Lincoln Crisler

You can order issue nine of Shroud Magazine now. And you should, because my interview with Jeff Strand is in it. FTW!

Shroud welcomes the Summer with startling stories from the Brothers’ May, Lon Prater, Robert Canipe, Marie Brennan, Alethea Contis, Debbie Kuhn, Ty Schwamberger and many more! Brian Keene and Scott Christian Carr share their latest columns, I.E. Lester investigates the zombie phenomenon, Mark McLaughlin interviews a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD icon, Derek Fox discusses the Art of Fear, an interview with Jeff Strand, and cover art and interview from Tom Brown. So much more!

on Shroud Publishing’s website, wherein we discuss his novels past and present, as well as the relative merits of robots, pirates and ninjas, amongst other things. Enjoy!

My days have been pretty much filled to the brim between work and school. I’ve gotten a little writing done, but not much. I still have my novel that I’m working on, and three novellas in progress that I will likely pitch as a collection unless they each really blossom into something worthy of individual publication (meaning each one of them can justify the cover price on their own… if people are going to have to shell out $9 a piece, they’re going to have to be a certain length or I’ll be packaging them together).

I’ll be getting back into my review reading soon, but man did I need a break. I still have leisure reading piling up, but you can expect reviews of recently published and upcoming works from Leisure, Bloody Books, Skullvines and Raw Dog Screaming in the near future. In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been reading for fun:

Pressure by Jeff Strand — I’ve been waiting to read this one since I heard about it’s impending mass-market release. I’ve heard lots of good things about Strand and he definitely lives up to the hype. Pressure’s a good balance of humor and horror and follows a very disturbed individual and his ‘project’ through childhood, college and fatherhood. Highly recommended.

Origin & The List by J.A. Konrath — Joe wrote something like nine novels before getting one published, and he’s offering a lot of this early work for free on his website. The two I’ve read dealt with some pretty farfetched situations (the first one features Satan being held in a secret government facility and the other is about clones of Einstein, Joan of Arc, Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln and other famous people trying to kill each other off and defeat a political plot), but they were fast, fun reads that killed a few hours. I’ll definitely be looking into his ‘Jack’ Daniels series of books when time permits.

Star Trek: New Frontiers by Peter David — I really didn’t want to like these. A Star Trek series that didn’t start off as television, with pretty much all-new characters. I pride myself on my willingness to try new things, though, so I cracked open the first one, fell in love, and am now on # 3. If you like Star Trek novels, these are a good way to get your fix; they really feel like Star Trek and David, as always, writes a good book.

http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/NewRelease.cfm?L1=1&L2=0

UPDATE: Stumbled across the rest of the ’09 schedule. Maximum Squee:

July 2009

THE BONE FACTORY by Nate Kenyon
THE SHORE by Robert Dunbar

 August 2009
URBAN GOTHIC by Brian Keene
FAR DARK FIELDS by Gary A. Braunbeck

September 2009
FLESH by Richard Laymon
WOLF’S GAMBIT by W. D. Gagliani

October 2009
DEPRAVED by Bryan Smith
FEEDING GROUND by Sarah Pinborough

November 2009
THE BLACK TRAIN by Edward Lee
THE 13TH by John Everson

December 2009
THE RESURRECTIONIST by Wrath James White
GHOST MONSTER by Simon Clark