All posts tagged Weston Ochse

The Next Big Thing

Last week Weston Ochse tagged me in the latest installment of The Next Big Thing, a chance for authors to promote their next big release.  Weston sent me these questions and I, in turn, will send them along to the next author of The Next Big Thing, who I will announce very soon.

Enjoy! 

1)    What is the working title of your next book?

 

CANNIBAL CRUISE

 

2)    Where did the idea come from for the book?

 

I was out to dinner with my editor at Kensington and we started talking about the cruise I’d just taken.  I told him how gluttonous people could be on cruises, and the next thing you know we were talking about my next novel…a zombie story set on a cruise ship.

 

3)    What genre does your book fall under?

 

Horror, definitely.

 

4)    What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

 

The two main leads are women, one a badass U.S. Secret Service agent and the other a female version of James Bond working for one of the Mexican cartels.  For the agent I’m imagining Dianna Agron or Amy Smart.  For the cartel assassin Naya Rivera.

 

5)    What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

 

A Mexican drug cartel releases a flesh eating virus into a cruise ship’s food supply, turning the passengers into zombies.

 

6)    Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

 

It was written on spec for Kensington.  My agent, Jim Donovan, is my representation.

 

7)    How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

 

About seven months.

 

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

 

            My own Dead World series books or possibly Deck Z.

8)    Who or what inspired you to write this book?

 

A recent cruise I took with my family.

 

9)    What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

 

This is my first book to feature a sex scene!

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by joemckinney on November 14, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on November 14, 2012

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Rage Against the Night – An Anthology to Benefit Rocky Wood

Rage Against the Night – An Anthology to Benefit Rocky Wood

 

Under the onslaught of supernatural evil, the acts of good people can seem insignificant, but a courageous few stand apart. These brave men and women stand up to the darkness, stare it right in the eye, and give it the finger. These are the stories of those who rage against the night, stories of triumph, sacrifice, and bravery in the face of overwhelming evil.

 

Rocky Wood – Bram Stoker Award™-winning author, Stephen King scholar, and president of the Horror Writers Association – is one of the bravest men I know.  Diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Rocky has nonetheless set out to redefine the Horror Writers Association as the inclusive voice of the horror community.  From his home inAustralia, Rocky travels the world, attending many conventions each year, in order to foster that sense of community among writers, publishers, agents and other industry professionals.

 

I call him the bravest man I know because he towers above the obstacles in his way, not only the ALS, which is a mountain of an obstacle in and of itself, but also the headstrong egos and maddening politics that always seem to plague groups of creative people.  He is a model of teamwork, relentless energy, and above all, vision.  In just a few short years he has created a legacy in the HWA that will define the organization for decades to come.  Positive change and a spirit of renewed enthusiasm follow him everywhere.  For all those reasons, I am in awe of him, and for all those reasons, I am honored to call him my friend.

 

So, imagine my surprise – and pleasure! – when Shane Jiraiya Cummings contacted me about donating a story for an anthology to help Rocky Wood with some of his medical expenses.  I couldn’t say yes fast enough!  “What’s the theme?” I asked.  “How soon do you need it?”

 

Shane’s idea was a collection of stories showcasing good triumphing over evil.  He said it was the perfect testament to Rocky, and I agreed on the spot.

 

The story I sent Shane was “The Gunner’s Love Song,” one of my earliest.  In it, a young man comes home toEast Texasshortly after World War II to find his cousin, who has a heavy speech impediment and a reputation for being a little slow, suddenly villainized by their town because of his romance with a woman rumored to be a werewolf.

 

Fans of Manly Wade Wellman will undoubtedly see my influences shining through in this story; and believe me, I had a hard time resisting the urge to go back through the tale and “clean it up a bit,” to sort of buff out the obvious Wellman touches.  But I resisted because “The Gunner’s Love Song” has something special to it.  It has a lot of Wellman, to be sure, but it has a lot of me, too.  In fact, it was the first time I remember feeling my own voice surging through in the fiction.  The story is genuine.  It’s a little raw, perhaps, but it’s me, and I see in this story the elements that would take hold and grow in my later fiction: themes like a sense of optimism that’s been tested and tempered by trial and the importance of good guardianship.

 

In short, the story worked for me, and when I sent it to Shane, he agreed.

 

Apparently he really agreed, for he chose it as the lead-off story in a collection that features an amazing roster of creative talent.  Check out this table of contents:

 

The Gunner’s Love Song—Joe McKinney

Keeping Watch—Nate Kenyon

Like Part of the Family—Jonathan Maberry

The Edge of Seventeen—Alexandra Sokoloff

The View from the Top—Bev Vincent

Afterward, There Will Be a Hallway—Gary A. Braunbeck

Following Marla—John R. Little

Magic Numbers—Gene O’Neill

Tail the Barney—Stephen M. Irwin

The Nightmare Dimension—David Conyers

Roadside Memorials—Joseph Nassise

Dat Tay Vao—F. Paul Wilson

Constitution—Scott Nicholson

Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle—Peter Straub

Agatha’s Ghost—Ramsey Campbell

Blue Heeler—Weston Ochse

Sarah’s Visions—Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

More Than Words—David Niall Wilson

Chillers—Lisa Morton

Changed—Nancy Holder

Dead Air—Gary Kemble

Two Fish to Feed the Masses—Daniel G. Keohane

Fenstad’s End—Sarah Langan

Fair Extension—Stephen King

Rocky Wood, Skeleton Killer—Jeff Strand

 

You can pick up the print edition here (Amazon) and here (Barnes & Noble), the Kindle edition here, the Nook edition here, and the Smashwords edition here.

