Jonathan Janz's Blog, page 29

Five Book Covers, Five Nights: DUST DEVILS

Here we are, folks. The “Five Book Covers, Five Nights” series wraps up tonight with the world premiere of my February 2014 vampire western DUST DEVILS. I’m very proud of this puppy and can’t wait for you all to read it. Before I tell you what it’s about, here’s Angela Waters’s splendid artwork:

And the synopsis:

When the traveling actors recruited his wife for a plum role, Cody Wilson had no idea they would seduce and murder her. Twelve-year-old Willet Black was equally unsuspecting the night the devils slaughtered everyone he loved. Now Cody and Willet are bent on revenge, but neither of them suspects the true nature of their adversaries. 

For the actors are vampires. Their taste for human flesh is insatiable, and their lust for comely young women is consuming. Even if word of their atrocities were to spread, it would take an army to oppose them. But it is 1885 in the wilds of New Mexico, and there is no help for Cody and Willet. The two must confront the devils or die trying. But there is something worse than being murdered by monsters. There is damnation.

So there you have it. I’ll talk much more about DUST DEVILS as we draw closer to the release date, but for now I’ll focus on THE DARKEST LULLABY, which came out a mere twelve days ago, and SAVAGE SPECIES, the serial novel set to explode on June 4th.

Thank you for checking out my new cover, and feel free to stop in any time.

Five Book Covers, Five Nights: SAVAGE SPECIES, Part Five: THE OLD ONE

What a crazy several days it has been. There are many cool things at work on the writing front, an even greater number of things going on with the family (all good, just ridiculously busy), and, well…there’s this:

One great thing about Samhain Horror and Don D’Auria is that they let you provide ideas about your potential covers. And the crazy thing is, they actually listen to you. Or at least they pretend to. Either way, it’s fun to hunt around the Internet for wild cover art ideas. On occasion what I describe to Don and the amazing Angela Waters ends up being almost exactly what I’d envisioned (this cover for DARK ZONE, for instance). At other times, Angela ends up taking things in a direction I never imagined (see: HOUSE OF SKIN). In both circumstances, I’ve ended up loving my covers.

The above cover represents a little bit of both: I did say I wanted to see the Old One in close-up or extreme close-up (and folks, I can’t wait to introduce you to this sadistic, ancient villain), but from there Angela took it and ran. Needless to say, I’m very happy with the result.

Just in case you haven’t yet heard, the nightmarish serial novel SAVAGE SPECIES will all begin on June 4th with the free novella-length first installment NIGHT TERRORS (pre-order it now, folks!).

So join me tomorrow for the final new book cover, this one for my fifth novel, which is coming in February 2014. It’s a vampire western called DUST DEVILS, and tomorrow night will mark the first time anyone other than the artist, the editor, or the author will view its awesome cover.

 

Five Book Covers, Five Nights: SAVAGE SPECIES, Part Four: THE ARENA

Happy Friday, friends and visitors! Tonight marks the halfway point of our breathless odyssey through the awesome cover art of Angela Waters. As some of you know by this time, my huge serial novel SAVAGE SPECIES begins on June the 4th with NIGHT TERRORS (download your free installment here!). Following that, you can pick up THE CHILDREN on June 18th for a buck-fifty, the third installment (DARK ZONE) on July 2nd, and then…

THE ARENA, Part Four of SAVAGE SPECIES, on July 16th:

Now I’ve gotta tell you, I really liked this cover the first time I saw it, but I didn’t have quite the same visceral reaction that I had to the cover for DARK ZONE. Oh, don’t get me wrong—that’s not a criticism, nor is to say I didn’t like it. Because I did. A lot.

But this one has grown on me over time to the point where I love it too. It’s different than the other Savage Species covers in that the “sexy” factor here is more prevalent. And the more I think about that, the more I like it. This novel is many things, and among those is a Laymonesque throwback to the scantily-clad-female-laden horror films of the seventies and eighties. The novel is also, partially, an homage to Richard Laymon himself, a writer whom many literary types sniff pompously at but a guy I’m proud to call one of my main influences and inspirations. So it’s the Laymon vibe the cover broadcasts that I love the most. If that makes any sense.

