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Greetings!
The JournalStone staff would like everyone on the East Coast to know our thoughts are with you as you continue to struggle through the devastation left by hurricane Sandy. To our authors and everyone in the midst of this disaster we wish you the best of luck, hope that the worst is behind you and that things return to normal as quickly as possible. Disasters of this nature reset my perspective on life and as Thanksgiving approaches (Happy Thanksgiving to everyone) it calibrates what is truly important.
With my family in the foremost of my thoughts, I am happy to announce that my wife and I are expecting a new baby. We are early in the pregnancy but as my wife suffers from morning sickness and confronts her changing body we are both relishing in the recent news that it is a boy. :) Obviously the most important thing is having a healthy baby, but with three daughters I am totally at a loss on what I will do with a son. My friends warn me of rowdy behavior and a fountain of pee spraying me unexpectedly, but I can only smile and say how pleased my wife and I both are with this fantastic news.
Ok, now for a few quick updates. Dark Discoveries, Issue #21, should be shipping in a couple of weeks. We were expecting to meet our October 31, 2012 shipping date but transitioning to a full color perfect bound edition has found us hitting a few snags. We think we are through the worst of it and I am expecting the proof copy next week. Crossing my fingers that all is well and we can order our first print run once we approve the proof copy. Our goal is to ship your copies out prior to Thanksgiving and barring any more setbacks, this should be easily doable.
DD is also open for submissions, so get your story prepped and sent in asap. Within the first few days of opening we saw hundreds of stories pouring in. Keep them coming and we will get through them as quickly as possible. You should also make sure that your subscription to DD is up to date and renewed. It is difficult to pay pro rates if we don't have the subscription base to support it. We know you love the magazine, now go out and buy a copy! :)
In October Dark Discoveries announced a distribution partnership with Midnight Echo, the official magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Midnight Echo, or a bundled package of Midnight Echo and Dark Discoveries, you can now do so at our store. DD is proud to announce that we are the exclusive domestic United States distributor of Midnight Echo and want to thank the AHWA for entrusting us with their work.
The big news for JS is of course our announcement of the Double Down series. What a line-up of all-star authors we have set up! We want to give a special thank you to Gene O'Neill for helping us coordinate the signings and welcome, Gord Rollo, Joe McKinney, John Little and, Harry Shannon into the fold as they join Lisa Morton (already in the JS family) and a slew of up and coming authors in this long term series. If we weren't excited about our prospects prior to this, we sure are ecstatic now! If anyone wants more details on the DD series just jump over to the press release. The link to the announcement is further down in the newsletter.
We also just announced that our annual writing contest has launched. Our $2,000 in 2013 is the 3rd annual writing contest we have presented and if it continues the trend we are very excited indeed. Our first year winner, Brett J. Talley continues to enjoy the success of That Which Should Not Be and Patrick Freivald (Twice Shy) and Douglas Wynne (The Devil of Echo Lake) are seeing some immediate success in their recent publishing. Twice Shy wasted no time as it ousted That Which Should Not Be and was our October 2012 top selling novel.
We feel like the stars are aligned for us as October was our best month ever in revenue and units sold, topping our previous highest month by almost 90+ percent. With the holiday season approaching we hope this trend continues and we end the year on a huge upswing into 2013 and the beginning of a new year.
Thanks everyone and Happy Thanksgiving. I will spend the holiday in LA with my wife's family as I try to keep my pants buttoned after stuffing all of that turkey in my mouth. Who am I kidding. I will eat a little turkey but most of my time will be spent eating pumpkin pie with whipped cream!
Christopher C. Payne
President
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NEW RELEASES
FOR NOVEMBER
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The personal papers of the enigmatic Professor Abraham Van Helsing are collected and presented for the first time by his longtime colleague and defender, Dr. John Seward.
Texas, 1891 Following the defeat of Count Dracula, Abraham Van Helsing - suffering from violent recurring fantasies - checks himself into Jack Seward's Purfleet Asylum. Once discharged, he volunteers to return the ashes and personal effects of the late Quincey P. Morris (the American adventurer who died in battle with the nefarious Count) home to the Morris family ranch in Sorefoot, Texas.
