Hunter Shea's Blog, page 26

100 Episodes of Monster Madness

It’s been 5 years and now 100 episodes of Monster Men! Wow. I wish I counted the number of beers we’ve had while filming all that time. It would be a pretty impressive number.

100 episodes. That’s a lot of aarrghs! And a lot of movie/book reviews, interviews, wine and beer tasting, ruminations on horror classics and general tomfoolery. I can’t wait to see what the next 100 bring. Thank you all for watching and encouraging our errant behavior.

I’m going to give away a signed copy of TORTURES OF THE DAMNED to one lucky winner. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment here with your favorite episode.

Now, on to the show!

 

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The UFO Phenomena of Pine Bush, NY

Welcome to the 2nd installment of my MYTHS & LEGENDS series. Last month, I explored the strange world of Hollow Earth. This time around, I’m delving into something I personally investigated in the 1990s – The UFOs of Pine Bush.

If you were into UFOs and living in the lower Hudson River Valley in New York in the 80s and 90s, you were in paradise. Strange lights were spotted in the sky on a regular basis, creating one of the largest UFO flaps in history. From boomerangs to strange shaped craft the size of multiple football fields, all of them hovering in the night sky with nary a sound, Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties were a hotbed of the unexplained.

In fact, I had my own experience (along with hundreds of others) with a UFO casually floating over the New York State Thruway back in 1987. It was a life changing event for me, proof that life is truly stranger than fiction. I had a casual interest in UFOs before then, but I became laser focused thereafter. I picked up every book and magazine I could find on the subject, since the Internet was years away from altering our lives.

One of the books that gave me chills was Silent Invasion by the late Ellen Crystall. The book was the result of her years of research investigating an incredible wave of UFO sightings in Pine Bush, NY. The small town is located in Orange County, less than an hour’s drive from New York City. Unexplained lights in the sky were almost a nightly occurrence in Pine Bush from the mid 1980s until the mid to late 1990s.

Circular aircraft, cigar shaped objects, dancing lights, multiple bright orbs in formation, they were all there for the viewing. If you looked up and waited, the impossible would eventually present itself. I visited the town several times in the dead of night. At the time, it was mostly quiet farmland with very little interference from lights on the ground. The canopy of visible stars was jaw dropping.

That is, until some of those twinkling lights in the sky started to move, change color and swoop around the sky with eerie silence. Thankfully, there is plenty of video and photographic evidence to prove that some very strange things were happening.

I only saw a strange flickering light once. My friend and I were walking through an open field, the chatter of night bugs our constant companion. Suddenly, in the distance, we saw a small light move in a looping pattern. What was most unnerving was how every living creature in the field instantly went silent! The light disappeared, and so did we. Concerns about being shot by a farmer for trespassing were just as prominent as seeing a UFO.

The small town was flooded with visitors parking their cars on the side of the road, gazing at the sky. It got so bad, they passed a town law that forbid it. Sky gazing would cost you if you got caught. I didn’t blame them. They had fools like me walking in places I didn’t belong.

I’m sure some of the craft were from the military. Stewart Airforce Base was close by. But there are hundreds of other sightings that are so bizarre, it’s hard to imagine they were a product of the military machine 30 years ago.

What made Pine Bush so intriguing were the other paranormal events that were occurring. It reminded me of what was going on at Point Pleasant, WV during the year of the Mothman in the 1960s. There’s a cemetery in Pine Bush where people reported seeing ghostly apparitions. Strange hums and vibrations could be seen and felt. There were even sightings of Bigfoot! Kolchak would have been right at home there.

Something very, very strange was going on in Pine Bush for over ten years. Were we being visited by space brothers? Was it some kind of government mind control? Mass hysteria? One of the longest running and complex hoaxes in history? I simply have no idea. There is a website dedicated exclusively to the Pine Bush events. Check it out and decide for yourself. There’s even an annual UFO fair. If you’re in lower New York in May, you should come visit. Maybe we’ll run into each other.

Today, the town’s farms are being replaced by strip malls and the skies are no longer teeming with high strangeness. But no one can deny what went on there. We just can’t say what it really was.

