Book Promotions: A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS.

As we gear up to leave for Glacier National Park, I think I'll spend most of the next few days promoting some of my books.

Next up is my first short story collection, A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS. It was a very long time coming. Through many false starts with several other publishers who vanished before the book could see the light of print. But now, it's finally on the way, from the excellent Hippocampus Press. I couldn't be happier.

22 short stories ranging over my entire career as an author. Some previously published and several all new stories specifically for this edition. Almost 77,000 words of fiction. Foreword by Jason V. Brock. Afterword by Stephen Mark Rainey. Cover art by Pete Von Sholly.

Available in both ebook and paperback versions! 

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS By James Robert Smith.

A Mildly Lazy Day...

We spent kind of a lazy Sunday mainly taking it easy. We grilled out on the barbecue, and then Carole and I washed the linen for the Casita, then scrubbed down the kitchen and bathroom areas of the trailer before stocking some things for our next trip. Just three more weeks until we head out for a camping/kayaking vacation stretching over eleven days.

Getting ready for these trips is almost half the fun.

I opened the new awning to clean it off after our trip to Mills River.

Carole swept and vacuumed the trailer and aired out the area rugs that we keep inside to cut down on dust and dirt.

I climbed into the bed and almost instantly fell asleep for about two hours. This was my view looking out the window at the new awning.

Here's a link to my latest book, my first short story collection from Hippocampus Press: A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS by James Robert Smith. Foreword by Jason Brock. Afterword by Stephen Mark Rainey. Cover art by Peter Von Sholly.

BLEEDING EDGE, ebook edition.

The ebook edition of THE BLEEDING EDGE is now available from Hippocampus Press!

THE BLEEDING EDGE, ebook edition.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS.

Some more promotions for my first short story collection, A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS. It has been a very long time coming. Through many false starts with several other publishers who vanished before the book could see the light of print. But now, it's finally on the way, from the excellent Hippocampus Press. I couldn't be happier.

22 short stories ranging over my entire career as an author. Some previously published and several all new stories specifically for this edition. Almost 77,000 words of fiction. Foreword by Jason V. Brock. Afterword by Stephen Mark Rainey. Cover art by Pete Von Sholly.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS. Across Four Decades!

Buy My Book!

My short story collection A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS is now up and ready for order. It covers the whole of my career as a writer; from my earliest short stories to some of my latest. In addition to my fiction, the book also involves some other talented people. The foreword is by Jason V. Brock. The afterword is by Stephen Mark Rainey. The collection was edited by the multi-talented S.T. Joshi. It is published by Derrick Hussey at Hippocampus Press. The stunning cover art is by the amazing Pete Von Sholly.

Buy a copy! Make my publisher happy he took on the project. An overview of my short fiction, from my days as a man in his early 20s to my years as a 50-something.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS!

Ackermonster Chronicles Review

Some time back Jason and Sunni Brock wrote and produced a wonderful documentary about the writer Charles Beaumont. It was a freshman work that remains one of my favorite documentaries.

So I have been eager to see their follow-up work, THE ACKERMONSTER CHRONICLES, a film about Forrest J Ackerman.

To just about everyone in science-fiction fandom and the related fields, Forrest J Ackerman is one of the most famous personalities the genre produced. He was a classic huckster with a powerful ego who was as instrumental in the promotion of genre literature as Stan Lee has been to the comic book industry.

Lifelong pals: Harryhausen, Bradbury, Ackerman.

"Uncle Forry" as he was commonly known was a true character. He was often generous, always friendly, and a natural born promoter.

This documentary--as the name implies--chronicles Forry's life. Unlike the Beaumont film, this one contains interviews with Mr. Ackerman, the project having been initiated a couple of years before his death. So we have Ackerman himself dictating a part of the proceedings.

John Landis, Jason Brock.

