Glenn Rolfe's Blog, page 20

Enter to win Where Nightmares Begin. Also, grab a nice 99 cent Mark Allan Gunnells collection!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Where Nightmares Begin
by Glenn Rolfe

Giveaway ends April 12, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Enter above to win!

I’ll also have a Blood and Rain giveaway starting next month. Stay tuned!

Also, if you haven’t yet, I’ve heard nothing but great things about this collection from Mark Allan Gunnells- Flowers in the Dumpster.  Click the cover below to get the eBook for 99 cents!

 

Cheers!

-GR

 

Easter is Hell! New releases and a Horror Hound Recap!

It has been an interesting couple of weeks (or months!). We have the whole Samhain Publishing ordeal behind us (or do we? duh-duh-duh!), I attended Horror Hound  Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I get to be a part of a stellar cast of rowdy writers in a rare holiday anthology that releases Sunday!

With a title like EASTER EGGS & BUNNY BOILERS, anEaster Sunday release date, and  a complete madman (Matt Shaw) behind the wheel, what could go wrong? Shaw, a mean SOB of a horror writer if ever there was one, hand selected a number of talented writers from around the globe to take part in this unique holiday anthology. I was lucky to be asked to contribute and couldn’t say yes fast enough. Alongside writers such as Chantal Noordeloos, Graeme Reynolds, Duncan Ralston, Kit Power, Stuart Keane, Jim Goforth, Michael Bray, and so many more, I just hope my story garners a second look.

“Little Bunny” is sort of like if you took a dash of Alice in Wonderland, a pinch of Pet Semetary, and added it to a batch of Glenn Rolfe…that might give you an idea what you find. I knew these authors would bring the guts and the blood and the strange (and they do!), but I thought I might take a more subtle approach. I hope everyone enjoys it.

You can read an early, piece-by-piece review HERE

EASTER EGGS & BUNNY BOILERS is an eBook only anthology and is available for pre-orders now, or you can purchase it Easter Sunday (March 27th).

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Moving right along…

This year’s Horror Hound Weekend in Cincinnati was supposed to be a gathering of friends in the Samhain Publishing world…well, with the company shutting down, they of course, pulled out of the event.  It really sucked. I had worked last summer with editor, Don D’Auria, to have my novella collection together and released just in time for the annual convention. WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN was put together and ready to go!  And a month before release– BAM!  Damn.

My in-laws live  45 minutes from Cincinnati, so we made the hike anyway! I bought a pass for Horror Hound Weekend and carted my books around in my Samhain backpack. I had no table, but thanks to the many connections made last year and the months that followed, I was able to sell a decent amount of copies by setting up face-to-face meetings with a number of Samhain fans. So a HUGE thank you to everyone that met up with me and conducted sketchy business in the halls of the convention center!

Here are some pics from my 2 days:

It was great to see some familiar faces and make some new friends!

Lastly,

We’re all waiting to see what comes out of these behind closed door meetings from our Samhain boss. She’s trying to find a  way to keep us going or our books available. We’ll see. I’ve been approached by a couple of other publishers about future works, so we won’t be waiting long to land elsewhere. Sinister Grin Press is certainly going to be there for all of you Samhain fans. They’ve been publishing Kristopher Rufty, David Bernstein, Adam Cesare, and most recently, Jonathan Janz. I’ll have a novella with them in January and possibly more… we’ll see, but good things are on the horizon for the company and I’m happy to be a part of the SGP future.

I’ll also be publishing my next collection of short fiction sometime later this year along with attending Scares That Care this July in Virginia.

Be sure to check out my interviews and the latest  reviews for THINGS WE FEAR and WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN

I have interviews coming up on the blog with reviewer, Duane Mincel, authors David Bernstein and Lucas Mangum, and I’ll be posting reviews for books from David Mitchell, Brian Keene, Tim Waggoner, and many more.

Oh, and the Guns N’ Roses reunion gigs are just around the corner! PUMPED!

Happy spring!

 

 

 

Simple but So Damn Cool! A Tweet from Jack Ketchum

Friday afternoon my friend Max Booth III (I cal him MB3) messaged me…. I clicked the link

And this popped up:

#FridayReads: Glenn Rolfe's THINGS WE FEAR, summer fun and psychopaths…

— Jack Ketchum (@JackKetchum) March 11, 2016

It’s no Glenn Rolfe is amazing and makes me want to be a better writer…but it’s pretty damn cool!

