Monster Librarian Falls for Hades

(1) THE FALL OF HADES at Monster Librarian

Over at the site MONSTER LIBRARIAN they had good things to say about my latest novel, THE FALL OF HADES:

“Thomas creates a remarkably vivid world, far, far beyond the standard Christian descriptions of heaven and hell, demons and angels.  His hell is networked, with elements of cyber activity and life, but for all its connectivity, the reader is overwhelmed by the sense of abandonment, solitude and sheer loneliness that Vee faces in her surroundings.  The Fall of Hades questions mortality, morality, and religious expectations. Through straightforward narration, incredible character and plot development, and some flat-out bizarre settings, Jeffrey Thomas has developed a truly fantastic read.”

The review can be found here: http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/ghosts.htm

(2) Walter Egan’s Top Ten Scary Flicks

As I’ve mentioned previously, pop star Walter Egan appears in my new short story collection NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, but this is not his first brush with horror. In his 1983 video for the song FOOL MOON FIRE (which appeared before Michael Jackson’s THRILLER), Walter transforms into a werewolf!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP7AFXFFKwI

Well, back in March Examiner.com asked Walter to compile a list of his top ten favorite horror films. Some of my own top favorites are on there — and if you want to compare your own favorites with his, you can check out the list here:

http://www.examiner.com/horror-happenings-in-national/top-10-films-of-a-scary-nature

*****

THE FALL OF HADES can be ordered from Dark Regions Press, here:

http://www.darkregions.com/products/The-Fall-of-Hades-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html

…and NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS can be ordered here:

http://www.darkregions.com/products/Nocturnal-Emissions-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html

Two great reviews of NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS

Today I chanced upon two very favorable reviews of my new book, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS.

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND (my favorite magazine as a kid!!) says, “The collection starts off with one of the best stories I’ve read this year, “Godhead Dying Down”.  A simple priest, (who we soon find out isn’t just a simple priest), returns to find his ex-flock of worshipers beset by supernatural forces…I really didn’t find a weak story in the book, just some I enjoyed better than others.  Jeffrey Thomas continues to show his great imagination and writing skills. This is an exceptional collection and should be at the top of your to be read pile.”

http://www.famousmonstersoffilmland.com/book-review-nocturnal-emissions-by-jeffrey-thomas/

And author Don D’Ammassa at his site Critical Mass Reviews says, “A new collection from Jeffrey Thomas is always good news…I suppose the collection falls into the horror category although some of the stories really aren’t and in any case Thomas has such a unique perspective that putting them into one category or another seems a waste of time.  So while there is vampirism, it isn’t what you’re likely to suspect, and the same is true of deadly parasitic infections, flying saucers, preternatural creatures, and other thrills and chills.  Probably my favorites this time are “The Possessed,” “Godhead Dying Downward,” and “The Night Swimmers.”  Even Thomas’ lesser stories are always interesting and frequently surprising.”

http://dondammassa.com/R3C2010.htm#Nocturnal_Emissions_

Today I received a copy of a publication called SHOCK TOTEM, which did a so-so review of my novel THOUGHT FORMS. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. But it’s a handsome publication with superb art on front and back covers, by Hicham Haddaji. I read one very creepy little vignette called “Leave Me the Way I was Found” by Polish writer Christian A. Dumais. It’s about a video that can drive people to suicide or homicide, that finds its way onto YouTube courtesy of a mysterious person who uses the handle “albertfish.” At the very moment I read this fact, I heard my autistic son Colin talking about Albert Fish while he was watching YouTube. (Colin’s into some ghoulish interests — don’t know where he gets that.) It was a weird bit of synchronicity for sure! The story is horribly tantalizing in that we never actually learn what the video shows, but it hints at a creature doing something terrible to children who, regardless, won’t even scream. Anyway, you can check out this edition of SHOCK TOTEM (it appears to be #2, though it doesn’t say so on the cover or title page) at Amazon, here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1453636005/?tag=jeffreythomas-20

AND DON’T YOU DARE FORGET TO ORDER “NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS,” FROM DARK REGIONS PRESS, HERE:

http://www.darkregions.com/products/Nocturnal-Emissions-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html

NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS splashes onto the scene!

