Category Archives: Books

Cronin’s “The Passage” must read vampire epic

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Been too long, true believers. Been a writing fool. I also recently had a great time at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference. If you’re looking for an agent or an editor, it’s worth attending. Usually crops up somewhere near Seattle in late summer.

Anyway, I wanted to post a quick blurb about the novel The Passage. From Iowa Writers’ Workshop, author Justin Cronin has crafted a vampiric masterpiece worth reading. A truly wonderful narrative thread. Superb characterization. Unique, while staying true to vampire lore. From Ron Charles at the Washington Post:

In the same way that “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” gave us a mature alternative to “Harry Potter,” “The Passage” is for adults who’ve been bitten but can’t swallow the teenybopper misogyny of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series.

And Mike Peed at the NY Times:

“The Passage,” is a 766-page doorstop, a dystopian epic that’s the first installment in a projected vampire trilogy. Ballantine Books bought the lot for over $3 million, and the film rights to the novel sold before the book was completed.

More interesting notes: the vampire epic sold before the manuscript was completed. Ridley Scott gobbled those up in 2007.

Penguin’s vision for books on the iPad

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Has Penguin launched the first salvo for an iBook? Someone will come up with a name for publishing house Penguin’s version of books for the new iPad. Certainly a step forward from an e-Book.

I have to admit, it’s pretty intriguing.

Good luck doing that with your Kindle. Can’t wait to see the first porn app. Eew.

You can read more at Gizmodo.

New Jane Austen horror novel: ‘Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters’

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I’ve been UBER busy working on the latest manuscript, so I haven’t posted in way too long. Still, I thought this was interesting. The book trailer for the follow-up to Quirk Books’ best seller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In case you haven’t been following, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters tweaks the text of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility with scenes with monster lobsters, deadly octopi, sea serpents and pirates. Here’s a bit from Editor Jason Rekulak.

“…I didn’t want to go out with the one-millionth vampire novel that’s going to be published this year. I know there are a lot of vampire fans, but the genre feels exhausted to me. Whereas Sea Monsters allowed us to draw inspiration from so many rich and diverse sources—most obviously Jules Verne novels and Celtic mythology, but also Jaws, Lost, Pirates of the Caribbean, even SpongeBob Squarepants! I think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies fans are counting on us to deliver something original, and I don’t think they will be disappointed.”

And here’s the trailer:

The book hits stores on 9/15/09. For more information, go to www.quirkclassics.com. The Facebook page is here.

“Ring” author’s new horror story to be printed on toilet paper

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Yes, you read that right. Japanese horror author Koji Suzuki is printing his new novella on toilet paper (taking a stab at potty horror, following in the footsteps of Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher).

Suzuki’s new story is aptly titled Drop, and has the evil spirits inhabiting the…toilet. This bit from the Telegraph.co.uk:

(Suzuki’s) latest work is set in a public toilet and plays on Japanese superstitions that ghosts and evil spirits inhabit the smallest room in the house, which is why they were traditionally relegated to the most distant part of the home. Parents still tell naughty children that a hairy hand will seize them when they have their pants around their ankles if they misbehave and drag them down into the dark water below.

Ewww…

Suzuki’s other novels include Dark Water and Spiral.

So the question remains: on what kind of toilet paper will the story be printed? The same company who once printed TP with information on what to do in the event of a natural disaster — the Hayashi Paper Corporation. This time, in blue with the occasional bloody splatter.

Get a signed copy of Strieber’s “The Hunger”

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I’ve been stupid busy with the new manuscript, so I apologize for being absent from the blog for too long. Still, that’s a good thing — seeing how much progress I’ve made over the last two weeks. But enough about my work.

I received an e-mail from one of my many mailing groups, that I thought worth passing on. A chance to get a signed copy from Borderland Press of Whitley Strieber’s superb vampire novel, The Hunger. If you’ve never had a chance to read this story, you need to. Streiber’s early work is truly fabulous, both The Hunger and The Wolfen stand as two of my all time faves. In fact, The Wolfen is one of the creepiest novels around.

There are 250 copies available. They are being sold at $50 plus shipping ($45 if pre-ordered). They’ll ship in June. You can find out more by calling Borderlands Press at 1.800.528.3310 or e-mail sales@borderlandspress.com. Signed and numbered, the sale is limited to 250 copies.