I met Jack Ketchum in 2014 at the World Horror Convention in Portland, Oregon. He was super cool and we actually had a pretty great conversation earlier in the day. He was excited to find that I was working with Don D’Auria and had nothing but nice things to say about Mr. D and wished me well with my then first novella (Abram’s Bridge).

Fast forward a little less than two years and BAM!  I get that Tweet!

Ketchum’s influence is apparent in my latest piece, Things We Fear. We all know about his ability to scare the shit out of us with a group of creepy people living in a cave down by the water…but the stories that really get to me out the ones where Ketchum paints monsters out of the people we run into every day. In Red, he gave us a family of assholes. In Cover, we get a vet who slips too far over the edge, in The Girl Next Door…well, that one takes the cake, doesn’t it? The horrible woman who puts innocence in harm’s way without a glint of remorse.

In TWF, I made a monster out of the gym teacher from high school with the perfect smile and pile of muscles. Mr. Too Good to be True. I take our Perfect Smile and turn him into a cold, sadistic killer. A trick I learned from one of the masters.

At the end of the day, I am uber-plussed by this shout-out from one of my heroes. I hope to continue busting my butt, challenging myself to writer better, and trying to follow in his massive footsteps.

Thank you, sir!

.

 

I also learned how to NOT look at the camera from him….

Pick up an eBook copy of THINGS WE FEAR today at any of the following links:

AMAZON     Barnes and Noble  Google Play    Samhain Horror

If you prefer reading Print, TWF also appears in my new novella collection, WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN alongside ABRAM’S BRIDGE and BOOM TOWN, available in print edition at the following links:

AMAZON      SAMHAIN HORROR

And for more on these titles, my writing, my past and future, reviews, guest blogs, and interviews be sure to follow the THINGS?NIGHTMARES Publicity Tour by clicking the poster below:

 

 

(#Share the Horror Interview) Kristin Dearborn talks Globe Trotting, Vampire Bunnies, and Writing her Wonderful New Novella, Woman in White

I usually get to meet new authors and get to know them through these interviews, this week’s guest is a bit of a different story.  We attended the same high school in Central Maine. We never hung out or anything, but after I started writing a few years back, we commented on the same Facebook post of a mutual writing friend. We talked about our love for the Bunnicula series of kid’s books. Then we realized we went to the same high school and she was friends with my cousins that were a couple years behind me. Small world!

Flash forward to World Horror Con 2013 New Orleans and then 2013 AnthoCon. We had some drinks and talked horror and books and the publishing world. She also beta read and edited a couple of my early short stories. And thus, a mutual respect and friendship was forged.

This month, Kristin Dearborn unleashes her excellent new novella, Woman in White. I demanded an interview with the talented Ms. Dearborn and was eventually granted the opportunity.

Here is said interview:

 

 

 

 

Share the Horror: First off, Hall-Dale Rules!  Most people don’t know we attended the same high school up here in Central Maine. That’s pretty cool.

Do you think they did something to us there?

Kristin Dearborn: I don’t know…rural school, not too many people, plus those woods out back. You could be on to something there!

StH: You started reading horror pretty early on. I know we’ve previously talked about a shared love of the Bunnicula (Vampire Bunny) series by James Howe, but what were the first couple of grown-up horror books you read…how old were you and how did you get them?

KD: Oh, Bunnicula, I love you so. My parents had horror novels lying around and I got my adult library card at the Hubbard Free Library (I’m gonna go to town name dropping places here, and Glenn and I will get all nostalgic and the rest of you will just be confused) when I was pretty young. I don’t ever remember anyone telling me, “no, you can’t read that book.” Movies I was pretty locked down on. I remember having to go to a friend’s house to watch all the Tarantino movies, and most of the classic horror works of art I didn’t see until I was in college or older. But I digress. My mom got Jurassic Park for my dad for Christmas the year it came out (I was 8), and it’s the only book I can remember the three of us all reading and enjoying. Darkfall by Dean Koontz made an impression on me, as did Children of Night by Dan Simmons. Everyone seems to think Summer of Night is the superior book, but I disagree. I wish I could tell you the first Stephen King book I read, but I honestly don’t remember which one it was.

StH: When did you decide to take writing seriously and which story was it that you wrote that made you go, “Oh, this is pretty fucking good”. I know for me, I’d written a bad version of Blood and Rain, but when I started my novella, Abram’s Bridge…. It had this surreal I wrote  this? vibe. Is there one of those magic moments for you, a short story or larger piece maybe?

