Roadkill

You’ve seen the cover and synopsis. Here are some quotes from the first reviewers:

“A rip-roaring adrenaline ride that will leave you breathless. You can practically taste the gasoline. D’Lacey is a man on a mission; I’d get out of the way.” Adam Millard, author of Skinners and Dead Line

“Like nothing you’ve read before. A frenetic, blistering bullet train of white-knuckle reflex.” Dread Central

“A breathless race to the finish line of oblivion.” Starburst Magazine

I know I speak for Michael Wilson – editor and owner of This Is Horror – when I say we’re incredibly proud of these early responses.

We launch on 8th June at Waterstones in Coventry, where I’ll be joined by Adam Nevill and Jasper Bark for another brilliant This Is Horror event. If you can’t wait that long, you can pre-order right now – but honestly I’d really love to see you in Coventry on the day!

News 1st May 2013

While I chip away at the rewrite of The Book of The Crowman, here’s my latest:

It’s almost a month since the launch of Black Feathers – book one of the two-part Black Dawn series.

Some happy-stats of how it’s gone so far:

• 750 shelf adds on Goodreads
• Over 40 very positive online reviews, including Publishers’ Weekly
• Great magazine reviews in SciFi Now and SFX
• Made the Buy One, Get One Half Price shelves in WH Smith
• Made the 3 for 2 promotion in Blackwell’s
• Number 5 in the fiction chart in Blackwell’s, Edinburgh
• Over 1200 views of the trailer

Following the London Book Fair I heard from my agent that Blood Fugue is still selling well. It recently received high praise from the BFS and This Is Horror, if you’d like to find out more.

The contract to re-print MEAT and Garbage Man has been amended giving Andrews UK worldwide rights in English. This will make both titles available in e-book and print in America, Canada and Australia for the first time. The e-book will be enhanced with media content and watch out for the brand new cover art – can’t wait to see it!

I’ve been on three recent podcasts – This Is Horror, NOObs on a Plane and Scrolls – talking about projects old and new as well as being grilled in-depth about Splinters.

Finally, my This Is Horror chapbook Roadkill has gone on sale.

For the moment, I’ve got my head down making The Book of The Crowman shine with Black Light. I probably won’t make much noise until that job’s done…

Black Feathers book trailer

I’m not sure there are any words that fully do this video justice. From my point of view, it’s two minutes of pure joy.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to Horrod and Harris for their awesome work.

BLACK FEATHERS MASTER NEW H264 from HORROD AND HARRIS on Vimeo.

Black Feathers events

There are two launches for Black Feathers, one in Edinburgh and one in London.

Daniele Serra’s wonderful event artwork.

The Edinburgh launch, (30th March, 3-5pm, Blackwell’s) a combined event with Horror giant Gary McMahon and Zombie godfather David Moody, has sold out of seats – no wonder, considering the cannibalistic Jasper Bark is hosting the evening – but extra tickets have been printed for standing room.

Please e-mail events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk with the subject line ‘This Is Horror Event’ or call 0131 622 8218 for your free ticket.

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The London launch (5th April, 6.30-9pm, Big Green Bookshop) is also free, with snacks and beverages provided. There’s no need to book for this one. I’ll do a brief talk and short reading and spend the rest of the evening chatting with whoever turns up.

I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about these two evenings and can’t wait to see the book finally ‘fly’ – it’s been a long time in the making.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to the organisers:

Ellie Wixon of Blackwell’s, Edinburgh for inviting me and for publicising the event so brilliantly; Michael Wilson for flying the ever-popular This Is Horror banner over the launch and bringing in such big names; Simon and Tim for turning their shop into a BIG PARTY!

What an exciting week!

I had an email from my agent saying we’ll soon be signing a deal for the audio rights in MEAT and Garbage Man. Taken with the scheduled reissue of both titles in e-book and print by Andrews UK, it’s a sign that both books have long tails and real staying power. I couldn’t be happier about it.

Since my last round up another swathe of great reviews have come in for Black Feathers. As you can see from the countdown to the right, there’s less than a month to go until UK publication (and less than three weeks until the American release)!

