Tag: new release

A fungus amongus

By Rachel Brune

Crone Girls Press has published horror for five years and counting at this point, but it was only until a year or so ago that I realized we were an independent press whose books were not available through most independent bookstores. And so, with our latest release, Dark Spores: Stories We Tell After Midnight Volume 4, we’re focusing on giving our readers options.

An Inherent Contradiction

When I started Crone Girls Press, I knew a good deal about what makes a good story, how to cajole my connections to provide me with a good story, and how to work with an author to make a good story even better. From the time we published the first volume of Stories We Tell After Midnight, I have learned a lot about how to be a better editor, coach, mentor, friend, and anthologist.

The thing I wished I knew, back in 2019, was limiting it could be to publish exclusively on the Big River Site. I listened to podcasts and followed author groups that recommended rapid release and Kindle Unlimited exclusivity and various other Amazon-focused profitable techniques that made a lot of sense for publishing speculative fiction but, as I learned, had limited application to other genres and forms.

But still, publishing KDP was a place to start, and that’s where we began.

Genre Horror and a Punk Attitude

I’ve always pursued creative ventures. I had a band in college (shout out to Pop’s Basement), I enjoyed blogging and publishing interviews, and I have been writing songs, poems, and fiction for years. Through those years, I’ve seen various platforms that claim to support independent creatives come and go, from Lulu to CreateSpace to CDBaby to Bandcamp to Spotify for Podcasters and many more. The one element they all had in common was relying on creatives’ work to drive aggregate traffic to their platforms where they would parcel out pennies to the creator and bank the rest.

For book publishing, it seemed the same. Sure, we could strike up partnerships with collectives like The Literary Underworld (shoutout to The Underlords!) Or, we could consign books with certain bookstores, especially local indie shops. But for the most part, it seemed like the Big River Site was the only, or at least the best, way to go.

But was it?

Corporate monopolies aren’t very punk rock, and it seemed like an indie press like ours could put in the time and leg work to start growing an organic presence and giving readers an alternative to purchasing our works that weren’t (only) through their ’Zon accounts.

First Step—The Underworld

Elizabeth Donald was one of the first people I thought of when it came to horror. And shortly after we started publishing, she invited me to become part of the Literary Underworld. And in fact, this partnership contributed to the motivation to dig into how and where and why we were selling our work, and to do the leg work to understand more of how we could get away from sole reliance on Amazon.

Take a look over at the Underworld catalogue. You’ve got all genres from horror to sci-fi to urban fantasy to romance. You can find some of my personal titles there (Cold Run and Side Roads), as well as a number of Crone Girls Press titles, a few of which contain familiar Underlords in the tables of contents (Coppice & Brake, Tangle & Fen.) And, one sale of a title through the Underworld returns about three times the amount of an Amazon sale. (Punk rock might not be about profits, but book sales help keep the lights on.)

Next Step—The world! Muahahaha!

Dark Spores: Stories We Tell After Midnight Volume 4 is our first anthology in the series to follow a theme. We fell in love with the idea of mushrooms and fungus and mold and mildew creeping along in the dark underground, building and multiplying, until they extrude through the soil or the skin. The theme resonated with our authors who sent in tales of loneliness, isolation, and fear, as well as forced assimilation, willing submission to the darkness, and other fearsome fates.

As with our other projects, we looked for the widest and deepest variety of voices and perspectives that we could invite, seeking unique ways of looking at life—or death, as the case may be.

And, with this volume, we are doing our best to offer different ways of inviting the spores into your library. (We realize that’s possibly not the best way of putting it…)

First, you will be able to order the anthology through The Literary Underworld.

Or, and this is our second-favorite way, you can head to your local bookseller, especially if you have a local bookstore you enjoy frequenting, and order it through them.

Finally, you could order it through a link on the book page on our website.

Feeling a little short on funds? Aren’t we all… Not to worry! My local library has a link where we can request a book, whether through Interlibrary Loan, or for the library to purchase the book. If yours has a similar link, fill it out and let’s spread our spores through the public library system!

Many thanks to Elizabeth Donald and The Literary Underworld, who have been gracious supporters and partners to me and Crone Girls Press from the beginning. Thanks to everyone who has purchased one of our volumes through the Underworld, and especially, who has gone to their review site of choice and left some kind words for us. Here is to a future with more great books and wonderful partners—and lots of independent options for our readers.

The Big Cinch!

I’m Kathy L. Brown and delighted to join The Literary Underworld team! I write speculative fiction with a historical twist. My hometown— St. Louis, Missouri —and its history inspire my fiction.