I Kill In Peace Early Reviews & A Giveaway

The countdown to the release of my novella, I KILL IN PEACE, has begun! April 12th is the big day, and the early reviews are starting to come in. Now, I knew this book was going to get pretty strong reactions, both good and bad. It’s out there, kinda like me, dealing with some delicate subjects. In fact, there were times I wasn’t sure Samhain would even touch it with a ten-foot pole. Thank you to my former editor Don D’Auria for giving it this chance. A writer will be hard pressed to find an editor who champions their creativity and vision more than Don.

So, what are people saying?

From uber reviewer Michael Patrick Hicks : “Of the handful of titles I’ve read from Hunter Shea, I Kill In Peace easily stands at the top of the stack as my hands-down favorite. It’s bloody, it’s violent, it’s mysterious, and it’s wickedly entertaining from start to finish as Shea hurtles readers from one crazy kill to another.The way Shea strips back the layers of his big reveal is completely terrific, and I Kill In Peace may be his most masterful bit of writing to date.”

Or how about this one from The Examiner : “What started off to be an interesting story got a much stronger pay off than I had expected and shows just how good a storyteller Shea really is. I Kill in Peace is a rare treat that is sure to thrill not only Shea’s fans but also fans of horror in general and is further proof that Shea is a talent that deserves to be read by a much wider audience.”

Now, either the book isn’t as crazy as I think it is, or Michael and Josef from The Examiner are truly demented, in which case I welcome them to the asylum.

I KILL IN PEACE was written over the feverish course of 3 weeks just after Christmas in 2014. It starts in a small Maine town (the same one I call my home away from home) and ends up in a very, very bad place. I remember at the time pondering all of the evils in the world and wondering how we – meaning humanity – could ever get our heads extracted from our asses. What if there was a way to right all our wrongs? What would happen if someone dared to take that first step?

You can pre-order I KILL IN PEACE directly from Samhain for just $2.45 (the ebook is priced at $3.50). Or grab a copy at Amazon so it can be delivered as soon as the clock strikes midnight on April 12th.

Or you can answer this simple question to be eligible to win a signed copy. I’ll announce the winner on April April 4th. Here it goes – If you could change one thing in this world, albeit it violently but guaranteed you won’t be caught, what would it be? (I foresee a lot of Trump jokes) Just post and answer in the comments section and I’ll draw a winner from there. Good luck and dig out that kill list! 

 

Guest Author Roland Yeomans Talks Horror, Aliens, Vampires, Steampunk & US History

While I take a break to watch Mets Spring Training and continue my self-studies on ancient American archaeology, specifically the mound builders of North America, I’m handing this blog n’ chain over to author, Roland Yeomans. And talk about small worlds. His designer is Heather McCorkle, who is one of my favorite people in the Twitterverse! We are all 6 degrees of maple bacon. Roland’s latest book is a mix of horror and steampunk and history and everything in between. I can’t wait to read it.

OK Hellions, time for me to hit the textbooks. Roland, take the wheel…

 

“True horror is when men are free to become the monsters they have always wanted to be.”

– Samuel McCord

Roland Yeomans here on my “Don’t You Hate Book Tours?” Book Tour.

One of the worst war criminals was a home-grown one: General William Tecumseh Sherman of “Let’s Toast Marshmallows All Through Georgia” Fame.

It was his idea, by the way.

As he was drawing wagon-loads of civilian down roads suspected of containing mines, cannoning Atlanta homes sheltering crying women and children, and writing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton that there was a whole class of people, men, women, and children, that needed to be killed in the South.

The lure of alternate history is to take the past and give it a twist. Steampunk filters the story through a Victorian H. G. Wells lens. Horror allows me to serve back terror to those who most deserve it.

Have you ever thought what might have been the fate of the White Man had Native American magic been real, had the White’s boogey-men been waiting for the carnage of the Civil War to give them an engraved invitation?

Imagine a world where aliens walk unsuspected among us, where global vampire kingdoms wage war against one another in secret, and one man with death in his veins tries to even the scales for those who cannot fight back.

