Yeah Right… ok so i say that everytime i go on a several month long break… Sorry… I will be trying to be more dedicated to this blog and to everything else i have going on in my life. I have truely fallen behind in a lot of things… cept reading… I have read a boat load of books and i still have hundreds more to read.

I will be changing or removing most of the bars on the left side of the screen… I will be overhauling my projects and getting to work on very specific goals.

That said i have a novella to write, two shorts to rewrite, a novel to finish (just rough and it will be getting an entire overhaul, top to bottom, but i really want to finish the rough first!!), a world to create (VERY ambitous project that is merely a kernal right now, just a budding seed)… I also have to do the third draft of another novella and then write a query for that… so there it is… laid out in a stark and not too detail laden paragraph.

So moving on… Reading… I stopped my list at 101 books read and about 11K more pages over last year!! 09’s 100 books included a bunch of graphic novels and more novellas… this year i really dug into several meaty tomes. So for your consideration my 2010 reading list:

1. Brent Weeks—Night Angel v.2 Shadows Edge. Fantasy.
2. Brent Weeks—Night Angel v.3 Beyond the Shadows. Fantasy.
3. Brian Lumley—Harry and the Pirates. HC. Novellas. Horror.
4. Richard Kadrey—Sandman Slim. HC. Urban Fantasy. (his 1st novel) *
5. Skipp and Spector—The Light at the End. Splatterpunk *
6. Keene—Darkness on the Edge of Town (PB edition). Horror.
7. Scott Nicholson—They Hunger. Horror.*
8. Mike Mignola—Hellboy Vol. 8 (GN) Darkness Wakes.
9. Gonzalez & Keene—Clickers 2: The Next Wave. Creature Feat. Horror.
10. Garth Ennis—Punisher MAX v.1: In the Beginning (GN)
11. Garth Ennis—Punisher MAX v.2: Kitchen Irish (GN)
12. “Richard Castle”—Heat Wave. Crime/Mystery *
13. Dan Abnett—Horus Heresy v1: Horus Rising (Warhammer 40K Black Library) SF/F *
14. Jeffrey Thomas—Boneland. (Project Darkside Digital Editing program.) SF/Hor *
15. Rick Hautala—The Mountain King. (2nd book by him ever read). Horror.
16. William Miekle—The Amulet (Midnight Eye Files). Mystery/Hor/Weird*
17. Richard Laymon—Endless Night (my 6th Laymon novel). Thriller/ horror
18. John Skipp’s Zombies (massive anthology). Horror.
19. Brian Keene—Hail Saten Vol. 4: Leader of the Banned. (Black Volt #3). Non-Fic.
20. Robert Davies—Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist (#3) [Reviewer PDF]. MIX*
21. JF Gonzalez & B. Keene—Clickers 3: Dagon Rising. (DB HC). Creat.Feat./Horror
22. Mitchel Scanlon—15 Hours. Warhmammer 40K Mil.SF.*
23. Jim Butcher—Changes. Dresden Series. U.Fan.
24. Jeff Strand—Single White Psychopath Seeks Same. Thriller-Hum.
25. DNW—Grail Covenant v1: To Sift Thru Bitter Ashes. (Vamp. Dark Ages)
26. Len Kaminski—Iron Man: Warmachine. (GN)*
27. Brian Keene—The Cage (ARC) horror.
28. Nate Southard—He Stepped Through. (Mythos/Horror)
29. Nate Kenyon—Sparrow Rock *
30. Edit Keene—Of Keene Interest #2 (Newsletter)
31. Cullen Bunn—The Sixth Gun #1 (Comic)*
32. James Moore—Under the Overtree. (Horror)
33. Garth Ennis—Punisher MAX vol. 3 (GN)
34. Tom ERB—Tones of Home (Hor. Novella)
35. Tim Lebbon—Assassins V2 Pieces of Hate. (Dark Fant.) Novella
36. Ken Bruen—The Guards (1st Jack Taylor, Crime)*
37. Brian Lumley—Necroscope: The Plaguebearer. (Horror, Lost Yrs)
38. Warren Ellis—The Authourity vol. 1 (GN)*
39. Jim Palmiotti & Justin Grey—Jonah Hex v1 Face Full of Violence (GN)*
40. Palmiotti & Grey—Jonah Hex v2 Guns of Vengeance (GN)
41. Edward Lee—The Black Train (Horror, Leisure PB)
42. Steven Erikson—The Deadhouse Gates (Malazan V2, Epic Fant.)
43. Richard Wright—Hiram Grange and the Nymphs of Krakow (#5)*
44. Wrath James White—Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town. (Horror)
