Michael Thomas Perone's Blog, page 4

The Electric God and Other Shorts Photo Essay

Well, I wrote photo essays for Danger Peak and Déjà View, my first two books, so I suppose I have to do it with my latest (and last?), The Electric God and Other Shorts. Here you will see the various covers I came up with as a teen and young adult when I originally wrote these stories and several versions of the final cover designed by my publisher (with my input, of course). Here we go!

Here is the original cover I created for The Electric God when I first wrote the story way back in the ‘90s (or you can just glance at the top of this blog):

As you can see, I was going for a creepy-dark vibe, as if the television isn’t getting closer to embrace you but rather suffocate you. (Metaphors!) When I passed this design to my publisher, here is what they came back with:

Wow, that is decidedly not dark, though it remains creepy—but in the goofy, wrong kind of way. I immediately decided to remove the cartoony face as it makes the book appear as if it’s for children. If you’ve read the book already (and if so, you’re a fast reader!), you’ll know that this book is definitely not for little kids. I also didn’t like the bright rays of light emanating from the T.V. set, as it was headache-inducing (at least to me). So I asked my publisher to remove the light rays and replace the cartoony face with a sun sporting a smiley face, and this is what they came up with:

At this point, I realized the smiley face gimmick just wasn’t going to work, so I deep-sixed the face but kept the sun. I also thought the arms outstretching from the T.V. set just looked wrong, so I asked them to axe those as well, and this is what my publisher brought back to me:

Much better, but I still thought the colors were too bright. It also looked like a nuclear bomb was going off in the background, so I asked my publisher to soften it. This is what they gave me:

At last, we achieved our final cover for The Electric God and Other Shorts. It’s pretty, ain’t it? There were actually other versions of the cover in between the ones above showing even subtler differences, but I didn’t want to bore you or fill this blog with 10 different covers.

Now I’m going to go in order of the stories that appear in the book. You can see my rendering of the “cover” for How to Save a Drowning Butterfly below.

I like the balloon font, something I hardly ever use. The rest is just a simple drawing of the story’s opening scene featuring the titular butterfly.

The next cover, for Paper Language, is a little different, as it was a two-story collection I wrote back in the day. The other story, titled Da Goodz, was about a teenaged nerd trying to win over the high school bully by doing favors for him around town—some of them illegal. Of course, he learns in the end to believe in himself and dump his chump of a “friend.” This story almost made the cut of the book, but I cut it (ha!) because there was nothing supernatural about it (almost every story in The Electric God and Other Shorts has something supernatural going on), and truth be told, it wasn’t all that interesting. Anyway, here it is:

That squiggly drawing on the left side of the page is supposed to be a bicycle. I like how I wrote “From the author of How to Save a Drowning Butterfly and The Electric God” at the top of the page. Little did I know that I would one day combine those stories and Paper Language into its own book over 25 years later. Also, apparently, according to the short note written at the bottom of the page, I came up with these stories in a series of dreams. I would’ve never remembered that had I not written it down.

The next cover, for Investigating the Future’s End, is probably my favorite of the bunch, though The Electric God might beat it just because of the simplicity of its design. Let’s put it this way; it took the longest to draw this next cover.

That snake-like thing on the right side of the page is supposed to be a bent streetlight, melting in the heat of the fire. And for those wondering about the freakish, limbless baby, well, IYKYK.

The next cover, for The Shovel, is as dark as the story. I purposefully put the main character, whose name we never learn, into almost a superhero stance, though, of course, if you read the story, you know he’s more of an antihero. Here it is:

I like the story’s tagline at the top of the page: “Who says madness is inborn?” It really sums up the theme of the story (and practically the entire book The Electric God and Other Shorts). In fact, I liked it so much, I included it in the story’s Author Note in the book. I also love how this is the second cover in a row featuring my terrible interpretation of streetlamps.

The last cover, for School Spirit, was actually for a short story simply titled Spirit, but I decided to change it for the book because it was a little too simple. Here it is:

I like the little pumpkin on the porch of the house (though it’s hard to see), indicating that the story takes place around Halloween. (I kept that aspect of the story when I updated it for the book.) I also like the tagline at the top of the page: “Never open the door to the house of bad dreams…,” though, unlike for The Shovel, I don’t mention it in the book version. (See what neat tidbits you learn from these blogs?)