Enjoy!

And to you, Rocky – you’re the best, my friend!

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by joemckinney on May 24, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on May 24, 2012

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HWA Announces the 2011 Bram Stoker Award Nominees!

I just received the following press release from the Horror Writers Association.  I am absolutely over the moon to learn that my novel, Flesh Eaters, was nominated in the Best Novel category!  There are so many great writers and works on this year’s list that I’m a little overwhelmed with the company.  My heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees.

Now, to cross my fingers and wait for the announcement in Salt Lake City…

From the Horror Writers Association:

For immediate release

February 18, 2012

Contact Lisa Morton, HWA Bram Stoker Awards Event Organizer    lisa@lisamorton.com

Horror Writers Association announces 2011 Bram Stoker Award™ Nominees Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards™ for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since 1987, the approximately 700 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Bram Stoker Awards the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

For the first time in 2011, half the nominees were chosen by juries. The awards are presented in eleven categories: Novel, First Novel, Young Adult Novel, Graphic Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Screenplay, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The organization’s Active and Lifetime members will select the winners from this list of nominees; and the Awards will be presented at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 31, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This year’s nominees in each category are:

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

A Matrix Of Angels by Christopher Conlon (Creative Guy Publishing)

Cosmic Forces by Greg Lamberson (Medallion Press)

Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi (Medallion Press / Thunderstorm Books)

Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle Books)

Not Fade Away by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)

The German by Lee Thomas (Lethe Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions Press)

Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs (Night Shade Books)

The Lamplighters by Frazer Lee (Samhain Horror)

The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche (Night Shade Books)

That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley (JournalStone)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Ghosts of Coronado Bay, A Maya Blair Mystery by J. G. Faherty (JournalStone)

The Screaming Season by Nancy Holder (Razorbill)

Rotters by Daniel Kraus (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Candlewick / Walker)

This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel (Simon & Schuster / David Fickling Books)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

Locke & Key Volume 4 by Joe Hill (IDW Publishing)

Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen (Dark Horse)

Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine by Jonathan Maberry (Marvel)

Baltimore Volume I: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (Dark Horse)

Neonomicon by Alan Moore (Avatar Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION

7 Brains by Michael Louis Calvillo (Burning Effigy Press)

“Roots and All” by Brian Hodge (A Book of Horrors)

“The Colliers’ Venus (1893)” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Naked City: New Tales of Urban Fantasy)

Ursa Major by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)

Rusting Chickens by Gene O’Neill (Dark Regions Press)

“The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine” by Peter Straub (Conjunctions: 56)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

“Her Husband’s Hands” by Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)

“Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” by Stephen King (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)

“Graffiti Sonata” by Gene O’Neill (Dark Discoveries #18)

“X is for Xyx” by John Palisano (M is for Monster)

“Home” by George Saunders (The New Yorker Magazine, June 13, 2011)

“All You Can Do Is Breathe” by Kaaron Warren (Blood and Other Cravings)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A SCREENPLAY

True Blood, episode #44: “Spellbound” by Alan Ball (HBO)

The Walking Dead, episode #13: “Pretty Much Dead Already” by Scott M. Gimple (AMC)

The Walking Dead, episode #9: “Save the Last One” by Scott M. Gimple (AMC)

Priest by Cory Goodman (Screen Gems)

The Adjustment Bureau by George Nolfi (Universal Pictures)

American Horror Story, episode #12: “Afterbirth” by Jessica Sharzer (20th Century Fox Television)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FICTION COLLECTION

Voices: Tales of Horror by Lawrence C. Connolly (Fantasist Enterprises)

Red Gloves by Christopher Fowler (PS Publishing)

Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One) by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Subterranean)

Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)

The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious Press)

Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse (Dark Regions Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

NEHW Presents: Epitaphs edited by Tracy L. Carbone (NEHW)

Ghosts By Gaslight edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers (Harper Voyager)

Blood And Other Cravings edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor Books)

Supernatural Noir edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse)

Tattered Souls 2 edited by Frank J. Hutton (Cutting Block Press)

Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed edited by John Skipp (Black Dog and Leventhal)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NON-FICTION

Halloween Nation: Behind the Scenes of America’s Fright Night by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne (Pelican Publishing)

Reflections in a Glass Darkly: Essays on J. Sheridan Le Fanu edited by Gary William Crawford, Jim Rockhill and Brian J. Showers (Hippocampus Press)

Starve Better by Nick Mamatas (Apex Publications)

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies by Matt Mogk (Gallery Books)

The Gothic Imagination by John C. Tibbetts (Palgrave Macmillan)

Stephen King: A Literary Companion by Rocky Wood (McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A POETRY COLLECTION

How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda Addison (Necon Ebooks)

At Louche Ends: Poetry for the Decadent, the Damned & the Absinthe-Minded by Maria Alexander (Burning Effigy Press)

Surrealities by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)

Shroud of Night by G. O. Clark (Dark Regions Press)

The Mad Hattery by Marge Simon (Elektrik Milk Bath Press)

Unearthly Delights by Marge Simon (Sam’s Dot)

 

More information on the Horror Writers Association is at www.horror.org.

