Tag Archives: horror

Horror Western Novella, BLACK, Featured on GREAT JONES STREET

Eryk Pruitt has taken over Great Jones Street this week and he’s chosen my horror western novella, BLACK, as the story-of-the-day. You can read it in full HERE. Also, look at this artwork. Oh my god.

blackgjs

Someone sold Charlie Lansdale’s soul to the devil. Now he lives a life of crime and tragedy he’ll never escape, much like the jail cell of the small Texas town in which he sits when Hell comes to collect. Outside is a chaotic horror show, and there’s nothing Charlie nor Marshal Ray Bennett can do about it.

It’s kind of an older story, so it’s a bit rough, but I still think it’s pretty good. I’ve been toying with the idea of rewriting it into a full-length novel, actually, so this comes at a nice time. BLACK was originally published in an anthology called WELCOME TO HELL then was later reissued as a standalone through Hazardous Press (which has, of course, gone under). What do you think? Interested in reading a novel version of this story? Let me know!

Also, if you haven’t already ordered Eryk Pruit’s new novel, what are you waiting for?

StoryAWeek #2: “A Nervous Sleep”

As mentioned previously on the blog, I’m attempting to write a short story once a week for the year of 2017, and possibly for every week afterward until I finally die, and maybe even a few weeks after that, too.

Story #2 was tricky to write. I actually had to write it twice before I felt comfortable enough to consider it finished. The first draft ended up being 4,200 words. It was dogshit. I couldn’t figure out how to approach it. I wrote it from the POV of the villain–this creepy-as-shit traveling magician–and it killed all the atmosphere. Sometimes writing from the POV of the “baddie” can ruin a story, especially in horror, because the more you can sympathize with the designated monster, the less fear you feel, right?

Anyway. I tossed the 4,200 words and rewrote it not just from the POV of a different character, but also in second-person, which is a style I’ve always wanted to try but never had enough courage to actually follow-through with before. Not only is it told in second-person present tense, but it’s written from the POV of two different people. The final word count ended up being 6,100 words. I think it’s pretty solid. It’s loosely based off a real interaction I had with a weird magician who stumbled into my hotel one night and performed a spontaneous magic show in the lobby for several hours.

It’s called “A Nervous Sleep”, which could change ten seconds after I post this blog.

New Hotel Horror Story: “Darling”

My short story “Darling” is now available in Gothic Blue Book V: The Cursed Edition. It is about a night auditor who takes a sudden liking to one of his new guests. It’s a good mix of Gothic and body horror.

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Also included in the anthology are the following wonderful people:

Thanks to Christian A. Larsen for compiling all those author links on his own blog post, which I shamelessly stole.

Buy the paperback HERE or purchase the kindle HERE.

[LitReactor] I’m Dreaming of a Red Christmas: 7 Horror Books to Read Over the Holidays

My latest LitReactor column was published yesterday. It’s about kickass horror books with a Christmas theme. Maybe some of them you’ve read, some of them you haven’t. Maybe you don’t read books. Books are for nerds, after all. Fuck books. Anyone who reads is automatically an untrustworthy person. Do not associate yourself with readers. They will steal your shit. Your literal shit. They have pails and shovels and everything. It’s gross.

But anyway, here’s the article.

Free Christmas Story on Acidic Fiction

Last Friday, Acidic Fiction published a flash piece of mine titled “‘Tis the Season”, which is about as close to Christmas-themed writing as I’ll probably ever get. It’s actually based off my own holiday traditions from childhood, so I guess you could almost call this story non-fiction. Anyway, you can read it for free over on Acidic Fiction.

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Here’s the first paragraph:

The cat’s heart had been placed on the kitchen table a few hours before the Man in Red arrived. Flies hovered above it, amazed at their tasty discovery. The Man in Red was not annoyed by the bugs. He preferred their presence and their taste.

Ahh, brings back memories already.

Check it out, yo.