45. Andy Deane—Third House (horror)*
46. Joe Hill—Locke and Key vol. 2 Head Games. (GN HC)
47. “Logan Saville”—Monster Town/ Butcher of Box Hill (Flip Book, Horror)
48. Gord Rollo—Crimson (Horror)
49. Neil Colquhoun—Resurrection/Plan 9: Digital Chapbook. (horror/ fict.)
50. DNW & Bret Savory—My Eyes are Nailed Shut by I Still See. (Weird)*
51. Joe Abercrombie—Best Served Cold (Fantasy/ Revenge)*
52. Kelly Laymon (editor)—Excitable Books (Gross Antho)
53. Jim Moore—Smile No More (Manuscript, Horror)
54. Brian Keene—Last Zombie: Dead New World #1 (horror/ comic)
55. Cullen Bunn—Sixth Gun #2 (Weird Western/ Comic)
56. Brian Keene—A Gathering of Crows (Horror)
57. Michael Marshal—The Straw Men. (Thriller)*
58. Steven Shrewsbury—Stronger Than Death. Horror.
59. Doug Bradley—Behind the Mask of the Horror Actor. Non-Fict. Signed.*
60. Joe R Lansdale—The Drive In. Comic Adaption.
61. Steven Erikson—Memories of Ice v3 Malazan BotF. Epic Fant.
62. Lucy Snyder—Installing Linux on a Dead Badger (Collection)*
63. Lucy Snyder—Spellbent. (Urban Fant.)
64. Gary Braunbeck—Keepers. (Horror…??)
65. Bryan Smith—The Killing Kind. (Slasher Horror)
66. Neil Colquhoun—Storm Clouds v. 1 The Long Road. (Manuscript)
67. Nicholas Kaufman—Chasing the Dragon (Horror)*
68. Joe R. Lansdale—Dead in the West (weird western)
69. W.D. Gagliani—Wolf’s Trap. *(horror/cop)
70. Neil Colquhoun—Frank. (thriller/ horror. Novella)
71. Ian C Esslemont—Night of Knives. *(Malazan Prequel, Epic Fant.)
72. James A Moore—The Wild Hunt (Werewolf horror)
73. Simon Clark—Blood Crazy (Zombish-horror)
74. Strand, Wilson, Konrath, Crouch—Draculas (Ebook, Horror Pre-Review)
75. Douglas E Winter, Editor—Prime Evil (ARC, Horror Antho 1988)
76. Weston Ochse—Empire of Salt (Horror, Zombies)
77. Al Sarrantonio—Halloweenland * (3rd in series)
78. Michael Knost, Editor—Legends of the Mountain State. (Antho)
79. C. David Conner—Dust of the Dead *(SideShow artbook, weird western)
80. F. Paul Wilson—The Keep *(First in the adversary cycle)
81. Neil Colquhoun—Frank version 2 (horror crime novella)
82. Cherie Priest—Boneshaker (horror Steampunk)*
83. Jim Butcher—Side Jobs (Dresden Antho)
84. Greg Gifune—Children of Chaos (horror?)*
85. Darren Shan—Cirque du Freak #1: Living Nightmare (YA Horror)*
86. Glen Cook—Cruel Zinc Melodies (Garret PI #1? Hardboil Det./Fantasy)
87. Graham McNeill—Storm of Iron (Warhammer 40K Chaos Mar.)*
88. Edward Berglund, Editor—The New Disciples of Cthulhu. (antho)
89. Chris Golden, Editor—The New Dead (Antho)
90. Darren Shan—Crique du Freak #2 The Vampire’s Assistant. (YA Horror)
91. David Niall Wilson—Ancient Eyes.
92. Darren Shan—Cirque du Freak #3 Tunnels of Blood (ya Horror)
93. James A Moore—Cherry Hill (Crowley Library)
94. John Joseph Adams, Editor—Living Dead (antho)
95. Jeff Strand—Casket for Sale, Only used Once (Mayhem #3)
96. Lucy Snyder—Shotgun Sorceress (Jesse Shimmer #2)
97. Darren Shan—Cirque du Freak #4 Vampire Mountain
98. Darren Shan—Cirque du Freak #5 Trials of Death
99. John Joseph Adams, Editor—Living Dead 2 (antho)
100 Scott Lynch—Red Sails under Red Skies (Gent. Bastards #2)
101 Brent Weeks—Lightbringer #1 Black Prism

Any entry with an * in it is a first time author read… meaning its the first book I’ve ever read by said author.

Anyone interested in keeping up with what I read while i read it can come on over and follow me at GoodReads (a site i discovered half way thru this year and just marvelous!!) http://www.goodreads.com/dathar

DRACULAS by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Coing soon to Kindle http://www.amazon.com/DRACULAS-Novel-Ter…



Dracula’s was AMAZING.



Take four talented authors, give each of them one main character, put those characters in a life or death struggle with visicous monsters, shake and serve… awesome.



