Sympathy for the Devil: The Competition

Here's a message from Justin Gustainis, about the competition you can enter after reading Sympathy for the Devil. It's a tricky one!

In this context, “Easter Egg” refers to a popular culture reference made in passing. The reference can’t be explicit, or it’s not an Easter egg.

Here’s the difference: there’s a reference in the book to Jill Kismet (used by permission of her creator, Lilith Saintcrow). Since Jill is mentioned explicitly by name, it’s not an Easter egg. On the other hand, a character says he took some classes at UVA with “that chick Clara something, the one who joined the FBI and later shot that killer Buffalo Billy.” That’s an Easter egg, because it indirectly (if not very subtly) references Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs.

There are at least thirty Easter eggs within the pages of Sympathy for the Devil. The reader who identifies the most wins First Place in the contest; second most Easter eggs takes second place, ditto for third.

The first place winner (as determined by me) wins a $50 Amazon gift card and I will name a character after him/her in the next Morris & Chastain novel. Second place is a $25 gift card and Third Place gets a $10 Amazon gift card.

Keep your listings brief – something like this: “The woman named Clara who shot Buffalo Billy (p. 98) is a reference to Clarice Starling.”

One entry per email address, and you don’t get to amend your entry once you’ve sent it in. Send your entry – in the body of your email, not as an attachment – to justingustainis@yahoo.com. Entries will be acknowledged. In the event of a tie for First, Second or Third Place, duplicate prizes will be awarded.

Deadline is midnight (Eastern US time) on Halloween (October 31, 2011). Winners will be announced by December 1st.

-Justin Gustainis

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Twitter Competition: Juliet E. McKenna

To celebrate the arrival of a crate full of her new fantasy novel, Dangerous Waters, on her doorstep, Juliet E. McKenna has organised a Twitter giveaway this week, ending on Thursday! Head over to her account to enter.


Don't forget that you can still download a free short story by Juliet Mckenna, The Wizard's Coming, in ebook or pdf form when you click on the banner below:-


And if you're in Oxford this week, Juliet will be in conversation with two other Solaris authors, Ian Whates and Ben Macallan, at a signing at Waterstones this Thursday.

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Oxford signing this Thursday: Waterstones

Come along on Thursday to meet Juliet E. McKenna, Ian Whates and Ben Macallan (a.k.a. Chaz Brenchley), as well as our editor-in-chief, Jonathan Oliver!

Waterstones, Oxford is located at William Baker House, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AF.

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Flight Z - Now Boarding at Waterstones, Altrincham

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Flight Z will be ready for boarding at Waterstones, Altrincham, this Saturday from 11am. Full details of your departure itinerary can be found at this website.

Passengers, are advised to buckle-up as the ride could well get bumpy.

Conrad Williams will be signing copies of his brilliant horror novel, Loss of Separation, at Waterstones, Altrincham, this Saturday at 11am.

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When Graeme Interviewed Gary...

Graeme Flory (of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review) has recently interviewed Gary McMahon (of The Concrete Grove) in a colossal battle that destroyed much of Northeast England. Both men have now been captured and, heavily sedated, transported to a safe facility in the North Sea where British Science can study and seek to understand them.

Their interview is recorded, for posterity, here:

READ THIS - YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT

Thank you for your time.

David

Reviews!

Hello!

Right, time for some reviews.

What, thought I'd do some kind of comic introduction? What sort of person do you think I am? I am a blogging professional. I'm 100% business, me. Bam! I blog that shiz, right there.

Ahem.

Right, so Theresa Derwin at Terror Tree has had some very nice things to say about Ben Macallan's Desdaemona, whose mix of dry wit and ass-kicking has clearly appealed to her.

I have no doubt that there will be a follow up to this novel. Apart from plenty of shocks and incredibly strong main characters in both Jordan and Desi, sharp humour abounds in this book and brings it to a whole new dimension of Urban Fantasy. Witty, intelligent and fast-paced, Desdaemona is positively the most fun read I have had in a very long time.

