Coach's Midnight Diner is an anthology of horror, mystery, crime, and paranormal goodness, highlighted by works in the Jesus Vs. Cthulhu category, as well as That One That Happens In A Diner. With an interior design by typography guru J. Mark Bertrand, this anthology is sure to delight, astound, and entertain you.




Hey folks, Coach's Midnight Diner is going on sale - a dark speculative fiction anthology - with a dash of faith - worth $20, has been slashed to $10. For 200+ pages of some solid genre fiction, that's a great deal!

Don't take my word for it, though - please download the Diner' s Sample Version at Literate Machine. As always, tell your friends, leave a rating...it's all good.

Also, good news: Coach's Midnight Diner, Volume 2, is coming soon! I don't have a story in this one, but I worked as a reader for it, and I can vouch for the quality of the pieces. Here's an update.

Posted by kevinlucia at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just heard that my flash fiction tale, "Old Bassler House", was accepted for Shroud Publishing's upcoming flash fiction anthology, Northern Haunts. This is going to be the perfect anthology to read from by a roaring camp fire. It's also not just an anthology, but a cause - all the proceeds will be donated to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. Read and pre-order below!



Northern Haunts is much more than an anthology. It is an indispensable guidebook for your journey through the shadowy New England otherworld. 100 original tales of ghosts, creatures, mad men, and other horrifying mysteries. Each story is told in the first person so that you can employ NORTHERN HAUNTS as a fireside ghost story reference book. It is designed for you to customize these treacherous tales in order to tantalize your friends and terrify your family. Proceeds from the sale of NORTHERN HAUNTS will be donated to the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. This book is currently open for PRE-ORDERS only. Amazing cover art by Christopher Zibelli!

Posted by kevinlucia at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Many new friends have added me in the last month, either randomly, through linked friends, or through a few shorts I have drifting around out in the big "there". In any case, I'm sorry I haven't been around to everyone's pages to thank you for your add, as consumed as I have been with my current project.

In any case, I invite all of you - as well as my longtime friends - to subscribe to my blog.
Sometimes I actually talk about other things besides pimping myself and my little scratchings, but in the coming months, I'll be talking a lot about my current work, Hiram Grange & The Chosen One, and the entire series, The Hiram Grange Chronicles, to be published by Shroud Publishing. There'll be giveaways, prizes, webisodes...all sorts of cool things.




But please, don't subscribe for me, or for Hiram either - because honestly, he doesn't give a wit either way. Do it for yourself, or for someone you love.

You never know when a Confluence will occur in your neighborhood. It always pays to be prepared.

Hiram Grange
www. hiramgrange. com

*Image By Malcolm McClinton

Posted by kevinlucia at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey folks, I'd love it if you could visit the Literate Machine and download a free graphic e-novel that some colleagues and I collaborated on several months ago. It was a trial run, and I think it turned out nicely. It's free in .pdf form, and if you like it - or not, because fair criticism is always needed - please review it for me. Spread the word as well, not only about our download, but also of Literate Machine as well.

Thanks!

Posted by kevinlucia at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No, you terrible, dirty-minded people. How COULD you think that way?

Actually, I've been playing with Macromedia FLASH. I don't have much of a "store", and all the things I'd "sell" I don't make money from anyway - anything you buy with a story of mine in it pretty much goes back to the publisher, which is good, because a lot of them could use some support and new readers.

Anyway, I did want a nifty way to display all the book covers of the anthologies and magazines I've managed to get into in the past year. I hunted and hunted, and finally found a cool freeware FLASH file and all the documentation to go with it.

Hey, if nothing else, and you're looking for something cool for your website, visit my store page, right click on the display, and that will give you all the info you need.

AND....if you want to buy something while you're at it, that's never a bad thing....

Posted by kevinlucia at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Image by Malcom McClinton

Rewrites, even if only a portion and not the whole thing, can be a pain in the butt. For one thing, it feels as if you're grinding your wheels, stuck in a gear, not moving anywhere. For another, it feels like you're going over ground you've already walked, and there's no forward progress anywhere in sight (this is especially daunting when a deadline looms...or zooms by).

Finally, a re-write makes you feel stupid. You think, "I must really suck as a writer, because I should've gotten this right the first time."

I actually like them, in some ways. Before a re-write, I'm plugging along, dutifully scribbling away, but SOMETHING lurks in the back of my mind, telling me something is off. I like the narrative, I like the characterization or a certain scene, but there's something....missing. Something is too slow, doesn't make sense, or is just plain illogical.

