Glenn Rolfe's Blog, page 4

SURVIVE WITH ME: 5 Questions with Chris Sorensen

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SURVIVE WITH ME features 16 of my favorite writer buds. Each of them gave these stories to me for this charity anthology. ALL proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. You can order your eBook or paperback copy HERE Or discover more about this wonderful cause here: AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND

Today, we welcome Chris Sorensen! Chris is a voice performer doing tons of audio books, and he’s also the author of The Messy Man trilogy! He’s a great and positive dude and we’re happy to feature him in this special anthology.

Chris Sorensen

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What inspired your story in SWM, “Laney”?

There’s a stretch of highway here in northern New Jersey where the shoulder falls off into a ravine. Whenever I pass the spot, I get a mental flash of a car veering off the road and tumbling down, down, down. And for whatever reason, I know that what just happened was deliberate. In “Laney,” I wanted to spend time with a character who had to survive their abuser not only in life but in death.

What are some other causes you think deserve some more attention?

My folks were both teachers. My mom had a special education class, so I was around kids with special needs my whole childhood. One of the great sources of pride for the community is the Special Olympics. And I know this answer has the word ‘special’ in it way too many times, but the Special Olympics is a cause that I find truly special.

You’re the author of The Messy Man trilogy. Was the idea it to always be multiple books? Or did it grow into that organically?

The Nightmare Room was a retooling of an idea I first developed as a screenplay. By the time I finished the first draft of the book, I was pretty certain that I wanted to continue the story. And by the time I released it, I had mapped out the plot for The Hungry Ones. Book 3, The Messy Man, was a combo of me wanting to get to know the character Ellen Marx a bit better as well as tying together a bunch of loose threads I had left for myself in Books 1 and 2.

As an audio performer, what are the best parts and hardest parts of that particular job?

Best things about being an audiobook narrator: I read tons of books I wouldn’t normally read, I work from home (in my own little nightmare room of a studio) and I get to choose my own hours. The hardest part: I’m dyslexic and reading aloud will always take 50% more effort for me than the next person (even after recording over 250 titles).

Give me three things that make you want to buy someone a beer?

I’ll buy you a beer if…

1. You’ve just performed your heart out. 2. I’ve missed you.

3. You ask.

SURVIVE WITH ME: 5 Questions with Brian Moreland

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SURVIVE WITH ME features 16 of my favorite writer buds. Each of them gave these stories to me for this charity anthology. ALL proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. You can order your eBook or paperback copy HERE Or discover more about this wonderful cause here: AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND

Today, I’m talking with my fellow Flame Tree Press stablemate, Brian Moreland! Check out Brian’s latest, TOMB OF GODS, and he also wrote my favorite novella of all-time, DARKNESS RISING.

Brian Moreland

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1.What inspired your story in SWM, “Abby’s Best Role” ?

My love of horror movies and especially strong leading heroines who don’t back down from monsters. I enjoyed 70’s exploitation horror, like I Spit on Your Grave and Ms. 45, as well as the slashers and monster flicks of the 80s. My story “Abby’s Best Role” is about a final girl who strives to defy stereotypes, while also trying to stay alive. She’s an actress who finds herself in a terrifying role she’s prepared her life for.

What other cause do you think deserves more attention?

I’m very proud to have contributed to an anthology that donates to the American Indian College Fund. My niece is half Chickasaw, and a similar college fund helped her with tuition and books. It makes such a difference. Another cause I’m fond of is Books for Soldiers (http://booksforsoldiers.com/). Years ago, I got the opportunity to travel to Kuwait and Iraq with the USO on two separate trips. Each time, I spent a week in Baghdad on the military base. I got to dine with the soldiers and see how they worked and served our country so far away from home. I donated one of my novels to their base library and later was happy to see that you can donate books to their charity. Then Books for Soldiers ships boxes to wherever soldiers are stationed.

A lot of your books have that historical element. if we had the capability, what’s one historic moment you’d like to be present at?

I was born in 1968, so I missed the hippy movement of the late 1960s and early ‘70s. I’ve always been fascinated with the hippy movement. If I could time travel back, I would take a road trip in a VW van with a bunch of friends and travel across the United States. We would stay at communes and camp out wherever the road takes us. We would avoid the area where the Texas Chainsaw Massacre happened, of course, and stay out of the desert regions of New Mexico where the Hills Have Eyes. We’d catch a Doors concert along the way. Our free-spirited road trip would culminate at Woodstock where we’d jam to Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and many others who made that moment so historical. I’ve written about that time period before and would love to revisit it again. In my short story “Girl from the Blood Coven” I wrote a supernatural mystery about a fictional hippy commune in Texas that turned murderous, inspired by the Manson Family. The back story from my “Girl from the Blood Coven” sets up the horrors in my novella The Witching House.

What’s the most fun you ever had with another writer?

There have been so many instances, it’s hard to pick one. I’d say it’s the multi-author book signings I’ve done at various horror conventions, especially back in our days when Samhain Publishing sponsored several horror cons a year. World Horror Con in Austin, HorrorFind in Gettysburg, Horror Hound in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and Killercon in Vegas stand out as some of the best times. It was a blast spending a weekend with fellow horror authors and autographing books alongside them. Then we’d go out to dinner afterward and visit over food and drinks until midnight. I enjoyed the laughter and camaraderie and made some dear friends.

Texas gets a rough rep sometimes. Give me three things about the state that you consider beautiful.

Texas is so vast that we have a variety of beauty from the evergreen forests of East Texas to the hill country around Austin to the beaches of Galveston and South Padre.

The women are absolutely beautiful.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes grow wild here and offer a floral sea of colors when you drive down a highway or rural road.

Survive With Me: 5 Questions with Somer Canon

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SURVIVE WITH ME features 16 of my favorite writer buds. Each of them gave these stories to me for this charity anthology. ALL proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. You can order your eBook or paperback copy HERE Or discover more about this wonderful cause here: AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND

I’m asking each contributing author 5 questions as part of the promotion for the book. Today, I am so happy to welcome one of my former Samhain Publishing stablemates, Ms. Somer Canon. She’s the author of Vicki Beautiful, Killer Chronicles, and her latest, Slaves to Gravity (with Wesley Southard).

Somer Canon

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What inspired your story in SWM, “Sick Burn”?

My story is about a parent reacting to a rebellious teenager and her bad, horrible decisions.  Right now, I’m the parent of a brand new 13 year-old teenager, and although we’re having our moments that come along with that, my son is a very good boy and I can’t complain.  No, my inspiration came from my reflections on what I was like as a teenager and some of the hell I put my poor mother through.  This story is my current self reacting to my teenaged self, and it’s not a pretty confrontation.  

What other causes do you think deserve more attention?

I love that we’re donating to a Native American cause because I think that the plight of the Native tribes gets overlooked.  The problem is, we have so many groups in need in this country.  As a first world country, how is that?  We need to be better about taking care of our own, no matter the categories under which they fall.  I’m happy to donate both my words and my money to these causes, but I can’t help but wish that there weren’t a need for it.  Animals, women, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, children, elderly, minorities, the Native American people, veterans, the differently abled, those living with terminal illnesses…there are so many causes that need our attention and the mercy of our higher selves and I’d urge anyone reading this to consider looking into charities to support because every little bit helps.

You have your own podcast. What are some podcasts that you love horror and maybe non horror?

I really like horror podcasts that deal with introducing the listener to horror creatives.  I loved The Horror Show with Brian Keene (RIP), but I also really like Arm Cast Podcast, which doesn’t rely solely on horror creators, but you are introduced to creators you might otherwise not have known.  I like the Ink Heist a lot for the same reasons.  I really love Cosmic Shenanigans because it’s a horror podcast that takes an intellectual look at the cosmic horror genre and I’ve been introduced to the genre in many different iterations like movies, and video games.  I think the only story-based horror (and it’s more bizarre/comedy than horror) is welcome to Night Vale, which has some of the most imaginative storytelling out there.  I listen to a lot of comedy, history and true crime podcasts because they help to take the edge off of every day drudges for me.  I love Unobscured, You Must Remember This, My Favorite Murder, Historical Blindness, History goes Bump, and Myths and Legends.

What was the last movie or tv show that made you cry? 

The Good Place made me bawl my freaking eyes out once or twice when I binged it recently.  

Name three things, big or small, that have happened during Covid 19 that made you feel hopeful.

The staying at home thing has been really hard, socially speaking, for a lot of people.  But hearing those same people, who are very much struggling mentally, say that they wouldn’t dream of possibly infecting another person really made me remember to look for the good in people.  When the people behaving badly are sucking up all of the attention, it did me good to see the people in the back, the quiet ones, retaining a semblance of altruistic humanity that, for some reason, doesn’t make the headlines like it should.

SURVIVE WITH ME: 5 Questions with Bram Stoker Winner, Gwendolyn Kiste

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SURVIVE WITH ME features 16 of my favorite writer buds. Each of them gave these stories to me for this charity anthology. ALL the proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. You can order your eBook or paperback copy HERE

I’m asking each contributing author 5 questions as part of the promotion for the book. Today, we welcome Bram Stoker winning author Gwendolyn Kiste!

Gwendolyn Kiste

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What inspired your story in SWM, “The Princes She’s Forgotten”?

GK: I’m a big fan of fairy tales, especially ones that are very much in the vein of horror and dark fantasy (because really, most of the original fairy tales were absolutely horror stories themselves). For “The Princes She’s Forgotten,” I wanted to explore the archetypal fairy tale villainess from her perspective and specifically what it would be like to deal with all those so-called valorous princes who come after her. Playing with narratives, in particular familiar ones like fairy tales, can be such a fun thing to do as a writer, and this story definitely gave me that opportunity.

What causes do you think deserve more attention?

GK: So many! I’m very enthusiastic about nonprofits that focus on animal conservation and also ones that focus on the arts. I try to regularly support the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Good Zoo in Wheeling, WV; they’re both doing amazing work for wildlife. As for arts organizations, I adore the Edward Gorey House in Massachusetts, which preserves the legacy of the awesome and macabre artist Edward Gorey. Another wonderful program is the Big Read, which is part of the National Endowment for the Arts and brings communities together through a focus on literature. Truly, though, there are so many incredible organizations out there doing their part to make the world a better place.

Where are your Bram Stoker Awards?

GK: My Stoker awards are sitting on the top of a bookshelf in my living room. It’s a rather petite shelf, but it’s got a nice story behind it: my husband’s grandmother gave it to him many years ago. She was the one who first got him into horror as a kid—they used to watch Godzilla and Hammer movies together every Saturday when he was growing up. Years later, he and I met and bonded over our shared love of horror, so it seems like a nice homage to his grandmother, the woman who in her own way ultimately brought us together thanks to her love of all things spooky.

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Where did your love for Bob Seger come from?

GK: Oh, wow, I haven’t thought about this in a long time—it almost feels like I’ve always loved Bob Seger’s music. It probably started with the songs, “Hollywood Nights” and “Night Moves.” My dad had made a mixtape with those Bob Seger songs on it, and I remember listening to them over and over on road trips, which are very fond memories.

I’m also a huge fan of songs that tell complete stories, and Bob Seger has always been quite a master at that. He paints such vivid pictures of the worlds he’s inhabited, and that takes strong storytelling skills to do. His songs definitely remind me of the industrial landscapes of my childhood, so when I went to write my first novel, The Rust Maidens, which is based in Cleveland in 1980, I could imagine no better soundtrack than Bob Seger.

What are three things that make you smile?

GK: It might sound really cliched, but acts of kindness always make me smile. Just seeing people be kind to one another, even seemingly small acts of kindness, can go such a long way to making the world a better place. Nature also tends to make me smile a lot. My husband and I live out in rural Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh, and getting to watch the change of seasons, especially in the fall, is just so awe-inspiring and exciting. And finally, my cats make me smile every day with their silly antics. They’re both so curious and at times devious, but that just makes life with them that much more interesting!

SURVIVE WITH ME: 5 Questions with Chad Lutzke & JG Faherty

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SURVIVE WITH ME features 16 of my favorite writer buds. Each of them gave these stories to me for this charity anthology. ALL the proceeds go to the American Indian College Fund. You can order your copy of the paperback edition: HERE

I’m asking each contributing author 5 questions as part of the promotion for the book. Today, we welcome Chad Lutzke (THE PALE WHITE, OF FOSTER HOMES AND FLIES) and Bram Stoker-Nominated JG Faherty (SINS OF THE FATHER, THE CURE)

CHAD LUTZKE

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1.What inspired your story in SWM, “Culling the Pigs”?
I don’t recall the exact genesis, but a few years ago I came up with the idea of writing a book about a young boy who hides a female serial killer in his fort and feeds her. After realizing I was probably never going to write the book, I wrote this story instead, which is a bit different than my original idea.

2. What are some other causes you think deserve more attention?Homelessness and drug rehab. Addiction is a huge problem in this country, and your average rehab that is available is lackluster, either barely scratching the service or just not economically feasible. They need to be more readily available to everyone at any time, and not just a simple 2-3 week program. Ones that offer a good 12-step foundation and solid accountability. You get those, and you’ll see crime, homelessness, and depression lower significantly. These people need help with a brand new life.

3. You’ve written a bunch of great novellas, is there a full-length novel on the horizon?Thanks, Glenn. There sure is. The tentative title is PLANET CARAVAN, and I plan to seek out an agent with it in a few months. Wish me luck!

4. What are some of your favorite non-rock songs?
Oh, man. The list is LONG. Not sure I’m able to list just songs, but I can give you some artists. Sade may possibly get the most “airplay” in my house than anything. I’m a huge fan and own all her stuff. I also really dig synthwave like FM-84, Gunship, and The Midnight. I love Curtis Mayfield, Patrick O’Hearn, Sly and the Family Stone, Chvrches, Mark Dorricott, Billie Eilish, and the first few Madonna albums to name just a few. I could go on forever.

Wait! Just thought of a few specific songs. Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo, Hot in Here by …is it Nelly? And a song that when I listen to it, it has to be cranked to 11, and I usually listen to it like 3 or 4 times in a row: Call Me Maybe by Carly somebody or another. Something about the melody and its great production does it for me.

5. What are three things that make you laugh? 

Curb Your Enthusiasm.Watching someone else laugh really hard.I do this thing where I hide a dog treat in my hand while trying to pet my dogs with the same hand, and they go nuts with confusion. Every time I do it, I’m in tears.

JG FAHERTY

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What inspired your story in SWM, “Street Action”?
I’d had the rough idea for “Street Action” a while ago. I rarely write zombie stories, but whenever I do, I like to do them in ways that are very atypical. In this case, I’d jotted down a couple of lines in one of my ‘idea notebooks:’ zombies are not all mindless, but they’re treated like it and often brutalized. Then, when Survive With Me came along, I thought this would be the perfect plot to flesh out as a tale of survival and revenge on the mean street.

2. What causes do you think deserve more attention?
I spend a lot of my time focused on helping animals, because they have no way to speak for themselves. I donate a lot to our local Human Society location (where we adopted our dog, Bruno), and in the past I’ve volunteered or donated to the SPCA, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Tigers for Tomorrow. I wasn’t aware of The American Indian College Fund before Glenn brought it to my attention, but I felt it was a great cause

3. Why should a horror writer join the HWA?
Wow, there are so many reasons. You get to meet and communicate with some of the best writers in the genre. There are all sorts of educational opportunities, such as Horror University, we have special promotional and financial programs for minorities and women and LGBQT writers, we have our Library program that helps partner writers and libraries together for academic and promotional functions, we have StokerCon – the best horror convention in the world! – we have our newsletter, which provides all sorts of information important to writers, including open markets… and that’s just what I’m thinking off the top of my head while working on my first cup of coffee.

4. What’s your favorite movie that may surprise your fans?Well, people are often surprised that I’m first and foremost a fan of dumb comedies. Animal House, Vacation, Eurotrip, Harold & Kumar, Blues Brothers, Strange Brew, Beer Fest… that’s my wheelhouse. Everyone thinks I should spend all my time watching blood and guts, but that’s not me. I do enjoy horror – a lot! – but it needs to be really good horror. You’ll never see me watching torture porn or serial killer schlock movies. Saw, Hostel, Human Centipede, Wolf Creek – I think that’s all garbage; great for teenagers (I enjoyed that stuff in my teenage years, til I developed taste!) but that’s about it. Give me a real suspenseful, scary movie, though, and I’m hooked. Some of my all-time favorites are White Noise, Paranormal Activity (the first one), Blair Witch (the first one), 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Signs. I also love the classics: Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Hammer films of the 60s and 70s… and monster films. Anything with Godzilla or King Kong. Cloverfield. The Legend of Boggy Creek.

5. What are three things that make you feel good? Laughing, at movies or with friends and family. The first cup of coffee on a cold winter morning. Playing my guitar.

SURVIVE WITH ME: A Charity Anthology from Alien Agenda Publishing

Holy crap. I originally wanted to put this book together after Samhain Publishing collapsed back in 2016. In a perfect world, I would have snagged all the novels and novellas of all my friends and started Alien Agenda Publishing then. Of course, that takes a lot of time and money to do the right way.

I let myself dream about getting stories from some of my Samhain buds and jokingly titled the anthology, SURVIVE WITH ME. We would write stories about survival, be it disease, war, zombies, publishers, etc. Two years later, I started asking around hitting up my Samhain buds first. I got nearly everyone I approached to participate in this collection. That makes me very happy. The authors involved donated their stories (most of them brand new).

When I sat down to consider the many charities to donate to, I tried to focus on survival. There are people in this country that have been surviving, struggling with what they were left with for hundreds of years. The American Indians still struggle. Poverty, abuse, and addiction deal blow after blow to reservations across the country, and any time and any place those circumstances happen, education falls behind on the list of priorities, survival is all that matters.

Native Americans have a lower overall high school graduation rate: about 65 percent earn a high school diploma compared with 75.2 percent of the U.S. population. Their college graduation rate is also much lower, with 9.3 percent earning a college degree compared with the national average of 20.3 percent. (Scholarshipowl.com)

Sadly, the greatest economic disparity for Native Americans lies in reservations themselves. The median income on a reservation is $29,097, compared to the national median income for Native Americans which is $40,315. (NCRC.org)

I wanted to try and help where I could. ALL proceeds from this book will be donated directly to the American Indian College Fund (which you can donate to anytime).

Once the authors committed and began to deliver these stories of survival, I knew we also needed an amazing artist to do our cover. Zach McCain had done some fantastic work on my Thunderstorm Books, and he was more than happy to help out when I emailed him.

Kenneth W. Cain jumped on board once we had all the stories together and he and his team busted their butts getting the edits and proofreading done in a relatively short amount of time.

16 authors, 16 voices, 16 stories of survival.

My sincerest thanks to those mentioned above, as well as the authors: Ronald Malfi, Tim Waggoner, Heather Herrman, Brian Kirk, Somer Canon, Brian Moreland, Lucas Mangum, Gwendolyn Kiste, Rio Youers, Chris Sorensen, Chad Lutzke, JG Faherty, John Everson, Kristin Dearborn, and Nate Kenyon.

I would have loved to have had Owl Goingback or Stephen Graham Jones be a part of this, but unfortunately, it didn’t end up happening. That’s okay. If you’re not reading and supporting their work already, you should start doing that as soon as possible. They are amazing writers and wonderful people.

I also have to thank Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi. Erin put in plenty of hours early on in this project and she was there to listen to my daydreaming ideas about what this book could be. Thank you, Erin. I’m always grateful for the work we’ve done together.

Survive With Me will be available in paperback and eBook this December. I hope you’ll all consider ordering a copy when the time comes.

Thank you so much on this Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

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Adios, Eddie. RIP

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When I wrote my latest novel, Until Summer Comes Around, there was one song that played through my head over and over again. “Love Walks In” by Van Halen (or Van Hagar, if you prefer). It was one the songs I taped off the radio when I was a kid. It compared love to something alien (aliens were one of my favorite things, at the time) and it just sounded so good. When I decided to place my story in 1986 , there was no way this song and album (5150) wouldn’t work its way in.

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Contact is all it takes…

I’d been exposed to the mighty Van Halen via the David Lee Roth videos on MTV from the 1984 album, but it was “Love Walks In” that made me a VH fan. While there’s a shit ton of keyboards on this tune and album, it’s the guitar solo that held every ounce of vocal magic as Sammy on this one.

I guess I’ve always been some sort of hopeless romantic from the very start. I probably wanted Cyndi Lauper to be the girl that walked in, but alas, she never did.

This song meant so much to me then, and still thrills me today when I crank it up in my van. I’ve even caught my boy singing along to “Dreams” a time or two.

The world has certainly lost a great guitarist, one of the very best, and maybe the most influential. Also, a son has lost his father and bother lost his brother. I can relate to both of those.

RIP, Eddie.

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Glenn Rolfe’s Horror Shop (Episode 3: John Everson)...

Glenn Rolfe’s Horror Shop (Episode 3: John Everson)

This was a really cool hang with John Everson. I met him years back at Horrorhound Weekend when we shared a Samhain table with our fellow Samhain buds.  We’ve kept in touch ever since and I was so psyched to have John as my second guest for the show.

We talked for (and drank) for nearly three hours. By the time we finished, I was definitely too many beers past my limit.  I had such a good time.

Please check it out.  I know you guys are always looking for writing advice and John and I go back and forth over things like character notes, outlining, getting published the long road traditional way vs. the easy amazon upload (both of which we support under the right circumstances), and so much more. Plus, you get a tour of “The Basement that Horror Built” and lots of cool, ridiculousness from us.

This is the first hour.  I hope you guys dig it.

Also, just secured Todd Keisling (author of Devil’s Creek) for my next conversation!

Be kind to one another and Stay safe!

 

 

(Share the Horror Book Review) CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD by Adam Cesare

Out today!!!!! Go grab a copy.

Glenn Rolfe

Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.

Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there…

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From a recent interview: Influences and favorite current authors.

What horror novel has had the biggest impact on you as a writer and who are some of your favorite current writers?

Biggest impact: ‘Salem’s Lot. It has everything I ever need in a story. A great love story with Ben and Susan, a creepy house on a hill, a small town brought to life only to be brought to its knees!!! Scary scenes like the one at the morgue, the Glick boy at Mark’s bedroom window, man. I’ve read it five times and look forward to the next time.

I try to make my stories that good. Or even and eighth of that…it’s the best.

For current writers out there…Ronald Malfi, Hunter Shea, Brian Moreland, Jonathan Janz. I loved Jonathan Maberry’s Pine Deep Trilogy. Patrick Lacey and Heather Herrman are two of my newer favorites. Somer Canon, The Sisters of Slaughter (Michelle Garza & Melissa Lason), Todd Keisling. I could go on and on. Horror fiction is full of great writers.