A Sherlock Holmes story collection captivated me as a ten-year-old. If every tale must have a maker, I resolved to be a maker, too. I immediately wrote a knock-off Sherlockian story, which was greeted with wide critical acclaim (by my teacher). I was hooked, really. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had ruined me for honest work.

However, I came of age in a tumultuous time. Despite the nascent women’s liberation movement’s encouragement, I convinced myself I had nothing to say to a world in upheaval. Thus, as a new college graduate, I landed a job as a book editor, an ideal pairing of my desire to read all day and a personality that picks at small details. Those skills served me well in a subsequent (and better paying) medical research career.

However, the need to make stories never truly left me. The haunted 1920s world of my book series, The Sean Joye Investigations, was conceived in a beginners’ creative writing workshop.

My supernatural noir stories’ gestation and birth took years. Meanwhile, I earned a creative writing certificate and wrote various fantasy stories for magazines and anthologies. Under my own imprint, I published two short Sean Joye adventures while working on a novel, The Big Cinch. Montag Press Collective published The Big Cinch in December 2021, and it is now available through The Literary Underworld website.

Currently, I’m polishing the next Sean Joye novel, The Talking Cure. We live in an exciting time for stories, and I want to be part of it all. My goals include produce stories in more formats, such as serials, audiobooks, and games. Check out the Sean Joye short stories and novellas at my website, kathylbrown.com.

The Big Cinch

The Big Cinch embeds readers in a magic-laced St. Louis, once known as Mound City, home of the indigenous Americans’ Mississippian ancestors. Little evidence of their civilization survives in 1924, apart from the popular Piasa monster image, invoked to sell plows as well as ornament civic pageants.

Sean Joye, a recent Irish immigrant, tried to avoid fae attention and ignore his magical abilities since childhood. A young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, he aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean life in America.  Sean helps a wealthy, powerful, magic-dabbling family—founders of the most exclusive club in town, the Piasa Lodge—with a discreet inquiry or two. Sexually involved with a secretive, high-society flapper, he falls hard for her fiancé, a Great War flying ace with a few secrets of his own.

But Sean asks the wrong questions about a kidnapped toddler and missing Native American artifacts and becomes a suspect in his lover’s bludgeoning and a tycoon’s murder. Can he master the paranormal abilities he’s rejected for so long in time to protect the innocent and save his own skin?

The Big Cinch will appeal to a wide range of readers:

  • Fans of a wise-cracking mage, such as in Ben Aaronovitch’sThe Hanging Tree, Steven Blackmoore’s Dead Things, and Jim Butcher’s Skin Games
  • Lovers of secret societies who worship mysterious, supernatural forces, such as in Matt Ruff’sLovecraft Country, Victor LaValle’s Ballad of Black Tom, Cherie Priest’s Chapelwood, and China Mieville’s The Last Days of Paris
  • Supporters of fiction that reflects cultural and sexual diversity, such as in Anne Bishop’sLake Silence: The World of the Others and V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Light

Kathy L. Brown lives and writes in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Her hometown and its history inspire her fiction. When she’s not thinking about how haunted everything is, she enjoys writing elaborate notes about her tabletop roleplaying games. Her supernatural noir novel, The Big Cinch novel won the 2022 Imadjinn award for best urban fantasy novel. Other stories in the Sean Joye Investigations world include The Resurrectionist and Water of Life. Kathy’s blog lives kathylbrown.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13 Octobers returns to familiar spooky ground

By Alexander S. Brown

I would like to start this by giving thanks to the Literary Underworld for granting me the opportunity to elaborate on my collection, 13 Octobers. Since this will primarily focus on why I chose to release this collection as an author’s preferred edition, I will spare the reader of what inspired this work in the first place. If you’re interested in those details, just visit my YouTube page Bookworm of the Damned and watch my video entry titled “Great News.”

Originally 13 Octobers was released in 2016. Back then, it was called The Night the Jack-o’-Lantern Went Out. Which despite how cool of a title that was, I couldn’t take credit for its name, as that was suggested by my publisher. And for this reason, when I decided to make this collection available to the public once again, I changed the name simply because it felt right.

Primarily, there were quite a few reasons why I decided to pull my work and regain my rights.  But instead of listing everything that went wrong, or what I considered to be a red flag, I’ll stick to the main factors that played into 13 Octobers becoming my preferred edition over the original text.

The main problem I had with The Night the Jack-o’- Lantern Went Out was because it had been published with a plethora of errors. And when I brought this to the publisher’s attention, I was told it wasn’t a big deal. It may not have been a big deal to him, but it was to me. After I requested a revision multiple times, and nothing was done, I came to the realization that no changes would be made. Imagine the frustration there.

