|
|
Greetings!
I received an e-mail from Rick Hautala on Wednesday night, March 20th. He was sending me his bio photo for us to put on our website as a newly signed JS author. We had signed Rick up to publish two of his novels and an as yet unwritten novella for a new series we will be announcing. On Thursday afternoon I received a message that Rick Hautala had passed away.
This news was delivered only a couple of weeks after we heard that David Silva, founder and operator of Hellnotes.com, had passed.
Everything else I write seems trivial in comparison. I can't say that I knew Rick for a long time, a couple of weeks really. I can't say that I knew David that well, as well as business associates that operate over the Internet can know each other. I can say that I miss them both and the tragedy of their early passing had an impact on JS professionally, but more importantly on me personally.
I don't have any profound words, I am the publisher, not the writer. I can only say that we at JournalStone pass our condolences on to both David and Rick's family and wish them the best as they deal with the loss of their loved ones. I come up with a loss of what to say after that. I stumble with what is the 'appropriate' response. Is there an 'appropriate' response? Nothing said or done can fill the gaping hole left by two resounding personalities that I feel lucky to have known, if only for a short period.
We will do our best to make Holly and her family proud of Rick's two upcoming novels as we get them both published, neither of which we had even officially announced. We are also working on a project that we will be presenting shortly - led by the wonderful Christopher Golden - to benefit Rick's family.
For anyone who doesn't know Christopher Golden I can only say he is flat out a fantastic individual. I had no connection with him prior to this and he has impressed me by his selfless giving nature and a genuine desire to help.
For those of you who don't know, Holly, Rick's wife, was left in a dire financial position, so anything you can do to help her is much appreciated. If you want to send her a donation via paypal you can do so at her e-mail address, which is holly_newstein@hotmail.com. If you prefer not to donate directly then we will provide other opportunities for you to help later this month.
As for JS news, well, we are releasing two novels in April. Limbus, Inc. and The Poisoned Pawn. A couple of great books. You can still purchase the limited editions of Limbus, Inc. at a discount by clicking on the link.
I think that is it for this go-round. Keep in mind that I might not be writing this column next month. I think I will have to find a replacement. My baby boy is due to be born May 1, 2013, so I could be preoccupied.
Oh, we are on track to ship the next issue of Dark Discoveries, issue #23, April 30th. The issue is well over 110 pages now and is packed with more stories, interviews and news than you can imagine. We will be featuring a few pages on David Silva in this issue, but look for a tribute to Rick Hautala in issue #24 (July 31, 2013)
Thanks everyone. Hope you had a good holiday weekend. Wish my wife luck on an easy labor and send a prayer out to Holly, if you pray. If you're like me and you don't pray, or even if you do, a donation to Holly would be warmly welcomed.
Christopher C. Payne
|
|
|
MURDER AS A FINE ART
Murder as a Fine Art
David Morrell
Mulholland Books, May 2013
Reviewed by Michael R. Collings
Remarkable.
Compelling.
Intriguing.
These and other words appear (perhaps too frequently) in review after review. I try to avoid them as much as possible since they suggest an unusually high level of achievement and should be reserved for such.
But in the case of David Morrell's Victorian masterwork, Murder as a Fine Art, they are entirely appropriate, even in sequence: Remarkable, compelling, and intriguing.
The novel is a foray into history-as-fiction, with a foundation in carefully researched, highly informative (and relevant) historical data and a superstructure of meticulously crafted fiction. It brings together two sets of individualized characters that would, in the year 1854, normally have had little to do with each other.
The first is an official duo: a detective in the London Metropolitan Police, trained in the latest techniques of observation and focus; and a constable assigned to him, whose heartfelt wish is to prove himself worthy of eventually becoming a detective himself. The two of them undertake an investigation of a particularly grisly, brutal series of murders that-point by point, almost beyond the limits of belief-mimic one of the first mass murders in modern England, the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811. Forty-three years later, it seems, the killer has returned to add to his list of victim.
To read the rest of the review, click on the title link above.
|
Over The Bridge
OVER THE BRIDGE: Short Stories Book
By Lisamarie Lamb
87 Pages
Dark Hall Press Publishing
Reviewed By Rick Amortis
A collection of sixteen short stories about the eerie, ethereal, macabre and ghastly.
The Plot Thickens: Estranged married couple Julian and Diane have a common, sinister bond after all.
Pretty: Vanity trumps perception in eye of the beholder of one young woman's view.
Cat Got Your Tongue: Margaret's bereavement becomes an appetite for ultimate destruction.
Say Cheese: Macabre circumstances develop as a result of purchasing and old camera.
Medicine Man: After a barroom quarrel a native American prescribes enlightenment.
An Average of 41 a Year: A couple's leap of faith has two sides to the coin.
Tyger Tyger: Maeve's imagination may be too much for her grandparents to handle.
Travelling West: Janet has an appetite for outlandish, idle chatter.
No Crying Over Spilled Blood: Evelyn discovers there's often something more ominous at the scene of the crime.
Soft Snowflakes: A tale of lost love for all the seasons.
