Literally Dead: Tales of Halloween Hauntings released!

Beyond delighted to have helped bring this wonderful collection of Halloween stories to the world alongside Gaby Triana! It’s a gorgeous book (if I may say so!) filled with top-notch Halloween goodness.

Literally Dead: Tales of Halloween Hauntings
Do you love All Hallows’ Eve? Ghost stories? Tales from beyond that leave you feeling unsettled while walking to the kitchen at night? The orange-and-black vintage Halloween aesthetic? Haunted houses with shuttered windows?

Edited by Gaby Triana with John Palisano, this anthology of 19 short stories by some of the most terrifying names in horror is the perfect collection for a dark and stormy October night. Featuring tales to make you hide under the covers by: Jonathan Maberry, Gwendolyn Kiste, Catherine Cavendish, Tim Waggoner, Jeff Strand, Sara Tantlinger, Lee Murray, Alethea Kontis, Lisa Morton & more.

JONATHAN MABERRY – “When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead Across Your Dreams in Pale Battalions Go”

LISA MORTON – “Halloween at the Babylon”

TIM WAGGONER – “No One Sings in the City of the Dead”

JEFF STRAND – “Ghosts of Candies Past”

LEE MURRAY – “The Ghost Cricket”

GWENDOLYN KISTE – “A Scavenger Hunt When the Veil is Thin”

SARA TANTLINGER – “How to Unmake a Ghost”

ALETHEA KONTIS – “The Ghost Lake Mermaid”

CATHERINE CAVENDISH – “The Curiosity at the Back of the Fridge”

SCOTT COLE – “Postcards From Evelyn”

DENNIS K. CROSBY – “Bootsy’s House”

STEVE RASNIC TEM – “When They Fall”

CATHERINE McCARTHY – “Soul Cakes”

MAUREEN MANCINI AMATURO – “A Bookstore Made of Skulls”

HENRY HERZ – “The Ghosts of Enerhodar”

JEREMY MEGARGEE – “Always October”

DANA HAMMER – “A Halloween Visit”

DAVID SURFACE – “The Crawlers in the Corn”

EVA ROSLIN – “Pink Lace and Death Gods”

With an introduction by Lynne Hansen

AVAILABLE NOW! https://amzn.to/3eQSMyo

Dust of the Dead re-released by Seidelman & Company

Thrilled to officially announce the re-release of DUST OF THE DEAD in a brand new paperback edition from Seidelman and Company.

You never forget the first time you see a dead person come back to life …

For a while, it looked like the living had won. The war against the walking dead lasted almost a decade, but it’s mostly over. There are only a few straggling zombies left to take care of. Los Angeles has returned to its lattes and long commutes. It’s up to a small Reclamation Crew to clean up the Zoms left behind. But when the undead dry up, their skin turns to dust. Now the hot Santa Ana winds deliver a new threat …because the Zoms were only the beginning of something far worse.

This new edition includes the never before released original ending as well as an excerpt from the sequel Voices of the Dead.

Featuring brand new cover art from Gilles Vranckx

Thank you to publisher Marco Siedelmann !

Here’s the link below:

GLASS HOUSE a novella

Five years ago I found myself doing what I usually do: working on a new story. GLASS HOUSE was shaping up to be a new novel length story. I was a few chapters in when the windows of my own world shattered. 

My brother called and told me my father passed away unexpectedly. I went back home to Norwalk, Connecticut and did all the things one does during such events. 

His loss was my losing my first and most important audience. It’s always been his voice in my head when I’ve finished projects and found myself looking for feedback. He was critical. He made me work hard. When he liked something? I knew I was more than likely good to go. 

I returned to GLASS HOUSE and so the story did what stories do … it told itself. The novel became a novella. I found myself typing ‘the end’ much sooner than expected. I knew it was right. I knew it was done. 

It split my beta reading group down the middle. I wasn’t sure what I had. I still don’t. It doesn’t fit neatly into the horror genre, where I’m primarily known. It doesn’t fit into any one thing. It’s spiritual. It’s metaphysical. It’s horror. It’s funny and bittersweet. It’s searching for answers. 

I’ve debated sending it out for consideration to publishers but was always weary. I didn’t want to change it. I didn’t want it scrutinised as a product. Pretentious as it sounds, I want and need GLASS HOUSE to stand as it was made. 

By the way? Some in my beta group believed it was autobiographical to a fault. It is not. Like all of my work, I employ some elements of life experiences, but they’re not necessarily the ones anyone would expect. Mostly, I did my best to exorcise and capture the strange floating feeling of grief and maybe offer a little hope of a life lived beyond, one not better, but different and changed and ever moving forward. 

