Jul 8 2013

Authors and Design Converge at FindTheAxis.com

Stanley Tremblay owns a business, FindTheAxis.com, for authors who need a cover for their print book. All designs range from $300 to $800 or more, depending on what a writer needs. Tremblay has done book covers that wrap from the front to the back. He has also done a continuous image where he has melded multiple images together to create something that goes completely around the book.

If you don’t want to have a print book made, but an e-book instead, he can help you with that as well. Past and present clients include Steve Alten, NY Times bestselling author of the MEG series, Jeremy Robinson, bestselling author of SecondWorld and Island 731, and Steven Savile, international bestselling author of Silver.

Not only does he do covers for print books and e-books, he can also help authors build their websites. He partnered with Mindstir Media and The Novel Blog. He had a hand with building the website for Variance Publishing, Rick Chesler and Rick Jones. Other sites can be found at FindTheAxis.com.

Find the Axis is a full-service graphic design company geared toward book creation and layout. From book covers to e-book and print layout, to HTML websites, logos, business cards, bookmarks and more, Find the Axis works hard to bring top quality work and rapid response to every client, regardless of size.

Tremblay has helped authors and publishing houses in the past. Check out his website, FindTheAxis.com, and contact him to see how he can help you. Keep up with his latest designs on Facebook.

Jul 6 2013

Front and Back Covers Announced for New NEHW Anthology

The front and back cover of Wicked Seasons, the new New England Horror Writers anthology have been announced. They are by Mikio Murakami, who has done covers for Shock Totem magazine.

Front cover of Wicked Seasons by Mikio Murakami.

The back cover.

The table of content for the second New England Horror Writers’ anthology, which is being edited by Stacey Longo, is listed below.

Introduction: Jeff Strand

“Furious Demon” by Addison Clift
“The Basement Legs” by Robert DuPerre
“Hungry For More” by Michael Evans
“The Secret Backs of Things” by Christopher Golden
“Blood Prophet” by Scott Goudsward
“Three Fat Guys Soap” by Catherine Grant
“Chuffers” by Paul McMahon
“Spirits” by James A. Moore
“Bleedthrough” by Gregory Norris
“Lycanthrobastards” by Errick Nunnally
“To Chance Tomorrow” by Kristi Petersen Schoonover
“A Night at the Show” by Robert Smales
“The Girl Who Wouldn’t Break” by Lucien Spelman
“The Widow Mills” by Trisha Wooldridge

Wicked Seasons will be released at Anthocon 2013 in November.

The first anthology, Epitaphs, was published in October of 2011.

Jun 8 2013

Writing and Book Expo America

By Kendra Saunders

It’s afternoon, the beginning of June and I’m sitting outside of Starbucks in Concord, New Hampshire. This Starbucks holds special meaning, from the friendly staff to the two electric plugs that all of the laptop-happy-customers fight over. It’s very windy today and a Ben Kingsley lookalike sits in the parking lot watching me and blasting a news program from the windows of his Jeep. It’s surreal to be here, in a place that has been my home for so long, in the place where I wrote Death and Mr. Right, after visiting the gray and grime tinged rush of New York City.

I don’t belong here.

Last year, I pitched a novel to Kate Kaynak in New York City, as we carpooled back to New Hampshire together. It was my first time in America’s best city and I was overwhelmed with exhaustion, inspiration and lyrics from Interpol songs. Death and Mr. Right had a title and it had already been written as a short story. The premise: the agent of nightmares falls in love, loses his job and is exiled into the modern world. Kate loved the idea and asked me to write it and submit it to her. I returned home, my head buzzing, and wrote Death and Mr. Right in only a few months. I edited it and put the finishing touches on it Halloween 2012. The next morning I began writing The Unlove Spell, a novel I’d been kicking around my head for weeks.