As other issues began to mount, the weekend that made me decide to yank all of my work took place at a horror convention where I had been invited as a guest. At this convention, my publisher and I sat on a panel together to speak about the horror fandom. Shortly after we introduced ourselves to the audience, he said, “Horror is a dead genre.” Then he proceeded to explain how horror doesn’t sell.

All I could do was sit there and think, well, you just shot yourself in the foot. Then I asked myself, if the genre is so dead, why are you representing me? Since I wasn’t in the mood to argue, I expressed how I saw the genre reinventing itself.  Once the weekend concluded, I mulled over a gameplan to regain my rights, which resulted in me sending an email that expressed it was time to part ways. Of course, I was met with resistance, but I eventually got what I wanted.

From there, my work went out of print, but I knew I needed a creative outlet.  For that reason, I began the YouTube channel Bookworm of the Damned. This came about mostly because I wanted to document what I read and connect with other readers. Since I had spent nearly the last decade doing conventions and speaking on panels, I had a good idea of how I wanted to present myself.

But while my main focus became directed at this channel, I couldn’t just throw away my books altogether.  Because of that, I decided I would to return to the author life when it was right for me. Nonetheless, I continued to write new stories, until I felt it was time to return my attention to my previous published works.

Among my out-of-print collections and novel that I had released over the years, I decided to tackle The Night the Jack-o’-Lantern Went Out first. In 13 Octobers, I give a deeper meaning why I chose this collection first. But for here, I will simply say the subject matter was symbolic and comforting, as many of its characters reminded me of my family.

When time would allow, I tried to eliminate plot holes, gain historic accuracy, and fix grammatical and spelling errors that had gone untouched with its first printing. Then I handed my book over to friends and family, who I trusted could give me constructive criticism, which they did. Over the better part of two years, we corresponded frequently about what needed to be revised, and had it not been for their help, I doubt I would be writing these words now. Also, since the original cover art for The Night the Jack-o’-Lantern Went Out was provided by the publisher, I knew I wanted a new cover. I reached out to local artist Chuck Jett to create the current image.

Being DIY with this book was a great learning experience, especially when it came down to formatting the ebook and paperback.  But to prevent future struggle, I made notes from beginning to end of the steps I took for 13 Octobers to exist. While going through all of these steps did prove to be a headache, the fact that I now have complete control over my work, and I can make changes whenever I like, I can sleep better at night.

Before I close out, I would like to advise that not all publishers are like the one I described. Please don’t think I’m bashing all publishers. Nonetheless, if you are interested in a publisher, no matter what size house they are, purchase a few of their books and read them. When finished, ask yourself if the book was good quality. Then go online and research the publisher. Not only will a quick search help you determine how established their house is, but it will also allow you to see if the publisher has been in hot water. Furthermore, if you’re able, reach out to authors of that house, inquire about their publishing experience, as well as how loyal that publisher has been with sharing royalty statements.

In this mixed bag of treats … and tricks, readers will return toI/ older times. Back when oral tradition warned of grisly things that lurked about on autumn nights. A bygone era when people heeded superstitions and lore, and few dared to brave the forbidden.

Readers will encounter thirteen chilling stories presented in four decades of vintage life. These horrors include: ghosts, unlucky animals, murderers, creatures, and the devil himself.

ALEXANDER S. BROWN is a Mississippi author whose first book, Traumatized, was published in 2008, later re-relased by Pro Se Publications. Brown is currently co-editors/coordinator with the Southern Haunts anthology series published by Seventh Star Press. His horror novel Syrenthia Falls was published by Dark Oak Press. His short story collection The Night the Jack O’ Lantern Went Out reached bestseller status in three literary categories on Amazon.com upon release.   Brown is the author of multiple young-adult steampunk stories found in the Dreams of Steam anthologies, Capes and Clockwork anthologies, and Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells. His more extreme works can be found in the anthology Luna’s Children published by Dark Oak Press, Reel Dark published by Seventh Star Press and State of Horror: Louisiana Vol. 1 published by Charon Coin Press. Brown is also an actor and producer in the short film The Acquired Taste inspired by a story in Traumatized and directed by Chuck Jett.

Escape with Bladespell

By Steven L. Shrewsbury

Questions are posed to me often about what I write. I’m pretty approachable, oddly enough. Although many experienced writers have warned me to be a bit more exclusionary, I have a tough time not interacting with folks. Sometimes, that is different, but in this case, I’ll share.

Someone asked me, “Did you set your new novel, Bladespell, in Africa to be trendy?”

