Nightmarescape book 2 update

So some of you have already read Nightmarescape and are already asking about the next book. Well it's gonna be a minute.
I have written a LOT of material for the second book, but after sitting down and reviewing it, I have made the decision to rewrite a large portion of it. A little hint of things to come: the second book is split point of view between Curse and Banshee, but it is primarily Banshee's story. I really didn't feel like the material I had created did justice to her character nor did the parallel time of their stories flow well.

There's a pretty good reason for this. I have been chipping away at this book since 2010 when I finished the first Nightmarescape. When I began my position as a detective, most of my time went out the window. It still is. In addition to working that day job (which often stretches into a night job and sometimes a 24 hour job), I'm trying to get the word out about the first book. Marketing, taxes, sales records, etc, all get in the way of creative time.

This led me to write book 2 in chapters. This is not something I normally do. I wrote the first book as a single narrative and broke it up later. I think I need to go back to that. Everything moved better. Along with that, I have had numerous great ideas for scenes that occur later in the book and have written them only to find that they then seem to be out of context at that actual point in the story, have inconsistencies, etc. So a lot of what has been written is getting scrapped.

Ultimately, it will delay book 2's arrival, but as the creator of this series, I feel like I have to do right by my characters and the small following of fans I have gained. I don't want to put out something half-assed, so I'll fix what's broken.

Sometimes, you have to burn something down for a phoenix to rise. In the meantime, grab a copy of Nightmarescape and in February, you'll be able to get 100 Reasons.

The Ritual Abuse Tarot Deck

Holy fucking fuckshit roflmaocopter in the name of Pastor Nox, this is absolutely amazing. A brief introduction is due. If you were a kid in the 80s or 90s, chances are you remember a series of books called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. They were a "children's" collection of stories collected from folklore and retold in short story form by Alvin Schwartz. The stories were mostly meh, but EVERYONE and his brother who saw the books remembers Stephen Gammell's otherworldly illustrations. I loved these books as a kid. They were absolutely horrifying, but in a strange cathartic way...and me being me...well, I thought the illustrations were some of the most beautiful things I ever laid eyes on (up to and including having a crush on the ghost chick from The Haunted House in volume 1).

(my Valentine's date circa 1994)

 Flash forward to 2004, I began writing Nightmarescape after having a series of night terrors reminiscent Gammell's illustrations. I took that world and made it my own. Instead of the smoky abstract haunts that populated Gammell's illustrations, mine were more concrete and aesthetically inspired. Combine those illustrations with black and white photographs of World War I, II, and Vietnam, and we're getting there. Yeah...take those ghostly creatures...and give them weapons...Brutal Disorder Logos helped bring those characters to life with the character sketches you have seen of Curse, Larry Spectre, Banshee, and Pastor Nox. They owe their existence to Stephen Gammell.

 Throughout the years however, I've never seen anyone faithfully recreate that same spirit and aesthetic of artwork...until now. Enter artist Ryan Sheffield of Grapevine, Texas and his Ritual Abuse Tarot Deck. I caught wind of it's existence just a few days ago and have never had any interest in tarot or anything of the sort, but the artwork was too beautiful to pass up. Initially missing out on the Kickstarter, I danced my happy ass on over to his Etsy page like Larry Spectre with a fiddle and purchased a deck. Said deck arrived in the mail today in all its glory in a card protecting tin box with a tarot instruction manual. None of these disappoint in any way whatsoever. Utterly amazing and a job well done. If this guy does custom stuff, I'll be harassing him for a book cover, character pics, or something in the near future. Job well well done.

