Living After Midnight: Hard and Heavy Stories, edited by David T. Wilbanks and Craig Clarke (hard rock and heavy metal inspired anthology of dark fantasy and horror stories)

I am very proud to say that my first book is now available — a project nearly two years in the making! See more below, beginning with Carrie Gowran's utterly awesome cover art, which perfectly encompasses the anthology's hard-rock and dark-fiction aspects.



Living After Midnight: Hard and Heavy Stories
Edited by David T. Wilbanks and Craig Clarke
—A Hard-Rockin' Horror and Dark-Fantasy Anthology—

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HEAVY MUSIC INSPIRES DARK FICTION?

Living After Midnight: Hard and Heavy Stories consists of six horror and dark-fantasy stories inspired by some of the greatest hard-rock and heavy-metal bands in that music’s long and influential history. Each author was invited to submit a short story or novella inspired by the band of his choice.

You're sure to be impressed by the half-dozen diverse tales they came up with. The set list is as follows:

“Spooky Tooth” by Randy Chandler
“Iron Maiden” by Matthew Fryer
“Black Sabbath” by Steven L. Shrewsbury
“Judas Priest” by David T. Wilbanks
“Motorhead” by Kent Gowran
“Slayer” by L.L. Soares

An original lineup indeed. Grab a copy now for only $2.99 because you’ll not want to pass up the chance to read six of the sharpest, savviest, hardest, and heaviest stories published this year.

Reviews:

"One of the things that make having an e-reader worthwhile." — Dead in the South

"Heavy metal horror heaven." — Ginger Nuts of Horror

"A good variety pack of scary stories ... an easy read, and a satisfying one." — Patrick D'Orazio

Now available on:
Amazon
Diesel
Sony
Smashwords.

Favorite Reads of 2010 (Best Books of the Year list)

Of all the books I read this year, these 15 take the top marks. For more on why I chose these particular books as my favorites of 2010, click on the link to read the original review.

• Peter Brandvold writing as Frank Leslie, The Guns of Sapinero
  
• Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars
  
• J. Lee Butts, Gun Work: The Further Exploits of Hayden Tilden
  
• Jack Clark, Nobody's Angel
  
• Max Allan Collins, Quarry's Ex
  
• Edward M. Erdelac, Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Planes Drifter
  
• Joe Gores, Spade and Archer
  
• Michael Hemmingson, This Other Eden
  
• Robert E. Howard, Kull: Exile of Atlantis
  
• Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, The Big Bang
  
• Wallace Stegner, The Big Rock Candy Mountain
  
• Shane Stevens, By Reason of Insanity
  
• Donald E. Westlake, Memory
  
• Richard Wright, Native Son
  
• S. Craig Zahler, A Congregation of Jackals
  

It's been another great year for reading, and I'm very excited about 2011. See you then!

A Joke for the Writers in the Audience

(as told by Jimmy Pomegranate in John Darnton's novel Black and White and Dead All Over)

So there's an editor and a reporter. And they're trapped in the Sahara. Two weeks they've been staggering along, and now they're dying of thirst under the desert sun, crawling along, sweat pouring down, their skin cracked and sunburned all to hell. They're just about to expire. With their last ounce of strength, they make it to the crest of a sand dune and look over, and what do they see? A beautiful oasis, crystal clear water and palm trees wafting in the soft breezes.

They run down to it. The reporter dives in, and he's happy as the proverbial clam. He's swallowing great bogs of water and splashing around and having a grand old time. Then he looks back, and what's he see? The editor's just standing there on the shore, and what's he doing? He's got his pecker out and he's pissing right into the goddamned water.

The reporter yells out, "Hey, what the hell you doin'?"

And the editor looks up, and he shouts back, "I'm making it better!"