Glenn Rolfe's Blog, page 22
January 20, 2016
“A wonderful throwback to the fun and bloody days of paperback horror glory!”- Richard Chizmar (Cemetery Dance) on Blood and Rain
Major thanks to Richard and his kind words!
“I devoured BLOOD AND RAIN in two frenzied sittings. A wonderful throwback to the fun and bloody days of paperback horror glory! Devoted fans should sprint to the store for this one. Can’t wait to see what Rolfe comes up with next!” – Richard Chizmar, Cemetery Dance
Richard Chizmar is the founder and publisher/editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than a dozen anthologies, including The Best of Cemetery Dance, The Earth Strikes Back, Night Visions 10, October Dreams (with Robert Morrish), and the Shivers series.Chizmar’s fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy Awards, four International Horror Guild Awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustees Award.
One of the longest running magazines in the genre, Cemetery Dance has published dozens of the bestselling authors in the horror business over the last twenty years. The company has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Locus, and many other publications.
Together Chizmar and Johnathon Schaech founded production company Chesapeake Films, and they’ve written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Showtime, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, NBC, and many other companies. Their first projects include adaptations of Stephen King’s From A Buick 8, Douglas Clegg’s The Hour Before Dark, Stephen King’s and Peter Straub’s Black House, Ed Gorman’s The Poker Club, as well as episodes of Showtime’s Masters of Horror and NBC’s Fear Itself.
Chizmar has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
Check out CEMETERY DANCE. Besides producing a great magazine, they also put out some of the most amazing special edition books out their, including this amazing one of Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot (my favorite book of all-time) .
You can also Pre-Order Richard Chizmar’s collection, A Long December, right now from Subterranean Press (it features a fancy little blurb of its own):
January 19, 2016
(Book Review) THEY RISE by Hunter “Action Jackson” Shea
Hunter Shea knows how to write a great, crazy horror/thriller. He should be writing movies for the Syfy channel! I love reading his novels though, so I hope he keeps doing this, too.
What Hunter knows even better than plotting out a seat of your pants adventure…is how to craft great characters to make you want to go on those mad journeys. In They Rise, we get a number of fully developed significant players and some well-written extras. We get Whit, the ichthyologist, and his sidekick, Nestor. We get Whit’s ex-wife, Suzanne the climatologist (their being forced to work together again is great), and her team, which includes my favorite extra (Shirley with her Mohawk and Doc Martens). He pulls us in with these very real characters right from the get-go and makes us invest in this “Ghost Shark” of the sea.
When a ship is attacked by this huge “fish” crew members die, but not before they kill the odd beast and bring it to shore. Whit is called upon to check it out since he is a”Ghost Shark” specialist. He decides to hire out Travis and John (father and son fishermen). The group, including Whit’s new buddy, Nestor, head out in search of more of these out of place monsters. Suzanne and her gang are checking on some serious methane releases in the the same vicinity when they too run into a mass of chimaera-like fish.
Once the bloody action kicks in, we get some ode to Jaws type stuff (naturally) and some fun Indiana Jones references. Once these beasts bubble up from the depths chaos conquers the open seas.
If I had any issue with this piece it was this- like Shea’s novel, The Montauk Monster (there’s even a reference to Plum Island), it takes a turn for full-on action movie in the final four or five chapters. Too many crazy booms and blasts and too much military presence for me to deal with. I’d prefer to have had the beasts vs survivors more isolated, but then, maybe Shea didn’t want to make it just a Jaws copy. I can totally respect that.
There are some underlying themes here with Shea brushing on global warming, but I don’t believe it is meant as the main moral play of the novel. They Rise is a pure thrill ride with a fun cast put through hell as the unbelievable is made believable.
In the end, I give They Rise 4 Stars!
They Rise, Info
Print Length:162 pages
Publisher:Severed Press (January 4, 2016)
Publication Date:January 4, 2016
Some call them ghost sharks, the oldest and strangest looking creatures in the sea. Marine biologist Brad Whitley has studied chimaera fish all his life. He thought he knew everything about them. He was wrong.
Warming ocean temperatures free legions of prehistoric chimaera fish from their methane ice suspended animation. Now, in a corner of the Bermuda Triangle, the ocean waters run red.
The 400 million year old massive killing machines know no mercy, destroying everything in their path. It will take Whitley, his climatologist ex-wife and the entire US Navy to stop them in the bloodiest battle ever seen on the high seas.
Biography, Hunter Shea
Hunter Shea is the product of a childhood weaned on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone and In Search Of. He doesn’t just write about the paranormal – he actively seeks out the things that scare the hell out of people and experiences them for himself.
Publishers Weekly named The Montauk Monster one of the best reads of the summer in 2014, and his follow up novel, Hell Hole, was named best horror novel of the year on several prestigious horror sites. Cemetery Dance had this to say about his apocalyptic thriller, Tortures of the Damned – “A terrifying read that left me wanting more. I absolutely devoured this book!”
