AXES OF EVIL II COMETH!

April! Whew! It's been a busy year and it has been hard squeezing in writing time as family, work, life, all take their toll on me. I was watching a classic film the other day, The Philadelphia Story (starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart), and the scene in which Stewart turns down patronage from the rich female...it made me raise my hand and say "If he doesn't want it, I'll take it!" I wish I could write full-time, but I've never been rich and I have to work to make ends meet. That is what is wrong with art in the United States...very little financial help for artists that are struggling and trying to get accepted by mass media. Whatever...I think I will die having only been read by the select few and maybe...just maybe...I will get rediscovered in the future and people will read me with more fervor.

Okay, no more whining and off to what matters...this month's crop of news!

Ladies and Gentlemen and Whatever the Rest of You Are...

AXES OF EVIL II has been unleashed!

Yes! J. Ellington Ashton Press in cooperation with WetWorks present AXES OF EVIL II. Here is what they say about it; "The sequel to the bestselling heavy metal horror anthology, AXES OF EVIL II features even more tales of blood, death, evil and hot licks." All stories approved and edited by Alex S. Johnson. This horror anthology is loaded with metal music horror! All of the stories in some way revolve around the world of Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, Grind, and...a little Punk Rock. Heavy on the guitars, gore, and evil, AXES OF EVIL II will seer into your brain page by page. Get it now on Amazon and read my story that was included; "Witchbone."

Get it here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1508975256/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

In other news...SOUTHERN HAUNTS 3 is getting ready to go to press and has one of my stories included within it's hallowed pages. Also, I'm working on getting together my works for the LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF HORROR 2015 anthology that is a yearly benefit for the American Cancer Society with all proceeds going to them. Nice!

Got a few other tricks up my sleeve, but that is all for now. Expect more soon! I hope to make this summer busy with writing and publishing!

Cheers,
Greg

Lazy Dayz...

Okay...I've been lazy the last few months. Actually, the truth is...Can you handle the truth? Just kidding! I've been busy on many non-writing endeavors. Besides horror/crime writing I also host a cable TV show called Rock'n'Roll High School 101 (check it out on youtube) and have been wrapping up an episode on garage rock from the 1960s. I've also been busy with my job as a teacher and dealing with a new release on my record label. Yes...I am a polymath...a renaissance man...I wear many hats. So...sometimes writing falls behind. I will tell you that I am currently writing a sick crime story that is a 2000s homage to Jim Thompson...As depraved and raunchy and violent and bloody as he would have been if he were alive today. More on that later...

The good people at Mystery and Horror, LLC took a chance and included one of my stories in their latest paperback/kindle/ebook: HISTORY AND MYSTERY OH MY!

Get it here on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/History-Mystery-Oh-Edith-Maxwell/dp/099158256X/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1426472904&sr=8-1&keywords=history+and+mystery+oh+my

Coming soon... SOUTHERN HAUNTS PART 3 is coming out soon and features a short story from me! More on that soon, but it is coming out from Seventh Star Press, LLC and should be a great book! No cover design to share yet...maybe next post?

Also coming soon...AXES OF EVIL II featuring my story "Witchbone." Those of you that know me well, know that I have been around the music industry all my life. This is the only horror story that I have ever written using a modern setting with a modern band. It should fit in well with this anthology. Most of the other writers in it are fans of heavy metal music so I am the only punk rocker within the pages. More as this one develops. I shared the cover last post so I won't this time.

Also, I have a live review and some record reviews coming out in the next issue of Failsafe Magazine out of England.

Here is a picture of me interviewing one of my favorite bands, THE SONICS, backstage at the Roxy in Hollywood for the next episode of my cable TV show.

More next post!!!!!!!!!!!

Winter Cometh

Hey gang! Not too much to relate right now. My writing output has been pretty slow as I've been bogged down with other projects and my regular job. I know...NOT a good excuse, but stuff happens. This post will cover November and December activities. So what is new? Well...

