Hello fiends
How the fuck are ya? I thought it was time to drop you a line again and let you know what’s up. First of all, that image above shows some stellar news.
I’ve really enjoyed working with Cemetery Dance on Sallow Bend and it’s so cool to be published by an outfit with such a great history of producing amazing horror. So I was excited when they were keen to read my next novel and even more excited when they agreed to publish it. As you can see from the Deal Report above, it’ll be out in May next year.
This book was hard going. You might remember some time ago I was posting about it. (September 2019, in fact!) Here’s the blog post where I admitted the problem: https://www.alanbaxter.com.au/when-you-realise-your-book-is-broken/ .
So it turns out that I wrote (and had published!) Sallow Bend in the time between starting and finishing Blood Covenant. This is a really fucking weird business. I shelved the book and then came back to it twice and in the long run that was the right thing to do. I’m super proud of how this one finally came out and can’t wait for people to read it. It’s loosely pitched as HEAT meets THE SHINING, and I think it also has vibes of Paul Tremblay’s “The Cabin at the End of the World” and Adam Nevil’s “The Ritual”, all set in a remote Australian mountain wilderness. I hope that sounds appealing. Let me know what you think. I’ll post more about it as news comes along.
Meanwhile, there is a new book coming out this year, I think around September. It’s a novella and I can’t say anything more about it right now, but watch this space for more news on that one.
So what else is going on?
The Ditmar Awards are open for nominations and if you’re an Aussie fan you’re eligible to nominate. So please do nominate all the good stuff you enjoyed in 2022. If you think anything of mine is worthy of a nomination, thank you! All the details you need, including an online form for nominations, can be found here: https://conflux.org.au/blog/ and everything of mine that’s eligible is listed in this blog post. I’m especially keen to see Sallow Bend get some more attention, so if you thought that was worthy of a nomination in the Novel category, bless your black and pulsing heart.
I’m sure any of you who follow me on any social media will have seen the latest member of the BaxCave. Maximo came to live with us recently and he’s absolutely wonderful. Like any baby, he’s hard work right now but he’s a sweet, lovable, smart little guy and settling in really well. The old dog, Rufus, is having a harder time adjusting, but he’s getting there. The cats… not so much. That might take a little longer!
My social media is just full of Maximo at the moment, so apologies or you’re welcome, depending on which side of that you fall. Normal service will resume shortly.
I was asked by the Horror Writers Association to help with a new series they’re running, interviewing international (i.e. not American) horror writers, and that’s been great fun. I’ve enjoyed working with Meghan Arcuri, Sumiko Saulson, Shawna Hampton, Rosemary Thorne, John Lawson and Naching Kassa on this and you can read my introduction to the series here: https://horror.org/world-of-horror-introduction-to-international-horror-month-2023-by-alan-baxter/
What I’ve Been Enjoying
I’ve been reading more Charlie Parker thrillers by John Connolly. There’s 20 (I think) and I just read number 10, The Burning Soul. Honestly, it wasn’t nearly as good as the previous one and there was one plot device that really didn’t work for me, but these are great books nonetheless. I also got to read an early copy of Michael David Wilson’s new novel, House of Bad Memories, which was thoroughly wild. He asked if I’d give him a blurb for it (hence the early reading) and this is what I sent over:
“If Ira Levin and Guy Ritchie had a drug-fuelled weekend binge with the Kray twins in a Kidderminster council flat, they wouldn’t come close to House of Bad Memories. Darkly funny, brutally violent and strangely touching, Michael David Wilson has created something truly bonkers and I’m here for it.”
With TV, I mentioned before that I was binging Breaking Bad. I finished all of that and it was genuinely outstanding television. Just so good. And then I went directly on to Better Call Saul (at Brian Keene’s urging). Better Call Saul is a prequel/sequel series surrounding Breaking Bad and it’s equally good. I’m loving it and up to Season 4 of 6 so far. I’m hoping to get to the movies with my 9yo to see Barbie soon too, that looks like so much fun.
Meanwhile, this weekend I’ll be a guest at Oz Comic-Con in Canberra (and in Sydney next month) so if you can get anywhere near the nation’s capital, it would be awesome to see you there. All you need to know is here: https://ozcomiccon.com/
Okay, I think that’s all from me for now. Big love to you all, keep in touch and I’ll see you next time.
Al