Stephen Kozeniewski's Blog, page 9

Farpoint or Bust!

Hey everybody!

This weekend, I'll be at the Farpoint Convention in MD, and I'm hoping to see some of you there! Farpoint is an annual gathering for fans of all genres of all kinds of creative arts; books, movies, TV, etc.  It's gonna be a blast!

https://www.farpointcon.com/

Amongst the special guests in attendance are Wilson Cruz (Star Trek: Discovery, 13 Reasons Why), Rylee Alazraqui (Star Trek: Prodigy), Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911!), and - and this is the one I'm personally most excited about - BILLY WEST!

If you don't know who Billy West is, you must have been hiding under a rock your whole life (haha). He's best known for voicing several characters on Futurama (Fry, Farnsworth, Zoidberg, etc), Ren and Stimpy, Loony Tunes, and a whole bunch of others.

There'll also be loads of cool people trading (hello!), fun events, and signings. 

Dates: Friday 10th February - Sunday 12th February

Location:

Delta Hotel by Marriott

245 Shawan Road

Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Panels:

Friday 6pm - "How to Build an Alien" - Salon D

Saturday 12pm - "Write What You Know" - Salon D

Saturday 2pm - Reading (w/ Michael Jan Friedman and Cheralyn Lambeth) - Derby

Saturday 4pm - Signing (w/ Jennifer R. Povey) - Table 1

I hope to see you all there!

2023 Appearances

Hey all!

Here is my schedule of appearances for 2023. As changes occur, I will update this page, so be sure to check back often. Events in red have occurred in the past.  Events in orange are tentative.

If you'd like me to make an appearance at a convention, signing, or other event you're organizing or attending, feel free to contact me and we'll discuss it. Most events in Baltimore or Philadelphia are a slam dunk for me to attend, but I'll consider travelling if invited.

Farpoint 30

Dates: Friday through Sunday February 10-12, 2023
Location:
Delta Hotel by Marriott
245 Shawan Road Hunt Valley, MD 21031
Panels:
Friday 6:00 pm - "How to Build an Alien" - Salon DSaturday 12:00 noon - "Write What You Know" - Salon DSaturday 2:00 pm - Reading (w/ Michael Jan Friedman and Cheralyn Lambeth) - DerbySaturday 4:00 pm  - Signing (w/ Jennifer R. Povey) - Table 1
Scares That Care Authorcon II

Dates: Friday through Sunday March 31 - April 2, 2023
Location:
DoubleTree by Hilton
50 Kingsmill Road
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
Panels:

StokerCon 2023
Dates: Friday through Sunday June 15-18, 2023
Location:
Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square.300 West Station Square DrivePittsburgh, PA 15219Panels:

Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival

Date: 
Location:
Haverhill Public Library
99 Main St
Haverhill, MA 01830
Panels:

Halloween Hangover
Date: Friday and Saturday, November 3-4, 2023
Location:
Barnes and NobleLibbie Place5501 West Broad StreetRichmond, VA 23230Panels:
The Ghoulastic Book Fair
Date: Sunday, November 5, 2023
Location:
Lovedraft's Brewing Company
165 Gateway Dr.
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Panels:

WE ALL LIVE IN A FASCIST POLICE STATE NOW, THANKS TO THIS ONE FUCKING GUY (and other news!)

Happy New Year, everybody!

We're barely 2 weeks into 2023 and I already have such sights to show you.

First up, I'm "thrilled" to announce my newest work on Kindle Vella, a thriller called WE ALL LIVE IN A FASCIST POLICE STATE NOW, THANKS TO THIS ONE FUCKING GUY."It happened here. Fascism came, wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible. Nobody much noticed. Sure, a few traitors like to whine about their missing "rights", but it's up to the heroes of the Federal Bureau of Patriotism to silence them. When someone starts spilling FBP secrets, Captain Leo Nergali is assigned to track him down. But wait, Leo himself *is* the mole? Record scratch! Tune in weekly to see how Leo censors the arts, disappears his enemies, and perhaps even finds jackbooted love!"Join Leo Nergali every Sunday, which is when I'll be posting each new installment. The first two parts are already live and you can read them HERE for free!