Hunter is an amateur cryptozoologist, having written wild, fictional tales about Bigfoot, The Montauk Monster, The Dover Demon and many new creatures to come. Copies of his books, The Montauk Monster and The Dover Demon, are currently on display in the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, ME.
He wrote his first novel with the express desire to work only with editor Don D’Auria at Dorchester (Leisure Horror). He submitted his novel to Don and only Don, unagented, placed on the slush pile. He is proof that dedicated writers can be rescued from no man’s land. He now works with Don, along with several other agents and publishers, having published over ten books in just four years.
Hunter is proud to be be one half of the Monster Men video podcast, along with his partner in crime, Jack Campisi. It is one of the most watched horror video podcasts in the world. Monster Men is a light-hearted approach to dark subjects. Hunter and Jack explore real life hauntings, monsters, movies, books and everything under the horror sun. They often interview authors, crytid and ghost hunters, directors and anyone else living in the horror lane.
Living with his wonderful family and two cats, he’s happy to be close enough to New York City to get Gray’s Papaya hot dogs when the craving hits. His daughters have also gotten the horror bug, assisting him with research, story ideas and illustrations that can be seen in magazines such as Dark Dossier.
You can follow his travails at www.huntershea.com, sign-up for his newsletter, or follow in on Facebook and Twitter.
Praise for Hunter Shea
“This wholly enthralling hulk of a summer beach read is redolent of sunscreen and nostalgia, recalling mass market horror tales of yore by John Saul, Dean Koontz, and Peter Benchley.” — Publishers Weekly — Voted one of the best reads of summer, on The Montauk Monster
“Bloody good read! This guy knows his monsters!”- Eric S Brown, author of Bigfoot War and Boggy Creek: The Legend is True, on Swamp Monster Massacre
“Hunter Shea is a great writer, highly entertaining, and definitely in the upper echelon in the current horror scene. Many other writers mention either loving his work and/or having the man influence their own, and for just cause. His writing suits anyone with a taste for the dark and terrifying!” –Zakk at The Eyes of Madness/The Mouth of Madness Podcast
Purchase They Rise
Giveaway
Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card for joining this tour! Get extra entries for social media follows, but get extra extra entries for signing up for his newsletter and five extra entries if you review They Rise and send the link to Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com!
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjMx/?
Good luck!
The Horror of Self-Promotion
I read an interesting blog post this morning about the horrors and uselessness of self-promotion on social media. While it brought up some valid points, such as Facebook BUY MY BOOK posts are annoying and next to fruitless, I couldn’t get on board with all of what the writer had to say.
Look, I know as writers going on about ourselves can rub people the wrong way and have the opposite of our posts desired effect. I say this: There is such thing as overkill, but in my experience, using what tools we have in the social media realm does work fairly well if you’re smart about it.
You do need to put in the footwork, you need to make real connections, you need to take chances, and you need to be considerate rather than assumptive. I primarily use GoodReads and Facebook. I look at my fellow horror authors and their pages, their friends, their more successful posts. I study what seems to work for them and do my best to add their best plays into my game plan. It is scary to reach out to someone who has no idea who the hell you are. That’s why you must go into it with respect and humility. I introduce myself, Glenn-horror writer, mention how I found them- saw you enjoyed my friend Hunter’s book, just wanted to see if you’d be interested in receiving a free copy of my title, Book X? I make sure to follow that up with If not, that’s totally, cool. Thank you for your time. If you are interested, let me know. I’ll send out a few of these messages a month. Then I go back to reading or writing. I don’t expect an answer from these strangers. After all, who the hell am I? But you’d be surprised to find how many conversations these messages start. And like the blog post I referenced earlier points out-conversations lead to relationships, which maybe leads to sales.
Don’t forget, I’m not selling my books, I’m offering them. I’m the lucky one if they reply. Even if they say, “wow, that is so nice of you.” In my world, it is the reader or reviewer who is the rock star, not me.
Now, I’m still a fairly new writer. I got my first story published in 2013 and my first bigger piece published last year. I’m not with a major publisher, so there’s maybe more self-promotional duties on my plate. I’m okay with that. I understand being shy and timid, and not wanting to ruffle the feather’s of strangers or friends. You’re friends will understand and they can always “unfollow” you if they don’t want to see what your promoting. Besides, they probably have your number and can still hold regular conversations about day-today stuff anyway.
That brings me to how much promotion you should do on Facebook. Yeah, it is pretty freaking hard to get anyone to really see your posts on Facebook. Regardless, I still have writer and reader friends who like to see what I have coming up or what I’ve recently read and enjoyed. For me, reading is still #1. I write, but I definitely read more than I write. After the release of my first novella with Samhain Publishing I did so much talking about the book and the road to getting published, and what inspires me and what terrifies me and me, me, me… you get the picture. Anyways, I made two changes after that first book: 1) I cut my self promotional Facebook posts in half and 2) I started promoting my friends and heroes. This made me feel a little better when I did blab about my new release, and made me and my fellow writers feel good whenever I shared a review of their latest book or interview or podcast appearance. I decided to start a page called, “Share the Horror.”