And speaking of The Shovel, here was the original chapter design I made for that story when I first wrote it:

I would’ve kept that design throughout the book if it was named after this story. Instead, I went with The Electric God since I prefer that title (and story) more. And speaking of which, you can see the original electrified title design of The Electric God I drew below:

Finally, here is the chapter design I came up with to use throughout the book. Instead of little shovels, we used little old-school T.V. sets.

And here is the final chapter design my publisher came up with:

Now, in order to have the top image of this blog post on social media when I share it, I’m going to repost the original drawing of The Electric God below. (Otherwise, the above chapter design is going to be the one posted when I share the blog on social media, as WordPress always posts the last pic in your blog when you share it, for some confounded reason.) Sorry you’re going to see this three times:

That’s about it. Whew! Those are a lot of drawings. I would say my hands are tired, but I drew most of these designs decades ago when being an author was just a figment of Little Mikey’s imagination. It seems dreams do (at least sometimes) come true, so thank all of you for helping me realize those dreams.

***

In other MTP news, The Electric God and Other Shorts is in the middle of a blog tour, courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours. Here is what has been posted so far:

Two Chicks on Books: InterviewDaily Waffle: Guest postTX Girl Reads: Guest postFire and Ice Reads: Book excerptCallisto’s Calling: Instagram postBook Review Virginia Lee Blog: Book excerptEdith’s Little Free Library: Instagram post

I’ll be back next week with the rest of the tour’s posts, as well as wrapping up the highs (interview!) and lows (bloggers forgetting to post!) of this particular blog tour.

MTP

P.S.: For those who don’t know, The Electric God and Other Shorts is about sane people struggling to survive an insane world. Just thought I’d throw that out there this week. Seemed relevant.

P.P.S.: Next week’s blog: The End of the Tour (Part II)

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 Electric God and Other Shorts Is Going on a Blog Tour!

The Electric God and Other Shorts is going on tour! A virtual one, to be specific, and a blog tour to be even more precise. What exactly is a blog tour? Well, I wasn’t sure last year when Déjà View went on one, and I’m still not entirely certain, but we’re going to find out together! Again! From today, November 4th to Friday, November 15th, Rockstar Book Tours is hosting my latest book for a blogging blitzkrieg. These bloggers will review the book, offer excerpts from one story (my favorite one), and even interview me. I’ll also occasionally be making some guest posts myself. On top of all this, some blogs will be giving away one of 10 free copies of The Electric God, so make sure you check out their blogs to enter the giveaway. Here are the blogs and dates, in order, as well as pertinent information about what they’re going to be covering regarding my book (I suppose this answers my question about what a blog tour is):

11/4: Two Chicks on Books: Interview

Daily Waffle: Guest post

11/5: TX Girl Reads: Guest post

Fire and Ice Reads: Book excerpt

11/6: Lady Hawkeye: Book excerpt

Callisto’s Calling: Instagram post

11/7: Book Review Virginia Lee Blog: Book excerpt

The Momma Spot: Book excerpt

11/8: Edith’s Little Free Library: Instagram and TikTok posts

Rajiv’s Reviews: Book review

11/11: Kim’s Book Reviews and Writing Aha’s!: Book review

Brandi Danielle Davis: Book review

11/12: Fiction._.fuss: Book review

AJ Johnson Bookgamer200: Book review

11/13: Books and Zebras: Book review

The Page Ladies: Book review

11/14: Enjoying Books Again: Book review

Fyrekatz’s Reviews: Book review

11/15: Country Mamas With Kids: Book review

Deal Sharing Aunt: Book review

And here’s a handy poster with all the info summarized from above:

Whew! I realize this is a massive info dump, but all you need to do is follow my socials, and whenever there’s a new post about my book, I’ll update it there, mainly on Twitter (again, I refuse to call it “X”) and Facebook. You can follow my socials on my Contact page. Also, you can always check out this blog as a neat cheat sheet and click on the links to get the latest scoop about my book when they’re updated.

As always, happy reading/blogging!