These are a mere sample of the collection of short stories composed by UK author Lisamarie Lamb. A total of sixteen tales fill the pages within this anthology, providing a little something for everyone's dark desires. Each excerpt is as equally gripping and compelling as the next.
The author makes it abundantly known her influences in the creative writing process. As a child young Lisamarie would avidly listen in pure enchantment as her parents would recite one chilling story after another. No one can argue she's done her parents proud as the stories within Over The Bridge are reminiscent of the late great Ray Bradbury with just a hint of a classic Alfred Hitchcock twist.
To read the rest of the review, click on the title link above.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Memorium
March was a tough month as we lost two members of the JournalStone Family. We want to express our condolences to their families and to let everyone know that they will always occupy a special place in our hearts. Rest in Peace David B. Silva and Rick Hautala.
 | | David B. Silva |
 | | Rick Hautala |
|
|
Are you laid off, downsized, undersized?
Call us. We employ. 1-800-555-0606
How lucky do you feel?
So reads the business card from Limbus, Inc., a shadowy employment agency that operates at the edge of the normal world. Limbus's employees are just as suspicious and ephemeral as the motives of the company, if indeed it could be called a company in the ordinary sense of the word.
In this shared-world anthology, five heavy hitters from the dark worlds of horror, fantasy, and scifi pool their warped takes on the shadow organization that offers employment of the most unusual kind to those on the fringes of society.
One thing's for sure - you'll never think the same way again about the fine print on your next employment application!
|
Dace and Jasyn have everything they ever wanted - their own trading ship and freedom.
Their only issue, regulations require a second pilot and the only one available on Viya Station is a little too perfect for Dace's comfort. But his credentials check out and everything seems fine.
Until Dace disappears and Jasyn learns the truth.
|
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.
|
|
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/.
To read the full article, click on the title link above.
|
|
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.
|
|
The Housecore Horror Film Festival will be held in Austin, TX on October 25-27, 2013. For more details, click on the title link above.
|
Jaleta Clegg
In Her Own Words
If you're looking for scary, edge-of-your-seat, stay-awake-all-night-shivering-under-the-covers horror, you've got the wrong author. If you're looking for space opera adventure with plenty of action, that's closer to what I write. Poisoned Pawn is one of the darker stories in my Fall of the Altairan Empire series. How would you feel if you were kidnapped and forced to pretend you were someone you'd never met? For Dace, it's a nightmare that just keeps getting worse. For her crew and friends, it's a race to rescue her from the villain before he discovers the truth and kills her. For the Patrol commander, it's a chance to take out a rising drug lord. For you, the reader, it's good reading. At least that's my goal as the author.
I love science fiction. I always have, ever since I was old enough to look up at the night sky and wonder about the stars. Cosmos with Carl Sagan aired when I was a very impressionable eleven-year-old. That sealed my fate along with the discovery of an author by the name of Andre Norton. Her books kept me up all night, reading under the covers with a flashlight. That love led me to a host of other great authors, including Jules Verne and HG Wells, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, Elizabeth Moon and Julie Czerneda. When I ran out of science fiction at the local library, I branched into fantasy and historical romance with the occasional foray into murder mysteries. I read almost everything I could get my hands on.
But horror? Not my thing. I do love reading A. A. Merritt's books. And I enjoy a good discussion about Lovecraft and the state of B horror movies. I even admit to watching some of them, usually the ones with big ugly monsters eating people that SyFy channel makes (where I gleefully cheer for the monster). Sharktopus rules, just saying. I crochet Cthulhu, in various incarnations as a toilet paper cozy or a cat toy. I dabble with writing silly horror short stories. But dark, creepy horror? I can't go there.
To read the rest of the article, click on the title link above.
|
|
JS 2013 Publishing Schedule - Subject to additions/changes.
Jaleta Clegg - Poisoned Pawn - 4/19/2013 Jonathan Maberry, Joseph Nassise, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Brett J. Talley, Anne C. Petty - Limbus, Inc., A Shared World Anthology - 4/26/2013 Benjamin Kane Ethridge - Nightmare Ballad - 5/17/2013 Richard Dansky - Vaporware - 5/24/2013 Gord Rollo and Rena Mason - Double Down I - 6/7/2013 Jeffrey Wilson - Fade to Black - 6/14/2013
Patrick Freivald - Special Dead - 7/12/2013
Douglas Wynne - Steel Breeze - 7/19/2013 Kristina Meister - The One We Find - 8/16/2013 Lisa Morton and Eric Guignard - Double Down II - 9/6/2013 Rick Hautala - The Devil's Wife - 9/13/2013 Lisa Morton - Summer's End - 10/4/2013 Joseph Nassise - The Fall of Night - 10/11/2013 Patrick and Phil Freivald - Recovery - 11/15/2013 Joe McKinney and Sanford Allen - Double Down III - 12/6/2013 Allyson Bird - Bull Running for Girls - 12/13/2013 Brian Knight - Phoenix Girls II - 2/7/2014 Harry Shannon and Brett J. Talley - Double Down IV - 3/7/2014 Benjamin Kane Etheridge - Nightmare Ballad II - 4/11/2014 Anne C. Petty (editor) - Limbus II - 5/9/2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
