By Jason Harris
The 11th Annual Rock & Shock has come to an end. It was another great year with celebrities, authors, books, and fans.
The 11th Annual Rock & Shock has come to an end. It was another great year with celebrities, authors, books, and fans.
Books & Boos will be sharing space with Fenham Publishing this weekend at Rock & Shock, which runs from Oct. 17 through 19. Publisher Jim Dyer will be representing Fenham Publishing and author Stacey Longo will be on-hand to sign her books (Secret Things, Insanity Tales) at the Books & Boos table. Longo is also a movie reviewer and writer for Jason Harris Promotions. She will be on the Writing panel with Joe Knetter at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
If you’re wondering what to get the horror fan in your family this holiday season, look no further than Grinning Skull Press’s O Little Town of Deathlehem, a robust collection of holiday horror stories. Edited by Michael J. Evans and Harrison Graves, this anthology, is sure to please the most twisted of souls.
Starting off strong, the anthology opens with “One of His Own” by Catherine Grant, a Krampus tale that offers an almost tender-hearted look at the Christmas demon. Almost. It’s followed by “Christmas Wine” by Matt Cowan, a fun little story about having to make a terrible choice around the holidays. As you turn the page to the next story, and the next, you’ll be happy to realize that each tale is a delightful holiday present of its own.
Other personal favorites in this collection include “All I Want For Christmas” by Raymond Gates, about a writer struggling to finish his novel who unwittingly accepts help without considering the source. John Boden’s “The Antiphon” was a fabulous, lighthearted look at what can happen if you make a spelling mistake when addressing a letter to the big guy at the North Pole. And “Special Delivery” by Simon Bradley reveals a different, more human, and not always jolly side to dear old Saint Nick that you won’t soon forget.
Overall, O Little Town of Deathlehem is an enjoyable read of high-quality stories that is sure to please the hardest people to buy for on your Christmas list this year.
Dale T. Phillips and Vlad V., two authors in the Insanity Tales anthology published by Books & Boos Press, will be signing copies of the book at Haunted Acres in Candia, New Hampshire this Saturday, Oct. 11, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
It’s a collection containing stories and one novella by such illustrious authors as David Daniel, Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad V., and Ursula Wong. Enter a world of madness as you read these nine tales of twisted psyches, peculiar people, and demons of the mind and spirit.
This anthology includes a foreword by award-winning author Jonathan Maberry (Rot & Ruin) and the cover was created by Melinda Phillips.
If you can’t make it to Haunted Acres to see , you can purchase the paperback by clicking here or the e-book here.
Insanity Tales debuted this week. It’s a collection containing stories and one novella by such illustrious authors as David Daniel, Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad V., and Ursula Wong. Enter a world of madness as you read these nine tales of twisted psyches, peculiar people, and demons of the mind and spirit.
This anthology includes a foreword by award-winning author Jonathan Maberry (Rot & Ruin).
The book’s cover was created by Melinda Phillips.
To purchase the paperback, click here. To purchase the e-book, click here.
The 11th Rock & Shock is less than two weeks away and the organizers have brought horror fans another great line-up this year. Some names fans will recognize celebrities such as Tom Savini, Brad Dourif, Roddy Piper, Derek Mears, and Sid Haig. There are also new ones to the convention such as Sharknado and American Pie star Tara Reid and Jeffrey Combs (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise)
Celebrities who had to cancel their appearances last year are back on the guest list for this year and they are Andrew Divoff (Wishmaster) and John Ratzenberger ( Cheers and the Toy Story movies).
Check out the guest list here.
Once again, there will be authors, publishers, and bookstores at the convention. Authors include Bram Stoker award-winner L.L Soares, Joe Knetter, Stacey Longo, Tim J. Finn, and Bracken MacLeod. Knetter and Longo will be participating on a writer’s panel at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, with a few other authors. Publishers and bookstores include Fenham Publishing and Books & Boos respectively.
Rock & Shock takes place at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. from Oct. 17th through the 19th.

