Demonic Visions Book 4

Demonic Visions is back with another 50 tales of horror. The fourth book in this successful series includes many of the original writers from the previous volumes and one new addition in the shape of Ramsey Campbell, who is widely regarded as one of the best British horror writers working in the genre today. While I can’t hope to compete with horror royalty like Mr. Campbell, my story, The Persistence of Memory is probably my strongest work to date in this arena. In it I explore a different kind of Hell and how one person is doomed to live it every day.

If horror is your thang, you can pick up DEMONIC VISIONS #4 right now. It's available in both e-reader and dead tree formats from that evil on-line empire. You know the place, the one that keeps a roof over the head of us indie author types.  

Exiles: An Outsider Anthology

While I was kicking back in Croatia with the family, EXILES hit the street. This charity anthology from Blackwitch Press is the brain child of Brit Grit supremo, Paul D. Brazill. The stories in this collection all share the common theme of ‘Outsiders’ and when Paul asked me to contribute I was in like Flynn. I mean who wouldn’t be? Just look at this line up.

INTRODUCTION: HEATH LOWRANCE

REFLECTIONS ON A DECADE IN THE WILD EAST – COLIN GRAHAM
EATING THE DREAM – K A LAITY
MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO DELHI – CHRIS RHATIGAN
BOXING DAY IN MUROS – STEVEN PORTER
WE ARE ALL SPECIAL CASES – PATTI ABBOTT
NEVER A VESSEL LARGE ENOUGH – RYAN SAYLES
THE SOLOMON SEA – GARETH SPARK
AGENT RAMIEL GETS THE CALL – PAMILA PAYNE
THE WEATHER PROPHET – PAUL D. BRAZILL
THE RAIN KING – JASON MICHEL
DULLCREEK – CARRIE CLEVENGER
IN AMERICA – DAVID MALCOLM
THE PLACE OF THE DEAD – NICK SWEENEY
DISAPPEARING ACT – SONIA KILVINGTON
WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR – ROB BRUNET
PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY – JAMES A. NEWMAN
DEAD MAN WALKING – TESS MAKOVESKY
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT – CHRIS LEEK
FLYING IN AMSTERDAM – MCDROLL
THE TRIBE – RENATO BRATKOVIC
WETWORK – WALTER CONLEY
DIGGER DAVIES – MARIETTA MILES
TAKING OUT THE TRASH – AIDAN THORN
MISSING AN EAR – BENJAMIN SOBIECK
THE TENDER TRAP – GRAHAM WYND
FALLING THROUGH THE HOUR GLASS - RICHARD GOODWIN

All proceeds from this anthology go to the Marfan Foundation, in aid of people suffering from Marfan syndrome and with the Kindle edition priced at 99c / 77p there really is no excuse for you not to buy a copy.

You can read about the inspiration for my story, Shut Out The Light over at Paul’s blog today.  

Maybe I Should Just Shoot You In The Face?

Apart from working through the frustratingly slow process of getting our Springsteen based crime anthology, TROUBLE IN THE HEARTLAND (did I mention both Dennis Lehane AND Ryan Sayles are in it?) out into the world, it’s been quiet pretty on the Zelmer Pulp front, too quiet. 
All that is about to change with this dark hit of Noir. The talented Isaac Kirkman is taking a well earned break, but MAYBE I SHOULD JUST SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE will feature stories from all the other Zelmer regulars, Brain Panowich, Chuck Regan, Ryan Sayles, Chris Leek and our very special guest, Gareth Spark. Add to that an introduction by Brit Grit Legend, Paul D. Brazill and you have a book that will bring world peace, stop global warming and get you pregnant*. This puppy should be rubbing up your leg in the next couple of weeks.

*These are lies. This book will not do any of those things and any conception that may occur while reading it is purely coincidental.

Exiles

 



Well now, here’s a thing. Blackwitch Press has something a bit tasty in the works. EXILES is a charity anthology featuring around 20 tales of loners, losers and outsiders, all penned by seriously good crime writers, and it’s being edited by a great one, Paul D. Brazill. I have managed to blag my way into it too, but don’t let that put you off. I’ll let you know details of who, when and how much just as soon as I have them.

Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales

This baby hit the virtual bookshelves earlier in the week, but it kind of got buried in all the excitement surrounding the launch of RELOADED. I’m stoked to have a little flash fiction story in DEMONIC VISIONS. Horror is a genre I have written in before, but not for a few years. What attracted me to this anthology was editor, Chris Robertson’s cool idea of gathering a group of authors together to produce not one book but a whole series. Volume one of DEMONIC VISIONS features tales of cannibalism, murderous underworlds, zombie carnage, portals to alternate dimensions, and a whole host of other scary shit that will have you checking under the bed and sleeping with the light on. It’s out now on Kindle and will be on Kobo and Nook shortly. The paperback should be out in a couple of weeks.  
Amazon US     Amazon UK

Reloaded

As usual I’m a day late and a dollar short, so we best get on with it. BOTH BARRELS, the first anthology from Shotgun Honey, was awesome and I was gutted to miss out on a slot. I’m going out on a limb and saying that RELOADED is even better, and it has nothing to do with the fact I have a story in this one. Okay, so it has a little to do with that, but you should buy it anyway.
 
What’s that you want free shit? Well, alright then, Ron Earl Phillips is giving copies away on Goodreads for those of you in the US who are to damn tight to pay cash money. Just click on the linky thing HERE  

In case you're still on the fence, here’s the TOC:
Patti Abbott – The White Funeral
Hector Acosta – The Howl at the Park
Erik Arneson – All Alone
Cheri Ause – The Trouble with Sylvia
Trey Barker – Release of Degradation
Eric Beetner – One Corpse, Two Assholes
Terence Butler – What Goes Around
Joe Clifford – How to Clean a Gun
Garnett Elliott – Rollin’ Mona and the Tijuana Slide
Rob W. Hart – A Blow to the Head
Andy Henion – When Monte Comes Calling
John Kenyon – No Place Like Home
Nick Kolakowski – How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Ed Kurtz – Buffalo Squeeze
Frank Larnerd – Three Count
Chris Leek – Loose Change
Mike Loniewski – Loose Ends
Bracken MacLeod – Ciudad de los Ninos
Julia Madeleine – Love Gone Bad
Brian Panowich – Set Fire to the Trees
Terry Rietta – Rubes
Rie Sheridan Rose – Tumbling After
Ryan Sayles – They’re Pros, Each and Every One
Richard Thomas – Trinity
John Weagly – The Last Croak

See, I told you.

Gloves Off - Free This Weekend!

Get it here!

Heads up! For a limited time only the guys at Near to the Knuckle are giving you the chance to pick up their kick-ass anthology, GLOVES OFF for free.

GLOVES OFF is a collection of dark stories from the cream of the literary crop. These stories have one thing in common: they will come at you, all guns blazing. There’s a story lurking down every dark alley. Just when your back is turned a plot-twist is ready to attack.

The stories in this anthology are mainly crime, but there is also grim humour and the supernatural; dark tales for an adult audience featuring hit men, mobsters, bikers and stalkers.

This anthology was spawned from the dark, talented minds of: Gareth Spark, Richard Godwin, Paul D. Brazill, Aidan Thorn, Pete Sortwell, B.R. Stateham, Brian Panowich, Ryan Sayles, Chris Leek, David Barber, Vic Errington, Graham Smith, Walter Conley, Tom Pitts, Allen Miles, Jim Spry,Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw, Mike Monson and Alan Griffiths.

So what the hell are you waiting for? 

A Double-Barreled Blast

Hey, I have a new one up at Shotgun Honey this weekend, 700 words of bad-ass called Candy’s Room.  It’s really a love story and one that I’m pretty darn proud of. For one reason or another it has taken over two years to see the light of day, which makes its belated publication all the sweeter for me. I hope you’ll stop by and give it the once over. It will only take you a couple of minutes, and who knows, you might even dig it?

While we are on the subject of Shotgun Honey, I am stoked to tell you that I have got myself a slot in their second print anthology, Both Barrels – Reloaded.  The first anthology was killer and I was gutted to have missed out, but with so many great writers and only 30 slots, I wasn’t too surprised that I did.

This time around I was determined to raise my game and make the cut. My story is called Loose change and I think it is one of the best I have ever written. Congratulations are also due to my brother from another mother, Brian Panowich who also got the nod with his flat out awesome story, Set Fire To The Trees.  The anthology will be out in September, I’ll be sure to mention it here once or twice, just to remind you.  

In the meantime, get on over to SGH and show Candy a little love: Candy’s Room

Happy Fathers Day, Muthas!

Calling All Intergalactic Word Slingers

Are you an android who dreams of electric sheep? Can you bulls-eye a womp rat from your T-16? Then you might be just the person we are looking for. Zelmer Pulp needs a couple of space cadets to test drive our latest release HEY, THAT ROBOT ATE MY BABY!” Hit me up here if you are a book reviewer with a penchant for all things Sci-Fi.

