Big News, Super Secret Project Tease, & Three New Book Recs

Hello, and welcome back to Strange & Fantastic!

I can’t believe it’s May already—2023 is really flying by. I’ve got some big news to share with you this month, as well as some recommendations I’m really excited about, so let’s jump right in!

What’s The Buzz? Image © Disney/Lucasfilm

I am your father. (Just kidding.)

Ahem. So, my Big News: This past Friday night I officially signed the publishing contract for my very first novella, a New Weird fantasy noir called City of Spores, which will be released by the awesome Madness Heart Press sometime in 2024!

I’m so thankful to Madness Heart Press and to their managing editor, John Baltisberger, for picking up City of Spores, and I CANNOT wait for it to be out in the world. I’ll be sure to provide updates as they come, through this newsletter and my socials (Twitter and Instagram), so be sure to give me a follow if you haven’t already!

But wait—there’s more.

Over the past year I’ve been working on a super secret project that officially wrapped last month. Without giving too much away before it’s time, I can tell you I will be self-publishing the project later this year. In the meantime, I wanted to give you, my newsletter subscribers, a tease of the cover:

Such a tease…

And next month, in June, you’ll get the FULL cover reveal—a whole month before the project is revealed in full to the world!

This project has been near and dear to me for a while now, and I am so excited I get to reveal it to you all very, very soon.

Besides those two announcements, I’d like to once again plug my debut collection, The Magic of Everyday Things, which was released by Alien Buddha Press this past April.

Do you believe in magic?

If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, it’s only available in paperback from Amazon.

I still have some signed copies left, which you can get from my Etsy shop—but they will only be available for one more week!

Fuel For The Reading End

There are a TON of great books coming out this month, all vying for your attention, but there are three specific releases I wanted to highlight in this month’s newsletter because they’re written by three of my incredibly talented friends. (You can check out my other recent book reviews on my blog, here.)

The Disappearance of Tom Nero (May 16)

First up we’ve got The Disappearance of Tom Nero, a horror novelette by TJ Price, releasing from Spooky House Press on May 16th:

The Disappearance of Tom Nero concerns a young man's investigation into the impossible disappearance of a friend. As he learns more about the circumstances and searches for answers, the re-emergence of a metatextual horror from legend puts not only him, but his new lover, in jeopardy.

The story explores themes of contagious and invasive thoughts, disappearances, as well as the relationship between reality and the written word. It is uniquely structured, with a variety of clues hidden in the text for the savvy reader-but beware, for the horror might not only affect the characters in the story...it may also affect the reader themselves.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I’m a BIG fan of TJ’s work in general (and TJ himself!), so this is an insta-buy/insta-read for me. TJ has an incredible gift for writing unsettling, dream-like stories filled with crisp, lyrical prose. I’m beyond excited to finally get this in my hands and to see how TJ fuses metatextual experimentation with his wonderfully emotive style.

Hungers as Old as This Land (May 17)

Next we’ve got Hungers as Old as This Land, a Weird Western novella by Zachary Rosenberg, releasing from Brigids Gate Press on May 17th:

The settlement of Grey's Bluffs is a prosperous town. An independent community dwelling in the shadows of the mountains known only as The Hungers.

Esther Foxman and Siobhan O'Clery have grown up in Grey's Bluffs, thriving out on the western territories in the aftermath of the Civil War. Devoted to one another and their home, the two set out to complete a regular pact at the Hungers to ensure that Grey's Bluffs continues to prosper.

Cyril Redstone is a man who knows death well. Becoming a mercenary after the Civil War, Cyril leads the marauding Blackhawks from one slaughter to the next. Hired to destroy Grey's Bluffs, Cyril cares little for morality, nor that he owes its founder his life.

Esther and Siobhan are left to defend the only home they have ever known from the Blackhawks, their confrontation driving them deep into the mountains.

Where the darkest secrets of the Hungers await them.

Zach is a dear friend and one of my favorite writers, and Hungers as Old as This Land showcases everything I love about his writing. It’s a vengeful, bullet-riddled and blood-splattered excoriation of anti-Semitism, colonialism, and American greed wrapped up in a fast-paced Weird West package boasting not one but TWO kick-ass main characters. If you want action, scares, plenty of blood, and yes, even a timely examination of more-than-relevant themes, you are not going to want to miss this book!