Horror is more than secret murder, bloody bones, or a sheeted form clanking chains upstairs.

An atmosphere of unexplainable dread, of lurking unknown forces must be present. There must be a hint, expressed with a seriousness becoming its subject, of that most terrible conception of the human brain:a malign suspension of those fixed laws of Nature which are our only safeguard against the assaults of chaos and the demons of unsuspected reality.

In The Not-So-Innocents Abroad, Samuel McCord, a man cursed with the blood of the Angel of Death, marries the woman of most people’s nightmares: the Empress of the Alien Race that has toyed with Man since he crawled from out of his caves.

But love seldom has good sense, much less good luck.

Now, McCord must struggle to see if there is an honorable way to be married to a monster.

He may not live long enough to find there is no such road.

The vampiric Abigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Empress Theodora of the Unholy Roman Empire are among the passengers of the honeymoon vessel of the no-longer human and the alien empress.

The insane Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, a crippled General Sherman, 11 year old Nikola Tesla, and the mysterious Greek physician Lucanus join many others on the honeymoon voyage of the first Air-Steamship, Xanadu.

The keening which General Sherman heard as the Angel of Death convened at the corrupt peace treaty at Ft. Laramie when the skies became blood, the stars reversed their course, and the dead rose:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArEaOWqzYo

Cost of Passage? Only $9.99. Come aboard for the adventure of a lifetime.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1530302722/

 

 

An Odd Path To Publication – Guest Post by Norman Prentiss

For my moolah, Norman Prentiss is one of the best writers out there in Author Land. And I don’t just mean the horror genre. He’s publishing his latest book via the Kindle Scout, a path I know plenty of people are interested in. Check out why and how it all works. And then hop over to the KS page, read his excerpt and vote!

 

I’ve got a new book that I’m very proud of, ODD ADVENTURES WITH YOUR OTHER FATHER, and it’s currently on view at Amazon as part of the Kindle Scout program: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/31CCF08HMHST3

Kindle Scout is unusual, because it allows readers to preview a book that’s not yet selected for publication.  Authors supply a cover image, description and bio., and a 5,000 word excerpt, and then reader “nominations” help the book garner attention from Amazon.  The program begins as a kind of popularity contest, measuring web traffic over a period of 30 days to gauge reader interest and a book’s marketability; however, the ultimate decision lies with Amazon (high-traffic books have been rejected; average-traffic books have gotten a contract).

Now that I’m posting a book at Kindle Scout, a few folks are asking me why I didn’t work with the horror specialty press, where I’ve had previous success (Cemetery Dance, Dark Fuse, PS Publishing, and Thunderstorm). Why go the Kindle Scout route for this one?

Well, I’ve been shopping this book around, and have gotten a lot of very positive feedback–but one of the key comments was that it fit too many categories.  It’s kind of a “queer pulp roadtrip adventure,” with horror and fantasy elements.  As an added wrinkle, the adult-themed adventures are surrounded by a frame tale that’s kind of YA in style: a coming-of-age story as a daughter attempts to understand her fathers’ past.  On one level I think it’s my most mainstream book, likely to appeal to people outside horror because of its social themes and, ultimately, the emotional content of the book’s overall effect.  At the same time, it might be, to repeat a word in the title, too ODD for mainstream. Writing it (I realize now), I was aiming for something like a “cult-movie” type of readership.

How does a book like this find its audience?  One strategy, I guess, would be to publish it modestly and hope people find it eventually (maybe in a few years…or even decades, when I might not around to know it!).  But if the book doesn’t fit the usual categories, then an unusual or new-fangled path to publication might be exactly the right way to go.

Another important factor in my decision is that ODD ADVENTURES WITH YOUR OTHER FATHER is different from my other stories, to the point where I briefly considered publishing it under a pseudonym.  It’s maybe a little sexier, even a little more fun (pulp instead of literary in places) than my other work.  The queer themes set this book apart from some of my other fiction, as well–the adventures explore homophobia in a supernatural context. Ultimately, though, the book is still ME, and I want my name on the cover.  So instead of the pseudonym route, I thought a different publishing path could help distinguish this book (and the two following titles I’ve planned for the series) from things like INVISIBLE FENCES, my Dr. Sibley stories, or THE FLESHLESS MAN.

