StarWarp Concepts’ Other 2019 Plans

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Tales-Sorta-Tremble-CvrBack on Monday, I clued you in to some of the publishing plans in the works by Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts. Well, if you head over to the SWC blog, you can read all about the remaining titles they’ve got lined up this year.

There are a couple comic projects starring Lorelei, a Mature Readers succubus character I created in 1989 (making 2019 her 30th anniversary). Lori is my homage to the horror comics I grew up with in the seventies, like Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, and Man-Thing, and Warren Publishing’s outer-space vampiress, Vampirella.

And speaking of Vampirella, there’s a special nonfiction book I’m working on that you can learn about in the SWC blog post.

There are also two more SWC Horror Bites chapbooks that’ll drop in time for Halloween and Christmas—the cover for one you can see up top.

Go check it out!

StarWarp Concepts’ 2019 Plans

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Mortal-Immortal-CvrLast week I told you that the next Pan novel, Blood & Iron: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 3, is scheduled to come out this year from her publisher, StarWarp Concepts. Well, Pan’s book isn’t the only title they have lined up for 2019, and if you head on over to the SWC blog you can read about the start of their publishing plans.

There’s a new entry in the SWC Horror Bites chapbook series, this one by Mary Shelley, the legendary author/creator of Frankenstein; a collection of dark-urban-fantasy stories by author Richard C. White, about a detective whose clients tend to be creatures of the night; a one-shot comic collecting my old small-press stories starring my succubus character, Lorelei; and Blood & Iron, of course!

Go give it a read!

Takin’ Care of Business

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blood-and-iron-cvrHappy 2019! Better buckle up, it’s gonna be a fast-paced year—especially for our favorite teenaged Goth chick!

She’s been shot at by vampires, killed by a fallen angel, come back from the dead, and nearly trampled in a zombie stampede for sweets, she’s maybe started to fall in love with a boy named Javier, and her mother’s been turned into a vampire, but teenaged Goth Pandora Zwieback has a whole new set of challenges facing her in the latest volume of her adventures: Blood & Iron: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 3!

That’s right: After a four-year gap after the previous volume, Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2 (sorry about that), the conclusion to Pan’s first literary adventure will finally make its debut, bringing to an end an epic story that started in the critically acclaimed novel Blood Feud. That doesn’t mean it’s the end of Pan’s adventures—I’ve got plenty of others in mind!

Spoilers ahead: When we last saw Pan, she, Javier, and their friend, the immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, were trapped on a remote South Pacific island, and the fallen angel Zaqiel—not just Annie’s former lover, but the creature who had killed Pan and turned her mother vampiric—was leading an army of monsters to free his fellow bad angels. Could things possibly get any worse? Well, if you asked Pan, she’d probably say that’s a rhetorical question when it comes to her increasingly complicated life—and she’d be right!

But it’s not just Blood & Iron that’ll be coming out this year—after a 3-year hiatus, StarWarp Concepts (and therefore yours truly) will be stumbling out from its subterranean headquarters to hit the convention trail again. We’ll be attendng a mix of street fairs, libraries, and horror conventions to spread the word about SWC’s widening range of titles—including Pan’s, of course!

In October, Pan will be hosting her first Countdown to Halloween—an annual event started by writer John Rossum in 2006 that involves a wealth of bloggers posting 31 straight days of Halloween- and horror-themed entries to help get you in the mood for All Hallows’ Eve. I’ll also have some bonus material to pique your interest over at the StarWarp Concepts blog.

And in December, because 31 straight days of Halloween blog posting apparently isn’t enough punishment for me, Pan will be joining in on the 13 Days of Creepmas, another online event that celebrates terrors of the Yuletide variety.

It’s gonna be a busy time at Zwieback Central this year, so stay tuned for further information!

