Yep, that’s right – Ray Garton, horror extraordinaire and 2006 Grand Master recipient is offering up his 25 years of experience to the highest bidder. He has 60 plus novels under his belt and four of them are on their way to Hollywood.
Writing your first novel? Stuggling to turn your ideas into something great? Well this is the auction for you.
Check out more HERE!
The title may throw you off. After all, Sam W. Anderson is an intergral member of Snutch Labs. We really couldn’t exist without his angst and drama. Wait, that’s Petra. We couldn’t exist without his attention to detail and gripes about historical accuracy.
But then Sam goes and does something unforgiveable. He sells a short story to a major anthology. Bastard.
Anyway, might as well mention the antho. Sam’s short story “If Mama Ain’t Happy” will be appearing in the The Anthology of Dark Wisdom from Elder Signs Press. Also appearing in it are such nobodies as:
Tom Piccirilli
John Shirley
Alan Dean Foster
Peter Straub
Patricia Lee Macomber & David Niall Wilson
Gene O’Neill
Gerard Houarner
Among many others.
Do you see why we hate him now?
Snutch Labs had the recent pleasure of chatting with the miserable and down-right depressing Jeff Strand. Known as “the funny horror guy”, we quickly learned how sad and depressed this author of quite a few novels and short stories truly is. When asked, “When did the laughter die for you, Jeff” he responded by typing the word “tears” over and over.
Anyway, it was a good chat, and if you couldn’t tell, I was joking above. If you’re the type who wants to sit by the fire and read Chaucer and don’t get sarcasm or humor, this may not be the chat for you.
Check it out here.
And check out Jeff and his incredibly brief bio here.
On the 11th of July, Ray Garton braved the violent streets of AdventistLand, in the hopes of stirring up a war between Good and Evil. He, being the evil. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, Evil Prevailed because Good was too scared to come out of hiding.
Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but it’s not too far from the truth. Ray Garton DID brave the streets of a California town, but it was in San Francisco at a great little bookstore called Borderlands Books. Owned and operated by Alan Beatts, the store’s success has much to do with Mr. Beatts’ extensive knowledge of the tome business. The whole staff is great, especially Jude Feldman, ‘a lovely brunette who sexes the place up.’ Now Ray was a little hesitant to put that into print, but as a woman myself, I informed him that, unless she was a Seventh Day Adventist, she could only take it as one hell of a compliment. Top all that off with two hairless cats named Ripley and Ash, and you have one hell of a bookstore!
He was there to promote the release of Bestial, his new novel and the promise of protest awaited him. Yes, it was the Adventists and according to Ray, they would be there armed with flyers and sharpened tongues. And as nervous as Ray was about doing “lasso tricks with somebody’s intestines and then landing up in jail with a guy named Chad who liked my goatee,” I myself was crossing my fingers with fervent hope that the rumors would come to fruition. What a great sight that would be, a Master of Horror squashing the narrow minded masses!
Alas, it was not to be, the Adventist’s chickened out and nary a lasso was to be thrown. But that was okay, because as Ray so eloquently put it, plenty of people did show up, and they were the people that really mattered.
Oddly enough, Lorrie Kelsey Cramer, post Seventh-day Adventist survivor from Rio Lindo ( the boarding academy where Ray went to school) was one of them, and lo and behold, they had much more in common than they thought, mainly the bad taste that growing up with Seventh Day Adventists can leave in ones mouth. And to top it all off, her prettiness had grown into a very nice package of gorgeousness.
After a bit of chatting and getting re-acquainted, Ray was interviewed by Rick Kleffel, of NPR. Check out his website called The Agony Column. The interview lasted about 90 minutes and according to Ray, was one of the best interviews he’s done. Coming from such a seasoned writer, that is saying a lot. The questions Rick asked were thoughtful and unique and he seemed to know a lot more about Ray’s work than Ray did. (Ray’s words, not mine.) Although, to be fair, it’s easy to be fuzzy when you’re looking at a 25 year span of 60 novels and countless short stories.