Also no sparkly… no emo-goth… no tragegic count… these vampires are animals. Pure blood devouring fiends, so crazed they’ll eat their own kind… hell they’ll devour themselves if no other food is present. The book is fast paced, once the biting starts it never stops and with no chapter breaks… merely PoV shifts that keep the story carooming around the hospital, it’ll leave you with pulse pounding and wanting more. I easily see people sitting to start this and not moving until it’s done.



Whew…. with all the action and blood and mayhem you still have to remember that they let Strand into the pot so every so often the comic gem, so now you’re biting your nails, sitting on the edge of your seat and giggling occasionally. That all said its still a horror book and it still pulls on the emotions.



Keeping it spoiler free… after all the fun and the humour as we came toward the end they pulled my heart strings, a total emotional gut punch involving my personal two favourite characters.



Dracula’s delivered on all fronts… fast energetic pace, great characters, dread, gore, emotional gut punches, and the funny.



Moving away from the story and to the ebook itself the authours have included a whole host of goodies… like DVD extras there are interviews, excerpts, and extra short stories packaged into the deal. So readers aren’t just getting a single top notch novel, they’re getting a whole goodie bag full of material.



View all my reviews

I’ve been mulling this blog over in my head while working and such… thinking of all that I wanted to say about the weekend… and as per normal some of what i thought in my head was perfect and awesome and it really would have been nice if i had written some notes or somesuch. LOL. But as usual i pretty much write this blog off the cuff… raw. (I DID however decide a few things I wouldn’t mention, so here we go…)

This year I brought a new bottle of Absinthe to CONtext and the Shroud Party, something i wanted to share with my friends and fellow writers. First i want to heartfelt thanks to Gwydion Stone, the founder of Wormwood Society . The Society is a fantastic website loaded with history and data for anyone interested in drinking or learning more about Absinthe. They have a review page loaded with data and I used this to make a special purchase. I decided this year I would bring a bottle of American made Absinthe. I ordered a bottle of Delware Phoenix Meadows of Love. The entire bottle was finished in less than four hours. Seriously. It was amazing and the Louche… I wish i had a camera to record it. AMAZING. So a HUGE thank you to Gwydion Stone. Between Stone and TA Breaux my friends have labeled me an “Absinthe Snob”, a title I’m beginning to like. Currently I am holding out waiting for Mr Stone to produce a batch of Marteau by review the greatest Absinthe one can find within the States… and probably the only rival to Jade Absinthe in the world. I eagerly await announcment for the next batch.

And with talk of Absinthe we move right into the Shroud Party. Those guys throw a hell of a Fete, let me tell you. I have a ton of completely hetero man-love for Tim Deal. Great publisher and great dancer the man can consume mass amounts of alcohol and still remain standing… and dancing! Last year I was “present” at the Party… This year I felt like I WAS part of the Party. Tim and Mark and Johnny had become my friends (even if Mark did totally cock block me… ) and I felt the most relaxed and comfortable ever. It was great and I’m sure I got to maudlin a bit too much but the hell with it. Good times. Even if D. Harlan Wilson did decide to pour his whiskey down my leg… I have a suspicion that it was deliberate (but i told myself to omit that part). Suffice I got a free book out of it and so all was forgiven.

I must have mixed thirty glasses of absinthe, more than a third of them for me! I chatted up many pretty girls (though had trouble talking with one… which is funny and also something that is *OMIT*). Told some great stories. Totally got to know Anderson Prunty a lot better. Only took a few pictures (note always charge your camera battery before going to a con!!) but retain a ton of memories.

and to the last part… the Shroud Party was held at… CONtext23!! This was my second year at the con and I will say it was far better than the first. Yes i had a great time last year… the thing is when you do something for the second time it becomes easier. Instead of meeting EVERYONE for the first time itwas only a few new faces and a ton of people I already knew. That makes the already relaxed atmosphere that much more relaxed. If i had to complain the main one would be that I should have given/ gotten some phone numbers (and no not in the pick up line sense!!) What I mean is that groups splinter off and run around and you have to either stay with the people you’re with or have to chase down another group. Also you spend a lot of your time wondering where people are already at and sometimes you miss meeting people. So if I had their numbers or they had mine we could text and meet up. For example Mike Knost was going to get a Guinness and I was gonna come along. He was wandering the slaes floor so i had a few minutes, Tim deal needed to find the Con Suite and I knew how to get there… so I took Tim to the room and when I returned Knost was gone. Now I didn’t know if he went for the beer or to his room. Therefore I missed out on having a Guinness with Mike. Its one of the Two regrest I have from the weekend.