My latest short story collection, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, has been announced and put up for order by publisher Dark Regions Press. Here’s the rap:

Supernatural “Black Dogs,” UFOs, a vampire shark, parasite-infested children, and a foul-mouthed marionette from another dimension. 

These are just some of the dark delights to be found in this collection, set for release by Dark Regions Press in September, 2010. NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS from Jeffrey Thomas – the fertile imagination behind the Punktown and Letters From Hades series, and finalist for the Bram Stoker and John W. Campbell awards. Thomas demonstrates the wide range of his ability in these short stories, novellas and poems, which include:

Godhead Dying Downwards, Thomas’ acclaimed novella, in which a 19^th Century priest seeks to solve ghostly mysteries in the British countryside.

The Night Swimmers, in which two brothers investigate UFO sightings in a New England forest.

The Possessed, a “New Weird” style science fiction/horror novella in which three explorers utilize a strange method of traveling to a far world.

Nocturnal Emissions, a novella (or collection of mini stories, if you’d rather) about imbalance, love, TV, a giant floating eye, and other enigmas – one chapter of which features pop star Walter Egan (Magnet and Steel) as its protagonist. 

Praise for the stories of Jeffrey Thomas: 

“Thomas is one of the few authors who never seems to run out of new twists and turns.”

– Don D’Ammassa, Critical Mass reviews

“Jeffrey Thomas’ imagination is as twisted as it is relentless.”

– F. Paul Wilson, author of the Repairman Jack series

“With brutal elegance and chilling subtlety, Thomas pulls his readers into his dark visions immediately from every opening line.”

– Paul Di Filippo, in Asimov’s

“Jeffrey Thomas is a writer to watch. I just can’t put down his books once I start them.”

– Douglas Clegg, author of Isis

“Thomas is a very good wordsmith with a fecund and detailed imagination.”

– Publisher’s Weekly

Editons

100 Signed and Limited Hardcovers: 6”x9”, bound in leatherette, stamped on the spine with the title and author’s name, includes 80lb. natural vellum end papers, signed by the author, colored book ribbon, multi-colored header, 60lb. natural vellum stock, and has a beautiful dust jacket. 

(And of course, later on, a trade paperback edition…but who can wait for that? And who can resist the collector’s value — the sheer beauty — of the hardcover editions?)

More coolness: as mentioned above, pop star Walter Egan kindly allowed me use of the lyrics for one of his songs, and the use of his persona, in one of the chapters of the title novella NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS (the chapter Waltered States, in which Walter serves as protagonist and goes head-to-head with the above-mentioned foul-mouthed marionette from another dimension).

(The Magnetic and Steely WALTER EGAN)

And coolness upon coolness: there’s a groovy promotional video for NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, created by none other than respected horror writer David B. Silva. Check it out at YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JADodeKrh30&feature=player_embedded

So, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite for NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS! It can be ordered from Dark Regions Press, HERE:

http://www.darkregions.com/products/Nocturnal-Emissions-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html

Oh…and while we’re at it, Dark Regions has also announced that they have my new novel THE FALL OF HADES back in stock.

THE FALL OF HADES: http://www.darkregions.com/products/The-Fall-of-Hades-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html

So stimulate the economy! Show the world that the physical book is not dead! Order, order, order!!!

(Note: cover art by M. Wayne Miller.)

Digital Duo: PUNKTOWN and AAAIIIEEE!!!

(Darkside Digital has just made available digital editions of my short story collections PUNKTOWN and AAAIIIEEE!!! Here’s the info:)

Darkside Digital has just reprinted two classic Jeffrey Thomas collections.  Great to have on your digital reading device of your choice as the ebooks are available in the popular formats: PDF, EPUB (for Sony Reader, iPad, Nook, etc.) and MOBI (for Kindle & MobiPocket).