First, I doubt that sword & sorcery pre-flood tales set in Africa are a trend. Second, while I get the question, the book wasn’t set there as part of some agenda. “Africa was in the direction our main characters traveled in when they sailed off at the end of Killer of Giants.” S’true.

I do my best to make my novels, be they about Gorias La Gaul, Joel Stuart or in this case, Rogan the Kelt, as single, standalone tales. One can pick up any novel and enjoy it without getting the rest in a series or saga. Hopefully, the reader will want to seek out the others in time. In the past, I’ve been distressed to see a tome that looks very intriguing and then see it’s number 4 in a series. Ugh.

The yarn unfolds in primeval Africa not out of any desire for inclusiveness or whatever political agenda some might have. I told a story. I didn’t check boxes. That’s it. I’m a true believer that fiction should be escapism, a way to get away from the harangues of the media and the insanity of politics. Open the pages of a book and you escape from the drivel online or on the television.

The main character, Rogan, is a swaggering savage from thousands of miles away from where the book is set. How he survives in such a place, and against evil folks, cannibals, forces, demons and time traveling wizards, well, that’s the deal. Never once did I have the thought “THIS will piss folks off” or “Better include THIS class of people.” Just told the tale. If the story jerks a knot in someone’s undies, praise Jesus. Things happen.

Does that sound vanilla? It isn’t. The world, even back then, was made up of all sorts of interesting people, thoughts and stuff. These segue into a story, and I don’t need to consult a chart or give sacrifices to a political ideology to feel swell about myself. Am I dissing folks that do have such agendas? Naw. Do what makes ya feel good. Readers will judge whether to purse their lips, toss the book away, or read more.

Up against all that, Rogan encounters bad folks and good, but that’s life. I weave in some Lovecraftian horrors, the scope of which turns broad towards the end, and yeah, one of the time traveling wizards is Aleister Crowley in the form of shaman Oliver Haddo. What’s he up to in such ancient times? You’ll have to check it out and see.

That is if you want to escape this world of oppressive nonsense and dwell in a place of action, intrigue and wild times.

One can find Bladespell at the Literary Underworld or at Amazon.

STEVEN L. SHREWSBURY lives, works, and writes in rural Illinois. More than 360 of his short stories have appeared in print or electronic media, along with more than 100 poems. Nine of his novels have been released, with more on the way. His books run from sword & sorcery (Overkill, Thrall, Bedlam Unleashed) to historical fantasy (Godforsaken) extreme horror (Hawg, Tormentor, Stronger Than Death) to horror-westerns (Hell Billy, Bad Magick, and the forthcoming Last Man Screaming). He loves books, British TV, guns, movies, politics, sports and hanging out with his sons. He’s frequently outdoors, looking for brightness wherever it may hide.

 

 

 

The structure and writing of Days of Darkness

 

Days of Darkness proved to be a very interesting project for me in terms of the overall structure and kind of writing necessary to tell this particular story.  It is a unique story for several reasons, and as such it brings it into some rarer territory when it comes to the elements typically used in writing novels, or even feature film screenplays.

One thing that readers of the book may be surprised by is that Days of Darkness has no protagonist.  Nor is there an anti-hero.  In fact, the main character that readers follow the entire story with, Ambrose, is a very despicable individual, and any sense of an arc concentrates merely on the process of personal revelation, as opposed to a fundamental development of character like is seen with main characters in novella/novel-length fiction.

In most other realms of storytelling, it is difficult to tell a tale where the reader is not going to have a strong connection of some kind with the character whose perspective the story is being told through.  In most stories, the lack of a main character to bond with is a shortcoming.  In Days of Darkness, not only was it not any kind of shortcoming, I found, but rather a strength that was the best route for this tale.

Here, the dynamic of the story from start to finish is that of a steady, dark-edged thrill ride, and it is more the setting and the journey through it that propels the reader through the story, without the typical bond a reader typically has with a more common type of main character.  Ambrose’s encounters and interactions with the unfolding world around him, rather than a character arc, are what draws the reader in deeper and creates a hunger to see what comes next.

The nature of this story’s main character also had a strong effect on the overall structure of this story.  There are three primary phases in the novel, but they do not fall into any usual kind of three-act structure.  The first part of the story takes place in an urban setting, the second in a suburban setting, and the third in a rural setting, after which things come full circle for the climax of the storyline.

Throughout all of these phases, there is a constant escalation of action and scale.  It begins with the world as most of us know it, with nothing seeming to be out of the ordinary.  Then, things begin to gradually unravel, and as they do, the stakes get bigger in relation to the kinds of entities that begin to manifest and the chaos that breaks out and spreads within this world.

