Jonathan Janz's Blog, page 26

Get Ready for the World to Go Dark…

Hey there, Peeps. It’s a lovely summer’s day, my son’s starting his first day of nature camp, my wife is playing the piano upstairs, and my daughters are smuggling potato chips into a closet and eating them.

Oh, and I’m down here in the basement lifting weights. Actually, I’m bench pressing without a spotter. It’s one of those things you tell your kids not to do—like smuggling potato chips into a closet and devouring the entire bag—but you go ahead and do it anyway. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten the bar stuck on my chest, but it’s probably nearing double digits. I’m not a power lifter or bodybuilder by any means, but I do work out with substantially more than I weigh, which means when I do get the bar stuck on my chest, getting the dang thing off is a dicey and time-consuming proposition.

The Loneliest Feeling in the World

Some of you know what I’m talking about, right? You can’t let the bar roll up your chest, because that would mean letting it crush your windpipe. I’ve never done that, but the prospect has never appealed to me. I suppose you could let it overbalance one way or another so you can sneak out one side, but I use clamps on the bar, so that wouldn’t accomplish anything. Plus, there’s a dryer on one side of me and a pile of toys on the other. In fact, just the other day I crushed some doll’s face with the corner of the bar. I tried not to take it as an omen.

So you roll the bar down your body, undulating as much as you can with it. The undulating doesn’t do much good, but it does help you fight the claustrophobia threatening to send you into a mind-destroying panic.

Early American Author, Poet, and Weightlifter

Who am I kidding? I start panicking the moment that bar begins squeezing down on my chest. You know, the more I think about it, the more I wonder whether Poe was a bench presser. I suspect he got the inspiration for “The Premature Burial” while trapped under a set of wooden barbells. Remind me to research that later. But the point is, you feel buried under that bar. Trapped. And even when you manage to muscle that bar over your tummy and your hip bones, you’ve still gotta somehow work it over your midsection without doing serious distress to your reproductive equipment. You wanna talk about terror? True terror is the moment you shove that bar down your thighs, push backward with your feet, and try to let the bar slam down on the bottom of the bench without pinning anything delicate beneath it.

Yep, I’ve known terror, Folks. Paralyzing, unutterable terror.

Anywho, the reason I’m blogging today has nothing to do with weights or potato chips or accidental neuterings. What I’m here to tell you about is what you can get tomorrow for a little over a buck:

Ain’t she lovely?

The above cover is for the third installment of my serial horror novel SAVAGE SPECIES. As you can see, this one’s called DARK ZONE, and it’s called that for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the entirety of the installment takes place underground. Our main characters—Charly, Sam, Jesse, Emma, Red Elk, and others—are trapped in a subterranean labyrinth with not one, but two species of creatures who only want one thing: their blood. And now that I think about it, I guess the whole pinned-under-the-bar tangent did have some relevance, didn’t it? I’m not sure about the potato chips, but I suspect one of my characters is fond of them. Probably Red Elk. They’d go nicely with his pizza-and-beer diet.

Pick up the free first installment of Savage Species (Night Terrors) right here (or anywhere else ebooks are sold). You can grab the second installment wherever you want, too.

So get on board the SAVAGE SPECIES train, Friends. The reviews have been off-the-charts awesome, and word is spreading fast. Not only is Samhain Horror’s first serial novel kicking butt in America, I checked Canada, Germany, France, and Japan last night, and the book is rocking in those countries as well.

Now I’ve gotta go finish my workout and head upstairs to write. I’m working on something top secret right now. I can’t say what it is yet, but I’m enjoying the heck out of it.

Peace.

More Than Legend: A Tribute to Richard Matheson

Of the first forty-one books I read, forty of them were by Stephen King.

I’m not exaggerating.

Stephen King got me into reading when I was fourteen, and he changed my life in ways I’ll talk about at a later date. In case you’re wondering, the other book I read was one whose title I can’t remember. It was a Hardy Boys-style novel I struggled through while waiting for my grandpa to pick me up from school.

My freshman year in college I decided to finally read a book by someone other than Stephen King. So, like the slavish King devotee I was, I went to Stephen King’s Danse Macabre for suggestions. One title he talked about in that non-fiction classic was Richard Matheson’s Hell House. That rang a bell for me, because I’d once read somewhere that Richard Matheson was the writer that influenced King the most. Okay, I thought. Hell House it will be.

Oh, what that book did to me.

Not only does it remain one of the scariest novels I’ve ever read—it’s also one of the most shocking, most erotic, and most influential (see how that word keeps popping up?). After reading that book, I craved others like it, so I checked out Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco, The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons, and most spectacularly, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. So because of Richard Matheson I discovered many more great authors. And they led me to others.

Little did I know that years later I would be using Richard Matheson’s work in my classroom (for the record, I’ve taught no fewer than ten Matheson stories to various ages and skill levels). Nor did I realize that Matheson would prove to be one of my primary writing influences and that I would return to his books again and again for knowledge and inspiration.