PUNKTOWN by Jeffrey Thomas

In the city they call Punktown, on a planet where a hundred sentient species collide, you can become a creator of clones. You can become a piece of performance art. You might even become a library of sorrows…

Table Of Contents:

• The Reflections Of Ghosts
• Pink Pills
• The Flaying Season
• Union Dick
• Wakizashi
• Dissecting The Soul
• Precious Metal
• Sisters Of No Mercy
• Heart for Heart’s Sake
• The Ballad Of Moosecock Lip
• Face
• The Pressman
• The Palace Of Nothingness
• The Rusted Gates Of Heaven
• Immolation
• Unlimited Daylight
• The Library Of Sorrows
• Nom de Guerre
• The Color Shrain

DOWNLOAD “PUNKTOWN” NOW

AAAIIIEEE!!! by Jeffrey Thomas

From subtle stories of ghosts and encroaching madness to extreme tales of erotic and visceral terror, this collection’s contents span the breadth of the horror spectrum.  In these pages one will encounter: a mysterious channel on a hospital room’s television . . . a concentration camp where the dead may seek retribution . . . a music star’s unearthly and distasteful approach to fame . . . a woman in love with a dangerous fallen angel . . . the ghost of an insane parent resurrected by an otherworldly force.  Whether one’s appetite runs from the traditional to the experimental, AAAIIIEEE!!! has a dark confection for every trick or treat bag.

Table of Contents:

• Rat King
• Chapel
• The Yellow House
• Fallen
• Mrs. Weekes
• Psychometric Idol
• Black Walls
• John
• Empathy
• Mass Production
• John Sadness
• Thunderheads
• Pale Fruit
• Lost Alleys
• The Red Spectacles
• Gun Metal Blue
• The Sister
• Hapi Birthday
• Family Matter
• Dust
• Ouroborus

DOWNLOAD “AAAIIIEEE!!!” NOW

(Note: the “cover” collage for PUNKTOWN is by Yours Truly, while the gruesome cover for AAAIIIEEE!!! is by my frequent collaborator, Travis Anthony Soumis.)

Fatally Yours interviews SCOTT THOMAS

The web site FATALLY YOURS has just done an informative interview withy my brother SCOTT THOMAS, to promote his new collection of spooky stories, QUILL & CANDLE, from DARK REGIONS PRESS. Summing up our youthful relationship very accurately, Scott says:

“I can hardly think of a time when I wasn’t interested in horror, though in my younger days horror was not the primary focus so much as one of several major interests, the others being science fiction and fantasy. ..It’s actually hard not to say we when referring to those more youthful times, because my interests were so interwoven with and influenced by those of my older brother Jeffrey — yes, Jeffrey Thomas the author of Punktown. My interests were our interests. We loved monster movies and Halloween, spooky old time radio classics like Lights Out, and publications such as Eerie, Creepy, and Famous Monsters of Filmland. Oh, yes, and TV shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits.”

You can catch the interview in full, here:

http://www.fatally-yours.com/interviews/interview-with-author-scott-thomas/

And you can order Scott’s fantastic new book (the cover art and interior illustrations, by artist Erin Wells, are magnificant, BTW) here:

http://www.darkregions.com/products/Quill-and-Candle-by-Scott-Thomas.html

(A more contemporary, and respectable, photo of Scott Thomas.)

Happy Birthday, Jade!

(A Thomas offspring hanging out in the graveyard? No big surprise. Jade back on Memorial Day.)

(1) Jade is One! Where did the year go?

Today’s my daughter Jade’s first birthday! My sister Wendy and her husband John will be coming down from Maine today to take my wife and Jade and I out to dinner, then tomorrow’s Jade’s big party at Pizzeria Uno! After that, Wendy will take us back with her to Maine for a few days — where I’ll see my brother Scott for the first time in three years!

Jade’s really reached a trurning point today, by the way — she was chewing some paper (a bad habit of hers!) and when her mom told her to open her mouth, she said quite plainly: “No.” And so it begins!

(2) I guest star at AndyRemic.com

Two-fisted SF/horror/action author Andy Remic (KELL’S LEGEND, HARDCORE, etc.) recently invited me to do a guest post at his blog, and so I did a bit of cinematic fantasizing in regard to my new novel THE FALL OF HADES. Check that out, here:

http://www.andyremic.com/

Thanks, Andy!

See you later, all!!