KD: When I wrote Stolen Away, I felt like I was a conduit for the words coming from somewhere else. It required a really light touch editing, and it just flowed. I’d written 80,000 words of rambling garbage about ten years earlier on the same topic, and shoved it in a drawer, and then, while watching Breaking Bad I thought about those characters from so long ago. They’d matured in the time I was away, and the ideas more refined. I had a few 10,000 word days writing that one, and the whole book felt like magic.

StH: I loved your previous novella, Sacrifice Island.  I’ve always wanted to travel across the world (Haven’t made it out of the US yet). You did some research for this one that included taking a trip overseas? Is that accurate or am I mixing something up.  And if it is true, can you really get a good feel for another culture in 1 to 2 weeks?

KD: I did spend two weeks in the Philippines in 2012, and I would argue you can not get a sufficient feel for the place in that short of a time. I spent two months in Egypt in 2011, a place I’ve visited in a short story (“Catacombs,” published in +Horror Library 5+) and an as of yet unpublished untitled novel. I spent eight months in South Korea around that time. With all that travel, I still don’t think I have enough of a feel for any of those places to write from the point of view of a native. Most of the writing I do about exotic locales I write from the point of view of a visitor, a stranger in a strange land.

StH: You have a book with Thunderstorm Books (Stolen Away). How did this deal come about and is there more on the way between you and Thunderstorm?

KD: Thunderstorm is great to work with, I had a really good experience with them. I don’t have anything currently up my sleeve, but I wouldn’t discount something coming in the future. The deal came about the way I’m pretty sure most everything in this genre comes about, a conversation with another writer at a bar.

StH:  Ah…the horror writers best place to make new friends!

Okay, let’s talk about your current work, Woman in White. First off, holy shit is this good. Love the made up Maine town (Rocky Rhodes). I feel like I’ve been there. Love the isolation, the cold, and the creature we encounter. In my review I said it was like you took a dash of Carpenter’s The Thing and King’s Dreamcatcher and mixed it with a good healthy heaping of Dearborn…. How does that sound to you? And what made you write this story?

KD: Stop it, you’re making me blush. This book came about from a combination of reading Christopher Golden’s Snowblind and a trip to the Maine State Crime Lab where a friend of mine works. She got me a behind the scenes tour, and at the time I didn’t have a current work in progress, so my mind was kind of an open slate.

I’ve always loved “winter” stories, The Thing and Dreamcatcher like you mentioned, Dan Simmons’ The Terror, Malfi’s Snow…I could go on and on. I knew I wanted to write a winter book, and something about the blood analysis in the crime lab sort of clicked together for me. The finished book has very little to do with my trip to the lab aside from Lee working there and looking at blood, but it would have been impossible to write without my visit.

StH: I always love a good frostbitten horror tale, too. Especially, Malfi’s Snow.

As writers, artists, we always pull from experiences, but this one feels very personal to me.  Something about each character seemed to dig in beyond your average hero/sidekick/friend/ villain type. Did you find yourself going a little deeper with this one?

KD: I guess I did offer up a little bit of myself for each of the protagonists, Angela, Mary Beth, and Lee. I think it’s worth examining pretty closely how women are treated in horror fiction, and I wanted to write something where the ladies weren’t victims, weren’t passive bystanders. Some of the characters probably would have been happier in that role, but circumstances thrust them into the role of hero. I wanted to write a feminist horror story which didn’t feel like it was beating the reader over the head with the message.

StH: We’ve talked off the record about your future works. Even then, you keep pretty tight-lipped about any of these upcoming projects. Is there anything coming up that you can discuss?

KD: Lots of stuff coming up in 2016! This is gonna be a heck of a year. The paperback and ebook of Stolen Away will be out in June from Raw Dog Screaming Press. I’ve known those folks socially for a few years and am over the moon to get a chance to work with them. Coming this fall is a novella, Whispers, coming from Lovecraft eZine. This story is a modern re-telling of Whisperer in Darkness, the only H.P. Lovecraft story set in Vermont. I’m really excited for that one, as well, which will be out in paperback and ebook. There are some other treasures coming down the pipeline, but those ones I can’t talk about.

StH: And lastly, have you been, or do you believe you’ve ever been abducted by extra-terrestrials?

KD: Much like some of those upcoming 2016 releases, I can’t talk about that, Glenn. If I told you, I’d have to kill you, and nobody wants that. Thanks for your kind words and for taking the time to interview me. Go Bulldogs!

StH: Thanks for taking the time, Kristin. Best of luck with Woman in White. It’s terrific.

 

 

Woman in White　by Kristin Dearborn

NOVELLA

Available: Feb 4, 2016

Publisher: DarkFuse

Format: eBook ($2.99)

Synopsis

Rocky Rhodes, Maine.

