Seth Tucker's Blog, page 4

A new short story in time for Christmas

Hello faithful reader.

I asked Twitter a few weeks ago if I should write a story about a barbarian Santa Claus fighting Krampus. Well, the week of Christmas has arrived and as an early gift, I’ve written, edited, and built a cover for Kritz & the Krampus. At this time, it is only available on the Kindle for $.99.

Kritz Kringle is a mix of Santa Claus and Conan the Barbarian, which sounds weird and maybe it is. All I know is my beta readers said it was a lot of fun. You can read the synopsis below or pick up your copy here.

“A horned predator stalks the small folk that live at the top of the world. They whisper the name Krampus during the long hours of darkness. Desperate, they seek out a champion to defeat this monster. Kritz Kringle comes to their aid, dressed in red leathers with a war hammer in hand. If he can defeat this Krampus, what will he do about the dozens of them that are thirsting for blood?”

I’ve always enjoyed the sword & sorcery genre started by the late Robert E. Howard. I finally decided to try and write some.

I hope you enjoy. I’d also like to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and brightest of new years. I’ll see you in 2022.

An apology, an update, and a new short story

Hello faithful reader. I am sorry for my delinquent blogging. I was a benefits administrator for my previous employer when Covid hit and as you can imagine my life got busy. I also had a baby, who has swiftly turned into a toddler. I am still writing, but I’m still learning to find my way in this new dynamic. So, I appreciate your patience with me.

I know a lot of you are curious about the Winston & Baum short story collection that I teased in 2019. As most of you know, my wife is my cover artist, and she became a mom at the same time I became a dad. This ground her ability to create to a halt, and we’re getting back into the habit. I have the stories written and edited.

As some of you are very fond of Winston & Baum, it will come as no surprise that members of my own family are also fans. One of my biggest fans was my Dad. He would reread the series at least twice a year and always tell me which book he was on. I lost my father in July of 2020 (not to Covid, but it sucks all the same). As such, I have been dragging my feet on this one. It’s the first one he won’t be able to read, and I’ve had trouble with that. I do apologize to those who have so patiently waited for this book. I promise it will be released, and I will keep you all posted through this blog and my various social media accounts as to when. Sorry to spill into my personal life, but I felt you all deserve the truth.

Now, on to more upbeat news, I do have a new short story that came out last month. It is a mix of Arthurian Legend & the C’thulhu Mythos. I know it sounds a little weird, and I am nothing if not a little weird (just ask the voices in my head). It is exclusively available for Kindle here. Below is the cover. So, if you are so inclined give it a read and leave a review.

That’s all for now. I have a few more things in the works that I’ll update as they get closer to release. As always, thank you for your patience and support.

2020 ConNooga schedule

Friday 2/21/2020 Con Nooga will kick off.  I will once again have a table adjoining my wife’s Mystic Reflection table, so please come by and say hi, pick up a book, buy some art, and let’s fanboy together.

I am also participating on several panels on the horror track.  Below is my schedule.

2/22/2020

12-12:50 Autism in Horror

1-2:50 Deadlines Commentary Recording – this is for the role as Jonesy the bartender that I played in this horror feature.

4-4:50 TN Horror News

7-7:50 Scream Queen – I will be a judge for the Scream Queen contest.  If you think that you have what it takes to win the sash, sign up, show up, and prove it.

2/23/2020

1-1:50 It Was the End of the World as We Knew It But We’re Still Here

Hope to see you for this fun weekend.

Fall is here

Hey everybody, I wanted to let you faithful friends know what my fall schedule was looking like this year.

I will be at Dragoncon helping out in the Art Show over this coming Labor Day weekend.  Feel free to drop by, I will have copies of the Winston & Baum steampunk adventure books with me.

My last appearance this year will be on Saturday, September 7th at Next Chapter Con in Ringold, GA. Don’t worry, I’ll have all my books with me there.

I am currently working on the Winston & Baum anthology.  (I just got the first round of edits in) And will keep all of you guys informed on that progress.  My wife and I are expecting our first child this October, so my schedule is going to be a little off, but we are hoping to be back next year with even more shows to get out and meet everyone.

Thanks friends!

