Evil Jester Comics

Jump on board and help support this badass new horror comics project:

Evil Jester Comics Graphic Novel Series (Kickstarter)


This collaborative comics project was envisioned by Charles Day (Founder of Evil Jester Press and author of Bram Stoker nominee, The Legend of the Pumpkin Thief) and Taylor Grant (Co-founder of Evil Jester Press, author, filmmaker) and promises to be pretty damn awesome.

Yes, I remember those enticingly grotesque horror comics of my youth - the whole boxful that dad brought home one afternoon when I was home sick from school - and dammit if my cat hadn't peed all over them in highschool (we were talking Black Cat here...painful groan)- and hell, with authors such as Gary Braunbeck, Jason V. Brock, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Ketchum, Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, William F. Nolan, Jeff Strand, and Tim Waggoner, I can't wait to help usher in the new era of horror comics (and rebuild my collection with new blood).

Authors aside, the Evil Jester has scared up some fantastic illustrators and artists as well: Richard P. Clark, Gary McClusky, and Greg Chapman.  Take a look at the Kickstarter link above for some samples to drool over while we wait for Charles and Taylor to get this collection rolling.

For more information, sign up for updates via the Evil Jester Comics Website. 

Dacre Stoker Interview

Please describe your creative process.  How do you go from idea to completed novel?  (Can you tell us a little about the creative process with a co-author?)

After plenty of brainstorming, and digging thru Bram’s old notes, we both agreed on a general plot. Ian had a basic premise that our Dracula character would be a “merged” Dracula, a combination of the old school “revenant”  type vampire and the modern Vlad Dracula style of Count Dracula. We then divided up our four subplots equally between us, and then we started writing on our own. We created a master layout so we could adhere to a unified plan; this helped us coordinate our subplots and characters' movements thru pivotal events in the story. From time to time we exchanged writing assignments so our styles would blend easier.  I also cannot understate the importance in Dracula the Un-Dead of our historic researcher, who assisted us by placing the characters and events in the correct and accurate locations so our story had an authentic feel to it.

How does your past experience as a professional athlete inform your writing (or style)?

My athletic background was twofold; first as an athlete then as a coach,  and both influenced my writing efforts. As an athlete I learned perseverance and dedication, nothing comes easily, hard work pays off. These two qualities were very important during my writing. Secondly as a coach, I needed to create a timeline, sort of like a “game” plan, with attainable goals for both of us. This was very important for two writers working together on a singular project.

What are you working on right now?

I have a few projects in the works; they involve fictional and non-fictional works surrounding the mysteries behind Bram Stoker and his writing of Dracula. I give lectures with Power Point visuals to illustrate the many interesting issues that contributed to Bram’s writing of Dracula.

List five things that are on your writing desk right now.

·      Two outlines for Power Point presentations that I am working on for exhibits about the Vampire, one in Milan Italy and also for one in Scranton, Pennsylvania

·      A revision for a course outline that I am teaching on Blood Born Pathogens to combine with my CPR and First Aid classes this month

·      A book review for Publishers Weekly on a new Vampire book dealing with Bram Stoker’s Manuscript

·      Notes on a treatment for a film script (sorry can’t release the name yet)

What are you reading this month?

Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants

What would surprise your readers to know about yourself?

I am a professional instructor of Fly Fishing and also of the very unique sport of Court Tennis.  

Thanks, Dacre!

Dacre Stoker Bio

This week's featured author is Dacre Stoker!

Dacre Stoker is the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker and the best-selling co-author of Dracula the Un-Dead (Dutton, 2009), the official Stoker family-sanctioned sequel to Dracula. Dacre is also the co-editor (with Elizabeth Miller) of The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker: The Dublin Years (Robson, 2012). Dacre has lectured and presented on Bram Stoker and Dracula in the U.S. and abroad at various engagements, including: in 2008, Vampire-Con (Hollywood, CA), The Dracula Festival, Rosenbach Museum (Philadelphia, PA), Ottawa International Writers Festival, (Ottawa, ON, Canada), Scrittorincitta, the Literary Festival (Cuneo, Italy), Comic-Con International, (San Diego, CA), National Library of Ireland (Dublin, Ireland); in 2009, Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Fan Club (New Orleans, LA), San Paulo International Book Fair, (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Rotary District Conference, (Greenville, SC), Spoleto Festival USA, (Charleston, SC), Baylor School, (Chattanooga, TN); in 2011, MENSA Regional Gathering (Greenville, SC), Horror Writers Association, Stoker Weekend (Long Island, NY); and in 2012, Dacre has thus far been engaged to speak and present at 10 different conferences and festivals. Dacre has also appeared and continues to appear on television and in film documentaries showing in Ireland, England, Canada, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany.

To learn more about Dacre, please visit the official site for Dracula the Undead or follow him on Goodreads and Twitter.

Take a look at the Horror Librarian's Reading List for descriptions of Dacre's work.  And don't forget to come back Wednesday for the interview!

Remembering Rick Hautala

One of 2012’s HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winners, Rick Hautala has a writing career that spans more than three decades. From Moondeath, his first novel published in 1980, to the republication of his best-selling novel The White Room (DRP, 2012) and his forthcoming “Little Brothers” novella Indian Summer (CD Publications, 2012), his novels and short stories have entertained millions of readers around the world.

Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003. 

 

A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, 2010, from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard. 

A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lived in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association. 

In honor of Rick's lifetime of writing, his books will be added to the Horror Librarian's Reading List.

Passing of a Legend: James Herbert

For immediate release, Wednesday 20 March 2013
James Herbert OBE

It is with great regret that Pan Macmillan announces the death of bestselling novelist, James Herbert OBE.   James, aged 69, died peacefully in his bed this morning at his home in Sussex.