Tramp Stamps from Hades

(1) A Hell of an endorsement

What’s a “tramp stamp”? A tattoo worn in the small of a woman’s back, of course. Even Barbie has one now — and wild EMO chick that she is, she also has scarification paying homage to the country of Indonesia: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1175039/Chav-Barbie-gets-tattoos-mimic-high-profile-celebs-like-Amy-Winehouse.html. Ladies who get tramp stamps take a lot of flak (the term tramp stamp isn’t exactly flattering), but hey, even those two cool musicians Norah Jones and her sister Anoushka Shankar have them: http://www.spring.net/music/norajones_sisanoshkajones.jpg. But what you see above is a photo from my Facebook friend Ludmilla Kriechbaumer, with her friend Ashley Proctor as model. They’ve done a series of such half-moon photos and I had joked that I wanted to rent Ashley’s back to promote my book. So this photo was a result — a very pleasant surprise (and they didn’t even charge me!). Thanks, ladies! I couldn’t have asked for a finer advertisement!

(2) THE FALL OF HADES reviewed at CRITICAL MASS

And speaking of THE FALL OF HADES, I finally stumbled across an excellent early review of it (the first I’ve seen, actually) at the review site of respected author Don D’Ammassa, “Critical Mass:”

http://www.dondammassa.com/r3b2010.htm#Fall_of_Hades

D’Ammassa says, “If Jeffrey Thomas was not such a good writer, he’d be worth reading anyway because he has such interesting visions of reality, and unreality.  Fortunately we have the best of both possible worlds since he’s a good writer as well.  His latest is almost indescribable and unclassifiable, a kind of cybernetic Hell with various demons and other characters…Wildly inventive, sometimes quite funny, and always fascinating.  One of our more underrated writers.”

(3) MONSTROCITY’s monsters get the Role-Playing Game treatment

I’ve come across a bunch of other reviews of my books recently, one of these being for MONSTROCITY over at Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/x-6911-RPG-Examiner~y2010m7d2-Book-review-of-Monstrocity?cid=exrss-RPG-Examiner

Reviewer Michael Tresca says, “Thomas is a superb author, casually describing the horror of a skinned cat and the disgusting slime of a burst sewer main in one paragraph.  He deftly combines body horror with a sense of isolation, creating a stream-of-thought narrative of paranoia and dread.” Following his review Tresca even uses his extensive Role-Playing Game knowledge (his new book is “The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games” from McFarland & Company) to attribute RPG stats to the “spawn of Ugghiutu” creatures that appear toward the end of MONSTROCITY. It’s all Greek to me, never having ventured down the RPG road, but I appreciate his having done this — it’s fun, and it would be cool if my big slimy beasts squirmed their way into a Call of Cthulhu game or two.

(4) THOUGHT FORMS reviewed at “Dark Discoveries” online

James R. Beach, editor/publisher of the fine horror publication “Dark Discoveries” (they published a story of mine featuring the above-mentioned Ugghiutu a few years back), has posted a review of my recent supernatural horror novel THOUGHT FORMS (Dark Regions Press) on the magazine’s web site:

http://darkdiscoveriesreviews.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/thought-forms/

James comments, “Thomas has a knack for coming up with bizarre premises and disturbing imagery and he certainly uses that to full effect here…Using alternating plotlines, Thomas weaves the stories between the two main characters…strong imagery, solid characters, well crafted suspense within the chapters, original story…Thomas has still crafted a very creepy tale.”

(5) “Strangewood Tales” and THE GREEN SPIDER

Finally, I found a freshly reposted review I’m not sure I’d seen before, of the 2001 anthology STRANGEWOOD TALES (editor Jack Fisher, from Eraserhead Press):

http://www.helium.com/items/1417439-book-review-of-strangewood-tales-edited-by-jack-fisher

My ego was naturally stroked by the reviewer’s statement: “In my opinion (which is what this is), the best story of the bunch is “The Green Spider,” by Jeffrey Thomas. The story doesn’t really fit with the rest of the book; it’s not so much bizarre as just plain fantasy. It is a well-written tale about a sleeping heart that yearns to beat again, and though the heart is not human, it certainly has a strong will.”

