: The Movie as you can get! (for now) This project was long delayed (it was supposed to be released back in September), but we wanted to get it just right. It went back and forth several times between me and the producer, The DayDreaming Network. The audiobook is expected to be available next month, but you can preorder it at the link below:

Danger Peak Audiobook Preorder

Happy clicking, happy reading, and again, happy New Year!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Why Is My Muppet Babies Blog the Most Popular Thing I’ve Ever Written?

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

The Top 5 Things That Surprised Me After I Released The Electric God and Other Shorts

Even after writing five books (three if you don’t count my poetry and blog books), I still learn something new every time I release another one. Case in point: The Electric God and Other Shorts. It was my first collection of short stories, so it wasn’t exactly the same as the others, but I was still surprised to learn the following five facts:

The critics’ favorite story was the title one.

This surprised me because, if you’ve really been paying attention to my blogs, I noted that The Electric God isn’t my favorite, second favorite, or even third favorite story in the book (for the record, it’s my fourth favorite), and that I only picked it as the title of the book—and the first story to kick off this collection—because it was my favorite title. Did the critics single this story out time and again because they assumed it was my favorite, too? Or were they just lazy and only read the first story and a few others before calling it a day? I’ll never know, so it will forever remain, in the immortal words of C+C Music Factory, a “thing that makes you go ‘Hmmm.’” And speaking of the critics…

2. Critics—even the big ones—still give away the endings to stories.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too shocked at this one, as Publishers Weekly originally gave away the ending to Danger Peak before I fought them to remove the reveal in their review. That’s right; a book whose entire hook is, “What’s on top of Danger Peak?” had a review give away exactly what was on top of said mountain. How do these hacks sleep at night? Okay, “hacks” is too strong a word, but I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when a major critic—again Publishers Weekly—gave away the twist ending of How to Save a Drowning Butterfly. Not to give too much away, but the second short story in the book purposefully begins in a very vague place; the reader isn’t supposed to know exactly where the main character is or what he’s doing. I kept that information secret until the very end of the story, like literally the last paragraph. Since the story is only around 25 pages, it’s not quite as big a deal as giving away the ending to a 200-page novel, but it still smarted, so I once again complained, and fortunately, the editor acquiesced. Hopefully, this is the last time I have this problem!

3. The book isn’t as dark as I feared.

I immediately warn people in the Introduction about how dark these stories get, but for the most part, people weren’t incredibly shocked at the violence and dark turns in the book, even from someone who wrote the relatively tame Danger Peak. Has our society become too cynical to such shocks? Well, that is one of the themes of the title story. But it still surprised me at how immune most readers were to the so-called “darkness.” Of course, there were a few exceptions, my favorite being the critic who noted: “(The author) states that these stories are dark. He was not kidding.” Then again, I believe that woman also runs a Christian blog.

4. People can’t get the title right.

I didn’t think my title would be that hard to understand (or read), but apparently, I was wrong. One reviewer thought the title was The Electric God and Other Stories, not “Shorts.” Still another thought the book was titled Electric Gods (plural, and missing the definite article “The”). Also, as a cousin was reading my book’s title on Amazon (she was curious to see the cover, so I showed her), she read aloud, “The Electric God and Other Short Stories.” As Charlie Brown famously emoted: *Sigh* Incidentally, I thought it’d be slightly cleverer with the title I chose; I assumed “Short Stories” was overplayed, so I went with “Shorts.” Maybe that was a mistake. (You know what they say when you assume.)

5. Most people would rather read a novel than a collection of short stories.

Inevitably, this is my most unfortunate surprise. A few Instagram reviews of my book were flooded with the following comments: “I don’t read short stories,” “Short stories aren’t really for me,” “I’m more into novels,” “Not my thing,” etc. And while The Electric God was once number 1 on Amazon in the category of Short Stories (albeit briefly), it appears so far that my first two books were selling more right out of the gate than my latest. Oh well. One of life’s bitter pills, I suppose. Could this be one more reason to hang up the ol’ pen (well, computer keyboard), as I threatened before that this may be my last book? Only time will tell, but, as they say, it’s all about the journey, bumps and all.

***

In other MTP news, the Amazon eBook of The Electric God and Other Shorts will be on sale for $0.99 this coming week, from Monday, December 16th to Saturday, December 21st. That’s less than a buck! (albeit, only a penny less) That’s also nine bucks off the regular price! So if you’re looking for some last-minute gift ideas for the holiday you celebrate, give the gift of reading…eReading! (Am I saying that right?) This sale will only last a week, so get it before it’s gone! In the meantime, here is the Kindle link for The Electric God:

The Electric God on Kindle

I guess I buried the lede again. Oh well, I’ll get the hang of blogging eventually.