Added to this we are treated to conversations with many of the people with whom he lived, worked, and influenced. And Forry was one hell of an influence to several generations of artists who went on to create much in the world of fantasy, horror, science-fiction, and films. Brock was good enough to give us interviews with many of these people--some well known to most of us, and some more obscure.

If you were a long-time fan of Mr. Ackerman, this documentary will  be a pleasure. If you're unfamiliar with his life and works, then you should see the film. As David Schow once said, "All of us are Forrest Ackerman's mutant children."

It couldn't be better said.

Ackermonster...

I got my advance copy of the new documentary of Forrest J Ackerman by Jason Brock. The review will be coming in a day or so:

The new documentary of Forrest J Ackerman by Jason V Brock.

The Triumvirate: Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Forrest J Ackerman.

THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS

The anthology THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS is now out and available for purchase.

The first anthology edited by Jason Brock and William Nolan and published by Cykatrix Press was THE BLEEDING EDGE. I thought that anthology was a gorgeous hardback, but this one is even more impressive. As a collectible book, it's as beautiful as any I've seen. The printing, binding, and type are as fine as anything being published these days.

Since I'm working on several novels just now, I haven't had time to read the entire anthology, but so far what I have read is excellent fiction. First and foremost was "The Moons" by Ramsey Campbell. At this point in the history of modern horror fiction no one needs to be told who Campbell is. His skills as a writer of short fiction have only become sharper in recent years and this story illustrates that he's creating the kind of story that is unique--his voice, his themes, his way. Over the years I've felt that nobody is as good as Campbell when it comes to this type of thing, and once more we see him writing of children, of families, and weaving a most disturbing tale.

One story that surprised me with its wit and skill was "Dying to Forget" by Sunni Brock. I'd never read anything by Ms. Brock, so if this is the kind of work she produces, I hope to read more of her fiction in the future.

Some of the other authors present in this volume are Richard Christian Matheson, the late Messieurs Norman Corwin and Dan O'Bannon; Melanie Tem, Steve Rasnic Tem, Wilum Pugmire & Maryanne Snyder, Paul Bens, Jr., Earl Hamner, Jr., Scott Zicree, Jason Brock, Bill Nolan, and others (including James Robert Smith).

If you collect fine books, then THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS is one for you. If you just like to read great fantastic fiction, you can't do better than this one.

THE DEVIL'S COATTAILS, a fine limited edition hardback. Containing (among many others) the short story "On the First Day" by James Robert Smith.

Two New Anthologies...

Here are the covers of two upcoming anthologies that contain stories by James Robert Smith. I'm really excited about seeing both of them in print.


HORROR for the HOLIDAYS is edited by Scott Aniolowski and will be published by Miskatonic River Press.


THE DEVIL'S COTTAILS is edited by Jason Brock and William Nolan and contains stories by some of the greats of horror fiction. I'm especially excited to see a story in it by Ramsey Campbell. This is the second anthology this year that I have shared with the great Mr. Campbell. (I was also in DEAD BAIT2 with him.)

Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man

When I was a young man I owned and worked in a used book/comic book shop. One of the people who frequented the store was a kid named Jason Brock. So I have to say right away that I've known Jason since he was just a boy. An exceptionally intelligent and precocious kid, for sure. I always figured he would do some important things in his life that would set him apart and make him known if not nationally, then at least within the genre fiction that he enjoyed in those days.

Years passed, and I lost touch with Jason. I stayed here in the south and he ranged far and wide. Eventually, because of the wonder of computers and the Internet we linked up again just a few years ago.

Me and Jason Brock, October 2010. Photo by Sunni Brock.

At that time, Jason was hard at work on documentaries about two of his childhood idols: Forrest J. Ackerman and Charles Beaumont. I figured he'd finish the one about Ackerman first, but as things went he completed the Charles Beaumont film first.

When I finally got a copy of the finished film I was expecting a competent work, but nothing more than that. After all, this was his first documentary and with it would come the various missteps ones expects of a first-time filmmaker. So after I put the disk in my DVD player and sat down to watch CHARLES BEAUMONT: THE SHORT LIFE OF TWILIGHT ZONE'S MAGIC MAN, I figured this would be a competent movie but nothing more than that.