And Graeme at Graeme's Fantasy Book Reviews has been equally pleased with Gary McMahon's The Concrete Grove, which slightly foiled his plans of a week of "comfort reads."

It goes without saying that if you are squeamish at all then this is probably a book that you should avoid. McMahon doesn’t pull his punches at all and this shows us all too well that perhaps the true horror in this piece lies in just what us humans can be capable of if we want something enough. It’s not pretty... It’s a vicious read with a delicate beauty about it; if you like your horror fiction then I don’t see any reason why you won’t get a lot out of this.

Finally, Michael Wilson at Read Horror has shared his thoughts on last year's horror anthology, Jonathan Oliver's The End of the Line, which he feels captures not just the atmosphere of the subject matter, but the gamut of the horror medium to boot.

Well worth dipping into, boasting a plethora of original, humorous, and horrific tales. Whilst I have been unable to detail the entire magnificence of the roster on show, The End of The Line comes fully recommended. This collection contains stories that will terrify you with vivid realism, move you, deliver more than a healthy dose of spiritual eeriness and bring you face to face with loss. Both horror and The End of The Line can offer more than jump out of your seat shocks, read this and prepare for enlightenment.

Sweet.

Cheers,

David

Podcast XII

Hi all,

You're probably going to start getting dizzy with all the podcast updates. However will you keep up?

The twelfth podcast, A Pax in Time, Book Nine,* brings Desk Editor David Moore and Marketing Intern Colm Bannon in Close Contact with Abaddon Author Jonathan Green.

Jon's here to talk about the steampunk Pax Britannia universe, the recent release of the Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection, about ebooks and Fighting Fantasy, and about the intriguing upcoming "audience participation" project Pax Britannia: Time's Arrow, in which the story will be told in several installments in ebook form and readers will be given the chance to vote on the direction of each new installment.

You can also just go here to look at the feed direct, or to subscribe using an RSS application, like Outlook.

Cheers,

David

*In fact, Time's Arrow is book eight. And if your mother had been obliging enough to tell you that "a stitch in time saves eight," we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. So I think we can take a good long look at her before we start pointing fingers, hmm?

Press Release: Is the President actually the Anti-Christ?

Sympathy for the Devil

by Justin Gustainis

4 August 2011 • £7.99 (UK) ISBN 978-1-907992-02-5
26 July 2011 • $7.99/$9.99 (US & CAN) ISBN 978-1-907992-03-2

Also available as an eBook

The most powerful man in the world, a supernatural conspiracy, hell on Earth - just how are occult investigator Quincey Morris and white witch Libby Chastain going to stop a demon from becoming President of the United States?

It’s election time, and as Senator Howard Stark continues his demonic rise to the White House, Morris and Chastain are determined to stop him - but they must overcome both the US Secret Service and the very forces of Hell itself in order to stop the anthem becoming ‘Hell to the Chief’.

Sympathy for the Devil is the latest in an electrifying series of supernatural thrillers. To complement its release, eBooks of the first two titles in the Morris and Chastain series – Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways – will become available the same week.

“... A lot of entertainment. A very good book... I look forward to reading another one in the series.” – Charlaine Harris on Black Magic Woman

About the Series
Quincey Morris and his "consultant", white witch Libby Chastain, are Occult investigators in an electrifying series of supernatural thrillers, as they search out evil in the darkest corners of America. Previous titles include Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways.

About the Author
Justin Gustainis is a college professor living in upstate New York. In earlier incarnations, he has been a factory worker, soldier, speechwriter, and professional bodyguard. His short fiction has twice won the Graverson Award for Horror and received ‘Honorable Mention’ from Ellen Datlow in Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 1. He is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop.
www.justingustainis.com

Flight Z - Now Boarding at Waterstones, Wigan

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Flight Z will be ready for boarding at Waterstones, Wigan, this Saturday from 11am. Full details of your departure itinerary can be found at the website.

Passengers, are advised to buckle-up as the ride could well get bumpy.