Not one of my favorites of my own short stories, but of course I like it; a few years ago I included THE GREEN SPIDER among the contents of my short story collection DOOMSDAYS.

Well, that’s it for now…I’ll be “back” (get it…BACK?) next time. Heh…sorry about that little “crack” (get it…CRACK?). (Ho ho…now you see how I get all those nice reviews for my clever writing.)

“A Macabre Display”

The trade paperback edition (2008) of my short story collection THIRTEEN SPECIMENS, from Delirium Books, has received a lengthy and very rewarding review in the publication Dead Reckonings (issue #7), a scholarly review of horror literature. (The article, “A Macabre Display,” is authored by Javier A. Martinez.) This is one of those reviews where, even though the reviewer didn’t care for a few of the stories, I appreciate his general overview because his understanding of the themes, subtexts and intentions of the stories he does like (the great majority) is very keen and insightful. Martinez concludes his review with the summary, “By turns horrific and humorous, disturbing and absurd, this volume showcases the idiosyncratic imagination of one of the most important writers of the new weird and is recommended both to those already familiar with Thomas’s work and to those new to his unique worlds.”

I agree that this is a good place for those interested in my fiction to start, as it presents a wide diversity of styles and tones, and features stories set in my three favorite milieus: Punktown, Hades, and the world of my novel BONELAND.

Dead Recknonings #7 can be ordered from the Horror Mall, here:

https://www.horror-mall.com/DEAD-RECKONINGS-7-edited-by-S.T.-Joshi-Tony-Fonseca-trade-softcover-p-20819.html

And THIRTEEN SPECIMENS can also be found at Horror Mall, here:

https://www.horror-mall.com/THIRTEEN-SPECIMENS-by-Jeffrey-Thomas-Trade-Paperback-p-18122.html

“HEALTH AGENT is a penetrating read”

The web site Mad Hatter’s Book Shelf & Book Review has posted a review of my novel Health Agent, here:

http://booktionary.blogspot.com/2010/06/review-health-agent-by-jeffrey-thomas.html

It’s a very satisfying review, too, though the Mad Hatter was disturbed by the “horrific blood chilling scenes of a very graphic nature, especially in the second half.” (Sounds like good publicity to me!) He says of the novel, which is set in my future world of Punktown:

“Health Agent is a penetrating read that sticks in your soul for a good, dark time…Health Agent is at its core a detective novel set in a Sci-Fi enviroment, but if you are sqeamish you might want to pass it over as it can get pretty extreme at times.  The ending wraps things up well and shows there is redemption in Punktown. It is just hard to get and earn.”

I like shaking people up a little, but still winning their ultimate approval. Guess this one worked, at least for the Mad Hatter. Should you care to have a look for yourself, you can order Health Agent from its publisher Raw Dog Screaming Press, here:

http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/agent.html

(I will say, too, that it’s hard to pick these things but Health Agent might just be my favorite of my Punktown-based novels.)

“THOUGHT FORMS is a unique read”

…So says reviewer Clayton Bye, at his review site TheDeepening.com (in my last post, I linked to his review of my short story collection VOICES FROM HADES). About my novel THOUGHT FORMS (Dark Regions Press, 2009), Bye has this to say:

Jeffrey Thomas’ Thought Forms is a unique read. You won’t find anything like it anywhere. I suspect his voice is as distinctively his own as his fingerprints. As such, it may take the reader some time to settle in, to feel comfortable reading the book. I know it took me quite awhile to warm up to Thought Forms. Yet, it was definitely worth the effort.

And if you’re wondering about the general idea behind the novel, Bye explains:

Thought Forms presents an interesting hypothesis: what if all things paranormal—ghosts, psychic powers, even monsters spring from our thoughts? And what if these “thought forms” could take on corporeal form? And what if, once these “paranormal” creations were able to act independently to the point of creating their own thought forms, they have no compunction about eliminating their creator?

Well, I hope that has you hooked, at least to read the review in full, here: http://www.thedeepening.com/horror/2010/06/17/thought-forms-by-jeffrey-thomas/

…Or maybe even to order the book, in full, here (where it’s currently $5 off!): http://www.darkregions.com/products/Thought-Forms-by-Jeffrey-Thomas.html