This is from his Etsy page where you can buy the deck as well as original artwork. His website is at http://ryansheffieldart.com/index.html

Book 2 progress

So, book to is shaping up to be an absolute monster. It will definitely be longer than the first one,share a split point of view, have just as much if not more shootin, and 40% more rootin' tootin'. Ok so I stole that last part from the Simpsons. If you grew up in the 90s, what life lesson didn't you learn from the Simpsons though? Here are a few things to look forward to in the next book: plague flagellants, amazon warriors, gladiatorial contests, psychic powers, blood (not just nightmareplasm),swamps, ship raiding, Larry Spectre's color commentary, more sad and profound truths about the Nightmarescape, and leading it all, a badass dreadlocked chick with barbed wire wrapped around her arms. Expect all this sometime in 2015 hopefully. It will depend on how long it takes to finish the first draft and get it edited. Don't worry though...I have some things to fill that gap...100 Reasons is on the horizon....

The thrills and Chills Giveaway now has 12 authors involved. Get in on it to win some cool shit.

link here: a Rafflecopter giveaway

2014 Chills and Thrills Holiday Giveaway

Want a copy of Nightmarescape from me or other great prizes from some esteemed colleagues of mine? Well then get in on this:

It starts on November 28 and goes until December 23. From me you can win a print copy or an e-copy of Nightmarescape. While supplies last, void where prohibited, legal jargon, legal jargon etc etc. hate it perfect...etc. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New projects

Well...some new...some not so new. The second Nightmarescape (tentatively titled Blood Debt)is about 60k words in. Expect this one to be a monster. It will definitely be longer than the first book. Basically, it is going to tell two parallel stories with the main one being from Banshee's point of view. Expect that sometime in 2015.

In addition to that, I'm also working on a project about a loser living in Palm Springs, Florida in 1988. He's in his mid 20's, works at a pizzeria, drinks too much, listens to 80's thrash and punk, plays a lot of video games, and hates everyone. He vents this hatred in the form of violent rape and murder fantasies that border on being vivid hallucinations.  Picture a lower brow American Psycho and you're kind of getting there. That will also be around sometime in 2015.

Next, and certainly not least, some of you have been hearing me rave about two volumes of poetry that I've completed. Well the first one, 100 reasons is in preproduction and will hopefully be ready to go by the end of year or beginning of January.

Yep add all that on to the day job and T.S. Dann is staying plenty busy. Now here's a picture that encompasses the spirit of November:

Int3rw3bz Infection

I've weaseled ecopies of Nightmarescape into the following retailers:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EfwWpx
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1ymQKW2
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xDkIXt

Also available in paperback form at these fine retailers:
Tall Tales Book Shop in Atlanta, GA
Giga Bites Gaming Cafe in Marietta, GA

Go get em kids.

Now live online!

Nightmarescape is available in ebook format on Amazon and Google Play. Kobo is pending and Smashwords and Nook are supposed to be getting back to me soon.

Go get yourself some fancy high class literature:
 Googe Play store:
http://bit.ly/1ymQKW2
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/1EfwWpx 

Print Copies in Store

Tall Tales Book Shop in Toco Hills is now carrying Nightmarescape. You know you want one...

http://www.talltalesatlanta.com

Why have I been so quiet lately?

Probably because I've been getting ready for PRINT COPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the first run which will probably be for promos and friends mainly since there aren't many, but I've already commissioned a larger printing for sales. The ebook will be available in a couple weeks.

Song of Earned Repose

After long labour

Your head is heavy

It is fitting to rest now

For thine work is done

Let thy breath relax

And rest upon earth

For it is your home

From whence came

So then returned

Thanks for the days

Of shared presence

Now free thy burden

Relinquish pain and fear

They cannot touch you now

T.S. Dann 2014

Be Your Own Fan

So, I've been quiet for a while. Why is that? Because I've been busy as hell going over the final proofs for Nightmarescape. After two printed proofs and an electronic one, I feel that my manuscript is suitable for publishing. The only thing that is in waiting now is the final cover. Once the brightness gets corrected, Nightmarescape will be going to print. I'm expecting the new cover sample to come from Booklogix this week...which means...I should have printed copies in a couple weeks at most...This is actually happening. Some of you have been listening to me for years and probably think I'm full of shit at this point...but mark my words, it is coming...and it has not been easy.