Death and Mr. Right was accepted by Spence City in late 2012 and I wrote The Unlove Spell in a few brief, joyous months. Both books were comedies, full of light and dark, in-jokes, colorful characters and tributes to my friends, muses and heroes. They were the easiest books I’d ever written. Both were also surprisingly personal – much of Death’s backstory was linked to my own youthful neuroses, brought to life through the safety of humor. Viktor’s struggles to balance a demanding family member with responsibility and his own dreams of being a writer reflected my own familial troubles as an eldest child with a difficult relationship with a cruel parental figure. But both were full of bliss, a cathartic experience, a creative binge that left me worn out in the best possible way and glowing afterward.

When my publisher said we would have review copies of D&MR to sign at Book Expo America, I planned my whole year around the trip, reserving a room at the Jane Hotel as much for its special meaning to my best friend (her favorite building in the city) as for the inexpensive price.

All of my books are written like movies, with a complete cast of muses. The Unlove Spell had been inspired by Clemence Poesy as my impulsive witch, Marling, Lana Del Rey as my crazy fae queen (perfect, right?) and Dmitry Sholokhov as the honorable, rock star writer who is also hiding a huge secret – he doesn’t write about magical beings. He IS one.

I met Dmitry at his Lord & Taylor event to launch his capsule dress collection and told him how much he’d inspired me, both because he’d worked so hard to get where he was (a kick for me to get moving!) and as a muse for Viktor. Fast forward to May and Dmitry was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to drop by the Javits Center for a bit, as my guest.

Kendra Saunders and Charles Day at BEA. More pictures can be found here, http://www.kendralsaunders.com/BEA2013.html.

BEA seemed busier this year than the year before, but as I sashayed my way through the Javits in my gorgeous Sholokhov dress and six-inch heels, I noticed a more subdued attitude in the crowd. There weren’t nearly as many free books and from what I could tell, the biggest draw of Friday would be Grumpy Cat.

My signing took place between 12:30 and 1:30, deep inside the air-conditioned safety of the Javits. Handing my book to bloggers, librarians and reviewers was absolutely enchanting and nerve-wracking, in the right portions. One gentleman caught sight of it as he walked by, wandered over to investigate and ultimately asked for a copy. I guzzled two water bottles to suppress nerves, and received a steady stream of compliments on my dress, shoes and book cover.

Books and fashion? Win-win!

Dmitry arrived at the end of my signing and I handed him a special unbound copy of The Unlove Spell’s unedited manuscript, told him all about Viktor and then posed for pictures. Though it was a blur, I do remember looking out and seeing a line of ten? fifteen? digital cameras, professional cameras, cell phones and a pink iPad. It was crazy.

After wandering a bit, laughing about Grumpy Cat’s impending appearance and signing some silly messages in Dmitry’s copy of my books, we said our goodbyes and headed out into the blistering afternoon. All I could think of, over and over, was The Great Gatsby. My friend Megan and my sister hopped into a cab with me and we escaped to Greenwich Village, intending to hide out in the cool of our hotel, just as the protagonists of Gatsby had. I’d only taken a few steps away from the cab when my shoe broke.

I took this as a good omen. I’d traveled to the big city, brought along some dear friends, been aided by several fairy godmothers (complete with lip balm, tissues, and bottles of water!)

Death and Mr. Right lives in the hands of bloggers, reviewers, librarians, teachers, a few authors, a lovely young woman who travelled from Maryland to meet me and Dmitry. Between now and October 1, I will have interviews and promotional events to keep me busy, but June in New Hampshire might as well be the dark side of the moon in most respects. I’m ready to hear what everyone thinks of little blue haired Death and his misadventures, ready to unleash The Unlove Spell on the world, and I’m dying to return to New York City.

If the broken shoe is any sign of the future, I should be headed back that way soon, ready to begin a new volume in the book of life.

About the Author:

Kendra L. Saunders is the author of the urban fantasy Inanimate Objects, short story collection Overlapping Visions and the upcoming dark comedy Death and Mr. Right (Spence City, 10/13).

