You Can't Put It Down

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!



With thanks to Penguin Random House!

Days of the Dead - Monsters and Mayhem in the Modern World by Gail Z. Martin

Monsters and Mayhem in the Modern World

By Gail Z. Martin

It’s been a busy year for saving the world, at least in our neck of the woods. Restless ghosts, renegade demons, and even a persnickety kelpie have threatened havoc, only to be dealt with by our unsung urban fantasy heroes. (You’re welcome.)

Tangled Web is the third Deadly Curiosities novel, and this time, Teag Logan is the target of an ancient evil. When a malicious weaver-witch awakens the spirit of an ancient Norse warlock and calls to the Wild Hunt, Cassidy, Teag, and Sorren—and all their supernatural allies—will need magic, cunning, and the help of a Viking demi-goddess to survive the battle and keep Charleston—and the whole East Coast—from becoming the prey of the Master of the Hunt.

I love revisiting the Deadly Curiosities gang in Charleston because the city and its history provides such a rich setting and so much legend and lore to build on. For me, creating believable modern-day mayhem begins with drawing inspiration from the ghost stories and history of the setting. Those tales stick around generation after generation because they resonate with us on a deep level. One of the most fun parts about writing, for me, is taking that existing history and legend and tweaking it, just a bit, to build a story.

Close Encounters is the fourth novella in the new Spells, Salt and Steel series, co-written with Larry N. Martin. Our mechanic and monster hunter hero, Mark Wojcik, has his hands full keeping his corner of Northwestern Pennsylvania cryptid-free. Over the course of the novellas, he’s fought off a Japanese monster armed only with a carp, taken out the ghost of a Nazi saboteur with a grenade launcher filled with holy water, gone mano-a-mano with the pissed off ghost of Mad Anthony Wayne, and helped his friend, Donny the defective werewolf, find true love.

Larry and I are from Northwestern Pennsylvania, so writing a series based on the haunts, tall tales and creepy stories we grew up with is all kinds of fun. I’ve also learned a lot about the area that I didn’t know, and it’s so exciting when research reveals the perfect plot twist or spooky location! The Spells, Salt and Steel series is comedic horror, a little different from my usual urban fantasy. That means our goal is to get you laughing, then take you into a dark basement and give you a good scare!

Sons of Darkness (coming in early November) is the first in my new Night Vigil series, set in and around Pittsburgh. Demon-hunting former priest Travis Dominick works with the misfit psychics of the Night Vigil to fight supernatural creatures and malicious paranormal activity. When a series of disappearances, suicides and vengeful spirits cause havoc and death along a remote interstate highway, Travis teams up with former special ops soldier and monster-hunter Brent Lawson to end the problem with extreme prejudice.

We lived in Pittsburgh for ten years, so the city remains a favorite with me. It’s an old city, so there’s a lot of history to hijack and twist for fictional purposes. Because it was a city of immigrants, there’s so much folklore that came across with the workers who then adapted it to their new home. It makes for very rich source material!

Find out about all the supernatural chaos that didn’t make the news because our intrepid heroes stopped it from happening! I’m already cooking up more havoc as I plan for next year’s crop of new books!


My Days of the Dead blog tour runs through October 31 with brand new excerpts from upcoming books and recent short stories, interviews, guest blog posts, giveaways and more! Plus, I’ll be including extra excerpt links for my stories. You’ve got to visit the participating sites to get the goodies, just like Trick or Treat! Get all the details about my Days of the Dead blog tour here:

Book swag is the new Trick-or-Treat! All of my guest blog posts have links to free excerpts—follow the tour and grab them all! Enjoy this excerpt for Sons of Darkness!
https://www.ascendantkingdoms.com/books/sons-of-darkness/sons-of-darkness-excerpt/

Enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to win a Kindle Prize Package with a free copy EACH of — Tangled Web, Assassin’s Honor, Salvage Rat, The Dark Road and Sons of Darkness! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9751c04215/?

Let me give a shout-out for #HoldOnToTheLight 2018, back for more with new authors and fantastic new posts! 150+ genre authors blogging about their personal struggles with depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicide and self-harm, candid posts by some of your favorite authors on how mental health issues have impacted their lives and books. Read the stories, share the stories, change a life. Find out more at www.HoldOnToTheLight.com

About the Authors

Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Newest titles include Tangled Web, Vengeance, The Dark Road, and Assassin’s Honor. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. Books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, Badlands and the upcoming Lucky Town.

