’70s Horror Flicks to The Dark Tower Came

Hey all,

Really quick update post!

First off, I made a triumphant return to writing for Cemetery Dance Online last week with an article about the different films to watch while reading The Dark Tower. I encourage you to check that out here. It’s kind of a silly list, but people have been enjoying the discussion in wake of The Dark Tower hitting the big screen.

Secondly, because I can’t stop talking about movies apparently, my most recent YouTube video is a rundown of great ’70s horror reissues on Blu-ray. You can watch that here, chime in in the comments, and subscribe if you haven’t.

Enjoy! And don’t forget to pick up Scott Cole’s Slices and Patrick Lacey’s A Debt to be Paid! Leave reviews if you can to help support these authors and Black T-Shirt Books. As with all Black T-Shirt releases: these are available in paperback, ebook, and are free to read on Kindle Unlimited.

Black T-Shirt Books Expands!

Since the launch of my back catalog re-releases, I’ve wanted to take the Black T-Shirt Books brand further than simply putting out my own stuff.

Well, today is the day that dream becomes a reality. Scott Cole and Patrick Lacey are two of the most original voices in horror and bizarro (in Scott’s case) fiction, and I am delighted that their new titles are launching today as part of the Black T-Shirt family.

Both of these books are now available in ebook and paperback, and both authors will have copies with them to sign and sell if you’re lucky enough to be attending Scares That Care this weekend. Even if you’re not attending: please support the charity if possible.

Here’s a rundown of each, click the cover to purchase:

A Debt to Be Paid is exactly the kind of horror I enjoy. It’s not “throwback” in the smarmy “did you get the reference I just made?” way, but it does feel apiece with something that could have been published as a supermarket paperback (a slim one, it is a novella, but the Black T-Shirt edition is loaded with extra stories). A Debt to Be Paid is It Follows meets that popular internet myth of shadowmen, plus a little bit of financial crisis allegory. You’re going to love it. Please buy it in ebook or paperback right here.

Scott Cole has one of the best imaginations I’ve ever witnessed in action. I’ve talked about how much I love his novella Superghost, but I think this collection is going to be the book that puts him over the top. Scott is a master of super-short fiction, and in Slices he offers up 34 demented and disturbing tales that pack more punch than stories 3x their size. Which isn’t to turn you off if you don’t like flash fiction, because Slices offers quite a few longer tales as well. This weird and wild collection should be on your list if you like Tim Burton, David Lynch, or think the two of those directors should get together and eat a liverwurst sandwich. Buy it in ebook or paperback here.

Both titles are enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program, if you wanted to read them that way for free. And the Matchbook program, where if you buy the paperback, you get the ebook for free.

If you pick up one or both (preferable) of these books, it’s worth repeating: Amazon reviews are what help keep us in business, and we appreciate every single one.

Happy reading and I’ll see you in Virginia!

Hot Summer Reads! Horrendous Sunglasses!

Desperate for some creepy reading for when you’re at the beach? I’ve come up with a list of five (it’s actually seven, but don’t tell anyone) novels and audiobooks. You can check that out over on my YouTube channel. If you haven’t hit that subscribe button, I’d love it if you did.

Are movies more your thing? Well I was lucky enough to get the chance to check out the upcoming 68 Kill at a special screening during Wizard World last month. The movie was directed by Trent Haaga, stars Matthew Gray Gubler and AnnaLynne McCord, and was based on a novel by Bryan Smith. I’ve got a video review of that where I discuss other recent novel-to-film adaptations.

If you’ve no interest in watching me talk, and would rather read my take on a giant monster story: Exponential is now out in paperback from Black T-Shirt Books. This new edition sports a dope new cover and a brand new afterword. If you already own the old edition: this is the same book, don’t double-dip unless you’re really sure you need to own the new cover. If you’d prefer to save paper: there’s always the ebook, also available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

If you’ve already got that, or monsters aren’t your thing: Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume Two is now out in ebook, paperback, and audiobook narrated by Joe Hempel.  There are great authors like Tim Waggoner, Michael Arnzen, and Bryan Smith in there. Along with one by me.

That’s all for today! Happy reading, stay cool!