I felt the five year anniversary of my Dad’s loss is a good time to release GLASS HOUSE in his honor and memory. Sometimes it feels like just a moment ago. Sometimes? A lifetime.

Thanks for reading.

Jp 

GLASS HOUSE 

A housesitting job at the Glass House unlocks lost memories and forgotten regrets.

The house was see through, and so became the things that dwelled inside . . . This is not a dark ride.

Come to a place where the dead are still alive.

Told through poetry, lyrics and prose, GLASS HOUSE is an expressive and experimental exploration of grief and memory from author John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award winning author of GHOST HEART, NERVES and DUST OF THE DEAD as well as numerous short stories. 

https://amzn.to/3w5ApIY

New non-fiction piece “On the Adaptation of “The Frolic” In VASTARIEN

“On the Adaptation of “The Frolic” from Prose to Screen” appears in the latest double issue of Grimscribe Press’ wonderful VASTERIEN magazine. In the piece, we examine what is the first adaptation of a Thomas Ligotti short story into cinema. Available now in VASTARIEN: Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall 2020

“Christmas in July” new short story in Christmas Horror Volume III from Dark Regions Press

Thrilled to announce CHRISTMAS HORROR VOLUME 3 — Pre-orders are available now, including an amazing limited edition from Dark Regions Press. My new story “Christmas in July” featuring Chuck from “Lucky Chuck and the Sunshine Express” returns with some new holiday mayhem.

Christmas Horror Volume 3 is here! The third installment of our popular Christmas Horror anthology line features stories by authors Richard Chizmar, Norman Partridge, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Jeff Strand, James Chambers, Lisa Morton, Richard Thomas, William Meikle, Jason V Brock, John Palisano and Simon Strantzas!
Christmas Horror Volume 3 features original wraparound cover art by artist Zach McCain and the deluxe hardcover edition features multiple color interior illustrations. The ebook and paperback editions are shipping to customers this week!
https://darkregions.com/…/christmas-horror-volume-3-in…

“The Revival of Stephen Tell” in TALES FROM THE LOST Volume II alongside Gaiman, Hill, and others

New story alert! “The Revival of Stephen Tell” will be appearing in TALES FROM THE LOST Volume II alongside authors such as Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Heather Graham, Tim Lebbon, and more. The full table of contents is below.

“The Revival of Stephen Tell” centers around an up-close magic show, where performer Stephen Tell seems to unfold panels on his head, transporting both his audience and himself into a macabre, shadow realm.

TALES OF THE LOST: VOLUME TWO AND VOLUME THREE Edited by Bram Stoker Award Winner Eugene Johnson and Shirley Jackson award nominated author Steve Dillon. Coming Later in 2020 from Things in the Well and Plaid Dragon Publishing. With cover art by the brilliant Francois Vaillancourt, and interior art by the amazing Luke Spooner.

We lose many things during our time in this universe. From the moment we are born we start losing time, and loss becomes a part of our life from the beginning. We lose friends (both imaginary and real), loved ones, pets, and family. We gain stuff and lose stuff, from our socks to our money. We can lose our hope, sanity, passions, our mind, and perhaps even our soul! In the end when death finds us, we end up losing everything… Don’t we?

Loss is part of who we are. We can’t escape it. We learn from it, grow from it, and so much more. Some of the greatest stories ever forged come from loss. Within this book is some of those stories

TALES OF THE LOST VOLUME TWO:

Forever by Tim Waggoner
Someone Lost, Someone Saved by Heather Graham
Scritch Scratch by Ben Monroe
Cracks by Chris Mason
20th Century Ghost by Joe Hill
Three Rooms With Hellitrope by Kaaron Warren
Home Theater by Vince Liaguno
lost Little Girl by Christina Sng
Mr. Forget-Me-Not by Alexis Kirkpatrick
The Revival Of Stephen Tell by John Palisano
Case Of The Wendigo by Tracy Cross
Don’t Ask Jack by Neil Gaiman
Here’s Our Tragic Heroine by Matthew R. Davis
October by Lucy A. Synder
Unforseen by Greg Champman
The Deals We Make by Lisa Morton
A Hole In The World by Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden

Try Not To Die: In the Pandemic! Available for Pre-Order

Since early this year I’ve been busy co-writing a book in Vincere Press’s TRY NOT TO DIE series with Mark Tullius. We had a great time of it!