The final printed copies arrived at Angry Robot HQ this morning – gorgeous or what?

My thanks this week go to Jason for his BoneBreaker post, Horror Fiction Review, Bane of Kings (for The Founding Fields) and the wonderful woman I know only as ‘karen’ who put this awesome response on Goodreads, resulting in forty shelf adds! Karen, you are awesome!

This Is Horror are also having a big Joseph D’Lacey week with a written, in depth look at Splinters and a two-part podcast on the project. Part one was very difficult to listen to for me, as three horror experts carved a Y-shaped incision into the book and completely dissected it. Still, the verdict was good and the podcast contains another chance to hear Richard Kellum reading the infamous Son of Porn (adult content).

I have two Black Feathers launches coming up and will dedicate a full post to those in the next few days.

Have a lovely weekend!

As I’m unable to achieve anything else today, here’s a poem…

Spice Girl by Joseph D’Lacey

It was all champagne and laughter,
Real love, real ales and beers.
By morning all the fizz went flat,
I’d seen the curry in your ears.

You’d hid it well the night before
Beneath your flowing silken locks
But you’ve got lughole biriyani
And some chutney in your socks.

There’s passanda in your pockets
And chapatis in your pants.
The vindaloo that’s in the loo
May spoil this new romance.

When I saw you in that beer tent,
I never thought to worry
That you’d stuff naan bread up your nose
And plug your ears with curry.

There’s bhoona in your brassiere,
Tandoori ‘twixt your toes.
Where you keep your hot Madras
Shiva only knows.

You truly are a spicy lass
That could be my good luck.
Let’s go share a takeaway
And then a nice hot Bombay duck.

Blood Fugue, the untold story.

Blood Fugue came out in November 2012 – my first novel since Garbage Man in 2009.

It was a relief to finally get back on the shelves after some rough air on the publishing front.

Some facts about the book:

• It was the 3rd novel I ever wrote, back in 2003.
• It was my 1st Horror novel.
• I wrote it having asked my wife to randomly choose a word from a list of thirty human ‘activities’ and a list of thirty themes. The words were Ritual & Outdoorsmanship.
• I edited it many times over ten years, including altering the POV from 1st to 3rd person.
• It was rejected by most literary agencies and publishers in the UK, as well as some in the USA.
• The original text was 108K.
• The final text was 76K.
• Steve Haynes of Proxima approached me for the novel, making it the first time I didn’t have to submit a piece of work in the usual way.
• Steve was responsible for 24K of the 32K that were cut during the edit.
• It was the first time I’d ever asked another author to read a novel and give me a quote – the author was UK Horror’s brightest star, Adam Nevill.
• I dedicated the book to my step-dad, who encouraged my love of reading and books from a very early age.

Probably the best thing for me about Blood Fugue was how well it was received after I’d been absent from bookshelves for quite a spell. This is what people had to say:

“From the riveting, sexually charged opening chapter of Blood Fugue, the reader knows they’re in good, if a little twisted, hands. D’Lacey’s tale blasted through 265 blood-soaked pages in a fevered frenzy. Haven’t had this much fun with a dark tale since Wilson’s The Keep. It’s vampires pumped up on steroids and raunchy as hell, making Stoker’s Dracula blush and Meyer’s Twilight seem even more like sparkly, emo wimps.” Don Roff, author of Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection

“Folklore and mythology, as well as man’s catastrophic disregard for nature, are the meat of Joseph D’Lacey’s horror. But the prime cuts are always compassion and surprise.” Adam Nevill, author of Apartment 16, The Ritual and Last Days

“Blood Fugue is the third novel from a top British horror author. Blending well-written prose with fantastic imagery, this novel packs plenty of punches. Ideal for fans of Stephen King and Richard Laymon. Watch out! The ‘Fugue’ is about!” Ellie Wixon, Blackwell’s

“A wonderfully twisted and uber-violent take on the vampire myth.” Wayne Simmons, author of Flu and Drop Dead Gorgeous

“Captivating…truly a joy to read.” Horror Reviewsite

“Blood Fugue is a near perfect mix of vampires, body horror and ecological thriller.  if you only read one vampire novel this year, make sure it is this one.” Gingernuts of Horror.