Larry N. Martin is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat. He is the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and Steel/New Templars series; the Steampunk series Iron & Blood; and a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm & Fury Adventures set in the Iron & Blood universe. He is also the co-author of the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Cauldron/Secret Council series.

Find them at www.GailZMartin.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin and @LNMartinAuthor, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at www.DisquietingVisions.com blog, on www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin and on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin. She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign www.HoldOnToTheLight.com Never miss out on the news and new releases—newsletter signup link http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj

The View From Monday - October 29, 2018

Here are the remaining releases for October 2018.

From formerly featured DAC authors:

The Monster Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade 2) by Seth Dickinson;

The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky: A Novella of Cosmic Horror by John Hornor Jacobs;

and

To Catch A Rogue (London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy 4) by Bec McMaster.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

October 29, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fury's Mantle (e)	Yasmine Galenorn	PNR - Fury Unbound 5

October 30, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Librarians and the Pot of Gold	Greg Cox	CF/MTI - The Librarians 3
The Monster Baru Cormorant	Seth Dickinson	F - The Masquerade 2
Assassin's Creed Odyssey	Gordon Doherty	MTI/Hist - Assassin's Creed 8
The Spark (h2mm)	David Drake	SF
Willful Child: Wrath of Betty (h2mm)	Steven Erikson	SF/SO/Satire - Willful Child 2
Alice Isn't Dead	Joseph Fink	H
Shades of Wicked	Jeaniene Frost	PNR - Night Rebel 1
The Supernaturals (h2mm)	David L. Golemon	SupTh/P/GH - The Supernaturals 1
Shattered Legions	Laurie Goulding (Ed)	SF - The Horus Heresy 43
Dragonfire	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Kings 14
Inside American Gods	Emily Haynes	PerfArts/TV
Terminal Alliance (h2mm)	Jim C. Hines	SF/AP/PA - Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse 1
The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky: A Novella of Cosmic Horror (e)	John Hornor Jacobs	SupTh
The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition	Ursula K. Le Guin	F - Earthsea Cycle
Agent of Change (ri)	Sharon Lee Steve Miller	SF/SO - Liaden Universe 1
The Magic Engineer (ri)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Saga of Recluce 3
The Towers of the Sunset (ri)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Saga of Recluce 2
The Magic of Recluce (ri)	L. E. Modesitt Jr.	F - Saga of Recluce 1
Deep Silence	Jonathan Maberry	Th/H - Joe Ledger 12
Deadlands: Boneyard (tp2mm)	Seanan McGuire	DF/MTI/W - Deadlands 3
To Catch A Rogue (e)	Bec McMaster	Gaslamp/SP - London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy 4
Into the Fire (h2mm)	Elizabeth Moon	SF/Th - Vatta's Peace 2
Healer's Need	Rhenna Morgan	PNR - Ancient Ink 2
The Falling Woman (ri)	Pat Murphy	MR/SF
Last Shot (h2mm)	Daniel José Older	SF/SO/MTI - Star Wars
Supernatural - Joyride	John Passarella	MTI/H
Hunters	Dawn Peers Z.A. Recht	H - Z.A. Recht's Morningstar Strain 5
Borderless	Eliot Peper	TechTh - An Analog Novel 2
Bandwidth (h2tp)	Eliot Peper	TechTh - An Analog Novel 1
Oathbringer (h2tp)	Brandon Sanderson	F - The Stormlight Archive 3
Archangel's Prophecy	Nalini Singh	PNR - A Guild Hunter Novel 11
Stephen King, American Master: A Creepy Corpus of Facts About Stephen King & His Work	Stephen Spignesi	LC/H/Sup
The Labyrinth Index	Charles Stross	CF/DF - Laundry Files 9
Fury	Rachel Vincent	UF/CF/F/MR - The Menagerie Series 3
The Thief (h2mm)	J.R. Ward	PNR - Black Dagger Brotherhood 16
The God Gene (h2mm)	F. Paul Wilson	MedTh/SupTh - The ICE Sequence 2