Which leads me to the point of this post, inspired by a Facebook posting done by my good friend Nathan Hamilton (aka The Son of Celluloid, and the other half of Netherworld Haunted House's Team Filthy). The point of the post is that any creative endeavor relies on the creator to make it happen. Many people will say they are going to help you, do things for/with you, etc, but then will never follow through. I hate to say it, but in my experiences with getting this book published, this has been a harsh truth. The artists and people I have dealt with to actually get it done have all been professionals. All of the amateurs fell through on their promises. Creativity is not always something that can be accomplished by a single person. I'm a good writer, but a terrible artist; therefore I will not be creating my own cover designs, character portraits, etc. I have done some as mock-ups and concepts, but that is where my talent in that area ends. The same goes for the editing of the book, several people offered to help/do it for free or next to nothing and ended up not following through.

Where am I going with all this? Well when you believe in something, you have to believe in it harder than anyone else for it to actually happen. This is particularly true of individual creative endeavors. You have to be your own biggest fan first and foremost because in the beginning, you will not have fans. You will have friends and some people who are curious, but people will not be able to appreciate your work until it is made manifest. Even then, the word will have to spread. It will be on you to get that ball rolling. Just because you have made something does not mean that people will know it exists or care.  Do not rely on others to do it for you despite what they may say or offer. Treat your endeavor as a business transaction if you plan to use it as a product. It is really the only practical way to look at such things.

All this said, Nightmarescape has taken ten years to get to this point. I could have given up long ago, but since I did not, I will have something to show for it and to share. Stand by. It is coming. I don't have an exact date, but will keep you posted. The Nightmare begins soon...

And for all your horror fixins check out the Son of Celluloid blog and Youtube channel: http://sonofcelluloid1.blogspot.com/  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5hu86rqOdm89tDWsn_vbDA

a quote from the venerable Larry Spectre

"They said it was madness, but I thought it was common sense! Someone's making your life hell? Get rid of them! You're making your own life hell? Well, then get rid of you! Our benevolent Christian empire didn't see eye to eye with me on such things."

What the hell have I been doing?

For those who keep up with this (if that's anyone), I've been getting questions about Nightmarescape lately. Here's the deal: the first proof had some things that needed to be fixed. I've made the corrections and sent them back to my editor and printer. I should be receiving a second bound proof by the end of this week or early next week at the latest. Once I approve it, they will send me copies within a week or so. The ebook version will follow soon after.

That does not mean that I have become lax or that my ADHD has settled a bit. For the last few weeks, I have been seized with a mania of poetry writing. When I have reached 200 of them, I will compile them into two volumes and release them separately.

What is in these books? Well it's me, so consider the source. You will not find love poetry, the beauty of a tree, etc in these volumes. Instead expect the burn of futile frustrations answered by nihilistic absurdity. If that sounds appealing, then standby for the currently unnamed volumes. If you hate it, perfect. Fuck off.

Morbid Publications

For those who haven't seen the logo made by Brutal Disorder Logos:

Follow Up: Book Review for J.H. Glaze's Northwest

As I said a few days ago, I'd write a review for this one when I got to it and now I'm getting to it. I give you J.H. Glaze's second book in the John Hazard series: Northwest.

Whereas The Spirit Box was all about atmosphere and character development, Northwest takes a different approach and goes for the throat with a brutal survival story. It begins with Hazard having left his job as a police detective and having gone into private paranormal investigations. This has led him to join forces with Dr. Macy Renner, who is planning a trip to investigate unexplained disappearances in the wilds of the American Northwest. Dr. Renner has assembled a group of students along with Hazard to carry out the investigation in the wilderness. At the last minute, they grab a girl named Emily to go along with them as a camera operator. The problem with her...she has recently witnessed a mob hit and hired goons are chasing after her. There are other characters in the cast who come along with their own share of baggage, but in the end, most of them end up being slaughter fodder. Upon getting their private plane knocked out of the sky, the group learns that monstrous carnivorous alien beasts have been responsible for the disappearances and are now looking to consume them.