But forget the regrets, they happened and let’s move on. The CON was excellent. I only took one class this year but it was a 5 hour long one and it had some amazing points. Simple stuff really but having it spelled out before my eyes really opened me up. Now I’m writing things and wondering, thinkinh more. Things I did automatically now make more sense. So I am happy… though I’m also thinking my Keegan and Slater novel is going to need serious work when i finish the rough. (i did lose a little faith in it). But again, little stumbles in otherwise mass of awesome! There is a publisher I’ve loved since I was a kid and first started to notice that more than half the books i bought just happened to have their logo on the spine. When I was in High School and writing was more a dream than a reality I kept saying that they were the only publisher i ever wanted, My name and their Logo on spines of books. This weekend I met one of their editors… I got his business card, and I got the promise that my manuscripts would not go into the slush pile. That right there was all I needed to make this weekend perfect, I was done right there, Friday afternoon, the CON was over because nothing could be better than that. Everything after that fact was just pure win. Yeah 2 Regrets, yeah Whiskey poured down my leg, yeah i didn’t save any Absinthe, Mark Wholley cock block (which is fine cause i was drunk anyway and she was a totally random but very lovely girl)…. LOL LOL Whatever. It was a glorious bloody time with many friends and i feel I’ve bettered anf furthered myself. It served a purpose and I am happy and humbled.

So again so many thanks. Thank you to Gwydion Stone for the education and the Absinthe. Thanky you to Tim Deal for the Party, for being Yourself, for allowing me to be Myself, and for making me feel “At Home among Friends”. Thank you to Knost for a great class and Bruanbeck for allowing me to stop him and get some books signed. Thank you to Shrews for an impromtu reading! Thank you Anderson Prunty for the books and the company.

Thank you everyone who came to CONtext and had a good time and became my friends. Thank you all. It was a hell of a good time.

RUFO the Clown! Escape artist, entertainer, and Homicidal Undead Maniac!! (you do all know Rufo from Serenity Falls right??, at the very least you might want to scroll back a few months and read my reviews of those works first, i believe he gets a few mentions).

It’s been said that you can’t write a novel with a villian as the main character. That’s pretty true– but better to say that you can’t have an unsympathetic lead–that’s more accurate. Moore succeeds in making the Reader understand Rufo– there are times where you’ll be nodding along, understanding his drives and motives– his hatred for people who mistreat/ abuse children for example. (Matter of fact there is a shared similarity with Crowley– neither character can stand rudeness, only with Rufo it’s more likely to end in bloodshed). While you’re nodding along (perhaps even cheering him on) you’ll turn the page and Rufo will unleash a barrage of violence so blistering and raw–it’s shocking. HE IS NOT A GOOD GUY!

Moore pulls no punchs and makes no excuses. He titters back and forth over the line, making you care and slapping you back for falling for the trap.It’s amazing! Seriously. I don’t know who’s sicker? Me for loving it or Jim for teasing us so.

OK… Let’s move unto structure, any Moore reader already knows the man likes complex and usually multi-character driven narratives. In this case he breaks the multi-character and delivers the story mainly through Rufo. He keeps the complexity! The story is divided into three tracks: The Past, The Right Now (or Mid “Job”) and the Present (Lead into the “Job”).

If that’s not enough the past is in the 1st person, the Right Now is in 3rd person, and the Present switches around a little. Yeah it can be a little tough at times but it catches up quick and Moore is nice enough to give us headers to each section so you won’t be lost.

For long time readers, especially fans of the epic Serenity Falls, you’ll enjoy all the Past sections as it gives the background, a different PoV of Rufo’s death, and then his greatest escape– Death (and the sorceries of Albert Miles!)

And that is as close as I’ll get to spoiler land. There are hints that Rufo preforms jobs– almost sounding like PI work but most likely Hitman work. (There is also an allusion to a time he spent as a stand up comic– this is a story called Grease Paint Smile and can be found in SLICES.)

At the beginning we see Rufo inbetween “jobs” and he suddenly feels the need to find out what happened to his family. He left home more than sixty years, but a small fragment within wonders about the family he left behind– more importantly his kid sister. What follows is a dogged pursuit across multiple states and with a growing body count. I will let you discover that for yourself.

The story flows, switching back and forth between the ‘tracks’, and again teases the reader with sympathy and shock (and maybe a little disgust). You’ll be going through the emotional upheaval of Rufo’s life and death (and loss of innocence), the search for his family (and possibily the last bit of his mortal soul) and then you’ll be hammered by scenes of blistering violence and intense action. Moore pulls out some twisted stuff in this one. Two words: Potato Stamp! Done.

This story will be well worth the wait…. Wait? Sigh. Yes. I am extremely lucky in that I was allowed to read this in manuscript–Yup! some typos and minour little edits still in there, So I don’t know when or where this will find a home, but make sure you’re ready for it. Save up now and pre-order when its ready. I will definately post here when it finds a home and meanwhile you’d all do yourselves well to either Join the Keenedom Board or the Horror World forums where James is often found.