Taking Something Old and Making It New

I just finished reading What the Hell Did I Just Read? the third entry in the John Dies at the End series.  You can read my review of it over on Goodreads.com here.  (Just on a side note for those of you who are avid readers, I suggest you check out Goodreads.)

This series could very well have been a very straight forward cosmic horror set of books.  As a fan of cosmic horror, I have no issues with that.  Instead, David Wong manages to take cosmic horror and by using the lens of his characters and narrators create something that stands alone.  It is not a standard HP Lovecraft pastiche with the usual imagery that we have come to expect from such fare.

David Wong and John Cheese are by no means your usual “heroes” or even protagonists for this type of tale.  Far from scientists or explorers, the less than dynamic duo are slackers with a penchant for narcotics.  This is how they are introduced to Soy Sauce, which is where the adventure begins.

Despite the humor found throughout these books, making me laugh out loud at times, the horror is still very much present.  These books walk a fine line between the ludicrous and disturbing.

The John Dies at the End series is definitely not a book series that I would recommend for everyone, but if you want to see how things can be done differently.

Click on the covers below to pick up the John Dies at the End series.

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Book 1

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Book 2

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Of course, HP Lovecraft is the most well-known in the cosmic horror genre.  You can click on the tome below for a the complete works of this master.

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Just a quick update about the things that I’m working on.  I am currently going through a short story collection set in the Winston & Baum universe.  I have the drafts back with notes from my initial readers, but that takes time.

I am also currently working on a screenplay with a filmmaker, but I can’t say a whole lot about that right now.  When I can, I assure you I will.  I’m super-psyched about it.

I still have a whole lot of stories to tell and am trying to capture them on paper as quickly as I can.  Stay tuned for more updates, and tell me what stories did unique things in the comments.

Thanks, and I’ll visit with you all soon.

Farleycon is this weekend

This weekend on April 13th, I’ll be at Farleycon in East Ridge, TN.  It promises to be a fun time for everyone with a great line up of authors, artists, and vendors.

If you can come by and say hey, pick up an autographed book or just hang out.  Either way it promises to be a good time.

Hope to see you in East Ridge this Saturday.

Keep checking back for updates on where I’ll be appearing and what I’m up to.

Connooga is behind us, River Region is right ahead

Connooga 2019 was a blast.  Got to see some great cosplay, take part in some fun panels, and hang out with my con buddies.  All in all, it was a great weekend.  Big thanks to everybody that came by and said hey and picked up a book.  Hope you are all enjoying the read and can’t wait to see you all again next year.

My next show is going to be River Region Comiccon.  This show will be held in beautiful Montgomery, Alabama March 16-17.  I know that is St. Patty’s Day and don’t worry, I’ll have a Green Lantern shirt just for the occasion.

While I’m on the subject of cool things.  I recently found a Kickstarter from two of my favorite Superman creators from the 80/90s.  It’s a retro-weird science/monster comic that promises to be a lot of fun.  Check it out here.

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Looks fun to me.

Hope to see you guys down in Montgomery and keep checking back to see where I’ll be appearing next and what’s in the works.

My schedule for Connooga

This weekend, I will be attending Connooga in Chattanooga.

This is a great convention with lots of fun panels and vendors.  I will be selling my books in their vendor room, alongside my wife and cover artist.

However, I also will be participating in a few of their panels.  First, at 4:00PM on Friday, I will be on the Scary Story Time panel where several writers will tell true or fictional tales that will keep you up.  Saturday at noon, I will be hosting a Phantasm 40 Year Retrospective.  These are both going to be fun events that I hope you can stop by at.  If not, please swing by my booth and say hello and pick up your copies of either the Winston & Baum steampunk adventure series or Friedkin’s Curse: A Werewolf Tale of Terror.

Hope to see you at Connooga this year.

Please keep checking back to see where else I will be appearing this year.

Apple Pie Picking – a nice roadtrip

This year for my birthday, I decided to go apple pie picking.  I know some people are probably saying “what’s that?” I’ve had a few people guess that it was picking apples to then make pies with.  That is not correct. You see, most of the apple houses and orchards in North Georgia make fried apple pies. So, my wife and I loaded up in my truck and hit up five such places to pick their apple pies.  