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: The Electric God and Other Shorts Photo Essay (This time I mean it!)

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 Is Now Available as an eBook!

I’m going to make this blog short and sweet, though it’s a major announcement, especially for people who don’t enjoy papercuts. My newest book, The Electric God and Other Shorts, is now available as an eBook everywhere you get your digital books: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play, Apple eBooks, Rakuten Kobo, and the new e-Reader Plus. (Okay, I made that last one up.)

I’m too lazy to list every single link where you can buy the eVersion of this bad boy, so I’m only going to link Amazon Kindle below, since 99% of you are probably just going to use that one anyway. (Also, I’m not entirely sure the other eBooks are available yet, but they will be in a week or so.)

The Electric God on Kindle

In other MTP news, I was interviewed by my hometown paper The Islip Bulletin yesterday. In the article, you can learn about the inspiration behind my latest book (i.e., high-school trauma) and how I was relieved that the disparate six stories I chose all tied together into one theme (well, all except one). Here it is:

The article was also posted on the website of Suffolk County News. You can view it here:

Suffolk County News article on The Electric God

That’s all for this week, folks! I hope everyone had a safe and spookular Halloween and you enjoy the waning days of fall. After all, “Winter is coming.”

MTP

P.S.: Even though I thought I made up the name “e-Reader Plus,” I looked it up afterwards, and there actually is such a device, but I was too lazy to come up with another fake name.

P.P.S.: Next week’s blog: The Electric God and Other Shorts Photo Essay (I know I keep teasing this one, but I swear it’s coming!)

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

The Electric God on Amazon Barnes & Noble

The Electric God and Other Shorts Is Now Available on Barnes & Noble!

The Electric God and Other Shorts is now available on Barnes & Noble.com. This is great news for people who don’t want to shop at Amazon, though, these days, how do you manage to do that? Anyway, here is the link:

The Electric God on Barnes & Noble

So be like Hulk and smash that button, book lovers! Grrr!!

***

In other MTP news, The Electric God and Other Shorts received its first professional review, courtesy of the good folks over at The Prairies Book Review, and it’s a rave! Here is a snippet:

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.

Click the button below for the full review:

The Prairies Book Review of The Electric God

***

In other, other MTP news, The Electric God and Other Shorts is going on a blog blitz this week, with a blog tour to follow next month, courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours! What exactly is a “blog blitz”? I’m not sure! But we’re going to find out together! Here are some images and videos that have been made about my latest book so far:

***

In other, other, other MTP news, The Electric God and Other Shorts was ranked #1 on Amazon last week in the category of Short Stories. That’s a pretty broad category! This is the first time I’ve ever had one of my books at #1. The closest I came before was Déjà View reaching #5 in its category, but that was during a free giveaway, so I’m not sure that counts. The Electric God beat out Pokemon and Roblox. Last year, my oldest, Pikachu-obsessed (at the time) daughter asked me why I didn’t just write a book about Pokemon. I told her I didn’t own the rights to the characters. Also, I just beat ‘em! (as opposed to “catch ‘em”) You can see the rankings below:

It was certainly surreal to see my little indie book beat out two huge IPs, short-lived as my reign was. There are no popular or even known characters in my book, just the fevered imaginings of my mind. And, at least for a while, it was good enough to topple two giants of pop culture. Once again, thank you to anyone who’s picked up a copy of my short story collection so far.

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: The Electric God and Other Shorts Photo Essay

P.P.S.: The Electric God and Other Shorts is also available on Amazon:

The Electric God on Amazon

The Electric God and Other Shorts Is Now Available!

Yes, it’s another shot of the cover. Gotta move those units!

Oh, happy day! My latest book, The Electric God and Other Shorts, is at last available on Amazon! As is usually the case, it takes Barnes & Noble longer to upload the book on their website for some reason, and there will be a separate announcement when that happens (see a future blog). As mentioned before, The Electric God and Other Shorts is a collection of the best short stories I’ve written over the years.