As a fierce snowstorm descends upon the sleepy little town, a Good Samaritan stops to help a catatonic woman sitting in the middle of the icy road, and is never seen or heard from again. When the police find his car, it is splattered in more blood than the human body can hold.

While the storm rages on, the wave of disappearances continue, the victims sharing only one commonality: they are all male. Now it’s up to three young women to figure out who or what is responsible: a forensic chemist, a waitress struggling with an abusive boyfriend, and a gamer coping with the loss of her lover.

Their search will lead them on a journey filled with unspeakable horrors that are all connected to a mysterious Woman in White.

Praise

“Horror born straight from a nor’easter, Dearborn’s　Woman in White　is a great read for a winter night—with a monster I’ll never forget.”　—Christopher Irvin, author of　Federales　and　Burn Cards

“Kristin Dearborn’s　Woman in White　is a rip-roaring monster tale with sharp-eyed characterization and something to say about the power dynamics between men and woman. Thought-provoking and entertaining as hell!”　—Tim Waggoner, author of　Eat the Night

“Great stuff! Suspenseful, quickly paced, unpredictable and wonderfully evil tale. Kristin Dearborn’s best yet!”　—Jeff Strand, author of　Pressure

Biography

If it screams, squelches, or bleeds, Kristin Dearborn has probably written about it. She’s written books such as Sacrifice Island (DarkFuse), Trinity (DarkFuse), and had fiction published in several magazines and anthologies. Stolen Away was recently a limited edition offered from Thunderstorm Books, which sold out. She revels in comments like “But you look so normal…how do you come up with that stuff?” A life-long New Englander, she aspires to the footsteps of the local masters, Messrs. King and Lovecraft. When not writing or rotting her brain with cheesy horror flicks (preferably creature features!), she can be found scaling rock cliffs or zipping around Vermont on a motorcycle, or gallivanting around the globe. Find more on Kristin athttp://kristindearborn.com/.

 

 

Share the Horror Reviews!

Slade House by David Mitchell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, what an amazing story!

David Mitchell’s Slade House was suggested to me by friend and fellow author, Brian Kirk (We Are Monsters). I am definitely going to read whatever Brian tells me to from now on!

We get the story of two soul-sucking twins, Jonah and Norah Grayer. They’ve used psychic gifts to achieve eternal life. The only trick is to stay alive in their current state, every nine years they must feed on a human with similar gifts or abilities (psychovoltage). That empowered soul is the twins’s fuel.

Mitchell takes us through the years on many of the Twin’s 9th Year showdowns, beginning in 1979 with a mother and son, and ultimately to their biggest challenger in 2015. We eventually get the complete backstory on the Twins and how they came to their current state. That story alone is brilliant. With how deeply intricate the story is, and how seamlessly Mitchell carries us through time, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Peter Starub’s A Dark Matter. And that’s a huge compliment.

Mitchell is a master of crafting characters and giving us fine descriptive settings that make it all so vivid that we cannot help but become ensconced in the fabric of his tale. He is immensely talented and worthy of our envy. I look forward to reading many more of his titles.

I give Slade House 5 Stars!

 

View all my reviews

Woman in White by Kristin Dearborn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Flavored with just the right dash of The Thing and Dreamcatcher….Woman in White is one of the can’t-miss reads of 2016.”

I’ve read a few of Kristin Dearborn’s short stories and enjoyed them. I read her novella, Sacrifice Island, and I loved it. And now, I get this novella, Woman in White. Let me say this, this lady can write her ass off. She tells a story in a way that’s not overly writerly. By which I mean that she’s not throwing literary words in the readers face or writing above her head. That’s not to say she couldn’t if she wanted to, I’d bet it’s quite the contrary. The thing I like is that it’s just a great writer telling a fantastic story so that everyone can get it. The person who first comes to mind for me in this style is Stephen King. And to further equate it to people I admire…I liken her style to that of my favorite guitar player, Slash. He can fucking play, but what he does best, and better than anyone, is play within the song. He does exactly what fits the song instead of trying to show off. That’s exactly what Dearborn excels at within the framework of this fun, engaging, and terrifying tale.

From the opening chapter where a woman in white stands in the middle of a snow-covered road, and the unfortunate thing that happens to Dennis, to the cast of characters, each one as real as you and I, Dearborn is off and running and bringing the fictional Maine town of Rocky Rhodes and it’s bizarre troubles to life.