As Jim likes to say; Keep Smiling!

Ok i really suck at blogging… or at the least I drift around too much and don’t put in the proper amount of time. I need a kick to the ass and I’m administering one right now.

Alot has happened this month and last… yup moved into a new house and yup still have a bunch of stuff packed or in storage and money is short so i can’t build/finish all the things i want to do. It will happen and it will take time and it IS one of the reasons i haven’t been blogging.

July saw me going to my first NECON… it was totally awesome. I mean you’re right there sitting with people you’ve idolized or wanted to meet for ages and you’re talking with them! Or you’re being very shy and not thinking about what to say (lucky for me that didn’t happen too much, though yeah I was pretty quiet for a large part of it). I am NOT going to do a con report or talk about what happened. It was a very good time… though it did have its downers as well. I was reading a friends report on the experience and he was so happy and enthusiastic (it was his first time as well) and I couldn’t help but notice some of the negative things that crept into his report. He is so self effacing he mentions get talked down to by an authour because he expressed his opinion of the authors work (and when he asked for the authour to clarify/ rebutt, the authour verbally slashed him down). In his review he mentions this in passing and then apologizes for insulting the authour. I think that was wrong… he merely expressed an opinion and got attacked for it, he even gave the authour a chance to tell it in his own words, and still got shot down.

But anyway, that is one of those things that is a rarity, you WILL get to meet and drink with your favourite writers and you will have great stories to tell and to listen to. I just think as a fan (and as someone who wants to be published and on the “otherside”) that we should approuch these situations wihtout being fawning or self abasing. (Its totally fine to geek out upon meetig these people, but then you need to man up and approuch as an equal, or at least a student who wishes to rise to their level… ) It’s just a thought.

I had so many ideas for blogs in the last week and the two paragraphs above were one of them, I had a lot more i wanted to say but now its already in the past. Besides for every “bad” thing that happens an equally awesome thing follows, that is the magic of NECON.

Anyway… I have so many ideas for blogs so i figure i would share the few that are bouncing around, and maybe some of the readers out there could harass me to write them. Fantasy Genre… what makes a fantasy novel a fantasy novel… I just read a book that was touted as Epic Fantasy… was it epic because it crossed a whole continent?? Cause it really doesn’t fit my idea of EPIC… and other than a single character it barely has any Fantasy. Having people run around in a made up world with swords does not = fantasy? Or does it?

I’m beginning to not like genre tags… I like monsters and i write things that can be called horror, “dark” fantasy, “dark” sci-fi (space opera)… apparently if you use Horror tropes/ ideas in other genre’s you simply throw the word dark before it… LOL. But seriously, yeah… I don’t think i like being pigeoned holed, then again I’m still unpublished (my fault as I only submit a few pieces at a time) and probably shouldn’t worry about genre or pigeon holing, LOL.

Anyway… let’s move on to the actual update: (#amwriting)

1. Have been hammering on the Nano novel, its just over 60K and we’re moving into the meat of the story, it will require a huge revision/ rewrite. I will talk more about it in the next blog or two. #AmonNiall

2.I have reconnected with an old friend I was collaborating with. He wants to get back to work on our project (which was started in like nov. of 08 i think, LOL) So he has the chapters again and is doing his revisions and today i will dust off chap 13 and get going again. I had a pretty good sales pitch for this book back last year, so much has changed since then that I’m a little leary of what to do with this. I think it might have a good chance, cept the three main publishers I wanted hae changed their model or closed all submissions… sigh). #Spyders

3. Some friends have decided to cobble together a YA book of novella’s and I’ve been invited to join. I was never really into YA but after a discussion with Jim Moore and a few others I realize it might be a VERY receptive market… and as luck would have it I already had the beginning of a novel and a short story that could easily be adapted to novella length and turned into a good YA story. I’m pretty excited about this and the Deadline is far enough off that i should be able to finish #2 above and then hammer the rough of this out. #Sentry Hill/ #Goblyns

4. NaNoWriMo. While I’m still working on the last half of last years novel (nano only requires you reach 50K) I have plans for this years nano. I have an idea for a horror–sci-fi. BUT i was thinking i wanted to do a First Person Narrative this time around, with almost no planning, just flowing first person. So I don’t know if that will work with the story… so I’m flipping a coin right now because it WILL be 1st Person POV… so either #Deathhulk or #JCSMonsterHunter.

I have two shorts out to the same editor… I have a 11K novelette with another publisher who is being far to quiet for my tastes, i might have to send it elsewhere. I have begun the revamp of Pale #1 but haven’t touched it in months, so we’ll see where that goes as well. I really need to buckle down and concentrate on one thing at a time.