Because of friendships Jason had made over the years he had lived in Washington and California, he was able to get in touch with most of the people still living who had been close to Charles Beaumont or who had worked professionally with him in publishing, television, and in feature films. This access enabled him to get as close as was possible to the tragic figure of the writer, Beaumont.

My own knowledge of Charles Beaumont was limited. I knew him best--as most of us do--as Rod Serling's go-to writer of teleplays for the ground-breaking TV series, THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The power and breadth of Beaumont's talents are today still on view on millions of TV screens around the world because of his wonderful scripts for that show. Of course, as the documentary shows, that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Brock's documentary covers as much of the man's life as I think we are likely to know within the brief moments of a documentary. He takes us from the man's childhood to his teen years as friend to the likes of Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, and William Nolan. Each of these men are able to add to the data as Brock weaves the story of Beaumont's formative years as a struggling writer to his meteoric rise as a creator of fine short stories (for the likes of Playboy Magazine) to the break into television work, then to novels, to feature films, and the unrealized potential of what should have been.

The documentary does more than just bring us to meet the people who knew him best--his friends and his son--it also takes us pretty darned close to the man himself. Toward the end of the documentary we are faced with Beaumont's own nightmares as he faced the illness that eventually stole his intellect and took his life. There are sections of consummate camerawork and truly imaginative effects that left me feeling real horror. For this was the way a man actually faced his life and dealt with a hand one would not wish on anyone. To have it happen to an artist of such skill makes the telling all the more terrible.

Jason Brock has done a wonderful job of telling about the life and work of Charles Beaumont. This documentary stands as a truly solid tribute to the writer. The editing for the film, handled by Sunni Brock, was perfectly rendered. There's not a wasted moment in this movie.

I'm not sure where the film is headed. For now, you have to be lucky enough to attend a showing of THE SHORT LIFE OF TWILIGHT ZONE'S MAGIC MAN at one of the conventions and film festivals where the Brocks are taking the documentary. But I hope that soon it will be commercially available. Watch this space for that day.

.

Jason and Sunni Brock

My good friends Jason and Sunni Brock swept into town a week ago. I went to meet them for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory where we ate a great meal and had some drinks. But the best thing was being able to talk to them and share a few hours together just conversing about movies and books, people and life.


The Brocks have recently completed a documentary that they produced about the great writer Charles Beaumont. I'm going to write a more detailed bit about that documentary but I want to do it right and I've been too pressed to devote the time to it. So, hopefully, in a day or so I'll have that up here at the blog.

Signing

The signing event for THE BLEEDING EDGE was phenomenal. Many hundreds of fans showed up. Sales were fantastic! I got to meet so many nice people and we autographed copies of the book for everyone who bought them. Many people bought multiple copies as an investment. I think they'll do well.

Here's a photo Carole took of me with several of the other contributors to the anthology:

In order from far left, front row (seated): Ray Bradbury, Norman Corwyn, George Clayton Johnson, John Shirley. Back row (standing) Unknown dude who had nothing to do with the anthology, James Robert Smith (in red shirt), Jason Brock (editor/publisher), Cody Goodfellow, John Tomerlin, Lisa Morton, Earl Hamner Jr., William F. Nolan (waving).

THE BLEEDING EDGE Arrives

Some months ago Jason Brock and William F. Nolan announced that they were going to be editing a new horror anthology entitled THE BLEEDING EDGE (Dark Barriers, Dark Frontiers). It would feature stories that were to be cutting edge horror with themes that pushed the envelope of the genre. I had a story that I figured would qualify and submitted it. They bought "Love & Magick" from me and soon paid full pro rates for the tale. Bill Nolan had me make a few changes, but having my work edited has never been an issue with me.