There is not really an ebb and flow, but rather a steady, expanding progression, until the reader arrives at the grand finale, which features an event that exceeds the magnitude of everything that has taken place before that.

The atmosphere, the settings, and the nature of this particular Hellscape drive the story on a continuum as Ambrose is taken along a macabre journey of revelation and ultimate accountability.

Looking back on Days of Darkness, I am confident that readers will find this book engaging, compelling, and intriguing; and even though it may be disturbing at times, there are thought-provoking themes regarding the nature and essence of evil underlying all of it.

To do this without a more typical novel structure, and without any sort of protagonist or anti-hero driving at the core of this story, has marked another stride in my writing and storytelling.  It is not the usual horror novel, but it delivers a powerful and unique kind of story that readers of the horror genre are going to love.  My wish is that readers come to enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

I am already looking forward to writing the next foray into the Hellscapes, no matter the form it may take!

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Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and broadcaster based out of Lexington, Kentucky. His titles as an author include the Rayden Valkyrie Tales (sword and sorcery), the Ragnar Stormbringer Tales (sword and sorcery), the Hongvi Shadow Walker Tales (sword and sorcery) the Faraway Saga (YA dystopian), the Rising Dawn Saga (cross-genre), the Fires in Eden Series (epic fantasy), the Hellscapes short story collections (horror), the Chronicles of Ave short story collections (fantasy), and the Harvey and Solomon Tales (steampunk).

Stephen’s visual work includes the feature film Shadows Light, short films such as The Sirens and Swordbearer, and the Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV pilot. Stephen also co-hosts the Star Chamber Show, a weekly live audio podcast on PodBean featuring creative talents from around the world.

Stephen is a proud Kentucky Colonel who also enjoys the realms of music, martial arts, good bourbons, and spending time with family.

Author Links:

  • Website: www.stephenzimmer.com
  • Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephenzimmer7
  • X App (Formerly Twitter): @sgzimmer
  • Instagram: @stephenzimmer7
  • Threads: @stephenzimmer7
  • TikTok: @stephenzimmer7

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Days of Darkness

Ambrose awakens to find dense, rolling layers of ash-gray clouds spanning to the far horizon, shrouding the city beneath in a drab pall.  He begins his day, thinking it no different from any other.

Though it is in the height of summer, an icy, anomalous chill sifts into the air later that day, until it becomes colder than the depths of winter.

Then, the sun sets, and darkness falls.

The night does not end, as there is no sunrise to follow.

Bizarre and frightening apparitions begin appearing across a city and world shrouded in an inexplicable darkness.  It is only the beginning of an unfurling, deepening nightmare, one that will take Ambrose on a terrifying journey of self-discovery and revelation.

For Ambrose, and everyone in the world around him, the Days of Darkness have only just begun.

Print
Ebook
Coming soon to the Literary Underworld store!

 

Invasive Species, and the Suffering Sequence Trilogy

By Elizabeth Lynn Blackson

Invasive Species is the third book in the Suffering Sequence trilogy. Man-eating, shapeshifting daemons have infiltrated humanity’s systems of power. Their blood poisons the world. Against that threat, a clandestine group of heroes have gathered, but the more they face the daemonic threat, the more it infects them, until they are targeted for eradication.

Teetering on the edge of the supernatural, FBI Special Agent Javier Torres leads an FBI Critical Incident Response Group. In their midst, to his shock and dismay, he finds family and love. Special agent Sophia DeMarko, second in command, grapples with the fear of the demonic threat to her young child. LaTanya Jefferson, Marine-turned-Medic, has her faith in God tested. Madison “Lucy” Carpenter is thrust into the spotlight as the world watches her. David Pruitt’s Marine training prepared him to fight daemons, but never taught him how to be a father. Greg Tillman is trapped in a facility with other would-be scions of the daemonic overlords. He must serve them or be destroyed. Hannah Olson crawls out of the earth again, called back to life in service of cthonic powers. The daemon Tigrosa turns to confront her former masters. Joining them is new recruit, Vinny Bowers, ranger, tasked with eradicating this Invasive Species.

That’s the blurb. The plot in a nutshell. I don’t think it does a good job of saying what this book and series are ABOUT, though.

You want to know what my Suffering Sequence Trilogy is? A short passage from Invasive Species to illustrate:

Lucy paused, and took a breath. “I had nightmares, and I didn’t know what to do with all that… pent up… pain, I guess. And I thought ‘What if I was just honest? Totally honest.’ I didn’t have to ever show anyone the pictures if I didn’t want to. I never had to admit that I was a scared, fucked-up, ball of hurt and rage, if I didn’t want to. This feels more like a therapy session than an art exhibit to me, and any minute now, I kind of expect you all to start pointing and laughing, knowing what a fraud I am.”