“Blowjobs, threesomes and girl on girl…owes more to Fifty Shades of Grey than to Dracula.” Annexe Magazine

“D’Lacey captures the minutiae of small town America with a skill that is reminiscent of early Stephen King. If you’re a horror fan and you’re not already reading Joseph D’Lacey you had better have a bloody good excuse.” The Eloquent Page

“A magic carpet ride back to the early days of horror.” Clare’s Crypt

“D’Lacey forms a world that is some part the beautiful mystery of early Koontz, the small town whimsy of King and the dangerously blurry line between sex and violence that encapsulates Laymon.” Snakebite Horror

“If you love horror that doesn’t hold anything back with great, three-dimensional characters, unique plots and some scary-arse monsters, pick up a book by Joseph D’Lacey – his stories are inventive, terrifying and oh-so-good – horror at its very best.” The Aussie Zombie

“D’Lacey’s writing is definitely sexy, terrifying and very, very visceral…This book is just glorious.” Adventures in Trash

“A trip through the forest from hell…Unforgettable.” Dark Arts Magazine

“D’Lacey’s storytelling ability is strong and compelling…brutal deaths, incredibly sinister characters and scenes of a graphic sexual nature.” Andy Erupts

 

(You can read the full story of the horrific Blood Fugue edit on Wayne Simmons’ Write Club.)

Editing advice for The Write Club

I’m doing a two-part editing post for Wayne Simmons – author of Flu, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Fever and Doll Parts. It’s intended for writers who are keen to improve their abilities quickly. Part I outlines some specific editing passes that will tighten up your fiction.

Part II takes the extensive re-write of Blood Fugue and deconstructs it, showing how every editing pass can improve your work – with the goal of pushing it from unpublishable territory into that promised land of the published.

Other good things:

I’m grateful today for the latest two reviews of Black Feathers, the first from Tiara W whose extremely positive Goodreads appraisal is also on Digital Tempest and Bibliosanctum. Thanks also to Australian author, Alan Baxter, whose review appeared on Thirteen O’Clock very early this morning. Another considered summing up and a sign, I hope, that people everywhere are ‘getting’ what Black Feathers is all about.

Meanwhile, I’m still tinkering with the look of the blog so expect things to disappear and reappear over the next few days, as well as new content arriving as if by magic…

Good things. Very good things…

I have a couple of people to thank this week, following further wonderful responses to Black Feathers.

First up is Abhinav Jain, alias Shadowhawk, for his considered post at The Founding Fields. He said, “Spectacular is the word I’d use to describe the novel. Nothing else can capture the reading experience.”

A big thank you also to Victoria Hooper who had this to say: “With memorable settings, vivid writing and important themes, Black Feathers is an extremely atmospheric and thought-provoking read.” You can find the full measure of her thoroughly in-depth impressions on her lovely blog Vicky Thinks.

My sincere thanks to you both for reading and commenting on my work!

I was surprised and flattered to be invited to a podcast interview with This Is Horror. I met with Michael Wilson and John Costello on Wednesday evening to record the interview, which centred around my short story collection Splinters.

When the podcast goes live, it will include Richard Kellum’s inspired narration of my satire ‘Son of Porn’. Can’t wait to hear it on Monday 4th March!

In the meantime, wishing you all a lovely weekend…

The filthiest thing you’ll hear this year

If you’re offended by extreme sexual content, please read not a word further.

The estimable Richard Kellum has recorded an astonishing audio version of Son of Porn, a story from my Timeline Books collection Splinters. As far as I’m aware, no one has ever brought one of my tales to life with such verve and skill.

You’ll laugh, you’ll puke, you’ll spontaneously ejaculate.

Timeline Books and I offer you this file for free. We hope you enjoy it.

(Please keep some tissues handy.)