A Spine-bursting ALIEN: COVENANT hot-take and personal appearance update

Hey all. Just a few quick updates today.

First of all, if you’re a Philly area local (or willing to travel), I’m going to be selling books at the Wizard World Comic Con June 1st-4th. If you’re planning on attending and haven’t bought your tickets yet: I’ve got a 20% off coupon made specially for my readers. Just enter the discount code BLACKT at checkout here.

Should be a great weekend, as it’s not only Wizard World’s normal schtick, but this year Bloody Disgusting is co-presenting Horror Fest, a con-within-a-con complete with film festival (I’ll surely be attending the screening of 68 Kill).  Hope to see you there.

If that doesn’t work for you, but Virginia is a little closer, I’ll once again be at Scares that Care Weekend (I’m a 3-timer now) July 21st-23rd. Details on that here.

If you’ve got no interest in talking with me in person: I understand! If you’d rather have me beamed to your home via internet waves (a real thing, I assure you), you can watch a brand new Project: Black T-Shirt wherein I tackle the long awaited Alien: Covenant.

As always, please leave a comment, a like, or subscribe to the channel.

Other than that, I’ve been a busy little bee on the writing front, but nothing new I can share yet. I will say this: the new book is going to be nothing to laugh at…

Peace, y’all.

An Unstoppable Monster Returns

Exponential is now out in ebook as a Black T-Shirt Books release. This new edition sports a great new cover by Fredrick Richardson and a new afterword. The paperback should be along in a few weeks. If you’re unfamiliar, Exponential is the story of an escaped lab experiment that’s growing and killing its way from Arizona to Las Vegas and the criminals and screw-ups who team up to fight it.

It’s one of my favorite things I’ve done and I’m hoping it will be able to reach an even wider audience in this spiffy new edition. If you’d like to help with that by picking up a copy, reading it through Kindle Unlimited, or simply spreading the word among your horror loving friends: I’d appreciate it. Quick, honest Amazon reviews also help a ton.

The re-launches for Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining have been smash successes, and it’s all because readers have helped me out with spreading the word.

Okay, enough self-promo. Let’s talk horror movies. 2017 is off to a strong start, is it not? I loved Get Out, but it was Raw (directed by Julia Ducournau and starring Garance Marillier) that really got me up on my chair and shouting, as you can see in this episode of Project: Black T-Shirt.

Happy with how this video turned out, and hoping to get back on a weekly schedule of pairing a horror film with some horror fiction reading suggestions. Have you read or seen anything interesting recently? Please subscribe to the channel and let me know in the comments.

And speaking of reading suggestions… I’m currently reading Dream Woods by Patrick Lacey and it’s fantastic. He’s doing something cool with his next novel, We Came Back, in that he’s pledging all the proceeds to charity (cancer, I believe). So I suggest picking up both books and supporting a nice guy while getting your horror reading on.

That’s all I’ve got for now. But did want to leave a quick reminder that if you pick up a Video Night shirt from RedBubble, the artist (Chris Enterline) and I would really like to hear from you so we can share your picture on Facebook.

Have a good day and stay creepy!

TerrorCon 2017 and the short films of XX (2017)

Hey everyone. A couple of quick items:

First of all: This weekend (Feb. 25th-26th) Black T-Shirt Books will be repping hard at TerrorCon 2017 in Providence, RI.

If you’re in New England, I encourage you to stop by. The guest list is insane and I’ll be there slinging books alongside superpals Matt Serafini and Patrick Lacey. Hope to see you there.

Second of all: thank you. The response to Video Night, The Summer Job, and Zero Lives Remaining being re-released has been truly incredible.

As a quick tip for anyone who’s purchased the paperback editions of any of these books (even if they were the old editions): through Kindle Matchbook you’re eligible to get a FREE ebook copy of the new edition. Just make sure you’re logged into the same Amazon account and that the kindle book rings up $0.00 before you click to purchase. Even if you’re a technophobe: claim your free ebooks because it helps out the books visibility on Amazon.

Lastly but certainly not leastly: I managed to get an episode of Project: Black T-Shirt up in observance of Women in Horror Month. In the episode I do a segment-by-segment rundown of XX, the new multi-director anthology film. Spoiler alert for the video, but: I recommend you check this movie out. Especially if you’re a Jack Ketchum fan, as it includes a great adaptation of one of his best (and most anthologized) stories.