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My tale isn’t uncommon. Richard Matheson has shown generations of writers what great writing is all about. He showed them that a story could have depth and accessibility. He was a dazzling wordsmith (read his classic “Witch War” for evidence of this). He was a master of pace (check out “Prey” and see if your fingers can keep up with the page turns). His characterization was both efficient and effective (check out my recent post about “Born of Man and Woman” for more on this).  He could create an erotic atmosphere (“Wet Straw” and Earthbound are fabulous examples). He understood what Poe called the unity of effect (read “The Children of Noah” if you want a story that creeps up on you…then throttles you to death). Technically speaking, he was a master of the craft (“First Anniversary” is a clinic on the importance of sensory details; “A Drink of Water” gives proof to the adage that every character must desperately want something—even if it’s only a drink of water). He could be funny (“Legion of Plotters”), chilling (“The Test”), and shocking (“Blood Son”). But he was always spellbinding.

Richard Matheson transcended genre (something also accomplished by one of my favorite contemporary writers, Mr. Joe R. Lansdale, a guy who I’d bet anything is a fan of Mr. Matheson). In addition to scaring the daylights out of readers, Matheson wrote one of the most stirring romances I’ve ever read—the haunting and heartbreaking Somewhere in Time. He could do westerns (Journal of the Gun Years), science fiction (The Shrinking Man contains strong sci-fi elements, though it’s scarier than most folks might guess), and hard-boiled thrillers (read the underrated Noir: Three Novels of Suspense to see what I’m talking about). He could do dark supernatural mysteries like the sublime A Stir of Echoes. He dealt with loss and spirituality in What Dreams May Come. He could let his hair down and have fun like he did in Now You See It… and the Hitchockian 7 Steps to Midnight (two novels that are decidedly lesser entries in Matheson’s body of work…but are still better written than a great many respected authors’ best works). And of course he could do heart-pounding suspense and horror like he did in I Am Legend (which I hope will someday be filmed exactly as Matheson wrote it…particularly the ending, which is one of the greatest marriages of story and story title ever created).

Prequel to Jaws

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Richard Matheson has entertained fans for over half a century and has made a legion of young people love to read. He wrote with heart, with emotion, and frequently with a palpable love. He gave of himself and destroyed many of the misconceptions folks had about writers. He proved a writer can continue to produce quality work into his old age (see Other Kingdoms). He shattered the silly notion that writers must limit themselves to telling one kind of story; there is no formula to Matheson’s work, unless you consider telling great stories a formula. He showed that horror should be inclusive rather than exclusive, an idea I’ll talk about more at a later date.

The Perfect Ending

And in case you’re wondering, here are my five favorite Matheson novels:

1. Hell House

2. I Am Legend

3. Somewhere in Time

4. A Stir of Echoes

5. The Shrinking Man

Yep, scarred for life

And my five favorite Matheson short stories:

1. “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet“

2. “Prey”

3. “Button, Button”

4. “Duel”

5. “Born of Man and Woman”

So folks, I’ll stop rambling now. I never met Richard Matheson, but I already miss him. Mr. Matheson, if you can hear me, I just want to thank you. You were a gift to the human race, and you’ve been a blessing in my life. Thank you so much for everything. We love you and miss you.

And we’ll read your works for as long as people value great stories. I hope that’s forever.

More Than Legend

Review: Savage Species Part 2: The Children by Jonathan Janz

Reblogged from Reads -- Rants -- Ramblings:

Review: Savage Species Part 2: The Children by Jonathan Janz

Reviews, especially of friend's books are hard to write, but this book is particularly difficult since I'm doing it in segments.  That's the one problem I have with a serial novel, I don't want to provide spoilers in my reviews, but it's kind of hard not to!  (The other problem with a serial novel is having to wait on the next segments to be released, especially when it's such a great book!)  At any rate, this review as well as those for parts 3-5 shall be shorter than my review from part 1, …

Read more… 516 more words

Brand-new review of the second installment of Savage Species!

Jonathan Janz ‘Savage Species Part Three: Dark Zone’ Review

Jonathan Janz ‘Savage Species Part Three: Dark Zone’ Review.

 

A Post to Make You Blush

Hey, friends. Y’all ever experience secondhand embarrassment? As in, you’re so embarrassed for another person that you can scarcely breathe or stand to be in your own skin? Yep, me too. So prepare to feel that way about me. Or rather, my twenty-one-year-old self.

You see, I had a friend in college…really more of an acquaintance…and he had this habit of…

Unleashed!

Savage Species “Ketchum-esque”

Yo, friends. Today in the shameless self-promotion department, I’m posting a brief quote by my fellow author Glenn Rolfe regarding my new serial novel Savage Species. Prior to beginning the second section (The Children), Glenn said, “Looking forward to see where this Ketchum-esque tale goes next.” In his Goodreads review of the first installment (the free Night Terrors), Glenn also likened the story to Ketchum’s seminal horror classic Off Season.