The next piece of news I want to share is that our very own BRAINEATER JONES currently has a BookBub deal and is available worldwide for the next-to-nothing price of $0.99 until 23rd January. If you haven't yet met the dead-but-delicious Jones, now's the perfect time! You can get your copy HERE.
It's also the 10 year anniversary of THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO - my other zombie novel of an entirely different (and even more blood-thirsty!) ilk!

If you'd like to add THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO to your book collection, you can find it HERE.
That's all for now, folks! Here's to hoping for a great 2023.

Open Call - THE PERFECTLY FINE NEIGHBORHOOD

A shiver ran down Donna’s spine and, even though it was the dead of summer, her breath came out in an icy puff as she exhaled.

“Dammit, Kyle!” Donna shouted, smacking over her shoulder at the ghostly apparition of her brother, who had snuck up behind her. “What are you doing?”

“Just rubbing your shoulders,” he replied, exasperated. As he removed his ethereal fingers, her back warmed up again instantly. “You need to relax more, Red.”

***

What if ghosts were real? What if they were a part of everyday life? What if they were, in fact, kind of banal? Could you still tell a horror story about them?

We like to think so. In fact, we wrote an entire novel about it. And now we’re inviting all of you to scare our pants off with your short stories set in the world of THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE.

French Press is delighted to be opening up to our first open call ever, for THE PERFECTLY FINE NEIGHBORHOOD. This open call will round out the entries from our invited authors, modern horror maestros Jeff Strand, Brian Keene, and Candace Nola. We hope to hear from you and all your friends, so please share widely!

The Perfectly Fine Rules:

- Please submit your manuscript between 12:01 am EST on December 19, 2022 and 11:59 pm EST on July 1, 2023.

- Stories should be between roughly 2,500 and 6,000 words.

- Payment will be $0.03 per word.

- Please format all manuscripts in 12 pt Times New Roman font, double spaced, with standard industry headers, etc. When in doubt, follow William Shunn’s Modern Manuscript Format.

- Stories must be reasonably classified as horror. Elements of other genres (i.e. dark fantasy, thriller, erotica, etc.) are fine, but explicit pornography and proselytizing religious tracts will not be accepted.

- All stories must take place in the world of THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE. This is an alternate reality where the following rules apply:

    1. Ghosts are real.

    2. Everything that dies, animal or human, leaves behind a ghost which persists eternally. Yes, that means a character could chill out with Julius Caesar and Jimi Hendrix if so desired.

    3. Everyone can see ghosts and knows ghosts are real.

    4. Only a total crackpot along the lines of a flat earth conspiracy theorist or anti-vaxxer in our own reality would deny the reality of an afterlife.

    5. To not see ghosts would be considered a handicap akin to blindness, a lack of sixth sense.

    6. Those are the basic, unbreakable rules for this anthology. But for more information on this world, you can read THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE.

- We are actively encouraging members of groups who have been traditionally marginalized in publishing to submit to this open call. However, simply being a member of such a group does not guarantee you a slot. Stories will be evaluated solely based on the quality of the writing.

- Our decision about your story will not be affected if you contributed to the Kickstarter for THE PERFECTLY FINE NEIGHBORHOOD. We appreciate your support, but it would be unethical to weigh submissions from backers differently from non-backers.

- This anthology’s editors are Kayleigh Marie Edwards, Stephen Kozeniewski, and Wile E. Young. Please address your query e-mail to whichever editor you think would most enjoy your story. Alternatively, you can roll a six-sided die and choose Kayleigh upon a 1 or 2, Stephen upon a 3 or 4, or Wile E. upon a 5 or 6.

- Please format your submission query e-mail in roughly this manner:

To: frenchpresspub (at) hotmail (dot) com

Subj: TPFA – Carnacki – “The Perfectly Fine House on the Borderland”

Dear Kayleigh, Stephen, or Wile E.,

Please see attached my story “The Perfectly Fine House on the Borderland,” complete at 4,000 words, for consideration for inclusion in THE PERFECTLY FINE NEIGHBORHOOD.