The madmen that brought you 2012's legendary zombie epic, C'MON AND DO THE APOCALYPSE, are back in your face for the second wave, and this time they brought friends.

Joining Sayles and Panowich on their latest voyage into the world of Science Fiction are three of the hottest writers of genre fiction in the biz, Chris Leek, Isaac Kirkman, and ZELMER PULP cover artist Chuck Regan. 5 distinct voices, and 5 mind-bending tales to astonish and offend.

This ain't your Daddy's Science Fiction. This is Zelmer Pulp: Hey, That Robot Ate My Baby!

Smell The Glove

Surprisingly this post is not a thinly veiled homage to those fictional rockers, Spinal Tap, but a heads up on the new anthology from NTTK. Gloves Off features more awesomeness than you can shake a stick at. Anything with stories from the likes of: Tom Pitts, Jim Spry, Gareth Spark, Mike Monson and Paul D Brazill just has to be worth your time and your money.

 If that isn’t a big enough incentive, Gloves Off also includes a rock solid spine of stories from three Zelmer Pulp originals. Brian Panowich nails it like a $20 hooker with his bad ass tale, Somebody’s Daughter and Ryan Sayles grabs hold and doesn't let go with Squeezing. My small part in this tapestry of talent is some backwoods blood letting in Brothers Under The Bridge. It’s a story about kin and the price one man has to pay when he honors the debt owed by his dead father. If all that sounds a little too deep and meaningful, think of it more in terms of a shotgun shootout, followed by a killer car chase. There, is that better?

I guess, all I’m trying to say here is if you drop a couple of bucks into the old Amazon jukebox you can get yourself a kick ass anthology for less than the price of a skinny latte. Seriously, what more could you want?  Near To The Knuckle Presents: Gloves Off

The gloves are coming of at NTTK

Here is a sneaky peak at the cover for the new Near to the Knuckle anthology, Gloves Off designed by Steven Miscandlon. This little beauty is edited by Daz Sant & Craig Douglas and is full of bad-ass ballads from top crime writers such as: Paul D Brazill, Gareth Spark, Tom Pitts, Jim Spry and Mike Monson.

You will also find three kick ass stories from the Zelmer Pulp team with Brian Panowich, Ryan Sayles and yours truly getting in on the act.

The release date is still to be advised, but it won't be long now.

ADR Hits The Streets

ALL DUE RESPECT is the sort of anthology you dole out to yourself piecemeal. You read “Even Sven” and then shake your head, looking off into the distance, trying to make sure you start breathing again. You read Matt Funk and Patti Abbott the way you eat a good meal in that restaurant you go to for your anniversary. You savor the characters, the plot undertones. When a Joe Clifford character says that something “tastes like a cat’s ass,” you nod that, yeah, that character probably has that experience. Full of great stories from David Cranmer, Thomas Brown, Fiona Johnson, Ryan Sayles and more, ALL DUE RESPECT is a book you’ll read a story at a time, maybe one a night, like that after-dinner drink you can’t put down.
- Steve Weddle, editor, NEEDLE Magazine
 
Highlighting lowlifes in hardboiled homilies – these stories stick it in and break it off. Tender as a brick, subtle as a Molotov Cocktail.
– Jedidiah Ayres author of Fierce Bitches

You can kick off your weekend with this bad boy for only 99c/ 77p

Hammer down at Amazon or Amazon UK

Name That Tune

Well hot-damn it raining anthologies. Following hard on the heels of the ADR from Full Dark City Press, will be a sexy little number from Daz & Craig at Near To The Knuckle.

If you’re familiar with the quality of writers they host on their site, then you won’t be surprised to hear they have some top talent lined up for the anthology.

The doors on this baby have just slammed shut and those that have made it inside are: Gareth Spark, Michael Monson, Aidan Thorn, Chris Leek, B.R. Stateham, Jim Spry, Walter Conley, David Barber, Tom Pitts, Allen Miles, Richard Godwin, Alan Griffiths, Brian Panowich, Ryan Sayles, Paul D. Brazill, Graham Smith, Veronica Marie Lewis Shaw, Vic Errington, Pete Sortwell.

 

Sound Good? Good. There’s also a chance for you to snag a copy for free, I’ll Let Daz tell you how.