Raunchy, politically incorrect, and hilariously ridiculous, FDR: American Badass (2012) is my favorite B-movie find this year. Barry Bostwick is indignantly absurd as the title character, who, in this historical version, contracts polio after being bitten by a werewolf. He goes on to win the presidential election, and finds he faces a much bigger threat: Naziwerewolves. FDR approaches this new problem with the same aplomb that he showed by getting the country out of the Depression: by ending Prohibition (to gain popularity and support) and going to war.
The jokes come every other line, and are offensive and disgusting. Never have I laughed so hard at a sight gag involving a vase and a bowel movement. Nobody is safe: polio victims, women, Southerners, lesbians, African-Americans . . . every race, creed, and nationality are skewered in this movie. While sharing a joint in the oval office, FDR and Abraham Lincoln (played by Kevin Sorbo, far off the path from his Hercules days) make jokes about people in wheelchairs, plays that end badly for presidents, and interracial sex. Have you ever wanted to hear Eleanor Roosevelt drop the f-bomb? Then this is exactly the movie for you.
FDR himself personally flies a fighter plane into war to kill Mussolini and Hitler. Winston Churchill mans the radio tower, telling FDR “If I wasn’t drunk and blind, I’d be up there with you right now.” It’s an explosive finish, and the president’s fate is uncertain, causing Eleanor to drop an s-bomb and even a g-d-bomb as she waits for word of her husband. I won’t spoil the end for you, but suffice to say, FDR lives up to the title’s moniker.
If you offend easily, don’t like jokes about people’s private parts, feces, racism, sexism, every other possible kind of -ism, and overall don’t find juvenile humor funny, then you may want to skip this one. But if the line “Hoover was all right. I’m sure they’ll name a dam or a vacuum cleaner after him someday” strikes you as uproarious, FDR: American Badass is right up your alley.
Books & Boos Press is pleased to reveal the cover of our newest anthology, Insanity Tales, due out next month just in time for the Halloween season! The cover artist is Melinda Phillips.

This collection includes a foreword by award-winning author Jonathan Maberry, and new stories from such illustrious authors as David Daniel, Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad V., and Ursula Wong. Enter a world of madness as you read these nine tales of twisted psyches, peculiar people, and demons of the mind and spirit.
Insanity Tales will be available for purchase in early October.
Once more, I got to travel to another world or a lot of them, by attending Granite State ComiCon, organized by Double Midnight Comics. I was one of two authors at the Books & Boos table. The other author at the table being Stacey Longo. We were signing books for fans, new and old.
It was an amazing time at a well-run con, with thousands of fun people enjoying themselves and sharing their special likes of comics, TV shows, books, films, graphic novels, games, and cultural icons of all sorts.
You get to see people like The New England Brethren of Pirates.
The Ghostbusters of New Hampshire 
The New England garrison of the 501st Legion.
All three groups make appearances to help raise money for charities. These people put a lot of time and effort into their outfits and shows, and they deserve a big hand for what they do.
You get to see celebrities, like Sam Jones (of Flash Gordon and Ted fame) and tough-guy actor William Forsythe, both of whom were
extremely gracious and kind to the fans. You also see the people behind the voices of your favorite animated characters such as Richard Horvitz, who voices Zim in Invader Zim, .
You get to meet writers such as Gordon Bean, Rob Watts, Katherine Silva, and Scott Goudsward, who are all members of the New England Horror Writers.
Author Matthew Bartlett, another NEHW member, was also signing books at the organization’s table.
Besides the NEHW and Longo, Chris Philbrook, another author, had his own table at the convention.

Author Chris Philbrook.
During my time at the convention, I also met author John Murphy, who was recently heard on the Sci-fi Saturday Night podcast. I can’t wait to hear their interviews with the cast members of Game of Thrones.
Speaking of which, lots of folks were Game of Thrones cosplaying to honor the cast members who were there.

Arya of Game of Thrones.

Arya of Game of Thrones.
Miltos Yeramelou (Syrio on GoT) hosted a Water Dancing class to teach beginning fencers. I watched some of it, and thought it superb– and I’ve been a fencer for over 35 years.
You get to see about every superhero and supervillain you can think of.
And many other costumes. A guy who plays Mr T. emceed the huge costume contest. I sure wouldn’t want to judge that one, because there are so many
cool costumes, it would be too hard to choose a winner!
Two days of fun, and we just saw a small part of it. It’s a total experience, with panels, parties, and participation.
Haunted Acres is New England’s most exciting haunted attraction, with Maniac’s Midway, live bands, a beer garden, and lots of food and ride vendors.

Mr. T with author Stacey Longo, holding her book Secret Things.

Me with author Rob Watts.

Disney Princesses.

Performers from Fright Kingdom.
The brand new trailer for the most anticipated movie, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, of the year debuted on TheHungerGamesExclusive.com.
Watch the Official The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 Worldwide Trailer here: http://hungrgam.es/Trailer
In conjunction with the trailer’s debut, be sure to check out The Hunger Games Exclusive Series #2, including exclusive new images and interviews with Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Natalie Dormer, Mahershala Ali, and more on TheHungerGamesExclusive.com.