October 31, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Driving to Geronimo's Grave and Other Stories	Joe R. Lansdale	SpecFic - Anthology

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Il - Illustrator
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
Anthro - Anthropology
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
Hist M - Historical Mystery
Hist R - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
MedTh - Medical Thriller
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Parnormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
Sc - Science
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SocHist - Social History
SocSc - Social Science
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Image Comics Teams With Hero Initiative

IMAGE COMICS TEAMS WITH HERO INITIATIVE NON-PROFIT FOR LINE OF VARIANTS TO SUPPORT COMIC BOOK CREATORS IN MEDICAL & FINANCIAL NEED 

PORTLAND, OR, 10/26/2018 — Image Comics is pleased to reveal the first thirteen variants in a line of sixteen covers to support the Hero Initiative non-profit, which helps fund comic book creators in medical and financial need. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised by these Hero Initiative variant covers will go toward supporting the non-profit.

Series featuring Hero Initiative variant covers will highlight the artistic contributions of: Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas, Ryan Browne, Andy Suriano, Howard Chaykin, Ray Fawkes, Manda Schank, Jacopo Camagni, Danny Luckert, Marcelo Costa, Benjamin Roman, Raffaele Ienco, Dennis Culver, Lee Garbett, Brandon Graham, John McCrea, and Jeff Lemire.

Our Second Semi-Finalist and Five That Fall

Here is our second Semi-Finalist and our second five that are not going through to the Semi-Finalist stage.

Mini-reviews of the five that are not going through will be posted soon. The review of our second Semi-Finalist will be posted around the time that we announce our Finalist.


The five books that we are eliminating:

The Necromancer of Peach Valley Orchard by Randal Doering;

The Binding by Sandy Frediani;

Dragon Wine by Donna Maree Hanson;

Glyphpunk by Gareth Lewis;

and

Enchanted Legacy by M.M. Perry.

And our second semifinalist is Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly!

Melokai
In the Heart of the Mountains 1
October 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 393 pages

Game of Thrones meets Kushiel’s Dart set in a ruthless land ruled by women.

Legendary warrior Ramya has successfully ruled as Melokai for longer than most. Prosperous, peaceful, and happy, her people love her. Or so she thinks.

Ramya’s time is up. Bracing herself for the gruesome sentence imposed on all Melokais who have served their purpose, she hears instead a shocking prophecy.

Is the abrupt appearance of a mysterious, eastern cave creature the prophesied danger? Or is it something darker, more evil? And what of the wolves? Will the ferocious war with their kind oust her from power?

Suddenly Ramya must fight threats from all sides to save her mountain realm. But while her back is turned, a conspiracy within her inner circle is festering. Ramya and her female warriors must crush an epic rebellion before it can destroy her and devastate her beloved nation.

She thinks it’s the end, but it’s just the beginning...

If you love elaborate fantasy worlds and deep worldbuilding, perilously high stakes, magic, brutal battles, intrigue, and unique creatures and beings, then Melokai, Book One of the gritty, grimdark, epic fantasy trilogy In the Heart of the Mountains by Rosalyn Kelly, is for you.

This is adult fantasy with adult content. For fans of George R. R. Martin, Mark Lawrence, Anna Stephens and Joe Abercrombie.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Interview with Rio Youers

Please welcome Rio Youers to The Qwillery. Halcyon was published on July 10, 2018 in the US / Canada by St. Martin's Press and in the UK on October 23, 2018 by Titan Books.

The Qwillery:  Welcome to The Qwillery. What is the first piece you remember writing?

Rio Youers:  I’ve been writing fiction for as long as I’ve been able to form sentences. The first story I remember writing—at five, maybe six years old—was called Jojo the Clown. It’s worth mentioning because it was twenty-four pages long (even at six I needed an editor). The first story I submitted for publication was called The Dog, a short piece about a telepathic killer (I was charmed by the idea of a psychic psycho). It wasn’t very good, and was promptly and justly rejected. The possibility of being published, though, was too appealing, so I submitted stories regularly from that point forward, amassing the rejections until I was good enough for an editor to say yes. It took many years.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

RY:  I know a lot of writers tire quickly with the editing and proofing stages, but I love all of that—the process of refining the material. It’s like tuning a guitar. It plays better, and makes people happier, when the notes are true. The most challenging thing for me has always been beginning a new novel, working through the first 10 or 20,000 words, until the work finds its voice, and the characters begin to breathe on their own. That’s when the magic happens, when you can surrender some control and let the story unravel.