Hazard is the only person in the group with any real survival experience and the rest of the group is kind of a motley crew (think the people on Whale Wars) that is more or less damned from the start. As I said before, this book relies more heavily on suspense and action than character or atmosphere building. The main development in character is between John and Emily who end up having a pretty well written romantic relationship. You also learn that Dr. Renner is not to be trusted. Glaze also does gore pretty well in this book. It is used to effect, but not to excess. It's kind of a crucial element when you have hulking alien hunger beasts running around.

The suspense is taught throughout from Emily getting chased by thugs in the beginning to the first encounter with the dread creatures and their cannibalistic brood to a canoe ride down a raging river that is pretty sure to end in disaster. It's not something to read if you want to be calm and lower your blood pressure. You will want certain characters to survive and others not so much. There are some pretty cathartic moments when the shitty ones get their comeuppins (don't care if that's a real word or not).  

In all, I liked this one and it was a fun direction for Hazard that let him flex his action muscles a little more. Next in the series is Send No Angel, which I'll get to eventually when I finish working on my own shit.

Speaking of which....look for Nightmarescape in early September...the Nightmare begins soon....

Shoutout: J.H. Glaze

Been a minute since I posted. I've been editing the proof for Nightmarescape and seized with an manic outburst of poetry writing. Please forgive me. Or don't. As always: If you hate it, perfect. Fuck off.
After that if you're still here, you might be interested in this post; a shoutout to fellow local Atlanta author J.H. Glaze.

I met Glaze at Days of the Dead back in February of this year and he has helped me with navigating the waters of self-publishing as a fantasy writer. During our first meeting, he became excited upon hearing about my background in police work and hooked me up with a copy of The Spirit Box.

This book begins a series chronicling the adventures of Detective John Hazard, who is willing to bend the rules a bit while being a complete shit magnet for strange situations. The story begins with Hazard investigating a brutal double homicide in a somewhat small midwestern town. While that's going on, people begin to turn up missing...an irregular occurrence for such an environment.

Well it turns out that lonely loser Walt has located an powerful artifact in his dead mother's antique shop. It is none other than the entitled spirit box, and it's possessed by the soul of an ancient king who is hungry for more souls. The box offers promises of power to Walt...and who is he to refuse...

Insanity and mayhem ensue from there as the town seems to go crazy as Hazard attempts to keep a lid on all of it.  Eventually, the story concludes in a pretty epic showdown between the mortal and the supernatural.

Throughout it all, this book is simply dripping with atmosphere. From the heavy oppressiveness of the hot summer streets, to Walt's lonely neglected apartment, to the haven of lost souls known as T's Diner, the settings are strong and shove your ass right down in their constituent environments.

Character development is on full display here as well. Glaze does an excellent job of illustrating the back stories for his main characters while also breathing a lot of life into his supporting cast. In short, there's nobody in this story who lacks reason for what they do and everyone has a strong believability.

Walt is the star of this show. Glaze paints him as a lonely frustrated man in his 40s who is alienated, dejected, and frustrated. His frustrations and feelings of failure roll off the pages heavily and into the reader's mind. When the box comes calling, how can someone like him resist its promises?

Check out the Spirit Box. You'll be glad you did. I also picked up Glaze's second book with Hazard: Northwest. Give me some time and I'll write about that one too.

  

Be patient kids...

So the proof had a few errors. I have sent my corrections back and should have the final version next week sometime...then look for print copies in early September.

Character Bio: Banshee

                                                                     Banshee

In life, Banshee was a violent eco-activist who resorted to acts of terrorism to end what she perceived to be human wrongdoings against the planet. She was driven by a sense of actually wanting to effect change through violence rather than sitting around talking or protesting. She did not view her actions as "right" or "wrong", but rather evaluated them based on practical effect. To her, human history itself was written in blood and little ever changed without violence.
Her life in the world of the living was ended by a group of hunters after she shot one of theirs. The group took their turns brutally raping her before leaving her alone to die. To this day, she wears the barbed wire they used to bind her around her forearms as a constant reminder of her hatred and anger.
Curse and Larry Spectre find her hiding in a dead forest that she claims to be protecting. After a brief scuffle, the two bond over being lost souls full of anger and make a pact; she will help him return to the world of the living sand see his lost lover after which, he will aid her in extracting bloody revenge on the hunters who degraded and killed her.  Together, they will destroy all opposition that stands in their way.
Hell hath no fury like a crusty undead dreadlocked woman scorned.