Improve Your Life with a Razorblade to the Mind

I believe Kraken Press will soon be ordering the pre-ordered paperbacks of my new horror neo-noir novel, THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE. This way I can receive them in time to autograph and mail out by the book’s September 18th release date. If you liked my last novel, TOXICITY, then you should dig this new book, too. And if you’ve never read anything I’ve written, RAZORBLADE is a good opportunity to take a chance on me.

new razorblade

As I’ve mentioned in the past, each pre-ordered paperback will not only receive a signed copy, but they will also receive a free paperback of my horror western novella, BLACK, published last year through Hazardous Press. They will also receive a special RAZORBLADE poker chip, along with some other cool surprises. Oh, yeah, if you pre-order the paperback, Kraken Press will immediately email you the eBook, so you don’t even have to wait to read it.

However, if you aren’t interest in the paperback, you can still pre-order the kindle version directly from Amazon. Which you should definitely do.

PAPERBACK | KINDLE | GOODREADS

THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE is a supernatural neo-noir horror novel of a man born into death. Drowning, he wakes beside two corpses. His memory has been wiped clean. He doesn’t know his name, what he’s doing here, who these people are, or even why one of them is a cop. Nor can he explain his strange telekinetic abilities. Questions plague his mind like hellfire, questions that begin a journey leading into the rot of downtown America, a journey that will not end until every one of his questions have been answered, despite who has to die in the process. Even if those who have all the answers aren’t human.

A story of identity and redemption, satanic cults and funny bunny slippers, THE MIND IS A RAZORBLADE is the deformed lovechild of a lunatic raised on cheesy ‘80’s science fiction movies.

“Sharp and deadly—the mind is definitely a razor blade. Max Booth has created a dark, violent, and oddly touching novel. This powerful story is hard to put down and full of emotion—laughing one minute, cringing the next, and constantly glancing over your shoulder, wondering if those shadows moved again.”
–Richard Thomas, author of Disintegration

“The Mind is a Razorblade assaults you from the very first word and never lets go. Chaotic, abrasive, and just a little bit psychotic, Max Booth III pulls you into the maelstrom. Unlike Dorothy, though, you won’t be asking to go home. You’ll be begging.”
–Tim Marquitz, author of the Demon Squad books.

“Max Booth III takes you on a journey built with the stuff of your nightmares and injected with a triple dose of noir, sci-fi and the deepest, darkest comedy. From the first page — hell, the first sentence — Booth assaults your senses with paranoia, action, and terror and he never lets up. The Mind is a Razorblade is a novel about love, identity, spiders and demons — and it will kick your ass.”
Craig T. McNeely, The Pulp Chronicler

The Dead Always Got Their Revenge (Richard Shiver)

On the surface her plan was brilliant in its simplicity. Return home, take the place of her twin sister, and live out the rest of her life in relative peace. Unfortunately even the best laid plans had their flaws. This one involved Margaret’s alter ego Candice, who was hell bent on leaving a bloody trail in her wake. But not even Candice had planned for one simple truth.

The dead always got their revenge.

Diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder at an early age Margaret could honestly say she had never been alone a single day of her life. Like two peas in a pod she shared her physical self with the other half of a divided psyche, a separate personality known as Candice. The difference between them was like that between night and day. While Margaret exuded the wholesome innocence of a country bred farm girl; Candice portrayed the character traits of a manipulative, conniving, sociopath whose only concern lay in doing what was best for herself.

When Candice takes control you can bet things are about to get crazy…and very bloody.

Though Margaret physically killed the handyman who raped her when she was seventeen, her alter ego was responsible for the act. Thirty years have passed and Margaret is serving a life sentence for the killing she had managed to keep under wraps for seven years. She is confined to a Mental Health facility where a new doctor has been assigned to her case. One of his first acts is to reduce the dosages of the medications that have kept Candice suppressed.