My reading is also picking up with me starting book 56 for the year, I’m also reading a manuscript of Jim Moore’s Smile No More, which will be reviewed here as soon as I’m finished. I’ll sneak and let you know this is one hell of a twsited story with a fair amount of gore and angst, then again what do you expect when the main character is a homicidal undead clown. There are no good peope in this book (well maybe a cop and a dancer) and yet still you’re drawn in and you “GET” it, you can understand Rufo and for most of his exploits you can almost cheer him on. but that’s enough of a teaser.

i have writing to do, thank you for reading.

Hello Readers,

Ok been a while and I am sorry for my absence… I could offer excuses, but to be honest its 50/50… those of you following the previous Blogs “The Journey Home” know I have been working to closing on a house and getting my life back together… well I’m happy to say I have a home again and we’re slowly unpacking and setting everything up. YAY! But like I said it’s 50/50… yes i am still unpacking and moving furniture and stuff on my days off but I’ve also had time to write and I haven’t taken it. So half overworked and half lazy, LOL.

But now i want to jump right back in… I want to bring you news, reviews, and maybe some snide commentary… So to start it off I have a review for you:

Hiram Grange and the Nymphs of Krakow, the 5th and Final (?? I hope not) Novella.

This volume was written by Richard Wright, and this is my first time reading him, though it definately will NOT be the Last time. This installment of the series is the “Bruce Willis Film”– Let me explain…. Willis has a habit of getting completely messed up, hurt, broken, battered, etc in practically ALL of his movies… (yeah even in the 80’s Blind Date he got beat up and dragged by a car). The book starts off with a bang, with Hiram in New York battling a creature of the night… a creature little (if ever) used in literature, a Were-Bat. (that alone is pretty cool and I think Mr Wright might have a background involving RPGs, where else does one encounter the non-standard in monsters?)

After the battle with the were-bat Hiram is immediately given a new assignment, bundled on a plane and shipped off to poland to deal with a Fae spirit called a Rusalka. Arriving already battered and bereft of his normal range of pharmacutical aids he quickly discovers that nothing is as it seems. Matter of fact most of the events of the previous four volumes are put on their ear… and the line between friends and enemies blurs.

I don’t like to give too much away, suffice to say that Hiram is battered physically AND Mentally. Also this CANNOT be the end of the series. There is just so much more i want to know, I NEED the rest. PLease Tim we need a few more volumes, we need to see what happens next.

I highly reccomend the entire Hiram Grange Series and i will be looking into more of Wright’s work. Do yourself a service and use the link to the left to go over to Shroud and snag yourself a copy of the book, you WILL enjoy it… as long as you like running battles, plot twists, Fae spirits that create super LUST, Water gods… and a Dragon! yes a Dragon!

I think i need to mix a glass of absinthe right now…. well i guess it is a bit early.

OK Readers, we haven’t blogged in a while and the only things we’ve blogged about is moving and house hunting and maybe one too many glimpses into my psyche and personal life. So I think it’s time to get the reviews rolling again, get the other aspect of this blog back into action.

Today we’re gonna talk about Hiram Grange and the Digital Eucharist by Robert Davies. First off I hope all of you know about the Hiram Grange project? No? Really? Ok we gotta fix that right now. Hiram Grange is an Occult investigator and Anti-Hero created by Tim Deal and a cabal of writers over at Shroud Publishing (http://shroudmagazine.com/ ). I first heard about the whole deal last summer and have to say I was really excited. With the events of the past few months my book budget has been nil and I’ve been kicking myself that I haven’t had a chance to snatch up these books yet. So when I was offered an ARC of Book 3: Digital Eucharist I jumped for it. I will admit that I am one of those people who hates to start a series in the middle, but this is a total stand alone novella. Hiram has a history, a deep and pretty disturbed history at that, and the reader is pretty much clued in to what’s going on and I didn’t detect any hints to the previous stories, at least no overt mentions which would pause the story flow.
This story is a mixed genre piece… it definitely takes place in a modern, pseudo-real world setting. It has elements of horror (gore, demons, undead), Mystery-Noir (anti-hero, drug use, investigation style narrative) and cyberpunk (android geisha, mega-corporations). It is a mixed bag of genre… which is what I love. I’m one of those writers who doesn’t care for strict genre labels and who likes to blend the edges together. I don’t know if this mix is throughout the series or just Davies personal touch, but either way I really like it. Shroud has just made me a fan of Davies work as well. He definitely owns a thesaurus and is not afraid of using his vocabulary… nor is he afraid of using colorful turns of phrase. All of which I found delightful, especially the ghoulish description of some of the gory bits. They gave me a giggle and a smile. I’m going to have to pull out all my issues of Shroud to see if any of his Shorts are published therein and his name is going on the blogroll. He is definitely an author to put on your radar.
I don’t like to actually give away too much of a story in my reviews, I prefer to give you my impressions and thoughts, to leave it spoiler free. That said though you do need some tidbit of what you’re getting. Hiram is an Occult Investigator who hunts down dangerous monsters, cults, and abuse of magic. He has an obsession with Jodie Foster and a love/addiction for absinthe, opium, and other drugs of the assorted pill and smoking type. He has a ton of baggage from a fairly scarred childhood and numerous encounters with the Dark and dangerous. He’s looked into the Abyss and the Abyss has looked back. That said, even in his wrecked state, he is a man of action and quite capable of getting the job done. He has tricks and weapons up his sleeves and in his pockets.
In this story he is asked to look into the actions of Occlusionist Movement, a new “cult” sweeping through the societal elite. The head of the movement appears to be a man who Hiram killed several years earlier, an occultist and demon summoner. The Movement has also grown into a major business, taking over several other corporations. Including one who has just revolutionized a new nanotech webware device, the Digital Eucharist, which is capable linking the thoughts and consciousnesses of all who possess it. Hiram is asked to find out what is happening in the Movement’s HQ and why so many strange “Confluences”—disruptions of the aether—are rippling through the building.
It’s a fast well written read. Quick paced and it lays some groundwork which I believe will start to appear in future titles in the series. Hiram is one mixed up man but he sure is fun to read.