And to sweeten the book signing deal, Karen Leonard showed up, a good friend of Ray’s and a researcher of a very famous book, THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH REVISITED, written by Jessica Mitford in the ‘60’s. When Mitford decided to update the book, she hired Karen, and Ray crossed her path in 2008 when he was working on a novel about the funeral industry, which according to Ray, is really a corrupt, immoral business, hidden by flowers and fake condolences. He tracked her down hoping to pick her brain, and turned out, she was a fan of his work. There are certainly some stories there, and if you get a chance, ask Ray about it. Sounds to me like an underworld which rivals that of the Mafia.
But I digress. Ray started the night with a reading – the prologue of Bestial, which features shocking baby-on-baby violence, and then a Q & A followed, which eventually, due to the expected protest, turned into a discussion about Adventism. Needless to say, Ray opened many an eye that night to the ugly truth about said cult – an accomplishment that Ray wears proudly.
The talk turned to future works and then general conversation, which is the best part of all, according to Ray and I must say I hold the same opinion. It’s the transition from being ‘on’ to ‘off.’ And as high energy as being ‘on’ is, a breath of relief always comes from being ‘off.’
Afterwards, there was dinner at an Indian restaurant, a partial out of body experience, (you’ll have to ask Ray about that one!) and then coffee until late evening.
I don’t have much in book signing experiences personally – the one I do have ended horribly, but I won’t go into that, since this is Ray’s night, not mine – but I will say that if all experiences could be as eye-opening and full of energy as Ray’s was, I would look forward to everyone of them.
I wish I could have been there Ray, but know I was there in spirit.
Go check out Bestial, everyone. You won’t be disappointed. And to learn more about Ray and the impending sequal to Bestial, check him out at Myspace.
Ciao!
Not really. But good friend John Mantooth has taken a bite out of a nice market. His story The Water Tower is up at FANTASY Magazine. Check it out here when you get a chance.
We had the pleasure of talking with writer and editor Nick Mamatas last evening. He shared lots of great information on how he approaches and writes his stories and novels, reading as an editor, his MFA experience, and why you’d be wise not to talk about him across the room at a party.
Read the transcript here.
And order a copy of his collection, You Might Sleep, here.
Stacey Cochran over at Online Book Review was nice enough to interview Erik Williams about his new novella Gone, the Day, Kindle, and his obsession with pissed-off penguins. Check it out when you get a chance.
Also, if you have a Kindle, Stacey has a couple of books worth checking out. CLAWS and THE COLORADO SEQUENCE are both bestsellers on Amazon and worth picking up at a mere $0.80 per book.
Snutch Labs had the good luck to chat with Dallas Mayr (aka Jack Ketchum) last night. The chat is available on the right or just click here. Enjoy.
John Mantooth’s Halloween Comes to County Road Seven is available right now at Thuglit. It’s a brutal little crime tale. Check it out. Also, if you’re a fan of crime fiction, read the rest of the issue. TL puts out some of the best crime stories on the web.
Snutch Labs has done it again. This time, we got the opportunity to chat with the legend Joe R. Lansdale. He’s currently on a virtual tour promoting his new book, VANILLA RIDE. It’s the latest in his Hap and Leonard series. Here’s a little bit of info on it:
VANILLA RIDE – In this Texas-sized thriller, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine—best friends, freelance troublemakers, and tough guys with good intentions—find themselves in the crosshairs of the Dixie Mafia. Hap is an East Texas smart mouth with a weakness for southern women. Leonard is a gay, black veteran pining for a lost love. They’re not the makings of your typical dynamic duo, but never underestimate the power of a shared affinity for stirring up trouble and causing mayhem. When an old friend asks Leonard to rescue his daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer, he gladly agrees and, of course, invites Hap along for the fun. Even though the dealer may be lowly, he is on the bottom rung of the Dixie Mafia, and when Hap and Leonard come calling, the Mafia feels a little payback is in order. Cars crash, shotguns blast, and people die, but Hap and Leonard come out on top. Unfortunately for them, now they’re facing not only jail time but also the legendary—and lethal—Vanilla Ride, who is still out to claim the price on their heads. Full of twists and turns, gunfire and gaffes, this hilarious, rip-roaring novel will have readers turning the pages faster than a Texas tornado.
And go here to preorder it.
And go here to read the transcript of the chat.