No matter what path this book follows to publication, I think my horror fans will dig ODD ADVENTURES WITH YOUR OTHER FATHER.  It’s definitely got some chills and unsettling scenes, and monsters all the way through. And I’m hoping a lot of new readers find me through the Kindle Scout campaign.

In the meantime, please consider giving me a boost by checking out the excerpt from this book at Kindle Scout (https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/31CCF08HMHST3), and nominate it if you find it worthy.  I’m happy with the excerpt, and can promise that the whole book has a lot more surprises in store.  And if Amazon chooses to publish it, they’ll provide a free advance copy of the full eBook to folks who nominated it!

Fan Art, Book Reviews and The Future

Greetings and salutations Hellions! Uncle Hunter here, alive and well and busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger. 2016 has been bat crap crazy, and we’re only two months and change in. Big changes are going on all around me. I’m a hamster on a wheel, just trying to keep up.

Let’s start with some of the hysterical artwork that Jim Herbert has been concocting for 2 of my books, THEY RISE and the upcoming, I KILL IN PEACE. I keep posting that Jaws has nothing on the ghost sharks in THEY RISE. Well, Jim put his artwork where my mouth is and came up with this hysterical variant cover…

Bye bye Brucie! You never stood a chance, big guy.

The title to my last Samhain novella, I KILL IN PEACE, inspired a little savage warrior cover with my face on a Frazetta bod. I think my wife wants this one framed.

Meeting people like Jim and seeing stuff like this is the reason why I write. When I’m worn out at the end of a long day, I only need to look at this to cheer me up. And wish I’d get off my ass and go to the gym. Thanks Jim.

You may not be aware of this, but one of the best ways to support an author, aside from buying our books, is to leave reviews. Seriously, reviews are like priceless Lucky Charms. Good, bad or ugly, they all count, especially on Amazon where more reviews get your book ranked higher and more sets of eyes. 50 reviews is a magic first milestone to hit.

Right now, THEY RISE, has 32 reviews. If you’ve read the book, I’d love it if you can post a quick review or rating on Amazon. Anyone who does, shoot me an email at huntershea1@gmail.com with a link to your review and I’ll send something special to you. All you need to do is click the cover below and it will take you right there. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The Chimaera Fish are coming to get you Barbara!

OK, on to what’s next, now that Samhain is in a bit of potentially terminal turmoil. I’ve been contacted by several publishers over the past month and will be making an announcement about a new book deal very soon. I also have several short stories that will be included in anthologies. It’s been a long time since I worked on short stories, and it’s even better that I’m finding homes for them. There will be more Hunter tales of the demented and monstrous than ever.

And we’re getting close to official Hellions gear and giveaways. The artwork is amazing. I promise, you’re going to love it and want in on the devilish fun.

Keep on readin’, and I’ll keep on writin’.

The Very Best of Monster Men – Countdown to Episode 100!

With episode #100 right around the corner (and weeks later, I think I’m still recovering from the celebration), I thought it would be great to share the top viewed episodes with you, as a way to look back at our golden oldies.

First up is our field trip to the haunted Union Cemetery, home of the fabled ghost of the white lady. We caught something chilling on EVP that day. Filmed in 2013, it has over 7,00 views and counting. Which means we really need to get out more and show you some of the stranger places in the NY tri-state area!

 

Next up is an episode that took us completely by surprise. Remember the show Ghost Mine on Syfy? Well, our episode on that show has not only garnered over 5,000 views, but also put us in touch with several members of the cast. That first season was one of my favorite ghost shows of all time.

 

This next episode was a bit of a coup for us. We interviewed Lyle Blackburn, TV personality and author who specializes in cryptids, specifically the beast of Boggy Creak and the Lizard Man. He’s a man after my own heart, having the biggest collection of Creature of the Black Lagoon memorabilia I’ve ever seen!