We'd like to appeal for help in naming the anthology. We'll be heading it wit Near To The Knuckle Presents.... and then our chosen title. The person who suggests the winning title will receive a complimentary copy of the anthology. So, email me with the word TITLE as the subject. The email address is close2thebone@hotmail.com. We’ve tried our very best to remain true to the spirit of the site and I know that our regular readers will enjoy the anthology as much as they enjoy the site. Darren Sant - Editor

 

Click here to go to NTTK



All Due Respect - The Anthology

On February 1st Full Dark City Press will be publishing the first anthology from the gritty crime e-zine All Due Respect.

Some of the short stories that make up this book have been taken from the site while many others are being made available here for the very first time.  The line up includes some of the hottest names currently plying their trade in on the dark and dangerous streets of crime fiction.

The anthology will be available in both e-book and print editions; may I humbly suggest you snag yourself a copy as soon as possible.

Here’s the full roll call:

Joe 'Google me' Clifford, Tom Hoisington, Mike Toomey, Erin Cole, Stephen D. Rogers, Scotch Rutherford, Patricia Abbott, Nigel Bird, Andrez Bergen, Benedict J. Jones, Garnett Elliott, Alec Cizak, Christopher Grant, Gary Clifton, Jack Bates, Ryan'The Walnuts' Sayles, Tom 'Pedal to the Metal' Pitts, Pete Risley, CJ Edwards, Jim Wilsky, Chris Leek, Richard Godwin, Mark Joseph Kiewlak, Mike 'The Man' Monson, Tyler M. Mathis, Matthew C. Funk, Fiona Johnson, Ron T. Brown and David Cranmer.

Okay, so you noticed that I'm in it too, well don't let it put you off.

Full Dark City Press

All Due Respect
 

Show Some Respect

Here’s a first look at Eric Beetner’s superb cover for the new All Due Respect anthology. This bad boy is going to hit the shelves in a few weeks time. I'll be posting further details, including the full line up shortly. I'll also be explaining why your life is not complete until you own a copy. 

So this is 2013 AKA The brochure looks nice.

The New Year is upon us and with it comes renewed hope in the belief that this year might not suck as hard as the last. Who knows maybe this one won’t.

I’m not big on resolutions; they usually involve something called willpower and concentrate solely on removing some form of enjoyment from your life.

Plans however, those I like. Plans are fluid; you can change them as you go along and adapt them as things change around you.

I’ve got plans for 2013; some of are already in motion. First up I can tell you that I will have new stories appearing in four anthologies this year. The first one likely to hit the shelves is Chris Rhatigan’s All Due Respect, which includes my story ‘The Honeymooners’. I’ve recently seen the full line up and I can tell you it’s awesome. The guys at Near to the Knuckle have also put together a stellar cast for their very first anthology. Daz and Craig were some of the first guys to take a chance on me and publish my work. I’m honored to have my story ‘Brothers under the Bridge’ included in their debut anthology, which is penciled in for a February release. There are two more a little further down the line that I will dish the dirt on at a later date.

Other writing projects are also moving on a pace. You can expect to see me back in the gutter at the Flash Fiction Offensive with my story ‘Pigeon’. I will also be donning my spurs and six gun at Ron Earl Phillips new western fiction zine The Big Adios. I’m a big fan of the western and was delighted to make the cut with my first ever attempt at writing one. I have a feeling I will be trying my hand at some more stories in this genre.

The most exciting news will unfortunately have to remain largely under wraps for now. Okay, I can give you a little. Isaac Kirkman and I have been asked to join Ryan Sayles, Brian Panowich and Chuck Regan on the Zelmar Pulp crew for their next project; all I can tell you is that it will blow your mind, rock your world and leave your breath tasting minty fresh.

Welcome to the brave new world of 2013 people. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

More Hot Naked Chicks

 

Here’s a heads up for the Luddites, the Amish and all lovers of the long-lost analog world. If you find yourself yearning for that near forgotten thrill of reading words on actual paper, then you can rejoice in the knowledge that Out of the Gutter 8 can now be purchased or purloined in print.

This rare treat can even be had here in little old England, Scotland too I would imagine, although I’m not so sure about Wales. Go get some Gutter Love: OOTG8 

Incidentally the hand is this shot belongs my friend and co-conspirator, Chris DeWildt. His story alone is worth the price of admission.

Hot Naked Chicks

Now that I have your attention, here’s something for all you crime fiction types to get your panties in a bunch about.

That’s right Out of the Gutter 8 has landed. This fine work of bad-ass fiction has been lovingly crafted, cajoled and generally beaten into submission by those stand up citizens at OOTG: Court Merrigan, Matt Louis, Joe Clifford and Tom Pitts.

