Apocalyptic Friday!
Hey all! Welcome back! As I said last week, Friday will be my main post where I update you all on what’s up in Steve’s existence.
During the week I’ll post random stuff, book reviews etc etc, but Friday will be the big one!
So, as introduced last week, here it is in an easy to follow format!
What’s up in my life:
Things are always busy in the Stred household. Our son is learning so much stuff right now. He counted from 1-5 on his own yesterday and is now saying a lot of colors which is fantastic. He’s still identifying a bunch of dinosaurs and now its moved over into the world of monster trucks as well haha!
He’s had a couple of soccer sessions now and really enjoys the kicking the ball part, but not so much the standing and being patient part!
Here in Edmonton today its -20C feels like -35 with wind chill, which is -4 Fahrenheit for my Celsius challenged friends. We’re currently under a snowfall warning. We got about 10 cms over night, but we’re projected to get another 40 cms over night.
My next release, The Girl Who Hid in the Trees has been seeing some great reviews coming in! Here’s one of the most recent ones from Becca;
https://beccaleighanne.com/the-girl-who-hid-in-the-trees-arc-review/
It officially comes out February 28th, 2019 and the ebook is up for pre-order. It is $2.99 and all proceeds are still going towards the Go Fund Me for my friend Justin M. Woodward’s mom’s Cancer battle. If you want to find out more or donate directly, here is the link;
https://www.gofundme.com/help-tonya-beat-stage-4-cancer
The link for US pre-orders for the book is here:
On Friday, February 8th, I’ll be releasing some info on a freebie that will be released in relation to The Girl Who Hid in the Trees, so watch this space and Kendall Reviews!
Works in Progress:
The Stranger. I just wrapped up my last go through of this, sharing my THE END post yesterday. This was a tough one to write, but I loved it. I think it’s a timely piece of horror/unease filled with gore! As always, expect bleak and dark.
The Ritual. As mentioned last week, this is my second novella that will come out this year. I’m still planning an October release, but will be working on my third go through/rewrite on this messed up tale. It’s horrible in the best way possible.
Young Prince Auryn (working title). As some of you know, I’ve released 3 kids books. Each one has been specifically written for my nieces and nephews. I’ve got 5 of the 6 stories written in one of my notebooks for my son. I’m starting to plot together this release, which I’m thinking will be my last kids release. I want it to be a special keepsake so I’m looking at releasing this as a hardcover, paperback and ebook. I’ll keep you updated!
What I’m Reading:
Ararat – Christopher Golden. I really wanted to finish this last night! I’m at 85% but got super tired and had to put it down. My kindle tells me I have 35 minutes remaining. I was hoping this would’ve been my 20th read of January, but finished the month at 19.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29939052-ararat
Darkest Hours – Mike Thorn. Just started this short story collection and really digging it. Funny enough, I had no idea Mike was a fellow Albertan, living 3 hours south in Calgary. Found this out when Facebook told me he was interested in an event near me hahah!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36309774-darkest-hours
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World – C.A. Fletcher
Have to admit, this started out really well, but I’ve found this middle section to be a bit slow and bogged down. Lots of repetition. Hoping it bumps out of this. I’m sitting at 50% so want to try and finish this up by mid-week.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40698027-a-boy-and-his-dog-at-the-end-of-the-world
Recent Reviews:
I have a few reviews pending over at Kendall Reviews to be officially posted.
I just read We Haunt You by Brian Kirk (5/5) and Occasional Beasts: Tales by John Claude Smith (4/5)
I also finished Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell. You can see my thoughts here;
https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/book-review-who-goes-there/
What I’m Listening To:
While I was knee deep in my final write through of The Stranger, I was listening to some fantastically nasty stuff. Last week I shared a song from some bands, but these first three links are the full albums.
Batushka – Litourgiya. Love these guys. If you want to see some amazing live performances, I suggest youtube-ing more of their stuff. Its phenomenal and the visuals are stunning.
Mgla – Exercises in Futility. God this album is so amazing. This is what I hear when I write.
Belphegor – Totenritual. I first started listening to these guys when Bondage Goat Zombie was released and saw them live around that same time. This latest album is stellar.
Now for the other stuff. The not heavy stuff. These have been on steady rotation for a while now, but both keep popping up for my 2020 release Wound Upon Wound.
Gunship – When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies. Gavin from Kendall Reviews introduced me to Gunship and I’m so thankful. Their latest album Dark All Day was probably my fav 2018 release. This song is one of the best on their and the second half I consider to maybe be one of my all-time favourite pieces of music I’ve ever heard.
Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost. Some more great Canadian content for you all. Last week I shared The Trews, Sam Roberts Band and Arcade Fire, three of our top bands. Wintersleep keeps putting out solid stuff, but this is their most popular song and it’s a good one.
Thanks for checking this out! We’ll see you next week, same place, same fun!
Steve