She’s conducted interviews with Jennifer L. Armentrout, Aurelio Voltaire, Dmitry Sholokhov, Fabio Costa and many others for ipmNation, Steampunk Magazine and The New England Horror Writers. She’s one cat allergy away from a stereotypical writer. Find her at kendralsaunders.com or on twitter @kendrybird where she loves to answer writing questions, talk about music and fashion and share insider tips about the publishing industry.

Jun 6 2013

An Excerpt from ‘Copper Girl’

by Jennifer Allis Provost

CHAPTER ONE, Part I

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

My office, like most modern offices, cranked the air conditioning down to Arctic proportions during the summer months. Consequently, we workers arrived in the morning dressed in sandals and sleeveless tops, donned heavy sweaters upon reaching our desks, and ended up shivering by noon. Ironically, when our workday ended we were hit by a wall of oppressive heat the moment we stepped outside the main doors. No, this wasn’t a flawed system in the slightest.

That day, I wasn’t having it. I had the grand idea of spending my lunch hour outside, away from the icy wind stiffening my fingers and chilling my neck. After I unwound myself from the afghan I kept in my desk (and only used in the summer months), I gathered up my lunch and my phone and headed out for an impromptu picnic in my car.

What I hadn’t considered was that the office runs the air conditioning so cold because it was, well, hot outside. Very hot, in fact. So hot that the cheese was melting in my sandwich and the lettuce looked like something that had washed ashore months, maybe even years, ago. I was parked in the shade and had taken down my car’s convertible top, but I still couldn’t manage to get comfortable. I’d already shed my sandals and cardigan, which left me wearing my sundress and …

Dare I?

I glanced around the parking lot of Real Estate Evaluation Services, the ‘go-to firm for all your commercial real estate needs’, according to the brochures. No one, human or drone, was taking a noontime stroll, and, by virtue of my being on the far side of the lot, no cars were near mine. Most of my coworkers didn’t even have cars, so the lot was rarely more than half-full. What was more, from where I sat, I couldn’t even see the office.

I dared.

I took a deep breath and channeled my inner wild woman, then leaned the seat back and slipped off my panties. Removing that small bit of cotton made an incredible difference, and the heat became somewhat bearable. Enjoyable, even. Was that a breeze?

Ignoring my decrepit sandwich, I fully reclined the seat, set the alarm on my phone, and closed my eyes. A nap. Now that would make today bearable.

***

Suddenly, he is there.

Here.

I know I’m dreaming, because he’s perfect. His lips are soft but insistent, his hands gentle. I glide my fingers across his back, feeling thick cords of muscle, before sinking my fingers into his hair. It’s superfine, like cobwebs, and when I crack an eyelid, I learn that it’s silver. Not gray or white, but the elegant hue of antique candlesticks and fine flatware. Cool.

I squeeze my eyes shut again, not wanting the dream to end any sooner than it has to. He kisses me once more, and I can’t help melting against him. His hand travels up my leg, up past my hip … shit! No panties!

I try twisting away, but he already knows. I feel his mouth stretch into a smile, and he moves to nuzzle my neck. “What’s your name?” he murmurs.

“Sara,” I reply. “Yours?”

“Micah.” By now, his hands have traveled to my waist, and he slides one around to stroke the small of my back. “Why did you summon me, Sara?”

“I didn’t,” I protest. “I don’t know how.” I would say more, but he nibbles a trail from my neck to my shoulder, and pushes my dress to the side. As for me, I let him.

Micah raises his head, and I get a good look at him for the first time. His eyes are large and dark gray, like thunderheads, his features chiseled into warm caramel skin, and his unruly mop of silver hair seems to float around his head. He wears an odd, buff-colored leather shirt, made all the odder in this heat, and matching leather pants and boots. Boots?

“You did summon me,” he insists. “My Sara, you must tell me why.”

“Does it matter?” I ask. I pull him back to me, kissing him with all the passion I’ve ever felt with anyone during my waking hours. Micah kisses me back, fingers deftly unbuttoning my dress while his other hand rubs my lower back. I’ve never felt so free, so alive as I do in Micah’s embrace, and I have no intention of rushing this. None at all.

If you enjoyed chapter one of Copper Girl, you can order it here.

