Rachel Autumn Deering and I have been waiting to announce this. PESTILENT, our first collaborative novel together, will launch in 2019. I can't give much away beyond the cover, but that speaks for itself...
Delighted to announce that I'll be at Belfast Horror Con, 27th October. I'll have a lot for sale (WHAT DO MONSTERS FEAR?, PRACTITIONERS, BRAIN DEAD BLUES, WELCOME TO THE SHOW), and will be happy to sign anything. I'll also be launching my brand new novel THE FAITHFUL. Stop by and say hi. Tickets are available now right HERE.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW launched earlier this month, you can pick it up right now HERE. The anthology shattered my expectations, smashing the Amazon charts and holding its position alongside some of the greatest releases in the genre. Being my first anthology, I wanted to do my publisher proud, I wanted to do my editor proud, and I wanted to do the authors proud. I think I've done that, and we have the readers to thank. Artwork by Ben Baldwin Welcome To The Show panel: Mary SanGiovanni, Brian Keene, Kelli Owen, Patrick Lacey, Matt Hayward. Not pictured: Somer Canon, Glenn Rolfe, Adam Cesare, Matt Serafini
WELCOME TO THE SHOW features 17 of today's hottest authors of dark fiction as they tell the horrifying (fictional) history of the legendary San Francisco music venue, The Shantyman. With all-new short stories by Brian Keene, John Skipp, Robert Ford, Max Booth III, Glenn Rolfe, Matt Hayward, Mary SanGiovanni, Bryan Smith, Matt Serafini, Kelli Owen, Jonathan Janz, Patrick Lacey, Adam Cesare, Alan M Clark, Somer Canon, Rachel Autumn Deering and Jeff Strand. Compiled by Bram Stoker Award-nominated author Matt Hayward. Edited by Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano. Brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing. We've been trying for three years to make this happen, soI'm thrilled to announce that I finally got to record an episode of The Horror Show with Brian Keene. You can listen right HERE.
PRACTITIONERS, the new novel by Patrick Lacey and myself, launches 16th July and preorders ARE NOW LIVE. Here's the back cover copy, and also a little piece I wrote about the book itself:
Dreams aren’t just for the sleeping. After the murder of his wife, Officer Henry Stapleton struggles to move on. He begins experiencing nightmares that seem more like reality. Far beyond simple grieving. Looking for answers, he visits a mysterious new healing center, owned by real estate mogul Paul White. There’s just one problem. The man doesn’t exist. Though his name appears on his properties, there is no evidence of White’s birth, no social security number, no means of tracing whatsoever. Henry begins to believe White is to blame for these visions. And they’re spreading to others. Joined by his partner George Patrick, the two travel deeper into the collective nightmare infecting Bellview, a once quiet town now in the grasps of unknown evil. Reality may not be as concrete as Henry Stapleton once thought. PRACTITIONERS’ duel nature made for perfect collaborative fodder. Two versions of the same sleepy town, one real, the other a collective dreamscape of its occupants, filled with desires, fears, and of course, monsters. Two friends, both police officers, dealing with the loss of a loved one as their friendship strains beyond recognition. Two practitioners of the occult fighting for control over the same space, one good, the other evil. One real, the other an enigma. Pat and I played with this good/bad, night/day coin toss over the course of three months, exploring the residents of Bellview as they publicly kept face in light of a horrific murder. But at night, the townsfolk can’t deny their unsettled minds. It’s this foreboding that the monsters of their nightmares exploit, and which our main character Henry must navigate carefully if he’s ever to get out alive. PRACTITIONERS is a novel that begged to be written by two authors. WELCOME TO THE SHOW is now on Goodreads, you can find the page HERE. And here is the anthology's FIRST REVIEW (CLICK HERE).
We all know the old cliché: Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Now, add demons, other dimensions, monsters, revenge, human sacrifice, and a dash of the truly inexplicable. This is the story of the (fictional) San Francisco music venue, The Shantyman. In Welcome to the Show, seventeen of today's hottest writers of horror and dark fiction come together in devilish harmony to trace The Shantyman's history from its disturbing birth through its apocalyptic encore. Featuring stories by Brian Keene, John Skipp, Mary SanGiovanni, Robert Ford, Max Booth III, Glenn Rolfe, Matt Hayward, Bryan Smith, Matt Serafini, Kelli Owen, Jonathan Janz, Patrick Lacey, Adam Cesare, Alan M Clark, Somer Canon, Rachel Autumn Deering and Jeff Strand. Compiled by Matt Hayward. Edited by Doug Murano. Bring your curiosity, but leave your inhibitions at the door. The show is about to begin… Last week, Thunderstorm Books released a limited edition hardback of WHAT DO MONSTERS FEAR? with a foreword by Edward Lee. The damn thing sold out in 6 hours. I'm eternally grateful to all who bought a copy. That novel won a Stoker nomination, had a failed movie adaption (something I've never spoke of publicly) and was picked as one of Grand Master of Horror Brian Keene's top 10 novels of 2017. In other words, I tossed that stone in the lake and it ripped and ripped and ripped. Thank you, everyone.
(PS - YouTuber 'Jeffingoff' did an unboxing on the limited edition version alongside a Robert McCammon novel which you can watch HERE) WELCOME TO THE SHOW - Coming 3rd August from Crystal Lake Publishing.
(Artwork by Ben Baldwin) Featuring: Brian Keene, Robert Ford, Max Booth III, Glenn Rolfe, Matt Hayward, Mary SanGiovanni, Bryan Smith, Matt Serafini, Kelli Owen, Jonathan Janz, Patrick Lacey, John Skipp, Adam Cesare, Alan M Clark, Somer Canon, Rachel Autumn Deering and Jeff Strand. A couple of quick short story announcements: AN UNUSUAL PET is featured in Hidden Menagerie Vol 1 - and a portion of the proceeds from each sale benefits the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization. It's available now HERE.
I'm also happy to announce my story WHERE THE WILD WINDS BLOW will appear in Lost Highways, edited by D. Alexander Ward. The story is based on my friend Jeff Angell’s song of the same name from the album ‘Diamonds In A Dead Sky’ |