Thursday, September 13, 2007

In Laymon's Terms


This book has been years in the making, but it looks like In Laymon's Terms will finally happen.

The great horror writer Richard Laymon died in 2001, far too young. While I never met him, I had the honor of interviewing him twice over the telephone. I found him to be like many horror writers I've known -- warm, witty and soft spoken. In other words, the exact opposite of his books.

A short time after his passing, Cemetery Dance announced a memorial anthology of stories in the style of Laymon, along with non-fiction tributes. In February 2003, co-editor Steve Gerlach notified me that my story "The Red Kingdom" had been accepted. It was my first professional sale and it remains the one I'm most proud of.

And how do I know this long-delayed project is getting closer?

Because I just finished signing the signature sheets and shipping them off to the next author in line.

Look for my scrawl, the second sloppiest on the sig sheet. I would tell you who was the sloppiest, but I can't read the name. :^)

Man, I can't wait to have this book in my hands. You can place your order here.

3 comments:

Rich Ristow said...

Hey mark, for a Layman neophyte like myself, which of his books is a good place to start?

Mark Justice said...

Rich,

I love them all to varying degrees, but my favorites are THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW and NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER.

--Mark

Anonymous said...

Mark,
I preordered this book 3 years ago, and am dying to get my hands on it.Just wondering when you signed the signature sheet. Who are some of the other contributers?

Thanks, Tommy