Holiday Gifts for Horror Fans

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As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” The holidays are in full swing, and that means it’s present-buying time. Have a horror fan in your life? Then allow me to recommend some books from Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, that might grab their attention—by the throat, of course!

blood_feudBlood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed novel by yours truly explains how teenaged Goth girl Pandora Zwieback, along with her parents and friends, are drawn into a conflict between an immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie and warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father! It’s a character-driven action-fest featuring the kind of gun-toting vampires that would make Selene from the Underworld movies feel right at home, and it leads immediately into the second novel:

blood_reign-coverBlood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan faces even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. Yes, there’s more vampire gunplay involved—the undead sure do like their firearms—but that’s only part of the dangers Pan has to contend with, as her adventures take her to a mysterious South Pacific island where monsters dwell!

Carmilla_CoverCarmilla: The blood-drenched temptress of this 19th-century novella by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla Karnstein is a vampiress who desires not just blood but love from her victims, and when she enters the life of a young woman named Laura, Carmilla decides that her new friend will become her next great love—and won’t take no for an answer. Regarded as the one of the earliest lesbian vampire tales—if not the first—Carmilla was an influence on author Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in his seminal novel, Dracula, and remains a popular character in fiction to this day. The StarWarp Concepts edition features six all-new illustrations by artist Eliseu Gouveia.

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong: The ultimate version of Beauty and the Beast (with killer biplanes—and dinosaurs!) celebrates its 85th anniversary this year, is currently a hit musical on Broadway, and has its star getting ready for his upcoming bout with the King of the Monsters in 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong. Know a Kong fan or a devotee of the Great White Way? Then they’ll definitely enjoy this digital-exclusive Illustrated Classic: the 1932 novelization of the original Kong movie! Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes cut from the final print and, as a bonus, our edition features six exclusive illustrations by pulp-influenced artist Paul Tuma.

whitefell-werewolf-cvrWhite Fell—The Werewolf: Looking for a tale of female empowerment? Then how about this SWC Horror Bite by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman that’s regarded by scholars as the first feminist werewolf story ever published! Abeautiful woman wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area?

Blood Feud, Blood Reign, Carmilla, and White Fell are available in print and digital formats. King Kong is a digital exclusive. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages and chapters.

DriveThru’s 2018 Cyber Sale Is Underway!

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DTFiction-BlackFridaySaleBeating the rush before the post-Thanksgiving shopping season goes into overdrive this weekend, e-book distributor DriveThru Fiction—along with its sister sites DriveThru Comics and DriveThru RPG—has launched its annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale, during which you can purchase a ton of digital books and comics at special prices! It runs from now to November 26—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.

Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can take advantage of some sweet discounts while the sale’s running. So head on over there now and get to shopping!

A Movie Treat for Monster Fans

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frankenstein-edisonIf you’re a fan of classic monsters like Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s Monster, then you’re probably aware that 2018 is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, first unleashed on the public in January 1818.

With that in mind, the timing couldn’t be better for the U.S. Library of Congress to make available a restored print of world-famous inventor Thomas Edison’s 1910 silent-movie adaptation—the first time Frankenstein’s Monster stalked the silver screen!

Frankenstein was a self-described “liberal adaptation of Mrs. Shelley’s famous story” by writer/director J. Searle Dawley that was produced by Edison and starred Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein (no first name of Victor given; he even signs a love letter “Frankenstein”!); Mary Fuller as his bride-to-be Elizabeth; and Charles Ogle as the monster. It runs just over 13 minutes but packs in a lot of melodrama—and scenery chewing—in that short time. (Well, overacting was a staple of silent movies.)

It’s also surprisingly gruesome in one scene. Although Frankenstein doesn’t dig up graves and sew corpses together but instead uses chemical magic to “grow” his monster in cauldron-like pot—one of those liberties taken by Dawley in his screenplay—the transformation of the creature from smoking chemical vapors to full-size horror involves a stage when it bubbles up into a gore-covered skeleton whose twitchy right hand seems to be grasping for the audience—I’m sure it scared the crap out of moviegoers back in the day!

Do yourself a favor and check it out!