That.

The nightmare scenario for me is to try to describe my Suffering Sequence Trilogy. Urban fantasy. Dark urban fantasy or urban fantasy/horror. The Dresden Files if it were written by Clive Barker. A d20 Modern RPG if Stephen King was the game master. A modern mythological tale. My own therapy session.

In the forward of the first book I wrote this: “This book is about a succubus and how two very different people have two very different reactions to her existence. It’s about the path to hell that’s paved with best intentions. It’s about poverty and property values. It’s about racism in St. Louis. It’s about being LGBT. It’s about art through the eyes of an underclass young woman. It’s about guns and blood, and splintered bones. Except, it’s not. The truth is, this book is about trauma. It’s about the horrible things some people have to do to survive. It’s about fighting demons, figurative and literal. It’s about finding self worth.”

It’s the story of a handful of characters confronted with humanity’s systems of power taken over by shapeshifting, soul-sucking, flesh-eating Daemons.

But that’s not what the book is ABOUT. For one character, it’s about faith. For another, it’s about losing faith. For one, it’s about finding self worth. It’s about getting the ‘gold ring,’ and seeing it for the garbage it actually is. It’s about the price you pay for doing the right thing.

It’s about the masks we wear, the roles we play, and the horror of rejection when people see beneath that mask. It’s about peeling the mask away, to see the truth underneath.

And, damn, that all sounds pretentious to me when I say it like that.

ELIZABETH LYNN BLACKSON grew up in a small town in Eastern Ohio, living on a steady diet of comic books, horror movies, and Stephen King novels, while playing D&D and listening to heavy metal. It twisted her into the maniacal creature you now see before you. While certain she was going to be a comic artist, life pulled her in a different direction, and she ended up in the St. Louis metro area, where she lives with her hubby and two cats.

Invasive Species will soon be available from the Literary Underworld! Preorder your copy now! 

A Night at Death’s Door

By Jim D. Gillentine

I am proud to announce the release of my novella A Night at Death’s Door. It’s a little adventure that I wrote as a favor to my friend KD, who I used to work with at Kroger.

I had based a character on KD for my first novel, and I killed him in a truly gruesome fashion. Word got around that I based the character on him and he got several comments about how he died. He actually got a little bothered by it. So to make it up to him I based a character on him in A Night at Death’s Door. Now he’s a kickass vampire hunter, and thus a friendship was saved.

This novel is my take on vampires and I threw in a few laughs here and there. At the time I wrote this novel, Twilight was in full force and I wanted to write vampires that blew up in the sun instead of sparkle. I hope I succeeded in that, as I think this is an enjoyable romp through New York with fun characters and a fast action-paced story. I hope you enjoy it.

I also want to announce my short story “Moonless Night” has been published in the Tangle and Fen anthology from Crone Girls Press. The story takes place during World War II, and it was a challenge to write this story because I wanted to write a story with a man in love with another man. I had never written that type of story and I wanted to be respectful to the subject matter. A young British solider falls in love with his brother in arms, and finds that he holds many dark secrets about his past. Can love survive this knowledge? And what happens when it is time for the secret comes out?

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A Night at Death’s Door is now available at the Literary Underworld for only $8! Tangle and Fen is only available in ebook right now, but you better believe we’ll have it as soon as it’s in print! Check them out and order for the holidays!

Witness Underground: Finding Creative Freedom Amidst Struggles

By Anthony Mathenia

I vividly recall the day I wrote my first short story as a high school assignment. Looking back, it might seem cringeworthy, but it was a story with a beginning, middle, and end, and I was immensely proud. Excited to share my creation, I showed it to my parents, who, in their concern for our religious beliefs, brought out a red marker and circled words like “lust.” That was my first encounter with the tension between creative expression and religious orthodoxy.

I was hooked on writing, and my dream of one day writing a novel began to take shape. But when I shared my ambitions with my father, he discouraged me. In the eyes of our faith, becoming a welder seemed like a more fitting occupation. According to him, the world was on the brink of its end, and such creative dreams appeared frivolous. This was how my childhood unfolded: creative expression was not encouraged, as pursuing art, writing books, or making music could brand you as rebellious, weird, or “worldly.”

During my later teenage years, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became a sensation, and it seemed like everyone I knew was picking up a guitar or a bass to learn music. For us, due to our religious background, these musical pursuits had to remain secret, confined to basements. If the wrong person discovered that you were playing and recording rock music, you might find yourself summoned to the back of the Kingdom Hall and counseled by the elders. Pushing the boundaries too far could result in exile. As a creative person, this was beyond frustrating.

