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…
This blog was originally published on Cheryl St. John’s Christmas Tree Blog Tour on Dec. 18, 2011. I’ve reproduced it here since that website is long gone. I’ve always been a sucker for Christmas. A lot of people don’t expect a “horror” novelist who writes things like Sacrifice and The…
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…
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!),…
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…
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…
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…
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)….
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…
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…