Candice seizes control and embarks on a murderous rampage as she seeks to regain the life that had been taken from her. She leaves a trail of bodies in her wake as she returns home where the ghosts of the dead have waited patiently for her return.

 

BUY REPRISAL TODAY!

Richard Shiver grew up listening to ghost stories told by his grandmother as they sat on the front porch while screech owls punctuated her words. As a teen he survived on a steady diet of Creepy, Eerie and Weird Tales comics as well as Saturday night creature features with Count Gore Deval.

In the past he has worked as a carpenter, a truck driver, in retail sales, and fast food. In that time he has read everything he could lay his hands on. Aware that one day, he would breathe life into the chills he’d first experienced on his grandmother’s front porch.

Richard currently lives with his wife in Lavale, MD. When he’s not spinning tales of terror he can be found in his wood shop making a mess.

Now Available – BLACK (a novella)

My horror western novella, Black, is now available in print from Hazardous Press. And the publisher has made it extremely affordable at just $4.74. That’s for the print edition, mind you–not the ebook. That’s $4.74 for 84 pages of horror fun.

The Amazon blurb describes Black as “A horrific zombie western tale of a gunfighter cursed with unwanted immortality. It’s one thing to make a deal with the Devil; it’s another when the deal is made for you.”

It also features a lengthy, exclusive interview with Joe McKinney, the king of zombies. Again, all for under five bucks. Holy crap, right?

Just take a look at this beautiful cover designed by Matthew Revert and tell me you don’t want that in your hands RIGHT THIS INSTANT:

BUY BLACK TODAY!

 

Did Stephen King Buy Reviews?

Many of you have read recent reports that author Melissa Foster (among many others) purchased fake Amazon reviews on the website fiverr.com. These reports were made on an anonymous blog with no more than 7 posts already published. Without any doubt, we have all believed this to be true, because hey, why not.

Well, constant readers, you will be excited to know that I actually tracked down the writer for that blog, and Fiverr Report agreed to tell us, right here on my own blog, the latest author to succumb to the hellfire of fiverr.com. You’ll never guess who it is, either–unless, of course, you’ve already read the title of this blog post, which I have to assume you’ve done.

So, okay, right. It’s Stephen King.

I know! I was as surprised as you. I told Fiverr Report that they had to be shitting me. Fiverr Report then went on to tell me that nobody was, in fact, shitting me.

Evidently, Stephen King was a bit nervous about his latest novel release, and thought it best to buy a few hundred reviews from fiverr.com just in case something went wrong. As you can see now, there’s only about 50 reviews up on the book–they are all legit (presumably). I’ve been told it takes some time for the fake reviews to start rolling in, but we should all expect them soon.

Fiverr Report also revealed something else odd. King apparently requested that he be allowed to write “at least 150 of the reviews” himself. They were all already written before King even contacted fiverr.com. The reviews were mailed to the company’s P.O box, a dirty rubber band confining the pages together. Fiverr Report went on to mention that there were suspicious bloody fingerprints throughout the individual reviews–and, every instance of the words DOCTOR SLEEP, one could spot the words ODD THOMAS below, sloppily scratched out.

Well, constant readers, you aren’t the only ones doubting these latest reports. After my meeting with Fiverr Report, I felt obligated to continue the investigation and tracked down King himself. He is surprisingly easy to find, if you’re not afraid of prison. And if you’re familiar with my past, then you’ll already know that no such place can hold me for long, anyway.

Fortunately, I was wise enough to bring a tape recorder to our meeting. So, dear readers, I now give you our conversation, verbatim:

King: What the hell? Who are you? How did you get into my bathroom?

Booth: We could spend all day talking about how I get into people’s bathrooms. No answer is going to satisfy you.

King: What do you WANT?

Booth: I came here for the truth. I know what you did.

King: Oh my God, you found the body.

Booth: I…wait, what? No. What body?

