Jonathan Janz's Blog, page 9

Scream Magazine on EXORCIST ROAD: “A frenetically paced horror thriller that never takes its foot off the gas”

Hey, friends. Busy times, busy times. I missed the Word Horror Convention a few days ago, which pained me…until I realized all I would have missed here at home. One of these days I’ll make it to WHC, but it wasn’t in the cards this year.

Anyway, Paul Nelson (writing for the extremely-popular Scream Magazine), checked out my novella EXORCIST ROAD and had this to say about it:

“Exorcist Road was my first read by Jonathan Janz and this was a frenetically paced horror thriller that never takes its foot of the gas, the tension never subsides and as stories go, this flows like a trip down the rapids gripping on for dear life.”

Windy City Horror

The rest of the review can be found here. And if you haven’t read EXORCIST ROAD yet, you can grab a copy for only 99 cents right here.

Have a good night, friends.

A Guest Post by Glenn Rolfe: Be the Fearless Writer

My friend and new Samhain Horror author Glenn Rolfe dropped by the blog tonight to share some thoughts on fearlessness. So without further ado, here he is!

Be the Fearless Writer

by Glenn Rolfe, author of Boom Town

“I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”—Stephen King

This might be my favorite Stephen King quote. It’s definitely the most important one for me as a writer. When I began to take writing seriously almost four years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I’d read a lot of Richard Laymon, Bentley Little, and Brian Keene, plus plenty of Stephen King and Jack Ketchum, but I hadn’t taken an English course since 1995! Needless to say, I knew my writing would be pretty rough. I knew I had A LOT to learn, but the one thing I thought I understood was what would make a good story.

Glenn Rolfe

One of the first books on how to write that I grabbed was King’s On Writing. The line that always stuck in my head was that quote: “”I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.” From day one, I applied it to my work. I didn’t wimp out on any of my characters or on any of my scenes. If it was going to be vicious, I let the blood fly. If it was going to be sexy, I slid right into it, nice and slow, or fast and hard. The key was to be real about whatever I was writing. That’s the lesson I learned from King. Did I like how mean some of my characters turned out? No, they were horrible people doing horrible things. Did I consider myself to be every bit the sexual counterpart to these characters getting it on in my stories? Hell no. I’m pretty shy and very private about my sex life. But King told us: “I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.” Your characters have to be real. If you take those fears in with you and you let them deplete the character or scene you are creating, you will fail. (Unless, of course, the character you’re writing is a quiet, reserved type, then, by all means…) I’m talking about the need to be brave enough to unleash your rawest creations. If you chicken out on your dialogue, or approach a scene too cautiously, it’s going to show. Don’t let your fears cheat your story.

In writing Boom Town, my latest novella for Samhain Publishing, I took on a different fear. I dipped my horror toes into the sci-fi pool. When I finished the first draft, I knew it wasn’t right. I had copped out. I shied away from the monster in the story. The blue ooze was unidentified. Or was it? I knew what I wanted it to be. I knew I wanted it to be alien goo, but I was too chicken shit to commit. That fear killed the original story. I had read tons of horror from Little, Laymon, Keene, and Ketchum, but I wasn’t really up on my reading of science fiction literature. I lacked the confidence to write the story the way I wanted. Instead, I brought my fears to the table and let the story fall flat.

Then, I remembered the King’s quote again: “I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing.”

I loved the characters and the storytelling that I created in Boom Town, and decided to (quoting Rocky from Rocky III) “go for it.” I wrote a whole new opening scene letting readers know right off the bat that the tale would feature something extraterrestrial, and BAM, the whole thing came together perfectly. I went through and fearlessly attacked the rest of the manuscript. I sent it to my editor and he sent back a contract.

My advice to any of you out there writing today is this: be the fearless writer. It’s okay to be afraid, just don’t write that way.

“One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade” –Brian Keene

The title of this post says it all, but I’ll go ahead and share the full quote since it made me so happy:

“One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade. Janz is one of my new favorites.” –Brian Keene

The above words were penned by one of my favorite writers, a major influence on my work, and a man who is one of only twenty-four writers ever to be awarded the title Grand Master of Horror (along with Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Ray Bradbury). There are many things I’d like to say about this blurb, but I’ll pretty much let it speak for itself. Otherwise, I’ll just sound gushy and giddy and saccharine. Or maybe I just did. Either way, I’m honored and humbled.

Brian Keene

Thank you, Brian.

And I hope you all have a fantastic night.

