TEOTWAWKI is here!

(This blogger post is dedicated to my high school buddy, Jeff C. Jeff had been a huge SK fan and Constant Reader. Sadly, he passed away before graduating. But I'd like to think he'd be mightily pleased one of his high school friends became a diehard SK fan and Constant Reader, as well as a published horror author. Thinking of you, pal) 

The last time I'd reread The Stand was over five years ago, which ironically, was right before Covid-19 became something that would change our lives dramatically for a while. And in some cases, for some folks, tragically forever. 

If you've never read The Stand, in a nutshell, it's a post apocalyptic horror novel about good versus evil. Survivors of the deadly superflu (accidentally let loose from a secret government lab) come together and fall into either of two camps: the good are called to the enigmatic Mother Abagail, who's a symbol for all things good and right. The other is pure bad, evil, and his name is Randall Flagg aka The Walkin Dude. And he ain't human. Eventually both sides will clash and not everyone survives...but good does triumph. And sometimes, evil doesn't completely die. 

The first cover featured above is from the original paperback edition, which had been severely cut from its original length due to the publisher's concerns that a book that big wouldn't sell. And printing costs. 

Roughly a decade later, around 1990-91, King had the book reissued as the complete and uncut edition with a new cover and his ever growing legions of Constant Readers (including this one) rejoiced. In fact, I hadn't read the original edition. And damned glad I hadn't. 

So, Chris, why are you rambling on about SK's iconic post apocalyptic horror novel, you may ask? 

Because unless you've been a castaway on a desert island, there's a brand new anthology due out this month called The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand, edited by bestselling authors Christopher Golden and Brian Keene, featuring an introduction by Stephen King. With truly an impressive and incredible roster of well-known authors, the stories all take place during or after events in the original book. And unlike the original book, we have stories set in other countries and even on a space station orbiting the planet. 

It would be an understatement to say that I'm really looking forward to diving back into this world. As a lifelong Constant Reader, that's a given. Rumor has it that there may be another Stephen King book themed anthology in the future, but I'll say no more. Let's just open this brand new dark chest of wonders, shall we? 

Coming Soon-ish!

So until recently, I haven't talked much on social media lately about my forthcoming sci-fi horror novel, Island of Devils, the followup or sequel to The Ravening. This past week, I did tease the final cover on FB, and couldn't be more pleased with it. In fact, while I love all my book covers, this may be my favorite. My cover artist Rebecca is fantastic to work with, and highly recommend her services! You can find her newly revamped site at nekadu.shop! 

Also, she made a really cool book trailer for me! It currently doesn't have sound but she's working on adding in some free use spooky music. But here's the link for the

video!

Anyway, look for this beast of a book to be unleashed this fall! Stay spooky! 🎃 🖤

Roseblood Trilogy Offer!

Howdy, fellow horror freaks! With Valentine's Day just a few weeks away, I've decided to offer a killer deal (pun intended) on my Roseblood trilogy horror novels. 

And it's one heck of a BOGO deal! I'm offering all three books, signed and personalized with an exclusive Roseblood trilogy bookmark, for just $35 bucks! That's $10 off the book bundle price, shipping included (US shipping only). DM me on social media or email me at flahorrorwriter67@gmail.com if interested, but this special offer is for a limited time, folks! 

Thanks as always for reading my work, and stay spooky! 🌹🖤

Hello 2025!

Another year has come and gone, and I don't know about ya'll, but 2024 seemed to fly by, didn't it? Or perhaps for those of us who are older, it does seem to do that more often. Or maybe it's just me. 

All in all, this past year was mostly a good, although I'd rather not experience a hurricane blowing out a skylight in the middle of the night ever again. But I digress. 

This past year, I had a trio of short stories appear in 3 different horror anthologies, and last October saw the release of the final book in my Mister Jack/Summerdale Trilogy, Mister Jack: Requiem. 

During the first quarter of this new year, I'll be working on editing my followup to my scifi horror novel The Ravening called Island of Devils. That book was actually written about 4 years ago, but because it turned out to be the longest thing I'd written to date (well over 500 pages), I knew it would need some heavy editing. That and I'd written Bloodletting, the 2nd Roseblood novel, and was chomping at the bit to start working on Bloodlust, the final Roseblood novel. Did that and released it, with fully intending to start editing Island of Devils. But as sometimes happens, I came up with a really cool idea for another book, which became my erotic horror novella Rebirth. 

And then, another new story idea grabbed hold, which was the final Mister Jack book, which was initially intended to be a novella but grew into a full-length novel. 

So here we are, 2025. I'll start edits on Island of Devils very soon, with my intention of having it released by the middle of summer. Or thereabouts. 

I've also been working on a new writing project called The Dagger. It's a coming of age horror novel set in the 1980s. But I'm taking my time with this, maybe halfway through the first draft and looking for this to be unleashed sometime in 2026. 

That's it for now. Stay spooky, ya'll!