I read, I review (some writers opt-out of reviewing, because of relationships and hurt feelings-I’m not one of them), I promote myself and the pieces I enjoy. I also promote authors and books based off what my friends have to say about them. If Kristin Dearborn says a book or writer is good, I’m sharing the news. I try to be cognizant of the fact that “Hey, my new book is out, you know what that means? It’s hammer-time!” is not the best way to go about things. Use common sense. It won’t pay to flood your page every hour of every day in an effort to convince anyone to purchase your book. As with approaching readers who don’t know you, leave the hammer at home- promote with respect and humility.
Not sure if you wanna try any of my methods, but I was inspired to share them. Nobody likes self-promoting….but it is a part of the publishing world, especially the indie publishing world.
Good luck and stay positive!
January 13, 2016
Best of… and close calls, Plus WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN.
Yep. Blood and Rain made some Best Of lists. And Abram’s Bridge and Boom Town also sneak in there!
Top 5 Confessions of a Reviewer!
Top 10 Horror Maiden Reviews
Top 3 Beneath the Underground
Honorable Mention Hunter Shea
Top 10 Scarlet’s Web Book Reviews
Top 10 Paul from Horror After Dark
Top 2 The Mouths of Madness podcast
Top 5 THE EXAMINER
Russell Coy also listed Abram’s Bridge in his top 10 reads of 2015. Thanks, Russell!
I started the year off with some great support for Blood and Rain from people I’ve admired like Ronald Malfi and Nate Kenyon, then I got judo chopped by Publisher’s Weekly….and finally, to see it make so many of these lists…It’s an amazing feeling. Thank you all for the love, the time, and the effort you’ve each made in supporting and promoting my work.
Turning to the future….
“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… small town horror is back, with a vengeance!”–Nate Kenyon, award-winning author of Sparrow Rock,Diablo: Storm of Light and Day One
COMING MARCH 8th FROM SAMHAIN HORROR.
“Boom Town is an alien invasion novel with teeth…blue, gelatinous teeth, to be exact. Rolfe weaves a wonderful tale of big, bad things happening to a small, good town. A sure winner!” -Hunter Shea, Author of The Montauk Monster andTortures of the Damned
“Glenn Rolfe’s writing is a breath of fresh air, followed by a jolt of adrenaline.” – Iain Rob Wright, author of The Final Winter
“Rolfe is the real deal, folks, and anything he writes is well worth checking out.” – Gord Rollo, author The Jigsaw Man and The Crucifixion Experiments
“THINGS WE FEAR is a compulsively readable tale of obsession and dark suspense, with one of the creepiest villains I’ve encountered in recent years.” — Tim Waggoner, author of THE WAY OF ALL FLESH and THE LAST MILE
“…Through written word or poetry in motion Glenn Rolfe’s supernatural soiree is a bona fide thrill ride for the ages.” – Horrornews.net on Abram’s Bridge
“(Abram’s Bridge is) literary horror at its best!” – Mallory Heart Reviews
Features all three of my eBook novellas for Samhain (Abram’s Bridge, Boom Town, and Things We Fear) in one print book!
Check the link below for more info.
https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5780/where-nightmares-begin
January 12, 2016
REVIEWS: The Martian Chronicles, Death Do Us Part, and Northwoods
Thought I’d share my early 2016 book reviews with you guys:
Along with Kristopher Rufty’s excellent new novel, DESOLATION, I’ve finished three other pieces-NORTHWOODS by Bill Schweigart, DEATH DO US PART by JG Faherty, and the brilliant THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury.
“Named but unnamed, and borrowing from humans everything but humanity.”
Ray Bradbury’s classic, The Martian Chronicles, is a collection of Mars stories written by the author over the course of a few years that he compiled and threaded together (wonderfully, I might add) in this beautiful piece of fiction.
The stories take us to Mars and its inhabitants. Their chameleon-like species that wears our look and copies our perceived actions, but often times lacks our free will, inhibitions, and fiery emotions. This begs the question: Is our humanity our best and worst asset?
There’s so many great stories to be found in these ages, too many for me to go through. I’ll just point to a few of my favorites:
Ylla- A Martian’s romantic dream of a fascinating man from New York named Nathaniel York arriving in a rocket ship. This one was a highlight for me. LOVED it!
The Earth Men- Another expedition to Mars delivers three astronauts to the red planet and finds them unable to elicit excitement of their arrival to any of the planets inhabitants. We eventually find out why they receive such a ho-hum welcome and it is fantastic.
