Riverbend Ramble or Bust

Well, for me, it was a bust, but at least it was a fun—if mercilessly hot and muggy—bust. A handful of new geocaches came out in Danville this week, and I'd picked up one of them the other day after taking Brugger to the airport for her latest trip to Michigan to look after her folks. My primary target was a new, six-stage multi called "Riverbend Ramble" (GCB9J29), out on the Danville Riverwalk Trail. I got out to the trail about 9:30 a.m., but the heat and humidity were already inching up toward a most uncomfortable high.

 

I found stage one, which was pretty clever and in plain sight, without any trouble. But at the very next stage, the trouble began in earnest. It involved sorting out a fairly complicated code, the description of which left me with more questions than answers. With the help of friend Tom (a.k.a. Night-Hawk), who had gotten through a portion of the multi yesterday, I figured out how to calculate the numbers I needed. However, at stage three, I couldn't locate the container that was supposed to be there. I found a magnet on what was clearly the host, but no container; however, the cache owner let me know that this was not where I would find the stage. So, after my unsuccessful search, I set out on the Riverwalk to get in my daily mileage on foot, which I did (although I'm not sure the oppressive heat did my health any real favors).

 

The same cache owner had a couple of other new ones around town, so I went after those and found them with no problem (the one at the driving range, pictured above, was quite fun). Not long after I got back to Martinsville, another cacher logged a find on the multi—so it's possible our paths crossed out there and we didn't even realize it. Alas! But that leaves me with a fairly involved cache to continue hunting on a later trip to Danville, so I'll be looking forward to that.

 

Kim will be back on Tuesday evening, so if the weather cooperates, I should be able to fit in some Greensboro caching before I go to pick her up. The cats and I will be very happy to see her back.

Old bridge over the river and trail, which is barely still standing

That old muddy river

EARLY KAIJU FANDOM and Other Hot Stuff

A week or so ago, I posted a blog ("Early Kaiju Fandom Strikes!", June 19, 2025) about Bradford Grant Boyle's work showcasing daikaiju-themed fanzines from the 1970s, aptly titled Early Kaiju Fandom. The latest edition—Volume Four—is now in the house! The cover art is a drawing I did sometime between 1981 and 1983 (I think) of Gaila, the green, carnivorous gargantua from Toho's 1966 monsterpiece, War of the Gargantuas.

 

This edition includes reproductions of every page of every issue of the fanzines Oriental Cinema, Nipponese Fantasy Films, Giant Japanese Monsters, Giantdom, Japanese Monsters, and Japan's Giant Monsters. Talk about a labor of love!

 

You can order this one, as well as the previous three volumes, from Amazon.com here. 

 

Also in today's mail delivery: a bottle of Frog's Point Honey's REAPER, made by friend, fellow author, and bee-wrangler Patrick Freivald. I've tried numerous varieties of the hot honey, and the reaper version is probably my favorite. It's hot, but not too hot. I'm told it's really good for drizzling onto the rim of a tumbler for an Old Fashioned, and since I love Old Fashioneds, that's gonna be my inaugural effort for this stuff!

 

Check out Frog's Point Honey here.

High Above the Cane Creek Mountains

Today was a geocaching day for me, and a hot one at that (the heat index hit over 100 degrees out there). I headed down early this morning to meet a couple of the No-Dead-Weight Irregulars—friends Debbie (a.k.a. Cupdaisy) and Scott (a.k.a. Diefenbaker)—at the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, a few miles south of Burlington, NC. There were six newish caches on the hiking trails, which range from moderate to rugged; we managed to find them all and put in a little over three miles on the trail.

For me, the highlight of the hike was reaching the relatively new Monadnock Observation Tower, which rises 80 feet above the treeline at the summit of the mountain, offering some stunning 360-degree views of Alamance County. At first sight, the tower doesn't look all that tall, but after a 1.5-mile, semi-strenuous hike, plodding up those hot metal stairs took some doing. I hung out up there taking pictures as long as I could stand it—about ten minutes—for that sun was blazing. At least below, we were mostly under tree cover.

 

Once done at Cane Creek, we drove up to Mebane to have lunch at Catrina's Tequila & Taco Bar, our favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. The steak and chorizo street tacos with diabla salsa are to die (or maybe even kill) for. And the margaritas are mighty good (unlike so many places, they have a decent amount of tequila in them).