Music for writing: WHORES

Some people have asked me what I listen to while I'm writing. Well my tastes from everyday tend to bleed over into my creative activities. Therefore, I end up listening to a lot of sludge and death metal with some atmospheric stuff and sometimes heavier music from the 90s tossed in for color. While these guys weren't on my radar back when I was finishing my first manuscript in early 2010, I have become a diehard fan since. They have two albums (Ruiner and Clean) that I have been rocking heavily while working on the second book. Ladies and jerks, I am talking about local Atlanta band Whores.
These guys are amazing on record, and absolutely unbelievable live. The two times I have seen them, they have not disappointed. Their music is harsh and gritty, but in person it is so incredibly tangible. The crunch of the guitars grinds harder, the visceral beats of the drums resonate louder, and the bass just rumbles. To top off their sound, they know how to rock a crowd. I've seen them twice now and both times something fucked up has happened. I saw a pretty good fight at one of the shows, and this past Friday night, someone got knocked into me causing my lower lip to get split and require stitches. There is something so nasty and driving about this music that it tends to conjure realities as gross as its sound when played live.
Noise rock is sorta meh to me on a lot of fronts, but Whores don't just reinvent the wheel, they utterly destroy it before dragging its remnants through a dilapidated parking lot of broken asphalt and shattered glass before smashing what remains into a devastated proximity of the original. Each set begins with an oppressive drone of feedback before exploding into a trawl through frustration and disappointment to build a crescendo of absolute catharsis. It was well worth stumbling down to East Atlanta even though I was tired as hell, well worth the roughly 40 minutes or so I was actually able to see, and worth being in the emergency room at Dekalb Medical til 0530 getting stitches.

Make sure you check these jerks out. As much as I bitch about Atlanta, there is some amazing talent here. It's hard not to be inspired after listening to them either live or on record.

http://whores.bandcamp.com/

What's this....

So I stopped by my printer yesterday and received my print proof copy of Nightmarescape. Once I read through it and approve the proof, we'll start with a soft cover print run.

Character Bio: Pastor Nox

So, the Bubonic Plague has resurfaced in China. I was going to wait a while on this bio, but given recent events I thought it would be appropriate to profile the main "villain" in Nightmarescape:

Pastor Nox

Nox lived during the initial European outbreak of the Black Plague. Originally, he ministered to the poor on the streets and eventually became interested in medicine, becoming a physician. He plied his trade along with his ministering for some time before the outbreak of the plague. 

Though his mind was worn away by the dread contagion before death, Nox remembers the sights of death and despair that permeated the streets of his home city.  He can not recall the location, but to this day remembers the faces of the dead and dying.  His efforts were valiant, but the continued exposure to such horror and sorrow eventually broke his sanity. In a bout of madness, he began worshiping the plague and turned his newfound spirituality upon those he ministered. Out of fear and desperation they heeded his call and in no time, he had a band of fanatical followers and flagellants. Nox and his congregation traveled far and wide preaching their new twisted gospel. To them, the plague was not a punishment for sin, but a boon from Heaven to remove the pure and righteous from the purgatory of Earth while the rest of humanity remained behind to rot. Nox eventually succumbed to this "blessing" and found himself in the Nightmarescape with a very special ability...he could psychically communicate with those whose minds and bodies had been destroyed by disease.  He named his band of followers the Afflicted and took to conquest of the Nightmarescape.