Chasing Devils (May 30)

Finally we have Chasing Devils, a mystery/thriller novel by B.C. Lienesch, releasing May 30th:

Jackson Clay has been many things to law enforcement in his time helping those who have fallen through society’s cracks: Witness. Ally. Asset. But there’s one thing he’s never been…

The prime suspect.

Until now.

When his ex-wife, Nathalie, is brutally killed along a lonely stretch of highway outside Washington, DC, all evidence points to Jackson. To clear his name and grieve the only woman he’s ever truly loved, Jackson thrusts himself head-first into the investigation. But what he learns may be even more heartbreaking than Nathalie’s death.

In the weeks leading up to her death, Nathalie received a phone call. The caller? Dale Jeffers—the very man incarcerated for the death of Nathalie and Jackson’s late son, Evan. His message? He didn’t kill Evan.

Now, Jackson must solve not one but two mysteries. Who killed Nathalie? And who is really to blame for his son’s death some fifteen years ago? The search for these and other truths will rip open old wounds and force Jackson to grapple again with a darkness he thought he’d put behind him.

But that same darkness is where the ultimate evil lurks. And it’s waiting, ready to strike should Jackson Clay get too close…

Chasing Devils is the third book in the Jackson Clay & Bear Beauchamp thriller series, so you’ll definitely get more out of it if you’ve read the first two books (The Woodsman and Country Roads, respectively), but each book also works nicely as a self-contained novel.

Now, full disclosure: I edited Chasing Devils (and Country Roads). I’m obviously super biased, but I’m truly a big fan of this series—I wanted to work on the books because I enjoyed them so much. Lienesch has a knack for anchoring his intense action sequences in fully-realized settings through simple, crisp prose; he’s also great at creating characters you can’t help but love and root for, and nowhere is that more true than Chasing Devils. So if you’re looking for a good read that will have you fully invested in the characters while keeping you on the edge of your seat with pulse-pounding twists and turns, I’d highly recommend grabbing a copy!

(Note: Pre-order info for Chasing Devils will be available soon on the author’s website and socials.)

Viewfinder General

My wife and I are big fantasy nerds, so we were both really excited for the new Dungeons & Dragons movie. I’m happy to report that we were NOT disappointed: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is an absolute blast from start to finish. This a genuinely fun (and at times surprisingly heartfelt) character-driven fantasy adventure movie with its tongue firmly in cheek. It’s not trying to be Game of Thrones or The Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian; its closest comp would be The Princess Bride (which the writers/directors even mentioned as a direct influence), but this is very much its own gloriously goofy gem of a film.

Some other current favorites: Tetris (Apple TV); Ted Lasso (Apple TV); Barry (HBO); and Star Wars: Visions (Disney+).

TV On The Radio Black metal for immortal battles

My favorite black metal band of all time is Immortal. Something about their blistering, blizzard-like mix of ice cold guitar riffs, battle-obsessed lyrics (based in a fantasy realm of their own creation, of course), and the demonic frog-croak screams of bassist-vocalist (later guitarist-vocalist) Abbath Doom Occulta scratched a particular itch I didn’t even know I had.

Which brings me to Los Angeles, California’s Lamp of Murmuur, and their newest album, Saturnian Bloodstorm. From the first note of the first riff to the last note of the last riff, Saturnian Bloodstorm is a love letter to Immortal. But that’s not to say it’s a rip off, or just an album’s worth of Immortal worship; no, like the best works of art, Saturnian Bloodstorm pays homage to what has come before while being uniquely its own thing.

Lamp of Murmuur’s sole member M. brings a modern, grooving approach to True Norwegian Black Metal, mixing it with riffs that would make Finnish black metal bands proud while keeping the (icy) heart of each song rooted in the Venom- and Bathory-inspired rock ‘n’ roll attitude of the genre’s forebears.

Simply put: Saturnian Bloodstorm is a black metal record that will transport you to a bleak and blackened realm where grim and frostbitten warriors are forever locked in never-ending warfare.

Signing Off

Well folks, that’s it for May 2023. What have YOU been reading/watching/listening to? What did you think of the recommendations in this month’s newsletter? Do you have any suggestions, comments, grievances? I’d love to hear from you, so feel free to message me.

Thanks again for stopping by and reading. If you haven’t already subscribed, please do so—you’ll get a free eBook copy of my short story, “Magus,” available EXCLUSIVELY for subscribers!

Take care, and stay strange.

—Austin

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