Jennifer Allis Provost is a native New Englander who lives in a sprawling colonial along with her beautiful and precocious twins, a dog, a parrot (maroon bellied conure, to be exact), two cats, and a wonderful husband who never forgets to buy ice cream. As a child, she read anything and everything she could get her hands on, including a set of encyclopedias, but fantasy was always her favorite. She spends her days drinking vast amounts of coffee, arguing with her computer, and avoiding any and all domestic behavior.

Friend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennallis

Follow her on Twitter: @parthalan

Check out her websites, http://jenniferallisprovost.com/ and http://jenniferallisprovost.blogspot.com/.

May 30 2013

Grinning Skull Press Debuts First Anthology

Grinnng Skull Press debuted its first anthology, From Beyond the Grave, this month. It contains 19 ghostly tales by authors Michael J. Evans, Carol Weekes, David North-Martino, Jeffrey Kosh, Robert W. Walker, Nelson W. Pyles, Marianne Halbert, Gordon Anthony Bean, Edward J. McFadden III, Jeffrey C. Pettengill, Cynthia Ward, Michael Thomas-Knight, Tim J. Finn, Rose Blackthorn, Adam Millard, Brent Abell, Scott M. Goriscak, Jay Wilburn, and Lisamarie Lamb.

From Beyond the Grave is available in print from Amazon and digitally for Kindle, Kobo, and Nook.

Grinning Skull Press isn’t stopping with its freshmen effort. Their second anthology, ATTACK! of the B-Movie Monsters: Night of the Gigantis, will be released this summer.

They are working on even more anthologies. They are currently accepting submissions for a Christmas-themed horror anthology that will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Submissions can be sent to grinningskullpress@yahoo.com or submissions@grinningskullpress.com.

Evans, the publisher, will soon announce an unthemed horror anthology, Blood on the Moon and another ATTACK! of the B-Movie Monsters except this one will focus on Alien Encounters. The press has other anthologies planned: Gore Whores (ladies only) and Splatter Punks (for the guys), Only the Undead Know Brooklyn (open to NY writers only), and Hockomock: Tales of the Bridgewater Triangle (MA writers only).

For more information on Grinning Skull Press, check out its website here.

May 28 2013

Late Horror Writer’s Autobiography Released (updated 6/24/13)

The Horror… The Horror: An Autobiography by Rick Hautala was released on Monday, May 27, by Crossroads Press. At the moment, it is only available as an e-book.

Holly Newstein Hautala, Rick’s wife, said that Crossroads Press will do a print edition since enough people have expressed interest in it for them to go ahead with it.

“I will assume at this point a POD trade paperback,” Holly said about the print version.

Rick passed away in March and Holly found the manuscript two weeks after his death.

“He had a ‘man corner’ in the living room, where all his war games and ‘to be read’ books were piled up,” Holly said. “I was winnowing down the pile and found a Manila envelope. Inside was the manuscript with his handwritten edits. I had no idea he was working on anything like this.”

Rick wrote his autobiography almost four years ago, she said.

“I searched his thumb drives and external hard drive, by title and phrases, and came up blank,” Holly said. “I can only assume that he wrote it, began editing it, and then decided in his Eeyore way that nobody would be interested and deleted it. It really was the only secret he ever kept from me.”

She read it immediately and knew it was an important story, Holly said. It’s not only important for the people who knew and loved him, but also because it captures a chapter in the publishing industry.

“When Rick’s career began, publishers were still promoting and supporting ‘midlist’ writers, who might or might not have a breakout novel in them, but were modestly profitable.”

The tax codes changed and this doomed the midlist writers, she said. “There were no more tax advantages in promotion and in ‘growing’ authors – it was all about the mega-best sellers. With the advent of digital and on-demand publishing, the small presses came into their own and filled the vacuum left by the demise of the midlist, and Rick’s career got a second wind. The Horror shows in a very personal way the carnage and redemption that the changes in publishing have wrought.”

“In addition, Rick’s advice on writing is solid and time-tested, [and] worth a close read by aspiring authors,” Holly added.