Ok… I’m still not online as much as i should be… or at the least I’m not around as much I should be. This is two posts crammed together but since they’re related you only know this because I said so. Also I’m writing this while in the grip of a nasty cold so I might wander around the points.

Road Bumps. In my last post I mentioned how we’d found a nice house and put down a deposit and everything was looking up. Well the very next day we found out we were out bid. Three other people had bid on the house and the third guy swooped in and offered 10,000 over the list price of the house… which with other costs went beyond what we were capable of raising. So we lost that house. What followed was a hellish week were we restarted looking at houses… I won’t recount the frustration and how bad it really was but suffice that over a dozen houses slipped through our fingers by varies means.

Whether it was simple stuff such as the pictures lied, the house was on a hill with zero parking, to five seperate houses that couldn’t be sold because of bank involvement, couldn’t be inspected, or where off the market but still listed for some reason. It was a bad week and stressful and we had to keep on going.

So our realitor kept plugging away for us and finally the luck broke (maybe with the luck my family something else WILL go wrong) and we found a house. It’s at the end of being remodeled and thus hasn’t een listed yet and it is outside of our price range but only by a little. We’ve negoiated it down to our price, and signed the contracts. We have a house. In two weeks the build will be finished… they need to finish the basement, bring in the appilances, and pave the driveway… and they are either putting on a new deck or just replacing the stairs on the old one… i wasn’t to sure on that. If all stays on track we could do the closing by the end of april… though we’re looking to delay til the 15th of May, give us a little more time to save some money and it falls into mom’s vacation time.

Now my brother and I are in a fight for the finished basement… we both want to build up for our libraries and also to set up our offices. I seriously want to get back on track with my writing. Speaking of which that causes me to have a thought… should be a seperate post but fuck it.

I believe my biggest failing as a writer thus far is my “Niceness”. Yup. See everyone gives the advice that you want to be nice and professional with editors and publishers… and I am. I try not to pester with emails and I let things slip. But you know what? Professionalism HAS to go both ways. [First let me preface this with i 'm melding stories of multiple people here including stories NOT related to me. I Am NOT bitchin' about anyone in particular.] Now I (and others) have often been given the “Hey I like this let me get back to you in a week or two.” So two months later we might get email or we might get nothing. Therein comes my failing, I’m two NICE to say anything. I’ll wait the two months instead of giving an extra week or so and then writing to ask about what’s going on.

I recently had someone say that they would get back to me over the weekend… three weeks ago. I haven’t written him yet… and again, its because I don’t want to be a bother. I want to be a Pro. to edit and change the story as needed and to get it done NOW… not in three months. Someone gives me a manuscript to read, I do it.

I have helped several authors by pre-reading, writing character guides, and the like… if you asked anyone of them you’d be told i was pretty quick. Now i understand a publisher has a ton of work to do… and editor might have hundreds of stories to read, so i understand why they’re overloaded. I just hate when someone tells me they’ll get back to me shortly and then they dissappear. But anyway… this about MY shortcoming which is I don’t call anyone one it.

Anyway, the cold meds are starting ot kick in… and since i doubt I’ll get any good advice about how to be a better nuisance… LOL… I’ll leave it at this. I have 2 irons still in the fire and I hope they get somewhere. Once the move is all settled a glut of stories will flood the markets from me.