However, the early days of the internet brought a turning point in my life. I connected with a group of Jehovah’s Witness kids in the Twin Cities who had formed an underground music label for JW’s called “Nuclear Gopher.” The indie rock music they produced wasn’t just good for JW’s; it was good music, period. Some of these band members were exceptionally talented, and they might have been household names if not for their religious community holding them back. Joining this group was a revelation, the first time in my life that creative expression was celebrated.

Life takes us on unexpected journeys, and many of us eventually left our childhood faith to rebuild our lives from the ashes. Leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses comes with strict consequences; once you depart, even family members become unreachable, labeled as dangerous and devil-afflicted. It was a challenging time, but I was finally ready to pursue my dreams that had been put on hold for so long. I decided it was time to write that book, and NaNoWriMo not only provided the avenue to achieve that goal but also introduced me to like-minded individuals, fellow “weirdos” who supported my creative endeavors. Meeting people like Elizabeth Donald was a turning point; I was finally in my element.

Over the years, I’ve ticked off many items from my creative bucket list, with novels, comics, and graphic novels to my name. Most recently, I’ve ventured into documentary filmmaking. Today, I am excited to share “Witness Underground,” a powerful documentary I’ve had the privilege of producing. The film traces the rise and fall of Nuclear Gopher, shedding light on the pain of shunning, and illustrating the transformative power of creative expression to guide us through hardships and craft a fulfilling life.

The documentary is complete, and we are now in the process of securing distribution. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible with our heartfelt story. We currently have a Kickstarter campaign, and your support would mean the world to us. If you could share our campaign on your social media, we would be truly grateful.

This documentary is not just another exposé on Jehovah’s Witnesses. It’s a story with heart, soul, and a powerful soundtrack. Above all, “Witness Underground” highlights the resilience of creative expression to heal, inspire, and create a beautiful life.

Thank you for your unwavering support and friendship throughout this incredible journey.

ANTHONY MATHENIA is a writer and comic creator. He is the author of two novels, Paradise Earth: Day Zero and Happiness, Next Exit. In comics, Anthony writes Pretty Face and has produced Supreme Team, among others. He currently lives in the Appalachians and is convinced it is paradise on earth. Find out more here.

Meet the Underlord: Diana Morgan

I am Diana Morgan. That’s actually a pen name. It comes from two of my favorite characters in literature. Diana is for Wonder Woman’s alias Diana Prince. She was the first superhero I encountered as a kid and I’ve always been obsessed with her. Morgan is from Morgan le Fay of King Arthur legend. Not always portrayed in a positive light, I have still always found her story fascinating and I love some of the more modern takes that cast her as an anti-hero.

In my day life I work as a librarian. I’ve always been passionate about books. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading. I started writing when I was a young kid. In fact, one of my first forays into writing was a summer camp where we pretended to be authors. I still have the first books I “published” there. I love helping people find new books and authors. I specialize in teen fiction but I’m also an expert in science fiction and fantasy, which is what I read and write.

My current book is Alliances. It’s the first in a planned series. It’s about Livia, a space pirate that is attempting to save the last colony of human survivors after they were driven off Earth by killer robots. But she has to contend with the egotistical admiral of the colony, Travs, as well as his assistant who doesn’t trust her and more pirates from her past. The story takes place mostly in space and in a space station. It has a lot of Battlestar Galactica and Firefly vibes. Space opera is one of my favorite genres and getting to play in this world has been huge fun.

I’m currently working on a second book for this series, continuing the adventures of Livia and Travs as they try to keep the colony of Earth survivors alive while dealing with the AI robots pursuing them as well as pirates and even more surprises in deep space.

I have several other projects in the works. I’m not the fastest writer, but I hope to have a lot of new stories out over the next year.

If I’m not working on writing I’m hanging out at the library. Keep reading!

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A second chance at a Cold Run

What does it mean when your so-called new book launch is actually a second chance at life?

I’ve been thinking about this lately, especially as I work my way through finishing the book series I contracted last year with Falstaff Books. Cold Run, Book 1 of the Rick Keller Project, is a werewolf secret agent novel that tells the story of Rick Keller, a wolf without a pack, a soldier without a country, a wanderer who searches for someplace to call home.

Falstaff Books released Cold Run on Dec. 8, 2022, but it wasn’t the first time the novel had ever been launched into the world. I’d originally written it for NaNoWriMo in 2011, although the idea for the novel came around even earlier than that.