“David Wilson and Crossroads Press had the rights to e-publish Rick’s backlist,” Holly said. “I approached them first, thinking that The Horror probably had a fairly limited audience (the ghost of Eeyore, I guess).”

Wilson and Crossroads were glad to take it on as an e-book, so she typed the entire manuscript including Rick’s edits and sent it to them, she said.

“When I posted on Facebook about The Horror, the response overwhelmed me. So I am hoping that maybe Rick’s story will take on a life of its own and be bigger than either of us imagined. Certainly Rick was bigger and better-loved than he ever dreamed he was. The world is a little darker without his kind and steady presence in the writing community.”

To purchase the e-book version of The Horror from Amazon, click here.

Editor’s Note: It was announced by Holly Newstein Hautala on June 24, 2013 that Crossroads Press will have a print edition of Rick’s autobiography out by the end of this week.

May 10 2013

TOC Announced for NEHW’s Second Anthology (Updated 5/28/13)

The table of content has been announced for the second New England Horror Writers’ anthology, which is being edited by Stacey Longo.

The tentative title for this new collection is Wicked Seasons and will be released at Anthocon 2013 in November.

Introduction: Jeff Strand

The first anthology, Epitaphs, was published in October of 2011.

May 8 2013

‘The Proteus Cure’ has been Released

In April, The Proteus Cure by Tracy L. Carbone and F. Paul Wilson was released in paperback and on e-book from Shadowridge Press.

“Wilson and Carbone have penned a winner. The suspense is razor sharp and the characters masterfully drawn.”

Book’s description: “In medical ethics, the line between right and wrong is often blurred. Who is to decide what is for the good of humanity? Changing the world. One person at a time … That is the mission statement of Tethys Hospital, run by Dr. Bill Gilchrist and his deformed sister, Abra. VG723, their revolutionary stem-cell-based therapy, appears to be capable of doing just that for the cancer patients who come to Tethys. VG723 is often their last hope. But if they match the protocol, they’re virtually guaranteed a cure. Dr. Sheila Takamura, a young, dedicated oncologist, is proud to be involved in the clinical trials. Once the FDA approves it for widespread use, VG723 will revolutionize cancer therapy. That is why she’s alarmed when former patients return with bizarre syndromes. Yes, they’re cancer free, but they’re experiencing dramatic changes in their hair and skin and general appearance. When she investigates a possible link to the protocol, those patients start dying. As the body count grows, Sheila finds her own life in danger. She comes to suspect there might be a literal meaning behind the Tethys motto – but can she learn the truth in time to save herself and millions of others?”

Carbone, who was a former co-chair of the New England Horror Writers before stepping down at the beginning of this year, has had a number of short stories published in different anthologies. She has also had a few books published including The Soul Collector and Restitution. For more information on the author, check out her website.

Wilson, who is a New York Times bestselling author, has written more than forty books including science fiction, horror thrillers, and contemporary thrillers. Some of his titles are The Tomb, Legacies, The Keep, and An Enemy of the State. For more information on the author, check out his website.

Apr 24 2013

Ghosts of the Past

The Lizzie Borden House Investigation

By Dave Cassenti

It’s a rhyme that many kids my age know from their childhood, especially if they jumped rope.

Lizzie Borden took an axe

And gave her mother 40 whacks

And when she saw what she had done

She gave her father 41.

The double murder of Lizzie Borden’s stepmother and father in 1892 was a huge story at the time, and if any house could be haunted, than SURELY it is the Borden house where the murder occurred 121 years ago, and there are a number of reports that the house IS haunted by Abby and Andrew Borden as well as numerous other ghosts, including children that were supposedly drowned in a well in the yard prior to the Borden family living in the home. This home was also one of the many paranormal locations that I was privileged to investigate with my students in December 2007, and the only one we were able to stay overnight in.