My Most Recent Keene Read

“Jonathan Janz is one of horror’s great new writers” –SCREAM MAGAZINE

Short and quick, folks. That’s tonight’s theme.

Jonathan Reitan, writing for SCREAM MAGAZINE (a kick-bootie and crazy popular UK horror publication), just wrote an awesome review of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL, which includes gems like this:

“Janz brings true terror to the pages of NIGHTMARE GIRL with scenes that will make your skin crawl.”

And this:

“Janz builds the novel beautifully to a truly climactic and nail biting ending but not without some insanely terrifying scenes first including one in which the lead characters are in a bloody and nightmarish stand off with cult members in their place of worship, in the pitch black.”

Being a fan of the scene myself, I tend to agree with him.

The whole review can be found right here. And if you haven’t been compelled to read the novel yet, you can check it out here or anywhere else books and ebooks are sold.

Joe Crawford and the Fire Cult

Night, friends.

Gillian Flynn’s DARK PLACES

Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.

Back in 2012 and early 2013, I remember hearing a lot about a baseball player named Mike Trout. Being a Cubs fan (see: suffering), I didn’t get many chances to watch the Angels since they play late at night, and for me that’s prime writing time.

But my son and I got the opportunity to catch an Angels-Cubs game on July 10th, 2013, and I finally got the opportunity to watch Mike Trout play in person at Wrigley Field.

His stat line? Three hits, two of them doubles. A walk. A stolen base. Some sparkling defensive play in center field. He drove in a run and scored two more. The Angels, incidentally, beat my Cubbies thirteen-to-two that night. But my boy and I still had a blast. It truly is about being together.

One-Man Wrecking Crew

Yet as impressive as Trout’s stats were, what impressed me most that night was the way he went about his business. There was attention to every single detail. His stance, his eye at the plate, his defensive readiness. This was a player who relished the process, who understood how much the little things mattered, who wasn’t content to cruise through a game that was decided by the top of the second inning.

Gillian Flynn reminds me of Mike Trout. I’d heard about her for years, but for whatever reason, I didn’t take the plunge and try her work until last month. I’d seen (and loved) GONE GIRL, but figured I’d read one of her lesser known works first (if a book with more than 185,000 ratings on Goodreads could be termed “lesser known”).

So what did I think of DARK PLACES?

I thought it was outstanding. The labyrinthine/Gothic plotting, the manner in which the past interacted with the present, the character arcs and unflinching willingness to venture into the nastier thickets of the human psyche. All of it worked for me. Swimmingly.

But what impressed me even more was Flynn’s writing. In every sentence there was attention and care. Her word choice was impeccable. Every character, no matter how minor, was rendered in a distinct, memorable way. Flynn never used her minor players as incidental flotsam; instead, she took the time to make them dangerous or heartbreaking or misguided or eerily relatable.

In other words, Gillian Flynn is the Mike Trout of modern fiction. A fairly newish author (okay, new to me!) who respects the game and who plays it the way it’s meant to be played.

I really dug DARK PLACES, but I went crazy over Flynn’s writing. I suspected I would, but I needed to be sure.

Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.

One-Woman Wrecking Crew

99-Cent Books, a New Audiobook, New Reviews, and One Bit of Bad News

Hello, my friends. It has been awhile, but I’ve got some good stuff for you tonight. But first, the bit of bad news.

My biological father died. I won’t go into it further at the moment, but for now I’ll just say it has been a strange time. How’s that for oblique?

In better news…

Creepy Audio

THE DARKEST LULLABY is now out in audiobook! Fred Godsmark (the mastermind behind Audio Realms Publishing) informed me of the great news recently, and…well, let’s just say it won’t be the last audiobook we do together. This one, like the wonderful audio version of SAVAGE SPECIES, was narrated by the talented Randy Hames, so I hope you check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Listen to the terror…

The reviews for my newest release THE NIGHTMARE GIRL are continuing to roll in, and they continue to be fantastic. Here are two of the latest, one from Horrornews.net, the other from Top of the Heap Reviews.

Horrornews.net: “The final act that is unleashed is utter carnage that even the most seasoned of stunt coordinators would be boggled to compose if adapted into a film version.”

And Top of the Heap Reviews raves, “Jonathan Janz always, always, ALWAYS, entertains. From atmosphere, cults, mystery, to over the top action and violence, there is something for everyone to like. There are some gut wrenching scenes that were no doubt difficult for him to write, but those scenes add so much to the book. He’s at the top of his game, and is well deserved of the moniker “The next big thing in horror.”