As always: views, likes, comments, and subscribes on the YouTube page help me out immensely.

That’s all for tonight. Hope to see you at the show and thank you again for reading (and reviewing on Amazon) these books. I wouldn’t be able to keep writing if it weren’t for your generous support.

Zero Lives Remaining Gains New Life

Very quick blog today because there’s no new YouTube video or movies to discuss this week (outside of John Wick 2 or LEGO Batman, both of which I enjoyed immensely but they’re not horror so we won’t talk of them).

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say that the Black T-Shirt Books catalog is growing.

First off we have Zero Lives Remaining returning in ebook, paperback, and as a part of Kindle Unlimited. For the uninitiated, ZLR was released a little over a year ago by Shock Totem and they did an incredible job with it. This new version features a bonus short story that has only appeared in print once.

If you need to be convinced to pick up a copy of this novella, know that Fangoria said: “Cesare is a true master of fast-paced, fun, balls-out, over-the-top fear fiction, and those narrative talents are on full display in this video-arcade-set gore-o-rama ghost novel…” and Rue Morgue chimed in: “The victims in Zero Lives Remaining are different–far from being the typical lost, wide-eyed fodder, these outcasts and obsessives quickly catch on to the truth of their awful situation and come to battle armed in their own strange ways…enough to leave every joystick of the arcade drenched in blood.”

I am immensely grateful to Ken Wood for helping me put this new version of the book together and hope that you’ll pick up a copy and tell me what you think in the form of an Amazon review (those help a lot).

Not to be outdone, The Summer Job (previously available as an ebook and on Kindle Unlimited) is now in a beautiful paperback. I think Fredrick Richardson’s cover for this book is one of the finest I’ve ever had on my work.

Here’s a picture of the real-life product (along with a few of its friends):

If you can’t read it, that cover quote goes like this:  “The textbook definition of a nail-biter. The Summer Job is a kissing cousin to inbred classics from masters like Ketchum and Kilborn. Cesare’s best novel yet.” –Bloody Disgusting

I am overwhelmed by the response to these re-launches and so glad that these books have found new readers. That’s all they’ve ever wanted: to be read.

 

 

Check in to The Brant Hotel… again.

Less than a month after Video Night‘s triumphant return, The Summer Job is now available on Amazon.

Check out the new cover by artist Fredrick Richardson:

Like Video Night, this new edition is not meant for double dipping, but does contain a new afterword and some tiny nips and tucks in the text. If you’re familiar with some of my other work but haven’t yet checked out The Summer Job: I highly suggest you give it a chance. It’s some of my strongest work, if not my flat-out best novel. You can pick up a copy here.

If you’re not looking to check out my words but would instead like to watch me rant about books and movies: I also have you covered there. Last week’s episode of Project: Black T-Shirt is a top 5 list of the “Best Vampire Novels You Haven’t Read”! The trick is that you may have read a few of them, but at least we have a fun discussion in the comments. Click here to watch that. Be sure to hit the “Subscribe” button while you’re over there.

If you’re watching that and thinking: “Boy, I love black t-shirts too but I wish I had one with my favorite Long Island alien invasion novel” than I ALSO have you covered there.

Well, artist Chris Enterline and I both have you covered. Because we’re proud to announce a brand new line of t-shirts and merch through our Redbubble store. The inaugural design is based on Video Night and you can pick up a shirt right here. And, yes: it is a deliberate homage to “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli.

They’re a little pricey, but the quality of Redbubble’s products is completely off the charts. If you pick one up: please send me a picture of you wearing it!

These designs are not meant to compete with Sam Mcanna’s Skurvy Ink shirts, but Sam has shut down his site and that business will hopefully be returning soon in some form or another.

Hope ya’ll are having a great day. Peace and love,

Adam

Video Night Returns! The Con Season is Cheap!

Check this out:

Yeah boy! That’s the stuff. Above is the new cover for one of my most popular titles, recently relaunched under a new imprint. If you’re new to my work, or somehow just missed this one, then I urge you to click over to amazon to check it out.