More information on the 25th Anniversary presentation of the Bram Stoker Awards is at http://www.stokers2012.org.

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by joemckinney on February 18, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on February 18, 2012

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This Year’s Bram Stoker Award Roll Call

The inimitable Lisa Morton, writer and HWA powerhouse, has put together a great webpage for this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees, including a short biography for each. Check it out here.

And if you happen to be the only person on the planet who has yet to see the list of nominated works, check out the full list here.

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by joemckinney on March 2, 2010  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on March 2, 2010

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2009 Bram Stoker Award Final Ballot

I just received the following announcement from the Horror Writers Association’s webmaster. The final ballot for the HWA’s 2009 Bram Stoker Award is out, and I’m happy to say that my novel Quarantined made the list. Congrats to all the nominees!

Horror Writers Association announces
2009 Bram Stoker Award Nominees

Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since 1987, the approximately 500 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Stokers the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

Currently the awards are presented in eight categories: Novel, First Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The organization’s Active members will select the winners from this ballot; voting will close on March 3rd, and the awards will be presented this year at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 27, at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, UK.

This year’s nominees in each category are:

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

Audrey’s Door by Sarah Langan (Harper)
Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Quarantined by Joe McKinney (Lachesis Publishing)
Cursed by Jeremy Shipp (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

Breathers by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)
Solomon’s Grave by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)
Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)
The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION

Dreaming Robot Monster by Mort Castle (Mighty Unclean)
The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
Doc Good’s Traveling Show by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

“Keeping Watch” by Nate Kenyon (Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror)
“The Crossing of Aldo Ray” by Weston Ochse (The Dead That Walk)
“In the Porches of My Ears” by Norman Prentiss (Postscripts #18)
“The Night Nurse” by Harry Shannon (Horror Drive-in)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN FICTION COLLECTION

Martyrs and Monsters by Robert Dunbar (Dark Hart Press)
Got to Kill Them All and Other Stories by Dennis Etchison (Cemetery Dance)
A Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O’Neill (Apex Book Company)
In the Closet, Under the Bed by Lee Thomas (Dark Scribe Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson edited by Christopher Conlon (Gauntlet Press)
Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books)
Poe edited by Ellen Datlow (Solaris)
Midnight Walk edited by Lisa Morton (Darkhouse Publishing)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION

Writers Workshop of Horror by Michael Knost (Woodland Press)
Cinema Knife Fight by L. L. Soares and Michael Arruda (Fearzone)
The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent (Fall River Press)
Stephen King: The Non-fiction by Rocky Wood and Justin Brook (Cemetery Dance)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN POETRY COLLECTION

Double Visions by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions)
North Left of Earth by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot)
Barfodder by Rain Graves (Cemetery Dance)
Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder (Creative Guy Publishing)

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by joemckinney on February 19, 2010  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on February 19, 2010

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Book Signing at Dark Delicacies

I just wanted to share some pictures from my book signing at Dark Delicacies back in May.  In addition to meeting two of the best hosts a man could ask for in Del and Sue Howison, I got the rare privilege of visiting with Steve and Melanie Tem and Richard Dean Starr.  Richard, as it turns out, is one of the coolest guys on the planet.  We talked about his Kolchak series and his upcoming Tales of Zorro project, which I can’t wait to read.  And the Tems were wonderful.  I think my first comment to them was something stupid like, “Do the two of you have any idea how many of the books on my shelves at home have the two of you in them?!”  Luckily for me, they are as gracious as they are talented.

And then there were these two guys:  Weston Ochse and Gene O’Neill.  We met over margaritas at a little Mexican food place down the street from Dark Delicacies and had a great time.  Gene is an ex-boxer and the author of a fantastic apocalyptic novella entitled The Confessions of St. Zach.  We talked about boxing and about writing from life experiences, and I can tell you this now, there are very few authors out there who are more passionate about what they do and where they came from than Gene O’Neill.

Meeting Weston Ochse was one the highlights of my trip to Los Angeles.  Weston is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel Scarecrow Gods and a self-professed Cowboy in the Boat of Ra.  We traveled the floor of the Staple Center for two days during the Book Expo America 2008 show, meeting other authors and talking about life and writing, and I had a great time.  Can’t wait to see all of you again.

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by joemckinney on July 11, 2008  •  Permalink
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Posted by joemckinney on July 11, 2008

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