The Martian- The story of a Martian who makes himself look like the departed loved ones of anyone he comes in the vicinity of…he longs to be loved and accepted. Unfortunately, his costumes bring too much attention.
And the Moon Be Still as Bright- A man named Spender sees the shape of things to come. How our humanity that has led to wars and the downfall of Earth will eventually bring the same to this beautiful, untapped planet. One of my favorites!
Usher II- This one is for the horror lover in us all. When humans finally bring their rules and regulations, their awful government and unwarranted censorships to the red planet , one man and his sidekick strike back in entertaining and apropos fashion. LOVED IT! Horror fans will eat this one up.
The Martian Chronicles is a fun and inventive read and a wonderful trip through the imagination of one of the best in the business.
I give it 5 Stars!
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What an amazing read! Northwoods takes us on a trip through the world of cryptozoology (a world I’m loving more and more) with a great cast of characters. Ben and Lindsay work for Richard Severance, a man of wealth, obsessed with this unnatural world. Ben and Lindsay, with the help of Alex , survived a meeting with a mystical creature in Virginia A year later, they wind up in the thick of something even bigger and more wide-spread.
The town of Barnabas is under attack by a pack of shapeshifters and finds itself upside down before anyone knows for sure just what in the hell is happening.
When Customs and Border Protection agent Davis Holland is pulled into the madness attacking the once quiet town he has been taken in by, the story kicks into even higher gear. With his military training and battle -ready skillset, Davis makes the perfect ally in Severance’s new army of cryptid seekers.
This fight is bigger than the survival of one small town-humanity is about to be tested!
Bill Schweigart is now on my list of Must-Read authors. Northwoods is the second book in a series, Beast of Barcroft being the first, but if you missed that one, have no fear, Schweigart will take you under his creative wing and gives you just enough of “what came before” that you feel fully connected to this cast and their previous relationships.
The characters are fully realized and wonderful. The story is terrific, and the writing is perfect.
I give NORTHWOODS 5 Stars!
Death Do US Part is the latest novella from JG Faherty. While not as great as Legacy, I found this one to be a quick and fun piece of horror.
A police officer (Art) in a loveless marriage falls for his wife’s sister ((Missy). Hours after Art tells his wife (Catherine) that he wants a divorce, tragedy strikes.
Months after Catherine’s death, strange things began to happen to Art and Missy who have since made their relationship official. Is it Catherine’s ghost? Is she coming back to haunt the ones who betrayed her?
There is a decent mystery wrapped up in the story and Faherty does a great job leading us from one end to the other.
I give this vengeful novella 4 stars!
January 6, 2016
(REVIEW) DESOLATION by Kristopher Rufty
Wow! Read this book in two days.
Kristopher Rufty’s latest novel, DESOLATION, is a fantastic way to start off your 2016 reading year.
DESOLATION is both suspenseful as hell and equally heartbreaking. The story of two men and one fateful day that brought their lives together. When Grant races out of a bar after too many drinks he crashes into The Hinshaw’s car along a back road. Dennis Hinshaw loses his wife, son, and unborn baby girl in the drunk driving accident. Grant, at that point is a famous lawyer, gets a year in prison and six months probation.Now sober, he must attend AA meetings and try and get his own family life back to a new normal. To accomplish the next step in the healing process, Grant takes his wife, son, and daughter to their cabin in the woods for Christmas.
Unfortunately, somebody wants them to pay for the sins of Grant’s past.
This book is close to perfect for me. Rufty has come miles in his craft and is beyond a doubt one of the best horror writers currently working today. Minus a couple of small missteps (probably just nit-picking by me), I freaking loved this book!
I give DESOLATION 4.5 Stars……hell, let’s go ahead and round that up to 5.
Highly recommended!
SHOP RUFTY HERE
January 5, 2016
(#Share the Horror: Interview) Kristopher Rufty Talks Writing, Family, Malfi, and his Upcoming Schedule
“A creepy, gripping tale of horror. And it’s got one of the best death scenes I’ve read in a long time!” –Jeff Strand, author of Pressure and Dweller
If you’ve been following the literary world of horror for the past few years, you no doubt know his name. With about one billion books published since 2011 (I might be exaggerating there, slightly), Kristopher Rufty has carved out an impressive and loyal fan base. The Rufty Army includes readers, editors,reviewers, and publishers alike.
2015 alone saw the release of 4 major titles — The Lurking Season, Jagger, Bigfoot Beach, and The Vampire of Plainfield. All well received and all full-on Rufty.
He’s been compared to (and rightfully so) the great and dearly departed Richard Laymon. His no-holds-barred style mirrors that of Laymon without feeling like a cheap clone. With his 2013 novella, A Dark Autumn, he also proved, like Laymon, that he could bring in real thought and emotion and dance effortlessly through a complex story and character with the best of them.
In this interview, we touch on his prolific catalog, where he finds the time, what family life of a writer is like, and of course, dip into a number of his works including his next offering, Desolation.