It’s about the 1988 alien invasion of Long Island, NY. So it’s not only thrilling, but educational.

The book’s not only got that sweet new cover by Fredrick Richardson, but a new afterword, and a couple of editorial nips and tucks.

If Video Night is something you’ve already got, then maybe I can interest you in The Con Season, my newest novel, for the next couple of days priced at 99 cents. Yup, one dollar will get you a full brand-new novel and 5 will get you two novels and the self-satisfied warm and fuzzies that accompany helping out an independent author. (Sorry, this offer has expired, but the book’s still cheap at $2.99).

Speaking of being an indie author, that new version of Video Night has been wiped of its 40+ reviews, so if you’ve read it and liked it: I would really appreciate you taking a few seconds to review on Amazon.

Okay, pimping over. Other than trying to sell you those two things, I also wanted to share that I’ve watched and reviewed a couple of movies since we last spoke. The best of which was The Autopsy of Jane Doe, which I did a video review for right here. Please hit that like and subscribe button if you haven’t already. It helps.

Beyond that: I want to here from you. Consider signing up for the mailing list if you haven’t by clicking the “Free Short Read” button at the top of this page, I’ll send you an exclusive ebook for your troubles.

Piece,love, blood, and guts,

Adam

He’s Making His (Kill) List, Checking It Twice

Hey y’all, how you been? I’m good. Busy but good.

Just wanted to check in and consolidate some updates that I may or may not have been able to sprinkle into your Facebook or twitter feeds.

First and foremost, I was recently a guest on the Scream Addicts podcast. If you haven’t heard of the show: it’s got a neat premise. Each episode features a guest from the horror community who comes locked-and-loaded, ready to discuss a single film in-depth. The host, Jason “Jinx” Jenkins, is a hell of a conversationalist and each episode takes the examination of the chosen movie in a surprising and intelligent direction.

I chose to talk about Ben Wheatley’s Kill List (2011), it’s the first time I’ve talked about the film at any kind of length outside of nerdy bar conversation and I’m very pleased with how the episode turned out. I’d love it if you listened (and subscribed) to the show on your podcast platform of choice or by clicking here. But you should also probably be warned that we spoil the hell out of the movie. Definitely not something to listen to if you haven’t seen it.

If you’re looking to hear me talk about movies, but aren’t into an hour-long investment, or maybe you just want to see my dumb face: Project: Black T-Shirt is still going strong on YouTube. If either of these episodes sound like something you’re into, I encourage you to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel because I cover this kind of stuff weekly (well, kinda weekly…).

The Eyes of My Mother (2016) is a grisly black-and-white serial killer thriller. This episode is not only a review of Nicolas Pesce’s debut feature, but it becomes a discussion of the extreme horror subgenre as a whole. Spoiler alert: I think this is one of the best horror movies of 2016. The book recommendation for this ep is Mr. Suicide by Nicole Cushing.

After a spate of new release movie reviews, I wanted to look at a reissue for this week’s episode. We look inside Vestron Video’s recent Blu-Ray release of Blood Diner (1987). We talk about director Jackie Kong’s unique place in genre history. The book recommendation is Carol Clover’s Men, Women, and Chain Saws.

You may notice that all three of those above links have nothing to do with writing, publishing, or (most importantly) asking you to buy/review stuff. Well, as I write this it’s a couple of days out from Christmas, so you should definitely consider picking up one of my books. They make great(ish) gifts! If you’ve already bought and read one of my books, you should know that honest Amazon reviews are the best gift an author can receive.

But seriously: this year started off with the release of Zero Lives Remaining and ended with the debut of The Con Season. In the middle there were a number of short story publications, columns, a novella collaboration, the re-release of a short story collaboration, and even a non-fiction essay about fishing (?!). I’m proud of the material I’ve produced in 2016, but I wouldn’t have made it through the year without the support of my friends and readers. By which I mean to say: thank you!

2016 may have been aight, but what I’m really pumped for is 2017. I can’t say too much, but I will say that things are going to be both familiar and different.

I hope you’re facing the new year with the same giddiness and optimism. And that your holidays are joyous and gore-soaked.

Love,

Adam