I did have a story accepted by Mystery and Horror, LLC for their upcoming anthology entitled HISTORY AND MYSTERY, OH MY! Here is a peak of what I believe will be the cover art. This is slated for very late 2014 or very early 2015 release:

Whoa! Another anthology that is coming out very soon that I am lucky to be a part of is the AXES OF EVIL II. This is the second in the series of horror stories centered around the world of hard rock, heavy-metal, and punk. The editor, Alex S. Johnson, has been working really hard on this series and has done a lot of publicity to set the stage for a great release. This book will be published by J. Ellington Ashton Press. Here is the cover done by Stephen Cooney:

Like I said, the editor has been working hard on publicity and here is a link to a radio interview he did about the series:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/viktoraurelius/2014/12/11/axes-of-evil--the-series

This should be an amazing anthology and I am honored to be in this one. Some of you know that I have been dealing with bands and the music industry since 1985 so I think it is great that one of my stories was actually able to fit within the scope of this anthology as I do not normally mix the world of music with the world of horror. This should be a fun read.

I also have a piece or two coming out in another anthology that will be released by a newer publisher named Barbwire Butterfly Books. Their anthology is completely based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos. Although I am a big fan of his mythos, I have written little based on it so this publisher will be publishing what little I've written around it. I'm not sure when this is due out, but I did sneak a peak at the Table of Contents and found these fine writers:

BEYOND THE COSMIC VEIL (Anthology Title)

Author List:
Angel Zapata, Juan Julio Gutiérrez, Gary Murphy, Lee Zumpe, David S. Pointer, Mathias Jansson, Dustin Coffman, Carl Fox, E.s. Wynn, Wilum Pugmire, Erin Cole, Ron Koppelberger Jr., Gary Thomas, Michael Lindquist, Patricia Anabel, Greg McWhorter, Brian Rosenberger, Lori R. Lopez, James Anderson, Kevin Henry, David-John Tyrer, Frank Searight, Charles Danny Lovecraft, Ashley Dioses, KA Opperman

Sorry that I do not have much else to share right now. I have to get back to writing and getting my personal anthology together. I am also getting sucked into writing more reviews on records and books for music magazines so watch out for info on that next time.

I leave you with a darkly humorous cover from an EC Comic Book from 1954. I was lucky enough to have one amateur horror/sci-fi story and art published by EC Comics many years ago (I need to dig it out and share it here soon) and I wish they were still around.

Cheers and Happy Holidays! -Greg McWhorter

October! Finally!

Yes...October. Time to finally break out the horror movies and get ready for Halloween. As you can tell, I sort of took September off from my blog. I was just too busy with work and thus my writing had to take a backseat for a month. Besides, not too much is going on right now. What is going on? WEIRDOS!

A book featuring photographs by Dawn Wirth was just released by her and Jesse Viduarre (a.k.a. Jesse Xerox) and it documents Los Angeles' most notorious (and first) punk band, WEIRDOS. All of the glorious photos are from 1977 up to maybe 1978, the earliest incarnation of this amazing band. I am very proud that Dawn asked me to write an introduction to her book. Besides my two-page introduction, there are also intros from such luminaries on the scene as Pleasant Gehman (Lobotomy Fanzine, SCREAMIN' SIRENS), Terry Graham (drummer for BAGS, GUN CLUB), and Cliff Roman (founding member and guitarist for WEIRDOS). If you love punk rock or just great rock photos, get this book!

http://www.blurb.com/b/5540418-the-weirdos

Other writing...I do music reviews occasionally too for magazines like Ugly Things, Record Collector News, Maximum Rock'n'Roll, and The Big Takeover. Recently I was asked to write some reviews for an amazing magazine out of England titled FAILSAFE.

FAILSAFE is all about the pioneers of punk rock and the glorious history of punk music on both sides of the Atlantic. Strange thing about it though...I don't think you can buy it anywhere! It is made as a labor of love from the publisher and mailed out around the world to appreciative miscreants. Oh well...If you ever see it, check it out. Great insights on punk rock bands and history.

Other news? Well...Dead Guns Press says that their western horror anthology BADLANDS should be out soon. It features two of my stories...more on that when it is out. UPDATE!!! BADLANDS is now available on Amazon in paperback format! I have two short horror stories set in the wild west of the 1800s within this anthology. Get it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Badlands-John-L-Thompson/dp/1494773449

I hear that AXES OF EVIL II is being assembled and should see release soon. It has one of my stories in it.

I'm still waiting to hear from a publisher to see if my novella, SHADOW FALL, will see print any time soon.

I'm slowly putting together my personal anthology for James Ward Kirk Publishing. I hope to have it ready to go to print by the new year.