 

After lunch, we went after a handful of nearby park & grab caches, and I finally headed home. And now I'm gonna sit back, have a beer, and wilt, for the heat is hot.

EARLY KAIJU FANDOM Strikes!

From the early 1960s, when I became acquainted with Godzilla and so many other giant Japanese monsters, I found myself not just enamored of the beasties but addicted to them and the movies they rode in on. I've written at length on this blog about my numerous memorable experiences with daikaiju, and it's probably common knowledge among my friends and acquaintances that, in 1974, inspired by the late Greg Shoemaker's legendary The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal, I launched a fanzine of my own: Japanese Giants, an 18-page offset-printed labor of love that featured a filmbook of the Toho blockbuster, Destroy All Monsters, articles on Ultraman and Johnny Sokko & His Flying Robot, a couple of editorials, and a bunch of photos and artwork. My intention was to continue the magazine for as long as I was able, and...as things turned out...that first issue was as long as I was able.

In stepped the right honorable Bradford Grant Boyle (known then as just Brad Boyle), who wanted to produce a daikaiju-themed fanzine of his own. Since I was no longer using it, he asked if he might carry the Japanese Giants brand forward, and I excitedly agreed. He published three issues before he, too, gave it up to go stomp on bigger cities. By then, I was in college and had made the acquaintance of Ed Godziszewski and Bill Gudmundson, both of Chicago, both of the daikaiju-loving persuasion. With the Japanese Giants title once again floating free, the three of us grabbed it and began producing it again as a collaborative effort.

After college, I moved to Chicago myself, where Ed, Bill, and I became officially known as "The Japanese Giants Guys." We collaborated on several more issues, though eventually, Ed became its sole proprietor (and got by with a little help from his friends). In 2001, Ed produced Japanese Giants #10, the final issue. (Ed has gone on to write several scholarly books about Godzilla, kith & kin, as well as provided commentaries on numerous Japanese film DVDs/BluRays.)

During the 1970s and early 1980s, fanzines devoted to giant Japanese monsters proliferated, running the gamut from the most primitive rags to professionally produced periodicals. In the years following, the world has seen no shortage of daikaiju-themed publications, but the products from those early, pioneering days pretty much went the way of the dinosaurs. Some of us who had collected them held on to as many of the old, decaying paper zines as we could (I've still got bins full of them) but a whole new generation of fans, writers, and artists had taken over the scene, and few remembered the glory days of typewritten (and sometimes even handwritten) text, oftentimes crude pen & ink illustrations, poorly reproduced photos, and the magic of pre-video age filmbooks, which told the stories of the movies, including dialogue, usually transcribed from tape-recorded soundtracks.

Again, enter Brad Boyle (yes, now known as Bradford Grant Boyle). A while back, Brad undertook the Herculean task of collecting every early Japanese monster movie fanzine that ever existed and publishing each in its entirety in a set of volumes titled Early Kaiju Fandom. To date, he has produced four volumes, the fourth having just been released (and it features one of my pen & ink monster renderings from forty-some years ago on the cover: Gaila, the green gargantua from War of the Gargantuas; see the last image in the row at the top of the page). In these volumes, you'll find complete reproductions of dozens of those old fanzines, so true to the originals that their visual flaws appear (again) in all their lack of glory. Of course, you'll find Japanese Giants, but also The Japanese Giants Fanletter, an almost, sort-of monthly publication that Brad produced. which offered the best and most comprehensive daikaiju-related material of its day; Monsters of Japan; Japanese Movie Sci-Fi; Giants From Japan; Godzillamania; Oriental Cinema; Giant Japanese Monsters; Giantdom; Japan's Giant Monsters (by now you may have noticed a theme); and many more.

I am in awe of the work that Brad has done with these volumes, and I've been happy to contribute to them with both articles and art. This may be a niche market, but hey, it's devoted to the BIGGEST niche monster that ever walked. You may just want to check these critters out.