A rash of disappearances where the only thing left behind is loads of the victims’ blood, stirs up the small community. Inside this mystery, we get real people with real problems. A girl who has an abortion in this tiny town without secrets, shunned and shamed by people she’s grown up with her entire life. Her ex-boyfriend is a jealous no good asshole, and her boss at the diner is truly a hero in waiting. Officer Staghorn (what a great name!) and Lee Dudley, a forensic chemist who just so happens to be sleeping with the married officer, are sent up to Rocky Rhodes to see if they can make any sense of the missing bodies and/or the blood left behind. It isn’t long before these two are ensnared in the mayhem and the madness descending upon this small town.

The way Dearborn paints this frozen town in the grips of a Maine winter will have you chilled to the bone as much as the horrible creature haunting its population. I couldn’t help but be reminded of some of my favorite films and novels. The disappearances brought back that unsettling feeling I got the first time I read ‘Salem’s Lot. The snow and isolation, along with the fear and paranoia of what the hell is out here with us gave me flashbacks of John Carpenter’s The Thing. The overall vibe and style also reminded me of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher (the novel, not the terrible adaptation).

I don’t do spoilers, so I won’t give anything away. Just believe me…. if you love King, if you enjoyed The Thing, you cannot miss this read! One of the best novellas I’ve had the pleasure of reading and certainly an early contender for my 2016 Top Ten list.

I give Woman in White 5-Stars!

View all my reviews

89: A Psychological Thriller by Stuart Keane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stuart Keane is one of the up and coming British horror writers pounding out stories like he knows Donald Trump is about to become Emperor of the world and lead us into End Times. I’ve got some other Keane works on my Kindle and have read one of his other novellas, Charlotte.

He’s used to working in the gore and the frights, but for 89, Keane is taking us on a thrill ride.

It’s the story of an author named Greg Irving. Greg’s agent calls and tells him he has to do a convention in Sheffield (birthplace of Def Leppard, by the way). Greg has words to write , deadlines to meet, and hates being around a ton of people. This trip is unexpected and annoying, but when you’re writing for a big publisher, you go where they tell you.

Greg boards a bus to take the long ride to the Sheffield convention. He’s not alone on this journey. He falls asleep on the bus and wakes up next to a woman named, Jessica. He quickly discovers she’s not right in the head, has serious stalker issues, and is not fooling around.

This all leads to a pretty exciting ending where Keane does manage to sneak in a great gore-lovers scene featuring an eyeball and a windshield.

Overall, the story is a nightmare for writers. For any author that has traveled long distance, appeared at horror conventions, and read Misery once or twice, this one hits close to home.

Keane does a lot of things well. There’s a fantastic descriptive scene early on in the book involving a place called, Roxie’s Diner. There’s a few great gore scenes and sinew-by-sinew play-by-play, and I totally found the thrilling climax very edge-of-your-seat worthy.

I did feel the story lagged and lingered too long in certain scenes and that the piece could have been tightened to raise the high suspense to even loftier heavens. However, it is a quick read, it is only 99 cents! and it is a thrilling and effective story. My small issues with the book are not enough to derail 89. Oh yeah, and did you see that amazing cover art???? One of my favorite covers of the year.

I’m enjoying watching Keane hone his craft. You can tell he’s excited about writing and that he’s one hell of a hard working bloke. There’s a future for this guy and I’m ready to follow.

I give 89    3.5 stars.

View all my reviews

Hell’s Bounty by Joe R. Lansdale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay, so this book has some amazing moments, some ho-hum moments, some really cool ode to Eastwood’s Unforgiven moments, there’s some Lovecraftian bits, and then a solid ending.

The beginning is fantastic. I love Smith. He’s a sort of William Money-type. At the beginning, he’s only caring about himself. He’s a bounty hunter and he winds up someplace he probably should have figured he’d go. When we get Smith back, he’s realizing he’s been a selfish son of a gun, let people get hurt when he shouldn’t have… But the good people of Fallen Rock (and a devilish bartender that goes by the moniker, Snappy) have helped Smith see the light. He is chosen to save the world.

My other favorite character is Payday, a beautiful red-head who gets her eye cut out by the antagonist here, Quill. She’s fiery and feisty enough to crack a whip and blow your head off, but doesn’t come around to her full potent potential until Smith’s return a year after their first meeting.

Quill is a bastard, but I found him more despicable in human for than that of the beast he becomes. In his new form, Quill commands a bunch of ghouls who can be destroyed by silver. This gang of ghoulies takes on the remain humans led by Smith. An ultimate showdown between the survivors and Quill takes place and you’ll have to read it yourself to see how that goes down.