Believe it or not, even though I’ve written two novels, I consider myself more a short story writer than a novelist. That’s one of the reasons why I write in the Young Adult genre; Adult books tend to be longer. In fact, my first two books, Danger Peak and Déjà View, were originally based on short stories I wrote as a kid. I knew the ideas behind those stories were big enough to afford a full-length novel. Plus, I had ways to extrapolate those plots into other areas and subplots, especially in the case of Déjà View. But what happens when a story idea can’t sustain itself beyond 40 pages or so? You get these stories in my latest book. That’s not to say the stories are bad or even inferior; in fact, you may like the ideas for these stories more. It just means if I were to try to get these stories to novel length, they would become monotonous and boring. These tales are more like quick hits: Boom, you go in, you establish the plot/problem, you take it as far as you can go, and Bang, you get out. Call it Michael Thomas Perone’s Greatest Hits. And as I’ve written before, if you don’t like one story, it’s only a few dozen pages or so until the next one—or you can just skip it.

Once again, here is the order of the stories as they appear in the book, followed by a brief description:

The Electric God: A small town becomes obsessed with television—to the point of madness.

How to Save a Drowning Butterfly: A cheerful innocent confronts the harsh reality of the world and is forever changed by the experience.

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

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

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

School Spirit: The less said about this story, the better—not because I don’t like it (hey, it made the book!), but because explaining too much would give away all the twists. (There’s a reason why this is the only story in the collection without a synopsis on the back cover.) Let’s just say this is my twisted take on the old haunted-house trope.

Think of these stories as little Twilight Zone episodes, filled with twists, dark turns, and unexpected morals. Now, just for fun, here’s the order of the stories in which I like them (with the first being the best and the last being the worst, though I still like it—again, it made the book):

Investigating the Future’s End

School Spirit

How to Save a Drowning Butterfly

The Electric God

Paper Language

The Shovel

You may be wondering why I titled the book after the story I like the fourth most, and that’s because it was my favorite title in the bunch. A friend told me he prefers the title How to Save a Drowning Butterfly, and I would agree with him if it wasn’t so long. To me, The Electric God is catchier and punchier.

So that’s it! I hope you enjoy these little slices of adventure/sci-fi/mystery/madness. “Madness?” you say. Well, yes. I was happy that these stories fit nicely together into a theme: trying to remain sane in an insane world, something that’s unfortunately relevant today. (btw, for no particular reason, I just wanted to remind everyone to vote next month!) The one exception of the book’s theme is Paper Language, which is merely a tale of macabre horror and, at a little over 20 pages, also the shortest story here; I needed a palate cleanser.

So click that Amazon button below to get your short story fix:

Amazon

I’ve also updated the book’s homepage here:

The Electric God homepage

As I’ve alluded to earlier, this may be my final book…at least for a while. I don’t want to write another book just so I can say I wrote another book; I want to make sure it’s one of quality.

***

In other MTP news, I recently made the Wikipedia page of my hometown (West Islip, Long Island). Apparently, I’m considered a “Notable Person,” along with actors Ken Marino (Wet Hot American Summer) and Edie Falco (The Sopranos). Hey, that’s good company! You can check out the page in the link below. (I’m currently the last person listed.)

MTP on Wikipedia

This honestly came as a shock to me. Even though I’ve been cited on Wikipedia before (for a review of a Toad the Wet Sprocket album), I never thought I’d be considered a pseudo-celebrity of my hometown. West Islip has been around for over 340 years, but currently, there are only 25 people from there worth mentioning as “notable,” including lil’ ol’ me (at least according to Wikipedia). That’s the size of a classroom! But like I’ve written before (quoting from another author whose name escapes me), I don’t want to be famous; I want my books to be famous. In other words, I want my books to outlive me. When I die, I want people to be like, “Michael Thomas who?” but I want those same people to think, “Man, Danger Peak and Déjà View were really good books.” (And hopefully, The Electric God and Other Shorts will be added to that list.) While I’m at it, I should take this opportunity to thank anyone who’s picked up a book from me so far. You’ve made my indie author dreams come true (and you’re mentioned in the Acknowledgments).

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: The Electric God and Other Shorts Photo Essay

The Beta Feedback of My Latest Book Has Arrived, and It’s a Glass Case of Emotion!

Best. Scene. Ever.