Last week the book arrived. Jason worked long and hard putting this anthology together and ensuring that it would be an impressive book when it was off the presses. I have to say that I am impressed with the look and feel of the package. The paper quality is grand, as is the binding. The book is bound in blood red stock with appropriately black title.

The contents, too, are excellent. The lineup of authors is impressive, with stories by some of my favorite authors and many professional writers from my youth. Some of the names present are William F. Nolan, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, John Shirley, Earl Hamner, Jr., Joe Lansdale, Gary Braunbeck, Steve Rasnic Tem, and others. Brock and Nolan included not just stories but also teleplays. It has been a long time since I've seen that format presented in a fiction anthology.

I've now received my copies of the trade hardback version, but the signed and numbered limited edition won't be release until later in the month. I look forward to seeing it. Thus far, quality-wise, this is the best anthology of which I've been fortunate enough to be a part.

You can order the book at Amazon, or directly from the publisher.

The Bleeding Edge (Repost)

I posted a while back about reconnecting with an old friend, Jason Brock. Which resulted in me getting to spend part of a day with William F. Nolan, one of the great writers of my youth.

Subsequently, Jason and Nolan decided to co-edit a hardback horror anthology called THE BLEEDING EDGE. Jason partnered with James Beach at Dark Discoveries to publish the book. It's going to appear as a classic limited edition, both signed and numbered, and as an unsigned edition. These books tend to be expensive, and I've had fiction appear in such books in the past, but it has frankly been a long time since I was invited to submit to this kind of anthology.

Cover art by the startlingly talented Kris Kuksi.

The lineup of artists is particularly impressive, with new material by Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Joe R. Lansdale, and a host of others. I'm looking forward to the book, as it will also be the appearance of my first short story in quite some time. I got away from short story work some years back and I rarely work in that form these days.

I wrote "Love & Magick" because I felt many horror writers seem to have forgotten what a horror story is supposed to be. Most horror stories seem to be not horror at all, but rather moral fables in the Judeo-Christian tradition wherein the "horror" is represented by a bad person getting their due in a most unfortunate (but deserved) manner.


Some years ago I wrote a story called "An Embarassment of Witches". It dealt with a witch who had been murdered by her husband, but who'd used a spell on herself that enabled her to come back to life and continue her marriage as before, all the while slowly rotting away (her powers only went so far). It eventually saw print somewhere (I forget just where), but initially I had submitted it to an anthology being co-edited by a fine fellow who had, at one time, been preparing to be a rabbi. He liked the technical aspects of the story but rejected it because "I don't see where she (the witch) deserved what happened to her". Alas, he was locked into that method of horror stories being as I described them--comeuppance tales. But of course a rabbi would see things that way.

My story in THE BLEEDING EDGE would definitely not be the kind of story where the bad guy gets what's coming to him. It's something else entirely. I'm hoping that most of the stories therein will be of a similar vein. I can only wait to see. The book is supposed to appear within the next couple of months, and I am looking forward to it. The best limited edition books are works of art. I have high hopes for this one.
Here are details about the book and how to order:

BLEEDING EDGE PRE-ORDERS...

We're getting ready to head to the printer's very soon, so we're opening up pre-orders now for just the Deluxe Signed Edition. There will be only 75 copies of this for sale and with advance interest, we anticipate it will sell out very quickly. The Deluxe Edition features a special handmade binding with textured faux leather, foil stamping, a reading ribbon, individual signed colophon author sheets, 7 art inserts, and a color dust jacket.