Welcome Aboard the Cruise Ship Aria. Prepare for the Ride of Your Life in this Suspenseful Choose-Your-Own-Adventure!

As the Heliovirus ravages the guests and crew of the cruise ship Aria, teenagers Dylan and Amy face a quarantine while their loved ones fall ill. Docked indefinitely in San Francisco Bay, the teens and those aboard face another grave threat as a seeded terrorist group uses the situation to their advantage. With every choice possibly being their last, will Amy and Dylan have what it takes to survive?

In the latest entry in the Try Not to Die series, authors Mark Tullius and John Palisano have collaborated to bring forth a lightning-paced, hair-raising, adrenaline-fueled thriller. In this book, readers can make choices at the end of each chapter. Some will allow them to continue the adventure, while others lead to creative, gruesome deaths.

Will you be able to do whatever it takes to save your life? You will certainly find that out because after all, the choices are yours to make!”

Pre-Orders are up now for an October 30, 2020 release!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08HDBJ6JV/

VANITY FAIR “This Was the Decade Horror Got “Elevated”

This Was the Decade Horror Got “Elevated” in VANITY FAIR magazine December 2019
VANITY FAIR’s Laura Bradley wrote a terrific article, continuing the dialogue about how horror is ever changing, and used quotes from yours truly. Pretty darn cool to be quoted alongside horror filmmakers Guillermo Del Toro, Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Andy Muschetti, Oren Peli, M. Night Shyamalan, and more. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN MARGIT JONES; IMAGES FROM THE EVERETT COLLECTION.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/12/rise-of-elevated-horror-decade-2010s?fbclid=IwAR24bzm7G2dxxBxBSZcF1Ksd8c0RoyoEg9pPHgnk6wg1I7DgbuSBMJoy5nM

Scaring up an Oscar article in the Los Angeles Times

The LOS ANGELES TIMES has an article out this week, “Scaring up an Oscar”, which features interviews by Randee Dawn with some of the horror genre’s biggest filmmakers: Guillermo Del Toro, Jordan Peele, Ari Aster, Andy Muschietti, Dave Eggers, and me! It was a huge honor discussing the past, present, and future history of the Academy Awards and horror. Most especially? How much horror has evolved into something . . . dare I say it? Respectable.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-19/horror-oscars-us-midsommar-lighthouse-joker-it

 

Strange Tales of the Macabre series launched!

When Lisa Morton proposed we gather a group and release a series of eBooks, each themed, and each featuring some of my favorite authors and people, I jumped at the chance. To hell with my overfilling inbox and commitments! How could I resist doing what I love most? I could not. And here we are with this wonderful collection, named by Eric J. Guignard: STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE! For my theme, I immediately picked GOTHIC, as I am presently knee-deep reading and discussing Gothic fiction for a long-running book club at downtown Los Angeles’s THE LAST BOOKSTORE.
In Eric J. Guignard’s, “A Curse and a Kiss” one does not get more Gothic than visiting the world of Beauty and the Beast, with an unusual take, as the story is seen from a different point of view than we’ve read before: that of Belle!

In Kate Jones’s, “Mountain”, family secrets and old curses play out against a Christmas background with a cast of characters that burn into your psyche like chains rattling outside your door on a cold, rainy night. ‘Mountain’ is Kate Jonez at her atmospheric best.

In Rena Mason’s, “Of Earth and Bone”, has us meet a surveyor sent to the Great Wall as punishment because of his unrequited love for his boss’s wife, but then ends up going back in time and experiencing the Great Wall in a fashion more intimate than he’d ever believed.

In Lisa Morton’s “Tamlane”, you can feel the old school Los Angeles grit and grime. We have an old building brimming with history . . . some of it may even be supernatural . . . threatened to be torn down. But will a secret tryst be enough to save the building? Will a father truly listen to his daughter, destroying the past and all the building hides? A terrific piece of modern gothic fiction on all fronts.

In my own, “Wings Made from Water”, we find ourselves in the midst of a modern gothic story whereas a young man and the family he is forced to live with are haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her cousin in the woods of San Quinlan, California.

Here’s hoping you enjoy STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE: GOTHIC, as well as the other titles in the series centering on STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE: GHOSTS edited by Lisa Morton, STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE: STRANGE JOURNEYS edited by Lisa Morton, STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE: POST-APOCAPLYPSE edited by Eric J. Guignard and STRANGE TALES OF THE MACABRE: STORMS edited by Kate Jonez.

You will find links to each volume below!