Joe Crawford and the Fire Cult

And in yet more good news…

Three of my novellas and two of my novels are on sale for only 99 cents:

DUST DEVILS, which comes recommended by both Jack Ketchum and Brian Keene:

http://www.amazon.com/Dust-Devils-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00FBI917Y/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EG54V70TT6TGBCBBWTD]http://www.amazon.com/Dust-Devils-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00FBI917Y/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EG54V70TT6TGBCBBWTD

A Wild Vampire Western

OLD ORDER, which is NOT an Amish romance, so please don’t read it and bemoan that fact and then saddle it with a one-star review because it wasn’t about a barn-raising and a lost butter churn…not that that’s happened before *cough*: http://www.amazon.com/Old-Order-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B0042P5HBG/ref=la_B008IIP7J0_1_11_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428259872&sr=1-11]http://www.amazon.com/Old-Order-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B0042P5HBG/ref=la_B008IIP7J0_1_11_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428259872&sr=1-11

SAVAGE SPECIES, my epic monster novel:

http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Species-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00C6ZTNBY/ref=pd_sim_kstore_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1954QWD1SXQ0KCA1PHAV]http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Species-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00C6ZTNBY/ref=pd_sim_kstore_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1954QWD1SXQ0KCA1PHAV

Mayhem

My demonic possession/serial killer novella EXORCIST ROAD: http://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-Road-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00MQOTM52/ref=la_B008IIP7J0_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428259986&sr=1-10]http://www.amazon.com/Exorcist-Road-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00MQOTM52/ref=la_B008IIP7J0_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428259986&sr=1-10

And my twisted Southern novelette, “The Clearing of Travis Coble”: http://www.amazon.com/Clearing-Travis-Coble-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00BPAPQ3U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/Clearing-Travis-Coble-Jonathan-Janz-ebook/dp/B00BPAPQ3U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 

Southern Gothic

*Whew*

That’ll do for now. Have a great night, friends.

More Raves for THE NIGHTMARE GIRL and HorrorHound Weekend Approaches

Mornin’, all! Your old friend JJ here, comin’ atcha from my crib. One daughter’s in pre-school at the moment; my wife and son are on a mini-date (I lost any gangsta vibe with the semi-colon, didn’t I?). I’m getting ready to take my middle child (also a super incredible daughter) to my favorite bookstore, a joint called Von’s (on the campus of Purdue University). It’s surreal to walk into Von’s and find my books on an end cap display. It’s also gratifying. I used to frequent Von’s as an undergrad and dream of having my books for sale there. And now they are. So while I stop contorting my arm and distressing my rotator cuff whilst patting myself on the back, now might be a good time to mention that the awesome Tony Tremblay at Horrorworld wrote a fabulous review of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL last week. Here’s one of my favorite parts: “The characterization in the novel is to put it simply, superb. Janz goes beyond making us care about what happens to Joe, his wife, and the policeman Joe befriends…he has us actively rooting for them when the (bleep) goes down.” As if this weren’t enough, a brand-new Pod of Horror podcast was just released (which is always cause for celebration), and as well as talking to the talented Ronald Kelly, host Mark Justice also reviewed THE NIGHTMARE GIRL. Here’s one highlight from his outstanding review: “And when the horror arrives, it shakes the rafters.”

Pod of Horror

The rest of the podcast is here, and my book is reviewed at around the fifty-one minute mark.

Joe Crawford and the Fire Cult

More good news… Each year I attend two HorrorHound Weekends: the one in Indianapolis in September and the one in Cincinnati in March. And if I’m not mistaken, it’s March, and HorrorHound Weekend is coming up in only two freaking days! If you’ve never been to one, you need to come. I’ll be signing books and meeting fans, but if that’s not enough for you, a good many cast members from THE WALKING DEAD will be there (including Mr. Norman Reedus), and too many other celebs to mention will be hanging out with fans as well. So come. You won’t regret it.

Horrornews Takes on THE NIGHTMARE GIRL and Ginger Nuts of Horror Honors Richard Laymon

Hey, friends. How’s that for a straightforward title? I considered typing the entire text of this post in the title, but I figured that’d be pushing it.

So first, here’s Horrornews.net’s fantastic review of THE NIGHTMARE GIRL. My favorite part?

“The Nightmare Girl is a fantastic novel that I can’t recommend highly enough. There’s a reason people in the horror fiction community are raving about this Jonathan Janz character, and this novel is a prime example. He brings a smooth writing style, never too wordy to slow you down, but with well-crafted sentences that allow the reader’s imagination to wrap them up and see for themselves. This book is scary, it’s tense, and it’s a lot of fun. I can’t help but drink the kool-aid here.”