This anthology features all-new/previously unpublished work from an amazing group of writers. Here's the lineup:

Cover and Interior Art by Kris Kuksi

Foreword - S.T. Joshi

Introduction - William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock

"Some Of My Best Friends Are Martians…" - Ray ..Bradbury

"Just A Suggestion" - John Shirley

"Love & Magick" - James Robert Smith

"Madri-Gall" [A short play] - Richard Matheson & R.C. Matheson

"Hope and the Maiden" - Nancy Kilpatrick

"The Death and Life of Caesar LaRue" - Earl Hamner

"A Certain Disquieting Darkness" - Gary A. Braunbeck

"The Boy Who Became Invisible" - Joe R. Lansdale

"Getting Along Just Fine" - William F. Nolan

"The Grandfather Clock" [Twilight Zone teleplay; purchased, but unproduced] - George Clayton Johnson

"Triptych: Three Bon-Bons" [Three short-short stories] - Christopher Conlon

"The Hand That Feeds" - Kurt Newton

"The Central Coast" - Jason V Brock

"Omnivore" [Screenplay excerpt; Illustrated by O’Bannon] - Dan O'Bannon

"De Mortuis" - John Tomerlin

"I, My Father, and Weird Tales" [Essay] - Frank M. Robinson

"Silk City" - Lisa Morton

"Red Light" - Steve Rasnic Tem

"How It Feels To Murder" [A teleplay] - Norman Corwin

"At The Riding School" - Cody Goodfellow

To order, follow the link to our special page we've set up for the book. The Deluxe Edition is on sale for $175.00 (We're offering $20 off for pre-orders). Shipping will be a flat $15 in the US for Priority Airmail with Insurance and Delivery confirmation. More for overseas.

Purchase here

There will also be a Trade hardcover retailing for $65 ($55 with newsletter coupon or pre-reserve). These will be unnumbered and 400 copies will be done. These will be signed by the editors William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock We're not taking pre-orders for these as the number being produced is much larger, but you can drop us a note via email or post to reserve a copy for you.

James R. Beach of Dark Discoveries Publications

and

Jason V Brock of Cycatrix Press.

The Bleeding Edge

I posted a while back about reconnecting with an old friend, Jason Brock. Which resulted in me getting to spend part of a day with William F. Nolan, one of the great writers of my youth.

Subsequently, Jason and Nolan decided to co-edit a hardback horror anthology called THE BLEEDING EDGE. Jason partnered with James Beach at Dark Discoveries to publish the book. It's going to appear as a classic limited edition, both signed and numbered, and as an unsigned edition. These books tend to be expensive, and I've had fiction appear in such books in the past, but it has frankly been a long time since I was invited to submit to this kind of anthology.

Cover art by the startlingly talented Kris Kuksi.

The lineup of artists is particularly impressive, with new material by Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Joe R. Lansdale, and a host of others. I'm looking forward to the book, as it will also be the appearance of my first short story in quite some time. I got away from short story work some years back and I rarely work in that form these days.

I wrote "Love & Magick" because I felt many horror writers seem to have forgotten what a horror story is supposed to be. Most horror stories seem to be not horror at all, but rather moral fables in the Judeo-Christian tradition wherein the "horror" is represented by a bad person getting their due in a most unfortunate (but deserved) manner.


Some years ago I wrote a story called "An Embarassment of Witches". It dealt with a witch who had been murdered by her husband, but who'd used a spell on herself that enabled her to come back to life and continue her marriage as before, all the while slowly rotting away (her powers only went so far). It eventually saw print somewhere (I forget just where), but initially I had submitted it to an anthology being co-edited by a fine fellow who had, at one time, been preparing to be a rabbi. He liked the technical aspects of the story but rejected it because "I don't see where she (the witch) deserved what happened to her". Alas, he was locked into that method of horror stories being as I described them--comeuppance tales. But of course a rabbi would see things that way.

My story in THE BLEEDING EDGE would definitely not be the kind of story where the bad guy gets what's coming to him. It's something else entirely. I'm hoping that most of the stories therein will be of a similar vein. I can only wait to see. The book is supposed to appear within the next couple of months, and I am looking forward to it. The best limited edition books are works of art. I have high hopes for this one.
Here are details about the book and how to order:

BLEEDING EDGE PRE-ORDERS...