Guaranteed to give you nightmares

So due to the fact that Jack Ketchum is one of the best writers in the world, Glenn saying those things about my new book makes me very happy.

You can make my happy too. Just check out the free first installment. I’ve got a feeling the tale will sink its razor-sharp talons into you…

The Horrors of Being a Tall Man in a Little RV

The Internet is often a source of consternation for me. Like when I’m looking up funny baseball bloopers on YouTube with my son but have to scramble for the mouse when a dozen profane comments pop up. Or even more distressingly, when one of the results that pops up is some dirty video featuring a man, his sister, and a snow leopard.

Now starring in Sonny the Snow Leopard Does Tuscaloosa

But sometimes the Internet can be therapeutic.

Take today for example. Gef over at the incredible Wag the Fox book blog was kind enough to play host to my ramblings today, and doggone if I don’t already feel better. You see, I love my in-laws. No, I really do. But there’s a serious issue involving them I just have to vent about.

Their RV.

Click on the article if you dare. But I promise you’ll be catching a glimpse into my innermost psyche. And if you haven’t picked up the free first installment of my serial novel Savage Species yet, you can do that right here and save me more emotional turmoil. Then purchase the second installment right here, and my turmoil will be just about licked.

Of course, I’ll still be seeing that poor snow leopard in my mind. I never knew those guys were so desperate for money.

Outdoor Urination, Hermione Granger, and How Stephen King Depresses Me

Hey, Amigos. Yesterday and Monday were crazy days. Not only did I blog here, but on both days I appeared in two places at once. Kinda like Hermione in one of the Harry Potter books. You know, Maggie Smith gave her a watch that helped her stop time, and then she was here, then there, then…

Anyway.

She’s a reader and a fighter. What a combination!

On Monday I appeared on my pal Brian Moreland’s blog and told a very inappropriate story about peeing in in a pine grove. Many folks have come forth since then—men and women, surprisingly—to tell their own stories, and though I don’t want to take all the credit for that. I’m gonna go ahead and do so anyway.

Unleashed!

 

On Tuesday I celebrated the release of Part Two of Savage Species (The Children) by letting Jim from Ginger Nuts of Horror grill me about which characters by other writers I’d like to use in my books, what my upcoming plans are, and what I do about my chronic body odor. Or maybe it was my wife who asked me that last one. Regardless, the interview is right here. Oh, and you can pick up your copy of The Children wherever ebooks are sold, including right here, where you’ll find it for a measly $1.05. And you can get the first installment for FREE wherever the heck you want. Like this place.

Free, friends. Read it today.

So I’ll sign off for now. I had an awesome conversation with my wonderful agent Louise Fury yesterday and am still dialed up to eleven on the energy scale. Actually, I usually sit at an eleven anyway, so let’s call my eagerness to write today a twelve and leave it at that.

Have a good one, friends. I’m gearing up for a big battle scene in my work-in-progress…

The Serial Novel Continues: THE CHILDREN Are Here!

They’re ALIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!

Hey, friends! The second installment of my epic horror serial novel Savage Species (The Children) is now LIVE! You can download this baby (or, um, child) right here for a buck fifty or right here for a dollar and five cents. You fans of Nook, Kobo, and iTunes can grab it too. It’ll be available wherever else you look too. Like they are in Savage Species, the Children are ubiquitous on the Internet. Kind of like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. You’ve got to be hiding in a frozen underground lair in Greenland to not be aware of them. Actually, if you are unaware of them, I sort of envy you. Can I come hang out in your lair?

FRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!!

Anyway, the first installment of Savage Species (Night Terrors) is still free. It’s available here, here, here, here, and here. And elsewhere. Do you feel linked to death yet? Kind of like a villain in The Legend of Zelda? WHOOOOOOO!!!!!! Feel how I just went old school on ya? Uh-huh. Don’t even get me started on Contra and Kid Icarus.

*wistful sigh*

In case you’ve missed it, Savage Species has been one of the best-reviewed works of the year so far, and I’d love for you to get on board and see what folks are buzzing about. I’ll be chatting at the Samhain Cafe today to celebrate the release of The Children. I’ll also be appearing on several websites, some of which I’ll link to later.

But now I’m going to hang out with my own children. In their own way they can be as scary as a horror novel. Remind me to tell you how my middle child shattered my front tooth with a Disney princess mirror. I’ll never look at Jasmine and Belle the same way again.

The Joys of Outdoor Urination

Hey, friends. I just posted a guest blog over at Brian Moreland’s site you all might want to check out. Brian’s a great writer and a good friend, and I applaud his courage in posting my incendiary diatribe. Male outdoor urination is a sensitive subject, and it’s caused a great deal of controversy over the ages. But it’s time we begin a dialogue about it so women who get angry about it can see why they’re wrong.

Just kidding, Wifey!

*Clears throat*

So here’s the article: How Public Urination Helped Inspire a Major Horror Set Piece

The Force Is with Him