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Early Kaiju Fandom by
Bradford Grant Boyle at Amazon.com

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The Longest Day

Not to trivialize D-Day or anything, but for me, Tuesday, June 17th was one helluva long day. Since I retired, I've committed myself to more civic-minded activities, so this year, I signed on as an election officer for our district here in town. So, a couple of weeks ago, I went to training; on this past Monday, I went to the polling place (my former elementary school) to help set up; and on Tuesday, we had the Democratic Primary Election. So, I was up at 4:00 a.m. (after a night of almost no sleep), at the polling site at 5:00 a.m., and ready for voters at 6:00 a.m. Being a primary, there wasn't a massive turnout, but I sure got to know the ropes. I'll be working the November election as well (for numerous positions in Virginia, including governor). It promises to be far busier. The polls closed at 7:00 p.m., and afterward, it took most of an hour to break down and pack up all the equipment. I think I crashed around 10:00 p.m., which is far earlier than my usual bedtime. That made for a solid 22-hour day, given my lack of sleep the night before. Whew!

 

Regardless, it was a rewarding and enlightening experience. I was impressed by the professionalism and dedication of every member of this team. There was no question that all of us were committed to following all procedures to the letter and ensuring the accuracy of the final count at the end of the evening.

 

Much to my surprise, one of the election officers, Lanita Hall Herlem, is quite the fan of my writing (I think she owns all my books), so she bought copies of The House at Black Tooth Pond to give out to all the other election officers. Talk about going above and beyond! Many thanks to Lanita!

 

There were several extended periods with no activity during the day, so I spent those hours either walking to get in my daily steps, or writing (I made some forward progress on my as-yet-untitled sequel to Black Tooth Pond).

It was very cool to revisit my old elementary school (which is now the local city school administration building). I went to school there from first through sixth grades, and this was the first time I've seen much of its interior since I "graduated" (back in 1971).

 

Anyhoo, I'll be an election officer again in November. Something tells me I won't be fitting in quite as much writing, but I am actually looking forward to it.

 

Y'all be sure to get out and vote! 

No Kings

I need explain no whys or wherefores; my position on the current abomination—er, uh, administration—has been made abundantly clear here, on social media, and in real life. So, Ms. B. and I weren't about to miss participating in one of the "No Kings" protests going on nationwide this weekend. There was one in here in town, but we had planned to get together with friends Terry & Beth in Kernersville, so we decided to attend the one in Winston-Salem. It was combined with their Pride Parade, and an estimated 60,000 people showed up. I even fashioned myself a sign (see above). It was an incredible event—absolutely peaceful, with a spirit of unity unlike any I've ever encountered in person. Coolest of all, as it turned out, friends Scott & Jane, from Asheboro, attended the event as well, and we managed to find each other and hang out for the duration.

The photo above appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal, which documented the event beautifully. No Fucking Kings. No Fucking Shit.

Old Dude Talks About THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND in the Henry County Enterprise

Last month, Henry County Enterprise reporter Jessica Dillon and I had a nice chat at Magnolia & Main Books in Ridgeway, VA. The article appears in this weekend's edition. It's got a couple of minor errors—"Everson Falls" should be "Eggleston Falls" and Elizabeth Massie's last name is misspelled. Otherwise, it captures our exchange nicely. You can read the whole thing here:

"Rainey's Latest Horror Novel Draws Inspiration from Local Areas"

Hellnotes Review of THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER

"The pacing was flawless, the characters are a realistic cross-section of Appalachian townspeople, and the story kept me emotionally invested the entire way through. You may like, love, or hate the characters, but you will always have strong feelings regarding each of them. And that, my friends, is true brilliance."

It's always nice to see a complimentary review of one of my novels, and Carson Buckingham delivers one in Hellnotes to make me blush bigtime. Check it out... and check out The Nightmare Frontier, in ebook, audiobook, and now in paperback from Crossroad Press.

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Read Carson Buckingham's Full Review of The Nightmare Fronter Here

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Coming in January 2026 - KOLCHAK ERAS from Monstrous Books

I cannot wait for this release in January 2026 from editor James Aquilone and Monstrous Books: Kolchak Eras, an anthology of stories starring the legendary reporter Carl Kolchak, of TV's Kolchak - The Night Stalker fame. This one includes my short tale, "Up from the Underground," along with a dozen other stories.

 

These prose tales were originally part of the multi-award-winning Kolchak - The Night Stalker graphic novel deluxe edition that came out in early 2023. They have now been collected in an illustrated anthology of their own.