Lansdale is a favorite of many authors I follow. This is only the second of his works that I’ve read. It was good, but I didn’t feel the urgency to see how it all ended. The ending is good, I just found myself not caring as much as we got there. And it’s certainly a style thing, but Lansdale’s constant barrage of similes and metaphors got to be a little much for me. Don’t get me wrong, some of them were freaking terrific and far above anything I could do, I just felt like he didn’t need to hit me wit has many as he did. Again, a small issue for me that I’m sure most won’t bat an eye at.

Overall, I’d give Hell’s Bounty 3.5 stars. I liked it and I bet you will, too.

View all my reviews

(Book Review) Kristin Dearborn’s Woman in White is one of the Best Releases of 2016

 

I’ve read a few of Kristin Dearborn’s short stories and enjoyed them. I read her novella, Sacrifice Island, and I loved it. And now, I get this novella, Woman in White. Let me say this, this lady can write her ass off. She tells a story in a way that’s not overly writerly. By which I mean that she’s not throwing literary words in the readers face or writing above her head. That’s not to say she couldn’t if she wanted to, I’d bet it’s quite the contrary. The thing I like is that it’s just a great writer telling a fantastic story so that everyone can get it. The person who first comes to mind for me in this style is Stephen King. And to further equate it to people I admire…I liken her style to that of my favorite guitar player, Slash. He can fucking play, but what he does best, and better than anyone, is play within the song. He does exactly what fits the song instead of trying to show off. That’s exactly what Dearborn excels at within the framework of this fun, engaging, and terrifying tale.

From the opening chapter where a woman in white stands in the middle of a snow-covered road, and the unfortunate thing that happens to Dennis, to the cast of characters, each one as real as you and I, Dearborn is off and running and bringing the fictional Maine town of Rocky Rhodes and it’s bizarre troubles to life.

A rash of disappearances where the only thing left behind is loads of the victims’ blood, stirs up the small community. Inside this mystery, we get real people with real problems. A girl who has an abortion in this tiny town without secrets, shunned and shamed by people she’s grown up with her entire life. Her ex-boyfriend is a jealous no good asshole, and her boss at the diner is truly a hero in waiting. Officer Staghorn (what a great name!) and Lee Dudley, a forensic chemist who just so happens to be sleeping with the married officer, are sent up to Rocky Rhodes to see if they can make any sense of the missing bodies and/or the blood left behind. It isn’t long before these two are ensnared in the mayhem and the madness descending upon this small town.

The way Dearborn paints this frozen town in the grips of a Maine winter will have you chilled to the bone as much as the horrible creature haunting its population. I couldn’t help but be reminded of some of my favorite films and novels. The disappearances brought back that unsettling feeling I got the first time I read ‘Salem’s Lot. The snow and isolation, along with the fear and paranoia of what the hell is out here with us gave me flashbacks of John Carpenter’s The Thing. The overall vibe and style also reminded me of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher (the novel, not the terrible adaptation).

I don’t do spoilers, so I won’t give anything away. Just believe me…. if you love King, if you enjoyed The Thing, you cannot miss this read! One of the best novellas I’ve had the pleasure of reading and certainly an early contender for my 2016 Top Ten list.

I give Woman in White 5-Stars!

Woman in White　by Kristin Dearborn

NOVELLA

Available: Feb 4, 2016

Publisher: DarkFuse

Format: eBook ($2.99)

Synopsis

Rocky Rhodes, Maine.

As a fierce snowstorm descends upon the sleepy little town, a Good Samaritan stops to help a catatonic woman sitting in the middle of the icy road, and is never seen or heard from again. When the police find his car, it is splattered in more blood than the human body can hold.

While the storm rages on, the wave of disappearances continue, the victims sharing only one commonality: they are all male. Now it’s up to three young women to figure out who or what is responsible: a forensic chemist, a waitress struggling with an abusive boyfriend, and a gamer coping with the loss of her lover.

Their search will lead them on a journey filled with unspeakable horrors that are all connected to a mysterious Woman in White.

