Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 58
January 1, 2016
Station Identification 2016
Happy New Year! Welcome to the grim darkness of the far future, where that guy (or gal) you hate is president (or prime minister) and all of your worst nightmares, be they political, economic, religious or cultural, have come hideously, inexorably, true.
Or not.
Either way, welcome to HUNTING MONSTERS, online home of Josh Reynolds, writer, occasional editor and semi-professional monster-movie enthusiast. A professional author since 2007 (or thereabouts), he’s had over twenty novels published in that time, as well as a wealth of short stories, novellas and even the odd audio-script. If you’re interested, a full list of his published works can be found on this site.
Josh grew up in South Carolina, a place where hoodoo is still regularly practiced. Where vampire-trees are marked with witch-sign and where soul-bottles are hung from branches. Where people paint their houses blue to keep out hungry ghosts and never burn wood from a tree where someone’s been hanged.
In retrospect, his chosen vocation is unsurprising.
Should you wish to contact him, he can be reached via a number of social media outlets, including About.me, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Goodreads, and Linkedin. He can also be reached via the comments section of this site, or failing that, ouija board.
He is happy to answer any questions you might have about something he’s written. Unfortunately he cannot read your fan-fiction, unpublished novel or short story. No, not even if you ask him nicely. He also cannot give you writing advice, put you in touch with his editors or introduce you to another author.
Singularly unhelpful sort of fellow, ain’t he?
December 30, 2015
The Year to Come
The year’s not quite over yet but I’ve already got a few projects lined up for 2016. Not many, but a few. Because I like to stay busy, me.
Most of them are writing-related, natch. Others are social-media type stuff…I’ve mentioned before that I’ll be slowly overhauling both this blog and The Royal Occultist site, as well as cleaning up my Facebooks and Tweeters and such.
Regarding my writing schedule for 2016, well, so far there’s a short story to write for Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu, three novellas to write, including one for Meteor House, and two novels to complete before the middle of the year.
The first of these will be for Black Library, and revisit some old favorites of mine (and hopefully yours, depending on how you feel about the walking dead) as well as the semi-mythical years after the world blew up, but before the coming of a certain monochromatic armor-clad faction of divine warriors. It might be the last thing I write for Black Library for a while due to my schedule, so I intend to enjoy it.
The second book will be the follow-up to the much-delayed third Royal Occultist novel, The Infernal Express. Tentatively titled The Royal Occultist, it opens with a demonically-assisted prison-break, and takes St. Cyprian and Gallowglass on a guided tour of the history of the title of the Queen’s Conjurer and the sins of its former bearers. There will also be a dragon. I’m looking forward to digging into it.
And then there’s CRYPTID CLASH!, the novella series I’m co-editing with James Bojaciuk for 18th Wall Productions. I’ve written about this a bit already, but it’s so exciting I thought I’d share it twice. Eight novella-length monster Vs monster brawls, featuring krakens, bigfeet, lizardmen, giant boars, Mongolian deathworms, Appalachian horrors, three-eyed hobos and more.
Besides work, I’d like to try my hand at some hobby-type foolishness, if only to give myself something to do that doesn’t involve staring at a computer screen. And recently, I’ve been reading through the rules for both Lion Rampant and Frostgrave. So, come the beginning of the new year, I’ll hopefully be starting up a project for one or t’other.
That’s what I’ve got planned so far for 2016. What about you? Feel free to share in the comments.
December 29, 2015
The Year That Was
2015 wasn’t bad, all things considered. I’ve had worse years. House was moved and the north was traded for the midlands. I had an eight book contract yanked out from under me, but I still got paid, mostly. I wrote–five? Six?–books, thirty or so short stories and a handful of novellas. I even placed stories in not one, but two installments of ‘The Mammoth Book of’ series of doorstopper anthologies.
I also skirted the sharp edge of burnout, work-wise, which led to a complete collapse of my creative muscles for about three months or so. Unsurprising given that I haven’t taken more than a day off in the past three years. A smart man would have seen that as a sign to take a vacation.