Which is a very roundabout way of saying that Conrad Williams will be signing copies of his brilliant horror novel, Loss of Separation, at Waterstones, Wigan, this Saturday at 11am.

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Free PDF! Nicholas Royle's "The Lure"

Hey all!

So, to misquote the beloved Golden-era Hollywood director Samuel Goldwyn, "How did you love our book?"

I refer, of course, to our underground-horror anthology, The End of the Line, edited by Jonathan Oliver.

In particular, I refer to Nicholas Royle's powerful, suggestive story "The Lure."

The very anthology, and very story, that have both been shortlisted by the British Fantasy Society for the British Fantasy Awards 2011, in the Best Anthology and Best Short Story categories, respectively.

You haven't read it!?

Well. I can't say I'm not disappointed. I thought you were better than that.

Still, dear reader - if indeed that is your name - panic not! We've had a bit of a chat around the office and decided to give the hell out of that story right to the public! You don't even need to buy the book or anything (although you totally should, and read it; it's awesome). You can read Royle's short story right now, in PDF form, just by downloading it:

Check it out!

We're just giving, caring people like that.

(And hell, you know, if you're a member of the BFS, and are maybe thinking of how to vote, or as it may be, you've got a friend who was at Fantasycon last year and is trying to decide how to vote, or something, you could, you know... keep these in mind?)

Brilliant.

Cheers,

David

It knows where you live!

Today sees the release of The Concrete Grove, book one in a chilling new horror trilogy from Gary McMahon

"The Concrete Grove is a bleak orchard of humanity where you hardly dare look at what dark things hang gleaming in the trees." - Graham Joyce, author of The Silent Land.

"The Concrete Grove is McMahon's most accomplished work to date. A compelling novel of extremes." - Mark Morris, author of The Deluge

"There's a new wave of brilliant horror writers, and McMahon's right there at the top of them." - Andy Remic, author of Kell's Legend

"McMahon's visionary sense of the supernatural makes The Concrete Grove one exciting read." - Steve Rasnic Tem, co-author of The Man on The Ceiling

"One of the hottest horror writers the UK has ever produced." - Morpheus Tales

"The outstanding British horror writer of our times." - The Black Abyss

"A book with horror oozing out of its very pores." - Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

"McMahon has nailed the art of horror." - Terror Tree

"A scary as hell novel." - Falcata Times

"The Concrete Grove serves as a wicked keystone for its sequels. It's fast paced, its characters grab your attention, and will send your senses reeling as McMahon ramps up the scare factor along the way." - Spooky Reads

£7.99 - ISBN: 978-1-907519-94-9

$7.99 - ISBN: 978-1-907519-95-6

Also available as an e-book.

House of Fear contents revealed...

Greeting Solarians

Well, I've just finished putting together the running order for October's horror anthology, House of Fear, and thought I'd share the contents with you, to give you a taste of the macabre delights you can expect within:

Objects in Dreams may be Closer than they Appear - Lisa Tuttle

Pied-a-terre - Stephen Volk

In The Absence of Murdock - Terry Lamsley

Florrie - Adam L.G. Nevill

Driving The Milky Way - Weston Ochse

The Windmill - Rebecca Levene

Moretta - Garry Kilworth

Hortus Conclusus - Chaz Brenchley

The Dark Space in The House in The House in The Garden at The Centre of The World - Robert Shearman

The Muse of Copenhagen - Nina Allan

An Injustice - Christopher Fowler

The Room Upstairs - Sarah Pinborough

Villanova - Paul Meloy

Widow's Weeds - Christopher Priest

The Doll's House - Jonathan Green

Inside/Out - Nicholas Royle

The House - Eric Brown

Trick of The Light - Tim Lebbon

What Happened to Me - Joe R. Lansdale

And here, to remind you of what the book is going to look like is Luke Preece's creepy-as-hell cover:

UK Release date - 1st October - ISBN 978-1-907992-06-3

US Release date - 27th September - ISBN 978-1-907992-07-0

Also available as an e-book.