Joe DeRouen's Blog, page 6
May 27, 2015
Memories of a Ghost now on Wattpad
The first chapter of Memories of a Ghost is now on Wattpad! Please read, vote, and comment! It really does help!
Memories of a Ghost on Wattpad
May 26, 2015
Memories of a Ghost is available today!
Memories of a Ghost, my third novel, is available today in paperback, Kindle, Nook, and a bunch of other formats! It has ghosts, zombies, demons, love, and romance. What else could you ask for?
Kindle ebook
Trade Paperback
Trade Paperback (autographed)
Nook ebook
May 18, 2015
New Books for May
Be sure to check out The Author’s Cave eZines for new May reading material, including my own new novel, Memories of a Ghost, in the fantasy version!
Fantasy/Horror/Paranormal eZine
May 1, 2015
Memories of a Ghost Facebook Book Release Party and Giveaway
We’re having a Facebook Memories of a Ghost release party and giveaway on May 26th to celebrate the international release of my newest novel, Memories of a Ghost!
Here are the prizes:
$25 Amazon giftcard
$10 Amazon giftcard
Autographed copy of Memories of a Ghost
3 copies of Memories of a Ghost eBook
3 copies of Small Things eBook
3 copies of Threads ebook
5 sets of Memories of Ghost, Small Things and Threads bookmarks
More prizes to be added soon!
Here are the ways to get entries into the giveaway:
Join the Facebook event – 1 entry
Invite friends to join the event – 1 entry each for every friend who joins
Sign up for my newsletter – 2 entries
Visit my Facebook page – 1 entry (you don’t have to “Like” it, but it’s appreciated!)
Pre-order Memories of a Ghost autographed from me – 5 entries
Pre-order Memories of a Ghost eBook from Amazon – 3 entries
Review Small Things on Amazon – 2 entries
Review Threads on Amazon – 2 entries
I will also come up with fun ways for you to earn extra points, so keep an eye on the Facebook event page!
I’ll be able to tell when most of these are done, and record your points accordingly. However, please drop me a quick note or PM me on Facebook for #4, #6, #7, and #8. Thanks!
On May 26th, I’ll use www.random.org to randomly determine the winners!
April 29, 2015
My Top 5 Literary Influences
People are always asking me who my literary influences are, so I thought I’d write a bit about that. Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone (and, to a lesser extent, Night Gallery) probably influenced me just as much if not more than the five gentlemen listed below. But as far as novelists go, these are my top five. I’ve enjoyed them as a reader and learned from them as a writer, and recommend each of their works highly. Here we go!
Ken Grimwood. I first read Grimwood’s Replay when I was eighteen or nineteen.
Replay tells the story of 43-year-old radio journalist Jeff Winston, who dies of a heart attack while talking on the phone with his wife in 1988. He wakes up in 1963 as an 18-year-old at Emory University in Atlanta. He has all his memories, and his entire adult life to live over again. 25 years later, despite his best efforts, he dies of another heart attack and then the cycle starts all over again. He goes through many lives, all the while trying to find out why this is happening to him. It’s a wonderful novel, and I’ve read it at least a dozen times since then, and fallen in love with it more and more with each reading.Jonathan Carroll. His early works were creepy as hell, and magic wasn’t always a good thing. I’ve read every one of Carroll’s novels, and The Ghost in Love is probably my
favorite. It was his earlier books like The Land of Laughs and From the Teeth of Angels, however, that really got me hooked. And gave me nightmares. And, yes, I wouldn’t really classify Carroll as a horror writer. In fact, I think the reason I like him so much is that his work is really indescribable. Magic realism, stark raving mad horror, romance… it’s all in there. The Ghost in Love showcases a man who suffers an injury that should have killed him, but he refuses to die. Which befuddles his ghost, and makes things really inconvenient for everyone involved.Tim Powers. I’ve been a Powers fan since his Last Call trilogy, which consists of the three loosely-related novels: Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather. Powers takes “magical realism” to another level. Set in early 1990’s Las Vegas, the
novels show a view of the city through the skewed lens of magic rituals and spirits. My favorite Powers novel, however, is Three Days to Never, a story that combines magical realism, time travel, and alternate history into the an exciting, captivating tale that is both epic and personal. Frank Marrity, a college professor, and his daughter Daphne becomes involved in an intricate tale that involves Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, time travel, ghosts, psychic links, astral projection, Israeli spies and a secret evil organization. Read it, you’ll be happy that you did.James P. Blaylock. Blaylock and Tim Powers are good friends and tend to get lumped in together in the Steampunk genre, though I really have enjoyed the non-Steampunk works better, and have found Blaylock’s work to be slightly more accessible. The Last
Coin, published in 1988, is probably my favorite Blaylock tale. In the story, Andrew Vanbergen is struggling to start a bed and breakfast with his wife Rose when Jules Pennyman comes along to rent a room. Pennyman is attempting to collect the 30 silver coins that were paid to Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, and Vanbergen becomes involved in the struggle to keep the last coin out of Pennyman’s hands. More magical realism here, and Blaylock does it just as well as Powers. The tale takes many twists and turns, and is an incredible read, as are all of Blaylock’s books.Charles de Lint. I first read Moonheart when I was 16, and fell in love with it. de Lint is, perhaps, the grandfather of urban fantasy, and Moonheart is the cornerstone of that
genre. Filled with Celtic and Native American mythology, but in a contemporary setting, Moonheart is a tour de force of magic. A magical house that seems to change and grow whenever needed doesn’t hurt, either. de Lint has since produced a long list of novels, each weaved in magic and suspense. Trader, however, which tells the story of two men who switch bodies, eventually superseded Moonheart as my favorite de Lint novel.
April 28, 2015
Memories of a Ghost Cover Revealed!
Here is the awesome cover for Memories of a Ghost, designed by Renée Barratt from The Cover Counts!
Memories of a Ghost by Joe DeRouen
April 27, 2015
Support Memories of a Ghost with Facebook and Twitter!
Please support Memories of a Ghost via both Thunderclap and Head Talker. It’s completely free and only takes a few seconds of your time! Click both below, one after the other!
April 23, 2015
May the Fourth be with You!
The eBook anthology I’m part of, May the Fourth: A collection of Stories Across Time and Space, is now LIVE on Amazon! My story is titled “Up in Smoke,” and takes place in 1978 in the Small Things universe. Miss reading about Shawn Spencer, Jenny McGee, and Fred Ruskin? Grab this! It’s just $.99 right now, and will be free on SmashWords and elsewhere once it goes through the pipeline. (Any sales we get at $.99 will go toward purchasing ads that will run on May the 4th.)
I will add more links at the eBook is added to other sites!
April 20, 2015
Memories of a Ghost: The First Three Chapters
The first three chapters of Memories of a Ghost are now online and free to read/download.
Memories of a Ghost is due out May 26, 2015. If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, there’s still time! Remember, pre-orders help the book get seen more on Amazon, so it really does help!
Pre-order autographed paperback
Pre-order for the Kindle
April 8, 2015
Memories of a Ghost Ramp Up
Two dates to remember:
April 28th – Memories of a Ghost cover reveal party! Join here to win cool prizes!
May 26th – Memories of a Ghost is released both in paperback and eBook format!
Want to pre-order your copy? Now you can!
Autographed paperback
Kindle eBook
