Sunday, May 27, 2007

DE:TGD Getting Closer



I finished up my part of the signing sheets for Dead Earth: The Green Dawn this past week (and if you want a harsh reminder of how horrible your handwriting is, just sign your name a couple of thousand times). Cover artist Glenn Chadbourne signed before me. I boxed up the sig sheets and shipped them off to Gary A. Bruanbeck, who wrote the introduction to the book. He, in turn, will pass them along to co-author David T. Wilbanks. Once Diamond Dave mails them across the pond to Pete Crowther at PS Publishing, the presses should roll and the book should finally be released.

In case you'd like to preorder the book, here are the links at Shocklines.com:

Lettered edition

Jacketed hardcover

Trade hardcover


***

I should have a major new book announcement on Pod of Horror #35, which will debut next weekend if the Pod Gods allow.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Pod of Horror #34: Corbin Bernsen, Lucy Snyder


Pod of Horror #34 is headed to your computer, screaming like Paris Hilton being led to jail. This time around:

* We talk to the talented Lucy Snyder about the genre-hopping stories and poems in SPARKS AND SHADOWS.

* Gary A. Braunbeck reads a story co-written with Snyder.

* Actor Corbin Bernsen discusses his work on Masters of Horror.

* The Call of Kalanta has enough news to choke Rosie O’Donnell.

* Scott Bradley is back with a double helping of reviews.

* Free books if you can answer The Tomb of Trivia.

Pod of Horror is hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

And be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

DEADNECK HOOTENANNY Chat/We're #2

You're invited to a kickoff party/live chat for Deadneck Hootenanny Saturday night at 10:00 P.M. eastern at The Lost and The Damned. Click on the Chat Room link to join in. I'll be there along with Novello Publishers' big Kahuna Nick Cato, and someone will win a free copy of the book.

(I'm told some browser mays need a plug-in to join the chat. If you plan to join us, perhaps you could head over there a bit early and make sure you can get to the chat room.)

***

Deadneck Hootenanny is #2 this month on the Shocklines bestseller list for advance orders. If you're one of those who have placed an order...thanks.

If you'd like to order a copy, what are you waiting for? it's only ten bucks.

That's a quarter tank of gas.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Join The Hootenanny


Deadneck Hootenanny is now available for pre-order from Novello Publishers. The introduction is by novelist Scott Nicholson. The afterward by Dark Discoveries editor James Beach. Legendary artist Bob Eggelton provided the cover (and I love that lonely pickup truck on the hill).

Are you looking for a grim and gritty story that explores the darkest corners of depravity?

This ain't it.

If, however, you want to read something that will make Pabst Blue Ribbon squirt out of your nose -- even if you're not drinking -- then Deadneck Hootenanny is the book for you.

You'll get good ol' boys and zombies in a side-splitting tale of the Apocalypse, and it's only ten bucks.

You can place your order here.

Thanks for looking.

UPDATED 5/11/07: The book is now available at Shocklines, too.

UPDATED 5/21/07: Larry Roberts is now carrying DH in the Bloodletting Press Book Store.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Deck Disasters, Deadnecks and Dinosaurs

A few weeks ago I was coerced by my crafty wife into cleaning our deck. This involves coating the deck with a noxious and mysterious mixture of soap and bleach and radioactive isotopes and chicken guts (I think; this analysis is purely based on smell).

On one side of our deck are three steps that lead down to the backyard. I had already been down these a few times that day to retrieve items from our storage building. On my last trip of the day one foot slipped on a soapy spot and I went airborne. My wife told me later that as I flew from the top step my feet actually went higher than my head, a move worthy of America’s Funniest Home Videos. I landed with a crack and a blinding bolt of pain as my lower back collided with the bottom step. For a moment –okay, a couple of moments – I lay there thinking I probably wouldn’t be able to walk again. My wife was saying something but I couldn’t hear her. The buzzing in my head blocked out most everything else.

Finally, I stood up. The left side of my back throbbed mercilessly, but I could almost stand completely upright.

“I’m okay,” I said. I don’t think Norma believed me, since she was crying (and the expression on her face reminded me of the way the villagers in the old Universal movies stared at the Frankenstein monster).