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: Another break

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

My Shameless, Self-Promotion Blog

Oh, I’ll make you such a deal!

In my nearly 3 years of writing this blog, I’ve never done this before, but ‘tis the holiday season after all, and if I’m not going to promote myself now (and on Cyber Monday, no less), why am I bothering to update this blog in the first place? (Besides, I’ve recently received some new followers who may not know about my old books, since I’ve just been going on and on about my latest, The Electric God and Other Shorts.) For all the holiday shoppers out there looking to give your reader friends and family something for Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus this year, you could do worse than one of my four books below. (Is that coming on too strong?) Here they are, in chronological order (of when I wrote them), with their descriptions:

The Darkest Side: A Collection of Twisted Nursery Rhymes

This is a purely self-published book I released in 2006 when I was just a lad (okay, I was 29). It was on my bucket list to collect my favorite poems into one nifty compendium. Over the years, I’ve written hundreds of poems, but the best 100 or so are compiled here. Here is the book’s description (from the back cover copy):

Michael Thomas Perone has been writing poetry since he was first taught his ABCs, but it wasn’t until a deep depression hit in high school that he was inspired to write a series of poems that blends Dr. Seuss with Edgar Allan Poe and marries Emily Dickinson with Shel Silverstein. Upon graduation, he continued to write poems for more than a decade during his darker days, not-so-dark days, and times when he felt he had to explain the experience of life to himself. A few of these poems, such as “Stagnant” and “Futility,” have been published previously in various poetry collections and literary zines, including Unsilenced Voices. Many of his best works are collected here in hopes of inspiring others during unexpected bouts of depression. You are not alone.

You can read excerpts and details about how to purchase The Darkest Side at the book’s homepage.

Danger Peak

Danger Peak is my debut novel and probably the book I’m most known for. If you love action-adventure movies from the ‘80s, especially those directed or produced by Steven Spielberg, you’re probably going to love this book. I’ve been told it’s the best ‘80s kids movie never made. I personally describe the book as “The Goonies meets Stand By Me with a dash of magical realism.” Here is the book’s description (again, from the back cover copy):

What’s on top of Danger Peak? That’s what thirteen-year-old Robert Kin and his two best friends, wisecracking and loyal Chris and sweet but put-upon Rinnie, want to find out in their small suburban town of the late 1980s. The three teens are members of the motorbike-racing club the Wild Boars, and with the unintentional help of their eccentric technology teacher Dr. Howard (who prefers to be called “Doctor,” not “Mister,” thank you very much), they build Robert a better, faster, and stronger dirt bike—piece by piece. Haunted by flashbacks of his older brother Danny, who died trying to scale Danger Peak the year before, Robert becomes obsessed with conquering the magical mountain. For the respect of his friends and school, and with the aid of his improved Action Bike, he discovers what lies beyond the peak of the mountain—and maybe even beyond the bounds of Earth itself. Filled with humor, adventure, and, most importantly, heart, Danger Peak is an inspiring story about what it takes to achieve your dreams—and what it means to feel alive.

The book was the recipient of multiple awards, including The Fall 2022 BookFest Award in the category of Young Adult – Action and Adventure and The 2022 Firebird Book Award in the category of Magical Realism. It also received an Honorable Mention at both The 2022 Hollywood and New York Book Festivals. The links to purchase this book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble are below:

Danger Peak on AmazonDanger Peak on Barnes & Noble

Déjà View: A Kid Nightmare

This was my follow-up to Danger Peak. It’s not a direct sequel but more of a spiritual one, if that makes any sense. Here is the book’s description (say it with me now: from the back cover copy):

Twelve-year-old Bobby Dalton doesn’t want to grow up. All his life, he has relied on the imaginary games of childhood with his best friends Joe and Max to get him through the tough times. But this all changes when his Seventh-Grade class buries a time capsule to commemorate the end of the 1980s. Now Bobby is being haunted by visions: ghostly doppelgangers of himself, his friends, and others. He calls them “déjà view.” Are these visions real, or has his imagination finally gotten away from him? And if they’re real, what do they want? Bobby needs to figure this all out to survive his childhood…and his life. From the author of the award-winning Danger Peak, Déjà View is a darkly funny coming-of-age dramedy with a sci-fi twist, cranked up to eleven. But even more, it’s at once a pulse-pounding thrill ride and a haunting portrait of paranoia, mental illness, and the unbearable sadness of growing up.