 

Jack and I talking about the good old days of discovering new horror movie gems at the video store is probably our favorite of all time, and tons of viewers agree. Take a walk down memory lane, and wish like we do that Netflix and On Demand never came along.

 

And last but not least, perhaps our funniest episode is the great monster wine taste test! This is the reason why I drink beer. I hope you’ve enjoyed these past 5 years as much as we have. There’s a hell of a lot more to come!

New Bigfoot Movie – Stomping Ground

You all know how much I like to get my squatch on. I’m always on the lookout for new flicks about Bigfoot…and aliens. Well, here’s one that hits DVD and VOD on March 8th. It’s called STOMPING GROUND and it looks like a hell of a ride. Hellions, start your squatches!

First, the elevator pitch – “A young couple on a weekend trip in the American south embark on an impromptu “Bigfoot hunt” that threatens both their relationship & their lives.”

Ben & Annie are a young couple living in Chicago, on a weekend trip to Annie’s small North Carolina hometown. At the local bar they run into Paul, a charming old friend of Annie’s, and Ben learns something he never knew about his girlfriend: She believes in Bigfoot. In fact, she and her friends used to “hunt” for the creature when they were kids. Before Ben knows it, he’s off on an impromptu Squatchin’ trip deep in the Carolina backwoods. Amidst the Squatch calls, campfire stories and beers, Ben quickly realizes that Paul may have an ulterior motive in bringing Annie to the woods. And something else out here seems to be after her as well. Everyone but Ben thinks its Bigfoot. But it can’t be, can it? After all, Bigfoot isn’t real…

And as an added bonus, the film features a cameo performance from Theresa Tilly, best known as one of the original “Ladies of the Evil Dead” from Sam Raimi’s horror classic, The Evil Dead.

 

Check out some of the early reviews – 

“Successful in warming the hearts and chilling the bones, Stomping Ground is a whole lot of fun to watch.” – Ain’t It Cool News

“A cast that delivers… Terrific use of the natural settings… A step above most Bigfoot films…” – All Things Horror

“It’s not easy to find a creature feature where the characters are as relatable and believable as they are in Stomping Ground.” – Film Bizarro

Get your best tree knocking bat and deer pheromones and join me in the forest, won’t ya?

Saying Goodbye to Samhain

Yesterday, the authors received word from Samhain Publishing’s President, Christina Brashear, that their doors were closing.

“It’s with the heaviest of hearts and a great sadness I bring you the news of Samhain beginning the process of winding down due to our market share’s continuing decline.”

The signs had been there over the past few months that this day was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear the news. Samhain will gradually wind down this year. They’re not closing up shop right away. Books that are in their queue for publication, like my upcoming I Kill In Peace, will still be released. I just can’t tell you how long it will be available. I’m hoping for the remainder of 2016.

It’s truly sad to see Samhain go. They, and editor Don D’Auria, were the first ones to give me a chance. They nurtured my growth as a writer, giving me free reign to be as creative and twisted as I wanted, providing the means for my stories to be told and, hopefully, enjoyed by thousands of readers. I remember when I got my acceptance letter for my first novel, Forest of Shadows, way back in early 2011. I was over the moon. To be asked to be part of the premier of a horror line was just astounding to me. I mean, I was a total nobody, and they wanted to print my book next to Ramsey Campbell. What the fuck were they thinking? I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. But I’m damn glad they did it.

 

Over the next 4+ years, I made it a point to write 2 books for Don and Samhain. I wanted Samhain’s horror line to succeed and grow. And grow it did. In the end, I’ve published 10 books with them. And I wasn’t even the most prolific! Samhain gave voice to some of the best new talent in the business – writers like Jonathan Janz, Kristopher Rufty, Brian Moreland, Russell James, David Bernstein, Frazer Lee, Catherine Cavendish, Aaron Dries, Adam Cesare. The list goes on and on. This gang is no longer the future of horror. They are the present.

Samhain gave you that.