Since I did a blog on the beta feedback of my first two books, I suppose I have to do one for my latest, The Electric God and Other Shorts, my short story collection. Snippets of the feedback are below, and again, to prove I’m playing fair with you, not all of it is positive. Also, full disclosure: The feedback is not all from different people; some quotes are from the same person. Here we go:

“Very imaginative.”

“I liked it. Probably not as much as the other two (books) though, if I’m being honest.”

“Sorry man, but this was a little too dark.”

“Creative!”

“Surprisingly violent. It’s not really for me, but I can see how someone else might like it.”

“This might turn some people off. This is nothing like your first two books.”

“I enjoyed the twists. They kept me guessing.”

“Dude, are you like…okay?”

“I liked most of the stories, not all.”

“A work of madness and genius. (Is that the same thing?) Look out, Stephen King. This Gen-Xer is nipping at your heels!”

Okay, I wrote that last one, but the rest were real! (I’ve repeated this joke in my other beta feedback blogs, and if you fell for my gag for the third time, really, that’s on you at this point.)

Look for The Electric God and Other Shorts in a few weeks, kids!

***

In other MTP news, I’d like to congratulate the lucky winner of the Reader Views September giveaway of Déjà View (all the way from the great state of California). Your signed copy is currently making its way across the country! Read it in good health, my friend. (And a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads wouldn’t hurt either—as long as it’s positive. J/k…kinda.)

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: A Surprise (though, if you’ve been paying attention to the past few blogs, it really shouldn’t be much of one)

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Explaining the Changing Signs in Déjà View

WARNING: Do NOT read this blog if you haven’t read Déjà View yet, unless you’re one of those types who don’t care about spoilers, in which case, you do you.

I should’ve included this information in my Déjà View FAQ blog several months ago, but I’m only getting around to it now. One of the major questions people had about Déjà View was the changing store signs: “Why do the signs keep changing from “BEER/COFFEE/CIGARETTES/CANDY/LOTTO” to “ALCOHOL/CAFFEINE/NICOTINE/SUGAR/GAMBLING”?

If you recall, Bobby first sees the sign, in its original form, above his favorite stationery store, but later on in the story, after his “déjà view” visions kick in, the letters start rearranging themselves. This happens several times in the story, a phenomenon even his later friend/partner-in-crime/would-be love interest Anna sees, until it’s mentioned one final time in the book’s climax, the sign now permanently reading its latter incarnation (the one starting with “ALCOHOL/CAFFEINE…,” etc.).

To cut right to the chase, this is all based on a similar experience I…um, experienced. Letters in signs didn’t magically rearrange themselves of course, but I noticed when I was younger that most convenience stores displayed signs outside that advertised the same items, over and over again: beer, coffee, cigarettes, candy, and lotto—no matter where you went, even which state you were in (though the products weren’t necessarily in that order). When I was younger, I thought it was cool that a small place could offer up such a wide variety of items. It truly seemed like a magical world.

It wasn’t until much later, in my cynical teens, when I realized WHY those items are presented over the door of most local delis, stationery stores, and markets in this country. It’s because they SELL the most. And the reason why they sell the most is because they’re the most addictive. Even if it’s harmful to you, such as the case with beer and cigarettes, the storeowner doesn’t care; he just wants to make a living. So the real items that the storeowner is hawking are the addictions that those cash-cow staple items represent: alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sugar, and gambling. Us suckers are going to keep coming back and plunking down our hard-earned cash to get our latest fix. Hey, I’m not judging; I’m just as susceptible as everyone else. Every weekend, in fact, I buy two six-packs of beer to last me the week. The storeowner (my dealer?) knows me by name.

It was one of the first times my eyes were open to what was really going on in the world: everyone is basically out for themselves and only interested in making a buck, at least when it comes to business. In other words, the innocent, fun-times happy place that young Bobby once believed he lived in is shattered, and he finally sees the “horror” of the real world. Growing up, of course, is the entire theme of Déjà View (if you’re paying attention, at least), which is why this plot point is emphasized so many times. I really wanted to drive it home, but at least a few of you were confused (hence, this blog). Hopefully, I’ve cleared things up. Now you know, and as G.I. Joe once said at the end of every episode: “Knowing is half the battle.”

