Chris Holm's Blog, page 2

Riding with the King

On April 26, 1991, Stephen King spoke at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York. Thirteen-year-old-me was in attendance. Mr. King was kind enough to sign my tattered mass-market copy of THE DARK HALF. It'd come out not long before, so I hadn't yet read it to pieces, as I had with all his other books.

Thirty-one years later, that copy of THE DARK HALF still has pride of place in my living room.

In addition to producing an unparalleled body of work, King's commitment to championing his fellow authors turned me on to writers such as Elmore Leonard, Michael McDowell, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Donald Westlake, to name but a few.

When I became an author, I thrilled to see King sing the praises of talented friends such as Lou Berney, Meg Gardiner, and Scott Von Doviak. And, as someone whose first three books were paperback originals, his work with Hard Case Crime meant the world to me, because it served to shine a light on writers like me who toiled in relative obscurity.

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined getting the chance to tell Stephen King a story of my own, much less that he'd consider it worthy of praise. To say I'm honored would be the understatement of a lifetime.

Thankee-sai, Mr. King, for everything.

What You Should Read

Recently, I sat down over Zoom to talk CHILD ZERO with Julia, Kelly, and Rachael of the What You Should Read podcast—and my episode is now live!

If you wanna hear what a breakneck thriller would sound like as an AITA post—and, c'mon, of course you do—then click through to give it a listen.

Thanks to Julia, Kelly, and Rachael for having me! Du Jour means friendship. (Also, seatbelts.)

A Press Herald Feature!

As a longtime subscriber to—and daily reader of—the Portland Press Herald, I'm beyond thrilled they chose to run a feature on CHILD ZERO. If you'd like to give it a gander, click here!

Many thanks to features writer Ray Routhier and photographer Ben McCanna for their time and talent. Thanks as well to Julia Spencer-Fleming and Kathleen Pigeon for speaking to Ray on my behalf!

Oh, and let the record state that my feature is on E1 (with a teaser on A1, below the masthead), while the piece on Dan Brown's collaboration with The Portland Symphony Orchestra is relegated to E3—which means that in this instance, and only this instance, I'm bigger than Dan Brown.

Publishers Weekly Interview

 Recently, I sat down over Zoom with Lenny Picker of Publishers Weekly to talk about CHILD ZERO. That interview is now live. Click through to give it a read!

A Best Thriller Rave!

Kashif Hussain of Best Thriller Books was kind enough to take an early peek at CHILD ZERO, and his review has me grinning from ear to ear. Click through to give it a read.

Many thanks, Kashif! There's nothing more satisfying to an author than a rave from someone who really gets what you were trying to accomplish.

A Starred Review!

I'm delighted to report that Publishers Weekly awarded CHILD ZERO a starred review! Here's a taste (click through to read the rest):

Could a future pandemic be exponentially worse than COVID-19? Holm answers yes in this alarmingly plausible thriller. Holm perfectly balances plot, characterizations, and science. Fans of Lawrence Wright’s THE END OF OCTOBER won’t want to miss this one.

They also called the book Orwellian, which is doubly cool because it contains an Orwell reference so subtle, only the most eagle-eyed of readers will spot it.

House of Mystery Radio Interview

Recently, I sat down to talk CHILD ZERO with Alan Warren and John Copenhaver of the House of Mystery Radio Show. Our chat will air Thursday, 3/3, at 9PM Pacific on California's KCAA Radio and 5PM Mountain on Utah's KYAH Radio. No worries if you're outside the listening area—you can stream the episode live, or find it on your favorite podcasting app not long after!

Every Read Thing Reviews CHILD ZERO!

CHILD ZERO's very first review, courtesy of Brandon Sears at Every Read Thing, is an unqualified rave! Here's a taste (click through to read the rest):

When this book hits shelves in May, you need to race to your local bookstore and grab a copy... CHILD ZERO reads like the literary equivalent of a standalone big budget summer blockbuster... CHILD ZERO is not only a thrilling novel, but an urgent warning about our future and the dire consequences we all face if nothing is done to alter the course.

 Many thanks, Brandon! I'm elated (and not just a little relieved) that you enjoyed it.

"Christmas, 1983" at Beat to a Pulp!

I'm thrilled to report that my thirty-first short story—a seasonally appropriate crime tale called "Christmas, 1983"—is now live for your reading pleasure at Beat to a Pulp!

Editor David Cranmer and I go way back, so I'm delighted to once more grace the pages of his publication. Oddly, this is my third Christmas story, after 2011's "The Final Bough" (for my former publisher's website) and 2018's "Con Season" (for the gun-control charity anthology UNLOADED 2). Nine more, and I'll have enough for a TWELVE CRIMES OF CHRISTMAS themed collection!

Minor Arcana

Though CHILD ZERO's release date is still five months away, advance reading copies have begun making their way into the world. I'm elated comma terrified.
Don't get me wrong; I think the book is solid. I worked hard to make it so, and early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. But, after five years of obsessing over every plot point and punctuation mark, I'm finding it a challenge to cede control—particularly knowing that the version many peers, reviewers, and book bloggers are going to see is not final.
For the uninitiated, ARCs are typically printed from uncorrected proofs, meaning the text has been copyedited, but not yet reread—and, having since reviewed my proof pages, I know CHILD ZERO's ARCs contain errors.
Intellectually speaking, I'm aware all books contain errors, and CHILD ZERO's are relatively minor. Hell, of the twenty items I flagged for correction, at least seven aren't technically errors, so much as clumsy writing—and another six were the result of an automated attempt, post-copyedit, to remove duplicated words (e.g. "nine one one" becoming "nine one").
Emotionally, however, it feels like each of them reveals me as a fraud. So, what's a neurotic writer to do?
Write, that's what. Explain myself, as best I can, and maybe exorcise my demons in the process. Making hay of my neuroses is my whole dang job, which is handy, because it means I've got no shortage of fuel.
Publishing a novel is an act of letting go. What once existed only in one's mind is released into the wild, where—at best—it will be loved and hated, critiqued and defended, embraced and abandoned.
Is CHILD ZERO ready? Am I?
Beats me. Guess we'll find out soon enough.