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

RY:  So many things. Great fiction, obviously. Great storytelling, in any form. Good friends, good conversation. Good music. I absorb anything creative and moving. And that’s what I endeavor to bring to my fiction. Whether I manage it or not is a matter of opinion.



TQ:  Describe Halcyon using only 5 words.

RY:  Family love versus evil cult.



TQ:  Tell us something about Halcyon that is not found in the book description.

RY:  Valerie Kemp, aka Mother Moon, serves a group of powerful, iniquitous men who call themselves The Society of Pain. They believe that pain is the gateway to enlightenment, and have Valerie orchestrate acts of violence and terror to channel the suffering of the masses. Valerie’s goal is to escape their hold over her, and find her own path to enlightenment.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Halcyon? What appeals to you about writing Supernatural Thrillers?

RY:  Trump’s administration, his divided nation, the domestic terrorism, mass shootings, civil unrest, the greed and corruption. This is a dark and dangerous era in American history, and I wanted explore that. Initially, I’d set out to write a Mosquito Coast-style novel about a family’s need to escape, but it developed into something more, something deeper. I’d always intended for Halcyon to be character-driven, with an emphasis on family and core American values, but in many ways it became a kind of critique—a social commentary. I’m fine with that. Halcyon is a timely novel, and I’m very proud of it.

The supernatural element gives my imagination more room to run free. Adding a dose of the paranormal means I can divert from the confines of reality, although reality has to form the basis of everything. Credibility is key.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Halcyon?

RY:  Ugly research. Heartbreaking research. The novel deals with many difficult issues. Domestic terrorism, racial tension, mass shootings. I had to dig where I didn’t want to, and I’m pretty sure I hit every FBI watchlist along the way. It wasn’t all so bleak, though. Among the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of things I Googled were, “Average score for Zener card tests” and “What music do ten tears olds listen to?” But the big stuff, the main body of the research, was incredibly harrowing.



TQ:  In Halcyon who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

RY:  The easiest: the main character, Martin Lovegrove. He’s a goofy, forty-something, doting family man. He’s basically me. Authors are regularly asked if they base their characters on themselves, and I think there’s a little part of me in every character I’ve created … but there’s a lot of me in Martin Lovegrove.

The hardest? Well, Martin’s daughters, Edith and Shirley, were a challenge. They’re ten and fifteen years old respectively, and the world has shifted gears since I was a kid. It’s not easy to convincingly represent the mind (and the will) of a young person, especially when your own mind is full of cobwebs that were spun at around the time Crockett and Tubbs were on TV.

Valerie Kemp was a challenge, too. She’s such a dark, complicated individual, with so many layers. Usually, I’ll uncover more about my characters as I write them—spend time with them—but Valerie kept leading me from one mystery to another, and I was at least two drafts deep before I understood what made her tick. She fascinated, enthralled, and horrified me. We had a blast.



TQ:  Which question about Halcyon do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

RY:  Did you cry at all while writing Halcyon? The answer: Yes, I did. I’m a very emotional man, I’m attached to my characters, and I cried many times.



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Halcyon.

RY:  I don’t know if they’re my favorite, exactly, but they’re quite important quotes: “When pleasure is denied, the channel to new possibilities, and alternate experiences, becomes broader.” And, “I think everybody in America should know how to treat gunshot wounds.”



TQ:  What's next?

RY:  I’m currently working on a hi-octane, no-holds-barred action novel called Lola on Fire. I don’t want to reveal too much, but I will say that it’s a straight thriller, with no supernatural element, and that I’m channeling some of my favorite authors and filmmakers—Elmore Leonard and Martin Scorsese, to name but two—while writing it. If all goes to plan, I expect it to be published in early 2020.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

RY:  The pleasure was all mine. Thank you.

Halcyon
Titan Books, October 23, 2018
Paperback and eBook, 528 pages

Halcyon is the answer for anyone who wants to escape, but paradise isn’t what it seems.

