The updated Alondra Stories

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Loren Rhoads

Four years ago, I published 3 short collections of stories about Alondra DeCourval, a witch who travels the world to protect humans from supernatural creatures — and vice versa.

I was never happy with the covers I made for those books. I don’t have much in the way of design skills. I always wanted to work with a real artist to create something beautiful that did justice to the stories.

Then I met Lex from Huntress Studios. Lex created a social media icon for me that I truly love. They were amazingly easy to work with. I asked for the skeleton to be working at a silver laptop with a cup of tea. They added the lovely patterned wallpaper and the exquisite china pattern. I couldn’t have been happier.

When I got this spring’s installment of my 199 Cemeteries royalties, I decided to funnel some of it into something that would make me truly happy: new covers for the stories I love so much.

Lex was able to take my ramblings about images to represent each book and turn them into the beautiful covers you see at the top of this post. I’ve been busy correcting the text and getting the books uploaded to Amazon again.

The first book in the series, Alondra’s Experiments, is now on sale at Amazon. In this book, Alondra discovers in San Francisco that vampirism requires sacrifices she doesn’t expect. She solves the Philosopher’s stone in Prague. She searches for the perfect valentine in Oslo.

For the next week, you can step into Alondra’s world for only 99¢. Check out the ebook here: https://amzn.to/3mA6q9J

If you like those stories, the following books Alondra’s Investigations and Alondra’s Adventures are also available.

Alondra’s Exploits, containing three previously uncollected stories and essays about how they were written, is available now for preorder. It will be published on June 23.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of these little books. Do you like the new covers? Where would you like to see Alondra travel next?

 

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Horror Addicts Guide to Life interview

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Loren Rhoads

I have three essays in the newest book from Horror Addicts Publishing, The Horror Addicts Guide to Life #2. Here’s the pitch:

Do you love the horror genre? Do you look at horror as a lifestyle? Do the “norms” not understand your love of the macabre? Despair no longer, my friend, for within your grasp is a book written by those who look at horror as a way of life, just like you. This is your guide to living a horror addict’s life. Our month-by-month almanac with important dates, movie lists, puzzles, crafts, articles, and recipes will guarantee your whole year is occupied with delightful horror activities. Don’t miss our monster guide with articles about vampires, zombies, ghosts, and some creatures that just can’t be categorized. Enjoy interviews with creators of horror content and hear perspectives from different cultures and backgrounds. Read stories of real hauntings, nightmares, and vile vacations. Allow us to curate your horror lifestyle.

With articles by: Angela Yuriko Smith, Carrie Sessarego, Chantal Boudreau, Courtney Mroch, D.J. Pitsiladis, Dan Shaurette, Daphne Strasert, Geneve Flynn, H.E. Roulo, H.R. Boldwood, J. Malcolm Stewart, Jaq D Hawkins, Jonathan Fortin, Kate Nox, Kristin Battestella, Ksenia Murray, Lee Murray, Lionel Ray Green, Mark Orr, Martha J. Allard, Naching T. Kassa, Pamela K. Kinney, Priscilla Bettis, R.L. Merrill, Rena Mason, Selah Janel, Sumiko Saulson, Valjeanne Jeffers, and so many more!

Available now on Amazon.

I sat down with Emerian Rich, the mastermind behind the Horror Addicts empire, and asked the questions I’ve always wanted to.

Author, artist, voice actress, and editor, Emz is best known for being the Horror Hostess of HorrorAddicts.net, an internationally acclaimed horror podcast, now its 17th season. She is the author of the Night’s Knights vampire series and has been published in over 40 fiction anthologies. Find out more at emzbox.com.

When – and why – did you create Horror Addicts?

Emerian: I had been podcasting my vampire novel Night’s Knights. When I got a few chapters away from the end, I didn’t want to lose all my “Biters,” the affectionate name I made up for my vampire listeners. So I decided to start a horror podcast that they could follow me over to. I’m so glad I did it, because otherwise I wouldn’t have all these great horror fans to chat with today. Although the cast has grown and mutated over the years, I’ve always had the readers in my mind. I am a Horror reader and I want to promote, produce, and curate Horror for readers like me.

What came first for Horror Addicts: the podcast, the blog, or the publishing company?

The podcast came first and then—due to different staff that wanted to grow the site in different ways—it grew into a blog, a site, a publishing house, and we are still growing every year. This year, we are branching out into Audible productions and a new magazine called Horror Curated.

Can you reveal any of the details about the magazine?

Yes! Some. I can tell you it will be a full-color, digital magazine, and each issue will focus on a theme important to Horror Addicts. I’ve got some of the staff lined up. The sub call for the first issue will go out in June. Our first issue will release this winter with the “Gothic Holiday” theme. Interested authors and readers should check horrorcurated.com where more info will be coming later in the year.

The podcast has changed a lot over the years. It hosted the Next Great Horror Writer contest, The Deadbringer audio drama, and all the great interviews and music.

