My 2011… A Travelogue

THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS is always a week of cleanup for me. Putting away the remnants of one year to prepare for another. I spend hours organizing and backing up computer files, updating my iPod, cleaning off my desk from weeks of detritus… and I also think back a lot…

Continue reading

CHRISTMAS TALES are here!

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN a sucker for Christmas. A lot of people don’t expect a “horror” writer to get all warm and mushy for the holidays, but I am a big fan of colored lights, Christmas trees, homemade frosted cookies, warm holiday fireplaces, eggnogg (the real homemade stuff, not that bubblegum…

Continue reading

NightWhere before Christmas!

I HAVE TO SAY, this has been a pretty good week! On Monday night (actually, 1 a.m. Tuesday morning) I finished my final edits on my 6th novel, NightWhere! So finally, after a couple weeks of editing and rewriting (and a series of very late nights there at the end!),…

Continue reading

R.I.P. Anne McCaffrey

I WAS SADDENED last week to learn that science fiction/fantasy icon Anne McCaffrey died of a massive stroke at 85. Anne McCaffrey — or more specifically, her fiction — was a key part of my childhood. I’ll admit, I haven’t read her work for many years now… in my 20s…

Continue reading

Halloween 2011

TODAY WAS HALLOWEEN, one of my favorite days of the year, since everyone celebrates the “strange” in their own ways. I took a day off work today, mainly so that I could go Trick or Treating with my son Shaun, the ultimate “Angry Bird.” When 4 p.m. came, we headed…

Continue reading

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Every year, I try to offer some kind of free story for the holiday, and this year, I’ve gotten permission from the publisher to post, at least for a short time, the short story that inspired my fifth novel, The Pumpkin Man. Originally written back in 2006 as a…

Continue reading

PUMPKIN MAN on Sony Spooky Reads

YESTERDAY THE SONY e-Bookstore sent out an e-newsletter promoting Spooky Reads for the season, and I was psyched that they featured The Pumpkin Man. It was especially cool since they placed it right there next to a Jonathan Maberry novel (and Jonathan gave me a great blurb for the novel)….

Continue reading

Chicago PUMPKIN MAN Launch

TONIGHT IS THE Chicago launch party for my fifth novel The Pumpkin Man at the appropriately titled Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records in Chicago. I’m really looking forward to reading tonight (in just about 4 hours as I write this!), as well as hearing my fellow authors Cynthia Pelayo…

Continue reading

Of Werewolves & Pumpkin Men

SO I HAVE TO SAY I was pretty disappointed this week to learn that the new Newcastle seasonal brew — Werewolf “Blood Red Ale” — wasn’t manufactured in enough quantity to last through Halloween. I mean… shouldn’t you drink a Werewolf next weekend? Not unless you hoarded some away in…

Continue reading

The Pumpkin Man is here!

IT’S OCTOBER, and that means… The Pumpkin Man is coming! Actually, The Pumpkin Man is here. You can see it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Dorchester, etc. I received my copies of the trade paperback on Friday, and they look great! My fifth novel started shipping to bookstores early last…

Continue reading