“Really. I’m fine,” I repeated, even as I realized I couldn’t lift my left arm higher than my shoulder. I must have jammed it up when I tried to break my fall.

“We’re going to the hospital,” she said.

“I don’t need to go,” I said, in a typical male response. “I’ll rub some dirt on it. I’ll be okay.” Even as the words left my mouth the pain spread over to the right side of my back and down both legs. I imagined my vertebra, cracked apart, the gap widening as I stood there denying I was hurting.

Norma grabbed her car keys. “We’re leaving now.”

“Okay,” I said. See how a real man stands his ground?

The emergency room visit went as well as could be expected. A security guard pointed out to the crowded waiting room that I was the guy on the radio, which is just the kid of attention you want when you’re hunched over like a osteoporotic octogenarian. The whole x-ray procedure felt like I was being interrogated during The Inquisition. By the time I saw a doctor, the pain was so great I didn’t even notice the foot long needle used to administer my tetanus shot.

The bottom line: no breaks. A massive contusion. Expect a lot of pain for a while.

I spent three days on the couch, watching approximately 117 Law and Order reruns. Then it was time to go back to work. I had an interview scheduled with Edward Lee. Brian Keene was coming into the studio. I had a new episode of Pod of Horror to put together. So I loaded up on the pain pills and hit the road.

Now, I’m much better. Most of the pain is gone, though I seem to be left with an odd swelling which feels like a boney ridge along my lower back, and a huge purple, black and blue bruise across most of the area. All in all, it could have been much worse, so I’m not complaining. And a special shout out to the makers of modern pharmecuticals. I haven’t taken any for several days, but they were nice when I needed them.

Here’s the lesson, my friends: household chores are deadly. Avoid them at all costs.

***

Deadneck Hootenanny should be up for pre-order any minute now. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s ready. Bob Eggleton’s pen and ink cover is a perfect combination of the horrific and the humorous, hopefully just as the book itself. I can’t wait for everybody to see it.

***

Soldiers and dinosaurs. Was there ever a better combination for boys with hyperactive imaginations?

DC Comics knew this. For a few years in the 1960s, they produced a number of episodes in Star Spangled War Stories that become known under the umbrella title of The War That Time Forgot.

It wasn’t an easy title to find at the two drug stories I used for my comics fix, but I occasionally came across an issue and read it until the pages fell out. Because, again, soldiers and dinosaurs. Need I say more?

Now, DC has reprinted over 500 pages of the series in a nice cheaply priced trade paperback.


In reading it, I’m surprised at how short the stories are, and how much action was packed in those pages. Now, a 12-pager would be expanded to six issues. It would take three artists to tell the story because nobody can keep a monthly schedule anymore. The last two issues would come out months late.

It was amazing how little explanation was needed to satisfy the 10-year-old reader in 1963. In the very first story, “Island of the Armored Giants!”, a marine, upon seeing a Tyrannosaurus Rex pop up from a large crevasse, says, “The earthquake must have opened the underground tomb these monsters were in for millions of years – maybe in a state of suspended animation – brought them back to life!”

‘Nuff said, brutha. Let’s get back to the shootin’.

These stories are big, goofy fun, healthy nostalgia and a pleasurable distraction from the news. I’m going to parcel them out to savor over a few weeks.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Pod of Horror #33

Pod of Horror #33 is our longest episode yet, and it’s co-hosted by Brian Keene. Will Mark be able to get the shy, withdrawn Keene to speak his mind? *snicker*. Also:

* Hardcore horror legend Edward Lee speaks!

* Witness the premiere of horror’s nexus of news...The Call of Kalanta!

* Scott Nicholson talks about creating Appalachian chillers and raising goats!

* Scott Bradley gets his review on!

* And win free books in The Tomb of Trivia!

Pod of Horror is hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

And be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A Hootenanny of Blurbage

"Mark Justice has taken two horror tropes and rang some fresh changes on them. His 'deadnecks' will not only make you laugh, but you'll find yourself actually caring about some of them. I loved this book because this guy is a lot more than clever--he's a good writer."
--Thomas F. Monteleone
(author of a Lot of Stuff)

The dead are coming back to eat you...then they'll drink beer and watch NASCAR.
Deadneck Hootenanny, this summer from Novello Publishers

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Pod of Horror #32

Dave is gone but Pod of Horror rolls on. Here’s what we squeezed into episode #32:

* Farewell to Wilbanks. PoH listeners speak out about Dave’s departure.