I’m one of those people who get bored with repetition, so every year I try to update, change, and better the show. The Next Great Horror Writer contest was something I wanted to do because I’m a sucker for project reality shows, and yet…I’ve never seen a writer one. It was great fun and something I hope to do again in the future. The Deadbringer audio drama was the last in a line of great audio dramas we’ve had on the show. They can all be listened to in full at our site starting with the comedy show GothHaus we did back on Season 5. We also have, Gothmazing Race, Black Magic, End of the World Radio, Black Jack, Blood of Socorro County, Dogtooth, Darkvein Manor, They Wound Like Worms, and lastly The Deadbringer. This year for Season 17, we’ve changed our format a little. We are producing each story like we did the audio dramas, so there won’t be a running story to follow, however. Each episode will have a fully-contained dramatic reading.

What’s been your favorite feature on the podcast?

Looking back at the fourteen years I’ve been doing the cast, there are so many good memories. Probably my favorite times are the contests like the Wicked Women Writer’s Challenge. I also really love our finale shows. They take forever to produce, but they are so fun with in-studio guests and interviews with people like Andrew Neiderman, Comika Hartford, and the #1 Elvira Impersonator, Patterson Lundquist.

What do you hope to do in the future?

I just want to keep upping the ante. I never want our show to get boring or stagnant. I want to keep bringing Horror news, interviews, music, and fiction to those who need it the most…our Horror Addicts!

The Horror Addicts blog has compiled an enormous variety of subject matter online. What kind of posts would you like to see more of in the future?

I would love to see more stuff on lifestyle. We get tons of movie, book, and TV show reviews — and that is great — but I’d love if we got some bloggers passionate about Horror-slanted jobs, locations, and living situations. Got a Horror food-truck? Refurbished an old hearse to drive around town? Do Horror portraits for a living? Are you a costume fashion designer? Ghost hunt for a living? We want to hear all about it.

When you started the podcast, did you also intend to be running a publishing company?

No. I was just trying to keep my vampire readers. Ha! But I’m glad my staff and contributors pushed it that way, because books are really what I’m all in for. I really love publishing new and seasoned authors and helping them get their stories out there.

How many books have you published now? It’s been quite a spectrum!

We have 14 full-length books under our belts right now, including two Horror Addicts Guides, two stand-alone novels, and a Spooky Author’s Planner. We also have five short-story eBites and will soon have Audible titles coming out.

This volume of the Horror Addicts Guide to Life could qualify as an omnibus. Can you tell us what all is included in the book?

Horror Addicts Guide to Life 2 really has something for every Horror Addict. If you love monsters, you’ll love the beginning of the book where we talk about all kinds of creepy creatures. If you like interviews and articles about how diversity plays a role in today’s Horror, you’ll love our “Perspectives” section. If you love puzzles and coloring, you’ll have tons to do throughout the month-by-month almanac. If you like movies like The Shining or Night of the Living Dead, you’ll get your fan-fix for sure. If you’re a crafter, there are tons of things to make in here. It’s like a love letter to the fans out there. It will make you think, inspire you, and hopefully give you hours of enjoyment.

You’ve got a bunch of events coming up to promote the book. What are you looking forward to?

I’m sure everyone can relate to this answer… I’m looking forward to see the Horror Addicts! It’s been so long since I’ve seen them and it will be really great to reconnect.

Check out the whole schedule of events here: https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/2022/05/14/horror-addicts-guide-to-life-2-book-event-calendar

Listen to the podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/horroraddicts-net/id286123050

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This Weekend at the Bay Area Book Festival

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Loren Rhoads

I’m returning to in-person bookselling this weekend!

This Saturday, May 7, 11-4, I’ll be selling books at the Bay Area Book Festival at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Berkeley, California. I’m sharing a table with members of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Horror Writers Association.

I’ll have paperback copies of my books that came out during the pandemic — This Morbid Life, Unsafe Words, and Angelus Rose — as well as some rarities and collectibles. Please come by booth #24 and say hi.

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The Kickstarter counts down!

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Loren Rhoads

As of 9AM Pacific tomorrow (Saturday) morning, the Kickstarter for the cemetery book I’m editing will be over.

This has been an enormous learning experience. I felt pretty confident going into the project that I could edit an amazing book. Death’s Garden Revisited will be the sixth book I’ve edited — and I’ve worked with presses from Scribner to Damnation to Tomes & Coffee, so I knew it was going to be beautifully designed. The trick was going to be raising the money so I could make the full-color hardcover that I envisioned.

And backers made that happen on the very first day.

Since then, backers have preordered enough books that I can add additional photos to the book, commission a couple of essays, and host a reading on Zoom that will include the international contributors.

The final goal ahead of us is a book release party in a cemetery in the Bay Area. I’m hoping that  will happen before the campaign ends.