Similar to Danger Peak, Déjà View was the recipient of multiple awards, including The Spring 2024 BookFest Award in the category of Young Adult – Literary & Coming of Age, where it received First Place, and The 2024 Firebird Book Award in the category of Coming of Age. It was also a finalist for The 2024 Eric Hoffer Book Award. (Not to drag my old books, but even Danger Peak didn’t manage to achieve that.) The links to purchase this book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble are below:

Déjà View on AmazonDéjà View on Barnes & Noble

The Electric God and Other Shorts

This is my first (and probably last) collection of short stories. Over the years, I’ve composed dozens of short stories, and I compiled my six favorite ones in this book. Here is the book’s description (once more with feeling: from the back cover copy):

A small town becomes obsessed with television—to the point of madness.

A cheerful innocent confronts the harsh reality of the world and is forever changed by the experience.

A struggling author begins receiving strange messages on the paper he uses to write.

A bullied, brilliant teen is put through the wringer of his high school and comes out the other side insane.

A detective of the future discovers he may be investigating his own untimely demise—and that of the world’s.

These and one more dark fable await you from the imaginative mind of the award-winning author Michael Thomas Perone. Part fractured fairy tales, part nightmare fuel, The Electric God and Other Shorts follows characters who struggle to remain sane in an insane world and features stories that will keep you up at night, wondering what might be lurking in the shadows.

This book is too new to have received any awards yet, but I submitted it for award consideration last month (fingers crossed!). I will say if you like thriller/horror/sci-fi stories with twist endings (in other words, if you’re a fan of the original Twilight Zone), this should be your holiday pickup. The links to purchase this book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble are below:

The Electric God on AmazonThe Electric God on Barnes & Noble

That’s it! I hope I haven’t whored myself out too much, but if you feel I did, fear not! We’ll be back to regular blogs next week. Happy Holidays!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: The Top 5 Things That Surprised Me After I Released The Electric God and Other Shorts

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble (as well as all my other books—except my poetry one):

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

The First Reviews of The Electric God and Other Shorts

Legends

The first professional reviews of my new book, The Electric God and Other Shorts, are in! What did the critics think? Only one way to find out…

Perone is in complete control of his writing, creating clear, tightly formed sentences that reflect the work of an experienced professional. His style feels a little like a mix between Ray Bradbury and The Twilight Zone, focusing on outbursts of violence and humor. The protagonists are generally relatable and mostly fit the role of being smart, awkward, and pushed too far. For the targeted audience, the dark turns, chuckles, and ability to relate will garner plenty of enthusiastic young fans.

—The US Review of Books

A smirking satiric impulse powers some entries, reflecting the perspective of a young person (rightly) outraged about the way things are going. …As readers might expect of a smart, media-saturated young writer from an era that prized extremity of expression, the collection at times has a vicious edge, indulging in adolescent power fantasy and exploring revenge, cruelty, and misery. But the closing story surprises with a small note of hope—even redemption—in an otherwise bleak and snarky collection of horror stories that revel in Doom Generation nihilism.

—Publishers Weekly

This book is a page-turner. Each story holds a unique premise, keeping me fully engaged and eager to see what came next. The language is accessible, the storytelling fluid and powerful. Michael Thomas Perone demonstrates incredible creativity in this collection. If you’re looking for something that keeps you hooked from start to finish, this book is a great choice.

—Sassy Reviews

The Electric God and Other Shorts by Michael Thomas Perone is an intriguing collection of six dark, eerie tales that mix speculative fiction with classic horror elements. …(T)his book provides a fresh yet familiar dive into the strange and unsettling ways modern technology and the human psyche interact. With Perone’s engaging writing and thoughtful re-imaginings, readers can expect a blend of nostalgia and new perspectives on dystopian and psychological horror. …Perone deftly uses sci-fi and horror as vehicles to explore timeless themes, notably our complicated relationship with technology and societal norms. …Perone’s writing is smooth and suspenseful, with just the right amount of descriptive language to draw readers into each darkly imaginative scenario without bogging down the pace. The stories are quick reads yet linger in your mind long after you’ve finished them. The pacing is steady, with each story building tension effectively, and the variety of characters keeps the book engaging. Perone’s knack for creating ominous atmospheres shines through… The Electric God and Other Shorts is an engaging, suspense-filled collection for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction and psychological horror. …(I)t offers a thought-provoking take on the dangers of technology and the darker sides of human nature. Michael Thomas Perone has crafted stories that are unsettling, darkly nostalgic, and reflective of our modern anxieties. If you’re a fan of The Twilight Zone, Bradbury’s eerie insights, or psychological thrillers, this collection will leave you pondering long after you’ve put it down.