* James Newman dishes on writing, THE WICKED and upcoming projects.

* Steve Savile clues us in on Dr. Who, winter in Stockholm and how making a woman cry can get your novel published.

* Nanci Kalanta tell us about Horror World’s April update and what really went on at WHC.

* Scott Bradley makes a triumphant return as Reviewmaster General.

* There’s a new Tomb of Trivia clue.

Pod of Horror is hosted by Mark Justice. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.
And be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

A New Story

"Little Fishy" is in Bare Bone #10.


It's not up at Shocklines yet, but you can order it at the Raw Dog Screaming Press site.

Why should you order it? It's got a story by Tom Piccirilli, damnit! Here's the full lineup:

Fiction:

When Sussurus Stirs • Jeremy Robert Johnson
These Hands, Those Feet, This Heart • Mark Patrick Lynch
Regarding Dead Things on the Side of the Road • Benjamin X. Wretlind
The Love Parade • Cody Goodfellow
Playaway • Gary Fry
Little Fishy • Mark Justice
Questionnaire • Paul Finch
Red Soil • Robert Dunbar
Beneath the Husband • D. Harlan Wilson
New Pad • MP Johnson
All is Calm • Ronald Damien Malfi
Something in the Way • Gary McMahon
Wings of an Angel • Mark Zirbel
Pregnant Pause • John Platt
Somethnig has Goen Very Wrong • Kendall Evans
A Haunt of Hammers • Michael Kelly
Watching • Jeremy C. Shipp
Blue • Tom Piccirilli

Poetry:

Not the Reaper • Michael A. Arnzen
Communion
• Joy Marchand
The Great Man’s Apology • Steve Rasnic Tem
The Spider King • K.S. Hardy
The Reading • Cathy Buburuz
Taking Down the Nativity • Kurt Newton
Femme à La Carte • Jamison Landry
A Message for the Loved Unknown • Charlee Jacob
As a King Weeps • Jeffrey A. Stadt
Paper • Donna Lynch

Sunday, April 01, 2007

New DEADNECK HOOTENANNY Review

It's a nice one from Horror World.

"State Your Opinion"

At my first radio job thirty years ago, when I was a lowly weekender, the station had hired a guy with no radio experience to be the news director. This guy had apparently worked at a small newspaper somewhere in his past and he brought it up every time I saw him (he was a little guy but he had a huge mutant head -- one day I'll have to tell you about my aversion to people with disproportionate heads, like Food TV's Giada De Laurentis.)

Now, the station didn't really need a news director. The disc jockies read five minutes of news at the top of every hour, news culled from the AP wire machines. What the station did need was an evening disc jockey. So this guy played records from 6-11 P.M. -- a chore he detested -- and from 11 to Midnight he hosted a news talk show.

Imagine you're a news director, given the opportunity to discuss local, regional and national issues five nights a week. Would you prepare a list of topics each night? Would you invite politicians to debate their positions? Would you at least offer up a theme for each show?

Not Big-Headed News Director Disc Jockey (hereafter BHNDDJ). After the reading of the 11:00 P.M. news, he would announce that the phone lines were open. There were no call screeners. The station didn't have a delay system. BHNDDJ would answer the phone on the air, welcome the caller to the talk show, then intone in his reed-thin eastern Kentucky accent, "State your opinion."

The caller would start talking about whatever was on his or her mind -- leash laws, the president, Kentucky basketball -- and BHNDDJ would stand up and leave the room.

That's right. The host of the show would walk to the outer office to check the AP wire while the caller was on the air.

It turns out that BHNDDJ had a very short attention span. He also was more fond of being able to say he hosted a talk show than he was at actually, you know, doing the show.

It didn't tale long for listeners to catch on. After BHNDDJ left the room, callers would engage in long profanity-filled rants on marijuana legalization, bestiality and UFOs. It was kind of like an early version of the Art Bell show, if directed by Clerks Kevin Smith.