And that is about it right now...Whereas last October seemed a flurry of activity, this October seems quiet so far. The calm before the storm? I hope so! I need to get back to writing so I am making this short.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Back To The Grind

Well...summer is over at my house. Lounging around, reading books, hanging out with family and friends, going on small trips...That is all over now. Back to work and back to being more productive.

The biggest thing that happened to me over the summer was thought I finished writing my first novel. Well, not really a full-length novel, but what is called a novella. My story is currently at 31,578 words, but I am still making a few tweaks to it. It may get a little bigger, but not by much. To me a perfect idea is only perfect as long as filler/fluff is not added to it and I don't want to sacrifice my story just to make it bigger. I have sent it to a publisher and I am being told to wait 3 to 6 months for a reply on whether they will take it or not. It would be easier to sell if it were longer, but oh well...

I will tell you more about my novel...er...novella after it gets picked up (or rejected).

In other writing news, my relationship with James Ward Kirk Publishing has brought more wonderment into my life. In previous posts I mentioned that my story "The Horror at Engle Farm" had won the Editor's Choice Award in the BARNYARD HORROR anthology and my story "The Twilight of Men's Lives" also won another Editor's Choice Award for INDIANA CRIME REVIEW 2013, both by JWK Fiction. Well, it seems that both of these stories are now included in JWK FICTION BEST OF HORROR 2013, which is out now in Kindle and Paperback form.

This anthology features a lot of up and coming great talent. Besides my humble efforts, I find the work of Chantal Noordeloos, Paula Ashe, and James Dorr to be very literate and exciting. Paula Ashe's story "Bereft" is the most creepy story that I have read in ages. So, besides tooting my horn, you should pick this up to have a sampling of horror writing from the best new talent of today. Remember, this is a 'Best of' collection so there is no fluff here. Every story should keep you fairly enthralled.

On another note, I have always found James Ward Kirk Fiction to be honest and striving to improve constantly. They pay off in cash or contributor copies when they can and are trying their best to build up towards being a pro-paying publisher. So support the 'Indy Horror' publisher and get this mighty tome of horror now!

Here it is on Amazon for Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/JWK-Fiction-Best-Horror-2013-ebook/dp/B00MFOGJR2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407601556&sr=8-1&keywords=jwk+fiction

Here it is on Amazon for a paperback copy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692269398/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dpd_uxK5tb1MNDQFM

The wonders never cease...I sent a short autobiographical nonfiction piece to an online magazine called FIVE2ONE and I only just recently discovered that they have printed copies of their online magazine available for purchase. I went ahead and bought one and was pleased to see my piece alongside a lot of creative poetry and short stories. FIVE2ONE is about creative writing and not horror. As I continue to write, I am a little afraid of being pigeonholed as one type of writer or another so I am glad to see this piece in print.

You can read my autobiographical piece here for free online:

http://five2onemag.onimpression.com/search/label/H.D.H.C

Or if paper is your thing, get the print copy here:

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/602928?__r=439389

On other writing fronts, I still write for music magazines as time permits. The next issue of Mike Stax's wonderful magazine UGLY THINGS will feature an article on the L.A. punk band SCREAMERS by Jon Savage (author of England's Dreaming) and will be accompanied by photos from my archive. So none of my writing there, but still proud to mention my involvement with that. I did write an introduction for a book to be released soon by Dawn Wirth (famous L.A. punk photographer) about THE WEIRDOS. If you don't know the WEIRDOS, they are probably Los Angeles' most important punk band from the first wave of punk. I am honored that Dawn asked me to write an introduction piece for her book. Lastly, I wrote a couple of record reviews for David Ball's FAILSAFE magazine from England. I hear it is out now and I can't wait to get a copy. If you appreciate scholarly journalism on punk, you can't do much better than FAILSAFE magazine.

More next month! See you in September!

Summer Time Blues

Wow! Where does the time go at summer? Family, friends, hobbies, to-do list stuff...oh yeah...WRITING! Here it is already July and I have not written a single short story, but I have completed the skeleton of my first novel. I want to take a few days away from it, but then I need to reread the whole thing and flesh it out a bit before I start sending it publishers. My writer's group is also reading it and giving me some good advice on parts. I won't leak any of it just yet, but i will say that it involves hybrid undead ghost-like creatures that are invading London. I wrote it much like Bram Stoker's Dracula with a nod towards pure journalism in some parts, to pure pulp and horror in equal amounts in other parts. More on this soon...I will say that being a fan of the short story, it was a little difficult for me to get into a novel length venture, but I'm glad I did and I think horror fans will enjoy the result.

