Summer O’ Slashers

Hey all.

How’s things? Things are good with me. Finishing up a number of projects that are going to keep me hyped up from 2019 and beyond, but can’t quite talk about any of that yet. I will say that the Video Night audiobook is continuing to slay. I think a lot of that is down to Matt Godfrey’s awesome performance. If you’ve listened to it and could leave a quick review on Audible: we’d appreciate it.

But enough about me, this last week there were two big book releases from the Black T-Shirt crew.

First is Triple Axe by Scott Cole. This is out from Grindhouse Press, one of the absolute best cross-genre publishers in the bizarro scene. It’s hilarious and profane and I cannot recommend it more as a weird, mind-expanding slasher beach read.

Next is a reissue of Matt Serafini’s Under the Blade. This remastered, updated edition of Serafini’s taut, frightening, and twisty slasher-thriller is now available in paperback and ebook.  But don’t take my word for it, Brian Keene said: “Echoes of horror’s paperback glory days, but spills new blood with a modern protagonist and style. I loved it!”

And even though it came out a few weeks ago, we can’t forget to mention Pat Lacey’s horror-movie-themed novel Bone Saw, out now from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing.

So those are my big recommendations while you’re waiting for the next Adam Cesare book to drop (and believe me, I’m waiting too, but the wait’s going to be worth it). Like *all* authors, Matt, Scott, and Pat really appreciate (and most times financially benefit) when you leave a quick Amazon and Goodreads review of their books when you’re done.

If you’ve been neglecting to keep up on my YouTube videos or (gasp!) haven’t subscribed to my channel, I’ve been having a lot of fun sharing movie and book reviews over there. Here are a couple of my recent faves:

Aliens Invade Your Ears! Black T-Shirt Books Goes International!

Big news! My first novel, Video Night, is now an exquisitely-produced audiobook. Narrator Matt Godfrey (who audio fans may know for his production of Micheal McDowell’s Blackwater) gives an incredible performance here and I am overwhelmed to have such a talent bringing life to a book that’s very near and dear to my heart.

If you’ve been holding off on checking out the book, now’s the perfect time to grab it in this new format. Or, if you’ve read the book when it first came out, now’s the perfect time to revisit. And if you’re a “eh, audiobooks aren’t for me” kind of reader, I think this might be the book that breaks you into the habit. As someone who didn’t consider myself an audiobook guy until recently, I have to say that I now LOVE the format. It’s a great way to supplement my reading while I’m doing the dishes or walking the dog. It’s available on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

The OTHER piece of big news is that Black T-Shirt Books has expanded again. Please welcome the amazing Aaron Dries to the family by picking up The Fallen Boys: A Novel of Psychological Horror in either ebook or paperback. 

Author and filmmaker Mick Garris (Masters of Horror, Stephen King’s The Stand, Critters 2: The Main Course) calls it “A terrific book. Beautiful and brutal. Heartbreaking and incredibly emotional. I really, really enjoyed it.” And Hellnotes says: “It will upset and maybe even offend. It will trick you and make you wince. But above all else, The Fallen Boys will move you. This is a tale you will never forget, as told by one of the most important new voices in the genre.”

Aaron is flat out my favorite writer from the Samhain-era and I’m so happy he’s chosen to release this incredible novel with us. He’s a master of what I like to think of as tragi-horror, his stories imbued with such verisimilitude and melancholy that they all really put you through the emotional wringer while at the same time shredding your nerves. Which is very different from what the other writers in the Black T-Shirt stable do, but it’s good to mix it up, right?

As with all Black T-Shirt releases: both The Fallen Boys and the Video Night audiobook will live and die on your support. So please pick up a copy (or help spread the word, even if you can’t commit right now) and then consider leaving each a quick, honest Amazon and Goodreads review when you’re finished. It’s how we make our livings and how we get the word out about the books. Thanks!

That’s it on the announcement front. But while I still have you here, have you been to my YouTube channel recently? I’ve got new videos up discussing the virtues of Syfy’s Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block and another one foaming at the mouth over Arrow Video’s new release of Basket Case. Please subscribe and then come join the conversations going on in our (lively) comments section.

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.