Spoiler: I am not a smart man. But I’m getting smarter. So I took a long overdue break–two whole weeks–for the first time in a long time. I read, I watched movies, went for long walks, and wasted time trying to conquer medieval Europe, or at least a digital version thereof.
I hated every minute of it. I got the shakes. I needed that sweet, sweet word fix. Lesson learned? Regular days off, just one a week, so as to hopefully avoid bouts of uncontrollable twitching in the future. Baby steps.
This has also been a year of taking stock, for better or worse. Of looking at what I’ve accomplished career-wise thus far and finding it, well…unsatisfying. There are things I want to accomplish in my writing, things I need to accomplish, that I have to start working towards. Which means doing less of some things, and more of others, in the future. Or at least trying some new things.
Case in point: The Sea-Leopard. What is The Sea-Leopard, you might ask? Why, it’s the fantasy novel I’m currently writing. Why am I writing a fantasy novel? Mostly because I wanted to see if I could write one that didn’t have the words ‘Black’ or ‘Library’ attached somewhere. And lo and behold, I can. I’m currently around 78K words into the first draft, and so far it’s going well. It’s got pirates, political chicanery and divine intervention…of sorts. Is it any good? Who knows, but I will say that it’s strangely relaxing to write something without a deadline attached.
Anyway, that’s the year that was.
December 28, 2015
Dead Man’s Drum
Last week saw the release of Legends of New Pulp Fiction, a simply massive benefit anthology released by Airship 27 to support writer/editor Tommy Hancock, who’s been having some health issues of late. I’m pleased to say that a story of mine, “The Necromancer’s Drum”, is included in the exceptional line-up alongside authors such as Derrick Ferguson, Joel Jenkins and Win Scott Eckert.
Edited by Ron Fortier, Todd Jones and Jaime Ramos, with art by Rob Davis and Douglas Klauba among others, Legends of New Pulp Fiction is available as a hefty trade paperback via Amazon.com. It will also be available as a Kindle download in the near future.
My story, “The Necromancer’s Drum”, sees the Royal Occultist and co. battling a Wessex seperatist with necromantic inclinations, a horde of shambling corpses, and a horror out of darkest Brittany.
December 24, 2015
Merry Kitt-mas
Merry Christmas, folks. Have a safe and happy holiday, and I’ll see you in 2016.
December 23, 2015
Merry Krampus Eve
It’s the eve before Christmas Eve and nowhere close to Krampusnacht (which is December 5th, if you were wondering), and while no one with any sense is reading this, I decided to pretend as if you were. To that end, and to say thanks for sticking with me through 2015, I’ve decided to offer up a free story for your edu-tainment. It’s an oldie but a goodie. Plus, it’s one of my favorites. I tend to dig it out every year, in one fashion or another.
“Krampusnacht” first appeared as a free Christmas giveaway in 2010, and was the first Royal Occultist story to see public release. As introductions to characters go, I think it was a pretty good one. It was later reprinted in the Miskatonic River Press anthology, Horror for the Holidays–which is still available, by the way–and then again in The Royal Occultist Primer and The Royal Occultist: Haunted Holidays, both of which are available to download for free.
Which means that if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve already read “Krampusnacht”. But if not, well, here you go. The art, by the way, is from the marvelous MD Jackson.
Download the PDF, pour yourself some eggnog and hit ‘play’ on this thematically appropriate song, by songstress SJ Tucker, that I found.
December 22, 2015
The Cryptids Are Coming!
So, on Monday I got the go ahead from James Bojaciuk of 18th Wall Productions to announce that in 2016 I’ll be co-editing CRYPTID CLASH!
What is CRYPTID CLASH! you ask? Why, it’ll be a series of novellas featuring cryptid-on-cryptid violence from a coterie of crackpot authors, including David Annandale, Gav Thorpe, William Meikle, C L Werner, Nikki Nelson-Hicks, Derrick Ferguson and Frank Larnerd. Oh and me.