For centuries he has waged wars and made unlikely alliances with the hope of making it back to the world of the living so that he may infect all of mankind with deadly contagions. Upon dying they will remanifest in the Nightmarescape under his control. In his mind, this will be his utopia where humanity shares a single vision that he rules. It will be the end of conflict and suffering. 

This vision is what drives him. Nothing will stand in his way. Centuries have passed and his power continues to grow with each soul that finds itself victim of a fatal disease. He is ancient and implacable. His followers are eternally hungry and willing to assent to his every command. All he needs is access to our world and life itself will be damned. 

Character biography: Curse

This will be the first in a series where I will be posting pictures and bios for the main characters in Nightmarescape. Tonight I'll start with the main character, Curse.

Curse awakens in the Nightmarescape unable to remember anything about his past. Immediately, he is rescued from several malicious presences by Larry Spectre, who is quite insane.  Seeing tremendous potential for violence due to Curse's volatile mood swings and temper, Larry takes the angry amnesiac as a protege of sorts and seeks to school him on the ways of the world.
Memories of Curse's past begin to haunt him as Larry is guiding him around. He begins to remember a woman that he was in love with. The feelings torment him as time goes on and Larry eventually tells him about a device that may be able to return him to the old world. Their path to find this device leads them to alliance with a militant faction known as the Archaic Front. Their quest for the device drags them into a conflict between the Archaic Front and Plague Faction. Mayhem and carnage ensue under Larry's watchful eye as Curse beats, bludgeons, and mauls through all who stand in his way.
At first, the lack of memory is incredibly frustrating to Curse and he lashes out in an almost bipolar manner. As time goes on however, he is able to begin recalling details of his life...the more he learns, he questions how much more, if any, he wants to remember.

Read the entirety of his story sometime next month.

What is Nightmarescape and why is there a book about it?

Since I have the space, I'll go a little more in depth here about the Nightmarescape and the story since I've just been tossing out blurbs here and there.

-First of all, what is this Nightmarescape I keep talking about and have named a book after?
  It is the world in which my series of books will take place. It is entirely constituted of psychic residue and is sustained by emotions such as grief, fear, and anger. It has been around as long as humanity has, reaching out to people who have suffered in their nightmares. Once it reaches someone, it will continually manifest in their nightmares until they die and are reborn there. Consequently, people from all over human history populate the Nightmarescape. This has led to many rivaling factions as well as syncretism of thoughts and adoptions of technologies that would not have existed in our own reality.
In appearance, the entire world is black, white, and shades of gray. Everything appears dead and run down. Those who come to populate this dread realm are undead mockeries of their former selves. The only actual colors are blue or red lights that burn in the empty eye sockets of some of the world's residents. Picture a Stephen Gammell illustration from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but less abstract and you're pretty much there...Now take one of the undead residents, reach back into history and equip that ghoul with armor and weapons from different time periods.

-What is the significance of the characters having eyes or empty eye sockets with lights in them?
  Those who die and have some semblance of humanity will remanifest in the Nightmarescape with empty eye sockets illuminated by intense blue lights. This is not necessarily to say that they are "good people" but they still have a lot of human emotions that drive them.
   The red light indicates that the individual has given themselves over to one single desire or aspect of existence. This can include blind emotions such as rage, hatred, domination, or any other host of usually destructive desires.
    Some presences lack eyes altogether and display only empty eye sockets. These poor souls were mindless when they died. They have little to no thinking brain left, only enough to know that they are suffering. The most common of these is displayed among the plague afflicted that Pastor Nox controls.
    Lastly, those who still have eyes are usually crazy as hell.

-What happens when a new presence comes to the Nightmarescape?
   Basically what Curse endures in the book. They wake up unable to recall anything about their former life at first. This knowledge is revealed to them in time through flashbacks. Some are able to use their old lives to start new identities, others become depressed and angry because of the lives they have lost. It all depends on the person and what they are able to remember.

That'll get you started. More to come later.

Well...looks like I've seen fit to start running a blog. I can make longer posts, provide better descriptions, and cause all the mischief I want here. Just stand by...