Glenn Rolfe: First off, looking at your bibliography…. holy crap. I mean, you put out Angel Board in October of 2011 with Samhain, you were one of the originals. Now going into your fifth year of being a published author you have a lot of titles.
I have to ask, do you still have a day job, write full-time or what? How do you pump out so many works?
Kristopher Rufty: Thanks, man. It was an honor to be part of the original launch of the Samhain Horror line. I still can’t believe it happened, even after a few years have gone by.
I still have a regular job, but I’m self-employed, so that helps and hurts me. Because I drive a lot for my work, I don’t get to pump out the words quite like I used to. Now we have a baby, and my writing time has become very limited. There are days that my wife will take our three kids with her somewhere, so I can I have the house to myself to play catch-up. On those days, I start writing the moment they leave and don’t stop until they get back.
I think why I was able to write so many books for that stretch was because I used to do I.T. for a hospital. I had a small office, a computer, and Microsoft Word. In between work orders, I would write. I ate lunch at my desk a lot, and would write. When I ate in the cafeteria, I took my notebook with me and wrote longhand at the lunch table. I cranked out a lot of words during the day, then would still write at night before bedtime. I think back then I was doing anywhere from 4,000-6,000 words a day.
GR: Out of all of your published works, do you have a couple that are really special to you and if so, what make them standout to you?
KR: Well, I love them all, but I do have a couple that just seem to linger with me, or make me smile when I think back to them. ANGEL BOARD and THE LURKERS were the first two novels I wrote, so they hold a special place in my heart. THE SKIN SHOW and PROUD PARENTS were written while I was in bed due to medical issues. They helped me through a lot of pain and worry, so I feel I owe them a lot.
I wrote JAGGER in six, fun-filled weeks. That book poured out of me, and I worked on it before dawn most of the time, while the kids were out of school. I really liked doing that.
OAK HOLLOW will always stay with me because I wrote it multiple times in a six-month period. One version was turned into Don at Samhain and he said he wanted to publish it, but he just had one request: “Rewrite it in your voice.” I had experimented with the King style of writing the book like an outside observer. I loved it, but Don thought that I would turn off my core readers by switching to such a diverse voice like that. I think he was probably right.
So I sat down to rewrite it…from scratch. This time, I was sick with pneumonia during a huge chunk of it and I dreamed up some of the scenes during a fever-induced sleep, then wrote them the next day. Some of the wilder crap that happens in that book was written while I felt like I was dying.
Recently I wrapped up a novel for DarkFuse called SOMETHING VIOLENT. That one was a lot of fun to write because it was so different, and I experimented with rotating first-person POVs.
GR: I loved A Dark Autumn. Can you talk about that one a bit?
KR: Thank you! I’m glad you liked it. Well, it’s a novella about Ricky—a writer—who has rented a cabin to work on his new book. Life has been overly hard for him; he’s recovering from alcohol abuse and a rocky relationship the only way he knows how: by writing. At the same time, a group of women have also decided to go to the mountains for a reunion of sorts and are staying across the lake from Ricky. When their paths cross, a lot of bad things happen to Ricky, and the reunited friends will suffer for what they’ve done.
A DARK AUTUMN is a novella I’m very proud of. I felt it was the first time I nailed what I was going for. I wrote it in less than two weeks and my editor changed nothing. He said it was perfect as far as tone and emotion. But it’s also a novella that took me to places I’d rather not go again, if I can help it.
Because of the subject matter, I feared I’d lose all of my female readers. But I didn’t. I even received more positive letters about this one than anything I’ve ever written. Some women even said it was “hot”. That was not my intention. I guess each person takes something different from it.
GR: I think novellas are really fun. They’ve sort of replaced short stories for me. I used to read short stories between novels, now I try to seek out novellas for that quick breath. What are your feelings toward them?
KR: I enjoy them, and I enjoy writing them as well. Probably more so now than ever before. Don D’Auria encouraged me to right more novellas. So long as they’re written well and don’t seem cramped, I think they can be perfect. I hope to write even more novellas over the next year or so.
GR: Between you, David Bernstein, and Hunter Shea, there’s this pressure on us newer writers to try and keep up. Do you feel any pressure to keep at your current pace?
KR: It’s hard to keep up with Dave and Hunter. Another very prolific author is Heather Graham. She puts out a new book every month sometimes. I used to obsess with the idea of keeping up, but I’ve already accepted that this year it’s just not going to happen. Maybe even the next few years. We have a baby now at home and I just won’t be able to produce words like I have the last two years. But I am already scheduled for two-to-three books a year for the next three years, so I’ve got plenty coming up.
At one time, my goal was to be like the pulp guys, putting out a book every couple months. I managed to do that in 2015, but it kind of hurt me, doing it like that. Not only did it wear me out, but some of the books were neglected because there were just so many out at once. I think a few months between each title is better than excessively putting a new novel out every two months or less.