Because sometimes you have to give in to the devil on your shoulder and write about a lizardman fighting a three-eyed steam-tunnel dwelling hobo, right? Right.
Anyway, you’ll be hearing more about this project over the course of the next year. And who knows…if it proves popular, there might even be a CRYPTID CLASH, ROUND TWO!…
December 21, 2015
It Lives, It Walks, It Monologues
Ably edited by Jonathan Green, Shakespeare Vs Cthulhu features a host of genre talent, including James Lovegrove, Adrian Tchaikovsky, John Reppion, Andrew Lane, Graham McNeill, Ian Edginton, C L Werner, Michael Carroll, Pat Kelleher, Jonathan Oliver, Adrian Chamberlin and Guy Haley. And, well, me. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t be talking about it, would I?
December 17, 2015
Release the Hound
From now through the 19th of December, the Kindle version of the 2015 Pulpwork Press Christmas Special is free to download, if you haven’t already. Besides a wonderful cover by MD Jackson, and stories by Derrick Ferguson, Dale Glaser, Thomas Deja, Joel Jenkins, Russ Anderson, Robert Mancebo, it also includes a brand new Royal Occultist story, “The Return of the Hound”.
And if you haven’t gotten them already, why not check out the other installments in the series? Each one is jam-packed full of Yuletide pulp, including the eldritch holiday escapades of the Royal Occultist and co.
December 14, 2015
Merry Krampus, Buy Some Books
Hey, look, there’s Christmas, peeking over the horizon. And hey, here’s a post full of shameless self-promotion to welcome it.
I’ve had a good run this year. Plenty of stuff out, some still to come, most of which I’m not planning to mention, because you know what it is and where it is. Anyway, below are some links to a handful of things that’ll make good stocking stuffers, if nothing else.
First up, the first volume of A Grimoire of Eldritch Inquests, the anthology of occult detective stories I co-edited with Miles Boothe. Featuring an introduction by Bob Freeman, and stories by David Annandale, Clint Werner and William Meikle, among many others. Volume two should be out soon, so why not grab the first one and get reading?
A Grimoire of Eldritch Inquests: Occult Detective Monster Hunter– Emby Press – Hardcover/Print/Kindle
Or how about Sharkpunk, an anthology of shark-related stories, edited by Jon Green? Featuring my story, “Deep Red Bells” about a sinister fossil, a ghostly shark, and a certain Royal Occultist. Good stuff, and a stunning cover to boot. Give it a shot.
Sharkpunk: Stories with Bite! – Snow Books – Print/Kindle
Continuing with the anthologies (because Christmas is a season for stories-just ask M.R. James), we have Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places. An anthology devoted to that other great creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, Professor Challenger. My story, “Time’s Black Gulf”, sees the Professor lose his mind-literally!-when a certain species of bodyswapping Lovecraftian nightmares shows up. Plus Carnacki is in it. Doesn’t that sound cool?
Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places – EDGE – Print/Kindle
Fourth AND fifth on Krampus’ list are from New Pulp publisher, Airship 27. First we have Occult Detectives, which includes my story “The Strix Society”, which again sees the Royal Occultist in action, this time against a society of psychic vampires. Guest-starring several historical figures! To find out which ones, buy the book. And second, The Vril Agenda, a novel spanning generations and featuring an evil out of time, co-written with my partner-in-crime, Derrick Ferguson. Eleven whole people like it–you could be number twelve!
Occult Detectives – Airship 27 – Print/Kindle
The Vril Agenda – Airship 27 – Print/Kindle
And that’s that. Five bits and bobs for your holiday enjoyment. Why not grab one (or all?) for that special someone or someones in your life. Or buy them for yourself and make a fort out of ’em. Long as I get some of that sweet, sweet Christmas money I don’t care.