It probably won't shock you to learn that the BHNDDJ talk show was short lived.

All this is leading up to an invitation to drop by the message board and State Your Opinion. Things have been pretty active there lately and the gang likes talking about books, movies comics and writing.

Play nice. And if your head is too big for your body, I don't want to know about it.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Pod of Horror Announcement

Dave Wilbanks has decided to leave Pod of Horror. He has a lot on his plate and he says something has to go. I’m just sorry it’s PoH. His contributions will be missed.

But PoH rolls on. We’ll have our next episode up around April 8th, with two interviews, a new Tomb of Trivia clue and perhaps a surprise or two.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Now This Is A Blurb

"How can you not fall in love with something called Deadneck Hootenanny? How can you not slap your leg and let fly with a loud "Yeeee-HAW!"? I ask you. Get ready to laugh, sweat, and gag simultaneously as Mark Justice brings you Night of the Living Dead by way of Lil' Abner and Green Acres. Suspenseful, witty, and unabashedly absurdist, Deadneck Hootenanny is just so much damned fun you might feel guilty while reading it, knowing how miserable the rest of the world is because it isn't reading it."

--Gary A. Braunbeck, Bram Stoker Award- and International Horror Guild Award-winner, author of Destinations Unknown, Prodigal Blues, and Mr. Hands

The dead are coming back to eat you...then they'll drink beer and watch NASCAR.
Deadneck Hootenanny, this summer from Novello Publishers

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Pod of Horror #31

Pod of Horror #31 has arrived like the first robin of spring...if that robin had a potty-mouth and pooped on your car. What’s up this time? Well:

* Fiction from Jeff Strand, as read by Dave.

* Steve Vernon talks writing and cooking fiddleheads.

* Dave has more Poop than would fit in the adult diaper of a cross-country-driving psycho astronaut.

* Amy Grech discusses her new story collection.

* Grim Rictus wears the bling.

* And a massive clue is given to The Tomb of Trivia.

Pod of Horror is hosted by Mark Justice and David T. Wilbanks. Download it at I-Tunes or direct to your desktop.

And be sure to drop by the Justice & Wilbanks message board.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Recent Criticism of LOST



It's still one of the best-written hours on television, as proven by the recent Hurley episode and this week's Locke story. I've never finished a show and thought "that wasn't very good." As long as they're entertaining me on a weekly basis, I'm happy. And if the creators really do have it all figured out, that's even better.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Cha-cha-cha and Such

It was a first for me. I actually watched an episode of Dancing with the Stars. My wife’s mission to convert me into a girl is almost complete.

Actually, we watched because we both know one of the contestants. Take away the annoying judges, annoying hosts and annoying post-dance interviews and it wasn’t bad.


I’m reading The Myth Hunters by Christopher Golden. It’s a phenomenal book by an underrated author. How can a guy write a gazillion books and be underrated? I dunno. But Golden is consistently excellent, and it seems he flies below the radar of a lot of horror/dark fantasy fans. Do yourself a favor. Pick up this book. Or The Boys Are Back in Town or Wildwood Road or The Ferryman.

On the movie front, during my recent illness I managed to do nothing but collapse on the couch and watch TV. I caught Borat, Casino Royale, V for Vendetta and The Holiday. I enjoyed all of them on some level, but it may have been due to my fever.

Monday, March 19, 2007

First DEADNECK HOOTENANNY Review

Nick Cato says my redneck zombie novella will be reviewed in The Hacker's Source #23. Here's an excerpt from reviewer Eve Blaack:

"...I had to laugh out loud at this charming tale. And for you zombie fans out there, yes there is flesh munching gore spilling onto the pages. Imaginative, original, and zany, this novella is well worth seeking out."

Deadneck Hootenanny
should be up for pre-order in a few weeks. I'll link to it as soon as it's available.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

How I Spent My Weekend


I woke up with it yesterday morning and I've been sick all weekend. Next year, I really must get a flu shot.

I did manage to finish up the secret project I alluded to a couple of posts ago. As soon as the publisher gives their okey-doke, I'll announce it.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Review of Dead Earth: The Green Dawn

Joe Kroeger's full review of our novella can be found on the Horror World review page. Scroll down to read it.