Though it burns the old ego a little to backrack, re-tred, and do something over, there's something satisfying in finding that taunting little "something" in the back of your head, (and then beating the snot out of it), tweaking it, nudging it, into something vastly superior.  Three years ago, in the middle of the novel project that now resides half-finished on my shelf, I never experienced this, because I never finished anything, thus could never make it to third, fourth, fifth draft. What have I discovered?

I love rewriting.

Anyway. I've finished my re-write on Hiram Grange & The Chosen One, and I'm back on track.

Posted by kevinlucia at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Morning, folks. Just wanted to pass along that the nice folks at NexGen Pulp Magazine have featured me in their blog this week. Would love it if you stopped by and left a comment, even if it's only to tell me that the evil aardvarks have revolted against your totalitarian rule, and have now united with the squirrels to overtake your backyard. I'm sure we'll all appreciate the warning.

My story, Darkness Road, was printed in their first issue.



My story, "My Brother's Keeper", was re-printed in their August/September issue.



Thanks!

Posted by kevinlucia at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey folks, just wanted to drop a line that my story, "My Brother's Keeper", has been reprinted in NexGen Pulp Magazine's August/September Issue. I'm fortunate enough to share space with Dave Dunwoody, author of Empire: A Zombie Novel.




David and I also appear in Shroud Publishing's horror anthology, Abominations.




Why not make it a package deal?

Posted by kevinlucia at 06:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Madison and I were washing dishes yesterday when she decided to take a die cast figurine of Magneto, Master of Magnetism, (yes—one of mine), swimming while we worked.  As she plunked and dunked poor little Magneto, (whose mastery over magnetism proved utterly useless amidst suds, ceramic plates and plastic cups), with gleeful delight, she exclaimed…

Madison: Look, Daddy! Superman is taking a bath!

Me: No, honey—Superman is DC Comics. That’s Magneto; he’s Marvel Comics. Can you say Magneto?

Madison: I dunno (plunk, plunk).

Me: Here, let’s sound it out. Mag…

Madison: Mag…

Me: ne….to…Magneto.

Madison: Mahneto!

Me: Good enough, kiddo.

Madison: Daddy, I like Magneto!

Me: Really? Why’s that?

Madison: I dunno. (proceeds to vigorously dunk poor Magneto).  Because he likes water!

Me: You like Magneto because he likes water? Isn’t the Sub-Mariner the big water guy in Marvel?

Madison: (frowns) Huh?

Me: Never mind. Waitaminute. You don’t like Magneto better than the Hulk, do you?

Madison: Uh-Huh (dunks some more).

Me: (Uh, oh). Why?

Madison:  Because Magneto’s nicer.

Me: How’s he nicer?

Madison: I dunno. Because he likes water?

Me: Wait—Magneto is nicer because he likes water?

Madison: Yup! (Proceeds to drown poor little die cast Magneto).

Hulk took this moment to object:

Hulk no like baths. Make Hulk look like wrinkled grape. Hulk like sponge baths; with nice squishy loofah.

What about Magneto?

Hulk hate Magneto. Magneto stupid dumb-head. Magneto go shoot beer cans with Hulk in woods, but no talk to Hulk at parties. Puny Magneto.

Unfortunately, Magneto happened to overhear all this.

You brainless mass of primitive brawn! How dare you insult the great Master of Magnetism? Of course the little girl likes me better! I’m die cast, shinier, and I can bend metal to my will! You will pay for your arrogance, and bow before my horrible might! This, I command!

Hey, wait a minute. You stole that last part from Serpentor, that guy Dr. Mindbender made to replace Cobra Commander back in the ‘80’s.

Uh….no I didn’t. I, uh…overheard it at a...comic Convention … somewhere….

Hold on….you are Serpentor, aren’t you?

Er….oops, look at the time. I’m Meeting Professor X for lunch. later! (Jumps on flying serpent throne and speeds off)

No disrespect to Madi, but I’m gonna have to go with the Hulk on this one. You just can’t trust mutant masters of magnetism.

Stupid Magneto. Stupid Serpentor. Hulk smash both, then take nice loofah bath.

Indeed, Hulk. Indeed.

Posted by kevinlucia at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, so I'm almost done with S & V, by Seton HS grad and Binghamton native Claudia Gabel, and this is what I have to say:

Lizette and Bryne suck. Big time.

Lizette and Dane are cheating. HAVE to be.

Sawyer has it bad it for Marnie. BUT...he might like Nola, too. NOW that would be a pickle, wouldn't it?

Matt is either a secret agent, a crack dealer, or a secret agent who deals crack. I haven't figured it out yet.

Ian SO wants Nola. Personally, I'm rooting for Ian, but a surprise play by Sawyer would be cool, too.

Maybe Weston and Lizette should hook up? Naw. They're already involved...with themselves.

Anyway...on to the finish.

Posted by kevinlucia at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)