In other July news...

THE UNDEAD WAR: TALES OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE is now available as both a regular paperback and an eBook from Dead Guns Press. I have one short story in this collection and it is the only story I've ever written with a true zombie in it. My story in this is a reprint of one of my older stories, but I was thrilled to be included in a tome with other great writers like Selene MacLeod, T. Fox Dunham (Congrats to Dunham who is getting one of his novels turned into a movie!), Matthew Wilson, Gary Murphy, and John L.Thompson, just to name a few.

Get it here as an eBook:

http://www.amazon.com/Undead-Dead-Guns-Press-Book-ebook/dp/B00LJJCIMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405624667&sr=8-1&keywords=undead+war

Or here in paperback edition:

http://www.amazon.com/Undead-War-Zombie-Apocalypse-Volume/dp/149477030X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1405624667&sr=8-1

In other horrific news...

I wrote an original short story a few months back to go along with a piece of artwork by legendary black/death metal album cover artist Niall Parkinson from Ireland. I was really inspired by his piece entitled "The Time Has Come" and wrote an entire short story around his artwork. My story is just now seeing the light of day courtesy of James Ward Kirk Publishing and Niall's book titled NO SIGHT FOR THE SAVED. Right now it is only available as an eBook, but I understand it is just a matter of days before you can get a paperback copy.

Here is the eBook link:

http://www.amazon.com/Niall-Parkinson-No-Sight-Saved-ebook/dp/B00LRQ6VKY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405625164&sr=8-1&keywords=no+sight+for+the+saved

UPDATE: JULY 21st: The paperback version of NO SIGHT FOR THE SAVE is out now! You can order the paperback here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692255796/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dpd_eZrZtb0KNECHWQQA

Here is the artwork that inspired what I think is one of my very best short horror stories to-date:

"The Time Has Come" by Niall Parkinson

That is all for now, but I hope to bring you some great news about my novel in the near future! Cheers and Happy Summer, Greg

My Laziness Runeth Over

Hello all! I am back! I took a little time off from my writer's blog to focus on my teaching and end-of-the-school-year activities. I know...no excuses...but I am sorry that I did not post in April or May so I will rectify that now...June!

First of all, THANK YOU to all who bought and read my story "Snapshots of Hell." I was extremely pleased with the expertise and professional manner in which Phrenic Press went to work on my story to make it a taut read with a great cover! I'm not too sure about Amazon ranking, but I did reach 75,000 at one point, which I am told is 'pretty good.'

If you have not read my story yet, please go to Amazon and get it! It is FREE with Amazon Prime or .99 cents without. I guarantee that you will like it. And, if possible, please recommend it for a Bram Stoker Award with the Horror Writer's Association. I would be thrilled and honored to win a Stoker!

Now, on to the business at hand...So much happened in March that April was quite the opposite. Maybe this is due to tax deadlines here in the U.S.? Well, May saw an anthology finally come out that I had subbed for over a year ago:

IN THE DARKNESS -anthology from Thirteen O'Clock Press (U.K.) came out in May. This one is edited by the wonderful Dorothy Davies. Here is their promotional blurb about it:

In the darkness anything can happen and often does – if this wild collection of stories is anything to go by! Under cover of the dark many a nefarious and often strange happening is going on, without our knowledge until it’s too late and we are lost… Thirteen Press authors have come up with a startling variety of stories on the theme of In The Darkness, murder and mayhem breaking loose everywhere. Come join us in the dark, don’t be afraid, we don’t bite – not too often anyway…

You can pick it up as a paperback here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/thirteen-press/in-the-darkness/paperback/product-21614105.html

Or as an ebook here:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/thirteen-press/in-the-darkness/ebook/product-21632842.html

In other news, June is looking up with a few more anthologies coming out. This time around Dead Guns Press is releasing two themed anthologies with some of my stories in them:

THE UNDEAD WAR: TALES OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

and...

BADLANDS: TALES OF THE STRANGE AND BIZARRE IN THE OLD WEST

I am told that these titles should be out very soon so keep checking back here for more info.

That is all for right now, but I will do a June update so check back regularly. Have a great summer! Cheers, Greg