Hail to the King, Baby
Hail to the King, Baby
In which I am forced to accept that I am not Stephen King
Special Promo
OK, let’s kick things off with a promo!
If you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, check out this great list of occult and supernatural books available on Kindle Unlimited this month. Let’s get Spooky Season kicked off now, shall we?
(Supermarkets are probably putting out next year’s Easter Eggs or something by now, so…)
What’s happening in Neverbury?
It’s September 15th, which puts me roughly halfway through the 99p sale that Amazon offered me last month. Sales have seen a dramatic improvement and I’ve been within touching distance of being able to use the coveted “Amazon Bestseller” badge once more.
There’s only one problem, and it’s Stephen King.
That’s right. I said it. Stephen Flipping King. Right now, Stephen King’s “You Like It Darker” is at number one, two, and three of the “horror short stories” chart, keeping me in check at number four.
Seriously, Stephen. Come on…
I am, of course, joking. It’s incredibly cool to be able to share a screenshot of my book sitting right next to a book (or two) by one of the true legends of horror.
For an indie author, Amazon is our shop window and sharing space with King is an achievement. Just a few years ago, this would have felt unattainable.
So, even if he is keeping me from my Amazon Bestseller badge…
Making new friends
I only start imaginary feuds with authors who are so cosmically vast that they have no idea of my existence - I do make friends sometimes too.
My first new chum is AG ZoderoT. You may know that, before I started writing novels, I used to write comic books and… well, I wish we’d know about an illustrator as skilled as AG back then. There are shades of Dave McKean’s mixed media work in AG’s art and what looks like a damned fine story as well.
Second on the new chum list is Barbara Cottrell. Barbara is clearly as big a fan of things cosmic and horrifying as I am and her book, “Darkness Below”, does not try to hide its tentacle-driven influences.
Fancy a trip back to Miskatonic University in Lovecraft’s Arkham? Barbara has got you covered. This one is sitting on my TBR pile very, very near the top. Click here to check out “Darkness Below”.
Quit stalling, Lynch, where’s Return to Neverbury?
October. That’s the date. The book will be out in October. I’d love it to be early October, in time for “Spooky Season”, but it might be later. It will be October (this year!).
All but two stories are back from editing and most edits are done. This has been such a different book to the last one. The last one was written in just over a month, edited in a month, and then released. This new one has had much more time to simmer and gain flavour and I do think the stories in this book are the better for it. I’m also writing with a view to the longer term now - there are some characters here who have big roles to play in the future Neverbury books. Pay attention to who lives and who dies.
(And, yes, of course, there are deaths. And, also yes, there will be more Neverbury books after “Return”).
I’m really excited, and a little nervous, about the second book being out in the wild.
But, it’s happening.
And October is the month.
See you in a few weeks.
XOXO
Chris.