My next book, STRANGE WEATHER, a collection of four short novels, is out this October (early November in the U.K.). It opens with "Snapshot," the story of a man known as the Phoenician, who carries a modified Polaroid camera that can steal memories. An earlier draft of that novella appeared in Cemetery Dance 74/75, although the version in the book includes a few new chapters.
"Loaded" tells the story of a mall security guard who becomes an overnight hero to the gun rights movement after he single handedly takes on a mass shooter. But as his story of bravery begins to crack, so does his sanity, and on a breathlessly hot Florida afternoon, he reaches for the gun again, and embarks on a day of reckoning.
The third novella, "Aloft," strands a young skydiver on an unaccountably solid cloud, leaving him a desperate castaway on an island in the sky. And in the finale, "Rain," deadly storms of nails begin to shower down all across the United States in a glittering, lethal hail.
If you're in the market for a signed book, Water Street Books in Exeter, New Hampshire has you covered. As they did with THE FIREMAN, they're offering signed copies of STRANGE WEATHER to those who preorder. They ship worldwide. If you are kind enough to pre-order, you have my thanks. All the information is right here.
Want to know more about STRANGE WEATHER? Entertainment Weekly has a preview.
Speaking of Water Street Books...
On June 20th, I'll be at Water Street to do a Q&A with Rio Youers, the author of a thumping-great supernatural thriller, THE FORGOTTEN GIRL. Rio is the kind of overnight sensation who has actually been around for over a decade, banging out novels for the small presses. GIRL is his first release with a big publishing house and it's a rocket ride.
How badly do I want you to read this thing? At the Q&A, I'll be giving away signed comics to the first 50 people to buy a copy at the event. But only the first fifty, and you have to have purchased a copy of Forgotten Girl!
Details.
As a guy who once owned and obsessively played the original DAWN OF THE DEAD board game, I can only say that I wish I had a playable version of JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING twenty years ago. Better late than never: this is out in October, right around the same time as STRANGE WEATHER.
Pair with this... if you can find a copy and have a turntable to spin it on.
We live in bleak times politically, but when it comes to our entertainment, this really is the best of all possible timelines.
There's a place for people who wish every day was Christmas... Christmasland, where unhappiness is against the law! No, really... if you even try a frown, the residents will open you up just like a Christmas present!
If that sounds like your cup of egg nog, you're in luck! Skelton Crew Studios has fashioned a key to the gates which will allow you immediate access! (Note: users must supply their own inscape or dimension-skipping Rolls Royce to reach Christmasland) Available for pre-order now.
Oooo lookat this! It's the sweet, sweetly red U.K. cover of THE FIREMAN, out in paperback, more or less riiiiiiiiiiight... now. Why don't you hit up your local Foyle's, Waterstone, Daunt, or indie for your copy? If that fails, there's always this thing called the internet.
Between this and the US cover of STRANGE WEATHER, I am blessed in sexy art.
Here in coastal New Hampshire, I'm head-coldy but happy. The trees are throwing on their tender green cloaks (nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold). It's too breezy and cool for the mosquitoes to get going.
I'm listening to old Aretha Franklin albums, reading a Cormoran Strike novel, and fiddling with final changes to the script for the Locke & Key pilot. And I got a new book going. Or two.
I carry guilt in my heart for not offering any adorable corgi pictures in this newsletter. Maybe next time.