This week I announced the book’s Table of Contents on Kickstarter. Here it is:

Cemetery Strawberries – Chris LaMay-West

A Tale of 25,000 Tales – M. Parfitt

Guess How Many People are Buried in Bonaventure Cemetery? – Barbara Baird

Brown Bodies and Burials – Saraliza Anzaldúa

Toasting a Ghost in Northern Ireland – Anne Born

La Recoleta – Rain Graves

How the Forgotten Angels Saved My Life – Emerian Rich

Not a Tourist Attraction – Priscilla Bettis

Sacred Heart – Robert Holt

Family Time – A.M. Muffaz

History Lives Like Ghosts – Trilby Plants

In the Shadow of Eldfell – Greg Roensch

The Silence of Block 14 – Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito

Paris’s Secret Cemetery – Erika Mailman

Katie Likes Flowers – Joanne M. Austin

Marking Fred Gwynne’s Unmarked Grave with Flowers – Sharon Pajka

Wedding Vailes – Angela Yuriko Smith

Crossed Fingers – Jo Nell Huff

New Orleans Blues – Christine Sutton

Communing with the Dead – George Neville-Neil

Death and Spinsterhood: It’s Personal – Rachelle Meilleur

The Swirl of Silence – Denise N. Tapscott

The Day it Snowed in Prague – E.M. Markoff

I Found Love on Find-A-Grave – J’aime Rubio

MS. Inspired by a Graveyard – Trish Wilson

Never Let Your Feet Get Cold – Carrie Sessarego

The Treasure Hunter – Stephen Mark Rainey

Lenin’s Mausoleum – Melodie Bolt

When a Cemetery Speaks – R. L. Merrill

The Hill Church Cemetery of Sighișoara, Romania: An Unforgettable Experience – Rena Mason

A Girl, Her Dad, and a Cemetery – Francesca Maria

Ghost in the Graveyard – Benjamin Scuglia

The Cemetery that Changed My Life – Carole Tyrrell

Exhuming Corpses for Fun and Profit – Paul Stansfield

Ebb and Flow: Finding My Way Back to Family – Mary Rajotte

If you’d like to pick up a copy of the book for yourself, here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lorenrhoads/deaths-garden-revisited-relationships-with-cemeteries

Don’t snooze! The clock is ticking.

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Death’s Garden Link Round-up

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Loren Rhoads

We’re in the last few days of the Death’s Garden Kickstarter. Only the book release party in a cemetery left to achieve.

Over the last 30 days, I have really hustled to get the word out about Death’s Garden Revisited.

In addition to the Facebook party and the AMA on Twitter, the contributors helped me put together a playlist of their favorite cemetery songs. You can listen along on Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4S0255SPm7grf5NShTbLgT?si=ea4a5b5bb3d94d17

I wrote a post for E. M. Markoff’s Tomes & Coffee blog to explain some of the choices on the playlist: http://www.ellderet.com/emmarkoff-blog/2022/4/6/guest-post-the-deaths-garden-revisited-playlist-by-loren-rhoads

Jennifer Brozek let me stop by her blog to tell her how I fell in love with cemeteries: http://www.jenniferbrozek.com/blog/post/2022/03/23/Tell-Me-Loren-Rhoads3

Dr. Sharon Pajka hosted a Cemetery Happy Hour. A handful of Death’s Garden contributors created cocktails to celebrate their favorite cemeteries. Check out this very fun and short video: https://youtu.be/H5BN8WWZq-c

In addition to that, I’ve done a whole bunch of interviews:

The Fabulist magazine did a really great interview with me, connecting the Death’s Garden project to Morbid Curiosity magazine: https://fabulistmagazine.com/a-personal-relationship-with-cemeteries-loren-rhoads-in-conversation/

Angela Yuriko Smith invited me to her Lit Up video series for one of the best cemetery conversation I’ve ever had. Check us out at https://youtu.be/U4Ziv2b2nlU

Lex Vranick created this great graphic out of one of my quotes.

Lex Vranick of Write and Wine interviewed me about cemeteries and the Kickstarter: https://writeandwine.com/blog/an-interview-with-loren-rhoads

Horror poet Melodie Bolt interview me about the nuts and bolts of doing a Kickstarter : https://www.melodiebolt.com/post/interview-with-loren-rhoads

Blogger Jo Nell Huff interviewed me about the Kickstarter and the contributors to Death’s Garden Revisited: https://coastalcrone.com/2022/04/07/deaths-garden-revisited-kickstarter-interview-with-editor-loren-rhoads/

Amy Z. Chan and R. L. Merrill interviewed me and Hudson Lin about crowdfunding on their Clubhouse podcast, What Are You Reading? You can listen to the playback here: https://www.clubhouse.com/room/xeR0ZKL3?utm_medium=ch_room_terc&utm_campaign=D93dJ9jgBUr1Us3hGVVpfw-109918

Anthropologist and horror writer Paul Stansfield interviewed me about how Death’s Garden Revisited fits in with all my other books: http://paulstansfield.blogspot.com/2022/04/interview-with-publishereditorwriter.html

Horror author and secret romantic Robert Holt interviewed me about cemeteries and travel: https://holthorror.wordpress.com/2022/04/11/deaths-garden-revisited-interview-with-editor-loren-rhoads/

Help us reach our final Stretch Goal — a book release party in a cemetery — and preorder yourself a copy of Death’s Garden Revisited on Kickstarter BEFORE Saturday, April 16, at 9 AM Pacific. Here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lorenrhoads/deaths-garden-revisited-relationships-with-cemeteries

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