—Kim’s Book Reviews

(The author) states that these stories are dark. He was not kidding. The Electric God is an interesting story that made me think about how much we rely on television… As someone who grew up without “pay channels,” I totally agree with how insane it is to have so many different channels nowadays. Paper Language was fun and made me think about the other stories I have read about “killer typewriters.” I was surprised at the ending. I read School Spirit twice to see all I missed the first time. Definitely do not read these stories if you do not like horror. I, however, love horror and was pleasantly surprised by some of the endings.

—Deal Sharing Aunt

Tense, dark, and thought-provoking, (The Electric God and Other Shorts is) a gripping exploration of blurred realities and fractured identities. …Perone plunges readers into disquieting worlds where the lines between reality, identity, and absurdity blur in unexpected ways. Perone’s characters grasp for meaning in chaotic worlds. His use of stream-of-consciousness heightens their disorienting journeys, while dark humor provides a balance of levity and gravity. This collection confronts the madness of modern existence with wit and heart, leaving readers unsettled—and hungry for more.

—The Prairies Book Review

I’ve also updated the book’s homepage with (most of) these reviews, so I suppose I could’ve simply linked to that page, but then I wouldn’t have a blog this week. (Also, according to my site’s statistics, no one is visiting that page except me.)

Until next time, peeps. Same MTP time, same MTP channel (i.e., usually Thursdays at this website).

MTP

P.S.: I realize I haven’t posted a blog on Thursday, my regular posting day, in a while, but it’s been a crazy few weeks, and my schedule has been all over the place. And speaking of having a hectic schedule…

P.P.S.: Next blog: A well-deserved break! [And Happy (American) Thanksgiving!]

P.P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble

The End of the Tour (Part II)

God, I love this movie.

Well, that’s a wrap on my second blog tour. Did my new book The Electric God and Other Shorts fare any better than my last one, Déjà View, when put through the blogging rounds of Rockstar Book Tours? Well, yes and no, if that makes any sense. As with most things in life, there were highs and lows. The highs: I loved my Two Chicks on Books interview. I was never put through a “lightning round” before, and I actually learned something about myself, which isn’t something you can say every day when you get to be my age.

Another high: Kim’s Book Reviews posted the longest and possibly my favorite review of my book so far (and it wasn’t even 100% positive). It was thorough, fair, and incredibly well written, which makes sense since Kim is an author herself. I particularly appreciated how she nailed the themes of the book.

The lows: A few bloggers forgot to post about my book (that’s the second time in a row you skipped my book, Rajiv’s Reviews!), and there were errors in other posts. In the post on Book Review Virginia Lee Blog, there were no spaces between many words in the first paragraph, and in lieu of a book excerpt, which she was supposed to post, it just read, “INSERT YOUR POST OR REVIEW HERE!” Oopsy! She eventually fixed it, but c’mon; she had one job. While I’m complaining, shouldn’t the name of her blog be “Virginia Lee’s Book Review Blog”? It reminds me of the confounding restaurant name “Ruth’s Chris Steak House.” But I digress.

Another reviewer thought the name of my book was The Electric Gods (plural) and short stories (instead of Other Shorts; also, sic incorrect lowercasing of book title). I understand that these blogs aren’t going to be perfect, but they can at least get the title of my book right. Anyway, it was a positive review (as all of them were), so I can’t complain too much.

Honestly, it was frustrating to see these blogs have thousands of followers when all they were mostly doing is cutting and posting previously created material. And sometimes, as noted above, they couldn’t even do that correctly. Meanwhile, I create original content on this here blog almost every week—with some posts running 1,000 words or more—and I have TENS of followers. Don’t get me wrong; I love you guys! But after slugging it out in the indie author field for close to 3 years now, it’d be nice to be speaking to a larger audience than an oversized classroom.

Here are the remaining entries of the blog tour (Note: You may need to log into Instagram to view the Instagram reviews of some of these posts):

Kim’s Book Reviews The Electric God Review Fiction._.fuss The Electric God Review evergirl200 The Electric God Instagram ReviewThe Page Ladies The Electric God Instagram ReviewEnjoying Books Again The Electric God Instagram ReviewCountry Mamas With Kids The Electric God ReviewDeal Sharing Aunt The Electric God Review

Finally, don’t forget to enter to win one of 10 free, signed copies of The Electric God and Other Shorts by visiting one of the blogs above. (Details on how to enter are described therein.) You have until tomorrow (I believe) to enter, when my blog tour will truly be over. *sniff*

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: The First Reviews of The Electric God and Other Shorts

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble