Bart "J.B." Hopkins's Blog, page 29

FREE BOOK ALERT–PARANORMAL

FREE November 2nd – 3rd … put on some oven mitts and grab it while it’s hot!  Just click the Pic to zoom over to Amazon.

What Genre Am I?

Dead Ends, my little book of short stories, went live this week.

It was pretty exciting for me, bringing this one together, and getting in the right frame of mind for each story.

I talked with HonestBlue Magazine about it recently (click to check it out).  Be sure to look at some of the other articles while you’re on the site … lots of cool stuff there.

Of course, two of the three stories were the result of online contests I entered–thanks, Cynthia Shepp!  She’s an editor and blogger, and she’s awesome.

If you’d like a copy, you can grab that copy at AMAZON or BARNES AND NOBLE for a buck.  It’s been bouncing around between #4 and #15 in Horror Short Stories this week.

If you get it, let me know what you think about it.  Most authors have a genre or two where they spend most of their time.  I’ve been moving around … I just haven’t decided what I like best.  But I found out that I really like the horror and thriller scene.  I might be here a while…

If you’re reading this, and you’d like to test out Dead Ends, shoot me an email at bart@barthopkins.com … first person gets a free ebook.

Hope you all have an awesome day,

Bart

 

DEAD ENDS is alive

Hello world,

My book of short stories, Dead Ends, is now live and available for immediate download!!

Buy it at these links for only 99¢

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

Look at what two advance readers have to say…

Frankenstein: “It is, quite simply, the best book ever,” and “Huge thumbs up!”

 

 

 

 

The Dark Maiden: “It really gave me the creeps.  Hopkins really has a way with words…I slept with the light on.  Bart Hopkins is my new FAVE author!”

 

Grab your copy today and share the news with all your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and anyone you meet in the street.

Happy Halloween!

Bart

Government Shutdown

The government shutdown was ridiculous and it unnecessarily hurt a lot of people.  Thankfully, my wife and I continued to work and receive paychecks, and we didn’t have any vacations planned to national parks and monuments.

It did affect us in one strange way though.

My daughter’s 8th birthday party was planned for the beginning of October.  It was going to be a pool party at the Ramstein Aquatic Center, but alas, the pool closed.  No dough, no swimming.

Well, the pool reopened recently, so we had the party tonight.  It was four weeks late, but a pile of kids showed up, and an awesome time was had.  So that’s cool.  I won’t curse any politicians.  Not tonight.

My daughter got a pair of swimming goggles, something all three of my kids had been wanting.  The other two lurked nearby, eyeballing them.

After presents were opened, the kids went back into the water, well, except for my son.  He mentioned that they sold goggles at the main desk.  All right, I told him.  Let’s go get a pair.

We went and bought the goggles.  By the way–my son generally wants something everywhere we go, (please … please … please) he frequently pleads.

After all these years, I should have known what would happen next.  It was so obvious.

Ryan went straight to his big sister, the oldest of the three, and was obvious about having some goggles.

Seconds later, the oldest is standing in front of me, hands on her hips, mouth wide open, “Dad? Ryan gets goggles?”

Another trip to the counter–another set of goggles–three happy kids.

It was a good finish after a tough week of overnight shifts at work.

So, take that, politicians! In your face.  We’re still having a good time.  And I hope all of you out there in the world are having a good time, too.

Good night,

Bart

Fun in the Electronics Section

A few days ago we visited that monument to American consumerism we have on Ramstein Air Base: The BX.

Or maybe it’s called “the eXchange” or just “X” these days.  They played the renaming game with our military department stores a while back, and I really don’t know what it’s called any more, but it’s similar to any Belk or Macy’s or Sears in the civilian world.

And I’ve digressed.  Getting back on track…

My family started off together in the store, like always, until my wife got lost in the shoes (also like always).  The kids and I did what we usually do after a few idle minutes in the shoe section … we scattered and made for the electronics section in the store.

What is it that draws us there?  Movies, BLU RAY, computers, HD televisions, iPod accessories, Speakers, PS3, Wii, cameras…??

It’s sort of like Heaven on Earth.  We shuffle here and there, we touch buttons and screens, we play things.  While my wife is trying on boots, we try on technology, and take it for a walk.

On this most recent trip, my son discovered a Bose SoundLink portable speaker–a pretty neat item.  He also figured out that his iPod could connect to it via bluetooth, which made it even cooler.

I left my kids playing their music and browsed the cheap movie deals (you know the ones … 4 older movies per disk for $10, and such).  A few minutes later, I heard something…

“Hey you!  Yeah, you … that just walked by … come back here.”

It was coming from the bluetooth speaker.

My kids were no longer near it.  They were now sitting on couches about 30 feet away, and man, were they giggling to themselves.

Meanwhile, random messages were being broadcast from the speaker.  Customers walked by, and looked curiously at the speaker as it called to them, “Hey you!  Yeah, you!” or said random things like, “I love video games!” or “Meow!”

Strange, I thought.  That sounds like my son.

Then I started chuckling, too, because I realized my son was playing messages he recorded on his iPod via bluetooth to the speaker … a 9-year-old practical joker.  He and his sisters were dying, laughing, sprawled on the couches.

It’s true that in many ways I’ve never grown up.  Instead of immediately correcting them (nothing lewd or negative was being said), I just sort of hid myself behind the racks of DVDs and laughed at my kids and their silliness.  I also laughed at the customers, who, though confused and unaware, laughed themselves at the silly things coming from the speaker.