The book, which I hadn’t even considered expanding into a series at the time I wrote it, grew out of a book, Naming the World. My writing group in Texas was working its way through the various prompts and practical exercises contained in NtW, and I had chosen to write about a dark place on a snowy night off a narrow trail in the wilds of Vermont. As I imagined this place and started concentrating on the details that would bring it to life, I saw a wolf running along the path, pursued by men with silver weapons, sprinting for sanctuary under the full moon.

As the writing exercises evolved into a novel idea, and the idea evolved into an extremely rudimentary outline, and the outline served as the basis for the mad dash that is NaNoWriMo, I began to think about publication. For the next two years after I wrote it, I workshopped, revised, workshopped, and revised again. I continued to grow as a writer, and eventually conceived of an entire trilogy around this character of Rick Keller, secret agent werewolf; his partner, former Army psychological operations officer Karen Willet, Ph.D.; and their run-ins with the agency he used to work for, MONIKER.

When I was finally satisfied with the book, I submitted it to a few agents and editors. A small publishing house by the name of Untold Press picked it up and offered me a chance to get it published. And then I wrote another novel, and a novella and a reader magnet, which they also sent out into the world. I personally made a lot of mistakes and did eventually end up asking for and readily receiving my rights back to the books. However, I don’t regret this experience. I learned a lot from it, and when it came time to decide how I wanted to publish other writing, or to coach others’ in their writing journey, the lessons became that many more tools in my writing and coaching toolbox.

Instead of publishing right away, I decided that I was going to rapid-release them all, and also that Winter Run, the fourth book, would be the last in the series.

Deciding to indie publish is a route that can be fraught with, if not danger, then a lot of frustration and head-desk contact. The stereotype of the writer who drinks is often based in reality. Let me tell you, the writer who is publishing herself, and also running an indie publishing company (because of course, launching an indie horror micropress in the middle of plague times was a great idea! For more on that, check out Crone Girls Press,) that writer/editor/publisher is going to keep the package good store in good standing.

At one point, I ran up against a roadblock that was going to take a good deal of time, effort, and likely money to fix. I headed over to my current writing group, The Writing Tribe, and with sorrow in my heart, I vented my frustration and asked the universe (and my fellow writers) if this was worth it. Not writing, in general. This werewolf secret agent series in particular.

I don’t have an answer yet to that question. And when I do formulate that answer, I’ll be taking my publisher’s concerns into the equation. But I will say this.

When you get a second chance to return to a character, a book, or a series that you have put a lot of yourself into, and that you still believe in, you sometimes just have to take a chance and kick your imposter syndrome to the curb, along with your inner editor who can’t believe that you’re allowing you early writing back out into the world. I did do some updates and revisions to Cold Run, based on my growth as a writer, and my new understanding of craft and how to structure a novel. I have also been working on a series arc in addition to the other novels in the series (four? Ha! It’s going to be five books long now, and I have so many ideas for short stories in the universe.)

The decision to go with a publisher or head down the indie route can be a hard one, especially with a project that you’ve already tried and not quite met with the success you hoped. But it you have a publisher who believes in you, and who says things like, “I can’t wait to have this book on my table” or “Rick Keller reminds me of Joe Ledger,” then it becomes easier to take a leap of faith and get back to writing. (Also, if you sign the contract, you’re obligated to do so, and therefore I should probably wrap this up and get back to work.)

Thanks to John Hartness and Falstaff Books for giving Rick Keller and company a new lease on life, and thanks to the readers, old and new, who have grabbed a copy and are coming along on the ride.

Richard Keller wanted nothing more than to watch the world go by from his isolated home in Vermont. Life on the other hand had other plans. Kidnapped by his former employers, the covert government organization MONIKER. Richard is forced to suit up once more and use his supernatural abilities in an effort to save kidnapped victims.

However, not all is as it seems with MONIKER, and Keller is going to need all of his wits and strength if he is to return to some semblance of his normal life.

The hunter is about to become the hunted.

Rachel A. Brune graduated from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2000, and was immediately plunged into the low-stakes world of entry-level executive assistant-ship. Her unexpected journey out of that world and into the military is chronicled in her self-published book Echoes and Premonitions. After five years as a combat journalist, including two tours in Iraq, and a brief stint as a columnist for her hometown newspaper, she attended graduate school at the University at Albany in NY, where she earned her MA in Political Communication, and her commission as a second lieutenant in the military police corps. Although her day job has taken in her in many strange, often twisted directions, Rachel continues to write and publish short fiction. She released her first novel in early 2013. She blogs her thoughts about reading and the writing life at http://www.infamous-scribbler.com.

We hope to have Cold Run in the Literary Underworld soon! In the meantime, catch it on Amazon where it is available on Kindle Unlimited.