A self-sustaining community on a breathtakingly beautiful island, Halcyon is run for people who want to live without fear, crime or greed. Its leader has dedicated her life to the pursuit of Glam Moon, a place of eternal beauty and healing, and believes the pathway there can only be found at the end of pleasure.

On the heels of tragedy, Martin Lovegrove moves his family to Halcyon. A couple of months, he tells himself, to retreat from the chaos and grind. Yet he soon begins to suspect there is something beneath Halcyon’s perfect veneer. As the founder captivates his young family, Martin sets out to discover the truth of the island, however terrible it might be, where something so perfect hides unimaginable darkness beneath…

Amazon UK : Book Depository : Forbidden Planet : Waterstones : Wordery

Hive : iBooks

Halcyon
St. Martin's Press, July 10, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 384 Pages

From the author of End Times and Point Hollow comes a new thriller, Rio Youers's Halcyon

HALCYON is the answer for all Americans who want to escape, but paradise isn't what it seems. A beautiful island in the middle of Lake Ontario—a self-sustaining community made up of people who want to live without fear, crime, or greed. Halcyon is run by Valerie Kemp, aka Mother Moon, benevolent and altruistic on the outside, but hiding an unimaginable darkness inside. She has dedicated her life to the pursuit of Glam Moon, a place of eternal beauty and healing. And she believes the pathway there can only be found at the end of pleasure.

On the heels of tragedy, Martin Lovegrove moves his family to Halcyon. A couple of months, he tells himself, to retreat from the chaos and grind. He soon begins to suspect there is something beneath Halcyon’s perfect veneer and sets out to discover the truth—however terrible it might be—behind the island and its mysterious founder, Mother Moon.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

About Rio

© Sophie Hogan

RIO YOUERS is the British Fantasy Award–nominated author of End Times and Point Hollow. His short fiction has been published in many notable anthologies, and his novel Westlake Soul was nominated for Canada’s prestigious Sunburst Award. Rio lives in southwestern Ontario with his wife, Emily, and their children, Lily and Charlie.




Website  ~  Facebook  ~  Twitter @Rio_Youers

Covers Revealed - Upcoming Works By DAC Authors

Here are some of the upcoming works by formerly featured DAC Authors. The year in parentheses is the year the author was featured in the DAC.

Edward Lazellari (2011)

Blood of Ten Kings
Guardians of Aandor 3
Tor Books, December 4, 2018
Hardcover and eBook, 496 pages

Blood of Ten Kings is the action-packed finale of Edward Lazellari's epic fantasy Aandor trilogy.

The Guardians return to their reality, ill-equipped to fend off Farrenheil's invading soldiers, which have saturated the kingdom. Daniel and Seth must vanquish ancient ghosts to claim the powers of their birthrights even as Cat MacDonnell fights to retain her husband against a kingdom that would rather see Callum wed to Chryslantha Godwynn.

Their fellowship broken, Seth, Catherine, Callum, and Daniel must deftly navigate the dangers of Aandor or face oblivion at the hands of their enemies.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Book 1

Book 2

Samantha Shannon (2013)

The Priory of the Orange Tree
Bloomsbury Publishing, February 26, 2019
Hardcover and eBook, 848 pages

From the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Season, a trailblazing, epic high fantasy about a world on the brink of war with dragons--and the women who must lead the fight to save it.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Ferrett Steinmetz (2015)

The Sol Majestic
Tor Books, June 11, 2019
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

The Sol Majestic is a big-hearted intergalactic adventure for fans of Becky Chambers and The Good Place

"A feast of a book.” —Hugo Award-winning author Seanan McGuire

Kenna, an aspirational teen guru, wanders destitute across the stars as he tries to achieve his parents' ambition to advise the celestial elite.

Everything changes when Kenna wins a free dinner at The Sol Majestic, the galaxy's most renown restaurant, giving him access to the cosmos's one-percent. His dream is jeopardized, however, when he learns his highly-publicized "free meal" risks putting The Sol Majestic into financial ruin. Kenna and a motley gang of newfound friends — including a teleporting celebrity chef, a trust-fund adrenaline junkie, an inept apprentice, and a brilliant mistress of disguise — must concoct an extravagant scheme to save everything they cherish. In doing so, Kenna may sacrifice his ideals — or learn even greater lessons about wisdom, friendship, and love.