Van Helsing arrives to find Quincey's brother, Cole Morris, embroiled in an escalating land dispute with a group of neighboring Norwegian ranchers led by the enigmatic Sig Skoll. When cattle and men start turning up slaughtered, the locals suspect a wild animal, but Van Helsing thinks a preternatural culprit is afoot. Is a shapeshifter stalking the Texas plains, or are the phantasms of his previously disordered mind returning?
The intrepid professor must decide soon, for the life of Skoll's beautiful new bride may hang in the balance.
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John Donne's famous apothegm, "No man is an island entire unto himself," is anathema to horror fiction.
Not that horror writers do not feel themselves part of the larger community of humanity; they are often there, in fact, in defense of that larger community, warning against social and cultural disintegration by means of metaphoric monsters. To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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Again and again as I write horror and write about horror, I am reminded of the simple fact that horror, like all fiction, is created by words. It is literally a 'shaping' or a 'forming', as one might mold clay. Writers take the words that are a commonplace of their society or culture and 'shape' from them something different, something new-a nova, as it were, from which we get the word novel.
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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Some years ago I wrote a terrible story.
At the time I finished it, of course, it didn't seem terrible. Hot off the typewriter, it seemed like a small, highly polished gem. It was one of the first pieces of short fiction I had written, so perhaps I can be forgiven for over-appraising its worth at the time. But as the years passed and I began writing more stories, something about that one never seemed quite right. And yet, given frequent opportunities to burnish it a bit, I didn't try to make it any better.
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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The Fallen Boys
Aaron Dries
Samhain Publishing
Review by La Diva
Dries proved his writing chops with his intense and unsettling debut, House of Sighs, and sophomore efforts are usually deal-breakers for fans... So it's a great achievement (yet no great surprise) that The Fallen Boys isn't only as good as House of Sighs, but better. Were Dries to never write again, he would have firmly cemented his place in the horror community.
Suffice to say: like the best work of Jack Ketchum or Richard Laymon, The Fallen Boys left me shaking.
To read the rest of the review, click on the title link above.
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Sharkways
AJ Kirby
Damnation Books
237 Pages
Review By Rick Amortis
When professional excavation contractor Bill Minto suffers from debilitating neurological anguish, he seeks professional help. After a slew of tests little seems to provide any grasp of tangible relief. Then a project of a lifetime comes across his desk. Parkes, an aged eccentric wants Minto's company to gut out the entire basement of an ominous estate in the desolate British country side. It seems the very foundation has been sealed off in mausoleum style fashion for reasons mysterious even unto the family. Will the project hold the key to releasing all that ails Bill and his neurological affliction or will the endeavor unleash something far more unholy than anyone may fathom?
To read the rest of the review, click on the title link above.
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About Us
JournalStone is a small press publishing company, focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction in both the adult and young adult markets.
We are members of & actively support:
HWA - Horror Writers Association
WNBA - Women's Nat'l Book Assn.
IBPA - Independent Book Publishing Assn.
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JournalStone Publishing (JSP) President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce the commencement of its third annual Horror Writing Contest. The contest is open to all authors.
Submission Requirements: Submissions must be at least 75,000 words or more in length (no exceptions) and must be sent in a Microsoft Word document in Times New Roman 11-point font, single line spacing to joel@journalstone.com. In the subject line you must put 'JournalStone's $2,000 Advance in 2013'. You must include your name, address and e-mall address with the submission. Take credit for your work-please don't force us to investigate who you are or what entry goes with some cryptic e-mail address. If you use a pen name, please also include your actual name as well (it will be kept confidential if you so request it.)
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne and Dark Discoveries Magazine Managing Editor, James Beach, are pleased to announce that the magazine is again open to short fiction submissions until June 1, 2013. The magazine will be paying Pro Rates of Five Cents ($0.05) per word for all accepted fiction stories. Full Submission Guidelines can be found at http://darkdiscoveries.com/submission-guidelines/.
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JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce an exciting new, ongoing series of titles JournalStone Publishing will be releasing, premiering in 2013 under the "Double Down" series moniker.
The Double Down Series of books will pair an acclaimed author with a gifted, fresh, cutting-edge author selected by the eminent author. Each book will contain an original novella by the eminent author matched with an original novel by the up-and-coming author. In the spirit of the old Ace Doubles, the series will be bound in the dos-à-dos binding method, whereby two books are bound together with a shared central board and facing in opposite directions, with each book having its own full front cover.