I had been teaching a class called Scientific Paranormal Research for about three years, and the TV show Ghost Hunters was popular on TV. The Lizzie Borden House had become a bed & breakfast a number of years previously, and I was interested in investigating it … Well, to be honest, I just wanted to STAY there, but my wife is squeamish, and so I had no chance. However, I had been looking for local places to investigate, and being in Fall River, MA, the house was an easy drive from our East Haddam school, and my class budget could handle a couple of rooms for one night. So, we booked the rooms in the most haunted locations available, gathered our equipment, and got underway.

After arriving at the house, we unpacked our gear, and the students were escorted to their rooms to unpack. I met with the owner and asked some of our standard questions about the house and any experiences that people have had. When the students returned to the parlor, we were taken on a tour of the home and the “hot spots” for activity. At this point, the kids were getting excited about the prospect of getting something on video or audio. The previous year, we had been to a number of supposedly haunted locations, a mansion in North Adams, MA., and a number of Civil War sites in PA, MD, WV, VA and DC, with NOTHING to show for it. At least, nothing that couldn’t be explained. But here we were in a place where a gruesome double ax murder had taken place and it was supposedly VERY haunted. We were SURE to get something!

That night, we had a séance in the parlor led by a psychic. This psychic started the séance with the statement, “We might not get anything since spirits don’t like to get ‘caught,’ so don’t be disappointed if nothing happens.” Immediately, it was apparent to me, as well as a few students, that she wasn’t a good psychic and was hedging her bets. This assessment was later verified when she couldn’t ‘sense’ the child spirits around my feet for a good 20-25 minutes after my feet got so cold they became numb. She only ‘saw’ them after I put my hand down near my feet to feel what could explain the cold temperatures (it turned out to be moving air coming from the vent in the floor). Later, during an EVP session my kids & I were running in the basement (another hot spot), the psychic ‘sensed a spirit moving around’ when she heard something in the basement. I had also heard it and, in tracing the source of the sound to the furnace, heard the furnace fire up after pulling oil into it so it could start. Needless to say, the ‘ghost’ was a 15-year-old oil furnace.

That night, the students used a Ouija board and ‘spoke’ to the spirits. However, once again, simpler explanations were often found for what occurred, and the postulate of Occam’s Razor (when multiple hypotheses exist, it is usually the simplest one that is most correct) held that the events were not paranormal. After that, everyone retired to their own rooms. So far, cameras and audio recorders had been going in all rooms, and these continued throughout the night.

In the morning, we had Johnny Cakes for breakfast, the same meal that the Borden family had on their last morning, and then packed up and went home. The next day, we began reviewing the hours of video and audio to find…

NOTHING

About the author:

Along with being a math and science teacher who has always had an interest in world religions, psychology, parapsychology, the supernatural and the paranormal. David Cassenti has taught high school classes about ghost hunting, vampires, demonology, and all sorts of strange and weird topics. David lives in Moodus, CT with his wife, Lisa, his kids, Sarah and Matthew, his dog, Leo, his cat, Ace, and all sorts of scaly creatures! He is also the author of For the Blood of the Lamb, which can be purchased in paperback or as an e-book on Amazon or you can buy a signed copy from Books & Boos in Colchester, CT.

Feb 19 2013

Author Releases New Horror Collection

Author Eric Stanway’s new horror collection, Cannibal of the Mountains, was released this week. It’s a collection of weird anecdotes from 19th-century Massachusetts. The tales include Oscar Beckwith, who committed murder and cannibalism when a gold-mining scam went wrong; Jesse Pomeroy, who tortured and murdered several young children in Chelsea, and ended up spending over four decades in solitary confinement; Captain Joseph White, who was murdered by his nephews for his inheritance; and Asa Snow, whose tomb in the ghost town of Dana became a grisly tourist attraction.

This collection is lavishly illustrated with archival material. It brings the darker side of Victorian New England to light.

Stanway has published a dozen books including The Old Rindge House, Vintage Blood, and Mysteries of Monadnock.

Jason Harris Promotions

Category Publishing/Book news

Authors and Design Converge at FindTheAxis.com

Front and Back Covers Announced for New NEHW Anthology