Utterly charming and out of this world, The Sol Majestic will satisfy the appetites of sci-fi aficionados and newcomers alike.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

APHRODITE V, VOL. 1 Coming in December

APHRODITE V, VOL. 1 EXPLORES TERRORS OF BLACK MARKET TECHNOLOGY THIS DECEMBER

Collecting issues #1-4

PORTLAND, OR, 10/22/2018 — Bryan Hill (CYBER FORCE, POSTAL) and Jeff Spokes will release APHRODITE V, VOL. 1 this December from Image/Top Cow.

In the near future, Los Angeles is a city on the brink of evolution, struggling with a new wave of terror powered by black market technology. Enter Aphrodite V: a fugitive from her masters, seeking individuality and purpose. She is the bleeding edge of biomechanics…and Los Angeles’ best hope against a new enemy that seeks to become a god among machines.

One machine wants to destroy the city. Another has come to save it. Only one will survive.

APHRODITE V, VOL. 1 (Diamond code: OCT180052, ISBN: 978-1-5343-0984-5) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, December 19th and bookstores on Tuesday, December 25th. It can be preordered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

APHRODITE V, VOL. 1 will also be available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.
 

Select praise for APHRODITE V:

“A fresh take on a seemingly plausible not-too-distant future.” —ComicBook.com

“Its lead is good, Aphrodite is mysterious and interesting, and the art is great. This one
gets a recommendation.” —Bleeding Cool

“Ideal for fans of Ex Machina, The Terminator, and any sci-fi robot classic.”
—ComicsVerse

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

CHRONICLES OF HATE Trade Paperback Arrives in December

CROWDFUNDING SUCCESS HATE BOARD GAME INSPIRES CHRONICLES OF HATE FANTASY COMIC BOOK SERIES SPIN-OFF

PORTLAND, OR, 10/22/2018 — This December, following the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for the HATE board game, Image/Top Cow will release an oversized trade paperback edition of CHRONICLES OF HATE, collecting books one and two of internationally renowned artist Adrian Smith’s dark fantasy series.

Smith first came to prominence for his atmospheric, moody artwork and game illustrations for such popular franchises as Magic: The Gathering and Warhammer.

In a world where the sun is frozen and the moon burns, CHRONICLES OF HATE follows an unlikely hero who rises to free the Earth Mother from her chains. This isn’t a world for the weak. All we know is HATE.

CHRONICLES OF HATE, COLLECTED EDITION (Diamond code: OCT180056, ISBN: 978-1-5343-1144-2) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, December 5th and bookstores on Tuesday, December 11th. It can be preordered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

CHRONICLES OF HATE, COLLECTED EDITION will also be available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

Review: Slender Man by Anonymous

Slender Man
Author:  Anonymous
Publisher:  Harper Voyager, October 23, 2018
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
List Price:  US$15.99 (print); US$10.99 (eBook)
ISBN:  9780062641175 (print); 9780062641199 (eBook)

One man’s search for the truth about one of the most intriguing urban legends ever—the modern bogeyman, Slender Man—leads him down a dark, dangerous path in this creepy supernatural fantasy that will make you question where the line between dark myth and terrifying reality begins.

Lauren Bailey has disappeared. As friends at her exclusive school speculate on what happened and the police search for answers, Matt Barker dreams of trees and a black sky . . . and something drawing closer.

Through fragments of journals, news stories, and online conversations, a figure begins to emerge—a tall, slender figure—and all divisions between fiction and delusion, between nightmare and reality, begin to fall.

Chilling, eerie, and addictively readable, Slender Man is a unique spine-tingling story and a brilliant and frightening look at one of the most fascinating—and diabolical—mythical figures in modern times.

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Google Play : iBooks : Kobo

Qwill's Thoughts

I've known about Creepypasta for a number of years because one of my teenagers told me about them. Here's a link to Creepypasta in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creepypasta. There's also a Creepypasta Wikia for those of you wanting to know more: http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Creepypasta_Wiki. The very simplistic definition is that they are scary modern urban myths and legends.

You may also have heard of the Creepypasta Slender Man in particular due to the trial of 2 girls who attempted to kill one of their friends because of Slender Man. You can find a lot about that case online and I will leave to you to look if you'd like. Which brings me to the book by Anonymous - Slender Man.