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: The Beta Feedback of My Latest Book Has Arrived, and It’s a Glass Case of Emotion!

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Recapping My First Official Book Signing

I probably should’ve switched the order of the books to match my sign.

This past Tuesday was my first official book signing as part of the Long Island Authors Group at The James Joyce Restaurant in Patchogue, NY. As I wrote in an earlier blog, I’ve signed books before at an event, but that was really my cousin’s book signing in New Jersey, and she was nice enough to have me play along. So, was the book signing an unmitigated disaster? Nope! Was it an unparalleled success? Mmmm…not really. It was in between, as most things in life are. If I’m being honest, and I always strive to be honest with my blog readers, I didn’t sell as many books as I had hoped (I really didn’t need to bring three boxes), but I was told by more seasoned book signers that selling a lot of books at these things isn’t necessarily the point; it’s more about exposure and getting your name out there, which has traditionally been something very difficult for me, as I’m a very shy person in real life. (I’ve been writing books for almost 3 years, and this is only my first author signing.)

I should say it didn’t help my ego that I happened to be stationed next to a brilliant, superstar author who just landed a big publisher and was featured only a few days before in Newsday. (For those not in the know, that’s Long Island’s premier newspaper; incidentally, my very first job was a Newsday paperboy.) Of course, I’m happy for the success of a fellow, (former) indie local author, but it wasn’t much fun standing around by myself while she always had a line. Still, she gave me a lot of good advice that I hope I can translate into future success. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the one with the long line someday.

Another problem I ran into is that I didn’t realize most people don’t use cash anymore, so all the time I spent going to the bank and getting multiples of each type of dollar bill so I had change was more or less a waste. The only person who paid cash had exact change. Also, a few people only had Zelle, when I just have Venmo. Oops! Finally, some people only wanted an eBook, which begs the question of why they attended an author signing in the first place. (I can’t sign an eBook.)

By far, the highlight was the surprise appearance of the guitarist from my old ska/punk band you’ve never heard of called All Out Riot. (I used to play sax and occasionally sing and rap during my younger days.) We hadn’t seen each in years, and it was great catching up. I also discovered that Danger Peak was being sold at a bricks-and-mortar Barnes & Noble in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was living for a short time. So I’m still learning things about my books several years into this process. You can see a photo of the two of us below.

Reunited (and it feels so good).

By far, the lowlight of this event occurred just before it happened. As I was lugging my books and sign of my headshot and images of my two novels to my car to make the book signing (I was running late), I dropped the plastic frame holding the sign, and it shattered into several pieces. I stood there for a good half minute staring at the mess, slack-jawed at my clumsiness. Then I immediately rushed to the nearest Michael’s (luckily, there’s one right around the corner from me) to find a replacement frame. In the meantime, my wife was trying to fit my sign into one of our home’s picture frames (the ones that held baby photos of our children), to no avail. The only plastic frame they had at Michael’s that matched mine was cracked across the bottom, so I haggled with the cashier to take several bucks off. Luckily, I found a better frame just as I was leaving the store and bought and used that one. (You can see it in the top photo above.) Anyway, I made it to the signing on time by some miracle (Okay, I was speeding), so all’s well that ends well.

And just for fun, here’s a candid photo my wife took of me giving the elevator pitch for Danger Peak for the hundredth time that night to a potential customer. (She ended up not buying.)

“Oh, I’ll make you the best deal! Two for twenty-five!”

Surprisingly (at least to me), people seemed more interested in the story behind Déjà View than Danger Peak. I thought it’d be the other way around, probably because Danger Peak was my first book.

I’d like to thank everyone who came out and also extend a special shoutout to my wife who had the awesome idea of bringing a sign-up sheet for my blog. That was by far the most successful part of my signing. And speaking of which, hello to all the new subscribers to this blog. You can expect one blog about every week, but there are times I take breaks when I’m particularly busy writing/editing my work. I promise not to spam you and overload your mailbox. (I don’t like when that happens to me either…looking in your direction, DNC.)

So, onwards and upwards as they say. As I wrote, this was my first rodeo and was a great learning experience. There may be another Books & Bites event sponsored by Long Island Authors somewhere else later this year that I will probably attend, so I’ll keep you posted if that happens.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Explaining the Changing Signs in Déjà View

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Read a Sample of My Next Book, The Electric God and Other Shorts

Yes, I’m using the cover again. Promotion!