GR: You’ve self-published a number of stories, too. Are these stories that have been passed on, or are you just compelled to get these ones out there?
KR: Well, that began as an experiment. I had this idea for a novel called PILLOWFACE. It featured characters from a low-budget horror movie I wrote/directed. My idea was to put it out with the distribution company’s help right around the release of the movie. We were going to work on it together. They changed their mind and I had this novel I’d been promoting for several months. So I didn’t know what to do. After a conversation with Blake Crouch and I decided to put it out myself.
It bombed.
Nobody bought it. I think I sold four eBooks in the first month of its release. Then Thunderstorm Books came along and signed me to a book deal. PILLOWFACE was one of the titles they wanted to do a limited edition hardcover of. When that deal was announced, PILLOWFACE saw a nice rise in sales.
LAST ONE ALIVE had a very similar story. It was supposed to be the novelization of a low-budget movie that I wrote the script for. The movie was never made and I had this book that I had planned to self-pub to help promote the movie. I put the book out there and to my surprise, it sold like fire. If every book I wrote sold like that one did, I could write full-time and never look back.
Since then, I’ve held onto some eBook rights of my titles that have been released in limited hardcover editions. Those have all done very well.
PRANK NIGHT had offers from a couple different publishers, but it would have been almost two years before it could be released and none of the publishers could have had it out around the Halloween season because of scheduling issues. Since the story took place on Halloween night, I opted not to sign it over and decided to put it out on my own and see what happened. It did really well for almost a year. It was something different for me in style, tone, and pacing, so it was a good book to experiment with a full-fledged self-publishing venture.
GR: Just this year, you dropped Jagger, Bigfoot Beach, and The Vampire of Plainfield. They’ve all been well received.
KR: THE LURKING SEASON was also released between those others. As I mentioned earlier, some books became overlooked when so many were released so close together. TLS was that book. It was the sequel to one of my bestselling books and it hardly made a ripple in the publishing ocean.
GR: I just finished The Vampire of Plainfield. I loved it. Such an interesting take on Ed Gein. Where the hell did that one come from?
KR: I wish I knew. I’ve had that idea for years. I was suffering a bout of insomnia a few years ago. One night while lying in bed and staring at the ceiling a scene popped in my head of somebody digging up a grave. Then my mind started wandering toward Ed Gein and how he robbed graves, then the concept popped in my head.
GR: The descriptive style of it reminded me a lot of an author we both admire-Ronald Malfi. I’m sensing his work is a big influence on you. Would that be accurate?
Actual photo in the Rufty home. (Photo courtesy of Last Krist on the Left).KR: For sure. Malfi is my best friend in the world and I’ve always tried to avoid emulating his style in any way, just because of that reason. But as I sat down to write VAMPIRE, I knew I had to approach it differently than my other books. I’d tried to write this thing many times since 2009 and it just wasn’t working. This time, I kept in mind what Malfi had done with THE NARROWS. How he’d written about an entire town through the eyes of only a few crucial I liked how Malfi handled those situations and tried to treat my story in a similar way. It really helped. I was finally able to finish the book after many years of failed attempts.
GR: Can you give me a few books that influenced you at different stages of your writing career. Maybe early you on, when you started, and now?
KR: Early on I was heavily influenced by King and Koontz, as were many of us. But two other authors really influenced my writing back then—Saul and Little. I read books by all of these all through my teenage years, plus picking up random paperbacks from TOR and Zebra well into my 20s.
Then a friend suggested I check out Jack Ketchum.
Everything changed.
I had surgery and was going to be down for a long time, so I bought a stack of paperbacks to read, one of them was OFF SEASON. I couldn’t believe I was reading a book that was similar to the kind of stuff I secretly wrote. When I told my friend that, he said he knew I’d like Ketchum for that reason. Then he told me a list of others to check out that included Edward Lee.
He was with me in a bookstore one day and grabbed Richard Laymon’s THE CELLAR off the shelf and put it in my hand. He told me I’d like Laymon because we have similar tastes and both use the word “rump” when describing a female’s backside. He was right. Reading Laymon put me on the path that led me to here.
Recently, I’ve been very influenced by a lot of old paperbacks I’ve been picking up at used bookstores. King’s MISERY heavily influenced my writing with my new book DESOLATION. And I’ve read a lot of pulpy crime fiction this year that has played into my writing lately.
Newer stuff? GOBLINS by David Bernstein was a great read. TORTURES OF THE DAMNED by Hunter Shea. LITTLE GIRLS by Ronald Malfi. THE NIGHTMARE GIRL by Jonathan Janz. So many good ones.
GR: I met you and your wife at Horror Hound in Cincinnati this past March. You were both super cool. You guys were expecting baby # 3. Boy or girl? How has that third addition been? Any change in dynamics or writing schedule?
KR: Yeah, that was a good time. It was great to finally meet you after knowing you online for a little while.