King: Uh…nothing. There’s no body. Why are you talking about bodies? [nervous laughter]

Booth: I’m here about fiverr dot com. I’ve been told by a possibly reliable source that you’ve purchased fake reviews from them to promote Doctor Sleep.

King: Doctor Sleep? What? You mean that new Stephen King novel?

Booth: Don’t play stupid with me, Steve!

King: I’m not playing! Why did you call me Steve? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? My name is Marvin.

Booth: [laughs] Nice try. I know all about your scheme, mister man. Now confess!

King: You’re crazy. I am calling the police.

There was then a brief struggle as King jumped off the toilet and ran, pants around his ankles, through the house. Just as he found his cell phone, I managed to leap on top of him and briefly knock him out with a nearby vase. At least I assume it was briefly. Truth be told, I left the house almost immediately afterward.

I’ll give it a few more days to make sure the heat is clear, then I’ll pay ol’ Steve a visit again and hopefully we can straighten all this out. Until then, here is a book about our impending deaths (and also pie).

 

 

DARK BITS – Now Available in eBook, Paperback, and Hardback

Apokrupha’s Dark Bits anthology (edited by Jacob Haddon) is now available in eBook, paperback, and hardback. This is an anthology consisting of 52 (+1) horror flash fictions. It includes my story, “The Child, Smiling”, along with many other wonderful authors. Check out the Table of Contents below!

 

1. In Country – Robert Ford

2. The Delivery – Kevin David Anderson

3. Mowed – Jessica McHugh

4. Fatty – Mandy DeGeit

5. Listening – Jeff Heimbuch

6. Locking Up – William Whorton

7. The Miracle – Michael H. Antonio

8. Unconditional – Michele Mixell

9. Confusion in Southern Illinois – Wesley Southard

10. Autumn as Metaphor – G.N. Braun

11. The Long Haul – Mary Pletsch

12. Photograph (V) – Die Booth

13. Crab Feast – Cynthia Ray

14. The Old House – Angela Pritchett

15. Disturbance – Darryl Dawson

16. Seeds – Guy Anthony De Marco

17. You Have to Bleed a Little – Robin Devereaux-Nelson

18. Shroud – Bryce Hughes

19. To Kill a Ghost – Johannes Pinter

20. The Ones That Shine – James Roy Daley

21. Their Favourite Thing – Rebecca L. Brown

22. The Lying Dead – Sheri White

23. The Prescription – Matthew Wilson

24. Messages – David Greske

25. Still Life – Apple Ardent Scott

26. He Knew – William Gracey

27. The Child, Smiling – Max Booth III

28. Senseless – Edd Vick

29. The Scream – Mark C. Scioneaux

30. AM Radio – Chantel Delulio

31. Flesh and Blood- Jeremy C. Shipp

32. Don’t Blink – David Bernstein

33. Lost and Found – Sandy Shelonchik

34. The Treatment – Tracy L. Carbone

35. A Straightforward Proceedure – Tina Rath

36. The Third Prisoner – James S. Dorr

37. That’s Show Business – Bruce Boston

38. Lost – Richard Farren Barber

39. The Worst Sound – William Meikle

40. The Visit – Robert Smales

41. Up – Cameron Suey

42. Broken Eggs – Jamie Lackey

43. Little Lies are Better – Randolph Andrews

44. Visitors – Kenneth W. Cain

45. The Linguist – Kallirroe Agelopoulou

46. Promise Kept – Meriah L. Crawford

47. A Taste of Darkness – Chantal Noordeloos

48. Change – Keith Armstrong

49. New Start – Kathryn Ptacek

50. Kwick Stop Jesus – Dane Hatchell

51. The Door – Stephanie Jessop

52. Smokes – Carson Buckingham

  • +1 Just A Dream – Kevin Lucia

 

Dark Bits is a collection of 52+1 horror flash fiction stories.  Short, but not sweet, they move quick to grab you. Got a minute? Go ahead, try one.