Let me say that it had been a good year and the apple pie orchards were ripe for the picking this year.  Below is a quick synopsis for each of the five places that we went to with a rating scale associated. I gave ratings out of 5 apples.  Some of the judging criteria was on crust, filling, and taste.

Our first stop was Penland Orchards (41 Talona Rd, Ellijay, GA 30536).

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That is a fine looking pie isn’t it?

Penland Orchards has a buttery crust that is not too flowery and gives the impression of standard apple pie crust.  The filling was tasty, with hints of cinnamon and not goopy as most store bought apple pie filling tends to be. All in all this pie harvested 3 out of 5 apples.

Our second stop was directly across the street at Panorama Orchards (63 Talona Mountain Rd, Ellijay, GA 30536).

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How’s this pie strike your fancy?

Panorama Orchards had a very pretty crust from the get go, a nice golden brown (as you can see from the picture).  It is puffy, flaky, and buttery. It does not taste like standard pie crust, almost tasting like it is made from a batter as opposed to a dough.  The filling did not have any of the normal pectin blended goop that accompanies pie filling. It has a good flavor that included cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices.  The apples inside were nice and soft. This pie and Panorama Orchards harvested a 4.5 out of 5 apples.

Our next stop was the Red Apple Barn (3379 Tails Creek Rd, Ellijay, GA 30540).

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Penland and Panorama both made their pies onsite.  Because Red Apple Barn is strictly a store and does not have the equipment onsite, they make them at another location and then sell them at the apple house.

This was a very basic style crust, not overly buttery or soft.  The filling inside was your basic goopy apple pie filling. Because this pie was average, it only harvested a 2 out of 5 apples.

Stop number 4 was R&A Orchards (5505 GA-52, Ellijay, GA 30536), which has a variety of pies to choose from, but we were on an apple pie picking odyssey and stuck to the apple pie.

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Didn’t get a picture of this pie.

The pie I had at R&A had a hard, crispy crust that had a floury taste to it.  The filling was overly goopy but did not really deviate from a standard pie filling.  Because the crust was not great, but the filling was not too goopy, R&A harvested a 2.5 out of 5 apples.

As you can imagine, I was starting to get a little full from all these apple pies.  For our next stop, we made our way down the road (literally the last two places were down the road) to Aaron’s Apple House (8350 Highway 52 E, Ellijay, GA 30536).

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Don’t let the label fool you, there is fruit in this, so that makes it healthy.

Aaron’s Apple House had a soft crust that was tender and added an interesting texture, not tasting like it came from a traditional pie crust dough.  The filling was good, not overly sweet, having several savory qualities about it. Much like Red Apple Barn, these pies are made offsite and distributed through the apple house.  This pie harvested a 3 out of 5 apples.

Our final stop of the day was Mack Aaron’s Apple House (8955 Highway 52 East, Ellijay, GA 30536).

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Pretty looking pie, right?

Mack Aaron’s Apple House pie has a flaky traditional crust with a dusting of sugar either before baking or right after coming out of the oven, so that it provides some texture to it and also adds hints of sweetness.  The pie crust was very good and had strong hints of cinnamon and possibly cardamon (they were subtle) but I think they were there. Because of these small touches, Aaron Mack’s Apple House harvested 4 out of 5 apples.

 

All told it was a bountiful harvest, but Panorama Orchards was able to take home the high score with 4.5 out of 5 apples.  

Feel free to follow along and taste these pies yourselves and make your own decisions or visit some of the other apple houses in Gilmer County.  I plan to visit the ones that we were not able to get to some time soon. Hope to see you out there!

 

Things that Go Bump in the Night – Using Classic Monsters for New Stories

As previously promised, below is the audio from the panel that I did at this year’s Hallowcon.

It was titled: Things that Go Bump in the Night – Using Classic Monsters for New Stories.  If you’ve ever been in one of my panels, you know that I like to have audience participation.  So, a big thank you to those that sat in and contributed and hope to see you at other cons in the future.

For those of you interested, the audio is below.  Hope you enjoy!

Please keep checking back for what I’m up to.

https://radioactiverabbitink.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/hallowcon-panel-edited.mp3