As is tradition with this blog, whenever I roll out a new book, I include a sample from it to give readers a taste. This book is a little different than my novels, since it’s a short story collection, so the sample will be handled differently as well. I’m going to include the Introduction to the book and a sample from Investigating the Future’s End, my favorite story of the bunch. Here it is:

INTRODUCTION

When I was a kid, I would spend countless hours in my bedroom writing stories. At the time, I assumed everyone was doing this. I would ask my friends in school what stories they were working on, and they thought I was referring to homework. Over the years, I composed dozens of stories, but, cards on the table, many if not most of them were unpublishable. Hopefully, that’s not true for these six you hold in your hands.

These tales were written between 1994 and 2000. Rereading these half dozen stories decades after they were first put to paper, I was surprised at how dark they are. Not to give too much away, but almost all of them have unhappy endings, and not every character makes it out alive. Then I remembered that I wrote most of them in high school. Ah, I thought. That explains it.

Still, teenage angst can’t fully justify just how dark things get. By now, you’re wondering if I go there, and yes, I do. (Looking in your direction, How to Save a Drowning Butterfly.) But you can probably tell by this affable Introduction (if I do write so myself) that I have a sly sense of humor and don’t take myself too seriously. Looking back as a middle-aged adult, I’m glad I not only survived those troubled years but also that I haven’t fully succumbed to my dark impulses. (Now I’m looking at you, The Shovel.) But it’s fun every once in a while to take a trip down a darkened alley, unsure of whether you’ll make it to the other side.

Enjoy your trip in the dark.

Sample from Investigating the Future’s End

(To give you some background on the following sample, main character Bill Hartly is a detective of the near future investigating a series of bombings in his town of Park City. As he gets closer to discovering the truth, he begins being targeted by a secret society of assassins who may be more than they appear.)

The drops of blood plopping onto Bill’s steering wheel were so large, they made a sound upon impact. Bill tried fruitlessly to divert his mind from the searing agony that heightened with each pump of his heart. Picturing his destination, Park City Memorial Hospital, he ignored the pain that wrestled for his attention as more blood leaked from his broken body. At once, Bill felt a booming crash directly behind him, and his car popped a wheelie, the front two wheels spinning in the air. When they met the street again with a resounding screech, Bill’s fears were confirmed after he looked over his ailing shoulder. A Model-Z purposefully rammed his bumper, and another muscle car was close behind.

“What is this, the karma police?” Bill asked himself. Two shots, one from each speeding car, alerted Bill of their intentions, and he shot back through the open driver’s side window, his ammo filling the sky but not striking any targets. An enemy bullet ricocheted off his trunk with a cartoonish Ping! sound, and another connected with one of Bill’s back tires. He continued driving, considering the flat a triumph since they were short one more bullet and it didn’t kill him. Another round burst his rear window in a spectacular splash of glass. Now Bill was a sitting duck. To avoid the incoming shots, he swerved erratically across the road, with bullets whistling by and one almost grazing his ear.

“How many freakin’ guns do they have?” Bill asked. He checked his own supply: his barrel was empty. “This just keeps getting better,” he muttered between gritted teeth. Resorting to Plan B, Bill slammed his brakes as the twin pursuing cars rushed past, one on each side. He then pulled a sharp left against traffic, the oncoming cars blasting their horns and veering out of the way. Bill was forced to take the longer, scenic route to the hospital. When he finally arrived, he hid his car behind a nearby stationery and stumbled into the emergency ward, half unconscious.

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As you can tell, this book has a lot more action than my last one. It probably has even more than my first, Danger Peak, and that was an action-adventure. And yes, that line about the “karma police” was a Radiohead reference. This particular story takes place in the near future, and hardcore ‘80s fans of my former books may be disappointed that no stories in this collection take place during that decade, though one takes place in the ‘90s. (Actually, I would say two take place in the ‘90s, but one isn’t overtly stated as the other is.) As I wrote in a previous blog, “If you write one book about your childhood, it’s celebrated. If you write two books about your childhood, it’s a cause for concern. If you write three books about your childhood, they bring out the men in the white coats,” so there will be no more ‘80s nostalgia gazing from me, I’m afraid. This decade of course will always thrive in my heart (just follow my social media channels for evidence of this), but it’s time to move on.

