Erica, a Novel Completion, THE HOUSE AT BLACK TOOTH POND Reviews, and More

Erica Wetzel Fields and the Old Dude at AuthorCon. I look happy. I blame Erica.

At AuthorCon last week, I was over the moon to see book collector Erica Wetzel-Fields making her rounds, as she is the consummate AuthorCon fixture. I think Erica has done more to support all of us authors than anyone I've ever known. At each con, you'll see her rolling her large cart full of books from aisle to aisle, conversing and taking photos with the writers, and generally elevating people's moods somewhere through the ceiling. Here is a shout out and a big "thank-you" to her.

 

This past weekend, I finished a collaborative novel that's been in the works for many moons, so I had a celebratory martini, as is my tradition. Actually, I might have had two. There will be plenty more news on this once it becomes appropriate to discuss the details.

 

Also this weekend, a couple of new, very flattering reviews of The House at Black Tooth Pond came out and made me smile.

From Stephen Provost:

"Stephen Mark Rainey has created an intricate world populated with relatable characters facing horror beyond comprehension. The author deftly juxtaposes the "ordinary" life of a fictional rural community against the existence of a surreal and terrifying "other" dimension, then explores the explosive consequences when the two intersect..." Read more: Stephen Provost reviews The House at Black Tooth Pond

From Dark Entertainment Trends:

"Stephen Mark Rainey writes literary horror like it's nonfiction... It's this realism that elevates Rainey's stories to a literary level... I see other reviews calling this Lovecraftian. I think we're past calling Mark Stephen Rainey's work "Lovecraftian". It's time to use the more applicable moniker: Raineyan, for Real Horror." Read more: Dark Entertainment Trends reviews The House at Black Tooth Pond

I've got a busy week of appointments and other necessary tasks, but my main focus is going to be making progress on the sequel to The House at Black Tooth Pond, tentatively titled Broken Barriers. I'm well over halfway done with it, but there's still a lot of work to do whipping this monster into shape.

 

Till next time... 

Where There's Smoke...

I spent yesterday morning geocaching in Kernersville, NC, with friend Diefenbaker (a.k.a. Scott), followed by an excellent lunch at Don Juan's, one of my longtime favorite Mexican restaurants. Brugger was returning from an artsy-craftsy event in Hickory, NC, so after I parted company with Scott, she and I barged in on our friends Terry & Beth at their Kernersville home. We downed plentiful wine and tapas, enjoyed some time in their hot tub, and then spent a good hour on their back porch watching a huge column of black smoke erupting from some point about a mile from their house. We learned later that it came from a fire at OmniSource, a scrap metal recycling center, and as of this writing, it's contained but not fully extinguished. The wind carried the smoke column away from our location, but it could seen from I-77 in Fancy Gap, Virginia, about fifty miles north-northwest. One firefighter was injured, but there are thankfully no reports of any others, as far as I know.

In an altogether happier vein, The House at Black Tooth Pond has been getting a decent amount of love, which pleases me no end. Last week, I was a guest on two different podcasts, courtesy of authors Rick Kleffel and Bryan Nowak; of course I will post links to them when they go live.

A few excerpts from recent reviews:

"The House at Black Tooth Pond is a great read for lovers of small town horror, cosmic horror, and police procedurals. I enjoyed the combination of these subgenres..."—Rebecca Cuthbert

"Rainey is one of a handful of writers who can give you the supernatural, the cosmic, and the eldritch terror in carefully measured doses that intoxicate you with their simple cleverness and their absolute dread. Lovecraft would be proud. So keep the lights on while you read..."—John M. Cozzoli (The HorrorZine)

"The House at Black Tooth Pond climaxes into a beautiful, (you know what I mean) cosmic 'Holy Crow, Are You Kidding Me?,' finale that's completely satisfying. Highly recommended.—Alice Loweecy

"Stephen Mark Rainey returns to haunted Sylvan County, Virginia, with this slow-burn weird tale in the tradition of H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, TED Klein, Twin Peaks, and maybe even The Trollenberg Terror..."—Joe Maddrey

Speaking of Ms. Cuthbert, who was kind enough to give Black Tooth Pond a nice review, I found her collection, The Six o'Clock House & Other Strange Tales, a most engaging read, with several tales that I found superlative (my review is live at Goodreads; still pending on Amazon). She is also an accomplished graphic artist, and very kindly created a nice promo graphic for Black Tooth Pond that I am more than happy to use and share. Thank you, Rebecca!

I've started listening to the audiobook of friend/author Scott Thomas's 2017 novel, Kill Creek. Several chapters in, I'm enjoying it very much. The narration by Bernard Setaro Clark is smooth and engaging. Will give this one a full review when I'm done.

Till next time...