If I am a member of a group traditionally underrepresented in publishing, here is a little information about that.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,

William Hope Hodgson (writing as Thomas Carnacki)
Phone Number
Mailing Address

- Please do not respond if you are rejected. As we juggle hundreds (thousands?) of submissions, even a kindly thank you note will quickly become a nuisance. And if you have something more negative to say than “thanks for your consideration,” it’s best to save that up and unleash it on an unsuspecting volunteer umpire at your child’s next pee wee sporting event.

- Remember the most important part of writing: have fun! And thank you for considering submitting to us.

RE-RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT - HUNTER OF THE DEAD

 Hey everybody!

HUNTER OF THE DEAD is back, in all its savage and gory glory! It's been re-released by Crossroad Press, and with a fancy new cover! You could say it's been... re-vamped.

Someone has begun targeting vampires.
Vampire leaders of the thirteen Houses attribute the string of recent losses to over-zealous vampire hunters. Only Cicatrice, the most ancient and powerful vampire in the world, suspects that the semi-legendary Hunter of the Dead may be the real culprit.
Carter Price, a vampire hunter who despises the way his profession is becoming centralized and corporatized, begins to suspect the Hunter of the Dead is back, too—and no longer distinguishing between vampires and mortals. Against his better judgment, Price agrees to work with Cicatrice.
The uneasy allies attempt to uncover the truth about the Hunter, while a vampire civil war brews in the background. But perhaps most difficult of all, they must contend with their new apprentices, who seem to be falling in love with each other against every rule of man and monster…


If you haven't already picked up HUNTER OF THE DEAD, you can find it at the following outlets:
AMAZONBARNES & NOBLESMASHWORDSKOBOGOOGLE PLAY
If you're a vampire fan, I think you'll like it... in fact, I'd "stake" my reputation on it!

BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS - BOOKBUB OR BUST!

 Hi everyone!

So much happening this month - first BROKEN-DOWN HEROES OF THE WESTERN NIGHT ebooks go on "sale" for the sweet price of nothing, and now I'm able to offer you this...

BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS is now available for only $0.99! (UK, Australia, Canada). The offer runs until the end of the month (we love being involved with BookBub).

Six billion identical clones make up the entire population of Earth, and William 790-6 (57th Iteration) is exactly like everybody else. In his one year of life he will toil in suburban mediocrity and spend as much cash as possible in order to please his corporate masters. When 790’s first birthday (and scheduled execution) finally rolls around, a freak accident spares his life.
Living past his expiration date changes 790 profoundly. Unlike other clones he becomes capable of questioning the futility of his own existence. Seeking answers in the wilderness, he discovers a windmill with some very strange occupants, including a freakish, dinosaur-like monstrosity. Which is especially strange since every animal on earth is supposed to be extinct…
Dark, haunting, and blisteringly satirical, BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS is the story of one “man’s” attempt to finally become an individual in a world of copies.

If you'd like to get your hands on your own copy, you can find it here:
BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS
If that LOW AWESOME PRICE doesn't tempt you, let me show you a few of the reviews :)

It's great for me to get to re-unleash BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS on the world at such a discount - I hope you enjoy it!

Publish Like a Motherfucker Course 10: Live-Action Listener Mailbag!

Hey, everybody!
Hope all's going well with you.  I'm delighted to announce the second "Publish Like a Motherfucker (With Stephen Kozeniewski)" of 2022 at long last.
I'm pleased to welcome P.R. Marsh, host of The Lasser Cast and Comic Books Transformed and soon-to-be-published author of THE FIELDS BURN RED and THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS RIGHT!

Stop by my business page Tuesday, November 22, at 7:00 pm EST.  I will, of course, be recording for posterity, but if you have questions, you'll want to be there live to participate.  And, as always, if you're interested in future PLAM courses, let me know in the comments below, on social media, or during the course.
Course 10:  Live-Action Listener Mailbag!Date:  Tuesday, November 22, 2022Time:  7:00 pm ESTSyllabus:  In this very special episode, we flip the script!  (Don't worry, the kids still say that.)  We'll be joined by long-time listener and up-and-coming author P.R. Marsh, who will serve as a proxy for the audience and ask Stephen about all those questions and anxieties that worry away a hungry young artist's writing time.  Unlike a regular listener mailbag episode, we'll get to have a nice, organic conversation, and you can join us too, if you tune in live.  Don't miss it!