Join me tomorrow night right here, friends, for the unveiling of Part Five of SAVAGE SPECIES—the climactic installment of  the novel—which is called THE OLD ONE and Sunday night for the first ever look at the cover of my vampire western DUST DEVILS (coming February 2014!).

Five Book Covers, Five Nights: SAVAGE SPECIES, Part Three: DARK ZONE

Howdy, friends! As I solemnly vowed last night, here’s the second in my series of five consecutive book covers, which is from the third installment of my upcoming serial novel SAVAGE SPECIES. This is the  cover that made my wife recoil, frown, whisper “Oh my” as though I’d just shown her a photo of a gutted animal carcass, and then promptly leave the room. So given that reaction, is it any surprise that I absolutely LOVE the Angela Waters-designed cover for SAVAGE SPECIES, Part Three: DARK ZONE?

Yep. I love it. And I especially love how it captures the horrific plight of my characters in that section of the novel. Now might be the time to mention that if you’re not a horror fan (or a fan of dark suspense), you might not find this story very…comforting. It’s vicious and harrowing (in my humble opinion), so if you do decide to take the plunge—and I really hope you do—you’ll be in for a wild and very dark ride.

So there you have it! The artwork for Part Four of SAVAGE SPECIES will be featured right here tomorrow night. I hope you stop by for that. I especially hope you download the FREE first installment of the book right here. Have a good one!

 

Five Book Covers, Five Nights: SAVAGE SPECIES Part Two: THE CHILDREN

Hey, all. Over the next five evenings I’m going to be debuting on my blog five never before posted upcoming book covers, one of which (Dust Devils) has never been seen by anyone other than the artist (the amazing Angela Waters), Don D’Auria, and me.

The first four covers will be parts one-through-five of my upcoming serial novel epic extravaganza SAVAGE SPECIES. You’ve already seen the main cover and the artwork for Part One: Night Terrors (which is FREE, by the way, so order the dang thing already!), so tonight we reveal the creepy cover of installment number two, The Children:

So what do you think? I’m a fan of it, of course, and here’s why. One, the Children themselves (oh, folks, wait till you meet these creatures; they make rabid wolverines in heat look tame) are a good deal like I envisioned them. Secondly, there’s a face in the background that foreshadows some horrible stuff to come. And generally, I think it’s a great cover that nicely suits that section of the book.

So there you have it! Tomorrow night will feature the cover art for installment number three, Dark Zone, and all I’ll say about that one is my wife can’t even look at it without shivering and averting her eyes. Which means it’s perfect!

Richard Matheson’s “Born of Man and Woman”

Those of you who’ve read this one already are already nodding your heads in fond remembrance and appreciation of Matheson’s artistry. For those of you who haven’t, you’ve got a nasty treat in store for you.

One of my top-five authors of all time

Except that doesn’t quite do the story justice. Sure, a tale that’s only a couple pages long—that’s right; you’ll be able to swallow this story in about five minutes—is the kind a person would usually refer to as a treat. But there’s nothing sweet or savory about this one. No, rather than swallowing it cleanly, it’ll stick in your gullet and remain there, the flesh growing over it until you’ve got an abscess the size of a golf ball. Gross, to be sure, and though the story is definitely unsettling, gross isn’t the right word for it either.

Let me try again.

It’s about an abused child. It’s heartbreaking. It’s full of hurt and sorrow and humanity.

And outrage.

When you finish the tale, you’ll be full of teeth-grinding fury. No matter how placid your demeanor is, no matter how beatific your outlook on life, you’ll want justice for this poor, tortured soul. You’ll be a little frightened. You’ll be a lot uneasy. You’ll badly want the child to do what you think he’s going to do, then you’ll glance left and right to make sure no one saw the evil look on your face as you daydreamed with the boy of the savage revenge he’s plotting.

Richard Matheson‘s “Born of Man and Woman” is only about 1200 words long. There are shampoo bottles with more words on them. But if you read it, the story will stay with you, I promise. So for goodness’ sakes, go read it (and anything else by Matheson) now.

Just don’t complain to me ten years from now about the abscess in your throat. Trust me, there’s no cure for it.

Happy Release Day: THE DARKEST LULLABY

I could write a bunch of stuff and make a lot of inane jokes, but none of that would sell you as well as this beautiful cover…

Darkness Is Born

At midnight tonight this baby goes on sale. The ebook will download instantly to your reader of choice; the paperback will show up within days.

I think you’ll enjoy it. I think it will scare the crap out of you.

You can buy it right here.

House of Skin Named Runner-Up at Darrell Awards/HorrorHound Cincinnati: Updates Galore!

I don’t have any much time for a blog post. I’ve been pretty much off the grid since my last blog and will disappear again until the end of March. I’m doing the very last edits on the upcoming serial novel Savage Species and preparing Dust Devils, my vampire western, to send to Don D’Auria for publication in February 2014.

Okay, let’s all be honest here. I know you weren’t aware that I disappeared, so you don’t have to pretend. Still…here are some updates:

House of Skin took first runner-up at the Darrell Awards last night. To have my work recognized for the second-best novel of the year by the committee is an incredible honor. Thank you so much to the jury, to the Mid-South Writers Group, and to Mr. Tim Gatewood, who did such a fabulous job communicating with me during the process.

#2 Ain’t Bad!

I attended HorrorHound Cincinnati on Friday night and Saturday morning, and to say it was a smashing success would be an understatement. The convention was insane—the line just to get in sometimes exceeded three hours—and the people there were incredibly kind. My books sold out faster than I would have believed possible. I met scores of great people, signed enough autographs to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, and had my picture taken more often than on my wedding day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I know I’m biased, but I just have to say…Samhain Horror is an incredible thing, and just as you would suspect, the darkest imprint of Samhain Publishing had a huge weekend at the con (not to mention that Samhain, along with FEARnet, sponsored the whole darned shebang, which allowed innumerable folks to meet the likes of Norman Reedus, Michael Madsen, and John Carpenter). Three key people in Samhain’s success were Amanda Hicks, Mackenzie Walton, and Jacob Hammer. Each of these three individuals played a pivotal role in setting things up, marketing, keeping everything running smoothly, and generally making sure the four Samhain authors (Damien couldn’t make it, but I hope to meet her soon) were supported and placed in a position to succeed. A huge thank-you to Amanda, Mackenzie, Jacob, and the rest of the Samhain crew for kicking bootie in every conceivable way. You all are the best!

High on My TBR Pile…

Another trio I’d like to recognize are Erin Al-Mehairi, Meli Hooker, and Tim Busby. Tim is a fantastic and supportive guy. Erin and Meli have been instrumental in giving Samhain Horror and its writers an opportunity to reach an even wider audience than it already has. Erin runs the excellent Oh, for the Hook of a Book! blog, which should be added immediately to your list of bookmarked sites. Meli is one of the brilliant and twisted minds behind Dreadful Tales and The Mortuary. And though the two women have different tastes in literature and different personalities, they do have some key traits in common—they’re smart, they’re incredibly generous with their time, and they’re passionate about books. Hanging out with Meli, Erin, and Tim on Friday night was definitely one of the best parts of the convention for me.

Another Upcoming Read

The last things I’ll say are these: I had to leave before Mr. David Searls arrived to sign books, but every seasoned horror reader I know that has read the upcoming release Yellow Moon claims that it’s one of the best vampire books he or she has ever read. Personally, I can’t wait to check it out. I hope to catch up with David soon, preferably after I’ve read Yellow Moon.

The two writers with whom I did sign books and hang out were Brian Moreland and Kristopher Rufty (who also brought his lovely and very cool wife). Brian wrote the haunting and deeply frightening Dead of Winter; Kristopher penned Angel Board, which is wild, violent, and entertaining. But aside from being outstanding authors, Krist and Brian are also marvelous human beings. Sometimes in our cyber-driven society a relationship is forged online only to sputter when people actually meet face-to-face. What a gratifying thing it is to learn that someone you’ve only corresponded with on the Net is even kinder and funnier in person. Brian and Krist, I’m honored to be published alongside you, and I truly hope we’ll get to do many more conventions in the future.

Did I Mention My TBR Pile Is Ridiculously High These Days?

Oh yeah…one final last thing…

My own wife stayed home to look after our energetic seven-year-old, our also energetic five-year-old, and our Tasmanian devil of a extremely energetic two-year-old. Not only did my wife do her usual fabulous job of keeping the kids safe, fed, and entertained, she also managed to teach voice and piano lessons, coordinate the workers who arrived at our house on Saturday morning, and somehow keep her sanity.

So most of all, I’m thankful for such an incredible wife. You’re the best, Honey!

Okay. Back to editing…

SAVAGE SPECIES: Samhain Horror’s First Serial Novel

An official announcement from Samhain Horror:

Peaceful Valley is about to become a slaughterhouse!

For the first time ever, Samhain Publishing will serialize a terrifying original novel, Savage Species, in five installments, with new installments coming every two weeks. Here, as a special introduction to the fear that awaits you in Savage Species, is the first section, Night Terrors, absolutely free!

Jesse thinks he’s caught a break when he, the girl of his dreams, and her friend are assigned by their newspaper to cover the opening weekend of the Peaceful Valley Nature Preserve, a sprawling, isolated state park. But the construction of the park has stirred an evil that has lain dormant for nearly a century, and the three young people—as well as every man, woman, and child unlucky enough to be attending the grand opening—are about to encounter the most horrific creatures to ever walk the earth. A species so ferocious that Peaceful Valley is about to be plunged into a nightmare of bloodshed and damnation.

So here for the first time (on this blog, at least) is the cover art for Part One, as well as the link to pre-order Part One for free:

Meet Charly, a great lady in a really, really terrible situation

So you probably get it already, and this is now going to be pretty redundant, but I figured I’d explain a little more anyway…

The first installment is free. It’s 118 pages. Free. Which is pretty cool. If you pre-order it now, it’ll magically show up on your device on June 4th. Then, on June 18th the second installment will be released. And then the third, the fourth, and the fifth (the final installment), all of them coming after intervals of two weeks. Each installment will be robust (well over a hundred pages, I think), and each installment will have its own original cover (and wait until you see some of these Angela Waters-created beasts—un-be-liev-able!). That also makes this novel the longest one I’ve ever done (about fifteen thousand words longer than my previous longest, House of Skin).

From the bolded description above, you get a good feel for the flavor of the novel, but there’s much, much more to it than that. Take the gal in the cover art for Part One: Charly Florence. She’s the wife of a cruel but very successful college women’s basketball coach. She has two great daughters and a very energetic six-month-old son. She has a crush on Sam Bledsoe, the man who built her new house, but the fact that she’s married prevents her from taking a more-than-appropriate interest in him. Of course, wedding vows don’t prevent Charly’s husband from cheating on her, but you’ll hear all about that soon. For now, I’ll tell you that the cover art does a good job of showing not only Charly’s looks, but also how she feels when something truly horrifying happens to her in Part One of Savage Species. I’ll also show you the actress who inspired Charly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Elizabeth Banks:

Star of Slither, an underrated gem

On that note, I’ll take my leave. Have a safe and lovely weekend, Friends!

The Clearing of Travis Coble is LIVE (and a quick anecdote)

All right, folks, if you haven’t checked out my brand-spankin-new novella, you can pick up a copy for a buck-fifty. It’s actually a long short story or a very short novella, depending on your definition, but I still think the price is fair. Before I tell you a quick tale about it, here’s the cover art:

Dark story, Folks

So this tale is brief, but it says something about Travis Coble, I think. The story was originally published about six years ago (I’ve since changed several things about it—word choice, dialogue, etc.), and back then I really didn’t think much about how often readers equate a writer’s material with the writer as a human being. Because, you know, most of us writers are human beings.

So I told this lady where she could find the story, and since she was eager to read it, I figured it would be a good thing for her to see my work.

The next time I saw her, she looked at me like I was the antagonist of the story. Her expression was a mixture of incredulity, revulsion, and terror. Yes, folks, she actually thought I was a monstrous dude because of this story.

My reader looked something like this

I still marvel that she had that reaction, but in case you’re looking for something sweet and uplifting…

This ain’t it.

You’ve been warned.

Have a good night!