Joe Crawford and the Fire Cult

Ginger Nuts of Horror posted a wonderful lost interview this week featuring Richard Laymon, who is one of my primary writing influences. Additionally, they included comments from Brian Keene, Richard Chizmar, many other awesome writers, and me. You can read that part here.

We miss you, Mr. Laymon.

On a personal level, I’m going to get some writing time back soon. For one, my son’s basketball team (which I’ve been co-coaching) finished its season today. Secondly, my next novel (WOLF LAND) is almost ready to go to my pre-readers.

I’ll be working on the following three titles next: THE DARK GAME, THE STARS HAVE LEFT THE SKIES, and THE DISMEMBERED. I’m incredibly geeked about all three of these, but I think THE DARK GAME is going to come first. It’s a story I’m beyond excited about.

Talk to you soon, friends.

Brian Keene Names DUST DEVILS the Fifth-Best Book of 2014

A confession: I love lists.

When I was an adolescent, one of the few books I would actually read (and read and read and read) was THE BOOK OF LISTS. I eventually branched out to THE BOOK OF LISTS TWO, which only fed the list-crazy beast inside of me. I never checked out THE BOOK OF LISTS THREE because by that time I’d discovered Stephen King, and reading about the seventeen worst air disasters in Bolivian history couldn’t quite compare to Carrie White, Jack Torrance, and Randall Flagg.

You Had Me at “Here’s”

But I still love lists and often make them myself. So when folks make lists of horror novels and stories, I tend to perk up doubly. And when one of my favorite horror authors creates a best books of the year list, I sit up rigidly and hungrily examine my laptop screen.

If you’ve frequented this blog at all, you know how much I love the books of Brian Keene. He’s an influence on my work, a friend, and someone whose opinion I value a great deal. Which all leads me to Thursday night’s episode of his new podcast THE HORROR SHOW. If you’re not listening to it yet, you need to jump on board. Brian Keene and Dave Thomas have begun something very special, and the show is already clicking despite being so new.

On Thursday night’s show (Episode 005, available here), Brian unveiled his Top Ten Books of 2014. On the list were many notable and awesome names, and clocking in at number five (right before Stephen King’s MR. MERCEDES snagged the number four slot) was my vampire western DUST DEVILS. Which pleased me greatly. And if you haven’t checked out DUST DEVILS yet, you can right now for only 99 cents.

Not only did Brian say very positive things about DUST DEVILS, but he was also kind enough to mention my wife and kids as well. And they in turn smiled from ear-to-ear. If you want to listen to that portion of the show, it happens at around the 12:30 mark.

That’s all for tonight. A big thanks to Brian for reading and saying such positive things about my novel, and thanks to Brian and Dave for producing such an excellent show.

A Wild Vampire Western

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to editing WOLF LAND, about which you’ll be hearing quite a bit soon.

THE NIGHTMARE GIRL: Reviews and Book of the Month!

You can always tell when I’m up against a deadline by the scarcity of my blog posts. Sorry about that, but the book I’m currently editing turned out to be a whopper (nearly 160,000 words), and I’ve been working like crazy to downsize it, to shape it, and of course to enhance it. It’s happening, but it ain’t easy, and it’s certainly not a quick process. But it is rewarding, and I have the promise of my next two projects to get excited about (and believe me, the projects in question are ones I’m itching to dive into).

But for now…

THE NIGHTMARE GIRL has been doing marvelously in its first month of release. Between Goodreads, Amazon, and everywhere else, it is garnering uniformly positive reviews, with not a single review below four stars, and the majority of them five stars. Here’s just one of them, courtesy of Nev Murray and the Ginger Nuts of Horror. My favorite part (though the whole thing is outstanding):

“It will scare the crap out of you repeatedly. It will make you laugh. It will give you a lump in your throat at times. You will hold your breath. It also has one of the old classic mad mental endings that will have you rushing to turn the pages.” 

As you can see above, the awesome folks over at Dreadful Tales and The Mortuary have selected THE NIGHTMARE GIRL as their February group read. If you get a chance, hop on over to their message board and join in the fun. Dark Mark, Meli, Colum, and the rest of the gang are great people, and I also happen to be partial to the book they’re discussing this month too.

Lastly, the new blog Into the Macabre has featured a couple reviews of my books over the past week: EXORCIST ROAD and THE SORROWS. Thank you to Ken McKinley for reading and reviewing my work!

That’s all for now, friends. Gotta get back to editing.

Joe Crawford and the Fire Cult