In Honor of Veterans Day - BROKEN-DOWN HEROES OF THE WESTERN NIGHT

 Hi everyone!

Veterans Day is a special day for me - as well as many others - and this year, I have the opportunity to celebrate it a little differently (yes, I know the day has passed, but it's never too late to blow up a balloon or... say... offer a FREE book...)! BROKEN-DOWN HEROES OF THE WESTERN NIGHT is based on my own experiences, but entirely fictional, and seems like an appropriate gift to mark this special day.

Hardcharging army lieutenant Bickham Deth's only desire is to lead soldiers in combat. In the bloody winter of 2006, he expects to finally earn his baptism by fire on the streets of Kabul or Baghdad.
Instead, he finds himself trapped in Oklahoma on funeral detail.
Deth is honored to pay tribute to the veterans of Vietnam and World War II, but his patience is pushed to the breaking point by incompetent morticians, squabbling family members, and a mishap with the color of his socks that threatens to derail his entire military career.
As the "needs of the army" turn a three-day task into a never-ending odyssey, Deth finds solace from his grim work in the gallows humor of his partner, Sergeant Bela Packs. In his fifteen years of service Packs has seen it all, and his war stories are a welcome distraction from the painful task of burying the dead.
As the honors team weaves its way through the American heartland, seeing both the sublime and ugly sides of small town life, Packs unravels the spellbinding tale of the worst Soldier who ever lived...


If you would like a copy, it's currently available on Kindle for FREE (until the end of the month), and this is where you can find it:
BROKEN-DOWN HEROES OF THE WESTERN NIGHT
I hope you enjoy the book - salutations!

Monster-Mania or Bust!

Hey everybody!

Monster-Mania Con is quickly approaching - be there and be scared!

The guest line-up is insane... here are a few that I'm excited about, amongst many others!

Who wouldn't want to meet the Cryptkeeper?! And if you're a fan of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - you'll find pretty much the whole cast there too.

Other guests include (deep breath) Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Marley Shelton (Scream 4), Devon Sawa (Final Destination), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), Duncan Regehr, Ashley Bank, and Tom Noonan (Monster Squad), David Howard Thornton and Damien Leone (Terrifier), and many others.

Plus, there'll be some great people trading there.. selling their wares... perhaps books - like me! Don't be shy to come say hi!

Hope to see you there!

Dates: Friday through Sunday November 11-13, 2022

Location:
The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center
100 Station Avenue
Oaks, Pennsylvania 19456
Check out more details here

CAMPFIRE MACABRE: VOLUME 2

 Hey everybody...

.... and Happy Halloween! This is the perfect time of year for a new horror anthology, wouldn't ya say?

That's why I'm excited to announce that CAMPFIRE MACABRE: VOLUME 2 is out now and ready to terrorize you with 40+ tales of spooks, body horror, aliens, monsters... you know, all that good stuff!

CAMPFIRE MACABRE: VOLUME 2 is brought to you by Cemetery Gates Media, and contains stories by (deep breath)...
... Eric J. Guignard, Eddie Generous, Ai Jiang, J.A.W. McCarthy, Michael Harris Cohen, Mark Allen Gunnells, Tyler Jones, John Lynch, Corey Farrenkopf, Laura Keating, P.L. Watts, Bob Ford, JG Faherty, Marisca Pichette, Tiffany Michelle Brown, Eric Raglin, Joe Koch, S.H. Cooper, K.S. Walker, Patrick Barb, LP Hernandez, Scott Cole, Anthony J. Rapino, Jeff Provine, Angela Sylvaine, Jessica Ann York, Ali Seay, John Boden, Christi Nogle, Jonathan Duckworth, Joshua Marsella, Die Booth, and Brennan LaFaro, Wile E. Young, Joe Sullivan, Eric LaRocca, Tim Waggoner, Chad Lutzke, Tom Deady, Bev Vincent, Clay McLeod Chapman, L. Marie Wood aaaaaand ME!
If you'd like to grab yourself a copy, you can find it here:
CAMPFIRE MACABRE: VOLUME 2
Happy spooky season, pumpkin-carving, and happy reading!