Through the use of diaries, text messages, WhatsApp transcripts, Reddit, records of police interviews and more, the author brings to life the story of Matt Barker. Matt is a Senior at a prestigious New York City private school. His parents are well off and they live in a condo with a view of Central Park. He's been having nightmares. His parents send him to a psychologist who suggests that he keep a journal which forms a large part of the novel.

Matt is not one of the popular kids at his high school. He does have some good friends though. He's known Lauren Bailey since they were little and while they are still close friends they keep it very quiet at their cliquey school. Lauren likes horror and Creepypasta and Matt is the only one she shares that with. One night Lauren disappears and Matt may be the only person who can figure out what has happened to her.

Slender Man is truly chilling. You feel the claustrophobia of events crashing down on Matt - is he awake or is this one of his nightmares? Does he really know what happened to Lauren? What is happening to him? What must he do and is he being manipulated? His sense of panic and building dread is palpable.

The author does a superb job of integrating different narrative forms to create a compelling and frightening story of a young man facing a horrifying legend. Read Slender Man with the lights on!

A New Full-Color Edition of CREATURE TECH Coming in January 2019

NEW FULL-COLOR EDITION OF CREATURE TECH ARRIVES
THIS JANUARY

PORTLAND, OR, 10/22/2018 — Doug TenNapel (Earthworm Jim, GEAR, Ghostopolis, Cardboard) will release a new full-color edition of his science fiction adventure graphic novel—CREATURE TECH—from Image Comics this January.

In CREATURE TECH, good battles evil, and the world hangs in the balance! Resurrected by the Shroud of Turin, the zombified Dr. Jameson sets out to finish what he started 150 years ago—destroying the earth with a giant space eel. Standing in his way is Dr. Ong, a would-be pastor-turned-scientist who now works in a government research facility infamously known as “Creature Tech.” Aided by an unlikely cast of rednecks, symbiotic aliens, and a CIA-trained mantid, Dr. Ong embarks on a journey of faith, love, and self-discovery.

All in a day’s work at Creature Tech!

CREATURE TECH, NEW EDITION (Diamond code: OCT180058, ISBN: 978-1-5343-0918-0) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, January 2nd and bookstores on Tuesday, January 8th. It can be preordered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

CREATURE TECH will also be available for purchase across many digital platforms, including the official Image Comics iOS app, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play.

Select praise for CREATURE TECH:

“One of the best graphic novels ever made. A classic.” —Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet)

“CREATURE TECH is a beautiful, over-the-top, spiritual tale full of everything I love:
monsters, monsters, and monsters!” —Rob Schrab (SCUD: THE DISPOSABLE
ASSASSIN)

“[TenNapel’s] goofy, kinetic style (quite reminiscent of Will Eisner's) makes a winner out
of this crazed romp.” —Booklist

“I LOVE this book like I love breakfast burritos. It’s got everything: sci-fi, adventures, romance, kung fu, and even giant space eels!” —Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite)

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

The View From Monday - October 22, 2018

Happy Monday!

There is 1 debut this week:

A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The Case of the Hidden Daemon (Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural 3) by Lucy Banks;

Iron Gold (Red Rising 4) by Pierce Brown is out in Trade Paperback;

Roar of Sky (Blood of Earth 3) by Beth Cato;

and

The Silver Scar by Betsy Dornbusch.

Clicking on a novel's cover will take you to its Amazon page.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

October 22, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Lost Mars: Stories from the Golden Age of the Red Planet	Mike Ashley (Ed)	SF - Collection