James Herbert was born in London’s East End on 8 April 1943.  At the age of ten, he won a scholarship to St. Aloysius Grammar School, Highgate, and aged sixteen started studying graphic design, print and photography at the renowned Hornsey College of Art.  He then found work in an advertising agency where he rose to the rank of Art Director and Group Head.

He began writing his first novel when he was 28.  Ten months later he had completed The Rats, conjuring a London overrun by mutant, flesh-eating rodents.  He submitted the manuscript to six publishers, three of whom replied.  Of those, two rejected the novel and one accepted it.  At its publication in 1974, the first printing of 100,000 copies sold out in three weeks, firmly establishing him as Britain’s leading writer of horror and one of the country’s greatest popular novelists.

The author of twenty-three novels, James Herbert was published in 34 languages including Russian and Chinese and has sold over 54 million copies worldwide.  They include The Fog, The Dark, The Survivor, The Magic Cottage, Sepulchre, Haunted, Fluke and Creed, and of course The Rats trilogy, all considered to be classics of the genre, while his later bestsellers including Portent, The Ghosts of Sleath, ’48, Others, Once…, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall all enhanced his reputation as a writer of depth and originality.

Four of his novels, The Rats, The Survivor, Fluke and Haunted were made into films. The Magic Cottage was dramatized for Radio 4 and more recently, last December, The Secret of Crickley Hall was aired as a three-part serial on BBC One.

The paperback of his 23rd novel, Ash, was published just last week.

James Herbert was awarded the OBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours list, the same year he was made the Grand Master of Horror by the World of Horror Convention.  James’ popularity with his fans was at its peak in the last few months with a series of sell out public events across the country.

He married his wife, Eileen, in 1967; she survives him with their three daughters, Kerry, Emma, and Casey.

Macmillan Publisher, Jeremy Trevathan, James Herbert’s editor for ten years, says,
“Jim Herbert was one of the keystone authors in a genre that had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s a true testament to his writing and his enduring creativity that his books continued to be huge bestsellers right up until his death. He has the rare distinction that his novels were considered classics of the genre within his lifetime. His death marks the passing of one of the giants of popular fiction in the 20th century.”

For more information, please contact Liz Sich at Four Colman Getty on 020 3023 9040/07956 612380; liz.sich@fourcolmangetty.com or Katie James at Pan Macmillan on 0207 014 6180 or email k.james@macmillan.co.uk

The Horror Librarian would like to honor Mr. Herbert by adding his books to the Reading List. 

Kendare Blake Interview

Please describe your creative process. How do you go from idea to completed novel? 
Honestly, it's different every book. Anna Dressed in Blood came about simply because I hadn't written horror in a long time, and I wanted to play Silent Hill 4, but was too scared. With my new novels, the Goddess War trilogy, it started from a short story I wrote years ago. And the novel I'm going to write next, started from a random idea.

What are the challenges and rewards of writing for young adults?
The biggest challenge I think is the stigma that still surrounds it. Like there's still the idea that it's not real writing, or complex writing, or even good writing. The biggest reward is the enthusiasm of the audience, and also the freedom to write whatever. YA readers are an open minded bunch. And they're not all young adults.

What are you working on right now?  (Your web bio mentions that you love Greek mythology.  Will we see this in future works?) 
Yes, Greek mythology is the basis for my next book, ANTIGODDESS. Thank you for mentioning this. I need to update my website. I suck at that. Right now I'm working on the last book in the Goddess War trilogy, but since ANTIGODDESS doesn't come out until September, I can't say much about the last book. The series is about dying Greek gods in the contemporary world. They're dying in strange and disturbing ways, and their quest for answers leads to a war between them, with mortal teens caught in the middle. Most who are reincarnated heroes from days gone by. Think Achilles and Odysseus.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors? 
Read. And then...write. A lot. Try out different styles until you find your own voice. And then read some more, and learn something from everything you encounter. That's kind of broad, but you have to always be growing.

List five things that are on your writing desk right now.
An empty Mountain Dew bottle that is not mine. A copy of Caitlin R Kiernan's CONFESSIONS OF A FIVE CHAMBERED HEART, my hair clip, a map of Thunder Bay that I use as a mousepad now, and a notebook where I take notes for the current project.

What are you reading right now?
Right now I'm digging in deep to Joe Hill's NOS4A2. It's supremely fantastic so far. Also so far, the most Kingy of his books, if that makes sense.

Thanks, Kendare!

Kendare Blake Bio

Our first guest author is...Kendare Blake!

Kendare is the author of the bestselling YA series: Anna Dressed in Red (2011) and Girl of Nightmares (2012).  Other works include: Sleepwalk Society and Antigoddess (forthcoming). 

Kendare is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master's degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn't make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis.

To learn more about Kendare, please visit her website or follow her on Goodreads and Twitter.

Take a look at the Horror Librarian's Reading List for descriptions of Kendare's work.  And don't forget to come back Wednesday for the interview!

This Blog

Just over one month ago, I was sitting across from Jonathan Maberry in the busy cafe of a local bookstore.  I had a cup of soup and a half sandwich before me and was becoming more and more excited about his proposal.

I would start a blog.  No, it wouldn't be filled with my random musings or made-up writing activities (like my other blog).  Rather, the new blog would be focused on authors and their craft and the format would be interviews.  His proposal was elegant:

Start a blog.  -  Reach out to authors.  -  Offer them free publicity in exchange for a simple interview.

I agreed right away that this sounded like loads of fun.  Not only would it help build connections but it would also encourage explorations within the genres of horror and speculative fiction.  I am a librarian at heart (and in profession) and connecting readers to authors and ideas is what I do best.

This blog proposal was a merging of my two worlds: professional librarian and life-long writer.  I hope visitors will enjoy it as much as I do.