This is undoubtedly a book that will change your life for the better; a stone cold killer, jammed with down and dirty treats from the following kings and queens of cool:  Matthew C Funk, Les Edgerton, Jen Conely, Ryan Sayles, Chris DeWildt, Issac Hayes, Mike Monson, Richie Naravez, T. Fox Durham, Nicola Murphy, Dana C. Kabel, Michael Bracken, David James Keaton, David Corbett and Todd Mohar. Hell, they even made room for a little something by some dude called Chris Leek, but don’t let that put you off.

The e-book is available right now at an Amazon near you; print will follow hot on its heels in the next day or so. Trust me you need this book, it’s the one everybody at school is going to be talking about and you don’t want to be ‘that guy’ now do you?

Go and buy one for yourself, then buy another copy and slip it into Grandma’s stocking. It is Christmas after all.

Order from Amazon UK
Order from Amazon.com

Last Call For Alcohol

Time is running out to submit to the shiny new Out of the Gutter 8 Anthology. The doors close on 21^st November.  I’ll let Editor-in-chief, Matt tell you all about it...

Brace yourselves! OUT OF THE GUTTER is back with Out of the Gutter 8: 21st Century Digital Love, featuring contest winners, essays, and new tales of wretchedness and woe alongside 2012’s very best from The Flash Fiction Offensive and the Bareknuckles Pulp Department!

Contest: We will select two stories (one flash, another between 3,000 and 5,000 words) that hit the theme of modern digital love. What’s that mean? You tell us. Guns, girls, good intentions gone bad spring to our minds, but there's no limit on subject matter, setting, or style, as long as it's in the pulp tradition. Pure story, in other words. All submissions for the contest will also be automatically considered for inclusion in the anthology.

 Fiction Submissions: Open submissions for the anthology (i.e., not for the contest) can be your regular ol’ gutterish stories. We’re selecting some flash, some longer. Only requirement is to adhere to the strict quality standards of The Flash Fiction Offensive and Bareknuckles Pulp. Hit us hard, hit us raw.

Non-fiction Submissions: We're also looking for non-fiction and essays on the subject of modern technology and love. Anybody have thoughts on Internet porn? I mean, those few of you degenerates who've actually visited such sites. We've been too busy visiting the confessional (mostly to confess to how much Internet porn we watch). Gmail chats gone wrong? Girls (and boys) gone wild? The suckiness of Instragram? What have you got?

Best of 2012: You didn’t think we’d forget our loyal contributors, did you? FFO and BKP will select the top stories from 2012, based almost entirely on the number of hits that story has received. You want a book deal? Pimp your work! Rack up the hits! Any story published by either e-zine in 2012 is eligible. So forward that story of a meth-dealing dead hooker to grandma’s sewing group and get them to share!

There have been some fantastic bad-ass stories published this year and many are worthy of inclusion. If it was my job to choose (which thank god it’s not) these would be my top picks.

Flash Fiction Offensive:

McRib Therapy Alleviates Seasonal Depression by CS DeWildt

We all got problems, man. Some of us are misguided loners; some of us are dead in basements. Some of us are just giant red, chain-smoking clowns with a busted foot and bad attitude. Who are you to judge?

Bareknuckles Pulp:

Kin by Gareth Spark

Here’s some damn fine Brit Grit from this side of the pond. You can choose you’re friends, but not your family. Well this sure as hell ain’t the Walton’s.

There are also many, many other fine pieces worthy of your time; while you’re over there perhaps you could find it in your heart to humor this deluded pulp scribbler and check out my efforts as well.

The Legend of Johnny Kool by Chris Leek

A Redheaded Woman by Chris Leek

Kama Bomb

Most days life sucks; I’m not talking about major league sucking like sitting in the dark eating cold beans from the can after a hurricane has ripped the ass out of your world. I mean the chicken shit stuff that beats on you every damn day.

We spend our lives waiting for a moment that never seems to come and deep down we know it probably never will. But every now and again we get a little luck, maybe catch a break and that’s enough to keep us from hooking the garden hose up to the exhaust pipe.

 

Well, I’ve put that hose away for now because there’s a double hit of anthology love going on. First up, those stand up dudes Daz & Craig at Near to the Knuckle have accepted my story Brothers under the Bridge for their very first collection. I’m equally stoked to tell you that all round good guy and editor of All Due Respect, Chris Rhatigan has also taken my story The Honeymooners for his new print and e-book anthology. Both titles will be out early in 2013, so keep it here and share the love brothers and sisters, share the love.