October 23, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Slender Man	Anonymous	SupTh
Restless Lightning	Richard Baker	SF - Breaker of Empires 2
The Case of the Hidden Daemon	Lucy Banks	PCM - Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural 3
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles An Alphabettery	Becket Anne Rice	Occ/Sup/P/SupTh
Immortal Life: A Soon To Be True Story (h2tp)	Stanley Bing	SF
The Dream Gatherer	Kristen Britain	F/FR - Green Rider
Iron Gold (h2tp)	Pierce Brown	SF/Dys - Red Rising 4
Cold Iron	Miles Cameron	F/HistF - Masters & Mages 1
Roar of Sky	Beth Cato	HistF - Blood of Earth 3
Damned by the Ancients	Catherine Cavendish	H - Nemesis of the Gods 3
The Silver Scar	Betsy Dornbusch	F/DF
The Guardian	Sarah Fine	UF - The Immortal Dealers 2
Hark! The Herald Angels Scream	Christopher Golden (Ed)	H/Occ/Sup - Anthology
American Ghost (h2tp)	Paul Guernsey	GH/Occ/Sup/F/CF
Pulse	Michael Harvey	Cr
Virtual Sabotage	Julie Hyzy	Sus
No Sleep till Doomsday	Laurence MacNaughton	UF/HU/FR - A Dru Jasper Novel 3
Best British Horror 2018	John Mains (Ed)	H - Anthology
Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker (h2tp)	Gregory Maguire	LF
Eternal Sonata: A Thriller of the Near Future (h2tp)	Jamie Metzl	MedTh
Thin Air	Richard K. Morgan	SF/TechTh/HSF
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction	Alec Nevala-Lee	Biography
The Haunting of Drearcliff Grange School	Kim Newman	F/H/SupTh
The Geeky Chef Drinks: Unofficial Cocktail Recipes from Game of Thrones, Legend of Zelda, Star Trek, and More	Cassandra Reeder	Cookbooks
The Making of Planet of the Apes	Jonathan Rinzler	PerfArts
Red Moon	Kim Stanley Robinson	SF/SO/HSF
Fallout: The Vault Dweller's Official Cookbook	Victoria Rosenthal	Cookbooks
A Conspiracy of Truths (D)	Alexandra Rowland	F
The Devil's Fingers (e)	Hunter Shea	H - Hunter Shea: One Size Eats All 3
The Scent of Tears	Adrian Tchaikovsky  et al.	F - Tales of the Apt 4
The Great Tales of Middle-earth: Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin	J.R.R. Tolkien Christopher Tolkien (Ed)	F
Sin du Jour: The Final Course (e)	Matt Wallace	UF/HU - A Sin du Jour Affair Omnibus
Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana [Special Edition, Boxed Book & Ephemera Set]: A Visual History	Michael Witwer Kyle Newman Jon Peterson Sam Witwer	F/Role Playing
Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History	Michael Witwer Kyle Newman Jon Peterson Sam Witwer	F/Role Playing
The Art of Magic: The Gathering: Concepts & Legends	James Wyatt	F/Role Playing - The Art of Magic: The Gathering

October 25, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Doctor Who: The Good Doctor (e)	Juno Dawson	SF - Doctor Who

October 26, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Science Fiction - The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future: Prometheus to the Martians (e)	Thomas Lombardo	LC/SocSc/Psy

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Il - Illustrator
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
Anthro - Anthropology
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
Hist M - Historical Mystery
Hist R - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
MedTh - Medical Thriller
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Parnormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
Sc - Science
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SocHist - Social History
SocSc - Social Science
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

Image Comics Reveals the Jerome Opeña and Cliff Chiang Covers for THE WEATHERMAN 6

THE WEATHERMAN UNVEILS JEROME OPEÑA AND CLIFF CHIANG COVERS

PORTLAND, OR, 10/17/2018 — In anticipation of the pulse-pounding THE WEATHERMAN story arc finale, Image Comics is pleased to spotlight two jaw-dropping, limited THE WEATHERMAN #6 covers featuring the eye-popping artwork by Jerome Opeña (SEVEN TO ETERNITY) and Cliff Chiang (PAPER GIRLS). THE WEATHERMAN will go out with a bang and return with volume two in May 2019.

In THE WEATHERMAN #6, Agent Cross finds herself in a battle to the death to save the life of a man who may be responsible for the murder of billions. But if Nathan Bright dies, so does what's left of humanity... Don't miss the shocking conclusion of the first chapter of Jody LeHeup and Nathan Fox's riveting sci-fi thriller THE WEATHERMAN.

THE WEATHERMAN #6 hits stores on Wednesday, November 14th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers is Monday, October 22nd.

WEATHERMAN #6 Cover A Fox - SEP180218
WEATHERMAN #6 Cover B Martin - SEP180219
WEATHERMAN #6 Cover C Chiang (Limited) - JUL188680
WEATHERMAN #6 Cover D Opeña (Limited) - AUG189217

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.