Anywho, Thanks for reading.

Ok been a long while since i blogged and I just got home and I’m hungry so we’re gonna go thru this one fast. LOL.

When last we “spoke” I had just moved into an attic crawlspace/ storage room and I was freezing my ass off and wishing for spring. Well spring has arrived here hard and fast. The weather has been improving so dramatically that i fear it will be a killer summer. My “room” has become more comfortable and I’m now able to spend time on my computer without wrapping myself like a mummy. As such i hope to see my production increase.

So good news… we got approved for the Mortgage SEVEN weeks early. That’s right, we had an appointment for May 1st but last week the realtor said they’d give it a shot and … we got approved. As such the last week has been filled with house hunting. The first week alone we cut our list of 20 possible down to about 5 and had to look for more places. Then, just yesterday we went and looked inside of two places and I have to say we fell in love… considering on friday of last week we’d gone into three and they where wholly inadequet to our needs. But we found a gem and after a lot of debate we had to settle on one of the two. So as of this morning we’ve put in the deposit and started the paperwork.

This means i might be in areal room, in a my own house… finally HOME, by the end of april or thereabouts. I’m pretty damn excited. I’m taking over the finished basement, let’s face it I always liked the dark out of the way rooms… but even better is there is a side room which will be converted into a library. I will see about posting pics to here when that starts up.

So what else is going on in my life you ask? Well I have a possible story sale in the air (maybe two depending on some rewrites and other such). This has me very excited as I have a promise to keep and personal goals as well. Plus i will admit i am a little mad at myself because i haven’t written anything other than some notes and emails since the whole move back in Jan. Not good to go months without dedicated writing.

I went to my first Horror movie Con… Monster Mania. It was fantastic!! I finally got to meet some of the people i talk to online… put real faces to the names/ avatars. An amazing three days spent with Haden, Qweequeg, Gorebeast, and Monrozombi, just fantastic. I didn’t have a lot of money so i could only grab a few autographs and pictures but i got to meet Kane Hodder, Doug Bradley, Charles Band, Bill Moseley, Thom Mathews, and so many others. There are a ton of pictures of the events… most of them can be found on my facebook (the link can be found on my sidebar to the left) and will later be on my photobucket.

So next month will be my birthday… and moving into my new house, and maybe seeing two of my stories sold. Its amazing. By summer I hope to be back on track, finishing writing projects, working with my Brother’s at Wormwood House, and finally finding peace at HOME.

Thank you for reading.

I have decided to do a series of blogs to keep things in focus and also to let those of you who are asking what’s happening and how things are going.

In my last blog i talked about moving out of the apartment i’m in now and drifitng from place to place until my Adoptive Family Bought a new house this summer. So i will be returning to my family, returning to HOME… so this is the beginning of the Journey right now. As i sit here the rent is paid on the apt. until the 1st of March. My roommates have started packing and have already secured their new apartment ( i refuse to bring up the error of their accounting, the sudden excess money they have produced of late, or the surprise extra money in the tax return, yada yada…) While i have until March I will NOT be in this place that long.

In the last two weeks i have boxed up all my books, collectibles and other such and shipped them (in three trips) to my buddies basement. They will wait until the new house is bought and then they shall be moved to the new place… hopefully with help so it doesn’t take another three trips, LOL. My bookshelves, basses, other important elements have gone to my brothers, and I’ve already transefered my dvds and TBR to the “room” I have at my Ma’s. I will need to burrow a van or truck to move my bed but otherwise i’m confident that all will be moved within the next week.

I was only waiting for my W2’s and such so that i could file my taxes, and as of this afternoon I’m all filed and ready to go. My next day off is tuesday, so ill be running my tv, dvd player, end table, small shelf, etc over to the house.

Its all exciting, I’m already budgeting out getting my bills paid off fast and planning to have a little more fun than i’ve had in along time. Now i just ned to survive the “Room”. The room is a sqrae of space that has no ceiling, it opens into the rafters and the attic space above, also it has wide open crawlspace/ attic eaves sweeping to the left and right side of the square for the length of the house. Thos sides are jammed with assorted boxes and gear and i have heavy curtains to block off the drafts that way. The far wall and part of the ceiling have been covered with foam insulation but the ceiling directly overhead is barren and drafty… its gonna be frickin cold and then it’ll be too warm as we get ito summer.

But again, I am willing to endure, in the long run i’ll be far better off. In a new house, back with my family, surrounded by people who care that THERE and not just on the interent. (Had to say that or I’d have some comments from friends saying i thought they didn’t care, distance does matter on that sometimes.)

So there is the beginning of my journey home. I should be in there sometime this week.

In other news I have a third story out in the submission grind, I’m very excited by the whole deal and hope to have some good news on that later.