Kolchak - The Night Stalker TV series (or simply The Night Stalker, as it was originally known), as well as the two original TV movies, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler, back in the early 1970s, were among those TV productions that made a powerful and lasting impression on me, and so contributing to this volume feels right, to put it mildly.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• "Summer in Rome" - James Chambers

• "The Shot Heard Round the Underworld" - James Aquilone

• "The Devil Level" - Bobby Nash

• "On the Road With Carl" - David Avallone

• "The Black Volga" - Will McDermott
• "Up From the Underground" - Stephen Mark Rainey

• "Devour the Dead" - Naching T. Kassa

• "Blood Witch" - Owl Goingback

• "A View With a Room" - Jim Beard

• "Wolf’s Clothing" - Leverett Butts

• "Bruises on the Flesh of God" - Charles R. Rutledge

• "LA Lizard" - Lisa Morton

• "The Devil’s Chapel" - Simon Bestwick

Stay tuned for more details, ordering info, etc., to come as soon as it's available. Keep holding your breath, if you dare.

DEATHREALM: SPIRITS in Shortwave Publshing’s 101 HORROR STORIES Vol. 1

Shortwave Publishing is releasing a brand-new series of bundled ebooks, including the five-book set 101 Horror Stories, which features Deathrealm: Spirits! The set—which also includes the anthologies Dark Frequencies, Obsolescence, White Pages, and Shadows in the Stacks—is now available for pre-order and is scheduled for release on September 30, 2025.

Amazingly—at least to me—it's been almost two years since Deathrealm:Spirits hit the streets and became Shortwave Publishing's first official best-selling title. Just look at the fantastic authors included in this single antho...

Deathrealm: Spirits Contributors:
• Linda D. Addison
• Meghan Arcuri
• Larry Blamire
• Maurice Broaddus
• Heather D. Daughrity
• Timothy G. Huguenin
• Brian Keene
• Ronald Kelly
• Joe R. Lansdale
• Kasey Lansdale
• Eric LaRocca
• Patricia Lee Macomber
• Elizabeth Massie
• Bridgett Nelson
• Errick Nunnally
• Jeff Oliver
• Jessica Amanda Salmonson
• Richard Thomas
• Tony Tremblay
• David Niall Wilson

“Spine-tingling and sometimes stomach-churning… unflinchingly tense… Deathrealm: Spirits is a solid compilation that will satisfy avid fans of a range of horror subgenres.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Pre-Order 101 Horror Stories Volume 1, Including Deathrealm: Spirits!

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Ghostwoods

So, I might have placed three new geocaches out on the Cedar Ridge Trails. Two are fairly large and full of swag; the other one is far smaller and lurks up in a tree. As you can see in these images from the cache pages, weird things may be guarding the hides. Be careful out there!

Cedar Ridge Trails

Quite a few years ago, by way of geocaching (I know, what a shock, right?), I discovered Cedar Ridge Trails in the Chatmoss neighborhood of Martinsville, just a few miles from home. If I rightly recall, the trail system was at least partially designed by my old friend, Jim Frith, who is a long-time avid cyclist (he set a world record for jumping his bike over a row of trash cans when we were in junior high school). Back in my earliest days of geocaching, I hunted a geocache out at Cedar Ridge, and a short time later, I placed a couple of my own out there.

 

I knew there was a great deal of the trail system I hadn't explored, even after all these years, so this morning, I headed out there to check on my old caches and scope out some locations where I might place a few new ones. After verifying my two caches were in place and in decent condition, I decided to venture out into the area of the Green Trail, which extends out to the west on the map above. The terrain out there is rugged in places, and especially on the Green Trail, it's quite beautiful, as you may deduce from the attached photos. The temperature hadn't yet hit oppressive heights this morning, but the humidity and mosquitoes were pretty monstrous (despite having covered myself head to toe with bug spray). Regardless, I fit in about three and a half miles, and found several enticing locations to place new caches.

 

I expect I'll be going out there again this week to set up the caches. I haven't yet set foot on the Light Blue Trail, out to the east, so I'll have to give that one a go on a future outing.

L: Old dude out in the woods somewhere; R: GPS track of my route along the trails

Expressions 2025

Brugger isn't holding up her framed artwork in the photo at left, which is how it struck me after I took the picture. She's actually holding a wine glass in that hand (imagine that, heh heh).

Ms. B. regularly features nature in her mixed-media art, which usually includes flowers, mushrooms, insects, snails, fish, and other flora and fauna. Our local art center—Piedmont Arts—which she recently joined, presents a major art exhibition every year called "Expressions." She entered two pieces, which are pictured here. The show opened last night with a well-attended reception at the art center, complete with free hors d'oeuvres and spirits.

 

Also present was artist and longtime friend, Charles Hill, whom I've known since elementary school. I've posted examples of his work on my blog in the past (some of which you may see here and also here, with his paintings of "The House of Caviness" and "Black Tooth Pond," which inspired my novel...wait for it...The House at Black Tooth Pond). He's had some serious health problems lately, but he's doing better, and I was very glad to see him and his work at the show last night.

 

Back in the early 1980s, after I graduated college with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree, I was an active member of Piedmont Arts, where I frequently exhibited and taught classes. I don't do much in the way of fine art anymore, that's for sure, but I very much enjoy revisiting my artistic roots at Piedmont Arts. And I'm sure Ms. B. will do plenty more exhibiting. The Expressions exhibit will be up for a month, I believe, so if you're local, you should stop in and check out some truly excellent art!

THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND... More to Come?

"Stephen Mark Rainey brings Lovecraftian horror to rural Virginia in this chilling tale...
the grounded
and believable characterization of his protagonists makes suspending disbelief easy. This is cosmic horror done right!”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

I've had far more than customary feedback from readers wondering whether I might consider writing a sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond. Well...as a matter of fact, I've decided to more than consider it. I'm plotting it as we speak. I guess that's why I've been feeling creeped out for a few days because it's....well, creepy. Link to the book in the first comment. If you haven't checked it out, please do! Available as ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

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Order The House at Black Tooth Pond
from Amazon.com

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Books, Burgers, and and Interview at Magnolia & Main in Ridgeway

Well, the burgers came from Sugarmama, across the street from the bookstore, and they sure were good.

As you can see in the photo, they don't call me "Smiley" for nothing. (No, nobody actually calls me "Smiley.") Today's booksigning at Magnolia & Main wasn't as hopping as last year's, but several folks popped by and bought books, which I dutifully devalued with my signature. One very nice lady brought in a whole box full of my various books, which she'd bought earlier, and I made sure they, too, succumbed to the onslaught of my black pen. It was a nice time all around.

 

A big surprise was reporter Jessica Dillon from The Henry County Enterprise coming by and conducting a pretty comprehensive interview with me. I'm not sure when it will be published—she's going to email me a few more questions before it's all said and done—but of course, I'll post a link to it when it's published.

 

This evening, friends Terry & Beth are coming up from Kernersville, and we'll be heading over to friends Bob & Yvonne's place just up the street for a gathering of nutcases. I suspect there will be wackiness.

Until next time.

Life Is Life

The roses are already starting to wither, only days after they bloomed; life is short. I am no gardener, though I do like flowers just fine. It's that these roses are kind of special to me, in that they date back well over a century. They originally belonged to my great-grandmother in Gainesville, GA, going back to the late 19th century (whether they actually predated her, I do not know). When my great-grandmother died in 1967, my grandmother—my mom's mom—transplanted them to her place, also in Gainesville, where they thrived for the duration of my grandparents' lifetimes. After my grandmother died in 1988, my mom transplanted them to our house here in Virginia, where they have lived ever since. And after Mom left us in 2020, these roses have bloomed every year. I rather hope they will thrive even after I am gone.

This Saturday, May 17, 2025—Book Signing at Magnolia & Main Books, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

Our little corner of southwest Virginia has a small but well-stocked and beautifully appointed bookshop called Magnolia & Main Books, which you can find—perhaps shockingly!—at the corner of Magnolia and Main Streets in Ridgeway, Virginia. The proprietor, Traci Morton, loves books, her business, and actively supporting local writers. Last year, she hosted a booksigning for me, which turned out to be well attended and profitable for both her business and me (see "Books, Brews, and Bashes," July 21, 2024). 

I'll be doing another signing at Magnolia & Main from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, May 17. A wide selection of my books will be available, including my latest novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond, the setting of which loosely based on the Martinsville/Henry County area.

If you're local, please pay Magnolia & Main Books a visit!

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“This is cosmic horror done right!”—Publishers Weekly's
starred review of The House at Black Tooth Pond

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