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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JournalStone Publishing (JSP) President, Christopher C. Payne and Dark Discoveries Magazine Managing Editor, James Beach, are pleased to announce that JSP and The Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) have entered into an exclusive joint marketing agreement pursuant to which JSP and Dark Discoveries Magazine will be the exclusive USA distributor of the AHWA official biannual magazine, Midnight Echo, while the AHWA will become the exclusive Australian distributor of Dark Discoveries magazine. Both parties voiced their enthusiasm for the agreement, which means that the pre-existing high premium that potential readers of each respective magazine have had to pay to receive the other periodical in their respective countries will be eliminated making both magazines much more affordable and accessible/available for all. Look for availability on both the JSP and Midnight Echo websites in the coming weeks where you will be able to purchase the magazines individually or in a bundled offering that includes both Dark Discoveries magazine and Midnight Echo.
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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JS 2012/2013 Publishing Schedule - Subject to additions/changes.
Ed Erdelac - Terovolas - 11/16/2012 Sean O'Brien - Vale of Stars - 12/14/2012 JG Faherty - The Burning Time - 1/18/2013 Anne C. Petty - The Cornerstone - 1/25/2013
Carole Weeks - Dead Reflections - 2/8/2013
Brian Matthews - Forever Man - 2/15/2013
Brian Knight - Phoenix Girls I - 3/8/2013 Allyson Bird - Bull Running For Girls - 3/15/2013 Gene O'Neill and Chris Marrs - Double Down I - 3/22/2013 Jaleta Clegg - Poisoned Pawn - 4/19/2013 Multiple Authors - Limbus, Inc., A Shared World Anthology - 4/26/2013 Joseph Nassise - The Fall of Night - 5/10/2013 Benjamin Kane Ethridge - Untitled - 5/17/2013 Gordo Rollo and Rena Mason - Double Down II - 6/7/2013 Jeffrey Wilson - Fade to Black - 6/14/2013 Brett J. Talley - That Which Should Not Be II - 6/21/2013 Patrick Freivald - Untitled - 7/12/2013 Douglas Wynne - Untitled - 7/19/2013 Lisa Morton and Eric Guignard - Double Down III - 9/6/2013 Lisa Morton - Summer's End - 10/4/2013 Joe McKinney and Sanford Allen - Double Down IV - 12/6/2013 |
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JournalStone is proud to be a sponsor of this amazing event hosted by the Horror Writers Association June 13-16, 2013!
The Bram Stoker Awards® Weekend 2013 incorporating the World Horror Convention will take place at the beautiful (and haunted) Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, located in the historic French Quarter.
To learn more about this exciting weekend, click on the title link above.
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ThrillerFest has announced that NYT bestselling author Michael Palmer will be joining ThrillerFest VIII. Special guests this year include 2013 ThrillerMaster Anne Rice, 2011 ThrillerMaster R.L. Stine, Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker, Michael Palmer, and more.
CraftFest, one of the convention's offerings, has lined up some phenomenal teachers, including Steve Berry, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, and T. Jefferson Parker. Learn more about the craft of writing from these NYT bestselling authors. Plus, if you are looking for an agent, there will be over 50 agents at AgentFest, also part of the offerings, who are interested in hearing your pitches. Your thriller could be the next breakout novel!
The Early Bird discount will be in place until midnight on November 30, 2012, so please register soon. Just visit ThrillerFest for more information. Also, don't forget to book your room at the newly renovated Grand Hyatt to benefit from the group rate.
ThrillerFest VIII will take place from July 10th - July 13th, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.
To find out more about Thrillerfest, click on the title link above.
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By Jeanné McCartin
features@seacoastonline.com
October 20, 2012 2:00 AM
After five years of work Douglas Wynne earned the equivalent of a writer's "overnight success," his first attempt at penning a book was published. "The Devil of Echo Lake" arrived in paperback last week, along with a 100-piece, limited-edition hardcover.
"The Devil of Echo Lake" is "a rock 'n' roll ghost story," says Wynne. "It does take a supernatural turn, a horror story. But it says something about the music business and the sacrifice people will make for fortune and fame."
The tale is about Billy Moon, a burned-out Goth rock icon, who's having regrets about sacrifices he's made for fame and fortune, Wynne explains.
"We meet him going to a remote studio in the woods with a producer he thinks might be the devil incarnate. It sustains mystery and suspense for a good portion of the book. Is Billy paranoid and losing his mind or is something going on?
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
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