It was an honor and a pleasure meeting my fellow writers at conventions like Horrorhound, Scares That Care and Horrorfind. We’ve formed bonds that I know will last well beyond the Samhain era. And the people who work at Samhain were top-notch. You couldn’t find a more likable bunch. There was Jacob and his kilt, Amanda, Kaitlyn, Tera, Tanya. All good people with enough enthusiasm to power a V2 rocket.

Unfortunately, the sales never matched expectations. I see it when I go to horror cons. Horror fans are devout and loyal as hell. They are the best people I know. But I also know that most would rather spend $40 on a terribly produced movie or signed headshot of the woman who guest starred in Maniac Cop 2 than buy a book or two.

I’m not complaining. I can’t complain. So many of you have bought my books, I’ve been astounded. Though I can’t count the number of times people have told me, “I don’t read horror” or “If they make that book a movie, I’ll watch it”. Really, it’s not just the horror genre. We’re not a nation of big time readers, especially in a world with limitless distractions. We never have been. Don’t believe me. Next time you go to the beach, count how many people lay on their towel reading a book. You’ll get an accurate percentage from just one visit. Last time I was at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, a one mile stretch of white sand with thousands of sun worshippers, I counted only 2 other people in my immediate area, which encompassed about 200 or more people. I made book lover #3.

Could Samhain have tried better? Sure. Maybe lowering the cost of books and working at better distribution would have helped. But then again, Dorchester/Leisure books were everywhere, and even they collapsed.

If you love horror, I encourage you to read more in the genre. Don’t just wait for the next insipid tits-n-zits slasher flick to pop on-demand. I guarantee you, any book you read from a Samhain author will be better than that $5 movie.

And now is the time to pick up print copies of the Samhain books you either love and have in ebook or have on your wish list. There’s no telling when they will be no more and maybe someday become collector’s editions.

Thank you, Samhain, for the opportunities you’ve given me, and the career you helped me build. I can’t repay you enough for that (though my Samhain logo tattoo should come close). And for introducing me to a posse of wonderful writers and your amazing staff. It’s been a wonderful 5 years. I just wish it could have been many, many more.

 

Book Release Day – THEY RISE!

It’s a new year, which means it’s time for some new books for all you horror monster fans! First up for 2016 is my sea monster novella, THEY RISE.

The monster fish in They Rise are real, though not as large as I make them out to be. When I was searching for a sea monster to terrorize the ocean, I wanted to find something old and ugly. I knew I found my beastie when I came upon a photo of a chimaera fish.

Talk about a face only a mother could love. Turns out, chimaera fish are an offshoot of the shark family tree. They’re even nicknamed ghost sharks. They’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years. These bottom dwellers have spiny protrusions laced with venom for protection. I know if I pulled one up on a hook, I might throw the pole back into the ocean.

Now, in reality, they’re only a couple of feet long. I had to make my chimaera fish in They Rise much, much larger, so the sea creatures in the book are prehistoric chimaera fish that have been trapped in methane ice for millions of years. Once they get out, they’re mean and ugly and hungry. Kinda like me in the morning.

The book opens with a pair of older brothers out on a fishing party boat off the coast of Miami. The 70+ year-old men, Richie and Eddie, were based on my grandfather and his brother. I used to go fishing with them every summer when I was a kid down at Sheepshead Bay. They’ve been gone 20 years now, but the beauty of being a writer is the power to resurrect the ones you loved and lost, even if only for a chapter or two.

In the book, Eddie’s hooked something awful powerful on his line. His days of fighting big ocean fish are well behind him…at least that’s what he thought. Things are about to get a wee tad intense, as long as Eddie and the ship’s mate can haul in the catch of the day.

Of all the things I’ve written over the past several years, that opening chapter is the one that has meant the most to me. It gave me a chance to fish with Grandpa and Uncle Eddie, or as everyone called him, Okie Dokie, one more time. I’m glad that we only caught fluke and occasional sea robins back in the day. Hell, if I was going to write a fish tale, I had to start it with the men who taught me all about fish tales.They Rise : A Deep Sea Thriller