Today, April 2, 2015, is a big day for me because today is the release date for the new book I’m featured in, State of Horror: Louisiana Vol. II
I’m very pleased to have my story, “The Bells of Rue La Barriere,” to be associated with Charon Coin Press and the State of Horror series. It’s my first published work of original fiction and I’m very happy with how it came out. I want to take the opportunity to talk a little bit about my story, the State of Horror series, and how things came about. Of course, at the bottom of this posting I’ve provided all the links to where you can buy your own copy. So let’s talk about horror…
It’s been a long time since I tried to get anything published. It was back in early 2004–right before the release of Cea Serin’s debut CD–that I penned an article about the Slovenian/Italian avant-garde rock band, Devil Doll. That article, “The Dark Tunnels of the Bone Box,” was picked up by the music magazine Lamentations of the Flame Princess. The article was later picked up by the Devil Doll official/unofficial website, hosting it ever since.
In February of 2014 I started writing a short story that I was temporarily calling “Queen Size Heaven Cycle For Schizoids,” and it had become obvious to me that this short story was actually something quite larger. This short story soon ballooned into novel size. As I worked on this–researching, writing, rhyming, re-writing, expanding–I thought it would be a good idea to try and see if my writing style and ideas were good enough to get picked up for publication. I wanted to get some credits to my name for whenever I started to send stuff out to agents and publishers. I thought it was time that I tried my hand at writing short stories. I wanted to see if I had what it takes to be a writer.
I did a search for open submissions by publishers looking for short stories. Within a few clicks I discovered that there were quite a few open submissions available; however, one of them stuck out to me. There was an open call by Charon Coin Press for a series called State of Horror. Not only that, but the state they were screening for was my very own state of Louisiana.
I decided I was going to give it a shot, tailoring a story specifically for that series.
So, off I went. The idea came to me that very night. I remember having watched John Carpenter’s “Prince of Darkness” earlier on and thinking, ‘you know, every horror movie pits these people in one location, doesn’t allow them to leave that location, and no one else around is aware of what’s going on with them.’
“Prince of Darkness,” if you remember, is about a crew of people that go to a church to investigate this relic which unleashes the power of the devil on all those in the building. The majority of the story happens in that building. I then started thinking about the people that might’ve driven past during their ordeal. What if there was a business across the street that was watching it all go down? What if the postman showed up? What if a parade went down just as everyone was having to deal with the devil?
Horror movies typically isolate their characters so we can watch them deal with their new situation without any real help.
My story, “The Bells of Rue La Barriere,” takes a look at what it might be like to watch the madness from two different sides of the street. And, of course, it’s based in Louisiana so I wanted it to have some local backdrop.
When you think of Louisiana you usually think of New Orleans, gumbo, Mardi Gras, voodoo, alligators, swamps, etc. But, for me, I always associate Louisiana with dirty politics and dirtier evangelists.
Yes, who can forget the Jimmy Swaggart “I have sinned against you” scandal?
Not a lot of people know just how influential Swaggart was for Louisiana. No one really knows how much that guy brought in to the Baton Rouge area. No one really knows how he was almost single-handedly responsible for the growth of hotels and businesses in the area of where his ministries were held. When his scandal broke, the money for his proposed bible college and dormitories dried up. Not only was it a huge eye-sore but it became a very large playhouse for local kids that would sneak in at night–I was one of them.
Without getting too much into it, my story takes place in an abandoned bible college dormitory that sits across the street from a bustling coffee shop–it’s patrons gathered around to watch a paranormal investigation go down into the night, witnessing what will become the most significant paranormal event in history that would never be recorded.
Amazon – print-version in paperback
If you buy the paperback version from Amazon they’ll allow you to buy a Kindle version for just 99 cents. That’s a great deal, folks.
Press Release by Charon Coin:
State of Horror is a unique anthology in that it collects 13 horror stories for each of the 50 states. Each state gets a book dedicated just to its own legends, folktales, hauntings, and general spookiness. The actual state plays a role, or is a character in the stories. The settings of the State of Horror stories are recognizable even to locals. All of the State of Horror authors take care to not only incorporate the state into their stories, but to create true horror stories to thrill readers of the horror genre.
Many of the State of Horror authors write an original tale of horror they have dreamt up and incorporated into a state. Other authors take local lore or a famous haunt and put their own creative spin on the story. Some authors even incorporate some history into their story and twist it until it terrifies even the hardiest horror lover.
State of Horror: Louisiana Volume I contains stories by Allie Marini Batts, Alexander S. Brown, Margaret L. Colton, Sarah E. Glenn, Henry P.Gravelle, Amanda Hard, Chad McKee, Ethan Nahté, Armand Rosamilia, J.T. Seate, Tommy B. Smith, Pamela Troy, and J. Jay Waller
State of Horror: Louisiana Volume II contains stories by Teresa Bergen, Stuart Conover, J. Lamm, J.M. Lawrence, Ambrose Stolliker, Edward Moore, Jonathan S. Pembroke, Nathan Pettigrew, Herika R. Raymer, Melodie Romeo, Armand Rosamilia, B. A. Sans, and Anthony Watson.
Since State of Horror: Louisiana was previously released; within its re-launch, it features the eight previously released stories along with eighteen brand new stories to create a two volume set. The authors both new and old did a fantastic job of staying true to the horror genre with stories spanning the bayous, small towns, and major cities. Every kind of creature and monster and even twisted human can be found in the volumes of Louisiana. In these books are authors who have published over 200 titles as well as authors with their very first published story. All of the stories are crafted to show the frightening side of Louisiana while also giving the readers a good sampling of the state.
Tuesday March 31st marks the release of State of Horror: Louisiana Volumes II by Charon Coin Press. State of Horror: Louisiana Volume I was released earlier in the month on March 17th. Both books are available in eBook and print format at online distributers n Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTunes, and Kobo. The cost of the books in print form are $12.99 and eBook $2.99. In addition both volumes are available for Amazon Match. Come take a tour of terror around State of Horror.
About State of Horror Anthology Series
State of Horror anthologies are planned to cover all 50 US states as well as some special editions. The series is broken down into regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, South, Mountain, and Pacific) with a few books being released each year. Upcoming releases will be State of Horror: Tennessee and State of Horror: California in 2015. Currently, submissions are being accepted for State of Horror: Missouri. For more information on open submissions, visit the submission page at www.charoncoinpress.com
About the Publisher
Charon Coin Press – The Journey…Our Specialty
Charon Coin Press is a US based publishing company launched in April 2014, which focuses on publishing speculative fiction with its mission-to produce quality works of speculative fiction with the readers in mind by creating a connection, a relationship if you will, with these fantastic authors. So whether it is a short story collection, novella, or full-length novel, we here at Charon Coin Press, are dedicated to making connections and ferrying you through this enjoyable journey of speculative fiction.
Visit http://charoncoinpress.com for more information.