Praise

“Horror born straight from a nor’easter, Dearborn’s　Woman in White　is a great read for a winter night—with a monster I’ll never forget.”　—Christopher Irvin, author of　Federales　and　Burn Cards

“Kristin Dearborn’s　Woman in White　is a rip-roaring monster tale with sharp-eyed characterization and something to say about the power dynamics between men and woman. Thought-provoking and entertaining as hell!”　—Tim Waggoner, author of　Eat the Night

“Great stuff! Suspenseful, quickly paced, unpredictable and wonderfully evil tale. Kristin Dearborn’s best yet!”　—Jeff Strand, author of　Pressure

Biography

If it screams, squelches, or bleeds, Kristin Dearborn has probably written about it. She’s written books such as Sacrifice Island (DarkFuse), Trinity (DarkFuse), and had fiction published in several magazines and anthologies. Stolen Away was recently a limited edition offered from Thunderstorm Books, which sold out. She revels in comments like “But you look so normal…how do you come up with that stuff?” A life-long New Englander, she aspires to the footsteps of the local masters, Messrs. King and Lovecraft. When not writing or rotting her brain with cheesy horror flicks (preferably creature features!), she can be found scaling rock cliffs or zipping around Vermont on a motorcycle, or gallivanting around the globe. Find more on Kristin at http://kristindearborn.com/.

 

 

An Interview with Glenn Rolfe

Here’s a new interview with me from Horror Writers Association VP John Palisano’s blog.  Thanks for having me, John!

 

When I first met Glenn Rolfe, I knew we were cut from the same cloth. We quickly talked about all things music and horror and had many common passions, from Springsteen to vintage Stephen King, to …

Source: An Interview with Glenn Rolfe

Enter to Win a Copy of my novella collection, WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN!

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Where Nightmares Begin
by Glenn Rolfe

Giveaway ends April 12, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

“Where Nightmares Begin is an excellent collection of harrowing and terrifying tales that clearly show Rolfe knows horror! A MUST read for any horror fan!” —David Bernstein, author of Goblins and Witch Island

“A major new talent rises from the Maine woods….Rolfe is the real deal. Small town horror is back, with a vengeance!” – Nate Kenyon, award-winning author of Day One and Sparrow Rock

“….literary horror at its best, so lyrical I expected it to burst into poetry.” – Mallory Heart Reviews on Abram’s Bridge

“I’m tremendously impressed wit this writer’s talent and diversity.”- Horror News on Boom Town

“Downright gorgeous in its balance of drama and horror.” – Beneath the Underground on Things We Fear

You can now purchase novella collection, WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN. This features my eBook only novellas– Abram’s Bridge, Boom Town, and Things We Fear. 

For those of you that already have the first two novellas, THINGS WE FEAR is also avaialble as a single eBook  novella.

Check it out and enter the Good Reads contest above for your opportunity to nab a free autographed copy of WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN.

Be sure to follow the Things We Fear/ Where Nightmares Begin Blog Tour. Click the picture below for dates and link featuring interviews, guest articles, and reviews. Courtesy of Oh For the Hook of a Book Media and Publicity

And if you’re just discovering me , check out my previous titles, available in Print, eBook, and Audio (Slush):

 

“With slashing claws and blood-soaked fur, Glenn Rolfe’s novel will have you howling in terror and delight. A welcome addition to the werewolf mythos and proof that we’re in the presence of a rising star in the genre. Highly recommended!”–Ronald Malfi, author of December Park and Little Girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…this collection is essential reading for any horror fan. Rolfe crafts a mesmerising and realistic set of tales that will haunt, scare, buoy you with joy, and take you back to a simpler time when life was yet to kick you in the balls. Not so much slush as lush, a fictional, twisted trip down memory lane. Essential.” – Stuart Keane, author of 89 and Grin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Days Until Release Day! Enter to Win a Copy of WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN

Goodreads Book Giveaway


Where Nightmares Begin
by Glenn Rolfe

Giveaway ends April 12, 2016.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

“Where Nightmares Begin is an excellent collection of harrowing and terrifying tales that clearly show Rolfe knows horror! A MUST read for any horror fan!” —David Bernstein, author of Goblins and Witch Island

“A major new talent rises from the Maine woods….Rolfe is the real deal. Small town horror is back, with a vengeance!” – Nate Kenyon, award-winning author of Day One and Sparrow Rock

“….literary horror at its best, so lyrical I expected it to burst into poetry.” – Mallory Heart Reviews on Abram’s Bridge

“I’m tremendously impressed wit this writer’s talent and diversity.”- Horror News on Boom Town

“Downright gorgeous in its balance of drama and horror.” – Beneath the Underground on Things We Fear

We’re two days away from the release of my novella collection, WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN. It will be available in print and eBook on March 8th. This features y eBook only novellas– Abram’s Bridge, Boom Town, and Things We Fear. 

For those of you that already have my first two, THINGS WE FEAR will also be available as a standalone eBook novella on March 8th, as well.

Check it out and enter the Good Reads contest above for your opportunity to nab a free autographed copy of WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN.

Be sure to follow the Things We Fear/ Where Nightmares Begin Blog Tour. Click the picture below for dates and link featuring interviews, guest articles, and reviews. Courtesy of Oh For the Hook of a Book Media and Publicity

And if you’re just discovering me for the first time, check out some more of my other titles, available in Print, eBook, and Audio (Slush):

 

“With slashing claws and blood-soaked fur, Glenn Rolfe’s novel will have you howling in terror and delight. A welcome addition to the werewolf mythos and proof that we’re in the presence of a rising star in the genre. Highly recommended!”–Ronald Malfi, author of December Park and Little Girl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…this collection is essential reading for any horror fan. Rolfe crafts a mesmerising and realistic set of tales that will haunt, scare, buoy you with joy, and take you back to a simpler time when life was yet to kick you in the balls. Not so much slush as lush, a fictional, twisted trip down memory lane. Essential.” – Stuart Keane, author of 89 and Grin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodnight, Samhain Horror-Let’s Look at the Future

As many of you know, or will be hearing, Samhain Publishing is going out of business. I was lucky to have worked with Horror Editor and Master of the Leisure Book Horror Club, Don D’Auria. I was lucky to have Don offer me five contracts in the nearly two years we worked together. Three novellas, a novel, and a re-print of a novel that will now have to go someplace else. I loved my short time with Samhain and getting to meet and work with so many cool people. I enjoyed my two trips to HorrorHound Weekend and all the cool fans I got to meet along with all of my favorite writers that I shared the stable with.

Big thanks to Tanya Cowman and Kaitlyn Osborn whom I worked with very closely on all matter of Author Relation type things behind the scenes. Thanks to Lauren Moretto for working with me on the Samhain Blog and all Samhain related social media. And thanks to Jacob Hammer for all the work he puts in for all of us authors, as well.  Thanks to Editor, Tera Cuskaden. I loved our one project together. I was looking forward to working with you for many years to come.  Thanks to the rest of you in the office that I never really got to work with,but probably had plenty of hands in the cookie jar with promotions and putting things together.

Much love to all my fellow Samhain authors, past and present….well, I guess we’re all past now.

Christina Brashear (Owner of Samhain Publishing) did her best. She worked her butt off to get her company up and running and had lots of success on the Romance side of things. In 2010-2011, she decided to add horror and brought in the best man for the job. Unfortunately, things never quite took off and here we are at the end of the road far too soon. I just want to say, thanks for trying, Christina.

Now….where do we go from here.

My latest releases THINGS WE FEAR and WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN are going to be available in eBook (TWF and WNB) and Print(WNB) on March 8th. For how long, none of us know. Buy ’em while you can, I guess.

My novella, CHASING GHOSTS, will be released from Sinister Grin Press in early 2017.

THE HAUNTED HALLS (Art by Jason Lynch)

 

 

As for my novel, THE HAUNTED HALLS….well, I’ve already began shopping it around.

I’m currently at work on my next novel, the follow-up to BLOOD and RAIN. We’ll see where that goes.

My next project will be the untitled short story collection I’ve been teasing here and there. With my fall schedule altered (THE HAUNTED HALLS was set to come out in November), I am planning on putting out the new collection on my own. I’d love to have it ready for October 2016, but we’ll see.

Another good thing that may come from this is my book ASCENCION AGENDA.  It was originally going to be a follow-up to my novella, BOOM TOWN. Eventually, I will be able to incorporate that novella into the novel.   Shortly after finishing edits on BOOM TOWN, the idea for the follow-up came to me, followed by an idea for a novelette-sized prequel. I was so pissed. I admired Peter Straub’s novel, A Dark Matter. In that book, Straub threads together a story through decades…we get to see this character and the effects of all that happened and is happening throughout this masterful tale. I wished I could put BOOM TOWN on hold and make the novella one piece of a larger story. It may not happen, but when the BOOM TOWN rights get reverted back to me, I will have the option to actually follow through with this huge plan. It’s on my idea chalk board.

In a perfect world, I’d be rich enough to start my own publishing company and hire the Samhain Crew, plus Don D’Aruria and see this whole shebang through. I think there was a ton of potential.

I hope the very best for all the authors impacted by this new world we’ve been dropped into. I hope the new kids that were looking forward to a great first year in publishing ALL the luck in the world. It sucks to be back to square one, but you are all uber-talented and will find the right home for your works sooner than later. Keep your chins up and keep working the hell out those notebooks or laptops!

Stay positive! We will prevail. We will prosper. We will rock you!

:)

 

-Glenn