Our third child, second boy, has been a blessing. A lot of adjusting, but a blessing all the way. My writing schedule has completely changed. Now I write when I can. My wife will handle things so I can take the computer into the bedroom and write on the bed, and I’ve also gotten back into doing longhand while lying in bed at night. I might actually write my next novel longhand. I’ve already written quite a few chapters with my pencil.
GR: Desolation is your next piece with Samhain. Can you tell us a bit about that one?
KR: It might be the darkest thing I’ve ever written. Probably because there are no supernatural elements that exist in the story. The only demons in this one are human.
Grant, a husband and father, tricks his crumbling family into going to their cabin in the mountains for Christmas, in hopes of rekindling things he’d ruined with his alcoholism. A demon from his past shows up, invades the vacation home, and forces Grant to take responsibility for his actions while also unleashing what he views to be “similar punishment”. This book was hard to write. Many scenes left me feeling drained and depressed when I was finished. I don’t look forward to traveling down a similar road anytime soon.
GR: Will it be your last for Samhain?
KR: Hmmm…hard to tell. As of this interview, I don’t have anything slated with Samhain. After the ruckus back in early November cleared, I expected to hear from them, but I haven’t. Maybe they’ll reach out, maybe not. I have enjoyed my time with Samhain, though. I have nothing but kind things to say about the company. When our baby was born, the Samhain staff sent a card to congratulate us. That meant a lot to my wife and me.
I guess we’ll have to see how things play out in the future for all of us.
GR: What’s the rest of 2016 hold for the Rufty Universe?
KR: DESOLATION releases on January 5th.
I have a sequel to one of my reader-favorite novels coming out this year. It’s a surprise that I haven’t announced yet.
SOMETHING VIOLENT releases in September through DarkFuse.
JAGGER will release in Germany, and I have a short story in an anthology in Germany that’s being edited by a very popular Extreme Horror writer. I can’t wait to announce it.
Plus, I might have something through Thunderstorm Books.
I also have deadlines to meet that I can’t talk about yet.
GR: Thanks for taking the time, man. I think I’ll see you at a con or two this year. Good luck with everything and have a great holiday.
KR: Thank you, Glenn. I really appreciate it. I hope we bump into each other many times this year. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and brought in the new year with smiles and laughs.
Can’t wait to read your next book.
You guys and gals can follow the rest of Rufty’s Publicity Tour by clicking on the banner below:
Hook of a Book Media and Publicity—Erin Al-Mehairi
Contact: hookofabook@hotmail.com
_____________________
Desolation, Synopsis
Samhain Horror
PAGES: 266
ISBN: 978-1-619233-09-6 Trade Paperback (List: $15.95)
There’s no escaping your past. Especially when it wants revenge.
Grant Marlowe hoped taking his family to their mountain cabin for Christmas would reunite them after his alcoholic past had torn them apart, but it only puts them into a life and death struggle. On Christmas Eve, a stranger from Grant’s past invades the vacation home and takes his wife and children hostage. His agenda is simple—make Grant suffer the same torment that Grant’s drunken antics have caused him. Now Grant must confront his demons head on and fight for his family’s lives. Because this man has nothing left to lose. The only thing keeping him alive is misery—Grant’s misery.
Biography, Kristopher Rufty
Kristopher Rufty lives in North Carolina with his wife, three children, and the zoo they call their pets. He’s written various books, including The Vampire of Plainfield, Jagger, The Lurkers, The Lurking Season, The Skin Show, Pillowface, Proud Parents, and more, plus a slew of horror screenplays. He has also written and directed the independent horror films Psycho Holocaust, Rags, and Wicked Wood. If he goes more than two days without writing, he becomes very irritable and hard to be around, which is why he’s sent to his desk without supper often.
Praise for Kristopher Rufty
“Kristopher Rufty is the demented reincarnation of Richard Laymon!” –Jeff Strand
“A Dark Autumn is a wild gender role reversal of ‘I Spit On Your Grave,’ with gonzo nods to Norman Bates and ‘Friday The 13th’ thrown in for good measure. Kristopher Rufty delivers the goods yet again.” –Bryan Smith, author of Kayla Undead and The Late Night Horror Show
“A creepy, gripping tale of horror. And it’s got one of the best death scenes I’ve read in a long time!” –Jeff Strand, author of Pressure and Dweller
“A powerhouse debut novel. Rufty’s prose will suck you in and hold you prisoner!” –Ronald Malfi, author of Floating Staircase and Snow
“An occult thriller with a new twist. Rufty juggles captivating characters, breakneck suspense, and insidious horror in a macabre story that will leave you feeling possessed by the end of it. Next time you think about taking that old Ouija board out…forget it!” –Edward Lee, author of Lucifer’s Lottery and City Infernal
Purchase Links
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Desolation-Kristopher-Rufty/dp/1619233096/
Barnes & Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/desolation-kristopher-rufty/1122582601?ean=9781619233096
Samhain
https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5684/desolation
Giveaway
We have a lot of books to giveaway from Krist! We have two audio books, Oak Hollow and Pillowface in one link. In the second link we have a signed print copy of The Lurking Season and two e-books, Vampire of Plainfield and Bigfoot Beach. Winners are chosen random via rafflecopter and are given choice of prize of order pulled. Any questions on raffle, please e-mail Erin Al-Mehairi, publicist, at hookofabook@hotmail.com
Link for audio book giveaway:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjI5/?
