Howdy,
Been a while since I gazed through the Broken Window.
But I see your face and it still reminds me of home.
That joyous feeling you get when something you love is found, and suddenly the laborious journey into the dark cave is forgotten.
Your bruises fade. Your scars stop itching. Your stitches fall away from fresh skin.
Sometimes dream-catching leads us off the well-worn path, and to not follow would be the gravest insult to your destiny. Priorities shift. Time is a boa constrictor.
I’ve much to share with you in this update.
Secrets revealed. Magic tricks.
And new endeavors that I hope will bear a juicy basket of fruit for us to share near the stream of our fertile imaginations - the sacred place where the sun warms our cheeks.
Let’s begin.
Lost Boys Press
My friend, editor, and business partner Ashley Hutchison (@AshleyEditorial) and I have launched our own independent press (surprise!).
Named after the shadow-chasing, irreverent characters from Never-Never Land, Lost Boys Press was founded to give a home to brave, experimental, and bold titles that may not find a home in today’s traditional publishing landscape.
Our vision is simple. We want to push the envelope in story-telling and provide compelling, unique, high-quality reading experiences to our readers.
We want to take risks, stand behind our choices, and let talented fresh voices be heard.
Now, we’re just getting started and have much to learn about this business. But the basics are done, our website and social media are up, and the paperwork is filed.
Best of all, we have two titles releasing on HALLOWEEN, 2020:
A Map to the Stars - Part prose, part poetry - all primal scream - A Map to the Stars explores the acerbic betrayal of family, unthinkable abuse, and the search for what is left behind - if anything at all - amongst the stars. Ashley Hutchison pulls no punches in this fictionalized memoir of her childhood.
Ghost River - this dark epic explores a cursed ghost town in the middle of the eldritch desert where evil takes root beneath the sand. (More info below).
Both titles are available for pre-order (e-book) NOW, with paperback orders going live on October 26th, 2020. We thank you for your support & happy reading!
Ghost River
More secrets revealed.
Well, friends, it’s time to finally let you peek behind the curtain of Ghost River - the story that came to me like broken glass. Sharp, bloody, and in pieces.
I am both terrified and stoked to have it ready for release. It’s a complex, risky book in both content and delivery. I jokingly call it my ‘Apocalypse Now’ because the creative process during it was soul-sucking, maddening, and the hardest piece I’ve written.
(Cover design my Micah Chaim-Thomas)
The Land Where the Pigs Squeal
The setting of Ghost River is an amalgamation of my childhood.
I grew up in a developing Arizona and spent my youth in the desert, chasing lizards and catching scorpions under the hot sun.
Ghost River takes place in a similar setting. At the edge of an Indian Reservation, as two worlds collide on the land and in politics. Where modernity and suburbanite culture butt against the sacred traditions of those who lived there first.
The Ghost River Valley itself is a desolate and dangerous setting. Harsh, empty of comfort, and full of beautiful and deadly beauty. Ancient. Cruel. Spectacular.
The root of the story takes place in a sun-rotted ghost town called Orphan Rock, long abandoned and cut off by the Ghost River Nation for good reason.
Atypical from most horror stories you’ve read, in the eldritch desert setting of Ghost River horrible things often happen in broad daylight.
Folklore, Magic & Monsters
Ghost River is an imaginative tapestry of folklore, dark magic, and monsters.
There are curses, secret doors, demons, timeless realms, and deadly beasts (and people) who prey on the living with vicious disregard for mercy.
The novel itself is magical realism with a rusty steel spine of grimdark horror. The narrative came to me like shards of broken glass, and I did my best to give readers that same feeling as layers peel open and bleed on the pages toward resolution.
Suffering is Salvation
Ghost River is a book about faith, family, and love.
There is no escape from the unforgiving land or brutal history for the descendants of Orphan Rock, who have lived in the desert since childhood.
In the cruel desert, they are bound to serve a cause they do not fully understand. Required to do horrible things when asked in order to survive.
Readers can expect morally-ambiguous characters they may not be used to finding in traditional story-telling. Are they good? Yes. Bad. Yes.
Does it matter?
That is the question.
The answer lies in the murky bottom of Ghost River.
A Dark, Challenging Journey
I’m not a fan of trigger warnings, per se, as they can potentially alter a reader’s experience with spoilers and set expectations…
BUT I’d be remiss to not state: Ghost River is full of shocking, envelope-pushing moments that will be both disturbing and triggering for some readers.
There are scenes of graphic violence, sexuality, and dark themes (abuse, sexual assault, character-driven racism, and religious symbolism) that some may find offensive.
It’s edgy and raw, like the desert herself (but not without immense beauty).
You’ve been warned.
*Paperback on sale: 10/26/20
Stuff I Like
The Ancient Ones - Cassandra L. Thompson - When David stumbles upon a tragic young woman in a sordid Limehouse pub, he has no idea she’d recognize him as the last vampyre alive, nor that she’d be the one to pull out his story. Yet as he recalls his life from the sweltering vineyards of Ancient Rome to the cold horrors of Medieval Romania - as well as his tumultuous past with the mad and mysterious Lucius - he realizes she is much more than what she seems.
Gothic horror and mythological fantasy blend seamlessly together in this thrilling adventure, breathing new life into vampire lore as it reveals its true origins. The Ancient Ones is a tale of myth, mayhem, and magic … with a dash of romance that bites.
Immortal Fears - by my friends ‘In the Pantheon’ - An impressive anthology from twenty writers involved ‘In the Pantheon’ Writing Group wherein each scribe plays the role of a different Greek deity and then they mingle and destroy.
Twenty authors, twenty gods, twenty stories that will chill, thrill, and kill you. The Gods of the Pantheon present their first anthology of Halloween stories:
Bloodhound: A Poetry Collection - Maire Casey - A brilliant poetry collection from the perfectly weird and wild mind of Marie Casey.
Can you smell it? The blood? The hound can. It will use your blood to track you down. Prepare yourself, for its destructive path could drain you and you'll be left with nothing more than a carcass to drag around. You should seek a shaman for support, it may be the only way to replenish the blood.
Of Cottages and Cauldron: An Autumn Anthology - By Jazz House Publications
Spread across three themes, this anthology explores autumn much as the season itself unfolds. There are modern-day stories and magical stories telling cozy tales of autumn life. Lite-horror stories explore the haunted mood of autumn. Dark horror stories delve into the monstrous, playing on the supernatural and dreadful tales we expect as the world becomes gray and skeletal in preparation for winter’s grave grip.
Thanks for Your Support
Without folks like you, indie presses, authors, and artists wouldn’t be able to deliver high quality, important work without the burden of corporate control.
By supporting, sharing, and promoting our work, you make a huge difference.
Without you, everything falls apart,
Chad Ryan (@writingiswar)
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