I wondered … did they think it was the BX?  Some strange Bose advertisements?  Do they know it’s just some kids behind them?

The truth is that I laughed so hard I was out of breath, but I pulled myself together and begrudgingly told them, “Okay, guys, let’s stop.”

I’m smiling right now, just thinking about it.  My kids’ wit and ingenuity always amazes me, of course, it would be cool if they applied it to their chores and homework, ha ha.

Have an awesome day,

Bart

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Horns – A peek at the novel by Joe Hill

Horns by Joe Hill

I noticed a post one day on Facebook that said Horns was up for grabs for only $2.99 and that the author, Joe Hill, was Stephen King’s son.

What?

I’m not sure how I missed that one … that Stephen King has a horror-writing son who goes by Joe Hill … but he does.  Wow.

As a child I was a voracious reader and I frequently read books that many would consider inappropriate–books I don’t let my own children read, ha ha.  By 1988 I’d read all of King’s works and loved most of them.  I think he’s one heck of a storyteller and an excellent writer.

His stuff after 1998 was always decent & worth a read, but not always great, in my opinion.  I never stopped being a fan, though.

When I downloaded Horns I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Even after the first chapter, I couldn’t have guessed how I would feel in the end.

Then things changed.  Talent, like a river, runs swift and deep in the King family.  Sure, an editing team and unlimited author resources probably help, but Horns is one fantastic book and that starts with the author.

You can definitely see King in the writing style–the good King–King at his best.  I can only imagine that growing up with the master of horror shaped his perception of the world.  However, it is simultaneously unique and original.

The story begins with our, well, “hero,” Ignatius Perrish, awakening from a marathon of remorseful drinking to discover horns on his head.

“His fingertips brushed the horns, and he cried out in fright.  It was on his lips to say, God, please, God, make them go away … but then he caught himself and said nothing.”

And, the story goes from there as Ig finds he has changed in other ways that coincide with the physical.  Has he become the devil?  Read, and find out…

It’s easily the best horror novel I’ve read in a decade and comparable with his father’s best, and even then, it’s more than simply horror.  The storytelling is incredible … fiction at its finest … and the writing is impeccable.  The plot was bulletproof, and wrapped around tightly at the end, sealing the package with a ribbon and pretty bow.

I wish I’d written it.

Well done, Mr. Hill, even if I do chuckle to myself that you’ve gone through the trouble of writing under a different name, yet chose your father’s genre, and folks like me buy the book because of family ties.  Of course, I’ll be buying more of your books because of your fantastic writing.

Have a great night, readers!

~Bart

Expiration Dates

For many years, I couldn’t bring myself to ingest anything that had gone beyond the friendly date of expiration on a label.  Food was terminal as of midnight on that day, no exceptions.

At some point, I began to accept some deviation to that.

My wife has always checked milk, using some sort of internal smell test, and will go a day or two beyond the little numbers stamped on the carton pending the results of her olfactory perception.

I never trusted my own nose to do the same.

Eggs remain a mystery to me.  A sell-by date?  They’re good for weeks after that?  Outrageous.  What does it all mean?

Slowly, I’ve let the cloak of resistance slip from my shoulders.

I now ask my wife to smell milk and sour cream and other aromatic foodstuffs … and I run with her judgment.  I inspect breads, meats, and all the rest, as best I can, and I use it if possible.

Of course, my goal is still to use everything prior to those dates.  Internally, it makes me feel better.  Comforts me.  I doubt that will ever change, that base desire to meet the suspense, my innate trust in the date makers.

I think of this in the wake of brinner, and my use of some items that were past their dates.  (FYI – For the uninitiated, brinner is breakfast dinner.)

Bacon … tightly sealed, looked good, smelled good, felt good, done, used, and two days late!  Eggs that should have been “sold by” the end of September … cracked, beaten, and now eaten.  Bam!

Just like that, I’m a brand new guy, adventurous, and fearless.  Sort of.

Have a good night,

Bart

Free Book: SIGN CHANGES

My dad’s latest novel, SIGN CHANGES, is free on Amazon October 8th – 9th!

Click on the book to grab your copy while this awesome deal lasts:

DEAD ENDS

Just in time for HALLOWEEN …

Trick or Treat yourself to three sinister stories of the supernatural … tales from darker places where things don’t always end well.

THE COVER REVEAL

Mark your calendars and grab a copy on OCTOBER 30TH.  Spread the word to your reader friends, send people to my Facebook Event, and earn the chance for an autographed paperback of Fluke or Texas Jack … Just make sure they let me who sent them.  CLICK HERE for the Facebook Event

What won’t scare you is the price … less than $1 for some cutis anserina-filled entertainment.

Take care,

–Bart–

Afraid by Jack Kilborn

Afraid – A Novel of Terror by Jack Kilborn

Kilborn aka Konrath has a solid book with AFRAID.

Something sinister is happening to the citizens of the town (ironically) named Safe Haven. What is it that’s going bump in the night … ? What has some of them completely bamboozled and others running scared?

The pacing is high the entire time … continuous suspense. And, as far as modern books go, there’s a decent amount of scare factor there, though I personally classify this more as suspense than horror.

The ideas and plot are brought out in a relatively original way.  Points for that.

The author has said elsewhere, paraphrasing, that he’s an entertainer … he’s not trying to be a Shakespeare or Dickens or some literary giant. Read his books with that in mind. The books are really good at being FUN, but you aren’t going to fawn over the prose.

4.0 of 5.0 Stars