Link for print/e-book giveaway:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjMxYWEzMGI1ZDE2MGYyYTgzYjk4NzVhYzhmMTdmOjMw/?
January 4, 2016
Next Novel Nears Completion, Things We Fear Reviews, Upcoming Posts
Hey, guys!
I’m nearly finished with the final manuscript for my next novel, BECOMING. You may recognize that one from how much I’ve talked about it. Well, after two years of stop and start writing, one finished rough draft, and five or six re-writes… the end is near! A much cleaner and more cohesive piece is nearly in reach. I will begin shopping this one in the next couple of weeks.
After that, I have an untitled novella to finish before picking up where I left of (55K words) on novel #4, WINDOW. Hoping to have them both finished by April.
The first two official review for my forthcoming novella, THINGS WE FEAR, have come in…
“The title of this novella, Things We Fear, says it all. Rolfe has taken us on journeys through haunted halls, battled with werewolves, and now he is taking us on a character study of fear and emotion – straight to the source of a person dealing with deep seeded psychosis. I’m not just talking about the main villain, either; each character presented in this story is overcoming a fear of their own. Whether it is the fear of not having control in their life, a fear stemming from childhood trauma, or perhaps self-reflective – the fear of image concerns and breaking social reservation. There are multiple messages lying under what appears to be a typical stalk and slash story that, I can assure you, it is anything but typical.” — Beneath the Underground
“Glenn Rolfe is quickly establishing a name for himself as one of a number of excellent new writers to ensure the horror genre is kept alive and well. His previous books – Abram’s Bridge, Boom Town and Blood and Rain – have also served to show the extensive breadth of his imagination and Things We Fear carries on that trend. Quite simply, each story is fresh, new, exciting and unpredictable.” — Catherine Cavendish, author The Pendle Curse and Dark Avenging Angel
Thanks to David Sharp from Beneath the Underground and Cat Cavendish for such kind words!
You can pre-order your copy of THINGS WE FEAR—- HERE
Stay tuned for the blog tour starting in late February. If you want to receive a review copy or are interested in doing an interview, contact Erin at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!: Hookofabook@hotmail.com
Coming up in the next couple weeks for my blog:
I will be interview Kristopher Rufty (This Tuesday) as part of his Desolation Blog Tour. We’ll talk shop, family, his history, and touch on both THE VAMPIRE OF PLAINFIELD and DESOLATION.
I will also be reviewing DESOLATION (at some point), JG Faherty’s DEATH DO US PART, and Bill Schweigart’s NORTHWOODS.
And if Axl Rose shows up on Live with Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night with his expected announcement….expect a long love letter for the greatest rock band of all-time. Just sayin’.
January 3, 2016
My Top Reads of 2015 that came out prior to 2015
So here it is:
10. The Taken by Sarah Pinborough
9. The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo
8. People Are Strange by James Newman
7. The Ascent by Ronald Malfi
6. A Dark Autumn by Kristopher Rufty
5. (TIE) The Tommyknockers by Stephen King & . Ghost Story by Peter Straub
4. Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco
3. The Howling by Gray Brandner
2. Jaws by Peter Benchley
1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
December 31, 2015
THINGS WE FEAR Praise from a Brilliant Author–Tim Waggoner
“THINGS WE FEAR is a compulsively readable tale of obsession and dark suspense, with one of the creepiest villains I’ve encountered in recent years.” — Tim Waggoner, author of THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
THINGS WE FEAR will be part of my Samhain Horror Print novella collection, WHERE NIGHTMARES BEGIN. Both the eBook and the Print collection come out in March.
Tim Waggoner is one of many gifted authors out there today. His works have been published by way too many publishers to list, which speaks volumes of his talent. I am honored that he would make time in his busy teaching and writing schedule to fit in an early read of one of my stories.
Thank you, Tim.
Tim Waggoner writes fantasy and horror for both adults and young readers. He also teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program.
Tim tackles so many different areas with his writing. From young adult to fan fiction (Grimm and Supernatural) to out-right scary as hell horror.
Click on the covers below to check out just a few of his works.
Find out all you need to know about Mr. Waggoner and his fiction at:
You can find THINGS WE FEAR on GoodReads or Samhainpublishing.com
or Pre-Order it today at Amazon.com
This song would be on the soundtrack if it had one:
