Philip Fracassi's Blog: PHILIP FRACASSI BLOG, page 3

GOTHIC SELLS TO CEMETERY DANCE, EARTHING PUBLICATIONS

JANUARY 10, 2022

In July 2016 I announced my first book deal. Posting about BEHOLD THE VOID coming out in an actual book from an actual publisher was one of the coolest things I’d ever done. A life-long writer’s dream come true.

In July 2021 I announced my first trade novel sale to Skyhorse / Talos Press (A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS, coming August 2022).

And today I get to announce what—for me—is the most exciting news to date. Because I get to team with two amazing, legendary publishers to bring out a new novel I’m extremely proud of.

ANNOUNCING my newest novel, GOTHIC.

In November 2022, Earthling Publications will be publishing a very limited (250 copies or fewer) edition of the novel that will be a deluxe hardcover, numbered and signed. They will also produced a Lettered edition.

In February 2023, Cemetery Dance Publications will be publishing a trade edition of the novel (paperback and eBook) worldwide.

This novel, much like A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS, is a throwback horror novel that I’m hopeful readers of my work (and authors in the vein of King, McCammon, Barker) will enjoy.

Pre-Order information for both publishers is pending, but if you join my newsletter (or the newsletters at Earthling or Cemetery Dance) you’ll have the information when it becomes available.

I want to thank my agent, Elizabeth Copps, for putting this amazing deal together. Huge thanks to Kevin Lucia, Brian Freeman, and Richard Chizmar at Cemetery Dance for taking on the novel. This was one of the first deals Kevin made for the new CD trade line, and I’m honored to be working with him and CD. Lastly, one more huge thanks to Paul Miller at Earthling for believing in me and the book. This is our second project together (after BOYS IN THE VALLEY) and he’s one of the best in the business.

I’m so thrilled to be bringing this news to you, and I hope you’ll enjoy Tyson’s journey into darkness as much as I enjoyed writing it.

BOOK SUMMARY

On his 59th birthday, Tyson Parks—a famous, but struggling, horror writer—receives an ornate antiquarian desk in the hopes it will rekindle his creative juices. Perhaps inspire him to write another best-selling book and prove his best years aren’t behind him…

As Tyson begins to use the new desk, he finds himself writing copy at an unfathomable speed, becomes so focused on writing that he binges on all-night, all-day sessions that take a serious physical and psychological toll.

Soon, Tyson begins acting strange. Violent.

Meanwhile, a mysterious woman, Diana Montresor, is making inquiries with her sources around the globe for the whereabouts of a certain artifact she, and her family, have been hunting for centuries.

As forces converge on Tyson’s world, he faces the hardest choice of his life: Does he let go of his new muse, allow it to be taken back to the void of history where it belongs? Or does he continue to live as the desk’s mouthpiece, not only regaining his glory days as a famous writer, but achieving levels of success he’s only dreamed of?

As the desk—and the force that lives inside it—grows stronger, he must choose.

Before it’s too late.

2021 Reading Roundup

December 20, 2021

The year is winding to a close and before I get absorbed into the hungry gelatinous mass that is the holiday season for jolly consumption I wanted to quickly share a brief list of my favorite reads from 2021.

Note that some or many of these titles were not actually released in 2021, but simply titles I read in the past year.

Additionally, it’s worth noting my reading was down in 2021. Primarily because I was swamped with writing projects, having finished a couple novels, a half-dozen short stories, and worked on edits for four novels, three of which are coming out in the next year-and-a-half, the other one is being shopped. So point being most of my free time was writing, versus reading.

I also read more advance books for blurbs than I have EVER read. Honestly, I probably agreed to too many titles, as I just couldn’t get to them all for the authors or publishers when they needed them. Overall, I read nine novels for blurbs or paid reviews, and probably didn’t get to another half dozen, which is a bummer but there’s only so much time in a day and it just didn’t work out.

Normally, I read between 80-100 books a year. In 2021, I only read 68. Which is crazy and also makes me kind of sad, but this was such a busy year for me on the writing front it just ate me up (in a good way).

At the top of my TBR pile for 2022 are story collections by Brian Evenson, Yan Ge, Jeffrey Ford, Ellen Datlow (ed.), among others. I’m excited to read novels by Eric Rickstad, Scott Carson, Herve Le Tellier, Peter Heller, Gus Moreno, Christopher Buehlman, Grady Hendrix, Cynthia Pelayo, Zoje Stage, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Adam Nevill, Jason Mott, Derek B. Miller, Violet Kupersmith, Angela Slatter, Polly Schattel, Amor Towles… and on and on (see my problem?).

So, all that said, here are a handful of books —the best of the best— read in the last year that I highly recommend you picking up and adding to the top of your towering TBR pile:

The Queen’s Gambit - Walter Tavis

The Kingdom - Jo Nesbo

The Dark Side of the Room & Criterium - Tyler Jones

Rookfield - Gordon B. White

Without Remorse - Tom Clancy

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

Later & Billy Summers - Stephen King

Moon Lake - Joe Lansdale

Ghoul ‘n the Cape & Pearl - Josh Malerman

Dark Across the Bay - Ania Ahlborn

Falling - T.J. Newman

Come With Me - Ronald Malfi

Two for the Money - Max Allan Collins

Recursion - Blake Crouch

The Seven Variations of Sydney Burgess - Andy Marino

Morbius - Brendan Deneen

Come Closer - Sara Gran

Chasing the Boogeyman - Richard Chizmar

Razorblade Tears - S.A. Cosby

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Anthony Doerr

And lastly (drumroll?), my favorite novel of the year was easily Five Decembers by James Kestrel (aka Jonathan Moore). A hybrid noir/war novel that is written so elegantly and powerfully that the 450-whatever pages go by in a blur. In the acknowledgments, the author mentions the original manuscript was over 750 pages and I felt a physical pang of sorrow I wan’t able to read those other 300 pages, that’s how good this book was. As always, your mileage may differ, but for me it was story perfection. Silver medals to The Kingdom, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Razorblade Tears, The Nightingale, and Malerman’s epic, Ghoul ‘n the Cape.

That’s it! Hope you enjoyed this breakdown, and I sincerely hope I’ve increased the height of your TBR pile. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and I look forward to more great reads in 2022!

Your pal—

-PF

*Header artwork by Claudia Caranfa, from the cover of Five Decembers (Hard Case Crime).

2021 Publishing and Writing Recap

DECEMBER 7 , 2021

Man, what a year!

Generally speaking, last couple years have easily been my most productive to date from a writing standpoint. The pandemic (awful as it was) allowed me to quarantine at my desk and produce a bunch of new work, which is now slowly making its way out to market. My hope / aspiration is that things continue to proceed at a workmanlike, steady pace, so I can continue to focus full-time on writing (something I’ve been doing since April of this year). As long as I can keep finding homes for things, I can likely keep afloat financially. But I also need time to make the donuts! So, taking it day-by-day, but really hoping things continue in an upward trajectory.

That all said, it’s been a great publishing year for me. A lot of titles have come out somewhat close together (not by design, believe me) and it’s been fun, if a little exhausting, getting them all as much reader visibility as I could muster. But it’s worked out really well, and I’m so appreciative to the publishers I’ve worked with, and to the amazing readers who have purchased my books. THANK YOU!

2021 Family Photo

To that end, I’ve been fortunate to publish the following titles in 2021:

Beneath a Pale Sky - Story collection - Lethe Press

Boys in the Valley - (debut!) novel - Earthling Publications

Commodore - novella - Strange Aeons Publishing

Tomorrow’s Gone - poems - Hybrid Sequence Media

And I’ve had the following stories published:

“Aquarium Diver” - Humans are the Problem (anthology)

“The Wish” - Assemble Artifacts #1 (magazine)

“The View” - Southwest Review (magazine)

“Marmalade” - The Bad Book (anthology)

“Over 1,000,000 Copies in Print” - New Maps of Dream (anthology)

“Ergamul” - Forbidden Futures (magazine)

In addition to the above, I’ve sold a few stories which will appear in various places in the new year. I’ve got another handful being shopped, and a few on my docket to get written, so I will definitely be adding to that total if at all possible.

I’ve also sold (or am in the process of finalizing agreements on) three novels, a children’s book, and a story collection. All of which will be coming out in 2022 and/or early 2023 (including a big horror novel, A Child Alone with Strangers, coming August from Skyhorse/Talos Press). I have two additional novels being shopped by my amazing, hard-working agent Elizabeth Copps (including a trade edition of Boys in the Valley), and a brand new novel I’m writing now which I’ll be turning in early next year. Hopefully they all find homes.

There will also be international releases for Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic for assorted titles. Hopefully we can add more territories down the line.

So as things wind down for the year, I just want to say a big thanks to Steve Berman, Paul Miller, Kelly Young and Rick Tillman, Donald Armfield, and all the wonderful editors who have taken on my work.

I’m also so grateful to the incredible artists I’ve worked with in the last year: Brian Vox (Commodore), Francois Vaillancourt (Beneath a Pale Sky), Glenn Chadbourne (Boys in the Valley), and Mark Licari (Tomorrow’s Gone) are all amazing to work with and I feel truly blessed to have done so.

Lastly, there are a bunch of film / tv adaptions in the works for assorted stories. Hopefully we can start announcing some of those next year, as well. My big thanks to Brendan Deneen for repping my stuff to industry folks. It’s been a heck of a ride so far.

I deeply and humbly thank all of you who have supported me in 2021. You guys are the best and I hope I can continue to put out work that thrills and entertains, if you’ll have me.

Happy Holidays!

-PF

PS—To purchase any of my available books, visit my Amazon page. If you’d like Signed copies, visit by Signed Books page. And if you’d like to see a breakdown of all my stories to date, you can check out my Stories page. Thank you again!

(Header artwork by Glenn Chadbourne, from the cover of Boys in the Valley)

2021 List of Award-Eligible Fiction

November 17, 2021

Hey, we all know it’s been a rough couple years. 2020 was nobody’s friend, and 2021 has been, if not a monster under the bed, at minimum an ugly troll in the cellar, eating dirt and grubs.

But despite these ugly, awkward, monstrous years, there’s also been some positives. One of which being that with the pandemic locking me in my house like Cinderella’s ugly, grumpy brother, I was able to spend a lot of my time writing new fiction, much of which came out this year, and much of which is slated for 2022 and beyond.

To that end, with the glut of new work hitting the virtual (and yes, sometimes physical) shelves, I thought it would be a lot of fun to breakdown my 2021 releases that are eligible for all the glorious awards that I have ZERO idea how to promote myself to. Regardless, this is my feeble attempt to say: Hey! You vote for stories and such? Here’s my wares, buddy, have a look. And hell yeah! Add me to the list, or the thing, or let the right people know, or tell a judge or something. I don’t know how it all works, but maybe some of you do!

So, here’s my list of eligible work that came out in 2021. If you want to read any of it, almost all of it’s up on Amazon or other digital platforms. Or, if you REALLY want to read something, hit me up and I’ll get it to you.

Thanks, and here’s that list:

FICTION COLLECTION

BENEATH A PALE SKY (Lethe Press, July 2021)

“This collection is one not to miss.” - LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

DEBUT NOVEL

BOYS IN THE VALLEY (Earthling Publications, October 2021)

“A beautiful novel that should be — will likely be — remembered as one of the best of the young decade.” - CEMETERY DANCE ONLINE

LONG FICTION

“Harvest” - from BENEATH A PALE SKY

“The Wheel” - from BENEATH A PALE SKY

COMMODORE - an original novella (Strange Aeons, September 2021)

“Compulsive, scary, and heartbreaking…Philip Fracassi nails it again." - NATHAN BALLINGRUD

SHORT FICTION

“The Wish” - from Assemble Artifacts Magazine (October 2021)

“Marmalade” - from THE BAD BOOK (July 2021)

“Aquarium Diver” - from HUMANS ARE THE PROBLEM (November 2021)

“The View” - from Southwest Review Magazine (October 2021)

“Over 1,000,000 Copies in Print” - from NEW MAPS OF DREAM (PS Publishing, August 2021)

That’s it for now - thanks for reading the work, and if you have any questions or would like to read any of the above for voting consideration, please CONTACT me.

Thank you!

-PF

A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS SELLS TO SKYHORSE / TALOS PRESS

JUNE 30, 2021

I’m not gonna lie, this is an emotional post for me.

Thirty-odd years of scribbling words, concocting ideas. Endless hours at different desks with different computers (or notepads or word processors without hard drives). Countless submissions to agents and publishers. In the early going, an accumulation of stacks and stacks of torn-open envelopes with rejection notes, letters, and postcards inside. In this last decade, a dark parade of emails saying No, No, No.

Try again. Try harder.

Work harder.

And yes, I’ve published a few books with some wonderful publishers. My debut novel is set to release this Halloween as a stunning limited edition.

But this feels different. My first major trade publishing deal is now a reality, and I couldn’t be more thrilled, more happy. More satisfied.

Well, not satisfied. Not yet. Lots more to do. More deals to try and make. More trying. More work.

I can’t wait.

Henry’s Prison

But for now, I’m going to enjoy this, and I’m grateful to be enjoying it with you, reader. To be sharing with everyone I can reach out to and connect with. Because hell yeah, I’m celebrating this one.

This book was a challenge. Its early drafts saw the revisions of two different literary agents. Not to mention many generous beta readers and friends. It was also a challenge because it was my first horror novel, and I wanted it to be great. I wanted it to be special. Ultimately, I spent over a year writing and re-writing the first chunk of this book. Trying to make it conform, to fit what early agents wanted. But not what I wanted. So I wrote the book I wanted to write.

I wanted to make it nuts. I wanted to make it fun. I wanted to make it BIG.

Hopefully, clocking in at over 600 pages, it will be all of those things for anyone who opens the front cover and dives into the world of Henry Thorne, and all the monsters that live in it.

Ultimately, it was my third (and current, and bestest) agent who read and loved the final manuscript. Worked incredibly hard to put it in front of dozens of editors.

And finally, that bite came. Not a nibble, a BITE. An OFFER.

I’m very grateful to Oren Eades at Skyhorse Publishing / Talos Press for wanting this book. For wanting my work.

A CHILD ALONE WITH STRANGERS is coming Spring 2022 from Talos Press.

It’s official, and I can’t wait.

Thanks for reading. Means the world.

PF

BOOK SUMMARY

When a young boy is kidnapped and held prisoner in a remote farmhouse surrounded by miles of forest, he finds himself connecting with a strange force living in the woods, and uses that bond to wreak havoc against his captors. Unknown to the boy, however, is that this ancient being has its own reasons for wanting the interlopers gone -- there is something hidden beneath the house, tucked away in the dark, damp root cellar... waiting for it’s return.

EARLY PRAISE

"A Child Alone with Strangers starts out as a slow burn procedural with supernatural elements and inexorably cranks itself into a pulse-pounding symphony of eldritch horrors and all-too-human violence. Philip Fracassi is the best sort of horror writer--one who is unafraid to hunt for light in even the darkest places." - SHAUN HAMILL, author of A Cosmology of Monsters

 

“Fracassi’s novel hits me like a cross between McCammon and 80s King. Might be one of them summer blockbusters readers love.” - LAIRD BARRON, author of Worse Angels

Tell Me the Good Stuff

JUNE 1, 2021

Had been toying with writing something like this, demurred, but then saw a post by another author and it pushed me to actually go through with it. And while I don't consider myself successful, per se, I do think I've been through some things over the last 5 years or so, and have been able to reach some consistency in publishing work, so maybe sharing this will help someone else who's perhaps just starting out.

Okay, so, a lot of my online friends are writers. Like me, they struggle to find ways to keep the dream alive, so to speak, and do whatever they can to eek out even the tiniest semblance of a writing career - a daunting, exhausting, often humiliating, but incredibly bold goal to set for oneself.

All that to say, I think it's important to remember that many writers, myself included, tend to only post when good stuff happens, and leave the bad stuff to their offline circles to hear about. So it can often seem like everything is always great, when in reality it's only one side of things being projected. I could post about my hundreds of rejections or my past battles with publishers or the depression cycles I go through when things suck, but I prefer not to (for the most part).

But I worry sometimes that folks think it's all gravy, when actually there's a ton of sweat and tears and despair and tough losses between those uncommon wins.

Perseverance is the most important thing, in my mind, to finding success in this field, in any form. Be it getting that first story sold or a novel deal or a movie option. All that stuff is generated from years of toil and heartache and relentless output. For every story sale, I've had double-digit rejections. For every small win, a hundred tough losses.

The way I get through all the hard, crappy times is to forget about everything else but the work. I push away all the noise--frustration at seeing others succeed where I failed, endless heartbreaking rejections, fears of not making it, or the idea that nothing lies ahead but shattered dreams.

Instead, it's just me and the story. And that's like a life raft that I can climb into during a storm, and ride safely until that next harbor of promise comes up on the horizon. And, man, then I row as hard as I can--push and push and push--and hope like hell to get there.

Point of all this is to say that no one is doing as well as you think (well, almost no one). That nothing comes easy and, unfortunately, no one is going to make it happen for you. When you get frustrated, or despair, that's when you gotta dig deep and do the work. Eventually, it will pay off, and then you can share the good news, and I can't wait to hear it.

Night Worms Announcement / Beneath a Pale Sky Cover Reveal

April 16, 2021

Thrilled to announce I'll be combining Wonder Twin powers with the amazing Josh Malerman for the June 2021 "Darkest Fears" Night Worms horror book package. Click HERE for more information.

The package will include books and signed bookplates from both of us, plus the usual Night Worms goodies and surprises.

As part of this announcement, I’m also excited to reveal the official cover for my upcoming collection, BENEATH A PALE SKY, coming June 18, 2021, from Lethe Press. Cover artwork is by Francois Vaillancourt.

The publisher’s pre-order page is now live. Click HERE to pre-order your copy.

ANNOUNCING TWO-BOOK DEAL WITH HYBRID SEQUENCE MEDIA

MARCH 20, 2021

PUBLISHING ANNOUNCEMENT:

So very pleased to announce a two-book publishing deal just signed with Hybrid Sequence Media.

The first of the two releases will come out in Fall 2021, a book of my poetry compiled from the last decade, called TOMORROW'S GONE: 50 POEMS. The book will also feature a knockout cover and original interior drawings by renowned artist Mark Licari (www.marklicari.org).

The second book will release in 2022, and is a children's book titled THE BOY WITH THE BLUE ROSE HEART, featuring original illustrations by Luke Spooner.

Both books will be widely-distributed trade editions.

I want to thank editor/publisher Donald Armfield for bringing me on and believing in these projects, and give a shout out to Seb Doubinsky for his assistance with the book of poems.

Obviously, different material than my horror stuff, but I think you'll find glimpses of darkness in these books, and I hope you'll check them out and enjoy them.

PF

Illustration by Luke Spooner. Detail from THE BOY WITH THE BLUE ROSE HEART

May 29, 2015

February 24, 2021

I don't think many folks can pinpoint the exact date they started their professional writing career. Not just writing, but that day that kickstarted your work into the world of being a published and paid contributor to the ever-flowing literary scene.

For me, it was May 29, 2015.

That was the day I was sitting in a warehouse in downtown L.A., surrounded by used books, sweating in 100-degree heat, chatting on the phone with one of my literary idols, who was giving me critical, but enthusiastic, feedback on a story I'd written called "Cocoon."

Laird gave me a lot of stuff to fix, and showed me ways I could do a lot of things better -- lessons I still adhere to -- but he also told me, in so many words, that it was good enough. That I was good enough.

I took about ten pages of frantic notes that afternoon, dripping sweat onto the paper, straining to hear his thoughts through my crappy earpiece, praying I could extend my break just a little bit longer.

Eventually, "Cocoon" became "Mother". After extensive rewrites using Laird's advice and guidance and more than a few of his suggestions, I submitted "Mother" to Dunhams Manor Press, who agreed to publish it as a standalone chapbook.

Since then, I've published over two dozen short stories, a story collection, and two novellas. I've had my work reviewed in The New York Times. This year I'll publish another novella, a second collection and my debut novel.

Every day I'm appreciative to Laird for taking the time to coach up a nobody writer, and I try to pay it back every chance I get.

I'll be dedicating my new collection to Mr. Barron, without whom I would never had the nerve, or belief, to pursue this crazy dream.

Thanks, LB.

Goodbye 40s. I'll Miss You. Hello 50s. Let's Cook.

December 30, 2020

New Year’s Eve, 2020, has been a sort of “life deadline” to me for the last, oh, 30 years or so.

I had a plan, see? By 50, I would have done X, Y, and sure why not? Z.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone as planned. 40s me sorta blames 30s me for a slew of dumb moves that slowed my progress. But look, truth be told? 40s me started a little rough out of the gate as well. Which is why it doesn’t pay to play the blame game. The regret game. Because sometimes those massive missteps are the genesis of huge wins. So yeah, sometimes you do need two steps back to take a step forward. It figures the board would be set up that way, doesn’t it?

So, with hours to spare here, let’s review: Did I achieve my goals? Hit my targets? Make my deadline?

The short answer? No. I did not.

That said, some interesting things happened along the way. Not sure how you’d quantify them…

Surprise goals? Unforeseen wins? Happy accidents?

Okay, so I didn’t publish a novel before 50. But I wrote a bunch - six, to be exact, and counting. (And no, I don’t count the novel I self-published 20 years ago. Although part of me thinks I should). And I did publish a story collection, so that sorta counts? And hey, I figured a way to scratch out a side career peddling short genre fiction, which is neat. So there’s some plusses, I guess.

But no, 20-year-old me. I’m not rich. Or successful. And for that I’m sorry. Truly.

BUT.

Let’s talk about those surprise goals, buddy. Let’s talk about those unforeseen wins.

For starters, I had a kid. Whoa, right? A great little kid who somehow, overnight, become an amazing, loving, adult. Also, I met a beautiful, strong, talented woman to spend my life with. We have a home with a low-interest mortgage. I have a union job and a growing pension. I’m healthy (as far as I know). I have two cats. NONE of these things were on the list!

So, yeah, okay, maybe I’m a decade behind in the long-hoped-for writing career. And yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have blown my nest egg on a bookstore that pushed me into bankruptcy and essentially stole five years of my life while I put myself back together. And yeah, fine, maybe I made some incredibly dumb decisions along the way. Maybe I’m even lucky to be alive.

Looking back on that stuff? Standing here on the edge of the 50s precipice with a cool breeze blowing against my shaved head, my bespectacled eyes? I’m proud of 30s and 40s me. Proud that I fought through those missteps. That I struggled and came through (relatively) unscathed. That I got my ass knocked down, and managed, with a lot of help and support, to get back up.

Sure, maybe I should have taken that left at Albuquerque as Bugs liked to say, but wherever this is I ended up isn’t so terrible, you know? Perhaps - just perhaps - it’s a lot nicer than where I’d been trying to get to in the first place.

So goodbye 40s, I’ll miss you. And hello 50s, come on in. Because time’s a wastin’, the bumpy road looks to be in the rearview mirror, and I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go. Better than I did when I was 20, anyway. And much better than I did when I said goodbye to my 30s a decade ago.

I’m excited about what the next chapter will bring. And heck yeah, I’m looking forward to publishing more books, writing more stories. Of course I am. But I’m also looking forward to those surprise goals. Those unforeseen wins. Because if I’ve learned anything in the last ten years, it’s this:

Those happy accidents? They’re the sweetest of them all.

So come on 50s. I’m ready. Let’s cook.

-PF