I hope my readers move on too to this next stage in my career. There’s lots of exciting stuff coming down the pike. And as evidence of this, my first official book signing is already next week! Once again, it’s at The James Joyce Restaurant in Patchogue, NY (49 South Ocean Avenue) on Tuesday, September 17th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. I’ll be signing copies of both Danger Peak and Déjà View. Also, every book purchase gets a free ‘80s gift! Plus: Free food and a raffle! For more information, see my earlier blog below:

MTP Book Signing

Hope to see you there!

In other MTP news, I updated this site to include a page on my new book, as well as featuring its cover on this site’s homepage. You can view the book’s dedicated page here:

The Electric God homepage

In other, other MTP news, I have some bad news/good news about the upcoming Danger Peak audiobook. Apparently, it’s taking much longer than anticipated (and what I promised in a blog months ago) to complete this project. The audiobook was supposed to be ready this month, but we’re anticipating it most likely won’t be ready until October (when my new book comes out!) or November (just in time for the holidays!). That’s the bad news; the good news is there’s a reason why it’s taking this long, but I can’t explain why without spoiling something, so it’s probably best if I just end this blog right now.

Until next time, same Perone channel (this site).

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Recapping My First Official Book Signing

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Cover and Title Reveal of My Next Book

Well, I think I’ve dragged out the reveal of my latest book enough. (Also, if you were really paying attention and read my Who’s Who biographical entry I posted two blogs ago, you already know the title.) My next book will be a collection of a half dozen short stories entitled The Electric God and Other Shorts. It’s named after the first story in the collection, though, truth be told, it’s not my favorite story in the bunch. It is, however, my favorite title, which is why I selected it. You can view the cover above, and here is 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 fairytales, 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.

Here are the titles of the stories, including the aforementioned first one, in the order in which they appear in the book:

The Electric God

How to Save a Drowning Butterfly

Paper Language

Investigating the Future’s End

The Shovel

School Spirit

This website will be updated soon with the cover added to the homepage and a page dedicated to this book. The Electric God and Other Shorts is tentatively scheduled to come out in October, just in time for the spooky season. Hey, it worked for Déjà View last year, so hopefully, my third book will be three times the charm. (Technically, this is my fifth book after my poetry collection and blog book, but let’s be honest; most people don’t count those.)

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In other MTP news, my latest (and last?) Goodreads giveaway was my most successful yet. In the end, 3,443 people entered to win a free, signed copy of Déjà View, but there were only 10 winners. To those lucky few, your books should be arriving at your doorsteps imminently, if they haven’t already. I’d appreciate a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon after your read, but only if you liked the book! J/k…kinda. I just realized that the number 3,443 is a palindrome, which is perfect for a Déjà View giveaway, given that mirror reflections and palindromes are major themes of the book. (Bobby keeps bringing up palindromes because his “déjà view” visions are mirror reflections of the people in his life.) If you entered the contest and didn’t win, don’t fret! Just like in August, the website Reader Views is giving away a free signed copy of Déjà View this month! (btw, congrats to the one lucky winner of this giveaway last month.) The winner will be notified early next month. And if you enter this contest and still don’t win a copy of my book, you could just, y’know, buy it. Here is the link to enter the Reader Views contest:

Reader Views Déjà View Giveaway

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In other, other MTP news, my first official book signing is coming up in a few weeks. Am I nervous? You bet! Will anyone show up? We’ll see! It’s at The James Joyce Restaurant in Patchogue, NY (49 South Ocean Avenue) on Tuesday, September 17th from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. I’ll be signing copies of both Danger Peak and Déjà View. Also, every book purchase gets a free ‘80s gift! What kind of ‘80s gift? You’ll have to come to find out! (There are two kinds to choose from.) Plus: Free food! And a raffle! For more information, see my earlier blog below:

MTP Book Signing

Until next time, same MTP channel.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Read a Sample of The Electric God and Other Shorts

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble