Jonathan Janz's Blog, page 5

Reclusive Reads Compares CHILDREN OF THE DARK to…

…Dan Simmons’s SUMMER OF NIGHT. Seeing as that novel is a classic of the genre, I couldn’t be happier with the comparison. Here’s the full quote from Jon Recluse’s awesome review:

The Gorgeous Cemetery Dance 25th Anniversary Edition

“This one reminded me of Dan Simmons’ SUMMER OF NIGHT……but stripped down, built for speed….without giving up any of the horsepower. This one burns rubber, folks, and you’ll want to take it for a spin.”

Jon also gives CHILDREN OF THE DARK his “Highest Possible Recommendation.”

Have you preordered the ebook yet? If not, I hope you do. I’ll also let you know the moment the paperback goes up for preorder. Judging from the early buzz about Matthew Revert’s amazing artwork, you’re going to want a copy of one for your shelves.

Peace, friends.

Horror After Dark Raves CHILDREN OF THE DARK

Yo, friends. If you’ve recovered from my wife’s blog post about Indian food and her battle against urine-colored grout, maybe you’ll be interested in this marvelous new review from Horror After Dark for my March 15th novel CHILDREN OF THE DARK (courtesy of Sinister Grin Press). Here’s one of my favorite bits:

“Mr. Janz has the ability, just like Stephen King, to make you care deeply about his characters, only to put them through the wringer shortly thereafter. This story reminded me a lot of King’s work, specifically The Body, (aka Stand By Me), and It. I cared for Will and his friends just as I cared for Beverly and Richie of the Losers Club. Unfortunately for Will and his buddies, the ending of It seems like a party compared to the fate of the kids in Children of the Dark.”

The rest of the review is just as awesome. If you haven’t preordered the novel yet, I hope you do so. The paperback will be up for preorder soon too, and man, is it gorgeous (see above…and below).

Good night, friends.

Wife Blog Hijack 2: Chicken Curry, Boy Pee, and Not Killing Your Spouse

Thank you to the 14 of you who read my last hijacked blog post.   I was so surprised when I saw those stats spike on JJ’s page.   #Humbled. (Seriously though, it almost received as many hits as the Sugar Free Gummy Bears on Amazon.)

Have you tried the maxi pad trick yet?   If you haven’t please refer back to . I want to share another important household hack with you.This involves Boy Pee (yes, it is a proper noun. Sometimes when I’m really mad it’s BOY PEE!!!!) I’m sorry but boys are gross. As talented as they may be aiming their junk, they are less than 50% from the free throw line. It may be the single most disgusting thing to clean because, grout.

I discovered this product called Clorox Urine Remover and my life has been changed.   Takes out the stains and smells. It is SO good that my formerly white grout is now a nice light beige instead of dark yellow. When the creative minds at Clorox were brainstorming around their conference room table, they only invited moms of boys to participate in this Think Tank and share their horror stories.   Alas, Clorox Urine Remover was born.

JJ gets a lot of questions as to how he has the time to write with a full time teaching career and a family of five.   While he is fully equipped to answer this question, I thought perhaps I would shed my perspective on it. This is not only for advice for aspiring writers but really for anyone that is in a relationship with children that doesn’t want their Significant Other to detest them. The struggle is real.

Jon Jon and I made an arrangement after our second child was born and we have stuck with it. It’s simple but is guaranteed to improve your relationship. On weekends and any vacations, we split the day. He writes for half of the day while I’m with the kids and then we switch after lunch. The evenings are then spent together as a family.

We both get time to pursue our interests without holding grudges and also without getting on each other’s nerves. It is not normal for people to spend so much time together. It’s just not. As a certified spouse/mother/friend/sister/daughter, I know this to be 100% true.

SO much in this post. It’s incongruous.   I’m not here to be proper though.

As promised the Crotch Pot Chicken Curry recipe.

–3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Fine use breasts if you want but in saving fat you sacrifice flavah.)

–Some onions (Kelli Owen amount*) halved and thinly sliced

–8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (DO IT! DO IT!)

–Some carrots (Kelli Owen amount) cut into large chunks and not the baby variety because those taste like those swim floats you buy in the summer and remove from the package and get this huge whiff of plastic. It’s that taste.

–Kelli Owen amount of sliced peeled fresh ginger (about 1 ounce)

–2 tablespoons curry powder

–1 teaspoon ground coriander

–1 teaspoon ground cumin

–Coarse salt

–10 ounce package frozen green peas

–2 cans unsweetened coconut milk,but not that crappy lite version. It’s insulting.

–1/2 cup toasted cashews (optional, but if you don’t like your family then leave them out.)

–1/4 cup cilantro leaves (optional, but again only left out if you hate the people eating your meal.)

–Jasmine rice cooked according to the directions and for the love of all that is mighty, DO NOT use white rice that you buy in bulk for 50 cents unless you like clumps of rice that emulate yo grammy’s cream of wheat.

 

Directions

–In a crotch pot, toss chicken, onion, carrots, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, and cumin to coat.

–Season with kosher salt. Cover, cook on high setting until chicken is fork-tender, about 4 hours or 6-8 hours on low (do not uncover while cooking. Don’t do it you rebel.)

–2  Stir in coconut milk and peas; cover, cook until peas are heated through, about 20 minutes.

–3  Serve over rice topped with toasted cashews and fresh cilantro leaves.

  *Kelli Owen amount=as much as yo mama thinks it should contain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHILDREN OF THE DARK Cover Reveal

Hey, friends. This is a big and busy writing weekend for me, so let’s get right to it. Here’s the cover of my upcoming novel CHILDREN OF THE DARK, courtesy of Sinister Grin Press and the incredible cover artist Matthew Revert:

And just for giggles, here’s the full paperback wrap, courtesy of Matthew Revert (of course) and Travis Tarpley:

And just for fun, here’s a picture from a movie based on a book that inspired my novel

:

And another:

And one more:

Here’s the synopsis:

Will Burgess is used to hard knocks. Abandoned by his father, son of a drug-addicted mother, and charged with raising his six-year-old sister, Will has far more to worry about than most high school freshmen. To make matters worse, Mia Samuels, the girl of Will’s dreams, is dating his worst enemy, the most sadistic upperclassman at Shadeland High. Will’s troubles, however, are just beginning.

Because one of the nation’s most notorious criminals–the Moonlight Killer–has escaped from prison and is headed straight toward Will’s hometown. And something else is lurking in Savage Hollow, the forest surrounding Will’s rundown house. Something ancient and infinitely evil. When the worst storm of the decade descends on Shadeland, Will and his friends must confront unfathomable horrors. Everyone Will loves–his mother, his little sister, Mia, and his friends–will be threatened.

And very few of them will escape with their lives.

Friends, I’m very excited about this book and hope you are too. It will release on the Ides of March (the 15th) in ebook and paperback form. I hope you preorder a copy as soon as they become available.

Now…off to work. Exciting things brewing!

WOLF LAND Audiobook Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the WOLF LAND audiobook giveaway is…Carlos Perez! Congratulations!

Carlos, I’ll try to get ahold of you on FB, but feel free to email me at sowingfear@netzero.com.

Thank you all for participating. And if you didn’t win, you can still pick up a copy right here.

More news and giveaways coming soon, friends. Have a great night.

Giveaway! Free WOLF LAND Audiobook!

Hey, friends! Let’s make this as painless as possible. I want you ALL to give the WOLF LAND an audiobook a shot, so if you don’t win, I hope you still consider checking it out right here. It is narrated by the awesome David Stifel, and if you check it out, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is answer in the Comments section of this post. The question? Who’s your favorite villain in books, television, or film? Just give me a name, and you can consider yourself entered. Oh, and if you decide to follow my blog, that’s even better.

 

I’ll keep the contest going for a couple of days and have one of my children pick the winner (fairly, I promise).

Have a good night, friends!

Audio Terror

 

My Name Is Jonathan Janz, and I’m a Horror Writer

Inspired by my friend and one of my favorite writers Brian Keene, I thought I should also write a post about who I am and where to start with my work if you’re not familiar with it.

 

Jonathan Janz is the pen name for a husband/father, teacher, and author (in that order) who lives near Purdue University in an old house in an old neighborhood.

(How many notches up the pomposity scale did I rise when I referred to myself in the third person? Seven? Ten? Let’s drop it then, shall we?)

My books have been championed by the aforementioned Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Bryan Smith, Tim Waggoner, Ronald Kelly, and a good many other incredible writers. Publishers Weekly and The Library Journal have both reviewed my work very favorably, and four of my novels have been, or are in the process of being translated into audiobooks. I recently signed an eleven-book deal (for gorgeous, limited edition hardcovers) with Thunderstorm Books; the first book in the series will be published in March. And in case any of you are from Hollywood, I’m represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency.

With Edward Lee

 

Being a writer, I want you to read my work. Where you start might depend on your taste, but here’s where I’d start if I were going to read me:

1. THE NIGHTMARE GIRL or EXORCIST ROAD: The former is a novel, the latter a novella. Both, I think, are indicative of my writing style, and both are stories of which I’m extremely proud. Both tales contain mystery, suspense, horror (obviously!), and perhaps most importantly of all, emotion.

Then you could move onto…

2. WOLF LAND or SAVAGE SPECIES or DUST DEVILS: I think of these as my “visceral cycle.” All three of these novels are violent. Sometimes shockingly so. I make no apologies for this, as I follow my characters into whatever dark realms they venture, but these aren’t the sort of novels you’d recommend to your grandmother’s knitting club. Unless they’re really, really cool grandmas and knitters.

Unhinged

 

3. From that point, I’d check out one of my ghost stories, either THE SORROWS series (comprised of two novels thus far) or HOUSE OF SKIN.

4. Or, if you’re afraid of committing to a full-length novel right away, you could check out the aforementioned EXORCIST ROAD or one of my other three novellas (THE CLEARING OF TRAVIS COBLE, OLD ORDER, or the soon-to-be re-released (with its brutally hyphenated description) WITCHING HOUR THEATRE. See the cover below.

 

Cool, right?

My next novel is coming in March. It’s called CHILDREN OF THE DARK and is a coming-of-age story written for adults (not unlike Brian Keene’s GHOUL or Stephen King’s THE BODY).

That’s enough for now. There’s a lot more to say and a great many cool things in the works, but for now, I’ll just say this: I hope you give my work a chance. If you do, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Have an outstanding day and be good to each other.

 

The Goodreads WOLF LAND Group Read!

We’re not even halfway through January yet, friends, and the Horror Aficionados Goodreads Group Read for my new novel WOLF LAND has exploded. Check out this link to see the conversation, and I hope you consider joining in. The people in the group are awesome, and I like to think the source material is worth checking out too. And if you’re an audiobook lover, there’s a phenomenal version available now from audible.com.

That’s all for now, friends. Have a great Friday!

Audio Terror

 

Horror Addicts on WOLF LAND: A Video Review!

Hey, friends. Hayley Knighten and the other cool people at Horror Addicts have just published an incredibly slick-looking video review of WOLF LAND. It’s full of excellent insights and is well worth your while. Check it out here.

Audio Terror

Then go grab a copy of WOLF LAND in ebook, paperback, or audio. :-)

 

Castle Macabre Goes Wild for WOLF LAND

Busy day, friends. Link.

Brevity, yo.