We're getting ready to head to the printer's very soon, so we're opening up pre-orders now for just the Deluxe Signed Edition. There will be only 75 copies of this for sale and with advance interest, we anticipate it will sell out very quickly. The Deluxe Edition features a special handmade binding with textured faux leather, foil stamping, a reading ribbon, individual signed colophon author sheets, 7 art inserts, and a color dust jacket.

This anthology features all-new/previously unpublished work from an amazing group of writers. Here's the lineup:

Cover and Interior Art by Kris Kuksi

Foreword - S.T. Joshi

Introduction - William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock

"Some Of My Best Friends Are Martians…" - Ray ..Bradbury

"Just A Suggestion" - John Shirley

"Love & Magick" - James Robert Smith

"Madri-Gall" [A short play] - Richard Matheson & R.C. Matheson

"Hope and the Maiden" - Nancy Kilpatrick

"The Death and Life of Caesar LaRue" - Earl Hamner

"A Certain Disquieting Darkness" - Gary A. Braunbeck

"The Boy Who Became Invisible" - Joe R. Lansdale

"Getting Along Just Fine" - William F. Nolan

"The Grandfather Clock" [Twilight Zone teleplay; purchased, but unproduced] - George Clayton Johnson

"Triptych: Three Bon-Bons" [Three short-short stories] - Christopher Conlon

"The Hand That Feeds" - Kurt Newton

"The Central Coast" - Jason V Brock

"Omnivore" [Screenplay excerpt; Illustrated by O’Bannon] - Dan O'Bannon

"De Mortuis" - John Tomerlin

"I, My Father, and Weird Tales" [Essay] - Frank M. Robinson

"Silk City" - Lisa Morton

"Red Light" - Steve Rasnic Tem

"How It Feels To Murder" [A teleplay] - Norman Corwin

"At The Riding School" - Cody Goodfellow

To order, follow the link to our special page we've set up for the book. The Deluxe Edition is on sale for $175.00 (We're offering $20 off for pre-orders). Shipping will be a flat $15 in the US for Priority Airmail with Insurance and Delivery confirmation. More for overseas.

Purchase here

There will also be a Trade hardcover retailing for $65 ($55 with newsletter coupon or pre-reserve). These will be unnumbered and 400 copies will be done. These will be signed by the editors William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock We're not taking pre-orders for these as the number being produced is much larger, but you can drop us a note via email or post to reserve a copy for you.

James R. Beach of Dark Discoveries Publications

and

Jason V Brock of Cycatrix Press.

William F. Nolan!

When I was in my twenties, I met a young man named Jason Brock who went on to work for me in the comic shop that I owned in Charlotte, NC. Jason was extremely intelligent and quite talented, and when we lost touch I used to wonder how he was doing, what employment he found as he got older, and, later, why he wasn't famous yet.

Jason in the midst of imitating a certain sf author.

Years passed and Jason got in touch with me via the internet. He was living between Oregon and California, owned two houses, was married, had a great consulting job in computer technology, and made documentary films. I wasn't surprised.

William F. Nolan is in da house! YOW!

This week, he drove into town along with one of the all-time great fantasists of the past century, William F. Nolan, a great friend of Jason and his wife, Sunni. We spent this past evening (November 13, 2007) talking and enjoying a meal and talking some more. Nolan, in addition to being one of our great writers of fantastic fiction, is also a phenomenal mimic, and he had me rolling with his imitations of Burl Ives, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Walter Brennan, Ray Bradbury, etc. I was laughing so much that I plumb forgot to ask him much about the nuts and bolts of writing. Alas!

He let me call him "Bill"!

I was sad to see them head on, but I hope to see them all again someday soon. Jason and Sunni have some new projects coming together that I'm waiting to see completed. And the next time I sit down with "Bill" Nolan, I'll remember to ask him about his writing techniques. (If I'm not laughing too hard.)

Nolan, Jason & Sunni Brock take their leave of the Smith House on their way to the Big Apple.